Meet Mulan | Freelance Model and Influencer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mulan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mulan, what role has risk played in your life or career?
The greatest investment you could ever make is in yourself and investments are all about risk. Life doesn’t come without it in some sort of way because any choices or decisions we make involve risk. I took the risk to take the full dive into starting a new path by quitting my full-time job and pursuing my passion and haven’t looked back since, only forward. I love every aspect of my modeling and what I do, and I didn’t get here without taking those risks to invest in myself!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Getting in front of the lens is when I really get to express my art and myself, I want to be able to tell a story or sell a product to my audience without giving a pitch so I generate shoot concepts. First I figure out what I want the photos to “say” or express to my audience, sometimes I look to magazines or online for inspiration in helping me with a certain look or theme, then I’ll put an outfit or look together with what I’m expressing or promoting, next I’ll figure out how I want to style my hair for the look and any makeup or accessories (if needed), then I select a location or scenery for the look or outfit to fall into place, and once I’m behind the camera those natural movements and expressions come out (music always helps me during this time) and I’m able to express my art. I am my own brand and everything I do is all based off of what I choose to do and how I choose to express myself with my art, but it didn’t come with ease. First I had to learn about the field I was getting into, so I joined a local agency. I had to understand the ins and outs as well to be able to run a brand, and I had to grasp the concepts of not only being in front of the lens, but also what goes on behind it. Once I got a few runways and brand campaigns in I began getting the hang of going to casting calls and networking, so I felt it was time to leave the agency and begin doing and finding my own work by representing myself as my own brand and although my time at that agency wasn’t the best experience, it gave me the tools on my journey I needed to be able to carry myself independently with my freelance. One of the hardest things about my modeling journey has been having to overcome losing a lot of people who didn’t support my dream or believe in me, but I learned that when you stay true to yourself and follow what you believe in, there’s gonna be people that envy that or disagree and that’s okay because those are the ones who aren’t meant to be around you or see you through your journey. My brand (myself) is all about staying true to me and my beliefs and always being authentic with everything I do. I built it from the ground up without any handouts or connections so you’ll never see me taking an easy route or degrading myself and I’m proud to be able to stand on those beliefs and live true to them. If the world or anyone had anything that I wanted them to know about me and my brand, it would be that you’re always getting authenticity and a true living piece of art.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
One of the most fun and interesting places to checkout are Little Five Points out on Moreland Ave. For me it’s always been THE place to be in Atlanta and my favorite part about going downtown. It’s full of art and life and just where a lot of creatives live and chill, it’s always so full of diversity and to me it’s always been the melting pot of the city. It’s so diverse and there’s always something interesting to see or going on. If you ever wanted to promote yourself or your work/products it’s always been a good place for that. You can find a lot of vendors and people that sell a lot of handmade items and paintings on the sidewalks, there’s so many good food spots on the strip, and you really can’t go wrong with any of the shops because they have a numerous amount of types of stores. If my best friend came to visit, I’d definitely take them to Little Five Points and take them to Criminal Records to check out the vinyls, get ice cream from Zesto’s, catch an old movie at The Plaza Theatre, gotta swing them by the Varsity for a classic meal, check out and grab some pieces or a whole fit from The Clothing Warehouse. Other food places I would take them to would be Yakiniku Japanese Steakhouse in Snellville, they have the BEST fried rice and hibachi, Eats on Ponce De Leon, and La Tavola for the best Italian food and cocktails. For fun I would take them to Cascade or Sparkles to skate or Flashback Games to play games and chill at the bar. Six Flags is also a classic. A good spot to take them to would be Pizookah for really good drinks or some of the best hookah and they usually have a good crowd. Another good place to go see is Stone Mountain, if you hike to the top you can see the entire state and it’s best to go near sunrise or sunset for the best views. To end the visit I would take them to the Ponce City Market because it’s nice to walk around and check out all the eateries and little shops, but the best part of it is The Roof, you take this cool elevator up and there’s a lot of bars and neat things to do. It’s got a place called Skyline Park and they have a bunch of vintage games and bars and things to do. Honestly I don’t know if it’s better to go during the Holiday season or the regular season, but I highly recommend both because in the Winter you can ice skate and rent out igloos for groups of people to eat and drink in!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I wanna thank my Father for giving me the tools necessary to be my own person and tackling this world full force and I wanna thank all of those friends and people who believed and believe in me and my vision along the way and for not giving up on me and watching the process of my journey. Thank you to my audience as well, your support and feedback motivate me to go harder.

Website: https://www.modelmayhem.com/4626603

Instagram: @alonmulan

Other: Email: arigatomulan@gmail.com

Image Credits
Image Credits go to: @Todd Youngblood, @Justin.Bonaparte.Creative, @devmv, @patrickkea, @eyecatcheverything