Scottish geologist puts a whole new meaning into rock star - 'I just stand next to a rock face and talk about it'

Luisa Hendry’s favourite is the Lewisian Gniess which is around three billion years old and can be found in the Outer Hebrides.

Some kids say when they grow up they want to be a rock star.

But Scottish geologist Luisa Hendry put a whole new meaning into the term, a more literal meaning.

For the 31-year-old has made a name for herself not by playing music, but by videoing herself talking about her favourite thing: rocks.

Her content reaches some two million accounts on social media.

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It all began for the Largs-born Scot more than a decade ago when she tagged along with an ex-boyfriend to an open day at the University of Glasgow.

The now “rockfluencer”, who lives just outside Glasgow, noticed an Earth Sciences stand and discovered the university had courses for studying volcanoes and rocks.

The geologist said she just enjoys being herself on camera and sharing her passion for rocks with viewers (pic: Luisa Hendry)

"I used to pick up rocks as a kid and collect them all the time, but I had no idea you could go on and actually study them,” she said.

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Having had more of a focus on art and fashion at school, the open day prompted Ms Hendry to complete a Higher National Certificate in applied sciences at college so that she could change her career path.

After graduating with a degree in Earth Science, she has been working as a geologist over the last decade and now works for construction company Story Contracting where she runs ground investigation projects across the UK in highway and railway schemes.

'I knew there was something missing on social media, and that was rock content' (pic: Luis Hendry)

In the last couple of months, however, the geologist’s modest social media accounts showing rock content with some few hundred followers have reached millions of people.

‘I knew there was something missing from social media’

“I did not expect this to take off in the way that it has done,” she said, still looking stunned by her internet success over a video call.

"I knew there was something missing on social media, and that was rock content.”

Luisa Hendry, 31, is a Scottish geologist who runs her own social media accounts educating followers on geology and rocks, particularly around Scotland (pic: Luisa Hendry)

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Ms Hendry said she went from some 300 followers on Instagram in May this year to just shy of 115,000 by June, with celebrities including Sean of the Dead star Nick Frost following her.

Her page, featuring her candid, educational reports on geology, has now reached more than two million accounts according to her data.

"A couple of videos I did with a friend filming me on Mull and in Glencoe a few months ago with some rocks just went viral and it’s really taken off since then.”

When asked about what she thinks it might be that grips her followers, she replied: “I am just myself in the videos.

"There’s no pretence. I just stand next to a rock face and talk about it.

Lewisian Gneiss is Ms Hendry's favourite rock in Scotland which can be found in the Outer Hebrides (pic: Luisa Hendry)

"I think that’s what people like. And they like how much I really love rocks.”

Lewisian Gniess

Ms Hendry mainly focuses on sites around Scotland; her favourite being in the Outer Hebrides were you can find the Lewisian Gniess rock – the oldest rock in Scotland.

It is some three billion years old. To put this in context, the Earth is about 4.6 billion years old, according to records.

"Lewisian Gniess is some of the oldest rock in Europe, and it’s here, in Scotland.

"I also love the geology around the north west Highlands, it’s beautiful up there.”

But in some cases the intrepid geologist, who is often accompanied by one of her four dogs Yura, a Utonagan, travels further afield.

A notable video she posted on her account recently is one of the Geldingadalir volcano eruption in Iceland over the weekend.

Visitors were warned against visiting the site on foot due to high levels of dangerous gases close to the eruption, so Ms Hendry arranged to see the eye of the volcano from a helicopter.

The clip shows an epic shot of the eruption; the volcano’s neon-orange lava bubbling and splashing out onto the earth’s surface. The next minute, the video switches to Ms Hendry’s reaction, showing tears streaming down her face in response to what is one her most emotional experiences in her geology career to date.

"I honestly got so emotional because it was the first time I had seen something like that before,” she said.

"It was magical. It was immensely powerful.”

And her fans completely lap up her content, celebrating her deep passion for geology with comments spurring her on to keep up her work.

Her favourite rock in her possession at the moment comes from a volcano in Iceland, which she got hold of last year.

"It’s some basalt rock, which is volcanic that forms from the rapid cooling of lava, and I love lava,” she said.

"It comes from a volcano in Iceland – Fagradalsfjall – that erupted just last year so it’s the freshest rock I have at the moment, it’s only one year old.”

She starts showing other rocks from her collection that she picks up from around her room, some of which are between 60 million and three billion years old.

Apart from indulging in her passion by going on trips around the country and making videos about rocks, Ms Hendry said she created the page to inspire others to learn more about geology.

"With the increase in followers has come an increase in opportunities like giving talks at university and schools,” she said.

"I also take part in workshops so inspire the younger generation into a career in engineering and geology.

"I still meet teenage girls who have no idea that a woman, with her nails done like me, can do the work that I do.”

Watch this space

So what’s next for the rock influencer?

"I have always wanted to do documentaries,” Ms Hendry said.

"The frustrating thing about the short videos on Instagram and TikTok is you are limited on what you can talk about, so I am looking into doing longer Youtube videos.

"It’s a lot of work though, so it might be a while off yet. Even just the short videos take a while to edit, especially when you factor in having to put in subtitles for some of the American followers who have difficulty understanding my accent.”

You can follow Ms Hendry and her rock content on Instagram under the name scottishgeologist.