Here’s What To Know About Former TikTok Influencer Jay Laurent

There are many different components to the Beverly Hills-based TikTok influencer collective the Clubhouse. Everyone in the house has their own niche and swaths of social media followers to cater to. One of the original members of Clubhouse, which debuted in March 2020, was Jay Laurent — the house’s coordinator and videographer — who has since moved on to pursue his own personal aspirations and entrepreneurial endeavors.

The Clubhouse is one of several creator mansions operated by Clubhouse Media Group — not to be mistaken for the social audio app Clubhouse, as many investors did in early 2021 out of confusion with the names. Clubhouse Media, previously called West of Hudson, is a publicly traded influencer media and marketing firm started by Amir Ben-Yohanan, Chris Young, and Daisy Keech. Keech, an influencer with millions of followers, helped found the Clubhouse after leaving the well-known creator mansion Hype House. Even though Keech eventually left Clubhouse in August 2020 to focus on building a career in interior design and home renovation, the influencer collective is still going strong.

Current members of the Clubhouse include pro wrestler Tay Conti, pro racecar driver Lindsay Brewer, YouTube stars The Dobre Brothers, blogger Michelle Kennelly, dancer Gabriella Saraivah, and many more. The collective, which had 32,000 followers in May 2020, has now amassed a collective reach exceeding 250 million followers, through its shared YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram accounts, along with individual channels.

Laurent, like many of his fellow original Clubhouse members, has taken the experiences he gained at the creator mansion and moved on to other ventures. Here’s what you need to know about what Jay Laurent is up to now, as explained by the man himself.

1. Jay Laurent Left Clubhouse In 2020

After several months of working as a general coordinator and videographer for the collective — and featuring in quite a few of the TikToks himself — as his first job out of college, Laurent decided to leave Clubhouse in September 2020. While he enjoyed his time with the house and cherishes the still-lasting friendships he made there, Laurent began to figure that the influencer world wasn’t quite for him.

“Clubhouse and all that influencer stuff was an awesome, wonderful opportunity — I've met some really awesome people and developed some cool friendships,” Laurent tells Elite Daily. “But I don't need a 20 million dollar house to make me feel happy.”

Part of his decision to leave the Clubhouse came from figuring out where he wanted his priorities to lie. He came to the conclusion that he wants to use the skills he has developed in videography, social media, and marketing for a greater good. “It hit me and I said, ‘I know exactly what I'm supposed to do,’ and it was to help brands cater to the people that need help, and I figured out that maybe I'm supposed to be of aid and be a helper, so I've been working on some really cool projects.” Laurent says. “I felt like if I took that same energy, and instead of entertaining people that were just stuck on their phones, it would be even better if I used it to help.”

2. He Now Stays Very Private

Despite being heavily associated with social media content creation and famous influencers, Laurent kept his Instagram private during his time at Clubhouse, seemingly in an attempt to keep some of his personal life, well, personal. After all, becoming an influencer was never part of his plans. However, as of August 2021, he has officially deactivated his account.

Similarly, Laurent hasn’t been on TikTok in almost a year. In fact, he sold his account with the hundreds of thousands of followers he had accrued simply from living in Clubhouse BH and being adjacent to the influencers. Now, under a different handle, an influencer named Riley Murray and close friend of Laurent runs the account that once belonged to him, and she has since increased her following significantly from the amount she inherited.

3. Laurent Moved From California To Texas

Laurent is a native of Monterey, California and lived in Los Angeles for several years while studying at Los Angeles Film School and working at the Clubhouse.

Now, though, he lives in the greater Dallas area, moving to Texas in the fall after leaving Clubhouse. There, he works a normal job involving digital marketing, while he builds what he really wants to do on the side.

4. He's Starting A Non-Profit

In his free time outside of work, Laurent volunteers at a local Boys and Girls Club, and spending moments there has inspired him to merge his digital talents with magnanimous ventures, which is why he is now in the midst of developing a non-profit startup.

“I have many talents relating to film, so I've been donating my time and I've been filming and helping kids with things like their highlight reels, because a lot of these families don’t have the money to do so,” Laurent says.

Laurent is no stranger to developing and maintaining brand partnerships. While with Clubhouse, he worked with brands that included Fashion Nova, Dope Clothing, Petals and Peacocks, Beverly Hills Magazine, and many more. With that background, he wants to take those connections to brands and his influencer network to build a platform that will benefit people of lesser means and who could use the marketing power to propel their perhaps otherwise undiscovered talents.

With many things about his upcoming business subject to change, Laurent and a small team of collaborators are keeping things about the start-up under wraps, but expect to roll out more details later this year.

Altogether, Laurent is very grateful for having lived with and been a part of the Clubhouse. Now, he wants people to know that he is transitioning his experiences and Clubhouse connections to something he is really happy doing — even if that means he is no longer living the multimillion dollar mansion life anymore. “I don't have a Bugatti or anything, but I'm working on something really cool,” he says. Keep an eye out for Jay Laurent in the near future.