“The Truth About Being a Creative” Ft. Maddie Tha Baddie

By Contagion Media

Video Transcription

“My name is Maddie. I make YouTube videos, I model, and I am just an overall content creator. My artistic journey began back in 2019.

That's when I realized I could model. I used to just set up my own photo shoots and make my own little outfits in my bedroom, and then I started getting contacted by local photographers. So I started modeling locally in my hometown in Iowa.

Then moving out to Phoenix, I started working with people like Contagion, and I also started making YouTube videos. It's definitely still a journey. My journey is ongoing, and I'm not anywhere near where I want to be yet, but that's the joy of the journey.

I think the moment where it clicked for me, where I really wanted to start dabbling more into my creativity, was when I was an adult, and I was on my own. I graduated from college, and I started realizing I am a creative person. I used to not believe in myself, and I would hold myself back.

So when I started just expressing myself here and there, and then other people started noticing it, I was like, oh, maybe I can do this, you know? It took some internal self-work, and I finally started believing in myself, and now we're here. I would describe my style as versatile when it comes to modeling, when it comes to making YouTube videos. I don't like to put myself in a box.

When it comes to my fashion, I love to explore different looks and different aesthetics, if you will. And then when it comes to YouTube videos, I love making different categories of content. I don't like to stay within one genre.

Photo of Maddie by KBR | Contagion Media

I like to just expand my horizons. I would say my favorite thing about being a model is getting to dress up and look cute. It's really fun. It's like I'm a kid again, and I get to play dress up. My favorite part about making YouTube videos is everything. I love the process. I love brainstorming. I love the writing of the script. I love the recording.

I love the editing, like the publishing, and then getting it out there and hearing feedback from, you know, my friends, my family, my fans, and I just love everything about it. And then when it comes to creating content for, let's say, other brands, I just love working with other people and getting to know their vision and help bringing their vision to life. The fact that I have a part in that process is really cool, and I just think it's really fun.

Every aspect of it is super fun. So I would say a typical day would be, you know, waking up, doing my little morning routine, you know, and then I get to editing. If I have a video that I'm editing, I edit right away in the morning because that's when my creative juices are flowing in my brain.

If I don't have a video to edit, then I'll probably get up, write a video, write a script out, or brainstorm video ideas, and then write, and then record, and then either edit a little bit or save editing for the morning after. And then if I have a photo shoot during that same day, I will pause on the editing or the recording or whatever it is, and then immediately just shift gears, and I'll get myself prepped and ready, get to the shoot, do the photo shoot, and then come back home, get back to editing. It's a lot of editing. Editing is the majority of my life, it feels like. If I don't have a video to edit, I feel lost. I would say I stand out because I am so versatile.

I think another thing about me too is that I'm very personable. I'm not just there to look pretty, you know, I'm here to get to know you as well. I really want to build relationships with people that I work with, and I find that that makes me stand out.

Photo of Maddie by KBR | Contagion Media

My favorite thing about being a creative is being able to bring an idea that I have up here and bring it out here for people to see. I think nothing really compares to that feeling, and it's such a rewarding feeling, especially when it comes to making my own YouTube videos. When I have an idea and I'm able to just create that and then show it to other people, it's such a fulfilling feeling.

The hardest thing about being a creative person in general is the self-doubt. You know, I always preach about believing in yourself, but there are going to be those moments where you don't, and you have an idea and maybe it didn't hit like you thought it would, and you start questioning your own, you know, value and your own potential, and in reality it ebbs and flows. There's going to be really high highs and really low lows, and you just have to be really, really prepared for those low lows, and just accept them, you know, just accept them as they are, you know, just realize that it's going to pass eventually. But those lows, they hurt, and it's really hard sometimes.

I would say any advice for people who are trying to, you know, pursue their passion, whether it be content creation, modeling, making YouTube videos, is just start- stop overthinking it. 

I used to overthink it to the max. I held myself back. I couldn't tell you how many times I have recorded YouTube videos and then just never posted them. I would edit them and everything, and then I would just overthink it.

I think the number one person to believe in you is you, you know? I think you have to take that first step and be like, I'm willing to publicly fail multiple times to get to where I want to be, because that's kind of what it is, you know? If you're- if you're going to make a YouTube video or post the pictures and you're obsessed with the numbers, you're not going to do well. I think it's very important to get your priorities straight and realize that, you know, I'm going to do this for me, whether people support it or not, and eventually people will, you know? 

I would say the benefits of joining an agency is, one, being able to build relationships with other people, but two, you know, being able to get work that you might not be able to source out yourself. I used to be very independent and I would reach out to brands. There's a lot of- a lot of no's. 

I think having an agency and having someone there to help you is very, very beneficial, not only because, again, you get more work, you get more clients, but also you're building relationships with other people and those relationships could lead to other relationships within business, so I think it's very important. And also, friendships. it's not ever bad to make a new friend. 

My experience with Contagion has been really fun. I have enjoyed every single project that I've got to do with them and being able to connect with the owner, KBR, I love her, she's amazing, and yeah, I'm just excited for the future.

I think creativity and art is very important. I feel like you need some sort of outlet, you know? People have work or school, they have the main thing that they have to do, but they also need a way to express themselves. And a lot of people can say that they don't see themselves as creative people, but I have to disagree.

I think that everyone has one creative bone in their body, whether it's through, you know, making videos or making art, painting or, you know, virtual art, or it could be something as simple as putting on an outfit that you like and being able to express yourself through fashion. I think everyone should have some sort of creative outlet just because it's very therapeutic and I feel like it's important to be able to turn your brain off, you get into that flow state, and nothing else matters.”

Edited by KBR on October 23, 2025