Rising Stars: Meet Ivan Juniour The Liaison of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ivan Juniour The Liaison.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
First I want to thank Voyage ATL for this opportunity & getting my journey out I hope I can encourage someone in their career with my story. My interests began when I was around 8 years old. I was fascinated by The National Geographic magazines in school & seeing commercials on TV of different countries. Brazil was very eye catching, the land, food, music & the Portuguese language sounded so beautiful to me. In middle school I learned Brazil was the worlds leading country in producing textiles & mass production fashion wear for most of the clothes we were wearing as teenagers at the time. While in middle I was learning French, another beautiful language, there I learned about Paris & Milan, known as the fashion mecca of the world, where the most prestigious brands were made with high quality & the celebrities would wear. Growing up with my father he was very cheap, my clothes would not fit, shoes had holes, he wouldn’t even care to get me a haircut. For that I was bullied extensively. I didn’t let the bullies keep me down & I did defend myself. That lead me to being in trouble in school all the time. My grades suffered & my fathers discipline was far from fair for my age & my circumstances. I gained a lot of respect for standing up for myself & being an athletic winner for my school. However I didn’t have my fathers full support being an athlete so trouble was always around the corner. The State of Florida and DCF would never do what was right for me which was to give custody to my mother. Long story short I started running away at 8yrs old on Nebraska ave in Tampa FL. My father relocated us to Fort Worth TX, with 13 cases out of FLA I ran away for good. I was able to James Bond the alarm wires in the window & jumped from the second story building. I hitched hiked I20. After a while a trucker picked me up, I showed him my knife as a way to not hurt me. He was a nice guy, took me to Mississippi truck stop where he arranged for me to come to ATL. His words were the people are kind, they will help me. During those years Atlanta was good to me. I was a runaway & got caught by ATL PD. I was sent back with my father & 2 months later I ran away back to ATL. I learned a lot about life & had to become an adult very quickly.

By the age of 16 I returned to FL to be with my mother, she was very sick with kidney failure. I tried to go back to school but the past wouldn’t stop, the bullying wouldn’t stop, I fought several gangs all because I was a pretty boy, the girls liked me. I ended up leaving school and pursued a working life at 16. One day at The University Mall I was approached by a beautiful woman who said I am handsome & I should become a model. I really dismissed her recommendation as I wanted to date her. After a few days she kept on about modeling. So I went to her office which happened to be John Casablanca. I saw luxury vehicles & beautiful woman walking out with large portfolios in hand. Right then Brazil, Milan, Paris, Versace Dolce & Gabbana all crossed my mind. I ended up getting 2 large scholarships from John Casablanca & I Learned a lot. On my own I sought out a photographer & it was not a great experience. However this photographer kept after me & he did introduce me to someone very special in my life and to this day is still in my life & I consider him like a father to me. I did an interview with him & he chose me to be his live-in assistant. He grew up with Motown & many of the celebrities we all love. This was quite surreal for me. This man was of excellence & he taught me a lot of what I know about business, the entertainment industry, music & Fashion. At times we didn’t get along, that was due to my young & dumb mindset. Nonetheless he has been there for me with the greatest advice. He sent me to Miami for some castings where I met Francisco Gomez, a hot top fashion designer “Fashion’s by Azucar”. I became his assistant & Muse Model. I lived with him & upped my knowledge some more. We did many amazing things, we were published internationally, did many fashion shows & top shows all over Fla & even in ATL where he won crown 3 times. Francisco passed away at a fashion show where I was walking the runway, completely devastated me as we were doing amazing things & working our way up. I had the pleasure to walk Live on TV for Miami Fashion week, St Petersburg Fashion week, Punta Gorda, Tampa, Orlando, big shows like Discover Your Beauty. A great accomplishment was being on a store front in Tampa International Mall where my photo was on full display for a while. After Francisco’s passing I was introduced to a booking agent in Lakeland Fl, with my experience working with many designers & Models I became her assistant, where I also booked models & was the photographer. We moved to ATL & that’s where the ball dropped. She was very limited with connections & wanted my connections, I learned she was running a comp-card scam. From having 20 talents signed to her agency when I met her to having over 500 in a short time was because of how well I was known & Trusted. I discovered her scam & ran her out out of ATL. I stayed in ATL & the photos I produced & portfolios I put together garnered some of my talents on Netflix shows, commercials, & Disney. Soon I left the business for the corporate world. It hurt a lot but I wanted to fully get on my feet as she left me homeless & broke she didn’t pay me what I was owed & my worth. My 1st year I was mostly homeless, & I decided to open a business which is presently still operating 10 years now. I was still doing professional photography for weddings, birthdays & events.

In 2011 I traveled to NYC, I did some modeling & had a great experience. I met some top photographers & did amazing shoots for a few publications. My entire outlook is do not be limited by the status quo. Be yourself & break new boundaries. I have always been a supporter of Plus size modeling, so when I heard of a show near Times Square where models of all shapes & sizes male or female I had to check it out. I Auditioned & I was selected to walk. Along with me was my Camera. I would take backstage photos & have a great time. I got to know Fashion Icon & Guru Catherine Schuller, we got along so well. In the words of Francisco he would tell me “If you want to be a part of something you do something to be a part of it, don’t sit & wait.” I would return to Catherine’s shows “Runway The Real Way” at the Yotel & she saw my photos on Facebook & loved them. She asked for my return & we began a friendship & partnership. From there I became her assistant and her assistant curator. With my experience I would assist beginners on how to walk and pose. Catherine and I are still partners assisting designers get what they need to reach the next level. She does Curating & Production & I handle the visuals & Branding Campaigns. I also Still work with models & Designers as a photographer. It was Catherine that dubbed me Ivan Juniour The Liaison due to all my skills & being able to bring everyone together & understand every facet of the fashion/entertainment business.

Today I am still Ivan Juniour The Liaison, however I have assumed another role as COO to Farm Gate Productions out of New South Wales, Australia. Leonie Kelly my CEO & I have a wonderful partnership that is very solid, We are the Ying & Yang to pushing Farm Gate Productions to an international level. Farm Gate Productions is an award winning Film & Music production company. Farm Gate Productions has been recognized by Australian Music Industry leaders, we also have the support in partnering Australian artist to the USA & USA to Australia. We support Aboriginal & ingenious talents & we work with various of artists who perform in different genres such as country, Hip-Hop, Indie, electronic & house. We also work with Fashion designers as well. Leonie studied film & arts and is currently producing a short film. Farm Gate Productions has achieved several nominations & awards in Australia & we look to do the same here in the states. We want to bridge the gap across international waters for our Artists & designers & be presented professionally. To work with us is a major benefit as we both are strong in booking gigs, making connections & we can also run a filming set or do a music video. One of our country music artist Darren Gillis is doing very well. He’s has accomplished top billboards and ranked top 20 for 2025. We have our goals to bring our music artist to perform at South By Southwest Music Conference, Nashville’s Country Music Festival and many other large platforms to share new music & new talent. Attending SXSW in Austin & Country Music Festival in Nashville was an amazing experience. I think its time to hear from new music artists, I believe there’s room for more talent to shine. I have a well trained ear for commercial sounds, I love to be in the studio where the magic happens & video document the journey for our artists. Yes I do enjoy all kinds of music from all over the world. I can listen to Soca, Reggae, Hindi, country, hip-hop Afro-Caribbean from just about every corner of the world I enjoy the music even if I do not understand the words, but today we have captions for everything. My Favorite instrument is the Hand Pan.

In 2017 I was rear ended at a high rate of speed, I barely could not walk for 3 1/2 years. since the doctors refused to do surgery due to my age, I studied & got myself walking again, I am much better these days. Although life has been really rough, I do not let that define me. I believe in hard work pays off. I have a natural gift to help others rise up. Those that know me know if you call Ivan he is “Mr. make it happen”. I do my best to help others. I have a strong relationship with other business professionals. I sell cars, I cut down trees, I sell firewood, I have a team behind me. I can dispatch one of my mechanics to you or help you buy a house through one of my partners where I assist her in helping others get ready to buy a house. The recession in 2007 taught me to be eclectic in the work force. I am a go getter, I am resilient. I believe showing respect is getting respect. Building trust is a top priority and to do that consistently you have to be a genuine & honest person. It only takes time to show who you truly are. My mentor from Motown used to tell me all the time, “when someone shows you who they are the 1st time, believe them”. Being a man of my word is extremely important. As an adult you learn friends, family, co-workers will let you down, but the solid ones will still be around and that’s why I have many relationships I value for 20+ years strong. If there was something that I want everyone to get from my words are you cant judge anyone. Stop judging, give people a chance. Don’t focus on how hard your past has been, learn from it and make changes. If something doesn’t go perfectly or things didn’t go your way, don’t crash out, be an adult, remain composed & go through the proper channels, sometimes you have to let things be & take it as a loss but keep going. Life is precious, there’s so many other talented people everywhere, they may be in that basic car, don’t kill them by being a reckless on the road or driving drunk. It’s ok to walk away from fights & arguments. Run your race to be the best version of you & offer society something good.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When I started Myspace was not out yet, after the internet grew and myspace & Facebook came online everyone thought they can model, turning castings into hours long wait. People would do so much stuff for free so it watered down the gigs and the pay started to drop. I never sold myself short, My mentor told me about the repercussions of sex for play, that started to take over. Having a relationship was very difficult. Being on stage & getting attention I was always accused of something. The friends you thought would support you became silent. Nobody wanted to to show support because of their man would freak out lol. I kept pushing along. There’s lots of scammers and wannabes, lots of them. In this business there’s right ways and wrong ways to everything!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I still work for a fortune 500 company. I run several different side gigs, cutting trees, mechanic work, sell cars, I help with credit, buying a house. 2007 recession taught me to be eclectic in this world. In the entertainment business I enjoy working with an artist one on one. I am known for delivering quality. From my photography/videography I deliver crisp photos. I help with poses and creative visuals for a shoot. From concept to action. What sets me apart is I understand the business side of things and I can do the hands on. I speak Portuguese, Spanish, some French and Creole. I am currently learning Tag A Log from the Philippines. I can communicate for my artist in different languages.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
The good luck recently was attending SXSW Austin. I was able to meet some amazing talents like JKing The Hybrid & I did some cool photos & videos for him & was able to make it to his Spring Love Fashion show which was a great event. I submitted a photo from that event. Also attending Nashville’s CMA’s I was able to meet Big Sound from Queensland Australia, very good folks, they put on a great show for music artists! All of this was great networking & building relationships.

Honestly, the bad luck has been the woman I’ve chosen. I am a very good man, responsible and not a cheater. But for some reason I meet the absolute psychos or gold digging cheaters. So I go very long periods of time being single & focus on the goals. It takes a special kind of woman that can understand fully what a manager does and the attention that needs to go towards an artist.

Being on stage rumors begin out of nowhere and its so stupid because your like “whaaaaaat?” how in the world did that start? Today in this business there’s scammers Liars & wannabe’s everywhere.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.farmgateproduction.com.au/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/negrioro_g37_backup/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IvanJuniourTheLiaison
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@farmgateproduction6316
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/farmgateproductions/