We were lucky to catch up with Kaylan Simmons recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kaylan, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I believe having resilience is just in my DNA. I encounter quite a few people that look at me or see me on social media and think I have everything together. I’m glad I can inspire people, but I also like to share that I go through things just like the next person. I had hit a very low point in my life, and I was stuck there for about 9 years. I walked around with a smile on my face and made everyone else around me happy, yet I was contemplating everything you could think of; however, though it all I could never push myself to give up. When I finally started working towards something that made me genuinely happy it was therapeutic for me. Modeling became my therapy. That’s why I would say resilience runs in the family. My mom chased after her dreams and my dad worked hard to make sure he could always provide for his family. I strive to do the same, work hard so that I could achieve my dreams.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I have been modeling for some years now, and one day I thought to myself about becoming a model mentor. I’m always getting asked about how did I break into modeling, so I figured why not help others. My program is called Perfectly Imperfect Model Therapy. I decided to call it that because I live by learning to accept and embrace your flaws. One might look at someone and think they have it all together, but looks can be deceiving when you’re looking from the outside. We never truly know what people think of themselves on the inside, but that’s where my program comes in and helps turn that flaw into something you appreciate and love. I launched my business back in 2021. I was not really taking myself serious when it came to my business because I have a fear of failing. My fear stood in the way majority of the first year as far as me putting myself out there. After so long, I pushed it to the side and I really started putting in work to help grow my business. It is a start up, so it’s not widely known; however, I do feel within the next few years it will grow tremendously.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The first step would definitely be do your research! Too many people think modeling is “easy”, but it’s actually not when you’re first starting out. Figure out your niche in the modeling industry. That’ll help you start your journey. You don’t have to stick to that one particular thing, but it’ll help in the beginning process. You need to have thick skin as a model. You will encounter people that that will say they don’t like something about you, and it can come off harsh. Without thick skin you’ll let that one encounter stop you from going after something you could possibly be great at. I always take those comments as constructive criticism, and I use it to better myself. My last advice would be invest in yourself. Set aside time to take photoshoots to build your portfolio, go to workshops, travel, etc… If you can’t invest in yourself how are you going to expect others to do so.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I love collaborating with new people! I’m willing to collab with photographers, models, designers, radio shows, podcasts, magazines, commercials, music artist etc… Anything to help bring me great exposure, and collabs are great for that because you never know who can connect you with who.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://kavyar.com/kaylan-simmons
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/perf___imperf/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaylan.simmons.79
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/officia1_kaylan
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@dazzleofkay
Image Credits
Vincent Hillard Jr
