Article: The Power of Alter Egos. A Photoshoot with Kait Miller.

Collaborating with Kait. What an extraordinary experience to work with Kait Miller Photography in an “alter ego” session. I tapped in to a part of myself I wanted to explore, journaled about it, and then brought it to life throughout the session. Kait creates such a safe space to go deep, and her shots are magical.

We’re hoping to collaborate together again in the future!

Different selves, one body. What I loved about this exercise is that it resonated so deeply with my own curiosity about all of the different parts that live inside us. This is, of course, what I love so much about acting. You get to be dozens of different people in a single lifetime, each one a different reflection from and refinement of one’s truth. It reveals a universality and something deeply individualistic simultaneously.

The power of photography. Having all that captured in photos allowed me to not just tap into that part of myself in that moment, but to remember it and have a sort of totem to re-feel it again and again. I did another photoshoot with Kait as part of a House of Who retreat (we flew her to New Mexico to do alter ego shots for our entire team). In that photoshoot, she captured an alter ego I call “Shanelle Monae”, which is sort of my ArtistCEO Badass Lady Boss meets a fashion-forward futuristic self. I’ve been trying to “find” the essence of that self for years. And now when I can’t find her, i just look at that photo.

“Aha, there she is.”

Using alter egos to tap into a greater potential is not a new idea: music artist do it all the time. Lady Gaga v Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. Beyonce Knowles v Sasha Fierce. Eminem v Slim Shady v Marshall Mathers. You get the idea. And it’s a practice that is more than just learning trying on different identities. It can also allow someone to actually change behavior and help someone become a different, less anxious, more confident version of themselves. The BBC wrote an article about it, calling it “the Batman Effect.”

Obviously this is all right up my alley. I changed my name for 7 years of my adult life (bonus points to those who still know me as “Gray.”) It wasn’t just an artistic gesture. It was also a tool of embodiment: being called and identifying with the blurry, undefined, nuanced color reminded me on a daily basis to detach from black & white identities and instead embrace my spiritual truth that “I am nobody.”

This is also the power of brand. It’s an identity (sometimes for a business, sometimes for a person. For a business, it helps create something relatable for both internal and external audiences. It stands for something, and communicates something. For a person, it becomes a persona.

Sure, a persona, or brand, will always inherently be a little less nuanced, rich, and accurate than an entire human being. We are messy, erratic, unpredictable creatures amongst our more orderly, definable selves. But that distilled essence has the power to focus us, communicate quickly, and bring out behavior and action (from ourselves, from others) otherwise not possible were we to take a lifetime describing all of the ins and outs of this person named Shannon DeJong.

It’s faster to say: hello, I’m Shanelle Monae. I stand for art, business, and the power of identity.

It’s a shortcut. In the same way our names serve as a shortcut to who we are en totale, our alter ego identities can serve as shortcuts to aspects of ourselves. Especially those aspects that are hidden, uncultivated, scary, desired, or unwelcome.

It can also be a tool for integration and growth. Even if you aren’t into the existential head trip of changing your name to a single color, there’s value in exploring an alter ego identity. As Gray, I was able to experience being someone that “Shannon DeJong” didn’t quite allow. The name Shannon was given to me. And while it’s a lovely name, it represented a whole host of things that I hadn’t consciously chosen to be. To change my name was not only empowering (“call me Gray, bitches!”) but also served as an opportunity to step into an identity of my own choosing. I was able to cultivate my self the way an artist would: consciously, creatively, with intention. And perhaps even with a splash of drama.

And then, one day, I dropped it. The essence of Gray was inside me, integrated, and I didn’t need her anymore.

In this way, we can facilitate self-discovery and actualization. Alter egos, branding exercises, and artistic tools like photography, theater and character development, and even good ole fashion dress-up can actually help us become a richer, more whole self.

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If you’re interested in learning more, or perhaps even having your own little alter ego brand experience yourself, contact me or sign up for my mailing list. I will be taking individuals through beta “shadow branding” process, where we uncover a part of yourself you’d like to explore, cultivate, or create, and you walk away with a branded identity that represents that discovery.

*NOTE: this is me working with individuals as an artist, not as a brand consultant. If you are looking for professional branding services or consultation, catch me at my day job here.