“When it happened, I remember thinking ‘I’ll never be grateful for this.’ I now realize that none of what I get to do would be possible and I wouldn’t appreciate it the way I do if it hadn’t happened to me.” 

Words spoken by Cookeville business owner and 2024 Mover and Shaker Blakelee Smith in reference to the bullying she endured as a child, the suicide attempt that followed it, and the life path this suffering initiated. 

The owner of a thriving beauty business (Skin + Aesthetics), those who know Blakelee today might be shocked to read the previous sentence, but it’s true. The vibrant, giving leader we see in 2024 had to walk through darkness to become a light. 

“I endured some pretty significant bullying starting my sophomore year of high school. When you have your appearance picked apart daily, you start believing it,” she said. “By the time I graduated, I was incredibly insecure. It’s ironic that I work in skin now because one of the things I was made fun of for was being the ‘freckly one.’ The hurt I received in high school had taken such a deep hold on me and the insecurity continued to get worse while at Tennessee Tech. This spiraled, and on July 5th, 2011, I attempted suicide.” Blakelee continued, “That was simultaneously the best and worst thing I’ve ever been through. The good news about hitting rock bottom is you can only go up there. As a result of what happened, I started doing a lot of self-work and making promises to myself. I told myself that, ‘If I can pull through this, I’m going to do something with it.’” 

Blakelee honored this vow, earning her nurse practitioner license and opening a clinic dedicated to instilling a sense of self-worth and positive self-image into those who visit each day. 

“I think it’s important to realize that as human beings we all have insecurities. At our core, we are the same in that we all have things we pick ourselves apart about. Sometimes these things are realistic, sometimes they’re not, but they feel real to us just the same,” Blakelee stated. 

From free acne clinics (tailored to assist those on TennCare or unable to afford such treatment by traditional means) to the intentional, loving care she provides her regular patients, Blakelee is proactively preventing the type of hurt she faced. 

When asked what misconceptions exist concerning her work, she was quick to address the problematic ideas that surround the cosmetic side of the field. 

“I’ve had several people say, ‘You spent all that time in school just to inject Botox?’ I still work with acne, rosacea, and a lot of other treatments, but I also do Botox. What many don’t realize is that botox can literally change the patient’s life by helping them feel more confident about how they look.” She elaborated, “The biggest misconception is that cosmetic treatment is only for very thin, blonde, wealthy white women. That has been a huge barrier and one that I’m really mindful of tearing down. Beauty as a standard is not one image. I can look at 20 different patients in a day and every single one of them is uniquely beautiful. There is no single standard, every skin tone and type is beautiful.”

Despite the demanding workload, long hours, and emotional investment the profession requires, Blakelee sees herself as the one benefiting from her practice the most.

“My patients have given me far more than I’ll ever give them. The way that people continue to show up with such vulnerability following what I went through, a time of being very closed off, means so much to me. The way that people come in here and trust me with their stories, their insecurities, their secrets, constantly reminds me how beautiful vulnerability is.” She concluded, “Every single person has a story and has value, and being able to be part of seeing them bloom, helping diminish their insecurities and see the value they have at their core means more to me than anything. I want everyone to feel represented, seen, heard, valued, comfortable, and welcome while here. This is not just a clinic for a stereotypical standard of beauty but an open, encouraging space for all.”

Through expertise, grace, and empathy, Blakelee Smith helps patients young and old rediscover their true selves, and learn to love the person in the mirror along the way. We can’t think of a more worthwhile cause or way to spend a life. 

– by Andrew Buckner, photos by Abby Weeden