Living the Dream
Meet this month’s cover star Marley Wallace / @MarleyWallace
Photographer Sebby Raw / @Sebby_Raw
MUA Natalie Ruiz / Artistry.nat
We’re happy to have you featured. Can you give us a bit of background on your career as a model and where it all started? Thank you so much! It really is a dream come true! I started modeling with my Mom when I was 4 in Chicago. I really didn’t get into it as an adult until I joined a pin-up contest that was a fundraiser for the Humane Society. We had to bring a pie for the last day of the contest. I baked an apple pie and brought it for the judges to taste warm out of the oven. I won in a cherry dress my Grandma and I sewed together.
How do you usually begin your day? I love to do yoga and go to the gym. Best feeling ever to start the day working out! I also find it very therapeutic to stretch and relax after working out. I drink a lot of water and love hot tea but I rarely have coffee. I find hot tea more relaxing. I also love listening to a fun playlist that gives me the Rocky feeling when I work out.
If you could spend a day doing anything you wanted, what would it be and why? I love being in nature, so after yoga and working out it would be amazing to go for a hike, then go out on a boat and jump in the water. Maybe go fishing and watch the sunset. I am absolutely a foodie so I would definitely have delicious healthy food packed for the day. After the sunset, it would be lovely to enjoy a steak dinner. The perfect way to end the day would be to spend time with a loved one looking up at the stars. I love seeing shooting stars.
What are your favorite ways to unwind and relax when you’re not working or traveling? Yoga, working out, meditation, art, music, dancing, making banana bread, and honestly massaging others relaxes me. I enjoy cuddling up with people I love the most, especially while eating Chinese food at home.
Do you have any hidden talent, if so what is it? I am hyper-flexible, I can touch my toes to my head upside down. I can do the splits all 3 ways. I have a spinning yoga trapeze, (aerial yoga), that I love to play in. I can dance pointe, ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical and modern. I love drawing portraits of people with charcoal. I also do face painting with kids when I teach them yoga.
What’s the best place you have ever been to in the world? I love Ludington, Michigan! I have traveled a lot and I have seen beautiful places but Ludington will always be my favorite place to visit. If you’ve never been, the ice cream at House of Flavors is the best ever! I have my happiest memories of camping together with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins at State Park. We would spend the days going to the beach relaxing or playing volleyball. Every evening we would enjoy gorgeous sunsets on Lake Michigan. One day we would spend floating down the river and another hiking all together. My grandparents would take me fishing and then we would all make dinner! After dinner, we would all play games at night like Euchre and other card games. The State Park has a Skyline Trail that we can walk on. The trail is settled back in the woods with lots of stairs that lead to the tall dunes. Running down the dunes is a tradition and always been a blast.
What are some of your biggest dreams you hope to achieve? I would love to get my degree in physical therapy! I am going back to school this fall and am so excited. I really do like studying and getting all A’s in school. I also would love to open my own business with massage, yoga, and physical therapy. I love helping others, especially when it comes to feeling well. I lead a health challenge online that is free to help others learn how to eat healthy, cook, work out, and stay consistent. I absolutely love to continue to support, connect, and grow with my community through volunteer work and being an advocate for living a healthy lifestyle. I have helped with the art community as well by being a model for drawing and also drawing others at local events. My goal would be to continue to support the art community and children especially believe in themselves.
3 things that you can’t go a day without. Yoga, being outside, self-care in some form… even just making a sugar scrub or enjoying a long shower or hot bath. To me, having an orgasm is a form of self-care.
Looking back, what advice would you give to younger yourself? I’ve really been better at saving money and would tell myself to save up and continue to keep a cushion of savings. I feel like I really can relax and be at peace with good savings in the bank and overall I am just better at managing money. I would tell myself to continue to believe in my dreams no matter what others say. It’s really important for me to do yoga every day, I didn’t figure that out until I started teaching. Yoga really helps me in every aspect of my life. It puts me in a positive mindset when I even just do a couple minutes of yoga, it’s amazing how just one positive change can pour over into so many other areas. Continue to practice thankfulness every day. I would tell my younger self to pray and give thanks every day for being alive and for my blessings.
That said, what advice would you give to all the women out there when it comes to love and relationships? Be true to yourself and honor your heart. Love is such a beautiful emotion, you can give and receive love and still keep yourself grounded. Even if you are madly in love just make sure to still keep your own healthy habits and boundaries. It’s healthy to keep up with day to day activities like working out and having your own interests. Stay true to your own goals and what makes you happy. I gave up modeling entirely for years for an ex-fiancé and I would’ve never been truly happy giving up my entire life’s dreams because he had issues with jealousy and insecurities. Find someone who encourages you in positive ways to be the best version of yourself while also loving you in your most vulnerable states. Also, I think it’s important to not have a complete description of who you imagine yourself falling in love with, (dark hair, 6’, blue eyes, doctor, etc.) because you never know who could be the one! I think if you communicate well keep it fun with surprises and show each other genuine authentic love relationships are amazing. In the best relationships I’ve had we both were open and honest about intimate desires and transparent with one another.
Are there any qualities or traits you find particularly attractive in a partner and what do you value the most? I really enjoy having a close friendship with the person I am dating, and we have to be able to laugh together. Honestly, feeling comfortable being myself is really important. I would want them to feel open and that they can be themselves as well. I find it very attractive when a man opens the door for me. I like it when they have their own goals and ambitions. I really care about being close to my family and would like the same quality in the person I am dating. I am very hard-working and motivated to make new goals and achieve them. I would like to make goals with my partner and encourage each other while enjoying the journey. I care about health and fitness so sharing similar interests in that area would be great, as well as enjoying helping others be healthy. I teach yoga and am a massage therapist so I would love them to be open to trying yoga with me if they haven’t done it. Honestly, they would have to be a foodie like me! I love baking and cooking. If they love gardening and having fresh herbs to cook with that is very attractive to me. Most of all, they are loving, caring, empathetic, respectful and compassionate.
Thanks so much for your time, Where can our readers follow you on social to stay up to date on what you’re up to? They can follow my Instagram @MarleyWallace and my Facebook is Marley Wallace.
