At Home With Hayden Cohen

HINGHAM RESIDENT HAYDEN COHEN SPILLS THE TEA ON HIS LIFE AS A SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER AND HIS RECENT MOVE TO THE SOUTH SHORE.

By LAURA DESISTO
Photography by STEPHANIE VEGLIANTE
Styling Design by KATE MURTAUGH EVENTS & DESIGN and BEACH PLUM FLORAL

Over the past several years, Hayden Cohen’s hilarious, over-the-top social media persona “Hayderz” (pronounced HATERS) has attracted a massive Instagram following, including movie stars Reese Witherspoon and Kristen Bell. We recently caught up with Cohen at his newly-purchased Hingham home, where he lives with his boyfriend Aaron and adopted pup, Turk.

How did you get your start as a social media influencer?

My first job after college was at the Wave Collective in Boston, where I helped to brand and monetize social media influencers. The influencer space blew up during the pandemic when everyone was at home on their phones. I started to notice that some of the influencers were really tone-deaf when it came to posting all this superficial stuff even though a lot of other people were having such a hard time. So I thought it might be fun to flip it on its head and start making fun of the influencer space.

How did you get your start as a social media influencer?

My first job after college was at the Wave Collective in Boston, where I helped to brand and monetize social media influencers. The influencer space blew up during the pandemic when everyone was at home on their phones. I started to notice that some of the influencers were really tone-deaf when it came to posting all this superficial stuff even though a lot of other people were having such a hard time. So I thought it might be fun to flip it on its head and start making fun of the influencer space.

So you became a social media influencer by mocking other social media influencers?  Has there been any backlash?

Yeah, I know it’s kind of ironic, but I never go after anyone personally or by name. My rule of thumb is that I have to see a particular type of post at least three times before I go after it. And some of the big influencers actually follow me and interact with me so they definitely know it’s all in fun.

Did you have a post that went viral?

So right around the time the whole “unboxing” trend was a thing, my sister had a baby. I did a post where I “unboxed” her baby and treated her like an accessory you could order. I think it got around 20 million views and that’s when I started to think I could really make a go of this. It was a real leap of faith to leave my job and do this full-time, but I’m so glad I did because I love what I do and it’s going really well.

What made you choose to settle in Hingham?

I spent a lot of time on the South Shore as a kid because we have family in Hull. I grew up in Medfield, but my parents actually moved to Hingham after I went to college and my sister lives here now too. We looked at other South Shore towns, but ultimately Hingham felt like home.

I spent a lot of time on the South Shore as a kid because we have family in Hull. I grew up in Medfield, but my parents actually moved to Hingham after I went to college and my sister lives here now too. We looked at other South Shore towns, but ultimately Hingham felt like home.

- HAYDEN COHEN

What would your Hayderz influencer persona say about why you moved to Hingham?

Well I mean so obviously the town has a Real Housewives vibe, but like a lot of the people here need my help to know what to wear, what cars to drive, how to name their kids and how to order their
coffee. So basically, I felt like Hingham needed my help the most out of all the towns we looked at.

Speaking of coffee, have you found a favorite coffee spot yet and can Hayderz spill the tea on how he takes his coffee?

So a lot of you have been asking about this because most of you are pretty stupid and don’t know how to do simple things. I like Brewed Awakenings for iced coffee. You want to start by asking for 1⁄4 cup of nugget ice, 1⁄4 cup of square ice and 1⁄2 cup of pebble ice. Then one shot of caramel, two shots of butterscotch, three shots of hazelnut and then a shot of collagen. Then you want dairy-free skim milk (vanilla flavored) and two pumps of pumpkin. Tell the baristas I sent you. They love me there.

Wintery Home Decor: Local event planner and designer Kate Murtaugh teamed up with Jill Landry of Beach Plum Florals to deck the halls of Hayden Cohen’s Hingham home for the holiday season. Incorporating traditional elements in deep shades of blue and green with cozy textures and fun decorative accents, the vibe is both masculine and modern. katemurtaughevents.com | beachplumfloral.com.

What are your plans to grow and expand your brand?

Well, I have something really exciting that’s been in the works for a while. I’m about to launch my new podcast called “A Lot of You Have Been Asking.” I’ll be interviewing big influencers and asking them to give us the dish on the influencer world. It will be like a behind the scenes look at what they do, how they do it and why.

Do you get recognized when you are out and about now?

It definitely happens sometimes, especially when I’m someplace where my audience has seen me post about. I keep running into my followers at HomeGoods in Norwell and sometimes they’ll be like, “Hey, I’m at this store right now because of you!” The other really funny thing is that my mom is starting to get recognized because I feature her in a lot of my posts. And honestly, that’s even more fun for me.

What about plans to get involved locally?

That’s a great question because collaborating with and helping to grow local businesses is something I’m super passionate about. Also, because I spend so much of my day to day connecting with people online, I absolutely love getting out from behind my phone and meeting my audience in person. In December, I did a meet and greet with the store Thacher and Spring in downtown Hingham. I plan to do more and more of this in the future.

Now that you’ve been on the South Shore for a while, can you take us through some of your favorite activities on a cold winter day?

Yeah, so like, of course taking Turk out for walks is a big part of my day because I’m totally obsessed with him. After my morning skincare routine and listening to the “Morning Toast” podcast, I’ll bundle up and head to Bare Cove park or World’s End for a walk. Then if it’s a weekend, you’ll find me shopping in one of my favorite Hingham stores like Thacher and Spring, Doublemint Home, or Assembly. Then having a drink with my boyfriend in a cozy spot like the Snug. Later on, we will probably grab dinner at the Red Lion Inn in Cohasset or the Scarlet Oak Tavern in Hingham. Then back home to watch one of my favorite shows like Real Housewives. It’s nothing fancy, but we are really loving living in a small town after being in the city. And the people have really embraced us. We feel like we made such a great decision to move here.