Meet Deja Natei | Model & Actress

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

Hi Deja, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
How I think about risk is we have to take them in order to grow and evolve. We see people’s success but don’t realize how many risks they took to get there. To take a risk is making yourself vulnerable to the fear of the unknown. Imagine what the world would be like if the Wright brothers never took the risk to achieve flight.

The role risks played in my life/ career is that I would rather take risks then to live in regret of “what if.”

A risk I took that changed my outlook on life was doing an underwater photoshoot knowing that I didn’t know how to swim! I’ve never been underwater besides when someone cruelly pushed me into the deep end of the pool and I had to get rescued out.
So you can only imagine I was panicking right before my underwater photo shoot.

I decided to go give myself a pep talk in the bathroom to calm myself down. Then to make matters worse I accidentally locked myself in the bathroom and couldn’t get out. Even if I screamed and banged on the door no one could hear me. By the grace of God I was finally able to break free from the bathroom just on time for the shoot.

So I show up to the shoot and I’m trying to act calm but I was scared to
death. I wanted to be bigger than my fears so I got into the water with the photographer and plunged myself under the water not knowing what to expect. When I arose from the water I realized it wasn’t as horrific as I thought it would be. Each dip under the water I got more and more relaxed and was able to flow into my poses with ease. The photographer was great at helping me feel calm and giving me direction.

After the shoot I saw my pictures and they came out great. You would never guess from those pictures that I couldn’t swim and had a fear of being underwater. In reality the only obstacle I had to get over was me. This taught me to be bigger than my fears and to do stuff that takes me out of my comfort zone.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a model and I enjoy traveling around the country and continent to shoot and create magic with different photographers and creatives.

I believe what sets me apart from others is my ambition and drive to create the best photos possible. Most people wouldn’t do a photoshoot in a bikini in below freezing weather temperatures, but I have and would do it again lol.

What I’m most excited about is starting my own business to help upcoming models get the start needed to boost their careers in the industry.

I got to where I am professionally by saying yes to a lot of things people might have said no to. I got to where I am today by taking risks, being courageous, and putting myself outside of my comfort zone. Some days I would wake up and get ready to do a photoshoot at 6am, then go to work at 9am, and after work go work a brand ambassador gig.

The two biggest things I learned from my journey was learning how to deal with rejection and to don’t do something if it doesn’t feel right. Rejection sucks, but when you learn not to take it personal, you can use the rejection as a learning experience and improve upon it. Whatever you do don’t quit, keep fighting for what you love!

What I want the world to know about me is that my goal is to leave every person feeling better after being around me. My goal is to inspire and motivate people photoshoot by photoshoot.

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.
Well I’m from Cleveland, Ohio. A little iternary I would give for my city is for outings you would want to try a Cavs game, Browns game, or Playhouse Square theater for a play.

Restaurants to try for great ambiance would be Marble Room, Bar 32, Bartleby, the vault, Jade new Asian Kitchen, and 17 River Grille. We have a lot of great restaurants to check out.

As far as places to go out I love salsa dancing so I enjoy Europa. If you’re looking for a great bar scene there’s Ohio City, Tremont, the flats, and downtown Willoughby. If you’re looking for clubbing try going out to West 6th and the flats downtown Cleveland.

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?
First all glory and honor to God, I feel I always have a guardian Angel protecting me. It’s so hard to shout out just one person lol. But definitely my mom for always believeing in me and supporting me. When I first started modeling my mom would come with me to all of my photoshoots lol.

Also a big Shout out to my friends for always supporting me and picking me up when I’m down. And for those who might need inspiration listen to some Les Brown videos it will give you the encouragement you need.

Website: Buymeacoffee.com/dejanatei

Instagram: Dejanatei

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Youtube: Dejanatei

Image Credits
Jassim Altemimi David Kage Roksolanany.photography Images by Brandon Justin Price Jemal Countess Jemal Countess Ghani Vision B.ivy Photography