Today we’d like to introduce you to Myles McGuire.
Hi, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My Story begins in Ann Arbor Michigan. The arts were introduced to me around the age of 9 starting at home. My older brother is an insane animator, we would stay up for days just drawing and world building. My younger sister Nya was into fashion and music, we knew every word to every cheetah girls song, we promised each other in 2007 that we’d become pop stars. My older sister Saisha also always gave us room to create. We all starred on her imaginary radio show as kids.
My parents split at a young age teaching me a lot about relationships. I learned that relationships aren’t always fifty fifty. It’s more so a give and take that’ll balance out overtime. Looking back I would definitely say times weren’t easy, but my siblings and friends that I made constantly Kept me grounded. Even watching how hard my parents worked in their professional life, always kept me driven. I knew that no one would do the work for me.
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?
I’d say Entertainment came in various forms for me at such a young age. I had a hard time deciding as a child. I eventually ran track for 7 years wanting to be like my older sister yet again. In that time I didn’t authentically date because I wasn’t out as a gay black man, so I did my best to do as I was told, to fit in. Shortly after I graduated high school in 2016 I went to Central Michigan University to study political science. That lasted for about two years before I dropped out.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I performed within those two years, I fell in love for the first time, I got my heart broken, traveled, cooked at a Thai food restaurant, worked at JCPenney, BCBG, Macys, Walmart, Amazon, etc.. I could never keep a job that I felt was dead end and outside of my purpose. I lead protests in my home town, on days that I was suppose to be at work. My high school counselor and her wife reached out to their network of colleagues to raise money for me to move to LA in 2020. It was enough to give me a head start on a job hunt and wiggle room for me to experience LA stress free. What I didn’t know is that the next three years would be the hardest years of my life. When I moved to LA in 2020 I made it my mission to create a hero that I got to be when life got hard. I based my life around a projection of myself. I wanted to brand and market myself properly. Which landed me in a constant state of performance. Constantly posting new dance videos online, going to dance class to put out the next video, spending my last on a dance class. Paying for class footage and not getting it back. In the time that I was in LA I slept on couches, studio apartments with 4 people, a co-living space similar to a hostile. falling asleep on trains not knowing where to go next. I’ve lost myself numerous times out here. I’d rather create than to be comfortable to the point of homelessness. I didn’t know how to power down. I was racing to get to a place of monetary value. I landed a billboard for a hardrock café performance of mine, landed magazine articles, commercials, block party performances, performing at rolling loud, to even choreographing a dance film. So I’m slowly unlearning how I am as a artist beyond my accolades. What ultimately makes me happy is my family. I try my best to keep them at the head of my life.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
For as long as I could remember I wanted to creatively entertain people through various mediums. From making YouTube videos in high school, to running track for 7 years. I found joy in bringing a show to people. Making people forget about their worries because your performance has them so present, is a indescribable feeling. I studied political science for two years in college before I decided to pursue music and dance fully. It wasn’t easy walking by faith and I have lost my way time and time again. But allowing myself to fall apart made the results that much more rewarding. Thank you again for this honor, my contact information is below!
Contact Information
- Email: Mylesemanual@gmail.com
- Instagram: @myleage_
Suggest a Story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
