Photo By Eva Flis
Name: Sherrie Gearheart
Family dynamics: Married, mother of 4
Hobbies/Pastime: Singing, runway model, pageantry (most notably I was Miss United Nations 2015).
Business/Talent? Model Icon runway coach, fashion show producer, Public Speaker, Owner of the Miss Royalty International Pageant, Publisher with Model Icon Magazine & Tiara Magazine, Leadership Academy instructor. I also do part time work as a sales coordinator/consultant to develop other businesses’ sales team, marketing team, or their special event production.
Where are you from? Chicago, born and raised. Now I reside in the Atlanta area with my husband, our 3 littles (all baby girls), and our adopted teenage son. We adopted our son at the age of 18 when he aged out of foster care. We found him by viewing a video from the group “Reels of Hope” where they conduct video interviews showing the interests of kids in foster care in an effort to helping those children find their forever home. After speaking over the phone for 9 months and having never met, we knew he was about to age out and become homeless. My husband flew out to WY just before his 18th birthday to see if he would want to move in with us. We became recipients of the Gift of Adoption Fund (out of thousands of families, we were the ones chosen) which awarded our family with a small grant to move our soon to be son from Wyoming to Georgia. Two weeks after his 18th birthday my husband flew back out to WY to fly him home to us. He has been with us for 6 months now and has asked to be formally adopted. It’s been a journey of ups and downs, of healing and self discovery, and he is the most incredible addition to our family. Thank you to Ann Marie Root for representing Reels of Hope as our titleholder, Mrs. Royalty International, and for bringing this incredible organization to the forefront. It was a dream of mine to adopt one day… never did I imagine it would be an incredible teenage boy from Wyoming. He and my husband are two peas in a pod. We would have never found him if it wasn’t for Reels of Hope and Ann Marie. Special thank you to Lesie from Wonderful Kids for facility this change and helping Joe find his forever family.
What are you passionate about? Whats the driving force behind it? I am extremely passionate about giving back to my community. I had a rough upbringing and when I lost my grandmother at the age of 20 I became homeless. One year prior I lost my childhood friend to suicide. He was the 4th person I knew that had taken his life. I became hopeless after losing my grandma and enduring so much loss in my life at a young age. I was the 1st person from my family to go to college and on my college break, I read a book called Man’s Search for Meaning by holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl. This book changed my life. He created Logotherapy and it basically states if you have hope (a purpose for why you are here) you can overcome anything. I cried out to God and asked what my purpose was. I went on to start a suicide prevention charity at the age of 21 which led to me traveling to 8 countries (mostly 3rd world), to urban and rural cities within America, spreading suicide intervention training, to conducting several thousands of suicide interventions myself and our team. Later I would appear all over the news locally and abroad and meet with government officials. I also held over 50 awareness events per year, ran a leadership academy where I taught others how to do the same. I did this for one decade. I no longer serve in this role but I thank God every day for using me as a tool to help others. Now I run a for profit company and I have very busy as a runway coach and mom of 4.
Whats your skill set? Public speaker, coach, runway model, marketing, advertising, publishing.
What set you apart from others of your same field? My heart. I have a big heart and passion for helping others achieve their dreams. I’ve walked in some of the largest runway shows and have always since day one invited others to learn, grow, and step on that stage when they are ready. I love fostering others talents, instilling excellence and confidence, and seeing them prosper. This industry is extremely cut throat, full of jealousy, yet I am one of the few that genuinely wants others to succeed and will help them get there.
Whats your purpose in life? I do plan to return to suicide prevention work but not in the same way I once did (meaning not by running a non profit). I plan to visit 3rd world countries again and give speeches educating the public on how to conduct suicide interventions by utilizing the QPR Institute’s method along with other 20+ certifications I’ve obtained. Furthermore, my main and #1 priority is to serve God and by doing so to serve my family. My children only have one mom and one dad. It’s important I be the best example to them and although some days or moments I may fail, I do my best to show them failure is all part of learning, growing, and giving grace. My youngest Aria was born with the deadliest, rarest form of epilepsy. She was experiencing over 100 seizures per day as an infant at just 8 weeks old and younger. The signs were very subtle, most parents would be unaware of the signs, but because I love to study medical things and because I have 2 other little slightly older than her, I was able to pick up that something was seriously wrong since she was only 1.5 weeks old. I took 1 year off of work to solely focus on my baby. I did start to return to work once she showed progress but that progress would ebb and flow. She almost died 3 times last year. We fought hard to get her to sit up, to roll, to crawl (which she did not do until almost 13 months old), and now our obstacle is her speaking skills. She is my miracle baby and I discussed this at one of my recent Model Icon shows on stage as a testament to God’s glory. God is good. God does answer prayers. I thank God he healed her. There are still ups and downs, as there always will be in life. The important thing is we keep going, we keep fighting, we keep serving God’s purpose for our lives no matter how hard, bleak, or dark it might get. Never ever give up.
If you could choose any career in the world, would you still choose the career or talent you have? I absolutely love the medical field. I would have chosen both but looking back I could never want to fully change the trajectory of the past because so many lives were saved in the suicide prevention work I and others under me did. For fun I like to read medical journals. I also suffer from an autoimmune disease and its been a lifelong journey of learning and understanding how to cope. Now all of my friends and family come to me for guidance with their medical issues. I tell them my thoughts and make it clear they must run it by their doctors. When they do I’ve always been right which is pretty fun. I love what I do now which is organizing fashion shows with models of all sizes, heights, ages, and ethnicities. I love coaching the models one on one and seeing their personal growth and self-development. On the side I do consulting and coordination work for another company in civil engineering which has been fun.
What would you tell your younger self? To stop crying over boyfriends and people who backstabbed me. And although I was known to always bounce back quickly (which shocked people) I still think a lot of that negativity needed to go a lot quicker. I held onto a lot of people that should have been released from my life a long time coming. I like to always see the good in people but seeing the red flags sooner I think serves a large purpose as well.
Knowing what you know now, would you change anything in your past? Absolutely! Thanks to the technological age we are in I would have streamlined my businesses better so things could run more efficiently and not all be on my shoulders.
Who are your rolemodels? My Grandmother has always served as my role model. To me she was a Saint. She never said a bad word about anyone. She was a homemaker. She always gave to charity even when we had little to nothing. She was incredible at listening and being there for everyone. My mother is also my role model who became my best friend later in life. She has incredible strength and endured against all odds. My best friend Tre is a pastor and an incredible role model. My 2nd mom Theresa is always there for me and I love her. She has taught me how to be professional, strong, and I literally would not be who I am today if it were not for her. She was by my side at age 19 having me speak to small groups of people, having me go through mock interview trainings she held in her house (with coaches I hired), and went to every appearance I made in the public. She literally changed my life forever with her giving heart. She is a tough woman… which helped me face several difficult detractors within this industry.
What would you say to those that are starting out in your field? If starting in modeling always study your craft diligently. Watch all of the documentaries related to your field in regards to fashion designers, models, etc. Be humble. So many models have the “I made it” mentality but would not be able to handle themselves in major roles in fashion week or modeling abroad. There is always something to learn. Look to elevate your brand (your imaging, etc). Be relevant by posting interesting content. But be more than just a face… actually, have a message and purpose behind what you do. Align yourself with a media company you can do reporting to and attend as an attendee/blogger so you can network as a model too. This opens so many doors for the media outlet you’re reporting for, for you as the model, and for the event you’re covering.
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What is your favourite quote? Explain? Be the change you want to see in the world. This quote is by Ghandi. We find in this world a lot of people that complain but very few people who actually get up and do something about it. I say be a disruptor in the best way possible which is a person who makes the change you want to actually see.
If you could leave lasting impression, what would that look like? I hope that my life will inspire my children and others to start their own non profit one day (or help support one that exists), to start a business, to lend a helping hand, and to face their fears. When I went to Liberia the Ebola crisis was starting to wind down and 4 days before my departure 3 new cases erupted. I was told by all of my constituents not to go. I was shown horrific photos and “evidence” as to why I should not depart and place my life in danger. However, what my constituents failed to realize was that I had been listening to the heartbreaking stories of loss and tragedy the local Liberian-Americans had faced by losing loved ones to Ebola. The average person lost 6 family members to the crises. The suicide rates had sky-rocketed even among religious leaders. When God calls you to do something you must act. Everyone told me not to go but I knew I had a responsibility to serve the people, to serve God- not my fear. I went to Liberia and completed my suicide prevention works. I am a proud spokesperson of the Bill Rogers Youth Foundation and look forward to going again in the future. I hope my lasting impression in this life is that you see how the holy spirit has moved through my life so that you will trust to listen to the holy spirit and allow Him to move through your life. Thank you so much to Shana Rixter for this interview and to Erial Ramsey of Siti Girl Magazine.
You can contact Sherrie by her Social Media Handles:
Facebook: Sherrie Gearheart
Business Facebook: Model Icon
Business Website: mripageant.com
Cover Photo Cred:
Cuauhtemoc Campos
www.camposdesignphoto.com
Cover Photo MUA and Hairstylist:
Sandy Abigail Obando
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