A career as an influencer may be an instinctive choice for younger Indians born in the digital age. But even older professionals in their 40s, 50s and 60s are taking it as a serious pursuit.
Retired bureaucrats, corporate executives, startup founders, veteran actors and professionals from diverse backgrounds have discovered content creation as a second calling–one that offers an engaging, creative outlet and additional post-retirement income.
While young creators often seek backup plans because the “influencer” tag feels unstable, taking to content creation later in life carries far less pressure, according to actor Ashish Vidyarthi, who has reinvented himself online as a stand-up comic, travel and food vlogger, and motivational speaker. The work, he says, becomes an extension of lived experience rather than a risky first bet on the future.
“I usually crack a joke in my stand-up comedy set, that I am sixty. Nothing in my life is long-term and predictable,” said Vidyarthi. For him, that unpredictability is not a threat but a kind of freedom—a permission to experiment without being pinned down.
Influencers in this age bracket have grown by at least 20–30% in recent years, although the space is difficult to track given the lack of formal reporting, according to Anirudh Sridharan, co-founder of creator network HashFame. On average, creators with around 500,000 followers can earn roughly ₹30–35 lakh a year, which is comparable to what many of them made towards the end of two or three decade-long corporate careers, he said.
Most people in this demographic have already planned and invested for retirement, so influencer income typically functions as a supplementary stream rather than their primary source of livelihood, he said. That financial cushion allows them to prioritise passion projects and creative satisfaction over maximising revenue from every brand partnership.
Dinesh Mohan, a model and influencer who is dubbed India’s “silver fox”, worked for over two decades as a Grade 1 officer in the Haryana government. He took voluntary retirement at 44 following a period of personal loss and depression. At 57, he began modelling in 2016 and simultaneously started posting online.
“I posted on social media to attract better modelling opportunities, but during the pandemic, when work was slow, I realised content creation is also a fruitful career option when I started getting brand deals from fashion and beauty companies to endorse products on Instagram,” he said. “These paid collaborations were very lucrative because the shoots were not happening at that time, and I was earning good money sitting at home.”
As Mohan retired from a government post, he had a stable pension and had made sound investments to generate regular income. “But the money that I have earned from films, modelling, television gigs, and brand collaborations on social media has been so strong that I’ve never had to touch my pension — I even bought my first car entirely from my earnings as a model and content creator,” he said.
Now more than 60, Mohan said the excitement of going viral and the anticipation of audience reaction to every new piece of content still give him the “kick” every day.
A ‘sense of fulfilment’
According to Sridharan of HashFame, this cohort of creators values the sense of fulfilment far more than the income they earn from it. “At that stage in life, once most physiological, safety, social and esteem needs are taken care of, people start seeking self‑actualisation and avenues to express their creativity, and content creation becomes one way to do that.”
Vidyarthi believes older people navigating bereavement, loneliness, or inactivity can find both connection and purpose online by sharing slices of their day and personal history.
“The same social media can affect someone’s mental health by putting them in a game of comparison, while the same social media can also uplift someone going through hardships by giving them an alternative career and engaging activity,” he said. “That is why, I tell everyone of my age to try it out, even if they don’t have something special to post about. You never know, what you may find simple, such as how you knit a sweater or cook a certain recipe, could be of great interest to a viewer.”
And he advises everyone to experiment freely. “I use YouTube for travel vlogging and storytelling, Instagram to post about food, and LinkedIn and Facebook for sharing motivational content,” he said. “The multi-format approach helps me show different sides of my personality in different ways to the right audience for it.”
Vidyarthi likens each platform to a different room in the same house — long, reflective journeys on YouTube, quick, appetising bursts on Instagram, and more introspective posts on LinkedIn and Facebook.
For brands, especially those whose consumer base overlaps with the audiences of these older influencers, content created by older creators is a compelling option.
“Creators in this age group bring a high degree of trust and authenticity, which is crucial for categories where credibility matters, such as jewellery, insurance and other long-term financial products,” Sridharan said, adding that many marketers now actively scout for such voices.
Creator-entrepreneurs
With decades of experience behind them, creators like Harish Bali, 51, have the confidence to pivot and even turn entrepreneurs in their second careers as creators.
Harish Bali, 51, left a long corporate career with 18 years of experience in the telecom and consumer goods sectors to pursue his passion for content creation. His first foray into YouTube was with tech content, amassing 27,000 subscribers about a decade ago. But when growth plateaued and ad revenues remained modest, he invested ₹28 lakh from his provident fund to buy equipment and build his travel channel, Visa2Explore.
The gamble paid off. His engaging videos capturing food, culture, folklore, heritage, and local sightseeing resonated with audiences, helping him grow to over two million YouTube subscribers.
Bali says the journey opened unexpected entrepreneurial doors. “While we travelled, we went to authentic stores selling spices for our own household,” he said. “However, after our viewers showed interest, we started selling the spices we got from their place of origin online on our website Spice2Nuts. The content helped promote and create hype around the business.”
Others, like Chandan Mendiratta, chief brand officer at Zepto, are launching their creator careers as they enter the final years of their corporate innings.
“I started creating content the day I turned 40 to give myself 10 years to set up the channel before I retire, so I can have a stable routine and flow of income post retirement,” said Mendiratta, who has a mixology-focused channel called Mix it Up with Mendi. “At 43, so far, I already have 201,000 subscribers on YouTube. I am aiming to get to a million subscribers on the platform before leaving my corporate life behind.”