We were lucky to catch up with Christopher Felt recently and have shared our conversation below.

Christopher , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

Many of the times being an upcoming creative and having to sustain your creative ventures you must be able to finically invest in your craft and that sometimes comes with working a 9-5 that you may feel like is not aligning with you at the time. The end of 2022 and spring of 2023 I worked as a security guard and as a hotel receptionist. In the midst of doing those jobs I always made sure I provided time for myself to prioritize my career so I wouldn’t ever get complacent with the 9-5 life I knew I didn’t want. Those two jobs were pivotal moments for me because they both terminated me for the same reasons which was making myself and goals a priority rather than them. When working I was doing a lot creatively outside of work; I had tapped in to all my creative sides such as makeup artistry, styling, creative direction and modeling like never before. So I knew getting terminated while doing the best i’ve ever done outside of a 9-5 was my testimony to never get comfortable at any place you I am not passionate about.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I got into styling, modeling and creative direction at very young age I just did not know what to call it at the time. I remember I use to dress up my little sister Faith and just create mini photoshoots around the house with my metro pcs andriod and clothes from my mom’s closest. What made me feel the best was seeing my little sisters attitude change whenever I got her into any outfit I put on her because she truly embodied each outfit and I love seeing that with every client I work with today. Confidence has been something I lacked on especially getting older because so many adults ridiculed me at young age for being me so my goal with styling, creative directing and modeling is shed light on being authentically you and dismantling the toxic beauty standards in society.

I have many proud moments but recently I have been giving myself a pat on the back for getting a vogue publication with my first ever creative directed/ styled shoot that highlighted black creatives back in 2021 called “enough is enough” . That is constant reminder that i’m suppose to be doing this and what I have to say through my art needs to be said.

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?

I came into more of realization that your art medium is not for everyone to understand and that’s okay. As a creative It feels good to have validation but you have to be comfortable with the fact some people just may not understand nor like it and that is fine. A quote that I love by Percy miller off of Solange’s album called “seat at the table” She has an interlude name For us by us and he says ” If you don’t understand my record you don’t understand me, so this is not for you”. This related to me so much because not everyone always gets my styling choices and when displaying my looks on internet the comments can be very harsh and negative but they always roll off my back because I know those are not people nor audience I am speaking to. So as a creative you must do everything for yourself first rather than the validation of other’s because you’ll quickly realize validation is not sustainable at all.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Back in 2020 I had business called lashfanatic where I sold many types of lashes or different eye shapes. I remember being so dedicated at first and the dedication all of sudden dropped. I was fresh out of high-school I did not know what I wanted to do and who I really was, I just knew there was need for lashes and I knew it would sell well. Overtime It stopped getting sales because I did not know what I wanted to say within my brand and I was passionate enough about it to care. So once I let the brand die out I went on a self discovery journey and truly learned so much about myself through traveling, fitness and my spiritually alignment. What sticks with me is “rejection is a redirection and protection. If it wasn’t for that I would not be where I am today & I’m so grateful for that realization.

Contact Info:

• Website: iamchrisfelt.com
• Instagram: iamchrisfelt
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-felt-1724681b8/
• Twitter: Iamchrisfelt

Image Credits
models @kodawashere @lavelledontae @chrisvernish photographers @lisakuz.ph @sgzphotos @Miaparnihi @maiadvicestudios