Meet Chai Key | Poet, Artist, Writer, & Actress

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chai Key and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chai, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
My work-life balance is becoming more focused on living and taking care of myself than working. Typically, it’s been the other way around, but that’s led to burnout…more than once. Other creatives always remind me that it’s important to take a step back and that our experiences are vital to our creations. So even when we’re taking a break, we’re working which is beautiful because it doesn’t feel like work; it feels how it’s meant to: natural, organic, not forced. Everything just flows so much better.

At times I’ve gotten so wrapped up in constantly going and staying busy that I didn’t realize it was taking a toll until I reached my breaking point (pretty sure most of us have been there.) I want to end that cycle; it has a negative impact, not just on me and my life, but also on the lives of those that I love and care about because I’m not at my best for myself or for them.

When it’s not managed, all that pent-up, built-up subconscious stress can leak into our relationships and work itself. Even though there are moments I feel guilty about stepping away, it makes more sense and is more productive to take time for myself, then reflect and return once I feel refreshed and rejuvenated.

There’s always another project, another task to complete, another improvement to make; there’s always work to do. Whether we’re working to cover bills, helping others out of kindness, or spending quality time, keeping busy without taking time for self, it’s easy to lose sight of what we really want. We need to allow ourselves energy and time to see and question what we’re doing.

When we don’t, it becomes less about experiencing what we desire and more about just checking something off the checklist; that’s not how life’s supposed to be. We’re not robots. It’s necessary to take a step back from everything and reset on a regular basis.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work. What sets you apart from others? What are you most proud of? How did you get where you are today? Was it easy and if not, how did you overcome the challenges? What have you learned along the way? What do you want the world to know about your brand/story?
My heart and mind set me apart from others.

I’m most proud of the time I’m taking for myself. I ran away from me for a pretty long time. To quote Tyler, The Creator, “exactly what you run from you end up chasing”. After running in circles, I’m proud of myself for sitting with me.

I got where I am today by networking and leaving my comfort zone. Genuine, like-minded people have opened the doors to many opportunities and guided me from one area of creating/business to the next.

It wasn’t easy, but there were – and are – resources and people to help make it easier. I overcame and continue to overcome the challenges by learning from my relationships with others, books, mentors, and practicing more mindfulness of myself and what I’m consuming.

I’ve learned I get to – not have to, word to Big Sean and Jay Shetty – put myself first and learn to love myself on a deep level no matter how challenging that may be at times. Everyone said to do that growing up: “focus on yourself and education, not boys, that’ll come later,” but even with amazing women around me and great words of advice, I didn’t know how to love myself, what it took to really know myself, and why it was so important.

So I learned the hard way and still, I’m always learning; there’s always something to learn. It definitely takes the will to learn, not just knowing that something is good for you, but actually wanting what’s good for you. When you want it, it’s yours.

And now I’m learning that without real love and knowing from within, nothing else will have a solid foundation. Where we may not have been taught or brought up on certain things, there’s someone else who has been taught, and can teach us.

“No Mud, No Lotus” by Thich Nhat Hanh is helping me with all of this.

I want the world to know that my brand represents creating peace with who we are, the black sheep, life’s unknowns/misunderstood aspects, and life as it is. I’m very particular about the way I do things at times; I want to outgrow perfectionism. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to be perfect – and I’m not by any means; none of us are. I desire for my brand to be a safe space and a place to be as we are and receive calm and understanding for ourselves, our minds and our lives. I’m working on creating that peace for myself first.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’d take them to any Flavar’s event (Call Collect, Slide Thru, IYKYK, you name it) and Exotic Workouts.

Then we’d mostly be doing calm activities and eating:

Zen spots:
Peanut Island
Northwood
Mounts Botanical Garden

Food, tea, desserts:
Kabuki
Subculture Coffee (Clematis)
Planta
Pistache French Bistro
Keese’s Simply Delicious
Kapow
Pan Fiyah
Elements Yogurt (Jupiter)
Naomi’s Garden
Dina’s Vegan Deli & Desserts
Zero Degrees
Art of Boba
3Natives
Sweet Life Nutrition
Papi Chulo (Royal Palm)

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to so many people and organizations, including but not limited to my family, friends, and:

Insatiable Society (Clothing brand)
https://instagram.com/i.s_apparel?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Flavars
https://instagram.com/fla.vars?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Alexis Lockhart (Founder of The Lockhart District)
https://instagram.com/lockhartdistrict?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Dorian Munroe (Film director)
https://instagram.com/doriancreation?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Melody Omolewa (Model, Influencer, a beautiful spirit, the pea to my pod and my long lost sister)
https://instagram.com/melodyunmastered?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Ingrid Desormes (SLP, Recruiter, Writer, Humanitarian, Podcaster and an amazing mentor for women of all ages)
https://instagram.com/theadvocateslp?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Kristen Bonifacio (Model, Digital Creator)
https://instagram.com/mercurykristen?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Isreal Perez
https://instagram.com/artistic_affair?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Behind the Fabric TV
https://instagram.com/behindthefabrictv?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

VMC
https://instagram.com/vmc_creators?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Twee Denali (Personal Trainer, Artist)
https://instagram.com/twee5denali?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Nicholas Hanley (Actor, Voice Over Artist, Entrepreneur)
https://instagram.com/nicholasahanley?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Ranyia Cleveland (Photographer)
https://instagram.com/ranyiacphotography?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Books that deserve some recognition:
“No, Mud, No Lotus” by Thich Nhat Hanh
“It Works” by RHJ

Website: www.ichaikey.com

Instagram: http://instagram.com/ichaikey

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ichaikey

Youtube: http://youtube.com/@ichaikey

Other: Apple Music https://music.apple.com/profile/ichaikey SoundCloud https://on.soundcloud.com/ivC8aq5gMbV6QjAo8

Image Credits
@soflostudio @iamstlouis @vinsemedia @deathofgian @kinglenspro @oli1ou @jamesqupid