Miami Living Magazine

Diane Guerrero

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"It's Ryyyyyyydel!" is the very first thing I hear from the other end of the phone line. The voice is very playful and melodic and belongs to 24-year-old Rydel Lynch, one of the founding members of the pop rock band R5. The multi-talented musician, dancer, and YouTuber is in a very good mood, and she has every reason to be. Not only is her YouTube channel booming with 130K+ subscribers (seriously, check it out, she's hilarious), she's also been able to travel around the world with R5 to promote their EP New Addictions and their single, "Hurts Good" -- all throughout Europe and some parts of Central America--, and she just launched her very own clothing line, Rydel. "I honestly couldn't have imagined this. I always thought I'd be a professional dancer because I grew up dancing. It was my passion. I would dance 20-30 hours a week." You might have heard of her second cousins, Derek and Julianne Hough, so the dancing part really doesn't come as too big of a surprise. Today, her reality looks a little different. Being in a band with her three brothers: Rocky, Riker, and Ross (whom you may recognize from Disney's Austin and Ally or Teen Beach Movie) and now boyfriend, Ellington Ratliff, pretty much happened by accident. "Rocky got a guitar for his birthday and he started learning and teaching the others. Then they found Ellington, who could play drums. The boys needed a keys player, so they were like 'Yo, come and jam!' I literally YouTubed how to play. We were all very self-taught." In addition to dancing and playing the keys, Rydel got a taste of the acting world. She made her acting debut in Sunday School Musical as a Crossroads Choir Member, then appeared in School Gyrls as a cheerleader along with Riker, and filmed a pilot show Bunheads, for what was then known as ABC Family. As a young child growing up in Colorado, it was very important to her mother that all of the siblings be each other's best friends. "I honestly love being able to hang out with my family and travel to all of these amazing places. We very much like being together. My dad is obsessed with traveling, so it's really cool to be able to go all over too." The family band has done their fair share of traveling. Rydel just came off of a World Tour with R5 late last year, which finished up in January. That's a lot of time spent with a bunch of guys, but she doesn't seem to mind. "I really like being the only girl. I'm definitely a little spoiled and can be a bit bossy out of the rest of the group. The boys are also always late, so I keep them in check," she laughs. "But after awhile of spending so much time with everyone, you kind of want to hang out with yourself." Finding that alone time has proven to be quite a challenge. "I still always like seeing them. Half of the time, when we try to get together and just relax, we always come back to talking about business. Our brains are always going." However, there's one really big solo project that allows her to step away from the guys for a bit --her new eponymous clothing line, Rydel. Launched this past February, the clothing is a reflection of Rydel's own style: tomboy mixed with a girly, boutique feel. "I wanted to make clothes that I would actually wear. I want my clothes to give the people that wear them confidence. This whole process was something new that I'd never done before. I had a lot to learn business-wise and I was calling my dad all of the time for additional info." Rydel did it all from start to finish --from the inception of the designs to building the site, uploading pieces, publishing each item on her website, and simple design... "I worked pretty quickly, but I worked really hard. Everything I oversee and do myself." When you visit her website, in addition to a range of clothing, you'll find the option to book "Rydel's Tea Party," a two-hour fun, intimate event where you can hang with Rydel herself while enjoying an afternoon of tea service. By now, you may be wondering what Rydel does in her free time. At the beginning of my call with her, she was editing her latest YouTube video, a task that comes pretty easily to her. "I used to handle the vlogs for R5 early on, so I was used to filming and editing. I love that I get to talk to my fans and they request what they want to see. Honestly, I do the same thing! Whether that's makeup tutorials, skincare, etc., I want to know, so I'm happy to share that with the fans," she says. "The thing about YouTube is that you want to be uploading content on a regular basis, which can be a lot sometimes, while juggling everything else. Some months, I'll be super organized and ahead of the game, and then sometimes I'm like, Hmm…what can I vlog about?" This year is shaping up to be a really crazy, busy one for Rydel, but that hasn't stopped her from reflecting on what she wants to accomplish next. "I like working. I like being productive. I feel horrible if I sleep in too long. I have to do something fulfilling every day. Ellington and I were thinking about community college. I always want to keep learning and I'm super focused on the clothing line and adding more images to the site. It'd be really cool to take a photography class," she beams. As for now, you can visit her YouTube channel and watch everything from sibling tags and vacations with Ellington to candy challenges with her siblings. Rydel is a brilliant entertainer who will only continue to keep working hard and doing amazing work. ML "I really like being the only girl. I'm definitely a little spoiled and can be a bit bossy out of the rest of the group. The boys are also always late, so I keep them in check,"

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