We recently connected with Shaune Stauffer and have shared our conversation below.

Shaune, appreciate you joining us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your creative career?

When I first started modeling, I was walking on the runway in a highly choreographed show. I forgot what I was supposed to do and ended up messing up my part of the scene, which intern messed up everyone else’s choreography. When it was over I went up to one of the models who was the most affected by my mistake, an older lady in her 30s at the time, I said I am so sorry, I totally messed you up. I’m so sorry. she looked at me and smiled, and said it’s a small thing, it’s not worth getting upset over, please don’t let it worry you. Things like this do not matter in the grand scheme of things. I appreciated those words more than that model will ever know, and have said them too many younger people coming up.

Shaune, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am Shaune, I am a fashion model with a concentration on runway and fashion print. My career has taken me to 13 countries and almost every state in the union. It’s a career that I love so much that I have sacrificed almost everything.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

What I love about social media is that it is an extension of the modeling industry. As technology changes, you have to grow and develop your career in different ways in order to keep pace. I love that there are clients who find models for their campaigns on social media. Growth is extremely important, especially on Instagram. You have to engage, engage, engage! If someone leaves you a comment, you have to answer it and then you have to go to their page and leave a comment. Sometimes it’s exhausting, but I started out five years ago doing that every day and my following has grown exponentially. Posting consistently is also important, You can take a few days off but you have to post at the minimum twice a week. People get used to seeing your content, you are similar to an entertainment channel, You have to constantly post fresh material to keep people interested.
Another important thing is authenticity, your every day real-life truth must be included in some of the posts and not just perfectly posed and polished photos.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

When you are a creative person, you are your own boss and solely responsible for your income. Some months you will do great and some months not so great. Some months there will be no income at all. Non-creative people do not understand that for a creative person, giving up your dreams for a reliable monthly paycheck is almost like enduring mental and spiritual torture. We prefer the uncertainty while we pursue what makes us feel alive, it’s our trade-off. A job with a dependable monthly income could kill our artistic spirit.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realshaune

Image Credits

Philip Emerson
Chris Pinon