We were lucky to catch up with Kevin Spears recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kevin, appreciate you joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

In order to be successful you have to be confident and okay with ruffling feathers. No matter what you do in life there are going to be people that tell you “you can’t do…xyz bc of xyz” but these same people haven’t even attempted to chase a dream of their own. I was bullied, singled out and chastised for being different. When I was two I was attacked by a dog, I have over 150 stitches in my face. For years people made fun of my appearance and my life style. I tried to change myself to fit in with the same people to feel accepted or feel better about myself. But in the end I realized no matter who you put around you you can’t run from who you truly are you have to embrace it. Once I started embracing who I truly was nobody could tell me different. I got to college started modeling and doing what actually makes me happy, scratching stuff off my bucket list. 2 years into just starting I have already walked LA, NY and DC Fashion Week and a few magazines selections. Now after being a Baltimore native for 22 years I just moved to New York. If you would have told me 10 years ago I would move out of state and become a Model I wouldn’t believe you. But even through all of the hard work and success that paid off I still to this day have people telling me what They think I can’t do, what they think is best for me. Remember I said success is also about ruffling feathers well I’m writing this doing exactly what I want to do where I want to be in life with goals to achieve more and inspire other people.

Kevin, 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 picked up the interest in modeling once I attended College at the University of Maryland EasternShore. I joined a team called The Haus Of Legacy where I was giving the foundation to be successful in this industry. From that I returned home back to Baltimore, Maryland where I took everything I learned and applied it myself. I practiced by walking hallways and parking lots with strangers looking at me with confusion and concern. I attended different casting calls and I traveled.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

When I started modeling I just wanted to do it for fun but now that I have been trying to go mainstream this is my full time job. No matter where I go I always try to network with people especially those who have cameras in hand or advertise they work in the field of fashion. But I feel like this became more than side hustle once I started getting messages from people who I didn’t know telling me how they look up to me and have been watching my progress. It was a milestone moment for me because again I’ve only been doing this professionally for two years w no agency no management. Just my support team of loved ones.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

When I started modeling I just wanted to do it for fun but now that I have been trying to go mainstream this is my full time job. No matter where I go I always try to network with people especially those who have cameras in hand or advertise they work in the field of fashion. But I feel like this became more than side hustle once I started getting messages from people who I didn’t know telling me how they look up to me and have been watching my progress. It was a milestone moment for me because again I’ve only been doing this professionally for two years w no agency no management. Just my support team of loved ones

Contact Info:

• Instagram: _iriss901

Image Credits
@rskn.media