Have trouble dragging yourself out of bed every morning? Ryan Leiman can be your personal Snapchat alarm clock.
Leiman or “Turtle,” as he is more commonly known, is a self-proclaimed "5-foot-9 tattooed teddy bear.” In an effort to spread cheer and happiness at the beginning of each day, Ryan has harnessed the powers of Snapchat. In an interview, Mashable spoke with Leiman about his quest to brighten every morning with an energetic snap.
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Mashable: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, and why you started snapchatting? What do you like about the app?
Leiman: My name is Ryan Leiman, but everyone calls me Turtle — I've been Turtle since sixth grade. I'm in real estate, but my hobbies are pretty broad. I'm a big science and tech nerd, I love taking long drives with music blasting and I read physics articles for fun.
I started snapchatting in early fall. I forget the specific reason I downloaded the app, but one day while I was bored, I sent out a snap to the few people. My friends in general are afternoon types, so I started snapping my good mornings to them because I wanted to spread some cheer. At first it was sporadic, but the more people told me how much they liked my snaps or how much they improved their day, the more motivated I became. One friend told me that my snapchats really raise his spirits. Since then, I've made a point to do one everyday.

How many followers do you have? How do you interact with them?
I snap a little over 150 people every morning. Some never respond, but they still open them. Some snap me back, which I love. I actually only know about 30 of the people I snap. The rest are friends of friends, co-workers, etc. It spreads by word of mouth more than I would have believed.

Do you think Snapchat's popularity will last?
I'm not sure if Snapchat’s popularity will last. It's a convenient app, but maybe that’s enough. Either way, I'll keep using it until something better comes along. Instagram has started to take over my video life, so maybe one day that'll be the default. But Snapchat is more personal. I spend more time scrolling and clicking individual names to make sure everyone gets it. Something about selecting each person makes it mean more to me.
Leiman's username on Snapchat is "thefirstturtle."
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