Today we’d like to introduce you to Judea Brown.
Hi Judea, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
As a foster child, the thought of owning big fancy cars living in a mansion and traveling the country as a model was merely just a fantasy not to mention statistically speaking many foster kids do not feel like they can do much with their life after growing up through the system. I was determined to break that mentality. I first aspired to model at the age of 15 after binge-watching America’s next top model! It seems like I was always aware of my beauty and the personality my beauty held. When I first started I did a lot of freelance photo shoots meaning I would find great local photographers and set up a test shoot with them just to get an idea of how to pose. From there a lot of the things that I had to go through to get to where I am involved a lot of my own leg work. A lot of people do not mention in this particular industry as a model it’s not about how beautiful you look how good your personality is it’s not even about how much money you have to book the best photographer on the best set. It’s about who you know. After doing a lot of test shoots, I got the opportunity to meet at some of the best photographers in Seattle, Los Angeles and Atlanta which allowed me to Network with the most sought-after models and agencies.
In 2020, I signed with my first model agency Seattle talent management. I was super excited and more than determined to advance my career. Unfortunately somewhere, a turn of events occurred in my personal life which ultimately lead me to seek different management. Not to mention I was also an active duty service member in the United States Navy which was also an obstacle that was hard to balance with a model career. A lot of times I would miss out on opportunities for castings. But deep down in my soul, my dreams and my potential just wouldn’t allow me to give up so in 2021, I got stationed in San Diego, California where I had already begun to put my name out in the local area reaching out to anyone who would listen to help me advance my career. The rest is basically history. I use my looks to get noticed in my personality and ambition to get me a booked. With that, I was able to get signed to my second agency BMA models LA. Which I’ve viewed as my family my mentors and support. I walked my first runway show that year even though all the agencies I talk to before them told me that I was too short or my body was just not what they were looking for to walk the runway I made it possible. And that is really my goal in life my goal Is to impact young women who look similar to me, mothers who have stretch marks and are insecure about their bodies as I was, and younger girls growing up in foster care that can relate to my story and inspire them!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
A lot of the obstacles I think I’ve faced to be completely honest has only been myself. The fear that people wouldn’t accept me for who I am the fear that having a child at 20 years old My dreams and goals in life would never be accomplished. The fear that agencies wouldn’t except my look Or wouldn’t find my look appealing. And other things really took a toll on my mental. It wasn’t until I learned the art of meditating and manifesting that my fears and the way I viewed life began to change!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I recently just ended my tour of five years in the United States Navy in May 2022. After getting out, I started to work part-time as an Amazon delivery driver. When I’m not at work, I’m a full-time mommy and influencer. A lot of people who know me know me because of my modeling career and TikTok. What sets me apart from others is probably what I’m most proud of and help me grow a TikTok platform of 250 K followers in a year and I think that’s all because of just being myself. I’m proud of the amount of impact on people’s lives that I have made in such little time without having to follow trends or fake a persona it’s definitely been a humbling experience!
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
My peers journey and how they got to where they are is not my journey. And just learning to trust that everything happens for a reason.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a.yo.ma/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@a.yo.ma?_t=8VDOwfP5zlG&_r=1
Image Credits
Photographers Instagram handles: Alfonso_montejano Studio_baz Sinziaa BMAMODELSLA
