Meet Shelby Renè

We were lucky to catch up with Shelby Renè recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shelby, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

I’ve known my purpose from a very young age but I find that there’s something new everyday that either pushes that purpose or challenges it which makes for an interesting life. My purpose has always been to simply create. Whether it was putting down my handprints in glitter glue on my bedroom carpet when I was a child (sorry mom), making fan videos of my favorite tv shows into my teens, or writing out my feelings with words – I’ve always had a deep want to create what I felt was beautiful and needed in the moment. As a child I was always drawn to film so for the longest time I believed that THAT was my purpose and the road I’d follow. Film will always be my true love but I believe as we grow we find more ways and things to love. I was so fortunate to fall into content creation back in 2020 where I discovered a love and purpose I didn’t know I could have, it was a way to honor my passion of film while simultaneously stretching myself into doing things I didn’t think possible. Content creation filled my cup more than I can say and to this day it’s a love and skill I’ll always be thankful to have. In more recent times I’ve put my effort towards modeling and even though I was told for years it was something I should do, I never did. To say that my purpose in modeling hit me like a bullet train would be an understatement. Delving into modeling feels so right and every time I step onto a shoot I can’t help but have an overwhelming emotion of “I belong here.” My purpose is to create and right now it’s in modeling, in 10 years it could be to act, and in another 10 I could be directing broadway, who knows! But I do know that us born artist, with this strong drive and purpose to create – well I’m thankful we exist. And I couldn’t be happier to find new crevices within that big purpose everyday.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am a part time model, part time content creator, full time dreamer. Oh, and as all artists know, of course the day job. My brand is just, me. Shelby Renè, and I hope through my content and the brands I get the opportunity to work for that I can be authentically myself and be an inspiration for those watching. I am not only in, but a large supporter of my LGBTQIA+ community as well as being an African American woman – I’ve always wanted to live out my passions unapologetically to show everyone who might be like me (or just different) that you can just be yourself and get wherever you want. Honestly, you can probably catch me making new content when my heart feels like it, and keeping an eye on my Instagram(s) which always has life updates or new shoots. I love connecting with my communities so if you find yourself anywhere on my pages, never be a stranger.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Editing. Passion. Being Yourself.

The first one can be taught and I learn something new every single time I open an editing software but if you’re interested in any type of online content creation, the making of movies or music videos – I highly recommend playing around with whatever software you have available to you and I guarantee you’ll walk away with many valuable skills. I’ve been able to help so many others with my editing skills and it’s something that stands out that not everyone does. I also find editing things so so fun!

Passion is something you MUST have. In whatever field you want to go into, if you’re not passionate about it – GET OUT. For some it takes time to really figure out what your passion is and that’s okay, but at the end of the day aim for what you love. Aim for what your soul can’t live without, that passion will shine through every step of the way and I promise it’ll be worth it. When I work with someone or a group of people it’s incredibly easy to tell who is there because they have to be and who is there because they want to be. Passion knows no bounds and as hard as it is to follow that, don’t stop and never give up that passion.

It may sound cheesy saying “be yourself” but honestly. Your weirdness and your quirks are what make you, you and don’t ever shy away from that. I’ve heard quite a few actor interviews where they detail how when you walk into an audition, you just have to give them yourself. If you go in trying to be what you think they want then you’ve already failed. You don’t know what anyone truly wants and that’s okay. The part of yourself that you may try to hide away could be exactly the reason someone wants to work with you. I’ve only tried to meld myself into what I thought people wanted a few times but I learned that I got a lot more and felt a lot better when I was being myself. It’s scary to put your true self out there but at the end of the day, even if it doesn’t turn out in your favor, you’ll know that you did everything YOU could do – and that’s something to be proud of.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I love this question so much because YES. I am looking to build my community always. LGBTQIA+, POC, WOMEN! Besides my top 3, I am looking for anyone that aligns with me or my goals of making wonderful creations. I want to model more, I want to continue online creation, I want to edit, write, act – the list goes on and the limit of people I want to connect with is…. well as Cady Heron said it best “The limit does not exist.” I am available for inquiries or to connect at my socials which I’ll list below and I really do hope to hear from y’all!

Instagram: @shelbyrene7 or @modelsrene
Tiktok: @shelbyrene

Contact Info:

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