Meet Skyler Thurber | Model & Singer/Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Skyler Thurber and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Skyler, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Taking risks can either make or break you. A main motto of mine is that you can’t knock it till you try it, and risk taking is absolutely essential to this! Although it may be scary and invoke change or challenge, it is the only thing that can put you on the path to success. My name is Skyler Thurber, otherwise known as S.K.Y, and I am not your ordinary woman. Risk taking has played a crucial role in not only my career as a model and a singer, but my entire life thus far. At the age of 15 I was a total tomboy, going through one of the worst fazes of my life and in the midst of being horribly bullied. Nevertheless I decided to start modeling, regardless of the fact that my life was a bit of a mess and my mother was completely against it. When presented with the opportunity, I almost shied away from it, but I decided to try it out and ended up falling in love with it. Here I am, seven years later, pursuing every little girl’s dream as a professional fashion model. If I had never taken that leap, I would not have the platform that I have today or be the person that I am today.

Taking risks is not only an act of passion, but it shows resilience and perseverance. Personally, there is nothing in this life that I want more than to be the best version of myself possible and challenging myself has really pushed me in the right direction to be able to do so. As a child I had a lot to overcome on my own, not only including years of bullying but a very negative home-life and many unfortunate circumstances along the way. Life has been a crazy rollercoaster of ups and many downs, but regardless I have found a way to stay positive by pushing my boundaries, staying open minded, and always trying new things.

Ever since I could talk, my biggest dream has been to become a singer. Although I had a lot holding me back from being able to pursue my dreams, I still kept them close to my heart and did whatever I could to follow my passion. In the year of 2017 I went through one of the hardest times of my life, losing my best friend to suicide, my grandpa to cancer and almost losing my own life in a horrible car accident. This time of my life showed me exactly how strong I am and just how precious life truly is, which not only pushed me to excel in my modeling career, but to finally push the start on my music career as well. My first song was released soon after in dedication to my best friend and from then on I never stopped. Not allowing anything to hold me back in life is a risk in itself, and that is a risk that I am so glad I was strong enough to take.

By 18 years old I moved out of my house all on my own, working as a full time server and going to college to obtain my associates degree. In the year 2020 life came crashing down and really tested my perseverance once again. This was not only a hard time for me due to personal reasons, but it was a hard time for the entire world as it was the start of the Covid-19 pandemic which drastically changed all of our lives. Risk taking became a huge factor for not only myself, but the entire population. Each and every one of us were impacted by this, causing us to either take shelter or take risks. During this time I was forced to move out of my apartment and back home with my parents which I was very reluctant to do. From there, I decided to drop my college courses (temporarily) and to step into the business industry with real hands-on experience where I started my first job in sales and marketing. At the age of 20 years old, in the midst of the worldwide pandemic, I was managing an entire team of sales and marketing agents and was promoted to Marketing Director of the company. During this time I also started taking my music career more seriously and by the year 2021 I was finally recording in a professional studio with the greatest engineer I could ever ask for.

Overall, taking risks has been a crucial aspect to my success and my growth as an individual. When faced with change or the fear of failure, I now take my chances because I know that I’ll never know unless I try. Being afraid to try new things and to challenge yourself will only hold you back in this world, so be sure to make the best out of every single day and go for it (whatever your ‘it’ may be)!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As a creator, it is important to find your niche and what makes you, you. Discovering myself as an artist is something I have never truly come to terms with, as I don’t believe I fit into any specific category or genre, which may be exactly what sets me apart from the rest. By not allowing myself to be held back by certain standards or expectations, I enable myself to be able to fully showcase my talent in both modeling and singing. Some of my biggest accomplishments as a model thus far have been LA fashion week, where I modeled for “Young and Reckless,” and a few big commercial opportunities including but not limited to brand work, skin care, and publishing. Although I have only recently stepped foot into the music industry, I have already been able to network and work with amazing people, I have been showcased at over ten live shows, and I have been hired for dozens of features. Considering my music career, I think my biggest goal is to be heard and to perform in front of thousands of people some day; I absolutely love being on stage and I am so excited to show the world what I am capable of. Getting to the point where I am now was not an easy journey, but finding the confidence in myself to keep going no matter the challenges has made me the successful artist that I am today.

Music and modeling have become my main forms of expression and allow me to better understand myself and my emotions. Through my art I aim to empower others with my story and my passion and I can only hope to accomplish that someday.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
After being born and raised in the small town of Auburn, CA, my version of fun may be a bit different than the rest. Growing up in Auburn made me love the outdoors which caused me to grow a passion for hiking, snowboarding, four-wheeling, swimming, sun bathing, boating, etc. If I were to show anyone all of my favorite places in and around my town, it would take an entire week as there is actually so much more to see and to do than meets the eye. Some of my all time favorite places/activities in Auburn include the Confluence below the famous Foresthill bridge, Rollins and Folsom lake, Hidden Falls, Pistol Petes, and Old Town Auburn. After turning twenty one, I have expanded my horizons by branching out to different places outside of my town like Sacramento and the Bay Area. In Sacramento I always highly recommend exploring Old Town right by the gold bridge on the river and experiencing the city life on DOCO by the Golden One Center. Some of my favorite restaurants and bars in Sacramento include Maydoon, Tapa the World, Oz, Polanco Cantina, Franks Bar, Tiger, The Aviary, and so many more! There is so much to experience in our beautiful capital and it is always guaranteed to be a good time.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
If I were to shoutout any person in the world it would be my audio engineer, Pete Rodriguez, otherwise known as Pete Space. This man is not only my biggest fan, but the greatest mentor, friend, and engineer I could have ever asked for. Pete took me under his wing and has never stopped supporting me ever since. He has given me all of the confidence and the encouragement that I needed to take my leap into the music industry and for that I am forever grateful. Upon our first interaction, he saw something in me that I didn’t even see in myself and still reminds me every day just how talented I really am. Pete plays a huge role in the production of all of my music by refining the beat, recording me in the studio, organizing each and every track accordingly and overall fine-tuning and perfecting each song that we create. Without him my songs would not be half of what they are today. Pete is a very well known, professional audio engineer working out of Omina Laboratories in Sacramento, CA and I am beyond blessed to be able to call him not only my engineer, but one of my best friends.

Website: https://linktr.ee/S.K.Y.thurbs

Instagram: https://z-p3.www.instagram.com/s.k.y.thurbs/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2teLxf_6HCg&t=1s

Image Credits
Jordyn Moore Alberto Villa Alex Miller Tosh Giles Kyle Reader