Today we’d like to introduce you to Michellean Gay.
Hi Michellean, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My mother’s personal style sparked my interest in fashion, and I was a member of Truman High School’s GQ club for fashion. Living in New York exposed me to a wide range of fashion trends, and I knew I’d end up working in the industry in some capacity. I began my modeling career in New York City as a showroom model for Norma Kamali, WilliWear, and Betsey Johnson.
When I first moved to Atlanta, I opened a boutique called “Unique Boutique” on Forsyth Street downtown, where I pursued my other passion of styling, and my clientele was the wives of athletes and socialites. I loved dressing people up and making them feel good about themselves.
Soon after, I began coordinating shows for the top and upcoming designers of the 1990s. Although highly successful, I could feel God moving me into a different direction. I ended up using my experience to train and develop young models who had no prior knowledge or experience in a safe environment. I expanded my company’s brand by incorporating a talent division. M.G.F Model and Talent has now established relationships with top casting companies, who are providing our talent with work in television, commercials, and movies, thanks to Atlanta’s thriving film industry!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Growing up in the northeast Bronx wasn’t easy, but it taught me how to navigate life and persevere even in the face of adversity. While living in New York City, I was able to not only explore fashion but also have the industry at my fingertips because all of the major modeling agencies and such are located there. Personally, I had more success as a showroom model for luxury designers than as a runway model. That wasn’t the case for many aspiring black and brown models in the 1990s, if only one black girl was booked, designers felt they didn’t need another. If you did get a job, you’d have to do your own hair and makeup because no one was skilled in your hair type or skin tone. All of these experiences have led me to ensure that our models are fully prepared to do their own hair and makeup for photoshoots and runway shows because, while the industry is working to improve, there is still a lot of work to be done to become more inclusive.
Other challenges MGF Model and Talent has faced include being a boutique agency; people believe that because you’re a smaller company, big casting or production companies will overlook you, which could not be further from the truth. Some people judge your company based on its quantity, but MGF is built on quality, and our talent has booked some of the biggest television shows and movies to hit the screen in the last few years, not just as background talent but as featured roles. We took people with no prior experience and placed them alongside some of Hollywood’s biggest names. Also, it’s easy to get lost in this industry, but because we take pride in our faith and put God first in everything we do, there are some jobs we won’t take no matter how much money they offer.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
First and foremost, we are a company that values honesty and integrity. We only accept people who we believe have the potential to succeed in our well-known talent and modeling divisions. We specialize in branding, styling, and placing our talent and models in jobs. Many businesses will take advantage of aspiring hopefuls, charging them thousands of dollars with no intention of assisting them in furthering their careers but not us. To learn more, we recommend that people visit our website. One exciting development is that we will open a new location in late spring to cover our New York and New England areas for talent in Connecticut, Boston, and Rhode Island.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
When it comes to risk taking, going after your dream entails investing in yourself without knowing if you’ll see a return on your investment. If you want to work in the entertainment industry, get a gym membership and take acting classes. No one will believe in you if you aren’t willing to work for it. Personally, I am proud that our company is black-owned, and I fully fund everything so that I can run it the way I believe it should be and this approach has been successful. Again, if you find something that you can’t stop thinking about, you owe it to yourself to pursue it and enjoy every moment of it because, while it may not be your specific calling, it could lead to the next big thing that will change your life.
Contact Info:
- Email: Mrs.g@mgfmodelandtalent.com
- Website: https://mgfmodelandtalent.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_mgfmodelandtalent
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FashionTalentdirector
Image Credits:
Weldon Bond Studios
