Daily Inspiration: Meet Luccia Cafiero

Today we’d like to introduce you to Luccia Cafiero. 

Hi Luccia, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
Where do I start?… My story isn’t a traditional one, well I guess most stories nowadays aren’t exactly traditional. They all come with hardships that we’ve all had to overcome, but that’s what makes it a good story, right? If we all just had an easy way up the ladder, would it really be a story worth telling? 

I have many hobbies, many of which drove me to the successful career I have now. I think the hardships growing up are a very important part of my story, as I feel I wouldn’t be exactly where I am today without them. They actually are what drove me to find my hobbies, some of which turned into a profession. Growing up in a digital boom era, having ADHD (diagnosed at age 5), really are the main factors that drove me to my current point in life. That, and growing with a very mentally challenging childhood. I could go into great detail about the abusive home and school life, but I’ll just leave it at that. Technology and the automotive industry were the main driving factors that got me through some of the darkest times in my life as a kid. I could say that they even still help me now, in my 30’s. When I was home and not out playing tennis, I mostly sat in my room playing video games (console and PC), talking to my AOL friends, coding my MySpace page layouts. All of these are relevant and are what drove me to my career in modeling, as well as my career in marketing. 

Since age 12, I always was asked by strangers if I modeled. Being a big tomboy, I’d always respond back to them with a simple no, but deep down inside somewhere a seed was planted and a small tree began to grow. My stepfather at the time had modeled for one of the top agencies here in Colorado, Donna Baldwin. He told me about his travels around the world, had newspaper catalogue prints of him modeling for the big-box department stores. I still vividly remember the day I convinced myself to try it. When I brought it up to my mom and stepdad one evening, having dinner at a resort in Hawaii on vacation as a kid, my stepfather looked at me and said, “You’ll never make it, you don’t have the look.” Sure, I was tall for my age when I was 12, had hair that was below my butt, big bushy brows, dark features, but he definitely didn’t see any potential in me. Ever. He also did have a small point, as the industry (especially back then) had a very typical required look, and height. Unfortunately for me, I stopped growing at 5’2″, but I didn’t let that stop me. I always used “No” as motivation to prove someone wrong. Or, as cliche as it is, never took it for an answer. 

At age 16 I did my first photoshoot, signed up on some modeling websites, and started to market myself to the industry in Colorado. It wasn’t easy for me; it took a lot of work and practice as I had to work 10x harder than the 16-year-old with legs up to my shoulders. Eventually, I got a break and signed to Maximum Talent in Denver, but my end goal was to sign with Donna Baldwin because that was my point I wanted to prove since I was 12. Being a petite model has been the biggest struggle, I have not had many people believe in me during my modeling career, but I just continued to use that has motivation to work my way up in the industry. Eventually, I reached my goal, and thanks to petite and plus-sized changes in agencies, I signed with Donna Baldwin. I still never got to the other top agencies in other states I wanted, but I also started to actually really enjoy modeling, beyond what my original motivation was. Modeling became my artistic outlet, the girly side of me that I never really have had in my life being a tomboy. 

While working through the modeling side of my story, I also was building my career in the automotive industry. I didn’t really have a healthy father figure in my life as a kid, so I like to think that the automotive industry filled that void in my life. I made connections and found great friendships through cars growing up. That translated over into college and then spilled into my career when I graduated. I remember the first time I saw a commercial on TV as a kid that drove my passion for Subaru’s specifically (grew up in an Audi household), and I even still have the car I got when I was 17 (yes, from the commercial). The exact car (well one model faster actually) that excelled my passion for going fast. Car meets and cruises were fun and all, but I had a deeper passion inside me urging for more. I wanted to learn and understand how it all worked, and then how all of that could turn a quick lap around a circuit track. I could spend hours going into great detail about my entire automotive adventure, but I won’t bore you with the details. Ultimately, it fueled the beginning of my marketing career and my passion for building my teenage car as a track build. 

While I ventured into automotive for marketing, I quickly learned there was a very shallow ceiling that I hit very quickly. I decided to take a leap of faith outside of that specific niche of marketing, and also had some very life-changing events that woke me up and pushed me to chase greater goals in my life. I became too content and settled for something less than my worth. So, I hammered down and focused on making a successful future for myself. Because, let’s face it, having a track car and other expensive hobbies weren’t going to be sustainable with staying content in my then-current position. With the help of some now very great, close friends and their belief in me that I had a lot of greatness, I reached the next step in my profession. Working at one of the leading and top ad agencies in the nation. I am now so grateful to be making decent money, being able to feel comfortable in my life and my career. Having my first job at 15, being on my own since I was 18, I never had the experience of a safety net if something happened, for a very long time. I finally have possessions of my own, and a safety net I never thought I’d have again. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I have had many many people throughout my life that put me down, in modeling and the automotive industry. I’ve had more people than I can count try to tear me down and make me feel unworthy or not welcome. I have very few people that I can mention that actually believed in me. Helped fuel my motivation to push past the naysayers and keep working to achieve my goals. I am still working through all of it now, but just have even bigger and greater goals as I truly never thought I’d be where I am at today. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I don’t believe I am just simply one thing, that can be placed under one category or label. I have always pushed beyond societal norms. 

I believe I am an artist, with my modeling. I am able to create powerful images not only for myself but for other petite women/girls out there that ever had someone tell them that they weren’t good enough. For any girl that is/was bullied in school for their looks and put down because they were different than the rest. 

I believe I am a female enthusiast (in a male-dominated industry), with my passion for all things automotive since I can remember. Tinkering with my car to learn more about its mechanics (even when men and women doubted I could ever understand it) and why things work the way they do. Translating that over into its performance and how certain mechanics enable me to go 1 second faster on the next lap out at the track. 

Being a certified yoga teacher, finding yoga in my life to help bring a level of balance and healing from the physical and mental challenges growing up. Spending time on my mat, guiding like-minded individuals through powerful flows, all remind me of being on the race track. Losing all sense of reality and time, being present in the moment and dropping my worries to the wayside. 

I believe I am a marketing professional, where I help brands scale their businesses. Pushing millions of ad spend a month, being tactical in any environment thrown at me for my clients. Meeting challenges with ideas that help brands grow. Never being content and continuing to grow as a marketer and learn within the industry. There’s always something new emerging that I (or we all) can learn from. 

There’s a model, an automotive enthusiast, a yogi, and a marketing professional inside all of us. Be it they are exactly these industries, or completely different. There is never a shallow ceiling worth staying under, there’s more to life than limits and feeling inadequate because of those that surround you. 

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I tried to move away from Colorado, several times. Each time I would visit I would look out onto that mountain view and ask myself what am I doing? I always ended up back here, and I don’t think I will leave again, at least for a very long time. I am originally from Boulder but have lived in Denver the past almost 6 years. The view, the weather, the city and outdoors life. There’s so much to love. 

One of my biggest gripes is how populated the states has become. Boulder is definitely not the same, same can be said for Denver. I feel running upon a Native is becoming more and more of a rarity these days, but the secret got out how wonderful Colorado is to live in. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lucciamodel/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lucciamodel
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/lucciamodel

Image Credits
Cameron Martinez Photo
Kim Bailey Photography
Native Lad Photography