I had the pleasure of interview Josh Norman with the Carolina Panther’s not to long ago. I was totally impressed with his passion to give back and how he jumped right into the league and started his organization “Starz 24.” He was humble, nice and I’m looking forward to amazing things coming from this great guy!

Josh is a native of Greenwood, SC, Josh attended Coastal Carolina University in Myrtle Beach, SC. Josh’s professional football career launched in 2012 as the fifth round draft pick where he was considered one of the best cornerback prospects.

In January, 2013, Josh launched his nonprofit organization, “Starz24.” Starz24 has a primary goal to provide as many children and teens the opportunity to success through participation in sports. The organization is dedicated to provide social, recreational, and athletic outlets to children and teens. Josh believes every child has the potential to excel in all areas as long as there is the effort and encouragement.

Stay up-to-date and donate to Starz24 @ www.starz24.org Follow on Twitter @J_No24

Images: professionalfootballweekly.com, bigstory.ap.org,

ChristieOhh: Have you always had a sense of style and wanted to be a stylist?

GooGoo: Yes, I’ve always had a sense of style but I didn’t know I would become a stylist. I was always plus size and had to figure it out; I love clothes and would always put things together and make it work for me. I’ve always had a sense of style and loved fashion!

ChristieOhh: What are some fashion must haves for the spring/summer?

GooGoo: For spring linen options; draw string pants white and/or tan. Every closet needs linen options! Tanks, maxi dress will never go out of style. Thong sandals w/gold or silver embellishments for festivals, park events. I like to keep it chill, easy and flowing. Pastels and V-necks for men. Pencils skirts are great.

ChristieOhh: What is fashion to you?

GooGoo: When I think of fashion, I think of looking great and what works for you. No brands or particular style just feeling great in your style. Fashion is knowing what’s hot and knowing what works for you and rocking it!

ChristieOhh: Where do you get your inspiration when styling your clients?

GooGoo: All of it goes into play depending on occasion, video shoot, event, etc. Typically, when I’m pulling for a client I get creative direction. If it’s a makeover I get a feel of what they want to look like and get photos of looks they find beautiful. I spend time getting to know my client to make sure the look compliments them. I listen to them and what they want to be whether it’s sexy, conservative or both. I accommodate their needs and share my secrets with them! It’s a great process!

ChristieOhh: Is there a clothing/shoe designer you favor?

GooGoo: Shoe designer at the moment-I’m a big fan of Brian Atwood, Pedro Garcia and L.A.M.B.; can’t name just one (lol) Clothing Designers- DVF, Robert Rodriguez, L.A.M.B. line; it just truly depends on the occasion.

ChristieOhh: Whose on your best dressed list?

GooGoo: Charlize Theron, everyday, allday JLo and Victoria Beckham!

Zodiac sign: Taurus

ChristieOhh: Who would you love to style that you haven’t already?

GooGoo: Jill Scott! I like Jill Scott, I like her as a person,she is a warm and bubbly person. I love when I see her styled great it makes me so happy for her. I love dressing people with big genuine personalities and Jill Scott has an amazing personality!

ChristieOhh: What is it like being a celebrity stylist?

GooGoo: I have to be honest I know I am tagged as a “celebrity stylist” but I have to say this because I don’t live in the head space that I’m a “celebrity stylist.” If I never styled another celebrity in life I would be ok but just to do what I love and style; I would be great. I just want to make women look great. Some people make a difference between clientele but I don’t . I love the art itself and it makes me happy to make women look and feel good. I’m very grateful to work with the people I have but it doesn’t validate me, what validates me is to do what I love and make my family proud and God is what validates me!

ChristieOhh: What’s next?

GooGoo: I am working and doing a lot now with Reality TV, hosting parties, speaking engagements, fashion conferences and Season 3 of Mary Mary. Expect to see me still styling and at Glam Suites all over doing hair and makeup for women and men at events.

Follow on @theegoogoo on Twitter www.LETGOODRESSYOU.com

Images: plusmodelmag.com, rootmagazineonline.com, starpulse.com

ChristieOhh: What is the purpose of Women’s Elevation Magazine?

WEM: Our tag line pretty much explains it all. We promote, we inspire and we elevate women in business and that’s pretty much the module I live by in terms of the magazine. I’m all about promoting women in business and getting the word out about what they are doing. We also look to inspire women to go after their goals and dreams. And the last thing is that we hope to elevate the mind, body and spirits of the women who read our magazine. The way that we do that is through our tips in health and wellness, fashion, mental health and spiritual corner. We kind of try to bring it full circle.

ChristieOhh: Why did you start the magazine?

WEM: You know I tell everyone the same story. I had my daughter and I kind of went through a mid-20s crisis. And I was like, what am I going to do, I haven’t accomplished anything and now she’s here and I am not going to have time. I started my first business in bookkeeping because that’s my background as well and that was fun for a little bit. But I wanted so much more and as I began meeting amazing women in networking groups, I wanted to share their stories. So in August of 2012, I came up with a plan in 10 days and just kept working at it and the web site we have now I built it myself. We are revamping it of course! I just did everything and reached out to people and went out on a limb.

ChristieOhh: You have an amazing event coming on Sat. Feb. 23rd in DC! What will happen at the event and why is it special?

WEM: It’s special because we’re always promoting women, but at this event we are also doing some charitable work and giving back to an organization that I am a part of, which is Sisters 4 Sisters Inc. The organization helps women and girls in the community. They do a lot of AIDS awareness, domestic violence awareness, and positivity trainings which are all things that I am definitely into. Also you get a chance to network with women and we have over 130 people who have signed up and a lot of people I have never met. So I think we are going to bring together a lot of different women and you will get an opportunity to learn about the magazine and all the vendors that will be there.

ChristieOhh: What are your vision and goals over the next few years?

WEM: You know it changes (lol) Just last night I looked at things and had a vision that I want to make this bigger, I feel like God is telling me that this is bigger than me and I feel like we could do some sort of Women’s Elevation Conference and Expo every year, some sort of awards ceremony. And that’s what we are building towards and that’s what I see. I see us not only being online presence but an offline one as well that really touches people.

ChristieOhh: What do you look for in women that you feature?

WEM: I look for a woman who is doing something good in the community, a woman that has overcome adversities and has not given up at the first sign of trouble. I look for a woman who is able to offer advice to other women in terms of business because it’s an entrepreneurial magazine. We want women to offer tips to help other women grow their own dreams. We touch all spectrums with women in business.

ChristieOhh: What would be your best advice to our young females in business?

WEM: Believe in yourself. I would also note that you have to keep some things close. When I first started this business I kept the magazine private from family and friends for about six months. They just really started learning about it and sometimes you have to do that just to see your vision grow. Not everyone will be happy for you or believe in you like you believe in you. So sometimes you have to make those decisions in private.

The magazine’s new site, www.womenselevationmagazine.com is scheduled to re-launch directly after the event.

ChristieOhh: How did you get your start?

Ashley: Well, I didn’t began getting into pageants until I was about 17. I got a letter saying that someone had sent in a picture of me suggesting that I enter into Miss North Carolina USA Teen Pageant and I…honestly threw the letter away. The first thing I was thinking to myself was that you’re not a pageant girl; you’re a dancer and play sports who cares about that. (lol) But then a few weeks later I saw the Miss Teen USA pageant and saw the girls competing on stage and they looked so confident and I was just inspired and wanted to compete. So I raised the money that year to compete for the teen title and out of 96 girls I placed in the top 10. And that particular year Miss USA had attended because she had won Miss North Carolina USA the year before; meeting her and after that 2 day weekend my life had changed and I was determined to one day come back and win Miss North Carolina USA with the goal to win Miss USA which I will compete in at the end of this year.

I do model full time! My agency is out of Greensboro. I shoot for clients like Belk, I’m one of Belk’s catalog models, I’ve shoot for Pepsi, Hanes underwear and I must say I’m truly blessed. I’ve modeled since 4 I got away from it and then when I got to college I back into it heavy.

ChristieOhh: What did you do to prepare to competition of Miss North Carolina USA 2013?

Ashley: I say there’s 3 things: Mentally, Physically and Spiritually preparation.

Mentally you have to get your mind right, This is a competition and you don’t want to lose it based off of your thought process. And my thought process was you already are Miss North Carolina USA and live your life like you and why are you not worthy of this title?! It was the approach I took with it and yes I knew I was competing against other pretty, talented girls but I was focused on myself and winning.

Physically, of course there’s a swim suit competition so your body must be in good shape.

Spiritually, I prayed on it a lot and asked God if this is what’s for me then bless me with it and if it’s not for me allow me to move on and be OK with it. But for some reason before I ever competed I knew this was for me I just knew it.

ChristieOhh: What goes on during that weekend?

Ashley: Basically, you go through registration as soon as you get there and get your hotel information and see who your roommate is going to be. Then from there you go right into rehearsal. It’s ultimately a show so we are in rehearsal mostly all day. Then Saturday morning, you have your interviews with the judges and from there the judges will pick their top 15 based off the interview, swimsuit and evening gowns. Then you will compete again for the judges to get to the top 5 and then we are asked our final questions and then after that the judges will have their final look at all of us and will pick the winner and runners up.

ChristieOhh: What was that moment like when you heard your name called for Miss North Carolina USA 2013?

Ashley: It’s still a blur! It was a very surreal moment for me. And you think you hear your name and people are clapping and the music is turned up. And you’re trying to look pretty and Lord knows I did the ugly cry. It really was just a humbling moment for me because I had worked so hard. It meant a lot to me to have my family and friends there and I’m hoping to have that happen again in a few months at Miss USA 2013.

ChristieOhh: What’s your cause, your service?

Ashley: I’m working with an Anti-Bullying Program called Peaceful School founded by the North Carolina Cycle Analytic Foundation because I was bullied in high school and to the point that I didn’t want to come to school. And that one weekend I spent competing in the pageant at 17 helped my confidence and self esteem and really changed me in that moment. I will being doing an Anti Bullying tour mainly in the State of NC traveling to different schools to talk to youth.

ChristieOhh: What is one stereotype that beauty queens are tagged with that is so untrue?

Ashley: I have to say that pageants are very superficial that is very untrue. When you have 50 beautiful women trying to compete for a title you have to have something more than your physical beauty that has to stand out. This is when confidence and understanding who you are as a person comes into play. It challenges you to try to understand those things. You have to be able to speak well, you have to make a difference in your community and have a reason why you want to be a title holder.

ChristieOhh: What’s your best advice to someone?

Ashley: I would say, “No matter how afraid you are of something, throw yourself into it. That’s the only way you will perfect whatever it is you want”