We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Markell Goode a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Markell, thanks for joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?
Often times I do wonder what life would’ve looked like for me if I’d started my creative journey sooner. I would’ve absolutely been way more effective in how I manage business and even handle the many No’s that jabbed me in this thing we call life! Being a creative is so hard, being a BLACK CREATIVE is even harder and growing up in a time where education was pushed on me, I missed out on the road map in fashion. I never take for granted going to college, a HBCU at that because it was upon that hill where I met some of my lifetime friends and appreciated the beauty within being a Black Man!
Markell, 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 Markell Goode, a Stylist in NYC, a Creative as the world sees it on social media “MarkellCreative”. Where do I even begin; I guess I can say that I’m originally from Cleveland, OH where i attended the Cleveland School of the Arts and it was within those walls I found my voice and my style. You see going to a performing Arts school was the place where people were free to express themselves artistically, creatively and freely. There were these two sisters Cre and Ebun Watson who would creatively express themselves through clothes, viewing their body as art and overall confidence that always fascinated me. They were the early day Coco & Breezy who have always inspired and pushed me to be my authentic self. I use to elude that first thing in the morning preparing for school, but because just like any school and the politics of what’s popular, masculine or cool aspect of things would always have me running back home to change and leave out in baggy clothing to elude acceptance that I never needed. Which looking at it today I wear oversized clothing as my comfort style.
Growing up in Cleveland, OH was where I got my start in this industry. Working for Style Lounge with my mentors Aja Lewis and Liyana Lee. Talk about Black Girl Magic! These two started a boutique in downtown Cleveland in Beachwood Mall that was beyond its time. I got to learn about wholesale trades, the hustle and bustle of being a business owner, setting goals, meeting deadlines, building relationships /connections and become more comfortable with myself and my personal style. I’ll forever give those two women their flowers because they encouraged me to finish college, my profound HBCU Kentucky State University and take that leap of faith to NYC. I want to continue to make them proud of the man I’m becoming each and every day. Being ask to do Cleveland Fashion Week, Culture Shock, The Ohio Hip Hop Awards and being a Personal Assistant to Coco & Breezy really centered me in a position to learn the business. Learn how to make tough decisions and know that not all deals are good deals. Within those businesses it was amazing to grow but I needed much more for myself to grow. I even made a lot of bumps along the road that were lessons learned. So to know me and how it all started starts in Cleveland, OH. The values, kindness, not a lot of resources but enough to understand that moving after attending my HBCU to NYC was necessary. My family also holds a special part in keeping me grounded and focused enough to know that anything I set my heart and soul to shall come once I believe. Thank you for that Mommy, Kiki, Auntie San, Kiona , Chan, Tee, Sekani and The Goode’s!
Living in NYC will forever hold a special place to me as a stylist. I started with absolutely nothing, a new place with no sense of direction. I had friends that were photographers so we would always test shoot with me as the muse and I seemed to shine in front of the camera. Gaining access to that opened doors, using clothes out of my very small Brooklyn apartment closet to style models. I built my portfolio around that then gained credibility, contacts to showrooms to pull big brands and email groups with contacts to pull things that you see at NYFW, Vogue Magazine, you name it. Aside from that It prompted me to use my social media platforms to always post and seek ways to create content. Brands and people seemed to love me a lot more n front of the camera instead of being behind the scenes. My body of work has been featured in Vogue, Flannelle, 5Eleven, Lucy Magazine, Macys Live, Apple TV+, Netflix and Hulu. Providing my authentic self, a sense of humor in an industry that’s so competitive, not many Black creatives feel seen or heard. I make it a mission to be remembered and style shoots with a creative direction that moves people. It’s always the story that’s most compelling when it comes to styling rather it be the client, model, photographer, Hair and MUA. I always connect on a personal level with them by allowing them to be vulnerable as well as myself and we just always bond in that way. It often times helped in problem solving and simply master being a work of Art for us all. I also have to be disciplined enough to separate some connections because at the end of the day business is business. I’ve become so good that on social media I’m an influencer and get a load of opportunities from brands such as Forever 21 Men, BoohooMan, Ugg, Dr. Martens, Youth To The People, NYC Healthy. You name it. Being a Stylist and a Influencer is a gift and a curse. With all of the not so social norms that society has created on top of the trauma I believe a lot of millennials have experienced throughout the course of our journey has made things quite complex.
When it comes to the body of work that speaks to me rather it’s Styling, Influencing, working through life itself, I’m showing the hustle, the never giving up mindset of Markell because I’ve learned that you have to be hungry for your dreams no matter what. I found myself always getting side tracked with my 9 to 5 to make ends meet in NYC because it isn’t cheap to live here. I want the people who follow my journey to know that we’re all walking billboard and to remember to let the art speak for itself. It’s ok to be your biggest critic but remember to always take that constructive criticism and climb the ladder. If my work touched only one person in this lifetime then I’ve done my job. We’ve made things a competition when it should be something that’s in your heart and if it lives inside of you nothing can break that!
I’m most proud of ME. of course every bit of work I’ve done, being Inducted in the 40 Under 40 awards for my Alma Mater, making it in NYC for 9.5 years but Markell Dalvone Foster Goode my my my, how I have grown into this beautiful Black Man who isn’t afraid to take risk, take a step back, set boundaries, say no, stand up for myself, fall in Love, checking my attitude, knowing that the road ahead isn’t so nice but I’m taking that leap, expressing myself to my family which was one of the hardest things and simply influencing the new generation of kids and people across the world who I have the honor of speaking to daily from Seoul, Korea, Germany, London, Paris. I’m proud of the work within myself. Not too bad for a guy from Cleveland, OH. I always say Cleveland raised me but NYC saved me 💚
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I remember a time back when I had damn near lost everything including myself. I was working at Promise Academy at that time in the after school program, not too long ago did I graduate with my M.A in PR from Full Sail University. Prior to graduating I had paid for my entire family my Mother, sister and at that time my niece and nephew to fly to Winter Park, Florida for my graduation. On top of that I had recently subleased a room in Brooklyn and I explained that I would be a bit late on paying rent only because of graduation. I thought everyone was clear on everything and that was never the case. When I got back from graduation, the locks were changed, everything I had ever owned was thrown away and it was just my suitcase and I. I didn’t know what to do, who to call, my pride wouldn’t allow me to go back to Cleveland or maybe it was defeat, embarrassment. I got on the train and went to the school where I slept there for 3 months. It was the lowest I felt, I would ride the trains after work all night then go back to work around 6am, sleep for about 3 hours, get myself together in the locker room and work. This was one of the saddest moments of my life, where I didn’t believe in myself any more, I wanted to give up but my screensaver on my phone was of my family at our happiest with me. It was that little bit of hope on that screen that whispered God isn’t done with you yet. So I saved more money that I ever did and found myself on by March moving on Upper East Side. I cried so hard and I know to a lot of people it would’ve been easier to go to my safe space but I didn’t really have that or so I thought. My resilience came from me not giving up, I want everyone to know that, life is complicated, what looks picture perfect isn’t always neat and to always check on your strongest friends. Mighty on sight, definitely will fight but soft and light. I had to be resilient in helping myself first. Sometimes it’s easier to focus and fix other people than yourself and that was such a mighty lesson I learned and endured.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I think people in general will always struggle to understand is that being a creative doesn’t look the same for everyone, what’s beautiful to you may not be for the next and that’s ok. Having ideas and not only creating them but bring them to life is extraordinary. I said it before that being a Millennial has broken so many generational curses in households. Especially being Black, you see going to college and getting a well paying job was the goal and expectations but for me, being happy doing what I love rather it be free or paid abundantly. All in all if you place clothes, cameras, some wine, good music then I’m going to be in my zone to create endless possibilities of creativity! The deals and opportunities will come and even if they didn’t, I’ll be happy and I’ll continue to work, grow, learn, love and inspire. I think the biggest thing for non creatives to understand is that they took the road with gps navigation and me as a creative, I’m jumping out of a plane and who knows where I may land, at least I did it with my head up, chest out! Be fearless
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.markellcreative.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markellcreative/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markell.goode?mibextid=b06tZ0
Image Credits
Photographer: Maddie Provost @maddieprophoto [email protected]