Jamie's story is truly inspiring! She tells the frightening story about how a fight with her boyfriend and a horrific accident was the catalyst for her nude modeling career. You'll be amazed to hear what happened! Jamie is a natural born leader, but also one of the most humble people I have interviewed. She is so sweet and creative, you will love listening to her fun and crazy stories!! Check her out on IG https://www.instagram.com/jamie_bauern/ Cover Image by Matt Schmidt

Katlyn told story after story that just had me absolutely rolling! Their energy was so enthusiastic and fun throughout this whole show, the hour went by so fast! Katlyn is a professional painter as well as a freelance model, and paints for a few months at a time, then switches gears to modeling throughout the year.  I felt like I resonated with a lot of Katlyn's crazy stories, especially when they mentioned sobriety. The camera lens can be a fun way to interact with the world for people who are getting accustomed to certain social situations again.  I promise you will be on the edge of your seat for this one!!!  Katlyn has an art show June 6, 2024!! Check it out if you're in Seattle:    "Pretty Ugly" opening night June 6 Hometeam Gallery 310 Occidental Ave S. Seattle, WA 98104 5-9pm   also check out her art at http://www.KatlynArt.com :)

Autumn is a very creative and friendly traveling freelance model from Indianapolis- though she will soon be relocating to Las Vegas to be in an environment that jives with her career more! It was so interesting to get to know Autumn throughout the course of this episode, she is really into cosplay! Check out Autumn on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tumthecreator Cover image by me!

Ivory Flame has been modeling for 18 years, and her image has become a legacy online! She is very much a chameleon, sharing fashion, avante garde, gothic, artistic nude, fine art and pre-raphaelite style imagery on her portfolio and social links.  We had such an amazing conversation and talked about so many things, dating back to the golden era of "hot or not dot com" to model mayhem and to today's social landscape of sharing our work and connecting with each other. She was very vulnerable in sharing her experience where a photographer she trusted truly took advantage of her trust... the police had to get involved and everything! It definitely a story worth listening to, I sat there with my jaw hitting the floor as she was telling me about it!  Ivory Flame and I also reminisced about our amazing experience working with Beth Creedon as our life coach! As freelancers, it's often helpful to have someone guide us into our best versions of ourselves.  Cover image by Nicole Luneburg Check out Ivory Flame online Website... www.ivoryflame.co.uk (Featuring galleries, information on shooting remotely and online styling page) Instagram.... www.instagram.com/ivoryflamemodel Facebook... www.facebook.com/ivoryflame   The Life Coach we both worked with https://bethcreedon.co.uk

Born and raised in Czech Republic, Veronica LaVery moved to the US at age 17. She said she was never into makeup and styling but when someone on Myspace wanted to do a photoshoot with her, she ended up falling in love with it!  Veronica has been modeling for over a decade and has built up her career quite a bit over time, so much that it seems like she might be "too hot for social media" platforms! Youtube demonitized her channel that used to make a decent amount of income for her, and her instagram that had over 300k was also deplatformed, yet Veronica continues to model and be successful despite the internet's challenges.     Cover image by IG @Night_vulture_official Veronica's Links Modelmayhem Http://www.modelmayhem.com/1036606    Web  http://www.VivaLaVery.com    Twitter  http://www.Twitter.com/VeronicaLaVery    most current IG  https://www.instagram.com/VeronicaLaVeryOfficial    Facebook Https://www.facebook.com/veronicalaveryofficial    Real Estate IG  https://www.instagram.com/LaVeryBestRealEstate    Real Estate https://www.VeronikaSells.com    RE Facebook Https://www.facebook.com/LaVeryBestRealEstate

Emma Sirus is a beautiful glamour model who is also a licensed cosmetologist. When the pandemic hit, her makeup artistry was put on hold so she decided to find other avenues of income. Before she became a well known model, she was first an adult star and worked for an agency.  Emma works hard at her marketing, and that's how was drawn to her for this interview! She recently underwent a breast enhancement surgery and at the time of this interview, she is still in the early stages of recovery- so the world has not yet been graced with seeing her new boobs yet! How exciting :) Emma shared about the controversial comments she had been getting on social media about her decision to make the cup upgrade, and the drama she is dealing with is unimaginable! Much like many of us traveling freelance models, Emma has also endured some extremely uncomfortable situations - especially some instances where photographers have made audacious sexual requests! Find out what happened by listening to the full episode.  Check out Emma on her IG http://www.instagram.com/emma.sirus Also on her website Http://www.emmasirus.com  Sponsored by http://www.modelsociety.com If you're curious about the underwater photography event: https://www.astridkallsen.com/cws-mexico

Cat Ross has been very intriguing to me, as I have heard so many amazing things about her as a model and a creative person! I have seen some of her latest posts calling out unprofessional behavior in the industry as well as some messages to the masses that might have come off a little harsh, and I wanted to dive deeper. You can learn along with me what's been going on with Cat Ross, and she's quite fascinating! We can all relate.  She is a super fashionable model based and actress in NYC who maintains a love for creating evocative imagery with like minded artists. Check her out on her social media! https://www.instagram.com/catrosshatesyou

Lilly Rae describes herself as an art model and supports the idea that her nude modeling is not sexual. Her family is fairly supportive even though some of them don't fully agree with modeling as a concept, she has good respectful relationships with them.  Though Lilly has a mostly conflict free modeling career, she still does her best to separate her modeling "brand" from other segments of her life, being very careful not to intermix her nude modeling with her other business endeavors. She enjoys the rebelliousness of modeling, it's a freeing, explorative part of her life.  Check out Lilly on instagram! http://www.instagram.com/lillyraeartmodel Cover image by Eye on Photo :)

It felt like we were in the same room together gossiping at a sleepover party when I did this podcast episode with Brennan! She has been modeling since she was a child, her first gig was for a K-Mart ad! To this day she is known for her outspokenness in model safety, most notably in publishing a blacklist that resulted in a frivolous lawsuit with one of the predatory photographers named who wanted to continue his shady business practices... Brennan continues to model and be successful, she thought the blacklist would end her career but it ended up having the opposite effect! PLUS she now has the benefit of being a natural repellent to creepy photographers.  We laughed a lot during this episode, and she had some craaaayyyzy stories!!  Check out Brennan on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/b_models

So this episode is a bit different than other episodes, this human Grant Klentzman contacted me to be on *HIS* podcast as he was also a fan of Sunrise Life. We were discussing what to talk about, when he told me I was not allowed to mention nudity or OnlyFans on *his* show. That was a bit of a dealbreaker for me... So naturally I asked why? He explained because he is a Christian conservative. My curiosity about why this person wanted to talk to me at all grew. He suggested we could have a chat about it on *THIS* podcast!  After polling my audience, 60% of you said "yes" and 40% said "no"... so this bonus episode about religion versus nudity is for you 60% who wanted it to happen!! If you think we should prepare for a part 2, Let me know! We could probably come prepared a bit better next time, as our raw conversation was a bit triggering for both of us, yet we did our best to have a civil discussion.  You can check out Grant on his instagram at http://www.instagram.com/grant_model

Marie Brooks is particularly interesting because she has NO address! As a fully nomadic freelance traveling model, Marie has storage lockers in different places around the world for her belongings. She hops between hotels, airbnbs and hostels with no true "home base". Of all the traveling models I have interviewed, Marie is the only one I know that is completely nomadic like this!  She opened up about what it's like for her to date as she lives this nomadic lifestyle, you might find this part particularly intriqiung! Enjoy this episode of Marie, and find her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themariebrooks  You can find info on her group shoot events via her IG!

Dive into the captivating story of Poppy, a ballet dancer and freelance model! Poppy takes us on a journey through her life, revealing the highs and lows of her career – from her beginnings in Crimea to finding a sense of belonging in San Francisco. She discusses the challenges she faced in her career, her love for ballet, and how she used social media as a tool to carve her niche in the modeling industry. Listen as Poppy unveils her experiences as a global traveler and model, sharing tales from the streets of Italy, Atlanta, and San Francisco to the art classes where she posed nude. She discusses the struggles she had to overcome, and how her openness and audacity played a significant role in shaping her career and life choices. The podcast additionally goes into detail about her encounters with unprofessional practices within the industry, and how these experiences led to her exploration of trauma-informed teaching methods, contributing to the ongoing discourse around mental health. Poppy's story ultimately serves as a reminder of the importance of safety, understanding, and mental health in all professions. As a closing note, our compelling conversation with Poppy centers around the significance of ballet technique in photography and her quest to capture the essence of her art form. Listen in on her story – an inspiring mix of determination, resilience, industry insights and a testament to the enduring spirit of artists everywhere. Cover image by ShaunTia

Femina is an amazing emotive model who loves the outdoors and enjoys working with like minded creatives who have artistic visions. Her journey to get to this position was a bit rough, though!    She started modeling for agencies, doing fashion for companies. She did not enjoy this very much because they were very critical of her body, constantly measuring her waist and telling her to lose weight. This exacerbated an eating disorder that Femina struggled with for a long time. Eventually, her depression became too great and she decided to cut ties with the agency and become a freelance model.    Femina craves self expression in her modeling, she does not like to be instructed to smile on command, she wants to share her true self and authentic feelings, which have had a dark past. Femina shared some of her struggles in childhood, including a suicide attempt at only ten years old.    I had a fantastic time listening to her stories, check out the episode and let me know what you think! As always, please subscribe!!    Website: https://viribusfemina.co/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viribusfemina/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/viribusfemina Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/femina Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viribus.femina.79 Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/viribusfemina Contact: viribus.femina@gmail.com   Info about the gallery show she mentioned on Feb 10 at the House of Water in Dallas:   https://www.instagram.com/p/C2gLIcBt8Mm/   Cover image by @EyesofJune

Daisy Von reached out to me to offer condolences after my mom passed away and asked if I would be interested in talking about it on this podcast episode, for she had a similar situation a few years ago with her beloved father. Daisy's dad was her biggest fan, he had prints of her art and he read her blog and they talked on the phone about it all the time. After he passed away, Daisy dealt with immense grief for a long time.  After talking about our parents for a while, we related to the grief of modeling for such a long time, many photographers we have know (who may have been elderly or in poor health) have also passed away. It's always a bit sad if they were a creative collaborator we connected with. We touched on the "therapist" aspect of being a nude model at shoots, and sometimes we end up being the one needing to vent at shoots when something traumatic is happening in our lives! Thanks so much for listening!  You can check Daisy out on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/daisyvonmodel/ Cover image by Bill Cole Photographics

Taylor is an inspiring model from Seattle who has gotten into full time touring within the last year. She started working with an agency and also books tons of her own work across the US.  Taylor had a job working with teenage athletes for quite some time. It wasn't until her modeling became more and more of a passion for her that some of her coworkers found out about her photos online and complained to management, resulting in her getting fired. She took this opportunity to become a full time traveling nude model, and I am so glad she did! We talked about so many things including mental health issues, which Taylor is a boss for dealing with! Apparently her parents were not so understanding, so she had to suffer through high school years unmedicated. It wasn't until she moved away from her parents that she was able to seek the help she needed. It was really fascinating to learn all this from her!  Check out Taylor on instagram! http://www.instagram.com/xx.tbabe Cover image by @Skylar.shoots.photo

Michelle Sorensen aka Velveteen Serpent Queen is a super down to earth freelance model who also has a passion for bodily expression through dance. She teaches spine flexibility classes and other movement focused classes online and in person. She invented her modeling alias with the "Velveteen Rabbit" story in mind- for which the moral of the story is if you love something enough, it makes it come to life!  Michelle's early modeling brought her to learn new things about herself, including overcoming an eating disorder. Through experience, she also learned that outdoor nude in nature modeling was her true passion, and favors that genre over any other modeling genre, though she did mention that it's really about the people she is working with, not just the setting. Good vibes only! I had such a fantastic time listening to Michelle speak about her life in such a candid way. I hope we can meet in real life sometime, enjoy listening to the episode! Check out Michelle on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/velveteen.serpent.queen Also her classes and other links are here: https://msha.ke/sliiink.movement  PS: Sorry I skipped a week of this podcast, my mom passed away and my world turned upside down. I do enjoy putting this podcast together... please don't hesitate to reach out if you enjoy listening :) I truly appreciate your comments!!

Aurora, aka Poetic Minx, is a world traveling model from Australia, who has also lived in Poland! She is passionate about creative photography and even coordinates destination photography events in stunning locations around the world. We talked about so many things including how the modeling community can be supportive but also at times, some can be competitive. Her crazy photoshoot story was really scary, she was almost taken out by a wave!  Her hometown in Poland contacted her to interview her about her modeling, and it was really exciting for her but it also affected her family.  Check out Poetic Minx on her instagram: http://www.instagram.com/poetic.minx  Also on her website http://www.poeticminx.com  Cover image by @StaceyMikePhoto2

Lucy is a dedicated art model from New Zealand who travels all over the world! Australia, Europe, and the USA are some places she frequents. Lucy studied music and drama and has an art degree.  You will feel the cringe of her photoshoot fail story at a nude beach - I felt so bad for her too (awkward!!) Lucy has also gone above and beyond in her remote shooting experiences with photographers, sometimes even taking her gear and hotspot to an outdoor location so a photographer across the world can capture her in ponds and mountaintops in New Zealand. I was in awe!  Check out Lucy's official website: https://lucyartmodel.com/ As well as her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artmodel.lucy  Cover image by Steve Italiano

I met Beth MG in person at a group modeling event earlier this year and I just had to interview her for the podcast! Beth is very acrobatic, and I learned during our conversation that she did gymnastics as a kid. Art school was inspirational for Beth, even though she didn't feel confident in her artistic skills, the experience of class brought her into the modeling world. Photography students asked her to be their subject over and over, and she enjoyed some of the creative projects... posted some images on Fetlife, and found her first modeling gig that way! The rest is history, and you can learn more about the progression of Beth's modeling, her past relationships, her rising phoenix moment and more! Check out Beth on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bethemgee  and on her Website: https://www.bethmg.com/ Cover image by Mark Wiles @markwilesphoto

Whitney Masters is a dedicated creative who loves the process of the photo shoot. She has traveled for modeling for quite some time, and reinvented herself over the years. Whitney comes from a very artistic background, she also has experience in acting.  It's very apparent that Whitney loves what she does for a living, and will continue to be successful! She has a very positive mind and applies this to her creative career - look out for her poison ivy freak incident though!  Check out Whitney on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whitney.masters Also on her website: https://linktr.ee/whitney.masters Cover image by Jeffrey Sklan