Meet Cheyenne Mosley of ShadesofChey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cheyenne Mosley.

Cheyenne, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My story is unlike most, and it’s authentically mine. I don’t hide much from the world and I think that makes me who I am today. I come from a very untraditional upbringing, my mother had issues bearing a child which lead to 11 miscarriages, two sets of twins, and two babies lost at birth. A total of 15

children conceived and lost in the matter of eight years. At 36 years old, I popped out six weeks early, emergency C-section, weighing 4lbs 7oz. Healthy as can be. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to “be somebody” in my life. To me, that term means so many things. I wanted to help others, I wanted to be well-known for my work and influence in the world, I wanted to be apart of something much bigger than myself. Don’t ask me where these dreams and aspirations came from, like I said, I don’t come from a stable or traditional family setting. My father was an abusive alcoholic, or “walking dead man” as my mom would say, from the time I was born, until the time he actually did die, the first day of my senior year of high school. I grew up watching my father verbally, physically, and sexually abuse my mother… all the while they were divorced and she was never “allowed” by him to move on and pursue any other relationships. Although my father was abusive towards women, he loved me more than anything. Somehow, I gave him light. A few months after my birth, my mom went to get her tubes tied and found she was yet again pregnant, with my pesky little brother. (Mom has no issues conceiving, just couldn’t carry full-term). My brother and I are 13 months apart, basically twins; and he too was an emergency C-section, six weeks early, only weighing in 3lbs. Also, perfectly healthy.

Growing up, my friends and I liked to play dress up. We took photos of ourselves on old film cameras or those $100 digital cameras you can get from Walmart. We had the whole duck lip, peace sign, Myspace poses going on. 100%. When I was 17, the day my dad died and the alcoholism took him from me without any warning or expectancy, I realized the last photo we had together was taken five years prior to the day he died. It felt like that entire five years went unaccounted for, it felt like my father had died when I was 12, not 17, because I didn’t have a single photo to document it. After taking two months off of school, being homeschooled, diagnosed majorly depressed, PTSD and I had this sudden impending fear of doom; but still I went back to school.

Graduated high school at 17 years old with a 3.89 gpa, and decided to take a year off post-grad, (I needed it.) I then altered my dreams of going to UGA where I wanted to obtain a “normal” college experience, join a sorority, all of the above; as I had never really known “normal” in my life before, and decided UGA was too far from my little beach town on the coast of Brunswick, GA/St. Simons Island. I pursued my education at Valdosta State University instead. While in school at Valdosta, I went through a series of profound, unexpected, and tragic events over about a year and a half time span. I was sexually assaulted. My God Father-like figure, whom had stepped in after my biological father’s death, was diagnosed with stage 4 abdominal cancer, given a prognosis of 8-12 months and died in roughly 3. I had 4 friends from home/school/even one I’d known since two years old, (we were neighbors), started dying, one by one from accidents. At the time I genuinely had this impending fear of doom and that any and everyone around me or that I cared about, was going to die. Later on I was arrested under false allegations, spent the night in a holding cell just to have the charges expunged completely. I was robbed by a friend from within my own bedroom, of every dime to my name, I suffered the loss of someone I thought I was going to marry, a relationship of 6+ years, four serious car accidents in which my vehicle was totaled, and one near-death experience in which I tried to take my own life.

In a matter of about 15 months, I was ready, willing, and able, to die.

Since 2017, I have made a full recovery. I have worked for a financial firm as a talent acquisition specialist for two years, I have recently (as of Nov. 1 2018) been promoted to an independent contractor who works remotely, with freedom and flexibility to work on my time. I have been an active yogi (yoga enthusiast), mental health advocate, blogger and social media PR gal (emphasis in marketing, networking and business communications), brand ambassador and freelance model in my community for roughly 4-5 years. I am currently creating a vlog, updating my website, and writing an autobiography. I aspire to one day speak on TedX. I want to tell my story, I want to write a series of mini “self-help” books. I want to help people. And although as a child I thought that meant I had to be a doctor, or a surgeon. I realized that people can be helped in so many ways, whether it be physically, mentally, spiritually, or even financially. I’m helping others, and that right there, is just the beginning of my story.

Has it been a smooth road?
It has definitely not been a smooth road for me. I have faced many struggles along the way including financial struggles, rejection, deception. I’ve had people “catfish” my accounts. I’ve had my accounts hacked/stolen. I’ve had photographers never send me work we captured together. There are photos out there of me that I’ve never even seen before! I’ve submitted to agencies and been told I’m “too short” or did not have the right “look.” I’ve had brands not respond, reach out with a proposal and not follow through. I’ve had to live, and I do mean live, off of $10. I’ve had to ask friends, colleagues and family to borrow money, transportation, you name it.

There was a period in the last two years where I had three jobs but still didn’t have an apartment yet… I “couch hopped” as I called it, or would share a room with my closest friends for weeks or months at a time. I also carried guilt, for feeling like a burden. When I moved to Atlanta at the age of 22 to pursue my dreams, I realized I didn’t need to be in my mom’s “backyard” anymore. I just needed to be somewhere close enough that I could get to her and back in case of an emergency. I sometimes carry a lot of guilt that I’ve lost family and friends while I’ve been away from home in the last five years. I’ve been on my own, in this big city, trying to make ends meet, be somebody, and still maintain all of the relationships I’ve built over the years. A smooth road it has not been, but a smooth road is not expected. That’s life. What comes easy, isn’t worth having. That’s how I view things these days.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the ShadesofChey story. Tell us more about your work.
I’m what you would call a “multi-socialite”. I don’t have just one niche, one area of interest, one passion. I have many. They all somehow involve engaging and being active in my community. Multi-socialite. (I heard this used on a Ted Talk and will probably use it forever now…)

For years, I’ve been a writer and expressed myself through photography and modeling. I’m proud of my accomplishments because I am fully independent. I do not have a manager, an agency, or a sponsor. I gain and obtain all of my clients, work, and publications on my own. I even manage my own social media, communications, and engagement. It’s hard! It’s time-consuming! And I’ve never taken any courses/classes/training programs to learn. I am self-taught and most importantly, driven.

I have a vision and if I can’t bring it to life, I just don’t feel complete or fulfilled. I know exactly what I want, and I am very self-aware. I’d like to think I specialize in brand work, marketing, and editorial work. I’ve been multi-published in both online and print magazines, such as Elegant Magazine and Fuze Magazine. I’ve worked with 50+ professionals in the industry. I’ve attended and been invited to conferences, events, I’ve even traveled to 3rd world countries with journalists and photographers to document our travel and experience. I think what sets me apart from others like me, is that there isn’t anyone else out there exactly like me. I am very authentically me, I don’t try to be anybody else, and I’m very versatile. Portraiture, Editorial, Boudoir, Swim, High Fashion; you name it, I’ll make it work!

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Well, for starters, I’m joining a team of influencers this month, the Wanderlist Foundation. Their mission is to bring awareness and positivity to international travel and giving back all at the same time anywhere on the globe.  I’m Also teaming up for a good cause for two charitable campaigns regarding public Opiod education and PTSD and suicide affects on Veterans/loved ones. These programs will be called “I Am Okay” and “Vet 22”, more details will follow soon. Additionally, I’m still writing my auto-biography. Im getting there. Ive launched my website at www.shadesofchey.com and I’ve finally created my YouTube channel! (There’s just nothing on it, yet.) Lots of momentum to come this year!

Pricing:

• I will be posting and selling my Lightroom Mobile Preset Pack soon! Stay tuned for that. It will start at just $5.99 🙂

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shadesofchey.com
• Phone: 912-577-8104
• Email: bxc.ambassador@gmail.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/shadesofchey
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheyenne.mosley.96
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1KGJaTSRbUUPXYkiDqb5JQ?view_as=subscriber

Image Credit:
Morgan Hayes, Cam Perry, Tyson Kinstrom, Jonny Velasquez

Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.