Life & Work with Gean Rogers

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gean Rogers.

Hi Gean, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My story is not 100% bright and cheerful-I have been working on my self-growth more than anything else these past few years. Like many, I suffer from extreme depression, social anxiety and more recently my sexuality. All of us have had days where we could not fathom the thought of getting out of bed and actually getting our days started. Unconvinced that even if we had put our day in motion, any good would come from it. Between Family, working a 9-6; with other jobs on the side, trying to figure out what drives ME and finding ways to become more in sync with the world outside has taken years and I’m still working on it.

Modeling is a career I luckily found along the way that gave me a positive outlet to use to express my creativity and deal with my daily frustrations in better ways than I previously had. (One of my peers invited me to my first event and I was hooked) Before Modeling, writing poetry and painting were my main outlets and it was quite honestly only used if I were in a bad mood. Which to me meant I was only a good artist when I was depressed. When I was joyful, I had no thoughts of creating anything. When I noticed that fact, I really wanted to change it. Which made me look at modeling as not just a hobby but a career.

I began to focus more on creating at all times and through all emotions and allowing myself to “receive my own flowers”. I have traveled to Korea, Spain, Brazil, Texas, Las Vegas and locally near Los Angeles for work, driven 4 hours and up just for bookings and if there was ever any doubt that I was inspired, I had hours to think about it In my car (haha) I am hoping to add many more stops to my list as I continue to connect with other artists soon.

Much of my work has been published in magazines like; ELLEMENTS Mag, SHUBA, Selin, Lo’ Ammi, FEINFH, MARIKA, VIGOUR, Edith Glamour Magazine, Assure Magazine, Intra, GMARO and many more! Had the pleasure of walking for the amazing Winnie Stacks, Model Mafia, Dwann Ventry and Normal Culture this year and met some great designers and creatives like Facet, Valor Fitness Clothing (a great company that helps gives back to those battling addiction), Dru Oliver (N.Y. Musician that you should have been listening to yesterday, Team Conceited and Subverse LA that you should check out and book with.

Working with different creatives has helped me to realize that I can literally just show up as myself and win at life. When you show up authentically as yourself, you make the biggest strides and feel the most calm even when there’s a storm brewing nearby. Managing myself for the past few years has taught me that I can do anything I can put my mind to (funny right?)

At the moment, I see myself expressing more interest in music and acting and I’m looking forward to watching that unfold. I’m very thankful to quite a few people for being those guiding lights for me the past few years but the biggest love goes out to Jahvohn Oddie, Thomas Martinez and Arnold Turner gave me safe spaces to be creative and I will always be thankful for that. So many of the people that I have met so far in this industry have shown me kindness (like Chris C. vine) and I appreciate all of you because it’s helped me unearth the strength and persistence I now know I have and show up as myself every day.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Many of my obstacles were internal. I was struggling with self-confidence and still do work on it from day to day. Realizing how important mental health is and that everything ends and begins at home was a big lesson for me. No matter where someone tells you the ceiling is, that’s not where it is. It’s as high as you want it to be.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Writing is something that I am the most passionate about. Something I don’t think many people know unless they are close to me. I love to write dark poetry, and short stories, etc. talk to people about scenes they shot, wardrobes they chose for their movies and how color schemes affect the mood in their art. I love things that are thought-provoking. Here’s a game. Choose a word. Write it on a board. Have whoever is playing make a short story or poem centered around that one word. Whoever comes up with the most amazing or touching story takes a bottle of wine home for themselves. Or going to a gallery and trying to guess how the artist felt when they made a specific piece.

I am known for fitness modeling and swimwear but in the last year and a half I have switched to fashion, styled a few models and been placed in charge of hair and makeup, not nearly as much as I would like but of course that is what life is for! I will continue to add to my list of what I am known for.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://geangrey.kavyar.site/
• Instagram: http://Instagram.com/Geangrey__

Image Credits
Photos 1, 2 (black wet look) Shot by Arnold Turner Photo 3 (Fienfh) Shot by Javohn Oddie Photos 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (SHUBA, Gmaro, Assure, Fashion ELLEMENTS, L’oammi magazine, shot by Thomas Martinez