Life and Work with Chanel Garcia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chanel Garcia.

Chanel, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
The start of my story would begin back in 2011 when I had to relocate from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois to Sandy Springs, Georgia. From the time, I had to move, up to now, there are two main pivotal moments that helped to get me where I am today. But who is Chanel you ask, well I am a visual artist based athlete who is naturally a nerd at heart. My love for anime and “boy sports” made me a target of bullying from a young age which contributed to my struggle of identity and being comfortable in my own skin to branch out with others. Imagine your senior year of high school having to relocate to a whole new city after starting to figure out where you want to go with your friends and only knowing your cousin… that was my reality and where my story started to unravel for a new one to begin. Moving from my hometown forced me to come out of my shell which was ironic for me being a cheerleader.

First adult photoshoot in 2016 – fast forward to my college years where I met a number of inspiring people that helped better my creative spirit and tap into a new role for myself as a model. From a young age, I was “welcomed” into popular circles but wasn’t always “accepted” because I was different, I wasn’t a girly girl, nor was I a full-fledged tomboy, I never felt like I really belonged anywhere and people could see that. As I started to get more into my own, I became more comfortable in front of the camera. With the help of a few friends and SoOfficial helping me to own my look and be confident, I can now call myself a model.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
My journey definitely hasn’t been a smooth one, but the bumps along the way help to make us stronger and push ourselves to know our limits. Like many young women, I have struggled with self-identity and being comfortable in my own. With society telling us every which way how to look, how to act, what to like, etc. it’s hard to figure out what solely satisfies you. With that being said, I went through a dark state of depression with a side of anxiety that later contributed to suicidal thoughts, I would look in the mirror and feel like I wasn’t good enough, that people would be better off without me, that I would never get anywhere or feel happy but somewhere along the way one of my childhood friends helped me to get out of the hole. To think that the death of a friend would be the wake-up call I needed to snap me out of my fog. Through my friend’s death, support of my family, close friends, and my outlet of the arts I was able to become the strong woman I am today.

For any young woman that may read this, or may pass this along to another you are not alone and I cannot stress this enough. There are many times throughout our lifetime when things will challenge us and make you feel like your back is against the wall, but there is always someone to talk to, hang out with, workout with, paint, sing whatever your outlet may be, there is always someone that can help. Once you grasp that idea, I promise you that getting through your rough patches won’t be as hard as before. In addition to that never let anyone make you feel bad about being yourself. You were created to be your own person, so never be afraid to do just that. Being your unique and genuine self will bring that same type of energy to you in return. I started to learn that during my college years when I drifted from a lot of my childhood friends. We grow up and sprout into new circles, jobs, and places and there is nothing wrong with that and never let anyone make you feel otherwise.

What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
I would say my work falls under three different services: creative arts, modeling, and promotion/marketing. For the creative arts, I do a lot of commission work. This varies from logos for businesses, custom multimedia canvases, custom clothing pieces, beauty and more. With this service, it varies in pricing upon the work you’re looking for but each creative service will start with a consultation to figure out what fits your needs best, a deposit, then you’ll receive services from there. I would say what sets my work apart is that I put a little piece of myself in every piece of art I work on.

Of course, modeling is self-explanatory, but I do not participate in any nude modeling. I love being able to work with photographers and creatives that like to think outside the box and try new unique looks. You can check out some of the work that I’ve done with some of our local photographers on my Instagram @chaibooskie, or my website that will be launching the first week of December. If you like to push the limit in creativity hit me up, I am your model!

When I work with my marketing and promotion, I tend to work with those that are up and coming. I love being able to sit down with entrepreneurs and talk about their dream for their company, and then creating that ideal plan to help them succeed. With my marketing and promotion practices, we work together as a unit going over numbers, previous strategies, and more to get a full scope of your business in order to tackle your promotion the best way to reach your ideal audience.

Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
In today’s society, we are each other’s biggest barriers generally, in addition to ourselves. I know that sounds somewhat contradicting, but let me explain. We as a woman are naturally nurturers, but we tend to shy away from that when we are intimidated by others. When we see other women that may have more than us, doing better than us, we like to let the envy that we’re feeling shy us away from applauding one another, instead, we try to belittle her journey getting there or that she wasn’t good enough for the success she’s received. We shouldn’t try to tear down someone’s success but instead learn, assist, and try to build one another up. Everyone else around us already holds women to higher standards automatically, we shouldn’t feed into this mindset. Taking baby steps and changing the everyday narrative can go such a long way especially in the day and age of social media/technology.

Contact Info:

• Email: chanelmgarcia93@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaibooskie/

Image Credit:
Camatified
SoOfficial Showout
Chai

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