Mr. Fort Lauderdale candidate, anyone? Nile Fortner.
Credit: Jonathan Delgado @geekvised
If you’ve spent any time scrolling South Florida Instagram lately, chances are you’ve stumbled across some stellar content from Las Olas Insider or Our South Florida.
And, by direct extension, Nile Fortner.
Born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Fortner is one of those media voices who genuinely loves this place. And not in a performative, “OMG, hashtag blessed” way. His origin story in the multimedia realm starts at West Pine Middle School, where a teacher, Kimberly Seidler, gave him his first real affirmation as a writer. “That was the first time a teacher told me, ‘Hey, you’re pretty good at something,’” Fortner tells Browardist.
That encouragement snowballed into writing for school blogs at Piper High, cold-calling editors at the Sun-Sentinel and Miami New Times (yes, literally flipping through print editions at Publix), and landing his first major story on Tate’s Comics. It was a full-circle moment for a self-proclaimed comic book kid.
Now 32, Fortner has majorly kept up with the times. While many traditional outlets shrank, he leaned in, learning SEO, social media strategy, video and multimedia storytelling before it was trendy. “You have to evolve with the times,” he says. “If I’m a decent writer, what happens if I try videos or podcasting?”
That mindset fuels Las Olas Insider and Our South Florida, both multifaceted news sources (well beyond Instagram, may we say) built to spotlight what’s good here. “Look at all the negative news we have,” he says. “I just wanted it to be a place where even if someone is on their feed for three minutes, they feel happy and proud to say, ‘Yeah, I’m from South Florida.’”
And he practices what he preaches. From profiling local entrepreneurs to covering new restaurant teases (he compares Fort Lauderdale to “one big movie trailer”), Fortner keeps his finger on the pulse. He’s especially bullish on the city’s growth — new dining concepts, boarded-up windows hinting at what’s next and that constant next-level evolution.
Looking ahead, Fortner wants collaboration over competition. He’s actively building partnerships across South Florida media and teasing joint events between Miami and Fort Lauderdale brands. The goal? A rising tide lifts all boats.
Because in Nile’s world, if one of us wins, we all do.
For more on Nile Fortner and his platforms, visit lasolasinsider.com and oursouthflorida.com.
