Breaking Barriers, Celebrating Beauty & Changing the Game!
From capturing the beauty of A-list celebrities like Destiny’s Child and Dionne Warwick to championing diversity in the fashion and media industries, Ferrell E. Phelps Jr. is a force for change. As a renowned celebrity photographer, author, and talk show host, he has dedicated his career to celebrating real beauty, uplifting underrepresented voices, and breaking industry norms. In this exclusive Black History Month interview, Ferrell shares his journey, challenges, and the impact of his groundbreaking projects like The Skin I’m In and Beyond the Mask.
Keep reading as he reveals the defining moments that shaped his career and his advice for young Black creatives ready to make their mark!
Pump It Up Magazine: You’ve made a name for yourself in photography, media, and talent development—what first lit that fire in you? Was there a moment when you thought, “Yep, this is what I was meant to do”?
Ferrell E. Phelps: I worked at a local department store right after high school. Oftentimes I’d see beautiful women and thought to myself how great it would be to photograph them. I would see various angles on their faces during our interaction and imagine how I would capture their beauty, ironically I’d never picked up a camera but an older manager of the camera department in that store just happened to tell me cameras were going on clearance. I bought my first camera and began taking pictures definitely on an amateur level but it was then that I knew it was what I wanted to do for life!
I had no idea where the journey would take me from working with celebrities like Dionne warwick , Nancy Wilson, Kelly Price, Shaquile O’neal , Destiny’s child to creating projects like ” The Freedmen’s Town” Documentary, creating the book ” In my Lifetime” honoring our first african American president Barack Obama to the Skin I’m in exhibition all of these are moments that reminds me that this is what I was meant to do !
Pump It Up Magazine: The modeling and entertainment industries haven’t always been the most inclusive. You’ve helped change that. What’s been one of the most rewarding moments in your journey so far?
Ferrell E. Phelps: Sonyia and I have definitely pushed the envelope in this area by forcing brands to see uniquely beautiful talent that deserved to be in mainstream media like everyone else. Seeing the impact and breakthroughs in the commercial, talent and fashion industry has been very rewarding!
Pump It Up Magazine: Breaking barriers isn’t easy. What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career, and how did you overcome them?
Ferrell E. Phelps: 1 word ” Acceptance” and the ability to keep forward no matter how strong the resistance may have been.
Pump It Up Magazine: Your agency, The Skin I’m In, is all about celebrating diversity and real beauty. What was the biggest “aha!” moment that made you say, “We NEED to do this”?
Ferrell E. Phelps: The agency is our agency, meaning myself and co-founder Sonyia Graham who has more than 30 years of experience in marketing making history as the first person to land a major endorsement from Nike for martial arts in the Olympics and her list of accomplishments are countless. with the agency I’d have to say getting major brands to recognize uniquely beautiful people such as those that are adaptive or with albinism, vitiligo etc.seeing our talent in commercials for Ford, Coke, Fenty cosmetics ,Google, Mcdonalds and many more have certainly given us that ” aha” moment!!!
Pump It Up Magazine: Your books, Skin Deep: The Skin I’m In and Beyond the Mask, have touched people worldwide. Have you ever had a fan or reader tell you something about your work that just blew you away?
Ferrell E. Phelps: I have certainly had countless people share with me the impact they felt from the experience and how it changed their lives and the lens of how they once viewed themselves based on society’s norm of beauty. The skin I’m in is anthology educated , enlightened and increases one’s understanding. I was just recently told by one of the models in the project that I’d changed his life forever. After wearing cosmetics to cover his vitiligo he decided he would no longer wear it and walk in his reality by accepting his skin. That meant the world to me!!
Pump It Up Magazine: We love that your talk show, The Ferrell Phelps Show: Let’s Talk About It, sparks important conversations. What’s one of the most powerful or unexpected moments you’ve had on the show?
Ferrell E. Phelps: The ferrell phelps show was a dream I had and without doubt I knew I’d be a great Talk show host. This led me down a path of meeting so many amazing people with untold stories that would inspire others and create a better understanding of life circumstances and the ability to stand through it all . One of the most powerful moments on the show is a tough question because there were so many. Having guests like former Destiny’s Child member Latavia Roberson open up about life after being in the biggest girl bands to moments shared for the first time of detrimental childhood stories and surviving.
Pump It Up Magazine: Since we’re celebrating Black excellence this month, what’s one piece of advice you’d give to young Black creatives and entrepreneurs who are ready to shake things up?
Ferrell E. Phelps:
My word of advice would be to walk fearlessly in your vision ,goals, vision. Your dreams are yours and yours alone ,never let anyone dictate what you can and cannot do creatively even when it’s outside of the box and unconventional. For me personally it’s never been my goal to fit in and catch the latest trends but to be the trend setter that others follow. Why be ordinary when you have the propensity to be extraordinary!!
