Meet Carmen L Danger | Creative Director/ Model/ Influencer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carmen L Danger and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carmen L, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
Just like a stallion at the Florida Derby, staying consistent through adversity and challenge has helped me achieve what many have thought to be unattainable. In 2016 I was faced with a hard truth, one the universe sarcastically hid from me. In reality, it was something I was dealing with for some time yet confused for other things like depression or lack of self-love but to my surprise, it was Multiple Sclerosis, commonly known as MS to many and THE BIG MESS to me. During this time where Multiple Sclerosis revoked my vision, I was confronted with the harsh reality that for the rest of my life, I had to make sure to remain consistent, consistent on my treatments, consistent on my personal care, consistent in my career to make sure I provided the best living standard and consistent on not letting Multiple Sclerosis consume my existence with its tantrums. True enough, everyone has their definition of consistency but for me, consistency means showing up for everything you set your mind to do and not allowing the trials and tribulations of the journey to accomplishment deteriorate the ending objective, perseverance. Multiple Sclerosis would have ruined me, but I choose to stay faithful to my objectives which will always be focused on being better than I was yesterday and shaping who I want to become tomorrow.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Like I always say, everything is everything and nothing is nothing. When it comes to my artistic abilities, I have to thank people like Cara Favosoli, my first music teacher while attending Rainbow Park Elementary, who recruited me at a young age of 7 from Ben Sheppard Elementary. Cara, which at the time was “Ms. Favasoli” to me, was an individual who taught me the value behind authenticity and staying true to your energy. Although I was new to this ambiance of pure creativity, she never influenced us with her opinion, instead she supported everything we did that invested into the character/moral of who we had to be as adults. Every day, bright and early we would run into the classroom, set up our instruments, drink water, stretch, review different sheet music, warm-up, she would educate us about music theory and for many years to come, we continued to succeed as young musicians, always pushing us to compete whether we won a trophy or not because for her it wasn’t about winning, it was about showing us that even in a room full of other bands or judges, our relationship with the music and how we made people feel was the most important experience. I AM CARMEN DANGER is my form of showing the world that there is nothing wrong with sticking to what you know and sharpening your skills. As a model, I am all into my development, I deliver an experience where I draw the viewer into my imagination like a siren at bay. When I transition into creative production, I let go and let the frequencies allow me to connect with the client to understand how they want to feel instead of how they want to be seen, we have no control over people’s opinions, always making sure the client knows they’re important. I have always been a creator and for some time I lost the feeling of belief due to failed relationships and immature expectations from individuals that really don’t owe me anything. My best advice is very cliché, Business is not to be handled in an emotional manner but rather handled rationally so the individual or group can make the best decisions for the ultimate vision. In this interview like in many, I will continue to focus on the fact that no matter how many times I think I have failed, my desire to prosper will always triumph the invisible whispers of predicaments. Recently I have had the opportunity to partner with brands like Vida Curves Fitness Apparel, Good molecules skin care, participating in volunteer events focused on sustainability as well as home ownership and lastly, rebranding my Hair Company, Danger Dangles. I AM CARMEN DANGER is a wholesome dedication to all the souls that have supported me on my expedition to who I am today as a woman, resilient, empowered, focused and continuously healing from those not moving on my frequency of evolution and remember, “YOU’RE DOING GREAT”!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Croquetica party, croquetica party! If you know me you know I am always going to start the morning visiting, La Carreta Restaurant no matter where in Miami I’m at, order something like 10 chicken and 10 ham, 8 fish, five guava, carne and cheese pastelitos, 6 quick sweet caffeine shots aka cortaditos and a few natural squeezed orange juices, I have a big family. In the afternoons during the week I would plan a few brunches at places like DUKUNOO Jamaican Kitchen in Wynwood or LouieBossi In Las Oslas, rent a cabana at Margarita and spend nights at Hollywood beach talking about the spirits and being powerful people. In reality, I was born in July which naturally makes me loyal to all water activities. At night we would visit food trucks around the city like Taco Chundito and drive to the swap shop in Fort Lauderdale for a drive-in movie vibe. Towards the ending of the week we would visit places like Brick for great music and dancing, take walks and bar hop in Brickell, visit Arcades like XTREME PARK or even get lost in the reality of the escape room, I’m half adrenaline junkie. Since my best friend is an action thriller I would have a paintball session in Doral or go to a water park in Northern Florida like Water Rapids. Approaching the end of the vacation, I would slow the pace of the activities and drive down south towards ROBERT IS HERE, enjoy their delicious fresh fruits, Cuban sandwiches, fruit smoothies and of course my famous cup of boiled peanuts, half spicy, half plain please. These are some of the few things you can do in my beautiful city. Being that I grew up here since birth, I continue to enjoy the influences of gentrification, politics and world pandemics and how they implement change to the dynamic of us in South Florida. We are the foundation of a melting pot that makes our city so unique, build from so many escaping cages build by generations of power, this article would never do my city justice, just come and let’s get a little lit.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Jandrice Nacier, I think it all began halfway through my healing process and he was a missing piece. strange enough, this random Instagram message was going to change my whole life and I didn’t even know. I hate to sensationalize the message or the time of day where the moon was staring at me in admiration while I answered back but his message said, “Hey I’m Jay, a photographer and just wanted to see if you’re interested in booking with us”. I later began to introduce myself, we exchanged contacts and whilst we were interested in working together, life presented obstacles. During this time, I was changing, I was angry at love for not satisfying my childish expectations. In addition, I had been working with a photographer previous to Jandrice who unfortunately through the universe’s magic lost the last project we had completed. As a model, I felt unaccomplished, I felt like I wasn’t enough and of course there was my multiple sclerosis reminding me constantly with the “Big Fall” towards the end of 2020, no pun intended. As I stomped into 2021, I was alleviated that even though my world was falling apart, there was an artist who was interested in my dynamic, converting my human molecules into particles of art for people all over the world to understand and enjoy. We talked a few times about our journeys, who we were, what we wanted to do, visualized our projects, yet time once again confirmed it was not on our side on the mission to creativity. Everything went as scheduled except the weather, the lights, the air, the wind earth and fire. When I got to the venue, I was nervous because I had never met Jandrice in my life and a conversation could only go so far. As a creator, I was also curious to understand whether we would reach a creative dynamic together. I could only believe that he had enough integrity to execute on what he was going to deliver as a photographer and did he. From the moment we got on set, it was pure magic and I write magic because this is the project that embarked us in a union ship of family, courage, support and elevation. This is what our relationship, a healthy relationship between a model and a photographer should be like. Every time we get on set, we challenge each other, we empathize with each other and we prevail past the obstacles that others in the industry have placed in front of us. I write this article as a thank you letter to one of my greatest friends, one of the smartest creators I’ve ever met but nonetheless one of the most sympathetic and humble photographers I’ve ever worked with. For you I am grateful, the people you have introduced me to, for the moments where we have united as a team, for the calls you gave me when my grandma died, for the trust that you had in me as a model to grow. You are valued, you are important, you are art and I hope that this article inspires photographers and models and creators all over the world to understand that someone’s opinion about you doesn’t determine what the world is going to interpret as art. Don’t let challenges provoke an unconscious self-sabotage concluding in failure. My name is CARMEN Danger and I am a Model in the red Swan, I broke out of my shell and I elevated, thank you for living in my world for a few minutes.

Instagram: @_iamcarmendanger_

Twitter: @cdanger17

Facebook: Carmen L Danger

Youtube: CroqueticaParty

Image Credits
Creative Direction By: @Iseeudangerproductions_ Makeup Looks: @__Glittergirlz @Jennneyecosmetics Model: @56stephanie56 Photographers: @oceandrivetron @pthekidd @iconnac Hair provided by: @DangerDangles Hair Braider: Kadija Hornsby @qp_stylezz