We caught up with the brilliant and insightful DaShay Carter a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
DaShay, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
My mission is to aid in the elevation of others. I do this by offering resources, making meaningful connections, and using every skill I possess—whether it’s my background in therapy, my ability to coordinate and organize, or simply my gift for truly seeing people for who they are and recognizing their unique talents. I believe in helping others step into their power and rise to their potential.
This mission is deeply personal to me because it stems from everything I once needed and didn’t have. As a child and even as an adult, I lacked the guidance, support, and advocacy that could’ve made a world of difference. I didn’t have anyone to teach me basic things like hygiene or self-care, let alone how to navigate my emotions, find a therapist, or advocate for myself.
Now, I strive to be the person I needed in those moments—the person who shows up, who sees you, and who reminds you of your worth. I know there are people my age and older who are still missing those foundational tools and truths. That’s why it’s meaningful to me to help people reconnect with themselves, fall in love with who they are, and rise above survival mode into a life of healing, wholeness, and elevation.
DaShay, 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?
At my core, I’m someone who believes deeply in the power of people—specifically in helping people elevate into the best, fullest version of themselves. Through my work with The Carter Love Collective, I serve as a visual storyteller, creative director, and connector. Whether I’m curating branding photoshoots, modeling, producing events, or offering strategy and support to small businesses, everything I do centers around intention, impact, and elevation.
I got into this work because I’ve experienced what it feels like to need help and not know where to turn. I’ve been in survival mode. I know what it’s like to lack resources, support, and a community that truly sees you. Now, I aim to be for others what I needed at so many stages in life—from childhood to adulthood, from struggle to healing.
Through The Carter Love Collective, I offer a range of services including coordinating commercial branding photoshoots (which includes creative direction, concept development, hiring models and photographers, and managing the entire shoot), event production, content creation, and coaching. I also run a self-love-based clothing brand that reminds people to prioritize themselves unapologetically and boldly.
The problems I help solve are both practical and emotional. I support small business owners and creatives who are talented and hardworking but feel stuck, unseen, or unsure of how to move forward. I help them clarify their vision, amplify their presence, and step confidently into their next level.
What sets me apart is the depth I bring to everything I do. I’m not just offering a service—I’m creating experiences that reflect who people truly are. I use my background in therapy, my creativity, my eye for talent, and my own lived experience to pour into others in a way that’s authentic and impactful. I see people for who they are and help them build from that place of truth.
I’m most proud of the way my work changes lives—not just externally, but internally. I love hearing things like, “Thank you — this brought so much clarity to what I’ve been struggling with.”
If there’s one thing I want people to know, it’s that you are worthy. Worthy of support, visibility, growth, love, and community. And every part of my work through The Carter Love Collective is designed to help you walk fully in that worth.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
One of the biggest lessons I’m actively unlearning in my business is the idea that asking for help is shameful or wrong. Even though I’ve always known, logically, that support is essential for both survival and success—and even though my entire business is built on supporting and elevating others—I’ve had to face how hard it is for me to receive that same support.
This struggle stems from my childhood. I didn’t grow up with healthy, reliable connections. When I did ask for help, it often wasn’t what I needed, or it came with strings attached, or I was left to figure things out on my own. As I grew into adulthood, I repeated that cycle—asking the wrong people for help, receiving disappointing or harmful responses, and internalizing the idea that needing help made me a burden or somehow unworthy.
Now, I’m in a space where I’m intentionally unlearning that narrative. I’m learning to ask the right people for support—people who are aligned, trustworthy, and capable. I’m practicing listening to my intuition and discernment, and I’m reminding myself that if someone can’t help me, it’s not a reflection of my worth or value.
That’s been a hard but necessary shift: understanding that I am still worthy, still valuable, even when I don’t receive the support I hoped for. People have boundaries, full lives, or limitations—and that has nothing to do with whether or not I deserve help. That mindset shift is allowing me to build healthier relationships, both personally and professionally, and to continue growing The Carter Love Collective from a place of mutual care, trust, and interdependence.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
My entire life is a story of resilience. I didn’t experience just one difficult moment—I lived through ongoing trauma that followed me from childhood into adulthood. I grew up without the safety, guidance, or support that every child deserves. And as I got older, I found myself in relationships that reinforced the very pain and beliefs that trauma had planted in me.
But I survived.
I survived because of my spirit—because of who I am at my core. My dreams kept me going. The dream of being a model, a designer, of being known, of making an impact, of interviewing celebrities—those visions of something greater carried me through the hardest times. My personality was also my saving grace: being goofy, silly, loving, thoughtful. Finding joy in dancing and singing. Admiring the beauty in other people. Seeing their magic. All of that gave me something to hold onto.
Now, I’m no longer just surviving—I’m living. I’ve stepped into a space of thriving. I’ve developed deep self-love, self-trust, and self-honesty. I’ve embraced not just the healed parts of me, but also the parts that once felt like flaws. What some might call my shadow, I now see as my strength.
That’s resilience. Not just enduring pain, but transforming it. Not just dreaming of something better, but becoming the version of me that can live it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://carterlovellc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dashaycarter?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dashay.rogers.5?mibextid=wwXIfr&mibextid=wwXIfr
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dashay-carter-b734252b1?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@dashaycarter?si=DWTvbcyty_RNzez-
Image Credits
Photos by I’m Shooting On Sight
Creative Direction & Concept Development: Collaborative (DaShay Carter + Photographer)
• Portrait of me smiling with a blown-out afro, wearing a pink top.
• Photo of me in a green crop top with sweatpants and sunglasses.
• Branding photo of me in a black windbreaker with a red rose design.
• Portrait of me in an orange outfit.
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Photos by Jamie Radmachter (Flaunt, Auburn, California)
Creative Direction & Concept Development: DaShay Carter (The Carter Love Collective)
• Close-up portrait with pearls on my face.
• Editorial photo of me wearing a purple robe.
• Stylized photo with gold draping, holding an apple.
• Conceptual shot featuring a cherry.
• Additional editorial from the same series.
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Photo by MADDOPTICCS
• Portrait with red gloves and my fingers to my face.
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Photo by Ilich Najera
• Portrait of me holding a flower to my face.
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Photo by Anthony Notes
• Image of me surrounded by flowers, wearing a green jumpsuit.
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Photo by Evvy Shan
• Portrait of me in a black dress.