Today we’d like to introduce you to Maurissa Ashby-Faulkner.
Hi Maurissa, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m from the Cayman Islands (originally from Guyana but moved to Cayman when I was little).
I came to Utah in 2012 because I was interested in studying animation at BYU. I never did study animation but I majored in public relations. I also met my husband at BYU and we were able to walk together at our graduation—a very special experience for us.
After graduating, I worked as a digital marketing strategist at an agency helping grow clients’ social media, doing SEO and creating content for their web pages, writing blog posts and press releases, and some other things.
After I had my son, I left that job and started offering the same services as a freelancer. I’d been interested in social media and content creation since I learned it was a thing, so to be able to earn money doing something I enjoyed was great! Before all of this, I would use social media to share my life but I don’t think I really nailed down a niche until my son was born and I found myself posting a lot of motherhood content.
I shared that type of content on Instagram and TikTok (along with other lifestyle content) and one of my TikTok videos got a few million views and helped kick-start my growth on the platform. Since then, I’ve continued to post and share fun parts of my life on both TikTok and Instagram.
After my son was born, I did some modeling for Freshly Picked but not much modeling aside from that. It wasn’t until after my daughter was born a year and a half later that I decided to take it more seriously—it’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was little! Since starting around February, I’ve worked with a variety of brands and done some really fun shoots.
It’s honestly one of my favorite things to do: getting all dressed up and posing for the camera! Since becoming a mom, I think I’d started thinking “what’s my purpose?, who is Maurissa, really? And what am I doing when I’m not ‘being’ a mom?” But being a content creator and a model has definitely given me that sense of purpose and given me things that I wake up and get excited to do.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Modeling while being a mom of two is definitely a challenge.
There are a lot more things that go into preparing for a shoot that wouldn’t be an issue otherwise. I often have to schedule babysitting (sometimes on short notice) and when my daughter was younger, I’d stress that I wasn’t going to make it back home in time before she got hungry and was ready to nurse.
And while I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had so far, it can be a bit of a challenge entering this space as a freelance model.
I think sometimes brands go with other options because they’re unsure of what a freelancer can offer them and maybe because that freelancer isn’t a fit for them. However, I’ve still had a lot of brands reach out to me—and it feels good to know there are people who recognize your talent.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a content creator and a model. As a content creator, I create content for my own social platforms and for brands to use for their own purposes as well.
As a model, I bring cultural diversity to Utah’s modeling space.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I created (from scratch) and managed Spikeball’s TikTok account. A lot of their videos went viral. With my efforts, the page hit 300,000 followers in about 4 months.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.instagram.com/helloitsmaurissa
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maurissa.model
- Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTdxChpwv/
Image Credits
Kaniesha Hansen, Shannon Johnson, Paige Sovic, Haley Childers, Olivia Olsen, Mariah Ashby, Momi Forbes
