What’s Talk with Zach? Glad you asked…

(or just skip to my media bio)

Talk With Zach is a global Gen Z wellness platform that harnesses the power of young people worldwide to engage in important conversations that change the culture and openly address everything related to our generation’s wellbeing.

It all started in 2021, in response to what was happening around us. We were just emerging from the pandemic, after more than a year in lockdown where we were glued to our screens and isolated from our peers and the world as we knew it.

Everyone was dealing with something–loss, anxiety, loneliness, uncertainty.

Adults, experts, and the media were saying that teens should talk about what they were going through, but the reality was this: not everyone felt comfortable doing that. Especially boys. For a lot of us, we’d internalized some version of, “Be strong.”

But I knew that people wanted to talk, and not just because of the pandemic. That year of isolation amplified what I felt had been going on for years: we felt disconnected from ourselves and each other–and we were afraid to admit it, to come off as weak. I began to wonder if we needed to examine our definition of “strong.” Not just for boys, but for all of us. What if there was strength in vulnerability?

What if there was bravery in the kind of honesty we don’t really post on social media, where we’re all trying to be and look a certain way?

And what if talking more about the things that mattered, the things that impacted our lives and the world around us, could not only connect our generation in a time of disconnection, but could also shape a different vision of the future?

So Talk With Zach was born.

I got out my phone, created an Instagram account, and started a community where we could open up and have those conversations.

I was surprised by what happened next. Teens from not just all over the country, but all over the world, got involved. They sent in questions they wanted to talk about. They joined my IG lives. They shared their personal experiences and asked for advice on things they’d never had the courage to bring up before. They sent me messages saying they finally felt understood, or heard something that helped them in their daily lives.

Clearly, there’s a lot we need to be talking about.

Since then, Talk With Zach has grown into a worldwide community where I host conversations with celebrities, Gen Z influencers, experts, and teens from all over who share their stories and offer tools that worked for them. I invite other teens to join me in answering your questions in regular advice segments, post your stories on our blog, and do in-person events to have honest conversations that create a sense of connection and promote Gen Z wellness. I also partner with organizations and companies that want to reach our generation, and reflect our experiences more authentically.

Talk With Zach is an inclusive and diverse community, and all viewpoints are encouraged. We’ve dived into everything from racial inequality and gender to how to deal with breakups to friendships and anxiety and academic stress, and everything in between. No topic is too big… or small … or uncomfortable.

Our motto: We can’t change what we don’t talk about.

My goal in creating this community is not only to start talking, but to start doing. If you’d like to become a Talk with Zach Ambassador, head over here to see how you can get involved.

It’s up to our generation to create the kind of world we want to live in. And that starts with becoming emotionally resilient, open, and compassionate people as we head into adulthood.

Join us in being a part of it.