We were lucky to catch up with Flanagan Brassfield recently and have shared our conversation below.
Flanagan, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
It wasn’t easy. Everyone is shaped differently through their life experiences. Being a lean, gay artist from Wisconsin, I wonder if fitting in was just a stereotype put on people who were scared to be themselves. Especially living in primarily conservative towns that have very skewed outlooks, topics like homophobia & body shaming were constants throughout my life. While this took a toll on my mental and physical health, the other constant was that I always had a small group of people that I felt comfortable around who would always support & lift each other. Which I found to be beneficial as I continued developing my career and style. Moving to New York to pursue my acting degree opened my eyes to the value of surrounding yourself with people who not only value their confidence but also enjoy watching other people thrive off of their own. In turn, a community and culture are built around positivity and unity. New York helped me fully get in tune with my body and helped me fully indulge in my modeling career, not to mention the amount of pride I felt moving from a small town to a big city that valued the LGBTQIA+ community. Which I was able to take with me to LA, where I was able to complete my BFA in acting & television from AMDA, amidst connecting with agents in both the theatrical and modeling industry. I owe all these achievements to the growth of inner confidence, allowing me to fully break out of my shell and put myself out there to meet other creatives and mentors!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My name is Flanagan Brassfield, I’m a 21-year-old actor & model born in Worthington, MN, but primarily raised in a small town in Wisconsin. I grew up singing and dancing, where I discovered a love for expressing myself through performance. Theatre always held my heart and showed me the value of art as a means of expressing feelings, but also the fun and entertaining aspects of life. Living in the Midwest is beautiful, but also has very flawed systems, that I felt as a lean queer artist was fighting alot of adversity regularly. As I finished graduating from Chilton High, I shifted my focus towards film storytelling, where I went to study for a year and a half at AMDA in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York. NY is a culture and community built around hard work and authenticity, and it inspired me to find a new love for my craft and confidence in my body. People hold themselves with such pride and aren’t scared to be charismatic. These lessons I carried with me to LA to finish my last year and a half, where I graduated and received my BFA in Acting for Television and Film. Amidst my journey thus far, I was able to network with amazing connections in the modeling and acting world who have greatly assisted in mentoring me and allowing me to make mistakes and grow in the process! My work is an amalgamation of heartfelt stories and or pictures that evoke people to see themselves in a character or scenario that might be unique to them as well. Art is the connecting piece between brains; the more we get to know about each other, the more we can understand each other. Which is why a lot of my work also touches on topics that bring awareness to the communities I’m a part of and or causes I’m supporting. Overall, art should be entertaining and thats whats important, its fun for audiences to watch and for me to make in the process, even though sometimes the topics are a little too real, or seem sad but have a funny undertone, because that’s what life is, its not just one emotion, its all of them.
I am currently working on a couple of projects for both modeling and acting, but can’t disclose anything yet; however, my social media has updates!
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?
Looking back, I think the most important advice I would give to upcoming creatives is to never compare yourself to others. Everyone is unique and authentic in their way, and being aware of what sets you apart from others will greatly benefit you. In addition, everyone grows at their own pace, and the industry is moving faster than ever, so don’t be discouraged when things aren’t panning out quite how you planned. Hard work and dedication are the ultimate tests of time. Keep applying yourself and never stop creating; the world needs your art, especially right now. While moving through your journey, keep kindness and gratitude a top priority; it’s become such a rarity for kindness to become second nature, and as big as the creative world seems, it’s not. At any moment, you might find yourself collaborating with someone you met the other day, so why not have every interaction you’ve had be positive? Finally, enjoy the parts of yourself that don’t come with your career, continue your hobbies, and continue watching the world to be inspired.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
As previously mentioned in this interview, my favorite part of this career is connecting with artists and non-artists. With that being said, I’m always looking to collaborate with people in all creative parts of the industry, as I pride myself on being a well-rounded multihyphenate. Since I’ve recently graduated from AMDA with a BFA in Acting for Television and Film, my acting knowledge and techniques are the most keen they’ve ever been, which is why I would love to be apart of more projects as Im young and the most in tune with my emotions and body at this point so I think with the right people something beauitful could be created. That goes the same with modeling, I love adding creative flair to different pictures, whether it be wardrobe, locations, or creating concepts to evoke a special type of emotion, if that sounds interesting to any models or photographers wanting to shoot. Reach out, and we can arrange a time to make some art! Although those are the two main focal points of my career currently, it’s not to say I don’t also love creating behind the camera as well. I’m well-versed with cameras and love doing things like photography & cinematography, as I usually have a good eye and love hearing other people’s ideas and how we can blend them to make a new piece of art never seen before. For anyone who likes writing, I also love writing my original content of my own, whether it be films, photo shoots, or spoof commercial concepts. Anything’s up in the air, just don’t be scared to reach out! If you would like to connect with me on social media, it’s @flanii.brass or @flanaganbrassfield across all platforms. For more information on me and what I stand for, or to reach out to me directly for inquiries, check out my website flanaganbrassfield.org! Feel free to reach out via my private messages, or my email is always open. Stay Inspired!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.flanaganbrassfield.org
- Instagram: flanii.brass@yahoo.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flanagan.brassfield.7/
Image Credits
@reyesbobby
@shes2precious
@jcmariememories
@whatafuckingbitch
@mattleemorgan
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
