How Blac Chyna Built Her Brand

Of course the Kardashians play a role in this story, but all the credit goes to Chyna's master plan

By Natalie Finn Dec 08, 2016 1:30 PMTags
Blac ChynaSplash News'; Getty Images; Instagram

2016 has meant a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but without a doubt, it's also been the year of Blac Chyna.

In a matter of months, she went from someone who had her fans and was on the pop culture radar, to being a full-on household name.

Sure, the Kardashians factor into this story, but Chyna herself is responsible for having the wherewithal to make the most out of every opportunity that's come her way. Because six years after Drake gave a shout-out to her stripper skills in "Miss Me," she's built a powerhouse of a one-woman business and is a brand all her own.

And what a journey it's been.

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Blac Chyna Bares Her Baby Bump

Even if the Kardashian sisters' attorneys succeed in blocking her from trademarking the name Angela Renée Kardashian (which will be her married name once she and Rob Kardashian tie the knot), she won't exactly be adrift in a sea of unmarketable anonymity.

Chyna, who was born Angela Renée White in Washington, D.C., did indeed get started on the strip club circuit when she was 18, at first using the name Dora Renée. She danced under the name Cream at Old Diamonds in Miami while attending college, and ultimately ended up at the famed King of Diamonds club, which in addition to the cameo in Drake's "Miss Me" has been referenced in song by Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Nelly and more. 

By then she was Blac Chyna, having been inspired after she danced for a client who said his name was Black China and she asked if she could borrow the moniker. (And boy do we want to know more, but how else would one come up with that nickname?)

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Stars Playing Strippers

After making all sorts of contacts from her perch in Miami, Chyna parlayed her resemblance to Nicki Minaj into a job as the rapper's body double in Kanye West's "Monster" video and went on to become a video muse and model in her own right, co-starring with Tyga in his 2011 video for "Rack City" after meeting him at King of Diamonds. She appeared on the covers of DimepieceBlack Men's magazine, Urban Ink and Smooth Girl, and XXL named her "Eye Candy of the Month" in February 2012. She moved on to appearing alongside Minaj in the artist's "Come on a Cone" video, which premiered that October.

Asked if she was ever bothered by the stereotypes associated with being a stripper, she told XXL, "It used to bother me but it doesn't anymore. You learn to grow thick skin quick." (She never had to worry about her mother's disapproval, at least—Tokyo Toni stripped too, and Chyna would later tell Elle that her mom advised her, "'If this is what you want to do, be the best at it.'")

As for her next career move, she said, "I would love to get into acting. I was an extra in a movie that is about to come out and I absolutely loved it. I would love to work hard, take classes and possibly be a respected actress one day."

Soon after, Chyna became a working mom when she and Tyga welcomed their son, King Cairo, on Oct. 16, 2012.

So while she loved being on camera, Chyna also wanted to build on the good thing she already had going—name brand recognition, of course.

She enrolled in JLS Professional Makeup Artist School in L.A. in 2013 and both finished the program and helped the new business get off the ground, appearing in promotional videos for the school and singing its praises. By the end of the year she had launched her own online boutique, 88fin, and a line of false eyelashes.

Instagram

In September 2014, she opened Lashed salon in Encino, Calif. Along with lash extensions, teeth whitening, makeup application and so on, the store has expanded to include its own makeup line. And who's a better face for the brand than Chyna herself?

Getty Images

Along the way, she and Tyga had settled down in Calabasas, Calif., and Chyna made friends with none other than Kim Kardashian. Chyna and Tyga were guests at Kim and Kanye West's May 2014 wedding in Italy and Chyna regularly made appearances on the E! star's Instagram account. Now, it gets murky as to who introduced who to whom, since Chyna also worked on Kanye's "Monster" video back in 2010, before she met Tyga, but basically this: Once you're in the Kardashian orbit, you're next-level famous. Whatever level you were at before, you pretty much automatically ascend to the next level.

Chyna and Tyga split up by the end of 2014, but her celeb status had already been cemented by then. In 2015 she was rumored to be dating Future after appearing in his "Rich $ex" video and then stepping out with "Future" tattooed in script on her hand—but that story was quickly swept under the rug. Tyga also started dating Kylie Jenner in 2015, so it was a bit of a readjustment year for Chyna as far as her personal life was going. Her visibility was at an all-time high, but it wasn't for the right reasons yet.

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Kardashians Sound Off on Rob & Chyna's Romance
Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment/A1

Meanwhile, she also became close pals with Wiz Khalifa's then-wife (and Kanye's ex) Amber Rose and the two of them have remained tight no matter what either's status has been with the Kardashians at any given time. (All is well now, luckily, largely thanks to Kim making a point of burying the hatchet with Amber.)

The duo made a splash at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards (the jam-packed night where Taylor Swift presented Kanye with his Video Vanguard Award and Nicki asked Miley, "what's good?") when they showed up on the red carpet with slurs like "slut" written all over them—a striking statement of female empowerment and rejection of male domination over a woman's sexuality.

Chyna joined Amber for the 2016 edition of her annual Slut Walk in L.A., and when Amber competed on Dancing With the Stars this past season, there was Chyna in the audience to support her.

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That supportive side has also been evident throughout her relationship with Rob Kardashian, who has credited his fiancée with helping to motivate him and get him back on the path to healthiness as he struggled with his weight and diabetes over the past year.

Speaking of which, yes, Chyna's whirlwind courtship with Rob before getting engaged in April and welcoming their daughter, Dream Kardashian, last month certainly raised her profile exponentially.

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Dream Kardashian's Cutest Pics

In addition to starring in her own E! show this summer, Rob and Chyna, she posed pregnant in lingerie for Elle, did a nude spread for Paper that was reminiscent of Kim's famous "break the internet" endeavor in 2014 and has become a MAC brand ambassador.

She still loves body-con styles and playing with hair and makeup, but the still only 28-year-old mom, TV star and salon owner has traded in those signature cheek piercings for a chicer look—the evidence of which she loves showing off on Instagram, along with numerous pics of her considerable curves. (And of course her social media presence spiked this year to 10.2 million Instagram followers and counting. Dream's own account is already up to 759,000 followers and she's not quite a month old.) 

Talking to Elle before Rob and Chyna premiered, she explained why it was important to her to do the show, even if it meant letting the cameras in on the lower points of her and Rob's relationship.

"I wanted to show people my personality, that I'm not just a pretty face or what some people paint me out to be: this bad person, this stripper ho. I want them to see me as a mom, a businesswoman, a growing being," she said.

She also told Paper, "I hope when people think about Blac Chyna, they think of a mogul and entrepreneur, a mother and a badass bitch."

Whatever happens, Chyna's name all on its own is going to be enough to signify all of the above from now on.

And while she has been outspoken about not wanting to dwell on the past, she's not ashamed of the road she took to get here or any of the ways in which she fueled her journey.

"I don't care if it's one dollar or a million dollars, I'm someone who is going to figure it out and figure out how to get it on my own, and I look forward to showing people my business-savvy side," she told Essence this summer. "I've been hustling for a long time and I feel like everything is starting to come full circle so, that's also part of what I really want people to see."