Today we’d like to introduce you to Justus King.
Hi Justus, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hello! My name is Justus King and although I’m a King…I am a Jack of All Trades. Growing up a black boy, I was never encouraged nor supported by my family to follow my true interests. I was only pushed to do sports, excel in school, and get an engineering degree. Virtually anything outside of that was deemed non-masculine and unnecessary, however, deep down I had strong creative passions and talents. On my own, I started taking steps to become skilled in my interests such as enrolling in choir in 11th grade, learning choreography from YouTube, sketching in realism, studying actors on my TV screen, and dreaming of walking the runway as a male model. Flash forward to sophomore year in college, I decided, “Hey you know what? I am an adult now. I can do what I want when I want” and joined a bunch of local Denver, CO modeling and photography groups on Facebook. I chose some selfies and past cell phone pictures that friends took of me and entered them into the Facebook group chats with the caption “Aspiring male model. If you would like to do a tfp [trade-for-print] shoot with me, please comment or DM Me!” After posting, a photographer reached out asking if I was free that day to which I desperately responded yes. I then got in my 2002 Ford Expedition and drove to downtown Denver and did my first photoshoot. After receiving the pictures from the shoot, I reposted them in the same group chats talking about the photoshoot and how I would love to work with more photographers. That started a snowball effect as I built connections through shoots which led me to walk in my first runway shows, painted as a mural on the side of a 30′ building, and essentially build up my modeling portfolio to get signed to my first modeling agency. Now, years later after moving to Cincinnati in 2020 I have walked in fashion weeks, posted on billboards in Times Square, featured on the cover of magazines, performed in Apple TV and Netflix shows and movies, grown a social media audience, and released my first single “Butter Bear”.
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?
It certainly has not been a smooth road. Grant it, I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for opening doors for me to walk through and showcase my skills that led to more opportunities; however, it is still a constant battle with people who are not used to seeing someone who looks like me be someone who is out of the socially acceptable box of folks who look like me. For example, when being cast in fashion weeks I would only be chosen by designers who do streetwear. Nothing against the streetwear designers as their creations were impeccable and eye-catching, however, it was comfortable for designers and casting directors to categorize me as “urban” and a “thug” instead of someone who can actually accentuate high-fashion clothing that is artistic, whimsical, and Avante Garde. I mean, I am trying to get into the Met Gala one day and I will NOT be wearing a basic white button-down, black tuxedo, and tie. In addition to the previous story, I have dealt with instances of being dropped from projects because of my black features. There was this one photoshoot that I was cast to model for and the day before the project I reached out to them to ask about the details of the time and location of the shoot because I hadn’t heard anything. Come to find out, they took me off of the project because they found someone with more “European features”. That was honestly disheartening not only because of the unprofessionalism of not telling and ghosting me, but also because of the fact that I had a well-versed portfolio at that point, hired on, and still was minimized because of my black features.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an international fashion & commercial model, actor, singer, dancer, photographer, and content creator. At the start of the pandemic, I became more known through my social media as I created content that went viral on social media channels stemming from TikTok. In addition to these hats I wear, I also wear the hat of an engineer at a Fortune 500 company after getting my electrical engineering degree at Colorado School of Mines in 2020. Tagging back to my content creation, I am proud of my work because it sets me apart in that it displays the true me. A funny and sometimes loud black man who is a fashion-expert, model, singer, dancer, actor, comedian, photographer, Christian, and engineer.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I think the 6-person rule is true. The rule that states you can get in contact with any person in the world through 6 people rather that be the president of The United States or a widow in the slums of Haiti. Being said, any person around you can be a mentor. It can be your boss, family member, hairstylist, whomever. You do not know their connections which is why it is important to give people their time. If you are looking for a mentor in a specific area, my recommendation would be to just start reaching out to people in the vicinity of those areas and showing your interest and why you contacted them. People are not unwilling to help us out as much as we tend to think. In addition, be humble. You are not higher than anybody and nobody is higher than you. Someone can have the most accolades in the world, but at the end of the day they are a human being that will leave this earth just like you.
Contact Info:
- Website: linktr.ee/justusking
- Instagram: instagram.com/Just.Us.King
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdPEqEsEBbozx2auO_uK3dQ
- SoundCloud: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/justus-king/1561018649
- Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPd4wbyKh/
