Tanya Burr On Sustainability, Therapy And The Surprising Hobby That Got Her Through Lockdown

The world of social media is a strange one. The simple process of likes and follows gives way to realms of engagement and algorithms, paid collaborations and an increasingly intense approach to our visuals . From the growth of Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, the concept of the influencer has risen, with people all over the world making millions simply from a well-crafted approach to their feeds and grids. But some cut their teeth earlier than others, and people like Tanya Burr have seen it grow from the beginning.

‘When I started my Instagram account I never thought it was going to my job’, she tells Grazia over the phone. ‘It was it was just a hobby. As I got more experience and realised that it had turned into a job, now I'm super careful with who I work with, and I take it really seriously because I really value my audience.’

It is now a more crowded market – ‘there are a lot more people now,’ she points out. ‘I wouldn't say I've necessarily like enjoyed watching the transformation’ – but that might stem from how our approach to the consumption and display of images has changed. ‘Everything is just far more curated now. 10 years ago, I would go out clubbing with my friends, we'd take a camera and would take 200 photos, then post them all. Kids would die if they knew that we did that!’

Now, Tanya is using her platform to draw vital attention of the environment and the need to recycle, by teaming up with Evian. For her, it was a truly organic partnership. ‘I drink Evian water and always have, which is the first, obvious thing,’ she says. ‘I drink Evian water and always have, which is the first, obvious thing,’ she says. ‘Hydration is of course really important. And then the other reason to get involved with Evian is their bottles made from 100% recycled plastic: when they got in touch and told me about the bottles they were launching that were bottles made from bottles, they really made me want to work with them.’

‘Sustainability and tackling climate change is something that’s really important to me,’ she says. ‘And something that I’ve really taken on in my life. They have this amazing circularity goal that they're trying to not be using any virgin plastics by 2025.’

Tanya’s reach means that she has a rare opportunity to pass on her concerns and goals with millions of others. It could be a curse as well as a gift – many would crumble under such pressure – but she says she manages to avoid this. ‘If I felt pressure to talk about every single thing, then I wouldn’t be able to be educated on it, I would just be regurgitating. So I pick things that I truly care about – like the environment. Climate change is something you can’t ignore – it’s going to affect our children and our children’s children - but I can’t pretend to know what’s going on with everything.’

Tanya tries to live as sustainably as possible through recycling, wearing sustainable fashion – ‘I literally shop solely from Reformation at the moment, it’s such a good brand – and next week will be embarking on a clean-up of the Hackney Canal. ‘Everyone loves that feeling of coming together and working toward something.’

Naturally, the last six months have meant that Tanya’s life has slowed down as she, like all of us, has spent more time at home. And, like many, she found calm in new pursuits. ‘I got really into puzzles’, she laughs. ‘I live with one of my childhood best friends, who’s a teacher, and she was in school sometimes teaching children of key workers, but a lot of the time we were at home, and we’d be on a break from work, and we did so many puzzles. I think if you can find something in life that makes you not check your phone, not think about anything else, not have a worry in the world: all you care about is finding that piece of house that you need to complete your puzzle. It's just quite calming, and we would always have on the Hamilton soundtrack, and maybe have a glass of wine.

Despite finding calm at home, Tanya also needs to take time to check in on herself, and ensure that she is looking after her mental health.

‘I'm one of those people where I do have to work on it’, she explains, comparing individual approaches to mental health to school subjects: English and creative writing came easy to her. Maths was a consttant struggle. Others are the opposite, and we all have to find our own approach and address our minds in the same way. ‘It's not just there for me. And it's been like this since I was about 10,' she says. 'I started seeing a therapist when I was 13 or 14, but I didn't really engage properly. Then I tried again in my 20s, and I'm still speaking to that same therapist now.’ Maintaining good mental health is something that is an everyday thing for me: some days that’s a struggle and some days it's fine. But it's definitely something that I have to focus on and be aware of.’

Next, we’ll see Tanya focus on one of her other passions – acting. Lockdown meant delays to the release of some of her projects, and meant that filming others had to be paused too. But she’s back on set, and will be on our screens soon in Twist, in which she stars alongside David Walliams. It looks like the future’s bright and busy.

Tanya Burr is supporting evian in the launch of its new Bottle made from Bottles range, which features bottles made from 100% recycled plastic. The launch marks an additional milestone in evian’s circularity journey; by 2025 evian aims to become a fully circular brand, making all of its plastic bottles from 100% recycled plastic.

READ MORE: There Are Some Major Shockers' - Sophie 'Habbs' Habboo Talks Made In Chelsea With Grazia

READ MORE: What You Need To Know About Sienna Miller's New Drama, Anatomy Of A Scandal