Today we’d like to introduce you to Shayla Boyles.
Hi Shayla, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Shayla Boyles and I’m from a small town called Sissonville, West Virginia. I’m 19 years old, studying Health and Well-Being at West Virginia University. Growing up where I’m from, you are told that after you graduate you have to either go to college, learn a trade, or join the military. With my book smarts, I decided to accept my scholarship offers and pursue further education at WVU.
My biggest fear in life is falling into society’s normal 9-5, working for a corporation that doesn’t even know my name, and then retiring… BLAH!!! I know I’ve been put here on this Earth for a bigger purpose than that, So I decided to start researching personal training to form the idea of a fitness business in my head, where I can help people become the best version of themselves. With this idea of becoming the next Jillian Michaels in my head, I started training to build my body to be the perfect walking advertisement for my company. Through this, I discovered my absolute love for modeling! I’ve always been extroverted and cheerful, so being in front of the camera allowed me to let my expressiveness flow.
I started modeling in high school for my senior pictures, and then I became a part of Lisa Jennings’ senior modeling team to represent our school. During this time, I discovered a photographer named Kyle Young, who has helped me tremendously in getting started with professional-style photos. After the confidence that Kyle helped me build up, my fiery passion for modeling was burning! I was constantly looking for a way to get my name noticed, for people to see my talent, but because I live in such a small rural place, it’s hard to find connections. Thankfully, when I moved to Morgantown, West Virginia for college, I met a girl named Maliyah at work who also models. We both worked at Olive Garden, and I was talking to her about how I needed to find a way to do something bigger. She introduced me to the company HiTechModa, which I eventually walked for in Orlando Fashion Week.
It wasn’t as simple as that though, because I had to save every penny I made to afford the travel, hotel, and walking prices. I ended up flying to Florida with just enough money to pay for my uber to the hotel from the airport and back. It took many long days at work for me to be able to do that for myself. During Orlando Fashion Week I met a ton of models who had more experience than me and were more than willing to help me learn how to reach my goals. Through one of the girls, I found a photographer named Patrick Cox. His studio is located in Greenville, South Carolina. Remember, I live in Morgantown, West Virginia, so in order for me to shoot with him I had to drive 8 hours by myself to make it happen, and that’s exactly what I did. He has been amazing in teaching me the different types of posing, and model history over all the decades. He also has been the one to open my mind to understand that I am capable of becoming a professional model.
One of the designers that I walked for in Orlando also had me walk for her in New York Fashion Week September 2022, and her name is Grace Steadfast. She truly sees the spark in me, and I like to surround myself with people who lift each other up. So, my next venture was walking the runway three times in New York, and I also was showcased twice on my own billboard in Times Square. Through Grace I met a woman named Maye Mcdonald who is the CEO of GetMeFit, and she had me become her signature model for the company!
My next goal was to be signed with an agency so I can turn my loving passion for modeling into a long-term career, and I just made that happen with WestHaven International. My next mission is NYFW February 2023! Also, after experiencing what I have in just my short 19 years of life, I’ve decided to change my mission to helping talented people in small towns with no connections to be discovered. We all have a creative spark, but some aren’t found yet or they’re hidden, but I want to prove and inspire others to take the risk, step out of their comfort zone, and express themselves fully. No matter where you come from!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, with my family being low-income, the recent divorce of my parents, and the responsibility of being a big sister to my three younger siblings. I also moved from my hometown to my college town, which is a lot of stress. My passion for this is so strong, that my anxiety is horrible when I’m not constantly doing something productive to work towards my goals.
I wake up at 5:00 AM every day, even on the weekends so I can be as productive as possible. I’m not your typical college student, because I don’t enjoy going out, I’d rather stay home and get as much done as possible. The two biggest challenges for me have been financial, and not having easy access to connections, but that’s what I want to help people in the future. I never want someone to struggle the way I did/ still do to be able to make this happen for myself.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m currently enrolled in school full-time at WVU, while also working at Olive Garden every other day. That’s not what I’m passionate about though because I also do as many modeling gigs on the side as I can so I can turn that into my career. With modeling I’ve been doing runway, and print styles.
I’m different from others because I’m disciplined. I’m young, courageous, and hard-working. While everyone in this college town is out getting drunk, I’m asleep by 9 PM so I can wake up by 5 AM every day to hustle harder than the last. I have the drive, determination, and dream. I have all of the energy in the world to make it happen.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I didn’t grow up in a lucky situation. My dad being the only source of income, and my mom being a stay-at-home mom, we had a lot of financial struggles all through my life.
Today, my parents are divorced and now both working, but are still financially struggling, and I have three younger siblings going through more than I did, and my goal is to be able to provide them with everything that they need, so I know that they are at least lucky to have me as a big sister, Saying this though, I do believe that because I had no good luck growing up, it allowed me to build my work ethic to be as strong as it is today.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/shayla_boyles?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shayla.boyles.7
Image Credits
Patrick Cox, and Kyle Young
