We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Melissa Locke. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Melissa below.
Hi Melissa, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?
I am a classic LA Story but lets start at the beginning. i grew up in Indiana with a wonderfully supportive family. I am classically trained in ballet and all forms of dance. I was onstage from a young age performing so I decided Los Angeles was my destination. Jump to Mid 90’s. Packed up my Mitsubishi Eclipse and started my journey from Chicago to LA with 4K saved. At the end of the 10 freeway I could either turn right or left and I turned left knowing Venice was cheaper and didn’t require a job to rent there so I found myself In a circus of creative energy and exciting opportunities. Juxtaposition from the midwest. This is the first risk I took in my adult life. Soon after getting there my landlord, who was on All My Children,suggested I try to get my SAG card by doing some Extra/Stand In work and I did just that. Driving all over Los Angeles with my Thomas Guide in my Eclipse collecting my three vouchers and living my dream. This is also a risk to drive in LA since I was from Indiana and no one tailgates. This was all very exciting to me and I remember calling my Dad from my first extra job at Warners Brothers Lot on a pay phone telling him about it. After some time went by I decided I would learn a new skill in hopes of helping with my finances so off to esthetician school I go. I really loved creating and performing my skincare treatments in those dark, relaxing rooms. It was intimate and therapeutic and also brought in a little more money and still allowed some flexibility for any auditions or any side jobs in the industry. During this time i met and worked with my husband doing skincare at his office. Fast forward a bit. We got married and we couldn’t conceive so we adopted our fur baby Sammy and he brings me so much joy along with my passion projects in acting/dancing/modeling. I sponsor a young man named Vincent at River Jordan Orphanage in Kenya and I plan on visiting him someday. I risked my comfort zone coming to Los Angeles and not all have this kind of LA story. I am grateful and blessed for my family. Being brave and taking risks takes confidence and you develop confidence by discipline and the discipline creates a lot of self love and from there creation of anything is possible. These are my ingredients. Thank you for this interview. It means a lot. Melissa
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I have recently worked on a few short films and a trailer for a horror film. I walked in LA Fashion Week and next up is NYFW. I grew up dancing so acting and modeling are peripheral skills and passions I always wanted to develop so the minute I got to LA I dove in. Studying acting and dancing is my passion.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Discipline is everything. It’s long term and it’s self love. Passion is everything. Pay attention to what gets you excited. Glimmers are important.
Like-minded Go Getters are essential as well. Find your tribe. Go it alone if you have too until you find your tribe.
Believe in you. Unrelenting confidence in yourself. Don’t give up because there are always reasons too but don’t.
Pray to your higher power for strength whoever that is.
Tell yourself you love yourself twice a day.
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?
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Iammelissalocke
- Facebook: Melissa Locke
Image Credits
Deidre Fahey headshot photographer. The other photo is mine.
