Carole Gray

“….I tell people that right now, I’m just sitting back, relaxing and watching God take care of me. That’s the only thing I’m concerned about. I’m also learning to treat people right, and try to leave an impact on the lives of those around me, because they don’t see anyone like me because God only made ONE me!

’Treme Nailz International was happy to catch up with this beauty. No stranger to us, Carole Gray is the original brand ambassador and spokesperson for Internationally Flyy Nailz, currently known as: X’Treme Nailz International. During her tenure, Carole represented the X’Treme nail brand with regular appearances at Hollywood and the surrounding area’s star-studded and red carpet events, bringing the attention and awareness of our X’treme nails divas to the forefront! “Being the spokesperson for Internationally Flyy Nailz was just a stretch of wonderfulness! Back then I wore really extreme nails and like the other members, we had a great time! We would meet many stars while attending celebrity studded events. Also, being the brand ambassador opened many doors for me since then and I am sooo, happy that the

Carole Gray

platform is still around connecting women who are expressing themselves through the lengths of their nails!”

Carole started her nails in the early eighties, and over time, she came to allow them to reach the length of approximately seven and a half inches long. “My mother always had long nails, so I actually wasn’t trying to grow mine. It so happened that as my nails started getting a little longer, I let them. Then I started going to the nail salon, and they just took off growing from there. So, I say that I grew my nails from the early 1980s until around 2016, when I actually cut them completely down. You know, people still ask me to this day, how I do this and how I do that? I let them know that if you walk in a salon and come out at this length after never having long nails before, you cannot know how to do anything. I finish by telling them that back in the eighties, when I started letting my nails grow, I adapted to what I needed to do and learned how to use them. So as they grew, I became very comfortable working with them.”

Once again, the commonality between nail divas is that so many people assume that because they see the nails, these divas are completely helpless. The assumption is collective ‘internationally!’ “I keep saying that I’m going to make a ‘How To’ video with me showing several things that I do during a normal day functioning with my nails. (pausing) Yes, I’m going to do it! You know, I was in the grocery store line one day, and after getting my change, some quarters and things dropped to the floor and no one came over to help me pick anything up. Now, when I picked up my quarters with the tip of my nails, the people in line actually started clapping because they wanted to wait and see if I could actually do it. So, yes, I’m going to make a video of how we as X’treme nail divas func-

tion on our own WITH our nails.” Personally, I am anxious and really hope that Carole blesses us with the ‘How To’ tutorial so that I can pick up extra little tricks and pointers, like how to ‘effortlessly’ put the ball of my tongue ring back on! Now, trust me, I can get it on, just not always ‘effortlessly!’ Maybe it could be a collaboration of ALL the nail divas, showing similar things that they can do with their nails throughout their daily lives! Now that would be a great video! What do you think, Carole? (smile)

Unfortunately, sometimes in our lives we are all served lemons. It is also those ‘lemons’ that allow others to recognize that we aren’t so different from them. Just because we wear extreme nails, we are everyday women facing the same challenges as our sisters without the long nails. In 2008, Carole, diagnosed with breast cancer, was told by her doctor that because of her upcoming treatments she would lose her 7” nails. That they would just ‘fall off’ so she may want to have them taken off in advance. “You know, when you do something every day of your life, it becomes a part of you. My nails became a ‘huge’ part of me, so when my doctor suggested that I have my nails taken off before they fell off, that wasn’t something I was willing to do. So I had my mastectomy, went through my series of radiation and chemotherapy and to my doctor’s surprise, she said, “I don’t understand why your nails didn’t fall off! They turned black, but they didn’t fall off! They are just like nothing ever happened!” I say that to say that I know God is involved in all things, He is the head of my life and in everything that I do! I try to put Him first, and be myself. I am not better than anyone else. I overcame breast cancer, and I deal with the same everyday trials and tribulations as the next person, but having my nails allowed me to keep a piece of myself as I fought and conquered my battle with cancer. God knew that and allowed my nails to remain intact!” In 2015, 2016, however, Carole wasn’t feeling well and began experiencing pain in her arm. She then removed her nails completely because of the weight, discoloration and the age of the nails. Missing that part of her, Carole returned to wearing them in 2018. Once again, Carole and her extreme nails reunited, but this time they are not as extreme. It is now 2021 and Carole, a can-

cer ‘overcomer’; as she prefers to be called; remains cancer free and nails intact! What a true blessing!

A blues artist, Carole stated she doesn’t travel as much now and continues to make her musical debuts in and around Los Angeles. She has also joined her ‘beau’, Cedran Smith, founder of Cedran Designs Art/Entertainment Media as a celebrity media co-host with their entertainment production company, C & C Productions Entertainment Media where they interview the Who’s Who of Hollywood and entertainment’s elites. This year it honored them to be a part of the 93rd Oscars virtual media team. To this opportunity and the success in this genre, Carole credits our Owner/Editor, Jonathan Fields for opening those doors to her as his former brand ambassador. “I met my beau through Jonathan around ten years ago now, I guess, something like that. I don’t recall right now. But when I was the ambassador, I would attend celebrity events with Jonathan where we would interview and photograph the up and coming, the hottest as well as veteran celebrities. Cedran was a part of Jonathan’s team, and that is how we met. So, because of what I did with Jonathan back then, has led Cedran and I to co-host our media company. I mean, I can’t tell you how many celebrities we have met and interviewed, but it has been one giant step after the other and I know that God just keeps doing it!” I am a firm believer that a Higher Power guides our destinies and once we wholeheartedly allow Him to guide our journey, the doors open and by His grace we can walk right through and enjoy all that awaits us! Yes Carole, He grants us those unbelievable, ‘one giant step after the other’ moments. So, enjoy them, you’ve earned them! We switched gears and talked about some things that she has come across over the years as an extreme nail diva. Yes, she also has been asked the usual question, “Yes, over the years I have been asked this or that as we probably all have. Yesterday there was a lady at the wig store, we were about the same age and she got ready to ask me. I was like, we will not go there about the fingernails. That question is the most disgusting thing to ask anyone! Oh my goodness, it just amazes me anytime that I hear it. I have to do this video with long nails and I’m going to do it. Yeah, I believe I’m called to do this on behalf of us all! I believe our nails attract people and they don’t know how to deal with people who are different. People who step out of the ‘normal’ zone being themselves. People who go against the norms that are set by someone else. You know, and I’m going to put up a post one day that says, ‘I do not need your permission to be myself’!”

The parameters of being ‘different’ in a society of man-made normalities, life has a new meaning when you have been close to ‘not being’ or have lived through tragedies and losses. For some of these individuals, the idea of just being yourself has a brand new definition. Those that have always walked that straight line of conforming, the idea of being yourself, may mean speaking up for yourself and taking chances. For those that have always done things their way, the meaning may intensify to them experiencing more, pushing that envelope closer to the edge. Then there are those that may have experienced none of these ‘lemons’ and continue to live in their truths. Regardless of the categories one finds themselves in, everyone should be

comfortable in being their most authentic selves without asking you nor I for permission to do so.

As an entertainer, we were curious if Carole coordinated her nails with her stage outfits and if she had a signature color. “Yes, I love red and as you know, I wear prescription contacts. So most of the time I match my nails to the same color as my contacts! I’ve been wearing them for about thirty years and I’ve gotten addicted to them. I have pretty much every color in the rainbow! You know I don’t know how to do things in moderation. I have to go overboard! My doctor told me I needed bifocals, and I told him I don’t want to wear glasses, especially not bifocals. I’m a vocalist and I entertain, so I do not want to be on stage with bifocals on! Now with the media company, we absolutely have a look! When we are doing the celebrity interviews, I match my contacts and nails to my outfits and my beau’s signature is a cowboy hat.”

Carole stated she doesn’t see the extremes in her entertainment circle. “You know, when I am out here performing and attending events, I haven’t seen many people with nails. The most I see them is on social media. Even when I walk into the salon to do them, all eyes are on me, or looking downwards, saying that my nails are too long to service. I went through that for a minute. A lot of technicians don’t want to work anymore. They’d rather service multiple shorter nails, so there is quantity now versus quality.”

Soon, we brought our conversation to a temporary close. We talked about our families, health, God, entertainment, vacation, relationships, fashion and, of course, more girl talk. We ended the interview portion of our conversation with Carole, leaving us with whatever it was she wanted to say to you, our readers. “I’m an eccentric dresser. I love the bling and all of that. I believe it’s been a part of my destiny because I’ve always been like this. Anyway, this lady told me that if I was going to look like this, dress like this, and wear my nails like this, then I was going to have to know who I am. I’ve kept those words with me for all these years and as sure as I’m talking to you Michelle, that was about 40 years ago. Also, don’t worry at all. Every time someone walks past me and makes a remark or something, I just remember those words. Because of my dark skin, I’ve got this racist thing going. I’ve been called ‘Blackie’, told I am too dark and then I remember who I am. I am a child of the most high God who has molded me with his right hand and protects and guides me. He is

my helper, my hope, my healer, my provider, my refuge and my rescuer. He is who I lean on every day. So I don’t have time and you don’t have time nor does anyone else that wants to pursue their dreams, whether it’s loan deals, some kind of strength they’ve been seeking, personal look they are achieving, or whatever to dwell on the negatives. So I don’t worry about all the side remarks and things like that. I remember back in my younger days, people would say things about me, like some of my family would make me cry. They would say things like, ‘Mama, left you in the oven too long’ and things like that. It’s funny now, but back then things like that hurt bad. So today, I rest knowing that God loves me and that’s all that matters. So that’s what I was saying. You know, just be yourself. When you’re doing the extreme things like what we do, you’re going to get the funny looks because they’re not used to seeing “different”. That’s the reason, it’s not an excuse, but that’s just the way people are. The saying goes: Why blend in when you can stand out and be different. It’s okay to be different because when you were created, He didn’t create you with someone else. He created you as an ‘individual’.

“The one thing that I’ve learned is that we have to be careful with what we let come out of our mouths. If we are not careful, we are drawing negative energy into our pathways. If you speak nonsense, you may be passed over for your blessings. You know, we all want abundance, health and wealth, but when you speak negativity, you can’t act accordingly or in order making you not in agreement with His word. God has a plan for me and that plan is to see me playing His plan right!” On that note, we salute you Carole, and wish you nothing but love and success. We wish you continued health and we respectfully thank you for coming on board in the very beginning, representing all the X’Treme nail divas internationally while living in your authentic truth and encouraging us to do the same!

Carol can be found at:

Facebook:

Carole Vocalist Gray

Email:

carole@cedranandcaroletv.biz