Meet Jade Syan

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jade Syan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jade below.

Jade, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I feel that my purpose is to inspire others to always follow their dreams no matter what hardships you may come across. I found my purpose by paying attention to how things that I did made me feel and also how quickly I picked up. I paid attention to the things that naturally gravitated towards me and continued to reoccur in my life. Growing up, all my brothers and I really had to depend on was our dreams. My grandad used to tell me I could become whatever I wanted to be. Ever since I was a child, I’ve always had people tell me I should model and that I was good at drawing. I feel like it was something that found me. From my friend asking me to be a model for her and then six years later being able to experience and do the things I’ve done in that time frame still amazes me. I feel like these are gifts that were meant for me. The feeling I get when I am not creating honestly says it all for me. It’s apart of me.

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?
My name is Jade Syan. I’m a 25 year old model, artist, and designer from Louisville, KY. I’ve been modeling for six years, and I’m currently an independent model. My brother, Isaiah Bey, and I have a clothing line together called A New Dream LLC. The brand itself was my brother’s vision, and I’ve helped along the way to bring his vision to life. I ended up designing the crown logo for our brand along with other clothing pieces.

A New Dream is a luxury streetwear brand. Our mission is to spread awareness to the mindset of living a life with no limitations. A New Dream is a movement and lifestyle. We want to empower others to always follow their dreams despite how hard their path may be. There’s power in persistence and perseverance. We aim to offer substance and quality on a global scale.

Throughout these years, I’ve had amazing opportunities. I was selected to walk for Fllumaé in NYFW (New York Fashion Week) in 2021 and featured on the NYFW website. Last fall I worked as a brand ambassador for Gatorade. Earlier this year, I was featured in a campaign for Hibbett and Nike during Nike Air Maxx month, along with my brother. It’s rare for Nike to do this, but I’m thankful that the team allowed us to feature our brand. Isaiah and I are also influencers for Hibbett and City Gear.

As a child I always had a love for art, especially drawing. I used to watch my dad sketch all the time. As I got older, I had a passion to become a fashion designer or maybe even a model one day. In college I even picked up graphic design.

Modeling has been a dream of mine since I was very little. For the longest, I thought my height was something that would keep me from achieving that dream. Six years ago my friend, Elexis Allen, was just getting into photography and wanted to use me as a model. I posted photos from the shoot to Instagram. From the time I posted the pictures, I gradually started to have more photographers reach out to work with me.

I feel like I was born to create. As a child, I always felt like I had to choose one path. It’s crazy seeing it all come together and me becoming everything I dreamed of. It took a lot for me to get to where I am now.

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?
Three qualities that I would say were the most impactful in my journey are determination, perseverance, and consistency. To have determination, first figure out what your vision is. What are your dreams and passions? How bad do you want it? Growing up, I was a bit unsure of which path to take. When I was younger, I dreamed of becoming a fashion designer or even a model one day. Not both, but one of the two. I eventually let these dreams go because they seemed “unrealistic.” After my first couple shoots with Elexis, I did my own research to find out how I could become a model and be discovered by brands and agencies. Fast forward to now, I’ve had the opportunity to work with big brands and organizations such as Nike, Hibbett, City Gear, Gatorade, Fllumae, and New York Fashion Week without being signed to an agency. I was even scouted by an agency but rejected due to my height.

I always wanted to be a fashion designer, and now I help design pieces for our clothing line. Not only am I a fashion designer, but a graphic designer as well. When I once thought that I had to choose just one path, now I realize that I can be all at once and follow my own unique path. Every year I receive more clarity on my vision.

Second is perseverance, “how bad do you want it?” Perseverance is doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. At what costs are you willing to accomplish your goals and passions? There have been many times when I’ve wanted to give up and made sacrifices, but my background and how I grew up were always my motivation to keep going. It often surprises people that my brothers and I have accomplished what we have at our ages despite our background. We didn’t have much guidance and had to figure out a lot on our own. All we really had was each other. One thing about me, I’m always going to figure out a way.

Consistency is detrimental, especially if you want to see effective results. Slow progress is still progress. Aim to grow everyday even if it is little by little. Consistency creates a lifestyle and a way of being. I truly have a love for creating, and when I’m not creating as a whole, it has a huge effect on me. It feels like something is missing. Keep going no matter what or how it may be perceived to others. Do what makes you happy and feeds your soul.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
My brothers are the only ones that I can truly depend on no matter what. We came from poverty, but always had each other and made a way. My dad and grandad always worked, so they weren’t around as much as a sense of guidance growing up. My grandad (poppy) was the most frequent father figure in my life, but he passed away in 2021. My little brothers have been by my side every step of the way. We had a complex family dynamic growing up, but I can say that I was somewhat of a mother figure to my brothers and they kind of acted as father figures to me. It was always just the three of us, we are inseparable.

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Image Credits
Alexander Diego Brayden Hale Mariah Kelly Weslie Rowan Ester Martínez

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