Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsé Woods.
Hi Chelsé, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
Hello! My name is Chelsé B. Woods but some people knew me as LaReign Storm. There are a plethora of titles I’ve been given over time: Photo(Video)grapher. Digital Strategist. Entertainment Manager. A&R. Educator. Innovation & Design Consultant. Life Design Coach…etc. The list goes on and on. I’m honored and tickled by every title I get because I’m never defined by just one and I don’t think I ever will be. It’s not something I really like to brag about, if anything, it just makes me wonder if I’m doing my life right or if I’m really THAT indecisive that I can’t choose a steady career path lol! I guess you can say I’m an expert at pivoting.
I have been a creative since I was born. As cliché as that may sound, my story is a testimony to how creativity and love are survival, and how I truly believe my purpose in this life is to provide the motivation and assistance for others to believe in themselves, see their own power and beauty, and to tell their own stories before someone else does.
My father gave me my first camera, a Kodak Ektralite 10, for my 8th birthday so that I could take pictures to send him while he was in the military stationed overseas. I’ve been in love with photography ever since. That love for photography branched off into film and then eventually merged with my ongoing love for music. I always wanted to capture the moments that made people FEEL. This took me into creating my own take on music videos in high school after being introduced to some film equipment in one of my media classes. I also became a photographer for the school newspaper and yearbook, branched from my traditional art classes to digital animation, I started learning how to produce music, and fully immersed myself into becoming my own creative everywoman because I hadn’t seen many black women take on media and entertainment like that before. I remember looking up to and wanting to be my own version of Sylvia Rhone lol.
Fast forward decades later and I have had amazing experiences as an A&R and entertainment manager, I have worked for indie and major music and entertainment labels, ran my own music label, established a career in marketing and consulting, became a full-time educator, photographer, videographer, and now I use all of my skills as a Life Design coach, and currently operate Art x Lyfe, a visual lifestyle brand and production company.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’d say I’ve been blessed to learn many lessons that have prepared me for wherever God is leading me. Challenges are an opportunity for growth. Growth does not come from comfort, and I can assure you that I grow each and every day. I can say that everything painful or hurtful that I’ve been through has not and will not ever define me. I make a choice and I fight. When you are challenged, your own perception dictates how much or how little it will take for you to overcome or succumb to the challenge. I was involved in a near-fatal car accident at one point. I was in a coma. I almost died. I had to learn how to dress and walk again. It was probably one of the most defining moments of my life, however, I barely think or talk about it unless it’s a testimony to how good God is and how blessed I am to still be here. I try to be as much of a light as I can while also choosing complete happiness for myself. I have never allowed myself the luxury of giving up and I hope to empower others with that because they shouldn’t either.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Art x Lyfe is my visual lifestyle brand and production company where I basically get to do whatever I want to do creatively, whenever I feel like I want to do it, unapologetically, non-traditionally, and without reserve. It is my own personal creative outlet, yet it is also a means for me to pour into others and help them to see themselves and their ideas come to fruition without the restrictions of feeling as though you can only be creative in one dimension, or how society tells you it should be. I get to do things that move my heart. I get to create things that interest me. Art x Lyfe is an infusion of every part of who I am as a creative, along with my skills, business acumen, and experience.
Because I am known for so much in so many different directions, I am most proud of my Art x Lyfe being a space for me to utilize so much of what I have learned and acquired in my career and personal life, to help define opportunities, bring visual concepts to life, and show others how beautiful and creative they are.
My clients now span government leaders, sports, music and entertainment talent, education, and non-profit entities, and I am looking forward to working internationally soon.
What do you think about happiness?
Growth makes me happy, personally and professionally. Love makes me happy. Being able to be the best human I can be, each and every day makes me happy. CHOOSING happiness makes me happy.
When you DENY yourself the ability to grow, to love, to be a good person even when you are alone and no one is looking, to be exactly who you are without fear, to be as happy as you WANT to be…I feel like you are missing out on the purpose of life and all that it has to offer. More times than not, we stop ourselves more than anyone else can. I refuse for that to be my existence anymore.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.chelsebwoods.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/AccToChelse
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/AccToChelse
- Other: www.artxlyfe.com
Image Credits
Leroi Banner
Chelsé Woods
