Title:
Marsha Elle | Bionic Model, Billboard Artist and Social Icon
Subtitle:
Unleashing her Inner Authenticity: Beyond the Runways, Charts and Magazines
Transcript:
Alycia Anderson: Welcome to Pushing Forward with Alycia, a podcast that gives disability a voice. Each week we will explore topics like confidence, ambition, resilience, and finding success against all odds. We are creating a collective community that believes that all things are possible for all people. Open hearts, clear paths.
Let’s go.
Welcome back to Pushing Forward with Alycia. I am Alycia and I wanna start this episode with a question. What happens when you turn adversity into artistry and you use your own story to redefine beauty, music, the stage, the runway, and so many more things. All at once. Well, our guest today is going to answer those questions. She’s radiant. She’s unstoppable. She’s incredible. She’s a bionic model, charting on the billboards with her songwriting. She’s an actress. She’s a fierce disability advocate. And she’s graced pages like Vogue, Essence, Harper’s Bazaar. She’s even been in Playboy. Her name is Marsha Elle. She’s all over social media. She’s making major headway and not only representation, but her platform. She’s got a new single that is titled I Am Beautiful, which you absolutely are.
And she’s just got this beautiful movement and mantra of self-acceptance is revolutionary. Marsha, thank you so much for gracing us on the show with your beautiful presence and talent. It’s so great to meet you.
Marsha Elle: Alycia, thank you so much for the introduction. You did amazing. Thank you for having me.
Alycia Anderson: I’m thrilled. I’m a fan. I’ve been following you forever. You are one of those bright lights and disability advocacy that has such a beautiful platform that is unique, that is standout and that is making such headway for all of us to follow. So I appreciate all of the work that you’re doing.
Let’s start with, if it’s okay, you describe yourself as a bionic model. Can you take us back a little bit? Tell us about your disability and how has your disability, your prosthetic, all of that shaped your identity personally and professionally.
Marsha Elle: Oh, thank you. Yes. So I kind of coined this bionic model term, about eight, nine years ago. So I’m a musician, I guess by passion and by trade, but for all my childhood and adulthood, early adulthood, I never showed my prosthetic leg. I’m a, I’m an amputee. I’m a congenital amputee, so I was born with one leg. This is all I’ve ever known, and yet, I know culturally and society at that point wasn’t really ready to accept, this embracing of disability, it was something that you had to overcome. and so for, I guess for myself too, and trying to grow with this disability, I hid it for so long. So when I was releasing my second album that I entitled Brave, I was like, it’s kind of hypocritical to name this album Brave, spend so much time, money, resources into creating this project. Yet I’ve never been vulnerable and shown my fans my leg and this part of me. So I said, you know what? For the album cover, I’m going to show my leg. This is going to be my second album, needs to be the album where I just trust my existence in why I’m here, and I was like, okay, what do I do? Funny story, and this might be an exclusive, I was living in Orlando. I grew up in New Orlando, graduated from the University of Central Florida. and that was what I called home. Would you believe that? I couldn’t find a photographer that would shoot me?
Alycia Anderson: Wow.
Marsha Elle: It was crazy. and I always go back to that. I’m like, just, you know, they just weren’t enthusiastic. I’ve always been that type of person. When I go to book, and hire someone, I want them to feel like they’re part of this artistic journey. So I go online, I go to Instagram, and I find this guy Essien Akan never forget him, and he is in Minnesota. I love his work. I said, Hey, and this is what I’m trying to do. I wanna do an album cover. I wanna show this vulnerable side of me. Are you gonna shoot me? He was like, absolutely. I’m excited. So I book a flight to Minnesota. I’ve never been, what am I doing in Minnesota? So I fly into Minneapolis. Such an amazing person we went to his on set. And he took the most beautiful photos. I posted them on Instagram and, I have to go ahead and, fast forward a little bit to come back those photos, I posted them and kept moving, dropped my album three, four years later. That very photo. Those sets of photos would go viral, Jada Pinkett Smith would repost it. I would then end up, in Essence, I would end up in People Magazine, Yahoo, all types of, publicity from photos and a seed that was planted four years before in Minneapolis. And so I say that to say being a bionic model. It was through the process of healing and self-acceptance and really being vulnerable, and it became a healing process for me and it just took off. So sometimes you do things and, you see the fruit of the labor way, way, way, way later.
Alycia Anderson: That’s an incredible story. I think it’s a major massive lesson for a lot of us, if not most of us, that have some type of disability. I know I’ve hidden a lot of things in my own space and I’m having a reckoning with myself right now in this moment. So it’s so crazy that you bring that up and that just did a lot for me personally, honestly.
Was that your moment of publicly self ID like you’re an artist. Did anybody know, from your outer circle that you had a disability?
Marsha Elle: Only like family or close friends, people I went to college with but on socials? On platforms, no. And we’re talking, this is 2013.
Alycia Anderson: Wow.
Marsha Elle: No one really knew and I released a great album, my first album Champion. It was out, but no one knew.
Alycia Anderson: Wow, that’s incredible. What a story. Thank you for sharing that. Oh my gosh. So you’ve said that your story is that of others as well. It’s not just yours. Can you share, how you found your voice through music and modeling.
Is it, was it this moment that you just shared or was there something else that really pushed you to be on stages? The stages that you are today?
Marsha Elle: Absolutely. I will say. When I had, surgery around the age of 13, 14, to get into a better prosthetic, but that meant at the age of 13 and 14 puberty that I had to learn to walk all over again. So I’m falling, I’m insecure, my body’s changing and weight fluctuates. You gotta get a new leg.
So it’s all of this. But I had never met another amputee. The care coordinator at the Shriners Hospital, my favorite, one of my favorite hospitals, said, Hey, I’m gonna send you on a camp. I was like camp. I’d never been at the on a plane at that point. I’m 14, and it’s a camp with amputees in Salt Lake City, Utah. I’ve never been, but I was like, absolutely. I was always that much of an adventurer. I went there and for the first time I felt like I didn’t have to hide my leg. There was community and that would be where I pinned this song called Unlimbited,
Alycia Anderson: Hmm.
Marsha Elle: it’s unlimbited, U-N-L-I-M-B-I-T-E-D. So it’s unlimbited and it was the lyrics that I wrote where it says, who am I? Just a product of your design. If I were to listen in on everything you say, we’re all the same, who told you that we were different? I’m sorry to let you down. I’m sorry to let you down. So I wrote those words to say like I’m listening to society. Say I have to be this small and I have to be perfect.
I have to look away. But we are all the same. We still have that human, connection. That human existence is what makes us very, very similar in where we can learn from one another. And so, that would be my epiphany. That was my moment. But it still took many years to take that to the world. Back then there wasn’t social media, it was just this intimate group.
But I think that made it more personal. ’cause then I could go back and get my guitar and write these words and that song would then end up seven years later on. Brave. So
Alycia Anderson: So those lyrics just. I was rubbing my arms while you were saying it. Whoa. And, I love that you started to have like your coming of age or awakening. In community at camp, like the same, I have a congenital disability. Same thing happened to me too, and I rejected that for a while in my life. Like, I was like, oh, I don’t know if I wanna be associated.
And I feel so guilty for saying it, but back then I was insecure too. So, I don’t know if you felt that way, but like, I think that’s another great message for the younger ones that follow this show, that when we find community together, it makes you so much stronger in accepting yourself in some way.
Marsha Elle: Yes. I totally agree. And I think you’re powerful in saying that because we have, I had to be honest with myself, this wasn’t, oh, wake up and you’re automatically proud.
Alycia Anderson: Yeah.
Marsha Elle: Society has evolved. Yes, but there is a lot of inside work that is still everyday reminding myself of my why, my purpose, and learning to undo all the internalized ableism because we’re always applauded when we do things ourselves. But I think there should be a even louder. Applaud. Applaud for when we reach out for help and say, Hey, I’m having a tough mental health day. Can, I, you know, can I talk to you today? Or there should be a, great applause for people who are vulnerable. And I think
Alycia Anderson: Yeah.
Marsha Elle: In that vulnerability, we learn to have empathy and care for one another, whether you’re disabled or not.
So I’m glad that, you are able to share that because I was in that same position. I, it wasn’t something that. Oh, here. I’m happy to be disabled. We weren’t
Alycia Anderson: Yeah.
Marsha Elle: even allowed to say disabled, I think
Alycia Anderson: Yeah,
Marsha Elle: ten years ago. Right?
Alycia Anderson: Yeah. And I think those quiet, vulnerable moments, even when you’re by yourself battling internalized ableism, even in the moments today where you’ve got. I’ve got a platform and we look strong and just like full of energy and you’ve on top of the world, but there’s still these moments where you have to face those, even sometimes quietly and have a little bit of a reckoning with it to grow even more.
So, yeah, that’s powerful. I am beautiful. You are beautiful. The song I Am Beautiful. I love the title because it forces you to say, I am beautiful. Like that is, I just want a moment that like, oh, that was amazing. Uh, it’s touching hearts globally, like what inspired the lyrics to this song and what are you hoping that listeners are gonna take away from it?
Marsha Elle: Yes. My good friend Ramces Rouzard, called me up one day and he says, I have the perfect song for you. And I was like, Hey, he’s just sent me the lyrics. He said, I just want you to read it. It was so affirming, it was so powerful. He said, okay, let’s get in the studio. Let’s work on this. He is an amazing producer and in that he cares about the music immediately after the purpose. And he was very intentional in saying, we could’ve, like, we could’ve called it beautiful. He’s like, no, let’s say I am beautiful. So that, because he, you know, he said to me, do you know how many people never say they’re beautiful? So if they inadvertently say it while they look for your song, it might spark something.
We want people to really feel the purpose behind the song, and I think that’s why it resonates with so many, people around the world. There’s just a little, there’s a little moment in you, that little girl, that little boy, the the child in you that says, yeah, I am beautiful. Remember when we used to just be so enamored by who we are?
And I think that’s what we wanted for that song, for you to just listen to it and walk in the mirror and be like, yeah, am beautiful. Or it, it, it just, it was, that was our why. So we then sat down and we got guitar, we had instruments, we put it together after we found it, we rooted ourselves in that purpose of making sure these lyrics, help and pull and tug at heart strings, and hopefully it’s played for generations to come.
Alycia Anderson: Oh my God, that’s so amazing. Well, it worked. The title caught me when I was saying it like, oh. I’m beautiful. That felt good. That felt really good.
Marsha Elle: You are.
Alycia Anderson: That translated immediately. Okay. Can we talk about fashion for a minute?
Marsha Elle: Let’s do it.
Alycia Anderson: I’m literally obsessed with you on the runway and all of the incredible stages that you’ve been on, you are, you’re breaking barriers in fashion way before.
I’m sure this was as popular as it’s become, Vogue to Playboy, I mean. Girl, the fact that you went on in Playboy is incredible in itself to just be bold and daring like that with your body, with a disability, like I am a I’m, that inspires me. How do you define beauty and how is that changed for you over time?
Is it constantly changing? Are you growing into it more and more? How? Talk about that a little bit.
Marsha Elle: Absolutely. You know when we are working in an industry, entertainment in general? Perception varies, and I think that I started in 2016.
Alycia Anderson: Wow.
Marsha Elle: Brand deals. My first shoot was with Parfait. They flew me out to LA to do. It was an intimates shoot and it, they were really hard launching diversity. You know, it sounds so crazy because we’ve really grown with the industry.
Alycia Anderson: Mm-hmm.
Marsha Elle: And I’m hope, and we have been, they have been regressing a little bit and we’re hoping that there’s some changes that’s for maybe a different discussion because we have to stay the course with brands. But for me, fashion is a way of expression, and representation is very important. When I was humbled with the opportunity to be in Vogue. That Vogue was for New York Fashion Week with Private Policy. Playboy was in 2019. There was just so many, amazing opportunities, but I really wanted to be the person Marsha needed at the age of six.
I had no one to look to, no one looked like me. I had nothing to reference. And so, that’s why I try to always, show up even when I’m intimidated when I went to do a lot of runway. That’s one thing I know I’m not great at. I’m not a walker. I have a different gate. I walked differently.
Like I know this is not where I excel, but I knew that if I showed up, and if they felt that thing. And I always say, there’s this thing that you feel, whether it be just the energy you bring to the room, maybe I would be accepted. And that human connection really happened and I think that’s where I’ve been able to make my own little room for fashion being the anomaly, the different model. You have to be daring. You have to be passionate to a brand, to reach out to a disabled talent, but you’re also. forerunner, you are innovative. You are the best type of brand because you understand that we are consumers, and we add so much value. So
Alycia Anderson: Yeah,
Marsha Elle: yeah.
Alycia Anderson: And I wouldn’t say you’re an anomaly. I mean, you are your own unique self for sure, which is incredible. But I’d use the word icon, like, I’d use the word that, sets you apart from the rest in such a powerful, not a limit, You’re such a presence, and you fit so well in the world of all of the, fashion mod, you’re just like a perfect icon in the mix of all of the models that frankly have uniquenesses but are all the same, you know?
And you’re so beautifully unique that, it’s incredible. Like, it is, you’re one of the most powerful. Like presence that I’ve ever seen on a stage. I really, mean it. Like you command the stage when you’re on it and from an outsider looking in and a woman to woman and fashionista to fashionista, it’s so incredible to see and I know you hear that from millions of people.
I’m just one of ’em. But it’s powerful and we, believe, what we see. We believe what we experience and you being the only one, the one and only the first way back when, when this was not acceptable. Okay, maybe it wasn’t, not acceptable, but it just wasn’t standard. I don’t,
Marsha Elle: It was not seen. It was not, and we
Alycia Anderson: yeah.
Marsha Elle: have to call it what it is.
Alycia Anderson: Okay.
Marsha Elle: It was so hard, we couldn’t, you couldn’t Google. I think acceptance started maybe early, late 2016 with Mama Cox. She was the
Alycia Anderson: Hmm. Hmm.
Marsha Elle: the first. Love her. Radiant. Brands were not, I mean, they’re pulling back on plus size. Mm. And they are pulling back on disabled representation and that’s a no no.
And I appreciate amazing platforms like yours who are in media highlighting how important, how valuable it is for the next generation to accept what’s different and not status quo. That that’s over. No one’s interested. We want different, we want, good, impactful, even inspiring, visuals and.
Alycia Anderson: A hundred percent.
Marsha Elle: We bring that, yes.
Alycia Anderson: We do bring that. I mean, let’s talk about that for a minute. Let’s talk about the pullback. Let’s talk about the importance of representation specifically, from having a multi, diverse identity. Like look at you, you know, like you’re representing multi factors of that. You know, like your intersectionality is clear, like.
Let’s talk about the pullback. Like we’re all feeling it. Like what, what, what’s the importance of advocating right now?
Marsha Elle: It’s, it’s crucial, because like I was sharing earlier with you, our fight starts behind the camera. And then all the way to the front. There are so many amazing, directors, creators, even within my businesses. I try to make sure I hire disabled talent because we have been ostracized and it starts from even a socioeconomic standpoint.
Where you can go this far and make this much money and no further unless, and if you do, you’ll be penalized. There’s just a lot of barriers that we’ve worked to dismantle and they’re slowly trying to bring them back up. So when I do work with brands, I try to explain to them, you are doing work that transcends what you think you’re doing. When you hire disabled talent, you are not only breaking a barrier for your brand, but also give, providing livelihood to talent that a lot of the times we are left in the back. And so, I can’t encourage brands enough. I’m very grateful for the work and I always try to, if it’s not for me, I’ll recommend someone else in our community, but we have to hold brands accountable.
We have to hold brands accountable. We can’t digress, we can’t fall off. And, I truly believe, and this is just you having your own platform, when we have to take control of our communities, which is, creating content, having platforms like yours where we can voice out our opinions. We don’t necessarily have to wait for someone to hand us the microphone.
We’re building our own microphone and we’re gonna continue. We have Imani. She’s a wonderful speaker. I love how she uses her platform and just shares her wealth of knowledge. We don’t all agree on everything, but I love that we are now being vocal and having our own media platforms, that’s important.
Then we have brands now that are created by disabled talent. I have my Tilt Beauty here. It’s great to see that they are thinking about, products that work for, disabled communities. It’s impressive. And so part of me is like, Hey, brands keep up with us. But another one is like, this is empowering because we are not going to wait for a seat at the table. We’re starting to build our own seats at the table and we have economic spend power, so we must use that, because we deserve a quality of life, for sure.
Alycia Anderson: Yeah, and it’s that education on all of those value propositions as well as like these brands that are, certain brands that are leading the charge that are all of a sudden pulling back, like, now we’re done.
Marsha Elle: Mm-hmm.
Alycia Anderson: You go, like, I’ve spoke, I’ve been on stages this year that hired me before all of this pullback started, and I’m going into these events, you know, like on the back of my mind going, am I welcome here?
Like I,
Marsha Elle: Um,
Alycia Anderson: And I’m showing up anyways and I get on stage and I’m like, you’re, you’re a leader. Like, don’t go backwards, like there’s so much value, but monetary, like human value,
Marsha Elle: Yes.
Alycia Anderson: Allowing society to see something so they believe it. You know? So it’s so important. It’s so important. And thank you for kind of touching on that. ‘Cause we’re all kind of in this together right now.
Marsha Elle: Absolutely.
Alycia Anderson: We can’t go backwards, please. So from a representation standpoint, what do you say to the young disabled girl, boy, everybody when they see you on a magazine cover or they hear your music and they don’t know or have the courage to reach that goal for them, whether it’s their magazine cover, is some other like dream or goal, like what do you tell them?
How do they find their way, the way that you did? Is there something that you can suggest?
Marsha Elle: Yeah, I think my biggest suggestion was would be, be okay with creating, and not immediately putting it out for scrutiny. Sometimes if you are not yet comfortable with your modeling, turn your camera around and try and practice and fall in love with your process. Because you have to remember, if you haven’t failed enough, there’s no way you’re gonna win. Literally you have to learn and fix and prune and really take out some, you know, learn. Learn the tricks of the trade. But, because of social media sometimes, like you do something and then instant gratification posted and you’re hoping to get a million likes, and then it can discourage you because maybe the algorithm was down that day or maybe you just hadn’t found, you know, your rhythm yet.
Keep practicing, falling in love with the process. I released two albums, multiple singles, but people don’t really know that I used to sing hours. Go to guitar lessons hours. Those are the things that aren’t glorified. Modeling, I paid for a lot of photo shoots that were not published, but I wanted to get out of my stage fright and get used to posing and learning my angles, and so just go have fun with the process first.
You’ll never regret if you had fun in the process and then slowly the product that you, put out, don’t overthink it, but don’t also feel that you need to be perfect. It’s in those most imperfect work pieces that you might get the best, ROI. To be honest, sometimes it’s that photo you took on your iPhone on vacation that goes viral.
I actually had that happen in Puerto Rico and I was like. This is like a $2 photo, whereas my six, $700 photo shoots might get a hundred likes. The other ones end up published in magazines.
Alycia Anderson: You know what I like what you just said too is practice and you don’t have to put everything out right away. Like that’s good for me. Don’t feel like you have to constantly be putting stuff out, like just keep practicing. I think that’s really, really good advice. And keep failing, like keep failing so you become an expert.
Marsha Elle: Yes,
Alycia Anderson: That’s powerful. Yeah. That’s really awesome. Okay, so can we talk about some of your projects?
Marsha Elle: Yes.
Alycia Anderson: I know you’ve got a nonprofit called Glow Unlimited. What are some of the other things, the North Stars, the projects that you are really wanting to elevate, move further into the universe.
Marsha Elle: Yes.
Alycia Anderson: Can you talk about those a little bit?
Marsha Elle: Yes, absolutely. Glow Unlimited is my nonprofit that was established in 2018. Glow stands for growth, learning, opportunity and wellness. I’m building out the platform where what we’ve really just spoke about, I can give that information to up and coming content creators, creatives that are in music because I have a lot of firsthand experience and a lot of resources that I think I can send.
There’s so many great people. Like if I tell people all the time, I’m so glad I showed up to rooms and showed up in rooms, and. met people that were just wells of knowledge and information. It’s a free platform where we can provide resources for creatives, especially disabled creatives, because the beauty of it is. It’s remote a lot of the times, a lot of the work that you can do is remote, which would make it easier for you to bring in an income. And so it’s a lot of great things coming off of Glow. It’s supposed to be a learning platform and I want it to be perfect. So that is my baby, that is one of my North Stars.
I’m also the vice President of RAMPD, which stands for recording artists and music professionals with disabilities. We are responsible for having the first RAMPD, on the Grammys, which made the Grammys accessible for the first time. It was three years ago. Amazing community, Lachi, everyone over there, honored to be the vice president and as of yesterday, I announced that I was nominated and elected as governor of the Recording Academy in the Florida chapter. So a lot of great things. My goal, of course is to highlight diversity and accessibility and inclusivity in the music space because to this day, we’re still fighting for accessible venues.
As you know, ASL I’m very glad that now a lot of festivals are, more inclusive, so that more communities can really indulge and enjoy, musical experiences, but I’m humbled to be nominated and I’m hopeful that I can push the needle forward to just make entertainment a place where we can, we as disabled people can enjoy music and fashion, entertainment, but also add value in our work. Because a lot of us are creatives and want to be, compensated and be a part of the legacy, of entertainment. So a lot of good stuff is going on.
Alycia Anderson: My gosh.
Congratulations on your appointments and thank you for doing that work. Just as a music goer to festivals and things like that, we need it so bad to just be a consumer and enjoy it in that type of way. So, amazing. Thank you. Did we miss anything?
Marsha Elle: New music coming this year, so stay tuned. We’re doing some good stuff. We’re, actually thinking of doing something different. And I think we’re gonna do it. We’re gonna record, but it’s gonna be off a live stream and
Alycia Anderson: Oh.
Marsha Elle: live stream the process. ’cause we want people to really see how crazy it gets in a good way.
Where we come in and guitar and then it transposes into us being on the piano. We get it into the sound and it just wanna teach that process and hopefully, we can bring some good music out. So that’s coming out soon. We have a live stream recording session.
Alycia Anderson: That’s incredible. We’re gonna leave all of the links and every way that everybody can get in touch with you, get involved with Glow Unlimited. Follow you, support, you, hire you, all of the things. Before we wrap up, I warned you this question was gonna be coming.
Marsha Elle: Yes.
Alycia Anderson: I like to leave our guests with a little bit of I’m gonna call it glow today.
Do you have a little mantra, something, a pushing forward moment that you can gift away to our community to inspire them a little bit on their journeys.
Marsha Elle: Yes. Remember that no one else can be you, and that’s your superpower.
So in every room, space, and every invitation, be as authentically you as possible because no one can ever duplicate that formula, and that’s what makes you special. So embrace that.
Alycia Anderson: Oh, I love it. Marsha, thank you so much for coming on this show. It’s this been such an amazing conversation. I am leaving here fully inspired, ready to take on the world. Thank you for that.
Marsha Elle: I am excited and I can’t wait to meet you in person.
Alycia Anderson: Oh, manifest. Let’s manifest that me too. Thank you so much for your time today. It’s been a pleasure to meet you. And thank you to our community for showing up. If you love this episode, please share it out to your communities. This has been another beautiful glowing episode of Pushing Forward with Alycia, and that is literally how Marsha and I roll.
We will see you next time.