Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesse Golden.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in Chicago, IL dancing in my Mother’s dance studio, Golden’s School of Dance. I went on to be an accomplished dancer/ballerina. On a whim, I moved to Miami Beach at 17 years old and started modeling full time. My career eventually brought me to Los Angeles where I continued modeling and did some television, acting and dozens of commercials.
I unexpectedly but gratefully became pregnant at 25 years young. This was a huge positive life shift for me, as I always say, I came into my own when I became a mother. I was gratefully able to continue modeling my entire pregnancy, doing all kinds of fun pregnancy modeling, I also dived deeper into my yoga practice-studying Kundalini/ the Khalsa Way to prepare myself for my natural at-home birth. I had been practicing Hatha yoga since I was 18 so after my son was born, I decided to become a certified yoga teacher. I really didn’t have any intention to teach, I was more so fascinated with the practice that I wanted to learn as much as I could. It ended up being one of the best career moves I made because that was just when all the yoga companies started to birth and brands were looking for models that could actually do yoga. Being a yoga teacher set me apart from the rest and I was able to be the face of yoga brands such as Alo, Under Armour Women, Lucy Love Activewear, Nike yoga, Reebok and dozens more. Right in the middle of everything going right, my body started to shut down with weird symptoms that would come and go. I went from doctor to doctor trying to figure out what was going on with me until I was given the disheartening news that I had rheumatoid arthritis. Having not even known what that was, I instantly researched and did everything in my immediate power to assist my body in healing but the doctors convinced me that if I went on medication soon and aggressively, I would have a higher chance of going into remission.
Being scared and vulnerable, I listened to my doctors and went on a combination of drugs including methotrexate (chemotherapy). Having never really even taken over the counter drugs before, my body began to have every negative side effect there was and the line became blurred between the symptoms of the disease and the side effects of the medication. I decided that since this was a chronic disease, I needed to try everything holistic available to me to try to heal myself. I spent my entire life savings up until that point trying to do so. You name it, I tried it. At my worst, I was bedridden for almost a year. During this time, I was forced to go inward and rely on my yoga practice and discovered a whole new path. I ended up coming out even stronger and again graced the covers of yoga magazines and campaigns and at that time, I started a blog called The Golden Secrets to share how I did it because I was receiving hundreds of emails and couldn’t possibly respond to everyone. I became the face of rheumatoid arthritis and autoimmune disease. A beacon of hope that there is another way. I then decided to further my knowledge and become a Holistic Health Practitioner. I then wrote my book – The Golden Secrets to Optimal Health and launched my organic skincare line – products I had been making for myself for years.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life is never a smooth road but within the challenges of life is the opportunity to practice what we have learned and bring more light into the world. My life has been anything but smooth but my power, our power lies in our perception. Choosing to learn for our experiences and see the glass half full instead of half empty. For instance, I have chosen to look at my diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis as a blessing instead of a curse. Why? Because it taught me self-love, I became a holistic health practitioner because of it, I wrote a book from it and I have been able to help thousands of people by sharing my experience.
We’ve been impressed with The Golden Secrets, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The Golden Secrets is a Holistic, Organic, Sustainable, Fair Trade, Wild Harvested Skincare + Wellness Line to Inspire Rituals of Self-love & Unveil a Natural, Youthful, Golden Glow. All of my products are inspired by ancient formulas that have stood the test of time and every product comes with positive affirmations to recite to further enhance the product and instill positive daily rituals of self-love. We are always going beyond the skin and giving back. As a female business owner and female-run company, I feel it is my responsibility to give back. We plant a tree for every order and give 1% back to charities helping to make the world a better place.
What are your plans for the future?
As my company grows, I am excited to be launching more products to enrich people’s lives.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.thegoldensecrets.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/jessegolden www.instagram.com/thegoldensecrets
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/jessegoldenpage www.facebook.com/thegoldensecrets
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/jessegolden www.twitter.com/thegoldenglow
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/jessegoldenofficial
Image Credits:
Some of the images are from @sarahorbanicphotos with makeup by @jey_ventura One was by @lkbphotography One product shot was @emmamerryman and the rest where @devan.c.long
