There was once a time, not too long ago, when just about every girl that I knew aspired to be a model, whether it was for music videos, magazines, or something of the sort.  We recently  and had the opportunity to interview glamour model, Melyssa Ford, at the Ladies of Hennessy event that we attended last week, and she definitely dropped some knowledge about her experience in the industry.
For those that don’t know, Melyssa Ford is a pioneer in urban modeling, and she basically coined the term “video model“.  We were especially excited to chat with her because with the surprising news of King Magazine folding, and shows such as “Candy Girls” coming into the spotlight, this genre of modeling is now breaking into “mainstream” media more than ever before.   At the same time, we knew that Ms. Ford would give a real insight into this industry, and that she definitely did.
In the interview below,  she explains why she is no longer doing music videos, touches on the ups and downs of the industry, and gives some sound advice to young women who are looking to follow in her footsteps.  She definitely kept it realer than most.  Check it out below.

Image: Jerrit Clark

AllThatsFab: Melyssa, so you no longer do videos, correct?

Melyssa: Oh God, I haven’t done a music video since January 2004

AllThatsFab: Is there a particular reason for this?

Melyssa: Yeah…I haven’t done music videos because you kind of have to grow and move on from doing things that may have provided a sense of comfort and security. You have to branch out and show the world that you’ve got other talents, and I’ve got a lot of stuff that I wanted to do and experience. I’m a writer by nature, and I’m writing on a screenplay, and have been working on a book for the last two years, but my focus keeps going different ways. It’s like am I writing a memoir, am I writing a “how-to” guide, what am I writing? You know, until it formulates itself, its going to stay on my laptop, because I don’t like to put out sh*t. Music videos just started to go into a direction that I wasn’t comfortable with, and it just felt like it was time for me to make the transition into doing something else. I feel like it was a wise decision.

AllThatsFab: So can you tell us a little more about what you have going on now as far as modeling, magazine spreads, etc?

Melyssa: Well, the last spread that I did was in KING Magazine, which was recently folded. That wasn’t sarcasm, its definitely a sad state of affairs, and indicative of the economic state of this country right now, that King Magazine, being the giant that it is, folded. Datwon and Adell, the two guys that started the magazine are very close friends of mine, and it is very unfortunate.

I’ve also got another magazine spread coming out in June for J’Adore Magazine, but I’m actually more interested in working with women’s magazines right now. They haven’t always been the greatest my greatest supporters…

AllThatsFab: Why do you feel that is?

Melyssa: Ummm…wow, that’s a whole different conversation.

AllThatsfab: Well, you know our site is very female oriented, and we feel you’ve played a major part in shaping the image of women in modeling…

Melyssa: Well, I guess you have a more optimistic, open-minded idea as to what I was trying to accomplish. Other people don’t have that open mind. They place the scapegoat label right on my back, and say “You are the visual representation of everything I should admonish, everything I should hate, everything I should tell my sister, my niece, my daughter, to not strive to be.” As far as I’m concerned, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a woman embracing her sexuality and sensuality. Women have been posing for magazines for as long as magazines have existed, and there’s always been an uproar depending upon the time in which it happened. There was once a time when you couldn’t show a woman’s belly button, and I’ve always thought that my pictorial layouts were tasteful in their presentation, and the main reason for that is because I began to establish creative control when I did work for a magazine or do my calendars.

Obviously, there is a always going to be a bad apple in that makes it difficult for the rest of us to accomplish the same goals, but I guess my charity work, my philanthropic work, and my community activism isn’t highlighted enough for other women’s magazines to understand that I am compassionate by nature, and I work to serve my community. Sometimes people just don’t want to like you, and it is what it is. The only thing that you can do is to keep on trucking. With that being said, I’m in the process of creative a play with the same director as Jim Jones’ play that is based on analyzing the different concepts of beauty, the morality police, and its going to be a very controversial piece of work that I’m excited about bringing to the stage.

AllThatsFab: While we’re on the topic of controversy, you know there’s a show on E! called “Candy Girls”. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. As a veteran in the modeling industry, do you feel as though it’s a real depiction of what’s going on in the industry?

Melyssa: Ummm (pauses)…I feel that show is really good T.V.

AllThatsFab: *laughs* Okay, fair enough. Moving on. ..We’re based in New York. Do you currently live here?

Melyssa: No, I moved away from New York last year, but I feel like I live here all over again because I’m always here. Its like, why do I have a place in LA at this point? I love New York, it’s the best city on the face of the planet. If you can come here and live out your youth and your 20s here, its the best decision that you’ll ever make in your entire life. My God, its like a boyfriend! Sometimes it kicks your ass, then it brings you the greatest present ever, like “Im Sorry!”  It can be very abusive, but you’ll never lose your love for it. The Ladies of Hennessy tour and the play is bringing me back, and its like I can never get away from it.

AllThatsFab: When can we look for the play?

Melyssa: The Hennessy tour wraps up in the end of June, and I believe we’re going to go straight into rehearsal. We’re really hoping to kick it off my mid-August/early September, and you all will be invited!

AllThatsFab: Any last words that you’d like to share with us? There are a lot of girls who read the site that would like to do what you’re doing and learn more about modeling and how you got to be where you are today.

Melyssa: You know, honestly, whenever girls come up to me and ask how they can get involved, I hear a lot of girls say “Oh, I want a career just like yours”, and I’m like, that’s never going to happen because you’re you and I’m me. You should never want to be somebody else or strive to be what they are or the goals that they’ve achieved. You really have to set your own path. Nobody created the path that I created for myself. You have to use your own judgment and your own system of values to guide you and your decisions, and that is going to guide you and help you make your own decisions.

Yes, I do believe that during my journey, I have created some footsteps and opened some doors for other young girls, but I also do understand that this industry has become oversaturated with girls that are like “I wanna be a model”, “I wanna be a video girl”. Since that is a fact, and the music industry has changed as drastically as it has and video budgets aren’t what they used to be; therefore, you can’t create a star out of a girl, you just can’t. Your opportunities are so few and far between, and are bottled up by the oversaturation, and one girl just isn’t enough anymore. So, for you to try to make yourself stand out amongst so many doing just music videos and being in the pages of magazines, its just not gonna work. The formula has just been exhausted, is what I’m saying and you basically just have to really stay true to you and respect whatever craft it is that you’re going to invest your time and effort into.

So, if its acting, then do acting. Don’t assume that being in magazines scantily clad is going to elevate your career. Trust, I have to do a lot to actually break down the walls that I’ve created for myself by having been that video girl, and having sold calendars and magazines with her ass cheeks hanging out. Even though I don’t find anything wrong with what I’ve done, there is the notion that I truly believe that people, specifically men, don’t like their brains and beauty in the same package. I don’t care what they say. They like their pretty/dumb, and their smart/ugly. Every time I take a step up a ladder, I get kicked down two steps, and the sacrifices are PLENTIFUL. So, if you are going to get into this business, be ready! Have that armor on every day.