AmoMama does interviews about women who motivate and inspire us under the Mothers With Will banner. And today, we snagged a conversation with Angelique Miles.
Angelique Miles has dipped her toes into several professions but it wasn’t until much later in her life that she found a fulfilling career.
She first became a music publishing executive in the golden era of Hip-Hop and R&B, working with icons such as Missy Elliot and Timbaland. When she left the industry, she endured some challenges that led her to build her personal brand on social media.
Today, Angelique is a successful media influencer, fitness enthusiast, model, brand ambassador, and public speaker, among others. She is also a proud mother and self-made woman.
Looking at your previous interviews and social media presence, you are no stranger to living dynamically. In fact, you seemed to have lived several lifetimes and picked up a lot of experiences and successes in multiple fields including finance, music industry, and more recently and unexpectedly, as an influencer and an athlete. And what we want to know is, who was the young Angelique Miles at the start of this great adventure? You had a stint in Wall Street, right? Can you tell us more about this period in your life before you became Angelique Miles, the brand?
“Oh, well, I studied business administration in college, and particularly finance and marketing. It’s what I was told to do to make money. You know, it was never really my passion, so I quit my job and I started temping. I was too young to be miserable. I don’t have any real responsibilities, except for myself. There was nothing pressing me to stay at that job, so I quit, and luckily I did that.”
“My temp agency just so happened to send me to Capitol Records and that’s how I got into the music business. And I later got a job as an A & R assistant at EMI Records. I worked as an assistant for several years before I got my first executive gig at Warner Chappell Music, where I had my most success as a music publisher executive. That’s how I got into the record business, the music industry.”
Was it something you were interested in – music? I read you said you don’t really dance, but you were in the music industry…
“I’m not a big dancer. I’ll dance a little bit, but when it comes to fitness [but] I don’t want to learn choreography; I just wanna work out.”
You didn’t plan on breaking into the music industry, right?
“It kinda happened, and when I got there, I realized I loved it.”
You had really big ticket names in your books. You had Grammy winners; you had Timbaland, Missy Elliot, Lil Kim, Busta Rhymes, and so many more on your A list. Did you find it easy to navigate the industry?
“I was in publishing so it was a little bit easier. I think if I’d been in records — records would have probably been different. It wasn’t hard being a woman in music publishing.”
And how would you describe this time in your life? You were still young.
“Very young. I was 26 when I first got the job at Warner Chappell. I was a new mother. My son was only about a year old. I think that’s how my boss and I connected because she had a young child. I started in 1993, just at the beginning of the golden era.”
I can’t imagine doing all of that with a one-year-old, so hats off to you. Being a mother and being this executive at the time, was it overwhelming? As a mother, obviously you want to put your child first, but you were on the cusp of this amazing new career and new time, what was that like?
“There were weeks in LA for the Grammys; a bunch of music conferences I had to go to. I also met my ex-husband at the time; he was in the music industry. I didn’t have the experiences like some other women had. I’ve heard some crazy stories, some horror stories, and some good stories. I didn’t go through what a lot of other women had to go through because I had the job, I had a boyfriend, so I wasn’t bothered in that way.”
And he had a position of some power so you were protected.
“Yeah, very much so, at the time, he was President of Black Music. It was a very exciting time.”
“I have a career being me so I don’t think it could be anything better than that.”
Then one day the music died. Do you find yourself just outside the inner circle and that must’ve been really difficult for you?
“It was because I was so good at what I did and I had what I thought pedigree because I signed so many amazing acts, but I think in retrospect that I lost my passion for it. You know, I left Warner Chappell Music to go to Universal then left Universal to go to EMI. There was no position, no excitement like I had at Warner Chappell Music. Had I not left Warner Chappell, I think I would’ve stayed in it longer. All of that led me to what I’m doing now, which is fulfilling my purpose. Fitness is what really saved me.”
Because you don’t really have that many options when you’ve devoted your life to a specific thing and you think that that’s where your path is and when you find that path closed to you, it’s really hard to just suddenly go, “Oh, okay, then I’ll just do this other thing” because you really were looking in one direction for a long time.
Your body was also doing things you definitely didn’t give it permission to do; you mentioned having an autoimmune disorder in one of your other interviews. How do you manage your symptoms and medications? Are you taking anything? Do you feel that any of them have an effect on your general quality of life?
“My autoimmune disorder is psoriasis. So I discovered I had it at thirteen when my skin just started erupting and it was a terrible time. I was told to take oatmeal baths for itching. There were hardly any medications or solutions for psoriasis.”
“I tried every diet because I read that autoimmune disorders can be affected by your diet. I tried veganism before anybody ever thought of the word. Fall and winter was really bad for my skin.”
I’m happy for you because it sounds like your psoriasis is under control, and that’s amazing. I’m glad you figured it out.
You rose from the ashes and you redefined yourself, even with you being an influencer, you didn’t plan on becoming an influencer that kind of just happened to you while you were living your best life.
“Honestly, it does surprise me but I wasn’t living my best life. I was trying to figure out my life. Being my age, my body started changing. I’m like, okay, I’m not going down without a fight so let me find an aggressive exercise plan that I can do that will really change my body.
I started on Twitter, recording and posting my workouts, and then when Instagram came about, I started posting it there. People started messaging me, saying, ‘You really motivated me and inspired me to workout today.’ From the very beginning, I felt the impact of sharing my exercise regimens. I didn’t know how I was going to monetize it, I knew I didn’t want to be a personal trainer because I’m not a people person in that way. It’s not my passion, my passion was to heal myself, and hopefully, others will be inspired by it.”
“I was still looking for a job in the music industry because I wasn’t making any money from posting; still getting doors slammed in my face from entertainment. I went and got my insurance license and my real estate license; I kept turning over rocks to see what would work. Nothing worked, so I said, ‘Self, nothing else is working so anything you do now is gonna start from the bottom up, so it might as well be something that you enjoy!’ It took a while, but that was my focus.”
What did your son say about having an influencer for a mom, and more importantly, your parents are from a completely different generation and what are their thoughts on this whole concept of being an influencer?
“They do not get it. They are like, ‘I’m not sure what she does, but she’s doing well.’ As long as they know I’m doing okay, then they are okay with it. My son, his friends are like, ‘Why does your mom have so many followers?’”
“Well, have you seen my mom in a bikini?” should be the response to that because you look amazing.
“Thank you so much, but he hates it. He doesn’t even follow me!”
You are using Instagram the right way; you’re having a good time, you’re enjoying what you’re doing, and that’s really important.
“My business has grown a lot over the past few years, and it continues to grow, and I’m excited for what’s next. I’m not a planner in that way because God has a funny way of nixing my plans.”
You’re health conscious; you’ve always been conscious of what goes into your body, especially because when you have an autoimmune disorder at a young age, automatically you start thinking about life very seriously. You don’t want to add to what’s holding you back. I think you’ve always been on some kind of health journey.
“It has always been a part of my life. I remember specifically going to the doctor; I’m at the doctor all the time because of psoriasis, you know, and he weighed me and I was 153 pounds. And I’ve never been that heavy, so I went home and told my mom, and she said, ‘That’s how it starts.’ A few months later, I went back to the doctor and I was 160 pounds, that’s when I started CrossFit. When I was pregnant, I was up to 185 pounds.”
I can tell you for a fact that 160-180, when you’re pregnant, sits very differently on your body than 160-180 when it’s just all you.
“And even now, I don’t think I would look good at 160. When I went through menopause I crept up to 170. A lot of it’s muscle and muscle weighs more than fat.”
Muscle mass does carry weight, and when I start losing weight, I want to see the weight coming off on the scale. So if the scale goes back to the way it was before, even though I’m seeing a more defined more toned body, if the scale isn’t showing it, psychologically, I’m going, “Oh, I haven’t lost weight.” It affects you mentally.
“If I didn’t look at the scale every day, I’d be a lot heavier.”
My dad always said If you’re going to run, you better be faster than whatever the hell it is that’s chasing you. Why are you running? How did you get into that? And how far are you planning on going?
“Well, I’m not really a runner. I did do the Brooklyn Marathon back in 2016. I hurt myself; my left leg and hip have not been the same since then. I’m not limping or anything. I didn’t love running anyway. I feel like my body is not made for long-distance running.”
As we get [b]older and joints get older, we should really worry about our knees, because the operations are not fun.
“We start losing muscle mass as we get older too. My fitness journey never ends; I’ll always be doing the same thing.”
Are you planning on making any changes to your fitness plan in 2023?
“I just joined a new gym that’s across the street from me. The only thing I may incorporate is Pilates. I’ve been doing a lot of my workouts on my own and not as many group classes as I used to.”
You did get into modeling; was that something that interested you? You never thought you’d be the face of a product or modeling; was that something you’re comfortable with?
“I’m comfortable with it in terms of social media. When it comes to social media and partnering with a brand, it’s different because I get to look like me. When modeling, I have to leave my home and go to a studio, have my makeup done however they want it done, wear what they want me to wear; that may not be authentic to who I am.”
Speaking about your Social Media presence, how did you go about building your brand from your very first followers to now? What did you do actively and not actively, and how did it all come about?
“Well, everything was on my iPhone at first. After my first few campaigns, I would hire a professional photographer to shoot my brand campaigns and I think that really propelled me to greater heights. It does have a lot to do with my photos and reels being shared.”
So do you have any regrets about the roads not travelled?
“I have a career being me, so I don’t think it could be any better than that.”
You are extraordinarily lucky to have the support of your family and a really good relationship with your son. You’ve really inspired me tonight. Angelique, what’s next for you?
“I always look at things in terms of fitness. I have a vision in my head of how I want to look, and I’m working toward that. Maybe something outside of social media.”
If you knew all of this before you became a brand, would you have still done it the same way or done something different?
“I think I would’ve done it the same way, you know the influencer thing didn’t even exist ten years ago; seven years ago, it wasn’t really a thing, so it just really happened.“
Who’s the influencer that influences you?
“Ernestine Shepherd. She’s 86 years old; she’s a bodybuilder. There’s another woman, I don’t remember her name, but she lives in LA, and she owns a vegan restaurant.”
Angelique’s road to self-fulfillment was a tough one. She experienced failures, doubts, and a challenging battle with psoriasis. However, Angelique always rose above these challenges and never gave up.
Now, she has a career that makes her both fulfilled and healthy. As a content creator, Angelique motivates and inspire’s other women to care for their bodies while finding their purpose in life — a true Mother With Will.
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