Meet Trailblazer Kylie Russell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kylie Russell.

Kylie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up on the South Side of Chicago, raised by two parents that instilled great values in my life. My dad was a police officer turned Mercedes Benz dealer, and my mom an entrepreneur in the events and catering field. I went on to graduate from Spelman College in 2012 with a major in Psychology and Minor in Management & Organization. After meeting AR, my now husband who played for the Miami Dolphins, I decided to move to Miami to be with my man and have a fresh start to my adult life. I knew I wanted to be a professional model and I hit the ground running once I touched town. I got signed by a modeling agency and began to book commercials, campaigns, print ad’s, and even some television spots on HBO. Although I had reached great accomplishments as a model, the jobs weren’t as consistent as I would have liked. So, I took on promotional modeling on the side which aligned with my passion for modeling and my love of the events industry. From there, I was working promos in some of Miami’s most luxurious events.

After a few years of modeling and working promo’s simultaneously, I began to think about starting my own business so as to use my brains a little more than my looks. Not only did I watch my mom as a business owner growing up, but my most favored classes in school were centered around management. Thus, Priceless One Management was born in May of 2015. We started due to the lack of professional event help in the industry. I was tired of seeing event hosts stress out over things happening at the bar, or the client worrying about who was representing their brand. I made a vow to provide events with professional, attractive, and diverse candidates for proper brand representation and event assistance. Now, in 2019, we are expanding to influencer management, bar catering, and targeting trade shows. It’s been an absolute joy providing jobs for over 1,200 staff members nationwide and to see clients happy. That’s what makes us Priceless!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road wasn’t smooth, but with my personality, I don’t freak out when I run into a problem, I tackle it like a boss. I feel like you have to take whatever comes at you and find a way to work around or with it until that problem is resolved. One of my lighter stories… my phone was stolen while I was modeling in South Africa days before a huge conference that Priceless One staffed 15 models for in California. I was calling clients on FaceTime audio from my iPad and scraping up girls phone numbers via Instagram DM’s to get in contact with them. I did what I had to do to make things work on the other side of the world. Sometimes, I had to make little to no profit on staffing an event because of small mistakes I’ve made OR from putting my own money forward to get the job done better than expected. It’s about the end result and making it happen. Any bump in the road or failure happened for a reason. It’s your duty to learn from that circumstance and grow from it. On this journey through minority entrepreneurship, you have to constantly remind yourself that you can succeed as long as you just KEEP GOING AND GROWING. Take everything as a lesson. Every interaction, every win, every loss, every rejection, every victory… learn why it happened and how to either avoid or attract something bigger coming up in the future. Appreciate and reflect on your process and watch how you skyrocket. I know my time is coming.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Priceless One Management & Kye Alexis – what should we know?
I have three careers currently and have plans for a 4th & 5th already:

#1: Most of the world knows me as a professional model. I’ve been signed to Wilhelmina Models since 2014 as a commercial, lifestyle, and fitness model. My face is everywhere if you notice. You’ve probably seen me on HBO Ballers as Natalie, or on every Massage Envy Storefront, or on the latest running Jackson Hewitt commercial. I’ve done over 20 commercials and 40 different brand campaigns and the number continues to rise. Modeling is what I enjoy doing the most because I love seeing my photos/videos everywhere and people being so excited about it. It’s fulfilling.

#2: Owner/CEO of Priceless One Management, a premium nationwide Event Staffing Agency. We contract over 1,200 staff members across the country for special events in entertainment, spirits and specialty products. We can confidently say we are the most diverse staffing agency around, as we strive to bring in a staff of all different backgrounds for brand representation. We love providing so many people with opportunities to network, have fun, and make money while doing it. Priceless One Management is truly my baby and I’m excited about what we will grow into one day.

#3 D’usse Cognac Experiential Specialist. Yes, I have a corporate job too! I’m currently employed part-time with Team Enterprises, the agency that carries out the execution of D’usse Cognac and Roc Nation events. My role consists of staffing and management of events that involve D’usse Cognac on a national scale. Although it’s totally separate from my company, it aligns with my passion for events and allows me to work directly with one of the hottest brands in the spirits industry. D’usse All Day!!!

#4?? I’m working on my personal brand in 2019, coming out with a blog and upping my game on social media. My goal from building my personal brand is to eventually, God willing, become famous for being the best version of myself. I mean, isn’t that was influencers do these days? However, I want to be known more as being a role model, not just for taking pretty pictures or being in the mix. I want to show that you can be beautiful, healthy, and bossed up at the same time all on your own. A lot of young girls are lost in the fakeness of social media and I want to shine a light on being someone who started from nothing and made herself millions (someday) by following her dreams. A lot of girls (and women) need better role models in the media that are real (physically and mentally). I hope to set an example for young girls in need of some positive reinforcement.

There’s gotta be a #5!
Yes… but thats coming in 2020. Just wait to see what’s up next!

Do you feel like there was something about the experiences you had growing up that played an outsized role in setting you up for success later in life?
The South Side of Chicago wasn’t the most pleasant place to grow up nor were the people the best. My parents knew that too, which is why they kept me very sheltered. They pressured me to be book smart while equally pressuring me to be street smart. I wasn’t able to ask for fresh sneakers so I was forced to make my own money to buy them. I sold candy and chips in high school to make sure my shoes were always fresh. I couldn’t go out and walk around in the streets with my friends because it was considered “non-essential.” So many things that annoyed me as a kid, I appreciate the lessons today. I remember my dad always saying, “you can make mistakes, but don’t make the expensive ones.” Man… have I seen some of my peers make some EXPENSIVE mistakes. As I grow older, I can really appreciate the life that my family gave me. I’m in a really good place thanks to parents that raised me well.

Pricing:

• Booking rates for modeling, $150/hr with 3 hour minimum
• Priceless One Management Event Staffing Rates: $50/hr

Contact Info:

• Website: www.PricelessOne.com, KyeAlexis.com is coming soon
• Email: kyealexis@gmail.com
• Instagram: @kyealexis
• Facebook: Kylie Russell

 Image Credit:
Chris Headshots, Curtis Childs Photography, Fit Mama

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