Special Feature: Bethany Mota

Would you wait outside a mall at 2 A.M. to meet Bethany Mota? Well, thousands of fans did. Host Veronica Castro experiences first hand the power of Mota-vators!

Bethany Mota
SIDEWALKS host Veronica Castro with Bethany Mota

If you want to meet YouTube sensation Bethany Mota, you might have to get in line with thousands of eager fanatics waiting in anticipation for their sought after selfie. This is an experience most Mota fans must go through to catch the video blogger at one of her local mall appearances.

I’ve been hearing so much about Mota, 19, with her YouTube fan base of over eight million subscribers. Even my teenage niece and her friends speak of her with bright eyes and excitement, as she tells me about the Mota videos she watches with tips for fashion and fun decorative ideas.

Mota, who is of Mexican and Portuguese descent, started this little video endeavor from her small home town in Los Banos, California and quickly cultivated a following and an audience by just being … well, her sweet self. Mota creates fun ways to showcase what she thinks is cool, cute and hip to wear or “how to” videos to decorate at home or for special occasions.



Her popularity from YouTube has launched her career into the entertainment and fashion world ~ creating her own “Bethany Mota” collection.

She has been in magazines and has done interviews on talk shows, as well as being a reporter on the “Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards” for “Entertainment Tonight” and as a guest judge during season 13 of “Project Runway.”  She has already won some awards, including Choice Web Star: Female at the 2014 Teen Choice Awards.

In late 2014, the expanding media mogul released a single called “Need You Right Now” with Canadian musician and producer Mike Tompkins.

After being with JC Penney and Forever 21, Mota partnered with Aeropostale, a fashion retailer in malls around the US, where she is garnering huge success selling her clothing and accessories lines, and even modeling in her ad campaigns.

Her recent escapade turned Mota into a dancer: having been chosen to be a contestant on the popular hit ABC-TV show “Dancing with the Stars,” where she was partnered with professional dancer and five-time “DWTS” champion Derek Hough.

Her main platform, which she honestly reveals and is an advocate for, is her anti-bullying stance. It’s this truthfulness of her experience with bullying that has helped her connect with her growing YouTube audience. Being simply an inspiration, she motivates herself and others who have been bullied or have felt different and continues to make her mark as a spokesperson. Mota has literally transformed her life and has been a beacon of hope, setting a blaze in the world of Mota-vators … which cleverly is the name of her recent Mota-vate tour to major US cities.

Line outside mall
Mota fans line up at the Stoneridge Shopping Center in Pleasanton, California.

This young lady definitely has a spark, and it was evident upon my recent run in with Mota at the Stoneridge Shopping Center in Pleasanton, California, where the line wrapped around the entire mall and parking lot. There were fans waiting since 2 A.M. or earlier just to see her, and I saw parents sleeping in their cars.

Even her father, who is popular by default, had to stop and take selfies as he humbly spoke to me about his daughter. “She can definitely bring a crowd” as Mr. Mota proudly speaks of daughter Bethany. He genuinely supports her endeavors and is in awe as he shows me the youngsters in tears to meet her.

There’s only more to come for this bright star as she continues to ignite her brand.

Question: Have you met and seen Bethany? Let us know in the comments section.

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