A Creator’s exclusive: Bamahi’s first public interview after 8 years!

Bamahi agrees to her first interview ever on IMVU so VXM took the opportunity to go behind the scene to get the exclusive details on her journey to success, her relationship, and the goals she has for her future. Read on to find out why her and her husband are #imvucouplegoals.

Thank you for joining us today and giving us this opportunity with you!

Oh no, thank YOU. Honestly, I’ve always ignored messages like this because I wasn’t really sure about it. So this is my first time saying yes. I looked at your group page and everything looks legit!

Well thank you, that’s very much appreciated. Can you start with an introduction of yourself?

[Bamahi smiles]

I’m Bailey. I’ve been a member of IMVU since 2008. I joined IMVU when I was 11 and started creating about a month after I joined. So I’ve been creating for 8 years. It has always been something that I enjoy doing, and it’s wonderful to be able to make real money from my product sales as well.

You’ve been creating from a very young age. What made you want to create so early?

Well, when I joined IMVU, it opened up an entire new world to me. The whole “digital art” world. It didn’t take me long to realize that you could create your own clothes on IMVU, and at 11 years old I was always into fashion design and dress up games, so of course I had to try it. And of course, right away my stuff was not very great at all, but it was a good start. A few months later, I got myself a digital drawing tablet and I was able to expand my skills because it allowed me to draw product textures by hand instead of being limited to a mouse.

So you have 8 years worth of experience behind you. What has been the biggest change for creators over the years?

I would have to say the most obvious change from 2008 to now is the quality of the meshes and textures that users have been putting out. The quality of all products in general has become so much more realistic over time. And another BIG change, or at least I think it’s a big change is how so many people try to sell their IMVU accounts that have products submitted to the catalog. People are always looking for creator accounts to buy or selling their own. And it never used to be like that a long time ago.

Is IMVU a place you come just to create or do you also socialize a lot?

I socialize a lot on IMVU as well. I’m part of a huge RP family, and I’ve got some friends that I’ve known for a couple years. But sadly I only keep in contact with one friend that I’ve known since all the way back in 2008 - I don’t know where all the others went.

You’re also married. How do you find the time for family, husband and creating?

Yes, I am married. We’ve been together for about a year. We met on IMVU, then met in real life in January, and I moved in with him in real life in March. But we still keep hanging out with our IMVU friends and family. A typical day for me is, my husband wakes up for work irl, I wake up same time as him and create/do artwork all day until he gets home. Then we both get online and hang out with all the friends and family. And so far doing things this way has worked out for us.

#imvucouplegoals

[Bamahi laughs]

So, IMVU is a full time job also for you?

Yes, creating and selling artwork online is my only source of income at the moment.

That must be a very chill and relaxed lifestyle. Where do you get your inspirations to create?

Mostly my friends. It’s always, “Hey Bailey, you should make this,” or “Check this out, maybe you could make it.” Most of the time, I do make the things they show me.

How would you describe your personality in 3 words?

I think introverted, creative, and real.

IMVU is a place where drama and negativity can sometimes be popular. How do you deal with those happenings?

Well, whenever things like that happened in the past I myself, try to be as straightforward as possible. I say how I feel about the situation, and listen to how the other person feels. I try to fix things, and if it can’t be fixed, cut it off with the person. But, I never give up on a friend without at least trying to fix things between us. The reason I say cut it off, is because if you know deep down the drama isn’t going to change. Then there’s no point in letting that vibe float around all the time. It’s better to just end it.

There are many people out there who steal or copy products now. Have you ever had to deal with that? If so, how did you?

Ooooooooh yes, so much yes. I hate it. I’ve had to submit a DMCA takedown notice to IMVU more than once. I do not tolerate theft of any sort. IMVU responds, finds my proof valid, and takes down the thief’s products.

Nice, at least IMVU helps when you have valid proof. Have you ever had a confrontation because of this?

Oh, yes I have. Once, I made the mistake of accusing the girl before actually filing the report. Which, of course, I knew she stole my products or else I wouldn’t have even said anything. But, she called me out on Instagram and told everyone, “Don’t try to make a thong or else Bamahi will think you’re stealing,” but I wouldn’t just say anyone is stealing if they made a thong. The thong she submitted to her shop was my thong. Anyways, she blew it up on Instagram and people commented wanting picture proof. It was a big thing. From now on, I just submit my DMCA notices and keep quiet.

Has anyone tried to DMCA you or accused you for stealing?

No, not that I know of. I’ve never stolen anything, so that shouldn’t ever be an issue.

I see you have something called, Bamahi’s Babes. Can you tell us more about that?

Yes, Bamahi’s Babes is a modeling group that I created for Instagram models to advertise my products while I pay them based on the amount of photos they post, amount of likes, and effort put into the photo. We also have weekly challenges on the side for extra prizes and things. However, it isn’t really a group for just anyone to join. I have strict requirements and only a specific number of models that I will hire. It’s a fun group. I think the models love it and they enjoy getting paid on the side for it

We’re sure you’re mostly known in the shop for females.

Yes although I’ve been trying to make some more male products as well. I’m trying to get up there in both categories.

We realize you’re not in any developer groups. Why is that?

I’m not a fan of any of those groups at all.

May we ask why?

I was actually ABOUT to join one. I won’t say which one. But, they were extremely rude, and it seemed as if they were only accepting their friends, or people with short usernames, or only accepting people based on gender. It gave off a terrible vibe. I was disgusted, and so I basically told them, you know what? Nevermind. I don’t want to be part of your group.

Now you made us curious as to which group you had that experience with.

I wouldn’t want to throw them under the bus like that. But, that experience made me not want to be part of one of those groups anymore. It made me feel like they were all going to be that way.

Once you have a bad experience it’s hard not to judge those who are similar. But with Bamahi Babes, we believe you’re doing great on your own. Don’t you?

Yes, I’d like to think so. The models have been a great help with advertising and I love seeing the photos they put out each week.

How many models do you currently manage?

Currently, 7. I started with 10, but few had to leave due to being busy irl.

Everyone encounters some hardship and struggles when doing business. What is one you’ve had to deal with and what have you learnt from it?

My biggest struggle with creating in general, is that I always try to do better than I did the time before. For example, I made a pair of bottoms that got to the first page in shop, and ever since then I just keep trying to make something even better and get to the top page again. I think that’s the biggest struggle. always trying to do better than you did before.

That sounds more like motivation and determination. Do you have any kids?

I have 3 kids on IMVU, yes. Bootyist, Chang and Faxp.

How did you spend your Mother’s Day?

I spent it talking on the phone with my irl mom a lot, and I posted some cute pictures on Instagram for the IMVU part of Mother’s Day.

Some people use creating and art as a hobby, for you it’s a hobby and a full time job. Besides creating and artwork, what other hobbies do you have?

I used to love doing makeup. I think I’d consider that as a hobby. My favorite time of the year is always halloween because it’s so fun doing the special effects makeup. But I guess that kind of falls under the art category as well. I don’t really have any hobbies that aren’t art related.

That’s awesome. Halloween make up is very intense!

I’m also a gamer. I’m into League of Legends, Minecraft, The Sims and lots of other games.

Where do you see yourself in 3 years and 5 years from now?

3 years from now, I see myself back in Texas in a new apartment with Jaxton. Maybe married irl. 5 years from now, I see myself having my own art studio where I can do my work. Hopefully these things happen within that time frame.

Art will surely still be around for you to make that happen. What’s your views on popular creators who get disabled?

JayDub used to be one of my favorite creators. I saw his products slowly get changed when IMVU had that issue with copyrighted material. I noticed him taking the logos off of every product, and I guess IMVU still found something to disable him for. I don’t know exactly what happened with that, but I was upset to see him disabled. He was a good creator. As for disabled meshers, I hate how many of the great meshers have been disabled. You can’t go derive from anything without spending forever looking for a mesh by someone who hasn’t been disabled. I have no idea why or how they all got disabled, but it definitely is annoying when you’re trying to derive from products.

And lastly, what advice would you give to those new creators out there?

Don’t let the top creators make you think you ain’t sh*t. Don’t give up because, “It’s too hard.” I started when I was 11 years old and it took me like 6 years to become Pro. As long as you keep practicing and keep putting out new products, you’ll get to the top.

Is there anything you’d like to share with our readers?

Tell them I said Hii, feel free to message me, invite me to chat or follow my room location. Not all creators are mean. I’m nice! *smiles rly hard* :D People seem to think all creators are mean.

You don’t mind followers or people who inbox you at all?

Nope. Although sometimes it may take me a while to respond because I get busy with other things or my inbox gets filled up but I don’t mind it. I try to answer everyone unless they’re someone begging for gifts - that’s about the only one I do not like.

You have a good attitude. What do you think of the stereotype that creators are stuck up and rude?

Hmm.. I think that I’ve experienced it first hand, and could see why people think that based on some creators I’ve spoken to in the past. But just because one creator is mean, it doesn’t mean we all are.

Your personality and mindset will take you far. We hope you have your art studio in 5 years. Thank you so much for the interview.

Thanks for the interview. It was fun.