The Truth About Modeling With Bailey Ann

All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Bailey Ann with us. She is a model, photographer, and content creator using her eye and expertise in shaping brands while expressing her most authentic self. So welcome to the show. Hey guys, pumped to have you here. Um, So Bailey, the first one I got for you— we go deep pretty quick on this show— so what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?

I had so many things I could have picked one, but I would definitely want to tell the story, something to do with modeling, because modeling can be pretty harsh sometimes. And one of my first international kind of like gigs I had I was actually flown out to Cuba and it was super interesting. I've always wanted to leave the country, so I was stoked on that. And I mean, being in Cuba, first of all, I had no phone service. I was given a sticky note with the address of where to go. And I remember just getting off the plane. It was just a very, like, eye-opening experience. I was excited, got in my taxi and was off to wherever we were going. And when I get there, everyone's from Germany. The editorial group's from Germany. So a lot of foreign language, not really hearing any English. And it was great the first night, everything was going fine. We just met the clients and everything. And then the next day, wake up for call time, and I just remember getting like looked at like an object. They were just like looking at my skin, looking at my weight. Just, I could tell they were just judging me so hard. And I remember one of them saying like, oh, like you want to do high fashion? Like, aren't you a little big for that? And I just, I don't know, like it was kind of like the first punch in the face because I never really heard any of that before. So I kind of like quickly rebounded from that. I'm like, no, like I just kind of like got back out of my head and like, I'm fine. Like I'm good the way I am. And it kept like continuing throughout the night and then throughout the trip. So one of the nights we went to a restaurant and they actually were like kind of like watching what I ate. And I had, I remember getting like 2 little tacos because it's like a communist country and the food is so small over there. Like they're actually authentic tacos. Yeah, they gave me like 2 little tacos on a platter and I was like starving after. So I asked for like another platter of tacos and I remember they were like, no, like you don't need that. So I kind of was like, yeah, like I was, I was just very unconfrontational. So I was like, yeah, like I just kind of like backed off. And I remember one of the nights I snuck out on the rooftop. We had this little casa they rented. So like I literally snuck out on top of the rooftop and there was a grapevine and I would eat grapes Starving. Oh my God, but the, uh, shoot ended up like we got the photos we needed, ended up great. Yeah, go home and look in the mirror and just like you actually start to see yourself as big because they tell you this. Yeah, you have to practice a lot of like realizing that what people say to you, it is not the truth. Yeah, that's just opinion. Because like, so if you take that seriously and start to like manifest what they're saying, you're literally going to see yourself as that. Yeah, I had to just learn how to just accept like myself for who I was and not to like, not to take what they're telling me and like make it a truth in my head. Like I just had to just disregard everything they were saying. Yeah, that's a really tough thing to do sometimes.

No, for sure. I can't believe they said no, you've had enough. That's crazy.

I took a year off of modeling from that. I was 18 at the time. Oh my God, the whole trip, I was just kind of like, I have fun doing a lot of things. I'm very like, yeah, and I can entertain myself. And I had a great time this whole trip, don't get me wrong. Like, yeah, all the vintage cars, like there was so much culture in like one little area. We were in like Havana, like a little like vintage town, and it was great, but I was very thrown off by that.

Yeah, no, I'm sure. I mean, and I don't know, when I was 18, I'm not sure how I would have felt, but now if somebody were to say that to me, I'd be like, nah dude, I'm freaking hungry.

Yeah, I still get it from time to time. It's just the industry.

Yeah, that's what I was gonna say. It's the industry.

Yeah, it's alive. I always thought like people would make these things up. But I saw myself and like to see it to myself. I was like, whoa, I got you.

Uh, well, thanks for taking us on that, that journey. I feel like I was with you in Cuba there. So, um, so the next one I got for you is what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?

Um, actually, I would probably, probably want to bring this to the photo side of things because you already kind of did the modeling stuff. As far as photography goes, a lot of it, I mean, it's art first of all, and it's all about like being creative, your creative eye. And a lot of us kind of get lost with this whole Instagram thing. Everyone's posting what they're doing. Oh, I worked with this magazine, I worked with that one. And sometimes if you're not in like, like the sunlight of all of that, you're not the one posting all your stuff, you kind of get discouraged. You're like, oh man, like look what they're doing, I'm not doing it. Doing it. And you have to really stop comparing yourself because if you're feeding your head all this like, I'm not doing this or doing that, you're not going to do anything. You're going to get in this repetitive negative like thought process and you're just, you're not going to get anything done.

Yeah.

Because just seeing all of that is super discouraging. You have to realize like everyone has their own like race. They're racing themselves. Like, yeah, don't Don't look at what someone else is accomplishing and be like, man, like, if I'm not doing that, then I'm losing. Like, it's not like that at all. I feel like you have your own personal, like, battles. So like, why do you think you're— why do you think your path in, like, photography is going to be the same as someone else's? It's completely different.

Yeah, no, I agree. And I think another thing to realize too, like, it's a big problem. A lot of people, like, compare themselves to other people's, like, Instagram accounts, which is not necessarily that person's, like, real life.

It's So staged.

It's a highlight reel. You can't forget that.

Parts, only the good parts. And I— it's funny because of my Instagram, I love to like make everything look so aesthetic. Yeah, I'll start including like ridiculous videos of myself here and there, but I do that all in my story to keep it like as real as I can.

Yeah, I feel you.

Sometimes you just see all this stuff and like you get off Instagram feeling like crap. You're like, how is everyone so perfect? Like Every girl on Instagram looks beautiful, and I feel like every girl in real life is beautiful, like, in their own way. Yeah, no way everyone looks this perfect. Like, I'm— yeah, it gets stressful.

Yeah, I understand. Um, so next one, and I guess, you know, either industry you want, but like, what's your best piece of overall business advice? Like, say, I guess if somebody wants to get into photography or modeling, would you—

do you have any advice for like a As a beginner, it's really hard actually because you want to like look at other people's work and kind of like use it as inspiration. And at some point you're going to want to break off and have your own little style. And now that everyone and their mother is becoming a photographer, um, I think it's just to listen to your heart and like really find a style that sticks with you. But also be authentic because it's funny when I first started my own Instagram account for photography, I felt the need to be so robotic. I would be like, photo by Bailey Ann, like pictured this spot. Like I felt the need to be so robotic. And one of the most important things is to not be robotic and show that you're an actual human being. You have a personality, you have bad days, you have good days. And I think if you're like, if you're first starting out, is to really like throw that out there. Don't feel like you need to be some robotic professional. Yeah, like, I mean, like, you are— people will not only get your, like, buy your services for like what you're producing, but who you are. A lot of these celebrities, a lot of these celebrities have these videographers, and not saying like their work's bad, but like they're friends with them. They want someone who's familiar, who they can connect with, just like have a good time and feel comfortable with. And it's not always about your work. It's like a good like 50% of your personality, if not 90%. Like your work is the smallest amount of like why you want something sometimes.

Like, yeah, it's about the experience.

Yeah, the experience is what you're selling.

Yeah, I agree with that. I've always told people, especially now with like, because content is like abundant out there, like you can Google anything. So it's not to say though that you can like learn photography overnight. Like, I don't think that at all, but I just mean you can Google anything and there's a lot of photographers out there. So the next level of like why somebody would choose you over somebody else would be the experience. Like, if you are— if you're the same quality of photographer, then it's like, who do I want to work with more? Like, who would I have more fun with?

They invest in the experience. That's what they really want. I mean, we're all so isolated from each other that maybe you're busy all the time and you have this one shoot and like, I remember I was shooting some, one of the more commercial jobs. I was helping a friend shoot for lawyers and they would come out of the office for our little shoot. We thought maybe we were like, we're trying to go fast, we're not trying to like waste their time, but in that like 10 minutes of being out of their office and like we're just joking around shooting photos, they were so happy and they were like I don't want to go back to my office desk.

That's awesome.

Like, yeah, men in suits and they're just laughing, like, kind of like taking their time. They don't want to go back to work. Yeah, make someone feel good for that little amount of time feels like so nice.

It feels really good and they probably remember it, and then that's a way to get like more business too because they might tell other people about it. So, um, yeah, I think it's like way undervalued, or like people don't realize how important it is. So the next one for you, if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?

That was the one I actually struggled with because growing up I was, I mean, if I could give myself, my younger self advice, I was a little bit isolated when I was younger. I love to be alone and I still do now, but I would give myself, my younger self, the advice of friendships and family and just like letting people into your life isn't a bad thing. I felt like I needed to control everything around myself, so like being alone was the easiest way to do that. There was no one like making decisions for me or anything. And as I've gotten older, I've realized how important friendships and family are. And I've even set up like my grandpa is my best friend. And I set up a little, like, a little breakfast with him every other, like, Saturday or so. We go to Cracker Barrel.

Awesome.

Because we get so busy with our lives, and I feel like life moves by so quickly. I feel like anyone can agree with that.

It does.

So to, like, take a second to, like, breathe and, like, step back from your life and be like, hey, I'm gonna go hang out with my grandpa, like, that means the world to him, first of all. Yeah, second of all, like, it's nice to just like, especially with modeling and photography, especially modeling, being in this industry where like it's so surface level sometimes and it's all about status, to take a step back and like go back to where you came from. Yeah, hang out with my grandpa. Like, he's the coolest guy ever. Like, he's— he was in the Korean War. Yeah, sorry, that first he wouldn't talk much. Like, he— I know we enjoyed hanging out, but now I can't get him to stop talking when we go. Yeah, he loves it. He loves our friendship and it's like the most important thing to me.

Absolutely. Yo, and that— sorry again.

No, you're good. I was just like, build and keep those relationships. I was not like that when I was younger. I was just me, me, me, like not selfish, just alone. Like I wanted to be alone.

No, I, I feel— I think there's a balance to be had. Like being— I think some people go too far in either direction. Like I, I love connecting and being with people but then like after I do that all day, then I like to be alone for a while too. Like you need like a, like a re— yeah, recharge. And I think too, like grandpas and grandmas, dude, best conversations ever because they have— they've lived a whole life. Like we think we know, like we don't know, like they know. So like I love talking to them, like in the stories of the Korean War and just like him grow— I'm sure he's got endless stories.

Stories. And he was into photography too, so we can—

Oh, there you go. Yeah, that's awesome. Um, so that perfectly leads to the next one. The next one is, in your opinion, what is the key to happiness? So we'll get a little deeper.

Um, I have a lot of things that are key to happiness, and I'd kind of always been in relationships. That's actually kind of like going against what I just said, but as far as like a single relationship with one person, but like recently I've had the time to just be alone and have like great friendships with people and it's been so life-changing. But as far as happiness goes, I feel like once you can be your complete authentic self, like you're not lying to yourself, you're really like discovering who you are. And you can surround yourself with like likewise people who do not judge you. You don't like— you feel like you could go to any of your friends and just say the most ridiculous things and you don't feel judged. To just surround yourself in the life where like you're literally like your truest form. I feel like that's what happiness is to me. Yeah, because I feel like there's certain people you can hang around and like you feel like your energy is being drained because you kind of have to like put a wall up. You can't be your complete self. But once you've like created this life for yourself where you can just literally do whatever you want, say whatever you want, because like you've created this life, like everyone around you is like rooting for you, they're supportive, they're positive, you've just basically created like your own happiness.

Yeah, I'm with you. And you're always going to have some like haters. Like when you put yourself out there and you're like your full self, there are times where there's going to be some like negativity thrown at you.

I love it.

Yeah, I like that. Yeah, it's like, that's cool because like, and you don't want to succumb to that because like you got to be— that's why I loved in your intro like expressing your most authentic self because I think that's how you actually discover what you want to be doing, you know what I mean? Like I'm sure even though there's some things about the modeling industry you don't maybe love, like I'm sure you enjoy parts of it, and photography I'm sure you really enjoy. So no matter what level of success you're at right now, at least you're on a path of like what you love, you know, and like that will—

it's like, yeah, but at the same time, it's like the best thing I've ever done.

Yeah, exactly.

Other like way of life, because as a creative, you have so many ups and downs. Like, it's almost like you love it. Like, you love— like, you get really sad sometimes, but then you get like super high euphoria. I don't know, it's— I don't know any other way.

I'm with you. I love it. And then what is the best book that you've read and what's the number one thing you learned from it?

To be honest, I have the attention span of a squirrel.

Okay.

Books, I kind of will open it up and read like a little part of it and set it down. But I'm super into thrifting and recently I picked up a book It was called Finding Your Own Northern Star. Mm-hmm. And I read it and it was about your essential self and your social self. And it was just basically like explaining like when you were born, you're born your essential self and that's who you were born. It's your personality, like everything, just it's you. And as you are raised in this society, you become your social self. And that's like basically the you who is influenced by others' like opinions and and you start getting insecure, you start like shaping your answers and your like personal preferences to what you think others would like approve of in a way. And you're just really not yourself. And I mean, I feel like it's like, it's very hard to completely be your essential self, but to get to that point, I would definitely say I'm like on the right path.

Yeah.

Once, once you're your essential self, you get a lot happier. Yeah, as an example, I guess if someone like, someone had like this, uh, dad who was into like dentistry and they're like, oh, I want you to be a dentist too. So they're like, they don't even like put in like in their mind like what they want to do. They're like, yeah, I need to be a dentist just like my dad. And like their whole life they're like studying, doing this and that. And then finally they're like, they're taking this huge test that determines if they're gonna like be a dentist for the rest of their life, and they almost self-sabotage themselves. Maybe they won't study the last few nights, or they'll just flunk it. And that's their essential self telling them, this is not what you want at all.

Yeah.

So your social self is honestly just like— it's like super ego-driven. It's just what others want for you almost. And to do your— to be your essential self is like— it's honestly like pretty hard because, you know, like that's when people are going to start judging because you're fooling your own self.

Yeah, it's actually— it's like a— there's a method to that, actually. Like, um, when a lot of people say like, how do you find your passion? Or like, yeah, like, so how do you find your passion? One way to do that is to think like, well, what did you enjoy doing when you were like 6 years old? And it's like, how do you become your true self again? Because you're, you're differentiating those two. So it's cool that that book did that and like just Like my example is like I've always loved connecting with people, so it's like a podcast would probably be pretty good for me to do, um, right? Uh, but like accounting, being alone all day crunching numbers, would probably be a terrible thing for me to do, you know?

So I actually thought of being an accountant at one point.

Me too.

I didn't go down that route.

Yo, that would be rough.

At 7, I was obsessed, so I was like I kind of always knew that's what I wanted to do. I never thought I could like actually pay the bills with it. So that's—

I gotcha.

Story on its own. But yeah.

So next, what's your favorite quote and why?

My favorite quote actually kind of has something to go back to the whole family relations. And it is— I cannot remember it for my life.

It's okay.

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. It kind of just like resonates with me because like you can go anywhere fast, like you can— I would like travel alone, I would like run errands alone, do this and that alone, and I never would really understand like the concept of girls and like just people in general that would always want to hang out with people like throughout their day. I'm like, oh, it just gets in your way, like How can you do that? Like, why? But like you said, it isn't like a nice little balance you need to kind of make. But as I like, like got these friendships, I like connected with some of my best friends now. Like, I don't know, like I just feel so much more like fulfillment. And I feel like you can truly go a lot further when you have someone by your side when you're working together. Because I feel like being alone has its perks. But there's like nothing you can beat when there's like two minds working together. There's— I don't know, it's just— I feel like that's why we're here is to make connections with one another, and to not do that is kind of just like pointless.

Yeah, I, I agree. Um, so Bailey Ann, thanks for coming on the show. Um, I got one last one for you. Where can our listeners best, uh, find you online and connect with you?

My most, or the easiest way to connect with me is probably Instagram, Taco Mail.

Yeah, I love that name, by the way.

Yeah, we did.

Thanks.

I was obsessed with Taco Bell for a while, but I mean, I'm pretty healthy now for the most part.

Gotcha. Thank you again for sure. Taco Mail, thanks for coming on.

For sure. Thank you, Tyler Wagner Wagner.