Life & Work with Chelsea Walker of Leawood, KS

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Walker

Hi Chelsea, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
The Mod Little Melanin, my beloved social media brand bloomed as an idea in my head in December of 2015, when I was looking for a way to share my love of fashion and styling with my friends and family. I was taking a gap year between undergrad and graduate school, and was looking for a hobby that would keep me busy, yet allow me to share my creative passions. Thus, The Mod Little Melanin was born. Initially, The Mod Little Melanin, served as a fashion blog dedicated to my love of 1960s fashion, and has since grown into a social media brand where I share my love of maximalist inspired fashion and styling with my followers. Each outfit and styling video I share incorporates bold prints and patterns, textures and a lot of color, as I truly believe clothing is the best way to show off your personality! More recently, I have began to use The Mod Little Melanin as a way to bring awareness to young stroke survivors, as I suffered a stroke in September 2024 and have used my platform to document my recovery journey.

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?
To be a content creator is to hear “no” hundreds of times before receiving the first “yes” that launches you into the industry. I have been a content creator for nearly a decade, beginning with blogging and transitioning to new platforms as social media continued to evolve. With this has come the challenge of rebuilding a solid community again on each platform; something that can be difficult as each platform caters to a different form of content. I recall the struggle of transitioning to creating video content when Instagram first adopted “Reels” on their platform; and then again shifting to TikTok. Yet, somehow I have continued to make the transition to each new platform look effortlessly, despite having a smaller audience than my peers. One thing I have learned along the way is that it is not about how many likes you receive but about the community you build. The support from my followers, some of which have become my close friends, has continued to motivate me as a content creator even when I feel discouraged, unmotivated, unwell and burnt out.

When I suffered my stroke on September 17, 2024, it caused a major setback in my life. Life as I knew it essentially stopped. Never in a million years would have imagined that I would suffer a stroke at age thirty-one. Nor would I have imagined that despite having an educational background in science and medicine, I would be unable to recognize the signs that I was having a stroke. Like any content creator, on the morning of my stroke I woke up, got dressed and filmed a quick “Outfit of the Day” video. Looking back at that video now, it is obvious I was having a stroke. My speech was slurred, the left side of my face was drooped. I could not walk without loosing my balance, and I was otherwise incoherent. Yet, in the rush of life, I finished recording, grabbed my phone and stumbled off to work. It would take another two hours, and advice from a coworker before I realized I was having a stroke. I look at life now as “pre-stroke” and “post-stroke.” Pre-stroke I had more energy, lived more freely and spent more time outside of the house. But now, life post-stroke is full of exhaustion, sleepless nights, depression and wonder. And despite spending months in therapy sessions to recover, I am often left wondering if I will ever recover to the “pre-stroke” life of being a carefree thirty-one year old. At thirty-one, I should be young and full of life, but now I struggle with memory problems and speech.

On social media, I once shared weekly updates about my stroke recovery; but I have since stopped. While the videos would do well, and bring new followers, I did not want my disability to define who I was as a creator. I’ve worked so hard to build The Mod Little Melanin into the brand it is today, and I always want my social media platforms to revolve around fashion at their core. Instead, I have shifted the focus to “Haute & Healing” a series where I share tidbits of my daily life and stroke recovery, such as going to speech or occupational therapy, what at home recovery looks like, and other daily tasks. Throughout my recovery journey, my “Mod Babes,” the term I lovingly call my followers, have been my greatest motivation. Their sweet comments and direct messages push me to share content on the days when I am feeling my worst. Community on social media is so important, and I thrive knowing I have so much love and support from a combined 7000 followers across my social media platforms who have continued to support me in every walk of life.

However, my greatest source of strength throughout my healing journey has come from my mother and younger brother. My mother dropped everything so she could fly 1,000 miles to me when she received the call that I had suffered a stroke. She has been my source of comfort on my worst days and her encouraging words have continued to uplift me when I am feeling down. Despite my younger brother being a teenager, he has proven time and time again that he is wise beyond his years with the sound advice he has shared with me throughout my recovery journey. Without their love and support, I would not be able to get through this setback of life.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Outside of content creation, I have a background in science and medicine. At The University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas , I studied biology with a pre-medical track, graduating in May of 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology. I pursued several gap years, and continued my education at Hampton University, an HBCU (Historically Black College and University) in Hampton, VA. While at Hampton, I studied medical science, continuing on my pre-medical track in a special program designed for graduate students who wished to continue their education at medical or dental school following their graduation from Hampton. In May of 2018, I graduated with my Master of Science in Medical Science, and began the process of applying to several medical schools. While applying to medical school, I would learn about podiatric medicine and ultimately decide to attend Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. At TUSPM, I went on to complete my didactic education (the first two years of podiatric medical training that is classroom based) before deciding to withdraw from the medical program to pursue a career as a nurse and ultimately a nurse practitioner. To further strengthen my application for a nursing program, I attended Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA and studied Hematology through their Medical Laboratory Sciences and Biotechnology Program. I graduated in August of 2023 with a masters level Certificate in Medical Laboratory Sciences with a Concentration in Hematology. At the time of my stroke, I worked in the Transplant Clinic of a local Philadelphia hospital as a kidney transplant administrative coordinator, and was in charge of scheduling evaluation appointments for patients who were interested in being listed for a kidney at the hospital. While working full-time, I also balanced going to school full-time at Columbia University as a student in their online program for pre-nursing students, as my dream is to attend nursing school at Columbia University.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
In 5-10 years, I see the content creator industry continuing to grow. With the looming ban of TikTok, perhaps we will see the rise and fall of another popular social media platform. TikTok has allowed “the girl next door” to become your new favorite influencer. People yearn for content creators and influencers they can relate to on a personal level. They love the creator who also works a 9-5, lives in a tiny apartment, and shares the ups and downs of their dating life. And with less people watching cable tv and more people continuing to get their entertainment from their phone, I believe we will continue to see creators invoke these parasocial relationships with their followers where they are sharing relatable content that eventually allows them to make enough money on social media that they no longer need their 9-5. However, with the rise of the parasocial relationship of social media, I think we will see more negative aspects of having such a close knit relationship with your followers where no detail is left unsaid. In fact, it is already occurring now, as certain creators have spoken up to say they no longer wish to document their entire life on social media and want some form of anonymity. The backlash from followers that occurs is heartbreaking – how someone can go from friend to foe simply because they wish for privacy.

The greatest thing that will be interesting to see in the next decade will be how social media will continue to evolve. There are already creators who stream 24/7, creators who sleep while they are on live. I feel the next great platform is going to wish to tap in on the livestreaming aspect – perhaps with only the ability to share live videos.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/themodlittlemelanin
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themodlittlemelanin
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@themodlittlemelanin
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@themodlittlemelanin