Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Azandria Freeman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Azandria, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
I think that’s a challenge that never gets completed, especially as you continue to put yourself in spaces where you are doing something beyond your comfort zone. The more experience you gain, the more you understand how important community building is over just networking. It’s amazing how things seem to fall in your lap as you surround yourself with people that encourage you and see you for who you really are. It takes time, discernment, and trusting your intuition, but with patience the most you can ask for is to be a little better each day.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I recently realized that I am a first generation. Over the past five years i’ve dedicated myself to doing the things that scare me, while empowering others to go after the dreams they have for themselves. As a brown skin, curvy, woman I grew up not seeing many examples of myself represented in beauty and fashion. Since I didn’t see myself, I didn’t believe that it was something I could do. As i’ve gotten more experience in modeling i’ve realized that the notoriety and recognition is nice, but being able to get my face in places where young girls that look like me can see themselves in me and be inspired to pursue their dreams is what really keeps me pursuing this dream.
I started modeling in 2020 right when the pandemic hit just to see if it was something that I could do, and discovered that it was something that fulfilled me and helped me to build my confidence. Since then, I have built an extensive portfolio of beauty, e-commerce, and creative editorial work that has been published in several magazines internationally through my own ability to build community with creatives that I connect with on a deeper level. I’ve had the opportunity to connect with the most talented designers and walk in shows in Houston and New York Fashion Week. I continue to build my craft through different posing and runway classes offered by models that I admire and study, and i’m currently looking to build a team of my own to continue executing projects that allow us to express ourselves authentically.
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?
Knowing why I wanted to model is something that everyone pursuing that career should be able to answer beyond someone telling you they thought you were cute or someone forcing you to. When you are sitting up wondering why you aren’t getting the bookings you thought you would good, being overly critical of your recent photoset, or feeling frustrated from feeling overlooked you aren’t going to think back to that person that told you that you were cute as the reason why you need to keep pushing. You might think about yourself at a young age going to the beauty supply store and subtly noticing that none of the girls on the packaging look like you and wanting to be that change you wish you could see. Knowing your why is important… word to Lola Chel 🙂
If I had any advice for young people pursuing this career, it is that as a first step. Know why you are doing what you want to do. From there, DREAM BIG!! Think about your wildest dream. I don’t care what it is, even if you have NO CLUE how you will get there. Set that as your goal, then think about something small that you can do to put yourself one step closer to that. So if you want to have a campaign with Fenty Beauty, go buy a product, use it, and take a photo. Book a photographer and do some product and beauty shots and tag them. Show them that you are just as qualified, and KEEP DOING IT. People forget that most successes rarely happen overnight, but when preparation meets opportunity that’s where the magic happens.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
The Alchemist changed my life. Not really instructional, but just helps you to see things in a different way. I especially appreciate how the book itself didn’t actually become successful until years after it was initially released and translated. Once again, it just goes to show how a lot of things rarely happen overnight, and it really takes dedication to show and prove that you really want what you say you desire. I also love the general moral of the story from the main character and how he ends up discovering his treasure. It’s translatable to so many stories.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://glamdotzan.mystrikingly.com/#portfolio
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/zanthemodel?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaz1qkzdidUosdlXRRY0epg
Image Credits
1st beauty shot : Makeup & Photography by Ezra Ferguson IG: @ezratheprofessional 2nd beauty shot: photography by Mel B. Elder Jr IG: @melbeljr makeup: IG: @theartist.maegpro 3rd beauty shot: photography Morgan Mosley IG: @shotbymoe Brand @skinkimistri 4th beauty shot: photography by Jessie Farrell IG: @jessiefarrellphoto makeup IG: @morningstarshe 5th beauty shot: photography by Ida John IG: @Idajohnphoto hair IG: @nursesofhair makeup IG: @makethemmore 6th e-commerce shot: photography IG: @capturingthemiracle Brand @s.dentoncollection 7th creative editorial shot: photography IG: @queentut_visuals
