Today we’d like to introduce you to Sophie Felix.
Sophie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m the founder of HBM Talent & Management. I established HBM in Los Angeles, and since then, I’ve also expanded my company and models in New York. I grew up in California and was raised by a super loving family. Growing up my grandpa Augie would always play his guitar and sing oldies but goodies music. When he was young, he was in a band, and he was the lead singer. He had a true talent with music, so I think that’s where I inherited my interest in the entertainment industry.
When I was a child, he would tell me “You are going to be the superstar of our family.” He gave me so much confidence. My career in modeling started when I was 19. I was managed by an agent in Hollywood who published me in a poster. I traveled the country with the other models making appearances for our poster and calendars; it was really fun. I rarely share this, but I was actually discovered by one of Apollonia Kotero’s former managers. Apollonia was a former girlfriend of Prince and the lead actress in his movie Purple Rain.
That agent told me how Apollonia met Prince for the movie role, it’s a crazy story. Haha, but yes my very first photo shoot I shot for a poster in lingerie and that’s how I got my break. After traveling was done for that gig, I did a few music videos and print work. I also got to shoot with celeb photographer Michael Vincent which was great. After I was done with everything, I felt I would be better as a talent manager when I realized that for female models there are a lot of challenges behind the scenes.
I wanted to make a change, so that’s why I developed HBM Talent & Management. It is important for me to work with my models one on one, to guide, support and protect them in the industry. I want them to feel confident and safe. I’ve had the privilege to work with some of the worlds top international models, artists, and photographers. I love what I do especially when I’m on set watching our models shoot. It’s incredible.
I’m thankful I took the risk and was successful in pursuing my dream of business ownership. I have a feeling my Grandpa is in heaven rocking out his guitar and super proud of me.
Has it been a smooth road?
It has been a smooth road, but there have been a few occasions that made me tell myself “What the f*ck am I doing?” lol. However, what has helped me is spending time on personal development, learning how to pray correctly and mastering how to control my emotions. I can have the worst situation in front of me and be able to turn it around. It’s all in your mindset. If you are able to control your emotions and energy level, you can overcome anything and save yourself money, time and even relationships. Also, what I experienced was I had to be twice as strong as any male in this industry.
Men would judge me by my looks all the time. I’ve had times where men would tell me after meeting me they really wanted to meet just because they thought I was “hot” but after speaking they respected me as a businesswoman. It was very important for me to get educated and establish a reputation that was honorable and positive. I have been great at it and choosing the right allies which I feel placed me in a position that created more opportunities for growth in my career. I made sure it’s a smooth road because I work on my own terms and make things inspirational, always.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the HBM Talent & Management story. Tell us more about the business.
HBM Talent and Management specialize in providing professional models and spokesmodels to brands, events, and companies for campaigns. We are located in Los Angeles and New York. We’re an exclusive boutique agency. You have to go through an interview process and trial run before you are approved to be on our roster. I have an absolutely amazing team who works closely with me to get things done. Some key people on my team is model Philip Fusco. Phil’s been on dozens of international magazine covers, book covers, commercials and he just shot for a film on Netflix.
He’s not just awesome at modeling, but he’s very kind and always helps out with my charity projects. My business partner Thompson P has been a major player who helps elevate HBM as far as development and operations. Our creative director and lead MUA Saeed Jesse Ramirez works with many high-profile brands and models in fashion shows. He got booked for the Grammy Awards this year and NYFW, and he’s booked nonstop. Erika Belvin is in charge of my branding. She’s a beast. My intern Stephany literally saves the day for me. She keeps all our paperwork and files organized at office.
And my executive assistant Teresa Machorro takes care of my administrative and personal assistant duties. They are the best ever, and I’m truly thankful to have them. They’re the people who keep me inspired and give me the motivation to keep going bigger and better. I love seeing the overall results and getting those calls when you can hear the excitement in their voices and how happy they are.
HBM works very closely with our models to ensure the process is successful. I also create custom business plans, marketing campaigns and goals for our talent to pursue. I’m educated in International Trade and Business Development, and I love to mentor other women in pursuing their own career goals. I am also San Diego Chapter President of America’s Children of Fallen Heroes charity. Spokeswoman for a CBD infused luxury skincare line called RX Canna Care.
I was named a 2017 California Hero awarded by CA State Senate. Nominated as 2016 Inspirational Woman of the Year by the National Latina Business Women’s Association – LA chapter and I am a 2015 Telly Award winner. The last few years have been life-changing. I feel blessed I’ve accomplished so much in a short time frame. I’m the type of woman who’s capable of really changing lives. I was made for this, I’m not all talk. With HBM I prove my abilities with real-life results, and that’s what always sets me apart from others.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We are currently working on completely re-branding our website and adding models to our roster who can be booked for high fashion campaigns. I want to be able to provide HBM models to work on major campaigns in fashion in Paris, LA and NYC. For the next few weeks, I am currently participating in a business accelerator program by Hera Labs which was named by Forbes as one of the top female accelerator programs in the country.
I’ll get to pitch HBM in January at graduation which is exciting. It’s really awesome to have Hera Labs as a support system. I want to continue to work on my charity programs for America’s Children of Fallen Heroes. We support the children of fallen military heroes, police officers and firefighters. We’re currently working with a fashion company called Top Gun Fashion on a special promo that will bring awareness.
This month I was nominated for Corporate LATINA Executive of the year for Latina Style Magazine. I am scheduled for their awards event in Washington DC for HBM’s “honorable mention,” and it feels AMAZING! Besides that, pretty much just rock it out and enjoy these special moments as much as possible. I would like to spend more time this Holiday Season, and next year with the people I love and surprising the families in need we support during Christmas.
One thing about HBM is we give back to our community. We have donated and raised a significant amount for children in need. So I’m going to be busy making magic happen, and my models are always keeping me on the go.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hbmtalent.com
- Email: sophiehbmtalent@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hbm_talent/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/hbmtalentandmanagement/?tsid=0.6596082637&source=result
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-felix-30723997/
Image Credit:
Michael Vincent, Adam Bouska, Noble Ambience, Taadow69k, Lijo Loy, Philip Fusco, MakeUpbySaeed
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