zack lugo
Zack Lugo recently moved outside of Los Angeles proper—which those from LA know is a sign you’ve either started a family, given up on your dreams, or made it. For Lugo, it’s the last one. The TikToker-turned-model is calling from his home in the Valley, having attended a whirlwind New York Fashion Week—his first full NYFW, he shares with a tone that can only be described as casual awe. He’s used to this, but also, it’s never stopped feeling surreal.
Zack Lugo is photographed by Anthony Giovanni, Fashion by Edwin J Ortega, Hair by Faye Celeste, Words by Bailey Bujnosek, Shot at HYPE studios
Zack Lugo wears Tom Ford, with Emanuele Bicocchi Jewelry
Zack wears a full look by Acne Studios with Emanuele Bicocchi Jewelry
Zack wears full look by Dior with Emanuele Bicocchi Jewelry
Zack wears a full look by DIOR with Emanuele Bicocchi Jewelry, Full look by Dolce And Gabanna
Zack Lugo recently moved outside of Los Angeles proper—which those from LA know is a sign you’ve either started a family, given up on your dreams, or made it. For Lugo, it’s the last one. The TikToker-turned-model is calling from his home in the Valley, having recently returned from a whirlwind New York Fashion Week—his first full NYFW, he shares with a tone that can only be described as casual awe. He’s used to this, but also, it’s never stopped feeling surreal.
It’s been four years since the 23-year-old creative moved to LA from his hometown in Southern Idaho. He didn’t come here for acting—though he’s interested in going on auditions, just to see what happens—or for modeling, though he now regularly collaborates with fashion titans like Prada, Tom Ford, and Fendi. Lugo came to LA to escape Idaho, to leave behind the town where he worked in “a kind of brutal workspace,” packing, transporting, and selling meat. He’s said in several interviews, and reaffirms during our conversation, that his life didn’t begin until he moved to California.
“I think it's the most important thing that's ever happened in my career, moving here,” he reflects. “Especially moving from a small town—there’s no opportunities where I was living, and that's why I moved out in the first place.” As for why LA? “Social media was one of the biggest reasons [to go to LA], because it's just the place to be.”
LA is the influencer capital of the world, and Lugo is a veteran of that career. Over the past five years, he’s amassed 10.5 million followers and 400 million likes on TikTok. (His bio at the moment reads, “Small town boy chasing his dreams,” a catch-all description of his life status on any given day). His content ranges from quick-cut Get Ready With Me videos overflowing with designer duds to skateboarding montages, comedy skits, and aesthetically pleasing slideshows. The latter clips offer fans a highlight reel of Lugo’s aspirational life: catching crystal-blue waves in the Pacific, traveling for fashion weeks, racing fast cars, and posing for luxury campaigns. Clearly, he’s carved out his slice of the California dream.
Lugo’s life wasn’t always this glamorous. The multi-hyphenate was raised by a single mom in a small town in Southern Idaho, where creative outlets were far and few in between. An interest in fashion wasn’t the norm, either—when he was a kid, his photographer father used him as a test model, but walking runways and covering glossies felt beyond the realm of possibility. After graduating from high school in 2019, Lugo knew he wanted to pursue a creative career of some kind—he just didn’t know what or how, yet. While he figured that out, he took on a thankless meatpacking job and began uploading clips to TikTok.
Making skateboarding videos with friends offered a welcome reprieve from small-town boredom. Unfortunately, it didn’t please the algorithm. Lugo never experienced the cliché overnight success story, where one uploads a shaky, impromptu video of their undiscovered talent and wakes up to millions of views and sponsorship deals. Rather, he built a following by uploading consistently over time—his drive to grow bolstered by a work ethic that hasn’t faltered to this day. Finally, his first “Questions For Girls” video (a clip of him posing questions from guys that female creators could stitch or duet to provide their answers) went viral, propelling his following into the millions.
“I think I was shy at first, when I started filming,” he recalls, “but at the end of the day, I was filming with my mom, filming skate videos, dance videos with my friends, stuff like that, and it truly just became a fun thing to do [moreso] than a job.“
Once he hit that magic million follower mark, Lugo knew it was time to make the move. High-profile sponsorships and lucrative collaborations beckoned. In 2020, with his mom’s encouragement, he left Idaho for the city of influencers—and never looked back.
Zack wears full look by VERSACE
Zack wears a full look by Dolce and Gabanna.
Lugo is still into skateboarding, though attending menswear shows in Milan and Paris for Prada, Gucci, and Dior Homme kept him from tuning into the event at this summer’s Olympic Games as much as he would’ve liked.
“I did [watch] here and there, but I already knew who was going to win. Yuto Horigome is literally the best skater in the world, other than Nyjah Huston. [...] I wish I could’ve been there this year, but I’m looking forward to the Olympics in Los Angeles,” he adds of the 2028 Games that will be held, essentially, in his backyard.
At one time, the young talent had a streetwear line, “Runaway Kid Apparel,” inspired by the grunge, baggy clothes that characterized his wardrobe as a small-town skater. While it’s been a few years since that venture ended, he’s open to entering the design space again to answer fans’ demands for more clothes—and try his hand at skate gear. “I want to touch base with all the skateboarders that follow me. I’d love to make a really cool skate deck that people can experience,” he says.
Talking with Lugo, I quickly sense that he’s a future-oriented person. Not only are he and his team already prepping for Men’s Fashion Month in January 2025, but he’s also perpetually planning out the next swerve in his content creation strategy. A strong contender right now: virtual racing. Like most Zack Lugo niches, it started as a hobby—then Formula 1 invited him to the 2022 Miami Grand Prix. In a TikTok he made at the event, the creator gleefully sits behind the wheel of a McLaren Racing simulator (because “why watch the race when you can race,” his caption cheekily explains).
“That's what made me fall in love with the sport,” he tells MOOD. He now has a simulator in his basement that he plays almost every day. He also participates in local Formula 1 Sim Racing tournaments—but fans expecting him to become the next Lando Norris might be disappointed. “It's a very fun hobby in my life, and I would love to be a race car driver one day, but it is so expensive.”
Another expansion to his content that he’s considering: glossy, lifestyle-focused short films. Through a combination of his loyal following and his natural, small-town charm, Lugo has access to places and experiences that his viewers can only imagine. With the help of a top videographer, he’s ready to put together cinematic clips of it all. “In my future, I literally just want to make the coolest, most beautiful curated content,” he shares, unable to hide his enthusiasm. He elaborates that these clips would encompass the content his fans love—fashion, skating, and skits—with an added luxury angle featuring beautiful homes and vintage car collections.
He’d be far from the first influencer to offer up #luxuryporn—mansion tours and excessive designer hauls make up a good chunk of social media—but circling back to the more realistic (and, at times, relatable) moments in his daily life would continue to set his content apart. Lugo is a rarity among the biggest influencers: a non-nepo-baby from a single-parent household who’s worked blue-collar jobs. The field of influencing, like any other avenue to fame, is overpopulated by those who can afford to sink time and money into achieving virality. His having come up in the scene by hustling makes Lugo’s hard-won success all the more endearing for his followers—many of whom are flyover-state kids like he was. His journey makes their dreams seem a little more possible.
Zack wears a full look by Amiri
In 2024, tattoos are only as permanent as your budget and pain tolerance for removal (or a crafty cover-up). Lugo has his share of serious and for-the-vibes ink, much of it done by tattoo artist Romeo Lacoste: a snake curling down his right wrist, barbed wire lacing across his forearm, a dragon whose wingspan covers the space between his shoulder blades. Still, none of it is as sentimental as the small tattoo he has on his relatively un-tatted chest: the phrase “never settle.” It’s been his motto for as long as he can remember.
“I think especially in a small town, the ones that are still there are just settling, really, and are comfortable with where they're at. They don't want to pursue [their dreams] because it's uncomfortable,” he says. “But for me, I will never settle. I just want to keep on pushing. And I crave to be uncomfortable, I crave work, and I crave success. That's where [‘never settle’] comes from.”
How does that mindset translate in his daily life? A strict schedule, for one. Lugo starts most days hitting the gym—like any model, he’s expected to be in peak physical form year-round. He eats a healthy meal, then gets to work. Content creation can take 8 or more hours a day between traveling, setting up, filming, and editing. As day turns to night, the influencer often finds himself scrolling social media to spot trends and brainstorm his next few videos. “I make sure I have some cool skate content, and make sure I have a lot of different fashion content, some daily life stuff, my hobbies, racing, all that stuff,” he explains. “It's honestly just [me] trying to get my head wrapped around what I'm going to do for content every day.”
Even though he’ll never settle for where he’s at, he admits there have been moments since the start of his career where he felt like he’d really made it. Attending the 2022 Dior Tears capsule show in Egypt, for one—seeing the pyramids was “really freaking cool,” he recalls with a smile. Fashion Weeks in general have crystallized for Lugo just how far he’s come from Idaho. Attending one is akin to the scene in The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy steps out of the sepia tones of her aunt and uncle’s Kansas farmhouse and into the breathtaking, chromatic land of Oz. “Walking up to those fashion shows and [seeing] all the photographers and all the things—it's just so surreal out there,” he says. “Because I never thought I'd make it there, ever.”
As his star continues to rise in the fashion world, social media remains a priority for Lugo. After all, none of it would’ve been possible if he hadn’t begun uploading those skating videos to TikTok in 2020. But beyond not forgetting his origins, the creator knows that we’ve reached a point where social media is inextricable from high fashion (see: Prada’s recent Milan Fashion Week show dissecting the influence of the algorithm). Designers use flashy runway gimmicks to manufacture viral moments, big brands invite influencers to sit front-row alongside A-list actors and artists, and social media strategists carefully tease campaigns for weeks or even months. Digital natives like Lugo find themselves ahead of the major players who are slow to embrace being online. “There are people who already made it that want to start on social media, just to expand whatever they have going on,” he notes. “And I think [social media] is a very important thing.”
While commentators question the longevity of a career as an influencer, the seasoned content creator has proven his ability to diversify time and again, avoiding the pitfall of ephemerality that plagues many a viral sensation. He’s streamed himself unboxing rare Pokemon cards, found fans across the fashion, skating, and racing communities, and satiated the Gen Z appetite for Pinterest-board-worthy lifestyle content. At just 23 years old, Lugo has plenty of time to find a new foothold that will keep him scaling the mountain of success. Should it get boring, he’ll stop—or, more likely, find another way to keep things interesting. Right now, the future looks brighter than ever.
“I feel that at this moment in my life, I've never been so motivated to make really cool content, period,” he shares. “I have the team. I have everything I need to do exactly what I want.”
