When Moorestown native Alex Melendez was a kid, he dreamed of becoming an athlete.
“I realized very quickly that genetically that was not in the cards for me,” he recalled. “I was not going to be a basketball or football player, so I thought the next best thing was to be a sports agent.”
Melendez attended Villanova Law because of its highly touted sports law program, and before that, attended the University of Tampa for business. In his first year of law school, he realized he wanted to take a path that didn’t include being a sports agent.
“There (Villanova Law), I realized that influencers and content creators are the next generation,” he said. “You see kids all the time now playing video games and trying to be content creators (and) influencers on social media, and I realized that they didn’t have proper representation.
“There was nobody looking out for them with law degrees,” Melendez added. “There were some people that came from the agency side, but they didn’t really have the best interests. They were just trying to make as much money as possible.”
Melendez saw an opportunity to help content creators and influencers, but didn’t know how to break in. He connected with a friend who wanted to be a content creator and they worked together. After a while, Melendez began to work with others in that same space, but was still trying to figure out what he wanted to do following law school.
Soon after he started working for Dulcedo, a full-service talent management and boutique digital marketing agency that builds personal brands for models, influencers, creators, athletes, celebrities and many other influential individuals around the world, according to its website.
“I’m a huge believer in that people should do what they truly love,” Melendez explained. “I think life is really short and I don’t think you should settle for a job just to have a job. I think it’s something our generation is starting to understand more and more.”
One of the benefits of growing up in Moorestown for Melendez was a strong support group.
“I think one of the things in Moorestown that doesn’t get talked about enough is (that) the education system is obviously extremely good, but (there were) people like me who felt average all of high school, all of middle school,” he remembered. “I struggled in school a little bit. I was never in the honors excel classes, so when I got to college, I was super nervous …
“The education system (in Moorestown) was so good, that by the time I got to college, college was actually easier than high school for me, which took me by surprise,” Melendez added. “ … The base I had here, from the ground level as a kid in Moorestown, growing those connections all the way through, is the reason I was able to achieve what I wanted to achieve.”
Melendez is now a team manager and senior talent agent at Dulcedo and head of its gaming and entertainment division. He focuses a lot on gamers and content creators who are sketch comedians and or entertainers, people who are uplifting and trying to make a positive impact on others.
“It’s super important for me to find creators who have content that’s unique and not typical stuff,” Melendez maintained. “ … My creators, a lot of them are storytellers. They’re people that can see something and give …
“They truly value educating and giving people good content for the younger generation, because they want to make a difference in their lives, because a lot of them grew up watching creators themselves who helped them get out of a dark place.”
Social media content creators – often referred to as social media influencers – leverage various social media platforms to produce and share content that resonates with a specific audience. They come from diverse backgrounds and can specialize in a range of niches, including lifestyle, beauty, fashion, gaming, technology and travel, according to the website for software company Influencity.
Content may take the form of photos, videos, blogs or a combination of formats, and the creater’s influence stems from an ability to connect authentically with their followers. Unlike traditional celebrities, many content creators have cultivated a sense of relatability, making them more approachable and trustworthy to their audience.
“You just have to not listen or worry about what other people think of you, and just kind of ignore everything and just take the risks that other people might think are not the best at the time,” Melendez emphasized, “but if you believe in yourself and you’re confident, it will work out for you.”
