We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dezi Cartier a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Dezi , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)
The best investment I’ve ever made has been in the things I love. My best advice is to enjoy the parts of yourself that make you who you are. I used to think I needed to change those parts of me at times to get where I would want to be in life. Those thoughts are groomed by listening to the wrong things or people in life. One way or the other enjoying what you find interesting and being proud of those parts of yourself are the best investments you can make.
I have always put a lot of thought into details and for so long I felt like an outcast for caring about what others might not have commonly seen nor cared about. As a kid I was made fun of when my mom would color my hair or when we would get a chance to not dress in a uniform, for the most part I was misunderstood. I went to high school in a town called Lakeland. A small, cute town in a place called Polk County. To care about fashion or to be different was seen as silly. This is somewhat common place in growing up of course however I think especially in Polk County it just was not what was cool. So it’s hard not to listen to people and as I grew up and got further away from those roots those things that were laughed at by most became powerful to me and lead me on my path.
It’s really important to invest time into learning about what you care about. That could be anything in the world as long as it makes you feel something or helps you escape. In my case music and fashion has always been my escape. When I was dropping out of college and had everyone telling me you will not be anything without school I decided to get dressed and make not know what you are doing look good. When an agent would reject me because my hair is bleach blonde I would tell myself they don’t decide what is fly. I do. So maybe I was not getting the satisfaction of landing more commercial gigs out of college with modeling. However somebody else who understood art and had passion for creativity appreciated me and wanted to shoot. The really important part here was that instead of landing a 15 or 30 second slot on a commercial as an untitled role I was working with people and projects that liked me for me. I also in doing this developed my own brand as Dezi instead of helping to promote somebody else’s vision. I think of it as the ground work in terms of networking with the people that were creating the types of projects that aligned with what I saw as dope. It led me to create, model, act, and make some of my best friends in life.
My point is that being Dezi was my best strength I had to help me get to where I wanted to do in life and work on the projects that actually meant something to me. So keep learning more about what you love and it will pay you back. Now even in the music and entertainment realm my love for those things I was once laughed at for is credibility and creativity towards working with acts from every facet in the industry. A really cool thing about things like fashion and music is that you can feel and communicate with both no matter where you are in the world. You can listen to a song in another language and understand the feel behind it even if you do not know the language. In fashion you can relate to someone and admire them without saying one word. I treasure those thoughts and love how they can bring us together.
Dezi , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Ever since my youth I have been involved in the entertainment industry. Doing different things in the modeling and acting world. Since then I have began to put out music under my name Dezi Cartier. Aside from music I’ve done a lot of modeling and acting going into my young adult life which has lead me to develop a lot of really great relationships in that world. When I am not working with the arts I am in the entertainment and music merchandizing industry which involves everything from touring, creative, and e-commerce for many household names. I’m also the Executive Producer at Glue Creative here in Orlando, Florida. My love for fashion has also led to me creating DEZICartier which is my own clothing label.
I think that when I was growing up I was always told you have to pick one thing to do and school always tried to put me in a box. The truth is you can do anything you want and however many things you want. Everything may not happen at once but everything I’ve done in life is somehow related to one another. Whether it is a tiny experience or moment in thinking. For instance I work with many bands, artists and even social media public figures including the D’Amelio family’s DamGood MGMT group. After time I also began to carve out a niche in the music industry of working with artists producing vinyl releases. With my first being the legendary DJ Premier, who has worked with names from Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, A$AP Rocky and many more. I am currently working on another one that I cannot disclose yet as well.
A lot of my relationships within these different industries come from genuine love and transparency on what I love in life. Fashion and music. Gotta be nexxt. It’s been a real dope opportunity being able to take my business knowledge to now serving as an Executive Producer for Glue Creative founded by one of my best friends Herb Maximo. I am excited for the direction I will help take it in 2025.
When I work with someone no matter what the project or industry you’re gonna get Dezi.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Appreciate the artist and the art. There are so many artists that were not given their flowers until much later in their life if not until after they were already gone. Art makes life so much better. It’s easy to say share, buy, and so on but I think showing gratitude is the biggest thing you can do beyond. Keep the space open and do not take away art from someone. Most of the art in my home is from my good friend Bryan Paredes because I love the integrity of having someone I appreciate as a person in my home. To me art is one of the most intimate things we have in life. I love his pieces and seeing his touch in my own personal space. So let the team you hire know how grateful you are or the friend you have how dope their work is. The artistic journey is so up and down that you sometimes that one message or those words can lead someone to do their best work. I am grateful for what I ingest around me and what I have yet to as well.
We take so much for granted in life but we should not take anybody’s creativity no matter what the medium they are creating with. Music has lead me to make friends in all places of the world and I am thank full for those moments. When I look back at my favorite moments from life it’s those spent creating and taking part in the creative process. Have more conversations about works and creativity. One of the most important parts of this idea is to never give up on that creative light. No matter what industry, what medium, or what you do in life. No matter what you do you can make it art.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My mission is purpose, being true to Dezi and keeping it nexxt. I am human and I do not stray from that thought. So I always want to include those parts of me into any project. With DEZICartier I started making clothes that show the human aspect to the process. I think imperfection in the line is super dope and meaningful. We get caught up on being perfect but perfect is not nexxt nor does it exist. To put it simply keep making dope things in life. Everyone’s version of dope is different but it’s that simple. I want everything to have meaning that I do. The worst thing in life especially as any artist or creative is to just go through the motions and to stop relighting the fire. Life and people can try to water that but it’s crucial to keep burning. Working on things that align with me and creating things that are true to me help keep that lit. You are always rewarded when you lead with intention and purpose in art.
If somebody doesn’t see your value that is their loss. So I do things for me and those I love. Giving something your all is so important because you never know what that can push you as a person to do as well as others. Doing things that are bigger than self is always the idea. When I look back at my life I want to be fulfilled with passion, love, art, and saying I gave it everything I got.
Keep it real and you can’t go wrong.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/dezicartier
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/dezicartier
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1CwDWN5uGS/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dezibennett?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/dezicartier
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@dezicartier
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/DeziCartier
Image Credits
Raphael Loquellano
Alyssa Court
Mark Alexander