Season 4 - Episode 5 - Interview with Coco Mitchell

Welcome to the Wise Not Withered Podcast! This is Season 4, and we are at Episode 5. So this month's guest was Coco Mitchell, who is a model! She has been in the industry for many, many years, and I found her on Instagram! I honestly can't remember what I was even searching for, but I found it really inspiring that there was an older women—there are still many older women who are continuing to model, and are really in it still.

I'm gonna let her tell her own story. I honestly did not do a lot of research before contacting her, which she actually called me out on, which I was appreciative of. She is super, super accomplished. She has been all over the world, working with some of the really big names in fashion, which I don't really know much about, but I definitely learned a lot from her. She just really has such an incredible story. Coco Mitchell is just so warm, and friendly. She's so brave and humble, and she's truly just such a truth-teller. My admiration for her grew with everything she shared. So I hope you feel just as inspired as I was, talking to Coco Mitchell, as you listen to her tell her really amazing story.

All right, is it Coco Mitchell? Am I saying your name right?

Yes.

All right, so let’s just get right into it. Thank you so much for joining us on the Wise Not Withered Podcast. What is your age?

Thank you for having me, and I would rather not share my age.

Okay.

I mean, during the course of this conversation, you will probably figure it out, but in the meantime, it’s not something that I do readily. And the reason is…

Yeah.

Because I’m still IN the fashion business. And if I share my age, with that comes a price tag.

Oh…

You understand? Yeah, I’ve been modeling for 40+ years.

Right. And because of that, I think in terms of dollars and cents. And when I first started in this business, the thing that drew me to it was that I could make money, and that I could travel. And before I started working, I was a teacher. I taught 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade in New York City.

Oh wow!

Yeah! I graduated from college, I’m walking down the New York City block. And this woman comes up to me, introduces herself. Her name is Eileen Ford. And she says to me, she asks me if I had a book. I said, “I have lots of books!” And she started laughing, and I’m thinking, “Why is she laughing?” Cause I think everything is funny. I don’t take offense at anybody, or anything, because I don’t know you, you don’t know me.

So she says to me, “I mean a book with pictures in it.” And I said to her, “Why would I have that? I’m a teacher. Actually, on my way to becoming a teacher. I’m graduating from college.” And she’s like, “What?” And she asks me, “Well, how much are you going to make as a teacher?” And my first job was going to be in a Catholic school, here in Manhattan, in New York City, and I was going to $227 every two weeks. I was proud! And she said, “What? You could make that as a model, every 15 minutes.”

And all I could think of was, “Okay, whatever. I just graduated from college, and this woman is telling me this. But this is not important to me.” And so you know, I took her phone number, I took her card, blah blah blah. And I started my teaching career. And I’m teaching in this school, and I have no money. None. And I’m living in Manhattan, in a little matchbox apartment. And I’m walking from 98th Street to 25th Street, every day, back and forth. No money, going to my mom’s house to get food to put in the refrigerator. And since I’m working in a Catholic school, I don’t really have to have a lot of clothing.

So here I am, doing this. And then I’m like, “Lord, is this what I’m supposed to do the rest of my life?” And all I could remember is, I think God is saying, “Call Eileen.” I look for the card, I called her up, she sets up an appointment. I go and I sit and I talk with her. And she’s talking… And you know Charlie Brown, when somebody is talking, and it’s like, “Wah-wah-wah-wah-wah”? And that’s what it was! I’m sitting there, and this woman is talking about people taking pictures of you, and you’re gonna get paid for it. And it sounded ludicrous! And when she said, “You can travel, see the world, and make money.” I said, “Okay, sign me up!”

I always wanted to travel. I grew up in a family with five brothers, a sister, a grandmother, and a mother. And we lived in a house. We didn’t have a car. We were not on food stamps, but we did not have a car. We didn’t drink sodas. There was no luxury items. Growing up, I would go home, straight from school. So I think that’s the reason that I didn’t know what a model was, because I didn’t sit with friends, looking through magazines.

Right.

I didn’t know that the people in those magazines, that was a job. I thought they were just good-looking people.

(Laughs) Wow.

Yeah! So when she told me that, I said, “Okay, sign me up.” I started working as a model. I shot Madmoiselle and Glamour magazine, and it all seemed very nice… It took forever to get my first job. And I’m saying to myself, okay, I’m in this business. Right, cause it’s a business. And I’m already like twenty-four years old, so I’m not stupid. I graduated from college. But I wanted to live some place… Originally I’m from Tampa, Florida. And I wanted to live some place where there was sky, and there’s a beach. So I said to her, I don’t feel comfortable going on all these appointments, going in these big buildings, walking around like a mole in a maze… I need the sky, I need the sun, I need the beach. She’s looking at me like I’m crazy. And I said, “Is there any place else I can go?” And she’s like, “You can go to Florida, or you can go to California.”

Well since my family is from Florida… My parents are Cuban. And Cuban people are very strict. You don’t go here, you don’t do this, you don’t do that. And I said, no! I want to live my life! I’ll go to Los Angeles! So here I am… I go to Los Angeles. I’m fairly new in this business. I don’t know anything about it. All I knew is that I’m gonna live life on my own terms. I’m a grown-up, right. So I go to L.A. and I live there, and I love it. I lived there seven years. Should I keep talking?

Mhm!

Cause this is almost kinda like my story.

Yeah, you’re definitely already answering some of my questions, so please keep going!

So here I am, in L.A. It’s wonderful. I go on casting… I meet the most incredible photographers, and make-up and hair people. I don’t have a car. I don’t know you have to have a car in L.A. back in… It was the early 80’s. I don’t know anything! All I know is that I will not be able to work if I don’t have a car. But how do you get a car if you don’t have money? And because I was raised very… How do you say, very humbly. But no guilt, no shame. Nothing. Knowing that my mother and grandmother did their best to put food on the table. So how am I gonna make money?

And I would meet people, you know. And I met this woman, and she was on her way to a beauty salon. So I asked the owner if I could work there. And he’s like, “Well, do you do hair?” And I said, “No. Is there anything else I could do?” And he said, “Well, you could sweep the hair up off the floor.” And I’m thinking, “Okay! I need money.” And I think most people, because of pride, because of shame… Because of already having worked for Glamour magazine, and Essence magazine, and Madmoiselle, I should think more highly of myself, which I don’t. I had to be humble.

So I swept up hair for a whole year. I graduated to be shampoo girl. (Laughs) In L.A. And then I get a little raggedy car. And I start to go to visit my agent. And they start sending me on appointments, and castings, and all of this stuff. And I started working there. And that’s where I really learned how to be a model.

And because of all the wonderful people that I met, some of the photographers… My pictures would be in my books, and when they would go to Europe, people would see the pictures, and that’s how I got a chance to go to Europe. That’s another story. And I lived there for twelve years. The first year I was living in L.A. and they would send for me to do a job in Florence, with a really famous photographer. His name was Aldo Fallai. And I would work with him.

And I said to myself, “The next time the send me to Florence, I’m staying!” Because it’s my life, right? I don’t know how this modeling business really works, where you’re supposed to just do what they tell you. So I stayed there for a year, I learned to speak Italian, and I was studying art. And my agent calls me, she’s like, “What are you doing??” I said, “I’m learning Italian, I’m studying art—” She’s like, “You’re a model!! What? No! If you’re gonna stay in Italy, you have to go to Milan!” And I’m thinking, “Milan? What is Milan?”

So I leave… (Laughs) This is like, hysterical! I go to Milan, and I’m thinking, “Okay, I have no idea… But at least I speak Italian! I have no idea what these people want from me.” Because it’s not as if it was like, my biggest dream to be a model, you know? It was a means to an end as far as I was concerned. So now I’m in Milan, and I go, and they send me to see Giorgio Armani, and he says, “Walk.” And I’m like, “What is he saying…?” He doesn’t speak English, he’s saying, walk. What is that?

So I get up, and just walk across the floor, like whatever, you know. He sits down. He calls my agent, and he says to my agent, “Is she retarded?”

Oh!

And my agent says to me, “Coco, what is wrong?” “I don’t know what he wants.” “He wants you to walk.” “I don’t know how, what walk??” “All black girls know how to walk!” And I was thinking, “I am in trouble!” He says, “Okay, act like you have on your mother’s high heels. You have a purse, and you have a scarf.” And I’m thinking, “He doesn’t know how old I am. He probably thinks I’m eighteen.” So I stand up, I go up on my toes, I throw the scarf—the fake scarf—and I have the purse. And I walk like I’m a little girl, looking in the mirror.

Well, Armani is laughing. My agent just told me that it’s three shows. $15,000 a show. I don’t care if Armani is laughing. I want the money.

Yeah.

Like Eileen said, I could help my family. So I got the shows. That first season in Milan, I did fifteen shows.

Wow!

Not knowing how to walk at all. The only thing that saved me was the fact that they didn’t tape the shows. There was no monitor backstage, where you could see that I was a total wreck. And it was really crazy! And at the end of the show, this photographer comes up to me—this Italian photographer. And he says, “Who are you?” And I’m looking, and kinda laughing to myself, and I say, “I’m Coco Mitchell!” He says, “You’re horrible!” All I could think of, is that he’s right! I am! He’s like, “Are you going to Paris?” I say, “Yes!” He says, “Don’t go.” So I’m like, “But I want to go.” He’s like, “Okay. Here’s my card.” Here’s another card someone hands me out of nowhere. That’s why I believe in God, cause it’s all providence.

“Call me when you get there.” In the 80’s, the shows were all elevated. The runway was higher than the people in the audience. And the photographers at the end of the runway were in what they call the “pit”. Well, that season, I was in the pit with this photographer—all stinky, sweaty photographers—and he’s showing me… I have a bird’s eye view of how it really looks. I could see the girls coming from back stage, walking, and I’m thinking, “That’s how they walk!? Wow!”

So he’s just like, “Take it in. Look. Study this. You should be doing these shows, but you can’t walk like this forever. Somebody’s gonna find out.” So what I did was I kinda taught myself. The next season, I went back to Milan, I worked in Milan. I worked in Milan, and then I worked in Paris, and then I decided, “I’m going to live here.” And that’s what I did. I worked for Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Versace, Armani… Anybody that you could think of, I’ve worked for.

Wow.

Only because, I had no shame. I did not take offense. I don’t know you, you don’t know me. And in this business, you have to have so much courage, because the way that people will treat you… Is horrible. You have to decide what you… I mean, I decide what I want to do, and how I want to be treated. And if someone is not nice, I will not work for them. I don’t care. You know?

Yeah.

And it all has to do with—for me—just taking my own stance. To this day, forty plus years later, I’m still working. It’s no longer a career, it’s now a job. And now that I have this job, what do I do with this job? Why am I still doing this, Lord? And the reason is, I have to be in the room. I have to be in the room. I have to… Not even to just share my story, being the first black woman in Sports Illustrated—1986.

Wow!

Being one of the first black women to do a campaign for Revlon, which was called Polished Ambers, the first black line of cosmetics. Not to share so much those things that I’ve done, but to share the fact that, if you want to do something—I believe this—then you have to stick with it, you have to be persistent, and you have to always be training and teaching yourself, if you want to stay in the game.

And I want to be in the game, like, “Put me in, coach! I’m ready.” But you can’t be ready if you don’t train. And so I still watch all the shows online. I still look at all the magazines. I still look at everything. Because when the door opens, I want to be able to walk through the door, and ask for the amount of money that I want.

Yeah.

And that kind of is my story. That’s really who I am, and that’s the way that I was raised, to not really give other people the power. Cause you don’t have power over me, you know? Growing up, we were not religious. But there’s no way that my mother and grandmother could do what they did without giving God the credit. And that’s the way that I grew up, always knowing that He is in charge, no matter how it looks, good or bad. And it all depends on how I react, you know. That’s always been who I am.

So… Do you have any questions? (Laughs)

Yeah, that was amazing! Thank you so much. I feel like I learned so much just from all of that.

Thank you, thank you, yeah… That’s been my life. It’s been an amazing journey, you know. Even talking to you. If I didn’t do this job, how would you even want to call me and find out who I am? And then talking with you, maybe it’ll encourage some other person.

Yeah!

Not a worn and withered person, but you know, just everybody! What we learn in our life is not just for our demographic—it’s for everybody! It’s to uplift and encourage, and also… Like I said, I could be very direct, but just learning how to approach people and get your point across without chopping off someone’s head. (Laughs) You know, that kind of thing. That’s what I had to learn, just how to… It’s like, navigating through life. How do you get what you want, without being offensive, or being offended.

Mm… Oh wow, yeah!

And that’s always my goal. Every morning when I leave. When I walk out my door, first thing I say is, “Why am I leaving my house? What is the reason? Am I going to be triggered by some crazy person on the streets of New York City?” It’s hard out here! (Laughs)

Yeah.

Yeah, so… You know. It’s armor. It’s my armor, that’s what I put on. I put on the armor of “Let’s get it done. What is the reason? What’s the purpose? Why show up?”

Mm, mhm.

Why am I sitting here? Why? What?? You know… And the other thing that I want to share with you… You know, all of this inclusivity, and diversity. I hate these words!

Yeah?

It’s like… Why? Stop talking about it, and be about it! Just do it! These things should have been happening forever.

Right.

But now, because people got killed… George Floyd. All of these people, things are online now. And you see people being murdered. And now, it’s time to do something about it. Which should have been happening before, you know? It’s really hard to hear, you know, these “inclusivity” and “diversity”… But inclusivity and diversity without the proper amount paid to you. That’s what I don’t like. I don’t like the fact that companies have to have black people, Asian people, brown people. And now you don’t pay top dollar, you just get someone off the street, and you pay them pennies, and then you think you’re gonna pay me pennies! No!

And that’s my stance on the whole thing. I think that, okay, if you don’t have the experience, then you take a dollar. But if you want someone with experience, with this whole inclusivity, diversity, body positivity, all of that, you have to pay! And this is one of my… You know, carrying that flag! Yes! Worn and withered, but not dead!

(Laughs)

You know, I did a job for Estée Lauder, right after the lockdown. And I’m on set, and I have no makeup on. I have really good skin, thank God. And the girl standing next to me has on a beautiful blouse. I have on a camisole. And the girl standing next to me is maybe twenty-five, Asian, and she has a beautiful blouse on. She has on glamorous makeup. Her hair looks fabulous. And then the woman standing next to her, maybe forty years old, and she has on a beautiful blouse, fabulous makeup, gorgeous hair, and I look like I’m going to do the laundry! What is that saying to women of a certain age?? So I walk off the set, I’m standing behind them, praying like, “Lord, I have to say something.” Because I don’t feel comfortable. Now I could’ve just did what they want me to do, take the money, and go home…

And I want to know why! I want to know why. Because I go to events. I go to the ballet, I go to the opera. I go out to dinner. I wear makeup. I buy clothing! And you have me looking… What does this mean? What does this say? So I’m like, “Lord, how do I say this?” And they’re like “Coco! Oh she’s over there.” So I go back on set. And this is when all of the big TV screens, with all the faces, were right there on set. Cause you know, it’s the lockdown, covid, blah blah blah.

So I’m like okay. I walk off the set again, I walk over to the big screens, and I say… I’m very dramatic. And when I’m passionate about something, it’s like, “I have to something to say!” And I said, “I have to say this. I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.” And I said, “My people are not going to be happy. And I’m not talking about black people. I’m talking about women of a certain age. What are you saying to us? Are you telling me that I don’t buy Estée Lauder makeup? That I don’t wear beautiful clothing? That I don’t go out? I just… Stay home, and… Do what?” And then I just walked away from the screen and got back on the set. They started screaming, “Take Coco off the set! Put makeup on her! Give her something else to put on!” So I’m like, “Okay, thank you, Lord.” Cause they could’ve said, “Whatever, girl. Whatever, lady! This is what we’re doing.”

Yeah, wow!

So they put these clothes on me, they glammed me up, right. I still get paid for the usage of this image that’s being used. Friends send me from London, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, on the Estée Lauder counters—that image of me and those two other women. Now if I didn’t speak up… I mean… I have to speak up. I could’ve lost the job forever. But that’s the chance you take!

I mean, you have to be… Everyone will not be able to do it. And I think I was chosen to do this job. Cause I didn’t ask for it! I was chosen on the streets of New York. I was chosen to do this job, and to stay in it, to speak up, for people who are afraid to speak up. Otherwise it’ll be a Me Too situation all over, we’re just going along, to keep our jobs… You know? I have to pay the rent, too. Thank God I learned how to save money. But everyone is not going to speak up. So if I feel I can, I’ll speak for you.

Yeah, that’s beautiful.

And I think that happens because the way that I was raised, and watching my mother, and raising money… She belonged to all these different organizations, getting senators and congressmen elected into the government—black senators and black congressmen, when we weren’t there! So I feel like, I have to pay homage to my mother for standing up.

Yeah.

Yeah, so that’s really who I am. It’s all beautiful, it’s all very glamorous, and sometimes it’s not. It’s hard work! But all of that aside, I’m just a normal person who got chosen to do a beautiful thing, and who’s allowed to still say how she feels, and take the consequences, you know?

Yeah.

I was doing a job for L.L.Bean. And I work for them all the time, and all of a sudden… I walk in, and the clothes… It’s like, I don’t know how many pieces… It had to be a hundred and fifty pieces of things that I’m supposed to wear. And I’m thinking, “I’ve worked for them before. I’ve never worn more than twenty.”

Wow…

And I’m thinking, something is wrong here. No one says anything… And I have a lot of energy, for my age—which I’m not telling you! (Laughs) So here I am, I’m trying my best. But I’m thinking, this is not right! So I come from behind the little makeshift fitting room, dressing room. And I said, “Okay, slavery is over. I have called my Uber. And I’m out of here.” Everyone’s looking at me like I was crazy. I get to the hotel, my agent calls me, “You said—you were talking about slavery!?” I said, “Okay, wait a minute! I’m a black woman, and I can talk about slavery.” They had almost a hundred… You know, L.L.Bean. Shoes, socks, pants, jacket, sweater, blouse, hat… What?? And she’s like, “Well, Coco, you just walked off! Why didn’t you call me?” I said, “Because I was mad at you. Because you sent me there. They didn’t tell you?” She’s like, “Oh, I didn’t know! But they’ll never use you again!” I said, “I will never work for them again! You don’t get it!” And she’s like, “But Coco, sometimes the girls do it because they have to pay their phone bill.” I said, “Jenny, when I was in my twenties, one hand was the phone bill, the other hand was, do I buy Louboutin, or Manolo Blahnik shoes or pay the phone bill? I would buy the shoes.” I said, “I am no longer that age. I don’t have to worry about paying my phone bill. So you give those jobs to those girls. And don’t ever send me to any place like that again.”

But, because I’ve worked for this company before, I was blind-sided. I DMed the art director, the man in charge. I said, “Greg, what was that?????” And I put ten question marks, exclamation. I put #YouPlayedMe #ImNotHappy. He DMs me back, he’s like, “Coco, is this message for me?” And I’m like, yes. Now I can tell him what happened. Because nobody ever asked me what happened! My agent’s not speaking up for me. They only care to keep the client. So if they can fill my spot with another girl, they don’t care! That’s the whole thing about this business. It’s not personal. They don’t care about you!

Right.

So if you think they do, you’re in trouble! So I told him everything. He apologized. He said, “I am so sorry. If we did anything, you should have been booked for two days.” He said, “But that was called e-commerce.” I said, “Don’t even mention that word to me.” He’s like, “We will never book you for that again. We would love to continue to work with you. I am so sorry!” Do you know I just came back from Colorado, shooting with them?

Okay.

Now if I didn’t speak up, everything would have been… The woman is crazy. She’s ungrateful. Whatever! I don’t know what they might be thinking. But I had to set the record straight. I’m saying all of these things, these are examples of taking a chance and speaking up!

Yeah.

And all the young models that I know, now when they go to L.L.Bean, they know that that might be waiting for them, so they have to let their agents know. They can use my name, I don’t care! “Coco Mitchell said…” (Laughs) So… I kept my client, I kept my dignity, and I’m working for them this coming week in New York. But if I didn’t say anything, it would’ve just like, “Oh well, another client…”

Yeah, dang…

Yeah, that’s… I don’t know. I think that’s why I’m in the room. Even if they had stopped working with me, at least I said my piece. And at least they could think about us models as human beings, not just something to use. And you know, after covid, everything is sort of digital. The advertisers don’t want to pay, the retailers don’t want to pay. Everyone wants to make a dollar, and they want to spend a dime doing it. And it’s not fair!

Yeah.

So that’s me griping. (Laughs)

No, I love it! That’s so inspiring.

Thank you. I want to be inspiring. I don’t want to come across as bitter, because I’m not. I’m not bitter about anything. My whole life has been just so amazing. And to continue doing this job that I love, I’m like, “Why am I still doing it?” I do it because what other job can you have where you don’t see the same people every day? You always meet someone new. You always have a chance to learn from someone and leave something with them, you know? It’s amazing! It’s amazing. It’s a wonderful job. Sometimes it’s not so wonderful, but at the same time, that’s what you signed up for!

Wow… Yeah. Thank you so much for sharing all of that.

You’re welcome!

I guess a little bit lighter, outside of your job, what are some hobbies or other interests that you have?

Hobbies… Well, you know, I love the ocean.

Yeah!

I love the beach! I love the fact that I live near two rivers: the East River, and the Hudson River. And on the Hudson River you can do what they call paddle boarding. You can kayak. You can join different clubs. I’ve kayaked from New York to New Jersey, across the Hudson River, which is a very strong current. (Laughs)

Dang!!

That was crazy! But you know, you have to train. And I used to run marathons, but not anymore. I wish I had started that earlier. Because I would have run marathons around the world. You know, go to Spain and do a marathon. But the New York marathon is pretty major. It’s long…

26.2 miles—I think that’s a marathon!

Yeah, I think so. And I did three of them!

Oh wow! Oh my gosh.

Yeah, each one was to raise money for different organizations. So that’s why I ran. And it wasn’t running to win. It was running to be a part of… A marathon is like an amazing, living, breathing organism, where you feel… You know, you’re training to do this thing. I’m not an athlete like that. But you feel… The support that you get from all of the people that you meet. And you run around Central Park, and you meet different people, and there’s all these different clubs of… You know, encouragers! It’s amazing!

So my main hobbies are walking all around New York City. That’s what I’ve been doing since 8 o’clock this morning. I just walk the neighborhood. I just wanted to see how it looked without all the people. And, you know, that’s really what I do. And being around my family. That’s kind of a hobby in itself.

And your family—does that include like, your siblings, or do you have children, or cousins?

I don’t have children. And I think you know, because I’ve just traveled for the last I think thirty-five years of my life…

Yeah, wow!

This is the first time, with covid, I’ve nested! I literally live in my apartment. I literally have furniture. I bought a Swedish bed that cost so much money… And yeah! I live here. I live here… But you don’t know how hard it is… I keep saying, “Am I supposed to be here? I would really rather be in Paris…” You know, I feel the itch!

I have siblings—my sister. All my siblings live in Florida. I have nieces and nephew, who are all very creative people. One of my nieces, she’s a stunt woman!

Whoa!

Yeah! She was in Black Panther!

Oh, cool!

She was one of the women with the bald head, the warriors. And she also did the stunts for Viola Davis, woman king.

Amazing.

She’s doing a movie right now—I forget what it is. They’re shooting it in New Jersey, or some place. And she’s done lots of TV stuff… And I have a nephew, he’s a singer. And one of my nieces, she’s a tattoo artist. She lives in Colombia. She travels all over the world, doing tattooing. And she’s been in all these tattoo TV shows, and all of that kind of crazy stuff. And they all say, “It’s because of you!! You encourage that we do these things!” And I’m like, “Thank you! Wow!” I didn’t realize I was such an inspiration.

Yeah! I could see that.

Yeah. You know, when you leave your own country, and you go and you forge a place for yourself in a land that you’ve never been to. You don’t speak the language… And people don’t really ask you, “How did you get around?” Because you really… The agency just gives you a list, and you have to go! Well, how do you go? And people don’t really ask, “How did you do that? How did you do it?” You just have to do it. You get together with other girls who are just as scared as you are, and a lot younger… Half of them were half my age. And you know, you just sit down, and you map it out. And you all go together. It’s been fun! My mother traveled with me, and stayed with me many months. It’s been great.

So no, never married, never had kids… I’ve been engaged! A couple of times… But I am such a… I don’t know what it is. People talk about signs and stuff. I’m Aquarius, so I don’t really see things the way a lot of people see things. I think, really, outside of the box. I don’t let a lot of things worry me. And I’m always just kind of positive, and upbeat.

So… I think, even all of the boyfriends I’ve had, and even the fiancées. The problem has always been, “What are you talking about?” And not being understood… So I’m like, I don’t know if I could live like that. I can’t acquiesce—my character is too strong. Yeah.

So… That’s it. That’s really who I am.

Yeah… Wow. I guess just a couple more questions. How do you define success?

How do I define success? Success… I think, for me, success is not about how much money… I think I kinda said this earlier. It’s not about how much money you made, but it’s the impact you made on the people that you were around when you were making that money. That’s success to me. I mean, anybody in this fashion business that you might know by name, I know personally. And each one knows that when I’m in the room, you cannot be rude, you can’t be judgmental, you can’t put people down. You can’t talk to a makeup artist or hairdresser any which way you want. No! And that’s success to me. That impact that I make on your life. That’s what success is.

And, at the same time, you know, it’s getting all those jobs. Cause when I go out for a job, I want the job. I want it. And that’s success—getting it. Knowing that you deserve it, too. I deserve this! I didn’t just say, “I want it” and not work hard for it. So I think that’s what success is.

Yeah, amazing.

Putting your nose to the grindstone and doing the hard work—behind the scenes. And then reaping the success from that. Okay.

Yeah! Thank you. And one last thing… What are you currently looking forward to?

Wow… I ask myself that every day. Every day! What is next? What is next! I mean, we see that the way the world is moving, right? I mean, as far as… I have a very close friend, and he does the Amazon marketplace, and he does all of this stuff. And he’s already taught me how to box… You know, helping him, boxing, and tagging, and labeling. And that’s part of the entrepreneurial part of this world that we live in now. It’s just a matter of… Do I want to do that?

I think I still want to travel the world, see new things, and just keep it moving, until I can’t walk anymore.

Ah, I love that!

That’s what I want! I just want to live my life the way I want to live it. And I don’t know where that’s going to take me. I don’t know what that is. But I know that just… Every day, you know. If you keep your eyes open… If I keep my eyes open, it’s always happened that somewhere down the line, the trajectory always turns. It’s like a river. It always leads me someplace else. And I’m looking for that turn that’s about to happen. And that’s the answer to that question. I have no idea! None.

But at the same time, I’m free! I don’t have kids, I don’t have a husband. I don’t have anything tying me to anything! Unlike a lot of people, I’m just grateful for the fact that I do what I want, when I want, how I want, as long as I want. And when I don’t want to do it, I don’t do it!

Right, yeah.

And that’s… I have no idea. Answer question: I don’t know! (Laughs)

Yeah! Amazing. Wow, do you have any final thoughts? I think you pretty much answered all of my questions, just through telling your story.

I just want to thank you for having me. Thank you for reaching out. And thank you for understanding that everyone ages. And this is one of the things I was on set doing… I do a lot of beauty shoots. You see a lot of young women sitting on their computers. Because when you’re shooting, everything is almost finished before they even leave the situation that day. It’s already in the can. It’s already done.

So I always want to say now, and I thank you for this, is that they have to know. Young women have to know that eventually they are going to get older. What are you doing now to prepare the world for you getting older?

Hm…

Because if we just sit on it… It’s like that Estée Lauder job. You are going to tell me that now, this is what I do? This is who I am? I don’t do anything. I’m just… Worn. Useless. Like I just did a job for Macy’s. And they had me in these clothes… I mean, I’ve worn the best clothes in the world, by the best designers in the world. And they had me in this… I’m telling you, I’m not complaining, but I couldn’t understand it.

A top, a sweater, and some pants. None of it looked like it went together! And I said, “I’m really having a hard time. Who is this woman?” Cause how can I do the job if I don’t know who I am?

Yeah.

They said, “Oh, well, she’s retired. And she’s gardening.” And I’m thinking, “Okay, that’s gonna stretch me a lot, because I’m not retired. And I don’t garden.” But that’s who they’re saying that we are. How old are you? Can you say?

Yeah, I’m actually 31.

So you’re young! I love you! I’m talking to YOU! You have to set the stage. By the time you’re my age… I am… (does math) years older than you. Okay? So… Do the math. By the time you’re my age, the world should look differently for you!

I mean, I sure hope so.

No, you’re doing the work! Keep doing the work. Just keep doing the work! Women… We can do anything! We can last longer than… We can live to be one-hundred-twenty years old! Still doing stuff! But if we allow them to retire us… Then that’s it. You know, all those women that forged the way for you, and me? They will not be happy… The right to vote! You know how hard that was to get? I’m not talking about for black people, I’m talking about for women, back in the day!

I mean, I don’t! I cannot even fathom…

But they did that, so that you can make sure that all of those rights are not taken away. You know, the right to be alive? You’re gonna tell me that I’m retired? And I am shooting this thing to tell women that… This is all that’s left? But I told them, “You owe me one! I want the beautiful clothes next time!”

Yeah! I love that!

You know, so that’s the whole thing. Keep going, girl. I’m proud of you.

Thank you.

I’m proud of you. And I thank you for having me, and giving me the chance to tell my story, and just… Keep uplifting everybody. Not just women, but just… Everybody. Everyone. Okay?

Yeah. So where can people find you? I know your social media is @cocomitchell3?

Yes.

Any other websites or links you want me to leave in the episode?

Not really… No. That’s enough. I put a lot of stuff on Instagram. Only because I realized at one point… I didn’t know how important it was, until I would do a job, and I’d see a picture hanging up. And I’m like, “Where’d you get that picture?” They said, “From Instagram.” And I’m like, “Oh, wow! This is an important platform!” So Instagram is good enough.

Cool. All right, well thank you so much! I’m looking forward to transcribing this!

I’ll talk with you soon! Just let me know how everything works. Just send me a text every now and then, “Coco, hi!”

Yeah, sounds good.

Yeah, so every now and then, just shoot me a text, “Hey Coco, when are you coming to New Orleans?”

Yeah, that’s where I am!

Okay, I’ll talk to you soon!

Okay, thank you! Bye!

Thank you! Bye!