Today we’d like to introduce you to Diana Alfi.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Honestly, it has been in the back of my mind from a young age. I’m naturally creative, a huge daydreamer, and have always been drawn to bold colors, traveling, and wanting to live freely. I’ve also always known that I’m meant to be in a position to make a huge, positive impact in the lives of those around me and around the world.
Even though the desire to be some kind of creative/artist was always there, I didn’t have the confidence to do it initially. It wasn’t until after I competed in a bikini competition (and won 2nd place), got out of an abusive relationship, and started making intentional shifts in my mindset and perception of myself that I opened the door to the life I have always wanted. Backtracking a little bit, I did a celebratory photoshoot with Cody Kreiger (@codykreiger) in October 2018 to celebrate my first bikini competition, and he made comments about how naturally I posed in front of a camera. I couldn’t get it out of my head. I never thought of myself as someone who belonged in front of a camera, but that shoot definitely sparked the fire within me and reminded me of the free, impactful, and creative life I want to live. In 2019, shortly after leaving that abusive relationship, I began working hard to network, improve my skills as a model and creative, and re-mold how I viewed myself and what I believed my role as a woman is. I no longer had anything stopping me from feeling beautiful or worthy of modeling. I felt like anything I wanted was possible–and it was.
The first time I introduced myself as a model was in April 2019, when Adam Delane (@GiveMeFace_) invited me to his Give Me Face Experience, a model-photographer meetup. It was my first time modeling since working with Cody. I also attribute much of my start to my friends, who recognized my talents and kept pushing me to go after my dreams: Jack Cymbryla (@jpg_Jack), who always reminds me how creative and talented I am and continuously encourages me to challenge myself, and Jayda Hill (@Jayda.A.Hill) who goes above and beyond for me and is a huge influence in my life and on my path of ascension.
The courage to model came from a combination of having a therapist, doing shadow-work (Dr. Nicole LePara is a huge influence in this area), exploring myself and my identity, leaning on my friends for support when I needed them, celebrating the small things, having an abundance mindset, pushing myself out of my comfort zone every chance I got, and having a tremendous amount of time on my hands during COVID-19 to explore my why in the creative world. I grew interested in creative directing and decided I want my projects to reflect the divine feminine and women’s empowerment. I directed my first project (a lyrical-inspo photoshoot to “Honey” by Raveena Aurora to showcase the divine feminine and divine masculine and the freedom of love) a few months ago with a lot of help from my friend Flo (@Flowxetine) in Las Vegas and I have many, many more projects coming under my belt. Being a model and creative allows me to showcase my many archetypes to the world and empower others (especially women) around me who come from a limiting background or are afraid to pursue their daydreams. It is possible and your culture, family background, and limiting beliefs do not have to stop you. Don’t be afraid to embody your soul expression and recreate the world around you!!! A powerful quote for me is: “You don’t need to keep climbing a mountain just because you already started…you can always choose your own mountain.”
I have a very intricate story, so I could go on for quite some time about the people/events that influenced me and the things I did to get to where I am. All in all, I’d say that I got to where I am today by doing the difficult inner-work and knowing what I want. Practicing manifestation every single day and envisioning who I want to be. Meditating. Having an amazing group of supportive friends and letting go of those who no longer resonated with me, my values, or my goals. Forgiving myself. Getting out there and networking my ass off. Working for free while knowing my value. Asking for what I’m worth + tax. Taking the lead on projects. Believing in myself more than anyone else. Having faith that I was exactly where I need to be and I have all the tools I need at this moment in time. Spending time in solitude and away from distractions when I needed it and continuing to dream big.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all!!! Beginning this path was one of the most difficult things I’ve done. I grew up in an abusive household and my first serious relationship out of high-school was with a manipulative and abusive guy, so these dreams seemed very unrealistic at first. I have my Bachelors of Science in Health Sciences and was initially on the path to go to medical school, then changed course and did a total 180 by wanting to model. I was raised a Muslim and am Arab-American, so being a model isn’t something that my parents or culture support. There was a tremendous amount of tension in my family and a ton of backfire because I wanted nothing to do with the medical field anymore at the time and was in this temporary state of feeling lost and redirecting my life. I was homeless for a little while because of this tension and I even left Tampa and moved to Las Vegas for an entire year with my friend Jayda because it was truly my only option to ground myself and be in a more stable and supportive environment. On top of all that, I had 22 years of limiting beliefs and trauma-learned behaviors and patterns to unlearn and a lot of re-parenting to do. I worked so hard to reparent myself and renew my confidence and love of myself to truly know that this path is my path.
Aside from those personal challenges, being a woman in any field presents its own set of challenges. The most frustrating professional challenge of being a female model is coming across what seem like amazing opportunities and having to pass them up because men involved will sexualize me or devalue me when I present my prices, but I know my value and I will never waver on that. Another challenge is being offered “great” opportunities by men and passing them up because they have ulterior motives. Female models face so many challenges, from being sexualized to not being taken seriously as creatives to having to always be aware of sex-trafficking scams and constantly think of our safety and well-being. There is so much to think about as a woman in a field like this. These challenges in particular, however, pushed me to be more self-reliant and allowed me to find amazing, creative women to support and be supported by. I now have a beautiful, wholesome, creative, and talented network of women and men to work with and continue to attract creatives who are in alignment with my vision and purpose. I couldn’t be happier with the challenges I was presented with in my life and where they took me.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I began as a swimwear model and I do consider that a specialty of mine. I also have beauty, high-fashion, creative and avant-garde campaigns and commercials under my belt. I do mostly print and commercial work and have walked in five high-fashion runway shows. I’m proud of the quality of my work and the values I uphold and I’m proud to be a different face seen in the beauty and creative industry (you know, like, not a typical Euro-centric woman). I want to show others who look like me or don’t have Euro-centric features that they can absolutely do this too and it’s 100% normal for us to be in the spotlight. I want women to take up as much space as they possibly can in their fields and not feel sorry about it and I hope my modeling encourages that the way I think it does. Something else that I believe sets me apart as a model is my ability to remove myself from my ego and remain connected to my heart and purpose. Moreover, my drive, versatility, and ideas set me apart from others. I love being a model, but there is a larger purpose behind this path that I’m on and I will never forget that. I embody many archetypes and am able to wear many different hats to accomplish what I need to and make me a more valuable person to work with.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I would say you create your own luck. You can’t just sit around and wait for lucky things to happen to you. If you aren’t putting in the work and showcasing yourself, then luck will never come to you. The universe will give you everything you ask for if you put that energy out there. You are the creator of your own life and you have the power to choose your mountain how you respond to the challenges presented to you on your path. Don’t just think about what you want–be and embody it. It will come to you then.
Contact Info:
- Email: dianamalfi8@gmail.com
- Website: https://medium.com/@dianamalfi, https://ultimatetalentglobal.com/models/diana-a/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/diana.m.alfi
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DianaMAlfi
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaSTwmkrUH6xYuzhVGSrTJg
