We had the good fortune of connecting with Marissa DuBois and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Marissa, why did you pursue a creative career?
I originally got a degree at FSU in criminology and planned to go into the military. Around my senior year, I started to question if I wanted to continue on that route, meanwhile, I was working as a homicide detective for my senior internship. Where I learned a lot of hard truths, that reaffirmed my thoughts of not wanting to work for the government. After graduation I decided to up and move to Morocco for the summer, I coordinated to live with a host family and work at an orphanage. I wanted to go on this solo trip to try and soul search I’d guess you’d say. After this trip, I then went to China and Thailand. On my travels, I met so many people who found creative ways to work for themselves, to support their passion for travel. Specifically, in Thailand, I learned about so many digital nomads who worked in marketing and early social media days.
I came home and decided I wasn’t going to join the military or even use my degree at all I had a lot of reservations about workout for the government, and believed I would be more successful on my own.
My dad was always an entrepreneur and instilled that spirit in me. So from that decision to not pursue my degree, I then began this season of massive research. Learning about marketing, online platforms, how freelance work, etc. I continued to waitress and bartend, as I had always done, while I was also learning and growing in the web2 world.
My career slowly blossomed over about a 3-year span. I worked as a social media manager running clients’ social media when I realized that I could be doing this same work for myself.
From that moment on, I began branding myself. Learning more about how to build a community on social media as an individual and not a business. Started shooting with photographers, and collaborating with brands.
So all that to say…. I pursued this artistic/creative career because I really valued having control of my own time and creating my own schedule. I had witnessed people creating wildly successful careers, all from wifi, and I just became obsessed. Why work for someone else, on a tight schedule, when you could work for yourself and have no glass ceiling or barriers at all?
Working for yourself isn’t for everyone, but I personally wouldn’t want it any other way. Every day my schedule is different, I never know what opportunities will show up in my inbox.
Don’t get me wrong, social media and modeling is harder than I ever expected. Considering I AM THE ART, the product, and the service, meanwhile, I am also a perfectionist. Which means I now am insanely critical of myself. But that just challenges me to do more of the inner work.
I’d much rather have a creative career, even with its challenges. Then to work in a corporate environment.
All in all, it was the uncertain & unknown route that I chose, to pursue. But I am extremely happy I did and grateful for all the friends and mentors I’ve met along the way!
Alright, so let’s move on to what keeps you busy professionally.
I am a content creator and model, my username is Reality with Riss (@realitywithriss). I essentially model and share my life with my followers. I put emphasis on showing my true reality, and always keeping it real with my followers.
I aim to give my followers value, inspo, and a little entertainment by looking into my life. I post about the things I enjoy: fitness, fashion, food, and travel, modeling, & just keeping it real.
I started my journey by just learning about different ways to work online, and different types of marketing. Then started studying social media, and helping businesses grow their communities. I finally thought, “why not do this for myself? I think I have enough to share, I could do this!” That’s when @RealitywithRiss was born. I started posting and sharing about my goals, what I wanted to do online, and why I chose this path over the military. I started collating with photographers and got recognized by an agent after a year. From there, things started to take off. I began shooting with bigger photographers and brands, gaining more experience, and starting new platforms. Now I’m also on TikTok and YouTube!
So yeah, it all just kinda compounded with months and months of consistency.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m new to the city of Miami, so I’m personally still a tourist myself.
But from what I know so far, I would take them to wynwood forsure! Wynwood is an eclectic and artsy part of the city and just has all sorts of fun stuff to get into, and plenty of good people watching lol
Ofcourse I’d say South Beach, just so they can get that true tourist experience!
Bakan is a really cool restaurant that I’d love to take my girls to! They have the absolute best food and cheese, I love cheese! & their drinks are out of this world!
I also just discovered this food event in Wynwood called Smorgasburg, with a bunch of yummy food vendors. It’s a must!
Then some pool party hopping is a must if it’s a girls trip!
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life are at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love, and encouragement of others. So is there someone to that you want to dedicate your shoutout?
I would like to thank so many people in my life. All the way from my family, to my friends, to my followers… everyone was insanely supportive along the way!
I am a person who needs reassurance from loved ones, so having that continued support, incredibly impacted my journey!
I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy all of this if it wasn’t for the love and support of all my people!
