Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to LaShara “Mahogany Lovee” Daniel. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi LaShara “Mahogany Lovee”, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
Hello, my name is La Shara “Mahogany Lovee” Daniel and I reside in Chattanooga, TN. Grew up in a small town -Rome, GA I always knew it was more out in the world for me versus what was being presented. As a child, I was always picked on for my dark skin complexion. Never knew why when I was never the only one in my classes with the same complexion as mine. I got picked on and “roasted” about up till high school.
Blackie, burnt biscuit, darkie, tar. Any negative thing you could say to a dark skin lady, I was called that and then some till I met someone at my job -Bojangles when I was a teen. She told me every day in the drive-thru” you are pretty, dark, and beautiful, and don’t let anybody tell you differently”. Thanks to her I truly wouldn’t dig deep within myself to start feeling better about ME. I grew up as an older sibling to a mom who had a very strong support system when it came to me and my sibling; my mom’s parents and uncles were nothing but a blessing to us.
Later on in life, I did start to re-build a relationship with my dad, my other grandparents, other siblings, and my amazing aunts. They were the reason I gained confidence in myself and my complexion. As I got older I did get into trouble & went to jail multiple times (nobody is perfect).
Hung out with people who meant me no good, people stole from me when I gave everything I could and then some, and ran into some users & manipulators as well. I also allowed people to lie to me and make themselves look good, was homeless on more than one occasion, and found out that certain family & friends aren’t any good either. With all those things mentioned never stopped me from wanting to be better in life, doing things I was told I couldn’t do, and wanting to get far away from things that I knew were hindering me, and were about my money. I listened to others about trying to go to the military but because of my background I couldn’t go (blessing in disguise) and even did the college thing and obtained a degree in criminology but that wasn’t satisfactory enough.
I got down on my last leg and met two friends who introduced me to a life that was a gift and a curse. I was working at the waffle house and also hitting the freeway every other day working as a dancer in Atlanta and a really big party girl hanging out with my friends. Riley’s show bar, Club wax, Blaze, Babes, Follies… pretty sure I’m forgetting some underground/after hr spots and the places I gogo danced at as needed bottle girl, and promoter….you get the drift. I touched and saw the most money from the age of 19& a half -22 & a half. But of course, it was a downside to everything.
I was tired and never had a moment to sit down. In the midst of that and meeting amazing people who I’m friends with now, I ran into a guy who looks for extras for video shoots. I was at the bar ” on the clock” minding my business he walks up to me and say ” you are not like these other girls in here, come to this address and this day & time and I promise you this will be your last night here”. Sure enough, it was; I was in the background of many artists’ backgrounds and was getting paid well too. Of course, I met a guy in this process and decided to move away from the Atlanta life and moved to Chattanooga, TN, and here I am now.
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 12 years of modeling experience (on and off). With a wide variety of clientele and campaigns & outside of the runway. I have a great personality, I am considered easy to work with and I can enthusiastically promote any product. Here lately, ive been spending more & the majority of my time giving my all to my son Cooper, I am also a brand ambassador for Savage Boujie and Crown Full Of Locs, as a needed performer for shows when/ if needed, and my small businesses-Tour Of Mahogany (Skin Care and Cosmetics)and Mahoganý Lovee & Services (Business cards, flyers, and more), CoCo Foundation (Coming soon), CoCo Foundation Presents Mamaz and Daddys Speaks-The Podcast (Coming soon), and C (2) D (2) (Coming soon).
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?
Observation, Listening before speaking, and research. With anything in life, those three things will get you far. People, places, things, and ideas changed every day and you have to be aware and be able to keep up with it. Also, while in the midst of that is to also stay true to yourself.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I’m always looking to be a brand ambassador for clothing, accessories, shoes, skin care, cosmetics, nails, locs, and perfumes. I also would love to work with other models who could successfully put me in the right places without any animosity. Lastly, a constant photographer and videographer.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/mahoganythebrand
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_x3mahogany/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mahoganyloveethemodel/
- Other: https://tourofmahogany.com/
https://www.facebook.com/mahoganyloveeandservices/
https://www.instagram.com/mahoganylandservices/
Image Credits
J5 Photography & Graphics,Dagodmd Photography, KT Images
