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“I did pageants when I was a kid. Love for fashion was always there.
I was with a friend, Jo. I expressed my frustration with a modeling group that I had left months prior and how I kept getting rejected by other modeling agencies. That’s when she told me to start my own, to make it a college club so I don’t have to pay out of pocket for anything.
I started Top Knotch: a safe place for people to express their love for fashion and desire to have a career in it. People can model, do photography, videography, editing or styling.
A lot of kids, especially people of color, in Gainesville don’t really have that positive outlet. It’s always the same view and negative mindset. I, as someone raised in Gainesville, know that there is plenty of people that never leave the city. There’s so much to see and learn elsewhere. I want to help those people. My parents always told me that there aren’t too many opportunities in here that don’t cost too much money. Top Knotch doesn’t cost anything.
Financially, my family isn’t doing too well. We’re still paying for stuff from the hospital for my mom’s breast cancer treatment. With some events that I host through Top Knotch, the proceeds go towards my mom’s expenses. If we can have surgeries paid not so much from our pockets, that would be great. I don’t tell my mom, partly because I want it to be a surprise and partly because I don’t want her to say no.
Top Knotch has taught me how to create boundaries while also being open minded. It has also taught me my worth. I realized I would create something of my own instead of joining everyone. Not everyone’s views align with mine, but that’s okay. And once I started, I knew I wasn’t going to be working at Domino’s ever again.”
