Headed Way Beyond Nashville

When I began publishing Cloud Nine Higher in its current phase of existence in 2019, I wanted it to be a Nashville brand. Words such as "downtown" and "urban" came to mind. I grew up in Ashland City, Tennessee (about 40 miles west of Nashville) and love going back home weekly. But I always dreamed of being in a large city and have been blessed to live in downtown Nashville since 2006. "Large" is a relative term. Nashville is not New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles. Depending on where you look, we are currently about the 20th largest city in America.

If I thought that all my followers and subscribers would come from Metropolitan Nashville - Davidson County, Tennessee, I thought wrong. Some models have been local. Others have come from counties that surround Davidson. Still others have come from Middle Tennessee towns such as Clarksville and Fayetteville.

Here lately, some have come from Alabama. I recently discovered a small glitch in my Facebook advertising campaign. The geography was too narrow - focused on Nashville and a short distance beyond Nashville. I recalled something I knew from earlier ads and model recruitment: The better geographic designation is the "Nashville DMA" - the Nashville Designated Market Area. It stretches throughout Middle Tennessee and even somewhat into Kentucky and Alabama. As soon as I clicked over to market to this area (with no added cost, by the way), the social media metrics of Cloud Nine Higher increased dramatically.

But on to my latest photo shoot - featuring Dakota of Hazel Green, Alabama and introducing Brandie of Fayetteville, Tennessee. Good introductions are extremely valuable. It all started in early June when Brittany of Fayetteville responded to a Facebook advertisement and came to Nashville with a male friend to discuss becoming a model. It was hard to believe that she would take the time to travel from her home some 100 miles or so south of me. But it was only the beginning.

A scheduling quirk brought Khatt of Clarksville, Tennessee to downtown Nashville to pose with Brittany on June 18, 2022. The two became friends, and Brittany introduced her cousin Dakota of Alabama to my brand. For reasons I cannot remember, it was a while before Dakota, a father and welder, actually became available to travel to Nashville to talk about his involvement in this project.

When he did arrive in Nashville on August 13, he brought Alabama beauty Katie with him. Informing him that he would be required to pair up with a female to pose with him did not faze him at all as it does other males (I am puzzled as to why other males do not embrace this female interaction part of the project as Dakota does). Dakota jumped at the opportunity to bring females to Nashville, and it is a "win" for all involved.

Brandie follows Katie as the second such female introduction by Dakota. Brandie is (at least in my view) an attractive, soft-spoken mother who (like other models) warms up to the experience once she gets past the initial jitters. Hence the timing of the swimwear photos required by contract. When asked whether I wanted these first or last, I immediately answered that they would come at the end. And this logistical publisher move paid off in a big way. Brandie didn't pose badly at all, but her best poses perhaps came in her bikini on the rooftop of The 500 Fifth apartments - the grand finale of this photo shoot on September 24, 2022.

Dakota was spectacular, as well. These two changed outfits so many times that I lost track. Basically, vest, tie, and button down fit this southern gentleman very nicely. The red shirt went well with the brand-new Halloween pop-up bar at Dream Hotel (normally the Parlour Bar). You'll have to check out the photos (which will publish frequently on social media during October) to fully appreciate the work and how upscale the decorations in the bar are.

Brandie dazzled in white angel attire and then in a perfectly-fitting one shoulder purple dress. These two models go way back in life together and posed like they know each other well.

We moved on to "The Climax" stairwell, RIOT sign, Bobby Hotel lobby stairwell and rooftop (Yes - they have a bus on the rooftop), and then The 500 Fifth. I think we made it to the new Dream Halloween pop-up bar before any other publication in Nashville. The timing was perfect, as the bar had just opened a couple of days prior to the photo shoot, which happened on Saturday, September 24.

So did we just get lucky with this timing? Or does enthusiasm and hard work create such luck? I would say that the latter is more accurate. And this pictorial of some 335 photographs was a total team effort of three individuals from Nashville, TN; Fayetteville, TN; and Hazel Green, AL respectively. We look forward to showing you more from this pictorial in the near future and to creating more pictorials soon too.

James A. Rose

Publisher