Spotlight :

Elena Martinez

Elegant, Eclectic, Eccentric.

Elena.

There was much to say, that much could be seen in her eyes. Overflowing with vibrance, legs crossed in her director’s chair, model Elena Martinez told me everything she could about her story.

Naturally, she started with the beginning. When she was younger, she’d grown up in East New York, Brooklyn though nowadays she lives in New Jersey. She remembers her youth well, she recounted a bit of that memory with me. Back in those days, perhaps even before the modeling, there was family. Elena’s immediate family then consisted of her grandparents, her parents and her siblings, which of whom she is the middle child and self-described ‘cream of the Oreo’ between two brothers. In those times, the strength of family ties was most present at her family's parties in her family’s big house.

The beginning of her creative career wasn’t until a bit later, sometime just before she started high school. It was where she would have her first contact with the arts for herself, particularly modeling. "Before, I was actually on and an off during high school," Elena explained. "I started [modeling] when I was 15, that was like my first shoot ever. A friend of my aunt who was a model introduced it to me; booked me my first shoot." Serendipitously perhaps, they needed an extra model for a shoot and Elena had been

brave enough to take that chance despite never having done it before. "Once I was in it I kind of flourished and it was awesome," she told me. Little did she know just how true that would turn out to be.

From there she would springboard into the arts and further into modeling in her high school years. Elena had attended the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan where she studied both cartooning and illustration before she left East Brooklyn. The diversity in her creative nature is not a surprise as she notes that such talents runs in her family. In fact she credits her interest in cartooning to her brother and his influence since he was also at Art and Design at the time.

"I just thought that was also my path because we all learned from each other, me and my brother, so you know when I was practicing drawing and he was drawing his characters, I was kind of following along with him." She laughed and her bright smile shown. "As I was in class," she continued, "I realized that comic books and all of that, it wasn’t my thing, it wasn’t something I gravitated towards. I was more so into still life and painting and I just felt like illustration was just like the way to go. I started getting into painting more, it just came very naturally to me so I decided to make the switch."

While Elena explored her talents by other means in the arts, modeling had never gone

away. Her ambitions were so strong that she forewent college and pushed further into pursuing modeling by whichever means it meant. "I knew I wanted to be an artist, but I kinda felt stuck. People would say, 'What are you doing after high school?' I felt like the entertainment industry and getting into modeling was the way to go [and] most of the opportunities come to us from people that we know in the industry, and I knew it was going to be very, very hard"’ At the time, Instagram had been fairly new and just budding, and Elena had been quick to put that to good use. "I saw there were other people like me who were artists as well you know, aside from modeling," she explained, realizing she could do more than one art form beyond modeling. "I could do both. This is not something I have to box myself into. There’s so many avenues that I could go down— venture into this and not feel like I’m missing out on anything." That immersion to other multidisciplinary artists is what compelled her to have faith in modeling.

Despite the competitive nature of modeling and even simply breaking into modeling, Elena still persisted. Elena describes the relation to an agency as one 'occasional hurdle' in the modeling world, perhaps not quite the first thing those outside of the modeling world may guess as problematic. Notably she loves her agency though as she explains, it can be a bit of a wait before seeing any opportunities. "I didn’t hear from them for like two or three months. But that’s not because they’re not working, they’re always working but casting directors will

“I’m determined when I'm doing anything, I’m dedicated to my passions 'cause I have a lot."

choose which (model) they feel works well with what they’re going for, and if I don’t fit that category then I don’t fit that category." Patience is key when working with an agency even when they are well established.

Even when support from those whose profession it is to find work is inconsistent, Elena engages what she refers to as her ‘entrepreneurial mindset’. She said, "I could create my own business and I create myself as a business and just promote myself." And that’s exactly what she’s done.

Funnily enough, she hasn’t had to do it alone. In some ways, the multidisciplinary artists she found; the models, the photographers, the set and dress designers who once inspired her, would continue to help Elena beyond being visible to her, but in richer and more direct ways. Some would become collaborators, like photographer Marco Giannavola and designers Li Jiaxun and Eesha Patel. Slowly, but surely Elena’s vision as a model was coming to fruition and she was building a community to do it. Elena appears to have a second creative mindset that kicks in when she’s inspired and ready to create at any cost. Her process begins with inspiration via pictures, movies, songs and nature. It develops into a mood board, which becomes one picture. The picture is sent to handpicked collaborators, ideas collide amongst the group of them and a new shoot is born.

One other hurdle Elena deals with— as do many artists— is money. Job security and consistent funds was and is still a big obstacle for Elena and yet, it isn’t one that she’s not overcoming. Out of high school, in part through strong encouragement from her parents, Elena went to trade school to become a massage therapist. "I totally understood that, especially coming from my mom you know, I never wanted to go through hardships that she had that came with having kids early or just not being super solidified or secured financially." Of course Elena never lost the drive. Right upon graduating from the trade school she knew exactly how to spend her time. "I think I graduated and I just saw how many people and how many girls were modeling. I was like, ‘Why did I put a hold on this?’ and I just started throwing myself back into it, looking up castings on IG, looking

up different agencies that were having different casting calls and that kind of threw me back into it. And here I am!"

Elena also notes the final difficulty in consistent creativity, particularly keeping up the morale with herself. "Sometimes I do feel discouraged," she began, "like I would think any other model would be, just you know dealing with rejection every now and then, hearing ‘no’s' getting turned away, not booking that job you wanted to book, that you were really excited for." Swiftly, she follows up with her remedy: her perspective. “I’m never against change, I’m never against life taking its course. If it needs to change, it needs to change.”

“I’m determined when I'm doing anything, I’m dedicated to my passions 'cause I have a lot, I want people to keep on doing what they love and following their dreams because this was a dream, I was a little girl and I was just like, ‘I just wanna be a model’ and I would have never thought I’d just create my own shoots because I never thought it was that possible. But just growing up and seeing how easily accessible it is just by the friends you have…. it’s awesome to hope to continue doing what you love.”

Despite all that is the beauty of Elena Martinez, her ambitions remain humble. When she speaks there is only ever passion in her voice. Her smile is as bright as lighting with a figure just as striking. I asked her of her future and if super modeling was in it; at the young age of 30, she has much of her life still ahead of her. It isn’t, not wholly anyway. In her own words:,"I just wanna keep doing what I love and they say— what is that quote, you work with what you love, you never work a day in your life or something like that?" She laughed, confiding next that it’s all about the journey rather than the destination. "Just keep going with the flow. We live in a world that pressures us to be in a box and pick what you wanna be and you know, I feel like I just wanna live life and see where it takes me," she says, continuing to embody grace and gratitude.

Fair enough, Elena. If us supporters are anything like you, life should be as challenging as it is rewarding for us all.