Shaun Flores

OCD Advocate, Speaker, Model, Actor.

Shaun is a creative who knows no boundaries, an influencer aiming to have the right influence on the world. From his focus on mental health, well-being, lifestyle and skincare he is an enigma in an extraordinary world. Shaun will be training next year to be a life coach, using his experiences from the creative world and his personal world to help guide others on their path in life. Through academia, he acquired his master's in Race, Media & Social Justice. His creative journey was recently thrown a curveball with his ‘Pure O’ OCD diagnosis at 27 years old. OCD is widely misunderstood, and often used to describe a personality trait and as an adjective, it is far from the case. He has worked with OCD charities to raise awareness and shatter archaic myths about OCD which still saturate wider society. His diagnosis has encouraged him to widen the conversation about mental health, especially in the black community. He is also a public speaker with **two TEDx Talks, TEDx 2022 & TEDx 2018.** In 2018 Shaun gave a TEDx Talk about the education system and how we can do more to ensure no one is left behind. His second TEDx talk was on "the straitjacket of masculinity and male mental health" in 2022. A third TEDx Talk remains in his periphery to help raise awareness of OCD, and in turn, raise funds for a mental illness which remains severely underfunded and under- researched. Shaun delivered a lecture at the BAME conference at Roehampton University in 2017 about diversifying the curriculum. Shaun was selected to be a student orator at his Master's graduation at Goldsmiths university. After two successful campaigns for Papa X cheddar drop and their Papa John’s Fresh Soul range, Papa John’s asked Shaun to host Papa Johns's global music gig partnered with NME magazine. He has also appeared on Yanga Tv discussing fatherlessness, London Live TV about the YouTube Vlog star challenge & debate shows discussing societal topics. He has been interviewed for the Discerning Brute Publication in America Box Human. & The Model Cloud Magazine. He has written candidly about his OCD experience which can be found via articles for Kindred Magazine, The Book Of Man and The Model Cloud Magazine & Orchard OCD and has appeared on TheOCD stories podcast and Happiful MagazinePodcast. Shaun is also a freelance journalist with published work in online publications South West Londoner, The Common Sense Network & Jacamo’s The Book of Man. Throughout his modelling career, he has featured in many magazines including 7hues, Cloud, Pap, Candid and Vogue Italia. He has walked at London Fashion Week and worked with brands such as ASOS, Papa John, UBER, John Lewis and Peleton. COVID-19 gave birth to Shaun's current passion, his podcast, "Flower Hour" speaking to different individuals to bridge societal gaps, working towards a more inclusive society." He has interviewed a range of individuals such as Lavinya Stenett founder of the Black Curriculum and Melz Owusu from Free Black University and also international life coach Africa Brooke. Outside of his creative pursuits, he is dedicated to social justice and social equity through working in the creation of a legalised cannabis economy in the UK through Transform Drug Policy Foundation and black-led social enterprise Blax Sok, aiming to regulate and create a commodified market for cannabis whilst leading the charge for social justice. In this work he produces, directs and hosts “The Green Food" podcast speaking to guests in relation to topics of social injustice and social inequality. Shaun Flores brings a wealth and depth of experience unparalleled to the conventional young man out there, and one of his favourite sayings is "He who has a why can endure any suffering."