Meet Hazel Saunders | Content Creator & Social Media Professional

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

Hi Hazel, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor behind my success is being my authentic self.

My brand as Shady Haze is me. It’s not an alter ego, it’s actually who I am. I’m a Cosplayer, Content Creator and Social Media Professional.

I’ve been in the Social Media professional since 2017. I slowly got into it and the past couple of years, I took it seriously in working hard to get to where I am. Another factor behind my success is hard work. To get to where you want, you NEED to work hard. Be your true self and work hard to get what YOU want.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My artistry was born from surrealism as a kid, as a teen and as an adult. My mom was heavily into art and taught my sister and I how to express ourselves through art as a medium. We would color, draw and sometimes mimic what we see on TV in our art.

I always thought I would be an Artist for my career, but with peer pressure, I sadly pursued something else. Little did I know, I would have Art in my life through Cosplay and in my career as a adult.

Being who I am today and what I do, has not been easy. It takes hard work, dedication, patience and trying new things and with that comes failing or succeeding. In order to overcome challenges, I teach myself how to succeed. I’ll take a course, learn on YouTube or try different tactics.

The lessons I’ve learned along the way are to be confident, to keep learning, to keep striving and it’s okay to fail and try again.

As a Artist, I express myself through Cosplay in creating costumes, making props, drawing, as a social media professional, creating graphics and creating creative content.

I want the world to know that I’m a AAPI and LGBTQ+ Creator. I’m a strong and creative woman. My brand is me. I am someone who creates for me, for you and for the community to come together and get inspired to create.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would take my best friend to visit areas that are photo-worthy and to the best museums. The trip would be to stay in Washington, DC. We would hit up the best spots for Asian food, the best sweets and we’ll take photos and vlog the trip.

In my view, the most interesting places in the DC, MD and VA area has to be the museums whether it’s artsy, historic or a selfie museum where you can be silly and take photos.

I actually want to visit the Presidents Heads in Virginia. It was a monument that was abandoned and now resides in someone’s farm. It’s super creepy, but looks dope to visit. Over 20 feet tall busts of our Presidents prior to Obama.

Food wise in my area would be Annandale, since it’s the place where there’s a variety of Asian cuisines.

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 want to dedicate my shoutout to my mother. I thank her for raising my sister and I to be strong, smart and creative women.

I also want to thank my true Squad friends for the support for the past couple of years.

Website: https://beacons.page/thatshadyhaze

Instagram: Instagram.com/thatshadyhaze

Twitter: Twitter.com/thatshadyhaze

Facebook: Facebook.com/thatshadyhaze

Image Credits
https://instagram.com/tnguyenphotos