By day, Odalys Peña is a creative director at FreshMilkLab, a multi-platform creative studio. But when the sun goes down, the lawless music lover transforms into a DJ and club crusher. Working with the likes of Lil Yachty and The Weeknd, her decision to journey into this life was an exciting, albeit risky one. But Odalys knew her purpose from the jump.
“I was in an era where there was a bunch of Tumblr kids at Union Square, 14th Street, and we’d mob out at St. Marks,” Odalys shared exclusively with Complex. “Someone picked up a camera, and what we were doing just blew up on the internet, and that was my first sense that I was on a journey bigger than me.”
She finessed her way into hosting parties in downtown Manhattan at just 15 years old and began modeling then, too. An ideal muse for Rio Uribe’s Gypsy Sport label, the Harlem native was cast in the designer’s last two shows. Vogue’s feature on Odalys in its February 2017 issue demonstrated just how much she’s captivated the fashion world. Her ascension wasn’t going unnoticed.
With so many passion points, and an already stacked resume—which includes DJing a set at Marquee with Steve Aoki and hosting a show with Lil Pump in Croatia—the haters pop up left and right. But Odalys, a modern Renaissance woman, refuses to let anyone slow her down.
“People tried to put me in a box, to say I’m just a pretty face with no talent,” she revealed. “And it gave me the drive to prove myself a hundred times more.”
Peep the video above for more on Odalys’ incredible journey from semi-known influencer to grand stage creative.
