The story below is from our September/October 2021 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
The @hello.roanoke Instagrammer creates community offline, too.
When I chat with Genya Kalinina by phone in July, she’s about to embark on a two-week trip to Portugal and Spain with her fiancé, Stan Myshkovskiy. It’s not surprising, given that her penchant for adventure is on full display with Best of Roanoke, the popular Instagram account she runs with Myshkovskiy. It’s where she shares her tips for things to do, eat and see in Roanoke, as well as places worth exploring outside of town. But for Kalinina, the Best of Roanoke isn’t just about creating content and growing a following—it’s inspired her to build community offline, too.
Kalinina is originally from Russia, but moved to Charlotte, North Carolina when she was five years old. The closest thing she got to a mountain getaway were family trips to Grandfather Mountain outside of Asheville. She attended North Carolina State University in Raleigh where she studied business administration and marketing. Not long after graduation, she met Myshkovskiy and moved to Greenville, South Carolina to pursue a career in accounting. While living here, the couple got into hiking, and also followed a few dedicated blogs and social media accounts to take advantage of local events and sights.
When the couple moved to Roanoke in November 2019, Kalinina couldn’t find a similar account that would give her that firsthand perspective on what to do and see in Roanoke. So, she started her own, launching Best of Roanoke on Instagram in February 2020. She started close to home—an early post is about her apartment in Vinton, housed inside the former William Byrd High School. What follows are bike rides on the Roanoke River Greenway, ice cream at Blue Cow, hikes to Sharp Top Mountain and happy hours. As Kalinina branched out and shared her adventures in Roanoke and the surrounding area, nearly 9,000 followers have joined along for the ride, eager to see what hiking, outdoor adventures and culinary discoveries Kalinina will post about next.
Besides providing ample inspiration to explore and report on her adventures, Best of Roanoke has also become a creative outlet for Kalinina (and maybe even subconsciously allowed her to tap into her marketing background). “It’s been fun trying to think of creative content to post and what’s going to grab people’s attention,” she says. “I want the account to be very relatable and genuine. It’s interesting thinking of ways to make it good, but not over the top.”
Kalinina still works full-time as an accountant but has found ways to post consistently without necessarily being out doing something new every day. Not overthinking posts is also key to keeping things consistent and engaging for her followers. “Even if it’s not the best picture, I still post it because it can still benefit someone,” she says. “I’m not worried about it being picture perfect. It’s meant to be relatable, so I don’t have to have every detail ironed out.”
Besides providing service-oriented lifestyle content to its followers, Best of Roanoke has also made Roanoke feel more like home for Kalinina. “I’ve made several real-life friends off Instagram,” she says, including a group she and Myshkovskiy go to trivia with every week.
As the account has grown, Kalinina has also expanded Best of Roanoke’s reach to include collaborations with businesses. “Businesses really appreciate a page like mine,” she says. “It gets their name out there and gets them more business. And I’ve met some great business owners.” Popular collaborations have included working with FarmBurguesa to promote their burger of the month; doing a giveaway with Mike’s Country Market; and teaming up with Blue Mountain Adventures to promote their tubing and camping experiences.
“It feels really rewarding when people message me about going somewhere because of something they saw on my page and hearing that they had a great time,” she says.
As for what’s next? True to the account’s mission to showcase the best of Roanoke, Kalinina says, “I would like to spotlight local people and some volunteer opportunities,” she says, adding, “if anybody has any ideas for that, they’re welcome to reach out.”
Follow Genya Kalinina and her Roanoke adventures on Instagram here: @hello.roanoke.
The story above is from our September/October 2021. For more stories, subscribe today or view our FREE digital edition. Thank you for supporting local journalism!
