We were lucky to catch up with Kristen Rochelle recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kristen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

For an extremely long time, I always knew that I wanted to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. I grew up taking acting classes and performing in plays, so performance on screen was always something I aspired to do. When I moved to Los Angeles in 2016 I felt that I was a step closer to my dream, but I had to put pursuing it on hold due to my full-time career. I finally got tired of putting my dream on hold, and 2 summers ago I made the decision to enroll in an intense 10-week acting class. It was one of the best decisions because it taught me the basics and how to tap into becoming the character. As soon as the class wrapped I was cast as the lead in an amazing short film titled ‘My Body’. I then decided to pursue Commercial Acting and Modeling, and have had some really exciting bookings. I can definitely say that taking the leap and pursuing what I have always dreamed of is what is truly making me happy. I am also an avid traveler and love creative visuals, so this year I launched www.urbansocial.space which is my ‘Virtual Coffee Table Book’ filled with a collection of beautiful visuals and moments from my lens. This has pushed me into additionally pursuing a dream job of Photography, which has been a very thrilling & exciting experience.

Kristen, 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 Kristen Rochelle, from Atlanta, GA but have been living in my dream city Los Angeles since 2016. I’m a Commercial Actress and Model, as well as Photographer with a speciality in Travel and Lifestyle photography. I got into the Entertainment Industry 2 years ago, and have been pursuing photography for over 5 years. I think the main thing that sets me apart from others is my creativity. I believe that’s what sets us all apart from each other, being unique in our own individual ways. I am at a place of happiness in my life that comes from being able to pursue my dreams by being an authentic creative.

I am inspired by films and love traveling, as well as learning about other cultures. While traveling – a scent, sight, or sound will give me creative inspiration and I ideate that into a visual. These visuals become core memories for me. I also collect local coffee table books from each trip, so I decided to create urbansocial.space – my virtual coffee table book. Urbansocial has always been my IG name, and a way to express my creativity, so I wanted my photography site to showcase my personal creative space, and be an extension of that. Each photo was taken by me with great passion and intention. My virtual coffee table book is for the travel lover, aspiring traveler, creative, film lover, foodie, & so many more. My goal is that my viewers, and clients, are delightfully transported to each location and creatively inspired through each visual.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being both an Artist and a Creative is knowing that I am 100% being my authentic self. When I am doing an audition I am able to be
Myself and let the character or role come to life through my personality. If I am selected it’s such a great feeling because I know that I was able to capture the casting director’s attention with my authenticity. Photography is so special to me because I am capturing visuals through my creative eye. I am able to produce stunning images and know that I developed something special through my own vision. When I was in the Corporate World I found myself only being my Corporate personality, which was a cool and nice person, but I wasn’t being my true authentic self. It’s a free-ing feeling knowing that I am making magic happen, whether in front of or behind the camera, just by being me.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson that I had to unlearn is playing it safe. I was always the typical ‘Type A’ individual. I always had a Plan A, B, and even C when it came to my professional life. And while I don’t think there is anything wrong with that and completely understand that type of reasoning, I had to learn to release the reins and bet on myself. Instead of always worrying about what is at the end of the tunnel, I had to learn to focus on the moment. Last year I was working in the Beauty Industry with a full-time corporate job. And while the pay was great, the work was really hard. Myself and the majority of others within the company unexpectedly were laid off due to the company not doing well financially. What would’ve typically sent me into panic and instant strategy on finding my next full-time job, I decided to do things extremely differently. I decided to tap into my creativity, what makes me happy, and what my goal has always been. That for me is Acting and Commercial Modeling, as well as Photography. While it hasn’t been easy and has stressful moments, the end result of betting on myself has been so rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.urbansocial.space
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urbansocial/
• Other: Urbansocial.space Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/urbansocial.space/

Image Credits

All images belong to Kristen Rochelle / Urbansocial.space