We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Madeline Adams a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Madeline, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I first knew I wanted to become a model during my sophomore or junior year at Boston College. I had developed a love for photography in high school and I even created my own photography business in college for senior photos, portraits, events, etc. I also joined the Boston College Yearbook Club and worked my way up to the photography editor managing a team of 20 photographers.
I knew I had what it took to be a model and the rise of social media inspired me. I secretly always wanted to be on the other side of the lens, but I held myself back in fear of judgement. College can be a tough environment where you are easily branded as something you are not. Because I was a D1 runner at BC, I wanted to protect my reputation and stay on the safer end of the creative space I loved.
During my senior year, my high school friend asked me to be an ambassador for her jewelry company, JoJo Rings, which meant for the first time I had to ask my friends to take pictures of me wearing her unique recycled pieces. It was during these mini photoshoots that I knew I wanted to be a model, but I just had to figure out how to break into the competitive industry.
I was lucky enough to have an amazing friend after college who was well connected in the art industry of Boston and he truly understood how much I wanted to model, but could see I was scared. He secured my first opportunity to walk in a small runway show and connected me with two trusted photographers who helped my start a professional modeling portfolio. He really helped push me down the path that I always wanted to go down and for that I’m forever grateful.
Fast forward 5 years and I’m now signed with Lucid Models. I’ve had the honor of modeling for top brands in swim and lingerie and recently walked in Miami Swim Week. I also moved from Boston to LA about 3 months ago.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m an outgoing, business minded 27-year-old model who recently made the move from Boston to LA. After being a professional photographer for years, I switched to modeling in 2018 when I graduated from Boston College. Within my first year of modeling, I secured amazing opportunities to walk in London and Paris Fashion Week.
I found my modeling passions in swimsuit, lingerie, fitness and fashion. Recently, I was honored to walk in Miami Swim Week and work with top lingerie brands. I’m currently signed with Lucid Models.
In addition to modeling, I’m a social media content creator. I’m hired by brands to create engaging and informative video content typically promoting products relevant to my brand and audience. I have over 13.1K followers on Instagram- which I’ve organically grow from 800 in 5 years. I have 85.6K followers on TikTok. My username “mindovermadeline” is a play on “mind over matter” because I truly believe you can achieve anything to which you put your mind.
I also work full time as a Diversity Talent Specialist at TEKsystems where I help diverse individuals advance their IT careers and help our customers solve their challenges with creating a diverse workforce.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Growing your audience on social media has become increasingly difficult, but a few things will always remain: 1. Be authentic, vulnerable and relatable
2. Be grateful for the support no matter how much your grow- respond to all DMs and comments
3. Produce high quality content frequently
I’ve stuck true to these things one the last 5 years and continued to listen to advice for larger content creators/models. You have to continue to adapt to the ever-changing social media platforms and complicated algorithms. I’ve organically grown my audience from 800 to 13K in 5 years by staying true to myself and maintaining a positive attitude.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
The best way to support creatives is by sharing their work and uplifting their messages. I always appreciate the friends and followers who engage with my content and share it with their audiences. This is a cost free way to show your support for someone and help their business/brand.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindovermadeline/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@mindovermadeline
Image Credits
Can Ahtam Marcus Jason Paige Elizabeth Quesi James Zoran Vidanovic Eric Crocombe