6. In 2 sentences what does your company do/brand represent? Insert(VERB)Here empowers young women through out-of-the-box experiences to build confidence and increase self-discovery. We present young women with opportunities that challenge their personal limits and fears to show them FIRST-HAND that they can do anything they set their minds to!
7. Pro of being the face of your own brand? I get to lead by example! I go on these journeys to help change someone else's world for the better, and they change me for the better in ways I never imagined.
8. Con of being face of own brand? Sometimes I struggle with pursuing the things I started and I doubt if I've made the right decision for ME. I feel obligated to continue on behalf of others looking up to me because I know someone is watching and basing their decision on my outcome.
9. Mental Mentors (up to 3, Who inspires you?)
1 - I am personally inspired by my mom. She is a strong black woman who beat the odds of statistics: single mom, master's degree, all 3 children successful, entrepreneur, teacher, caregiver and more!
2 - Dr. Paul Farmer. He is a physician best known for his humanitarian work providing first world healthcare for third world people. To him, curing the world was the only right thing and he would do whatever was necessary to make that happen, no matter how unconventional or bad for "business" (i.e. profits).
10. Inspirational quote that speaks to your business acumen:
"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face." - Eleanor Roosevelt
11. How does the mission of Nomadness (living a life without boundaries, both literally and figuratively) fall in line with steps you have taken building your brand?
I'm trying to bring in the next generation of Nomads! I'm trying to train them up to take care of the world we are shaping through (and with) Evita, because she definitely started something huge and the WORLD will feel it. (They actually already are!)
6. In 2 sentences what does your company do/brand represent?
Corset Magazine is the go-to magazine for all things sexuality. We embrace curiosity. We honor sensuality. We celebrate sex.
7. Pro of being the face of your own brand?
My readers have followed my journey from being a sex columnist and 9-5 worker to starting Corset and becoming an international entrepreneur. Because we’ve experienced that journey together, we’re intimately connected. So when they see my face, they’re inspired and they know that anything I put in Corset is for their sexual empowerment, liberation, and affirmation.
8. Con of being face of own brand?
It’s not a con, rather a choice. I don’t allow myself to have public “bad days” anymore. I have to remember in those moments that I represent a brand, a movement that is rooted in positivity. I always make the extra effort to be kind to people and speak life into negative circumstances. Negativity fuels negativity, and that’s a roadblock to building continuous wealth.
9. Mental Mentors (up to 3, Who inspires you?)
Jada Pinkett Smith – her love, her authenticity, her power, it inspires me.
Oprah Winfrey – her drive, her ambition, her philanthropy, it pushes me.
Gary Vaynerchuk – his humor, his family priorities, his customer focus, it reminds me to give gratitude to my customers and always put family first.
10. Inspirational quote that speaks to your business acumen
“Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.” ~ Paulo Coelho
11. How does the mission of Nomadness (living a life without boundaries, both literally and figuratively) fall in line with steps you have taken building your brand?
I founded Corset at a pivotal time in my life. I quit the 9-5 world, moved to Brasil, and invested almost all of my money in this magazine because I believed it would fund my freedom. While the path was not simple, it was powerful and reaffirmed my priorities. Freedom, love, travel, and family first. Make money anywhere. Always pursue passion.
6. In two sentences what does your company do/brand represent?
Bondfire Radio provides quality radio programming online and via new media to combat the constant barrage of mainstream zombification. We make sure the conversations, music, and images of us as young people (of color) are of whole individuals, not of caricatures. I strive to do this with humor on my morning show, TK in The AM.
7. Pro of being the face of your own brand?
People feel like the know you, they trust your brand, they trust your projects, they trust your opinions. Making connections through radio is very important. We know all of our regular listeners and they know us.
8. Con of being face of own brand?
People feel like the knowwww you. They get too personal too fast. Privacy is an issue. As if your personal life were public domain.
9. Mental Mentors (up to 3, Who inspires you?)
Lucille Ball: First woman to head her own production company, Desilu. She was funny, talented, innovative, and unafraid. She came from the land of B-films to signing the checks, her production company changed the face of TV as we know it. I feel her inspiration move through my work daily.
Kanye West: He is a creative menace to society. He will not apologize for his greatness. I will not either. I know what I'm doing is important. I'm gonna keep doing it.
Philomene Hyacinthe: My grandmother and best friend. The best example of pure love. It's the same love I give to my audience. At the end of my show, when I say: "Love you for listening!" I mean it.
10. Inspirational quote that speaks to your business acumen
“Reject the tyranny of picked. Pick yourself.” - Seth Godin
11. How does the mission of Nomadness (living a life without boundaries, both literally and figuratively) fall in line with steps you have taken building your brand?
I always 100% knew that working for someone or some corporate entity was not an option but a means to an end. Even when I had no idea what was next, there was always some project, some tour, some way to connect with people. Somehow, the rent would get paid and I would not starve to death if it means I get to meet people, to do my work, to live by my own rules. It inspires me when someone says that they saw me, a regular Brooklyn girl do something extraordinary and they ask me how. I usually start off buy telling them... "Buy a ticket and just go."
#FaceYourBrand This is a passion project that I've been working on for a few months behind the scenes.
Artistry, creativity, entrepreneurship, passion, travel are all words that make up the guts of what Nomadness (Tribe and other ventures) are created from. In a world full of broadcasting moves across the internet, it takes a particular personality to come out in the forefront of their own movement, to build their own Tribe, and have their face splashed all over the front of it.
Truth is... being the face of your brand is hard!!! You get the good and the bad. Weak personalities cannot, and do not, last long in this position. I believe both credit due and help needs to be offered to those who step out on that ledge and go for it!!
This is what inspired me to create Face Your Brand!... because sometimes that's exactly what it feels like...
The Tribe finishes up the last of the schools on the RV tour, at Texas Southern University. Plans change and the crew decides to make a run through UFO Town Roswell, New Mexico. Let's just say....we left out mark on the town the only way we knew how! Check it out!
Apparently a travel blogger took her life (non Tribe affiliated) this past weekend. Her last post was about how her traveling lifestyle has left her extremely lonely and heartbroken. This is something that comes up in the Tribe a lot. Can you find love as a nomad? Does it take being in one place all the time? Does the other person have to be an avid traveler too? Something very unique to travelers and while I don't think suicide was the answer, I understood a lot of what she was saying. Three years ago I think it would have been hard to be with me...LIVING in Japan and Thailand, backpacking South East Asia...I admit, I was gone a lot! Yet, had someone who stuck it out, which I still am grateful for.
But it was hard and the #1 reason why I don't want anymore long distance relationships. I want someone tangible, real, that i can touch. Again, this comes up in the Tribe a lot. Figured I would open it up to a broader audience for feedback.
Could you date someone living on the road?
Could you date someone who has a home base but dips out every say six weeks?
Barcelona NomadnessX 2013 Crew in Stadium During Bull Run. Of course two pescitarians myself and Tarmac Jerry start talking about how this goes against us not eating meat... smh! Life Experiences with the Tribe man!
Hard to believe the RV Crew pulled off from New York City, only to drive into New Orleans, Louisiana on this episode. The retrospect of Katrina hits the crew head on, as they are surrounded by water heading into the city. They are introduced to the city, the food, and have their stops at High Council member, Macario's house, as well as the appearance at Xavier University.
When I tell you High Council has been ITCHING to get this debut out...it's been crazy!
In light of the Tokyo NomadnessX 2013 trip hitting at the very very end of August, we had to rep correctly for my second home. It's been 3 years since I have stepped foot in Nippon and that is all about to change in a few weeks ;-) It's about to go down!!
So, to be fresh we dropped the first in our Translation Series of T-Shirts. We've translated (ever so gently) 'I have more passport stamps than you.' into Japanese just in time for the upcoming trip!!
The Mission:
I want to reconnect and newly connect with all the ALT's/English Teachers/Vagabonds out in Japan. I want this shirt to be the tie that bonds us, our memories, our time in this amazing ancient country, and the Tribe. Many, like me, haven't been back in years...it's time for us to show it some love, no matter where we are!
LIMITED EDITION!! ONLY 111 MADE, and THEN NEVER AGAIN! These will sell out! Cop one now, as the 30% Off Sale is going until 5pm EST tomorrow! Move fast!
The Heineken Dropped campaign is a global initiative to launch the Heineken Voyage, the fifth chapter of Heineken’s global Legends campaign. Heineken will search the globe for four men who embody the “Legendary Traveler” and send them on voyages around the world to challenge them to travel outside their comfort zone. One of these travelers will be from the US.
Was telling a friend how I wanted fame for the power of influence. I believe I come from a positive space in what I do, and want to achieve. Outside if that fame scares the shit out of me. It is a theory that in my personal hours, I try to dissect before it truly hits me. Little by little, I am inching forward, towards my meeting with fame. Until then, I prep for it. Jay-Z speaks on it here!!
Yes, Nomadness Travel Tribe is still Barcelona obsessed!!!
So we want to give you some tips on the best way to get around, not just Barcelona, but the majority of Spain.
The Nomadness recommendation for seeing Barcelona and surrounding areas in a tour format: Barcelona Day Tours
You have to check them out while trekking around Spain. Not only do they service Barcelona, but also Madrid and surrounding Port Cities like Lisbon, Cadiz, Malaga, Almeria, Tenerife, Palma de Mallorca, and Seville to name a few. They definitely have the entire country covered.
One of the coolest tours they offer is from Barcelona to Montserrat Monastery in which you can overlook all of Barcelona while taking in all of the history and the architectural masterpieces. Absolutely breathtaking. They pick you up from your hotel or apartment and take you directly there, guide you during the day, and bring you back safely at the end of your tour. One of our favorite all day tours they have available also includes a Cavat wine tour. Don't worry, the transportation allows you to really indulge in the winery itself. No worries, no designated driver needed-- just relaxation and comfort in that everything you need is already taken care of.
Some of the sites you can look to experience on their tours are:
* La Sagrada Família – world-famous architectural masterpiece * Park Guell - Gaudí’s Park with beautiful city views * Passeig de Gracia - Barcelona’s most luxurious strip * La Pedrera / Casa Mila - Gaudí’s famous building in Barcelona * Casa Batllo - Gaudí’s astounding contribution to Modernisimo
* Plaza Espanya – the most impressive plaza in Barcelona * The National Palace – an impressive site with great views * The Olympic Ring – see where it all happened in 1992 * Montjuïc Castle – with history and overlooking the port * The Columbus Monument – for the world-famous explorer * Port Olympic – marina, shops, restaurants, galleries, & more * Plaza Catalunya - in the heart of Barcelona
Sitting on this small area that our ten foot tall windows open up to in Barcelona, red wine sipped at the equivalent of 11:30am in New York City, yet 5:30pm here in Spain. I'm overwhelmed with all this trip has been. My second time to the country, something I'm not known for doing, and an entirely new experience it is indeed.
Barcelona, my love-- I am seduced.
It isn't so much a not wanting to leave, as it is a prepartory gameplan on how to come back on a more permanent basis. I think back to the brief encounter I've had here with a man named Scott. He is Japanese, and unintentionally drawing. I have a little crush- but I digress. He spoke about living all around the world, specifically Cali and NYC, but how Barcelona has been home over the last three years. He used a word I'm used to -- hustle -- in thecontext that one can do so in Barcelona, legally, and live. I'm still a bit skeptical and awe-stricken, but we exchanged information and I look forward to the point where we can chop this up, because I'm seriously giving some things consideration. I'm learning...
I can be calm.I realize more and more the S&M relationship I have with NYC is like a constant assault on my senses, particularly the neighborhood I live in. My stresses are still the same here. I worry about the same things, yet I finda space not to here, and it's much more difficult, on the verge of impossible in the spot I call home.
My paradise involves more than water. About a year ago, a tribe member posted a photo (I want to say) of Maldives and asked where everyone's personal paradises are. I remember writing that the water would grow to bore me day in and day out and that I needed the energy of a city nearby to keep me inspired, creating, and stimulated. My paradise includes culture, street art, wine, attractive human beings, diverse human beings, and water somewhere easily accessible. Well...... in an alleyway close to Placa Reial, I sit writing this post with a glass of red wine, my laptop, and inspiration for a number of posts and status updates to come. I am at my best when creating...like, right now. I am in the middle of my personal paradise, and I don't know what it's supposed to make you feel like, but I have been smiling for no reason a lot. A lot like NYC in the summertime, but not so much in the winter.
My life will consist of three B's. Brooklyn, Bali, Barcelona. I have visited all three-- yet, it's time to live. These will be homes.
Traveling with an ex can be awkward if not checked properly. Again, just a personal observation.
Topless beaches, where thirst is to a minimum, are kind of my thing.
Tattoos create a lust unbareable for me. I was taken by surprise at how dope the ink culture is here. there are tattoo parlours all over the place and the amount of work I've seen done on people is amazing. I see half and full sleeves more than any other tattoo type out here.
Dining in the dark is a LIFETIME MUST DO EXPERIENCE.......but only with the right people. The term, shit gets real comes to mind. Dans Le Noir in Barcelona was absolutely amazing. It's anxiety producing, sensory overload in many ways, as your most dominant one is stripped from you. The emotional state you are brought to when having a conversation, in the dark I feel is rare and unqiue to that specific circumstance and those around you. You must be free and embrace. The fact that the waiters are blind, is such a powerful element to the entire experience. In life, they rely on us. As the host said to us "In the dark, the blind is King. Listen everything they say." And that was the truth. When lining up to go in they say the person with the least amount of fear should go in first. Before I was even able to gauge my level of fear, the Tribe had thrust me to the front. Alex, our waiter, turned around and instructed me to put my hand on his shoulder, as that is how we all walked in, forming a line. When Alex turned aroudn I couldn't help but read his shirt.
"There is no blindness, just ignorance."
That was my silent cry moment, walking in, behind curtain one, then curtain two, into complete (can't see your hand in front of your face) darkness. That, was the beginning...
...got the text message saying my Grandfather passed away in one of those odd train stations between Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. So it hits me like a bomb and I immediately lose reception. Frustrated. Trapped in the subway cart, on the way to a meeting, that I am both not sure I can concentrate in and welcoming so I can think about something other than this.
Calls, to New York, Miami, and Jamaica commence. My brother is the one I am most concerned with and at this moment the one I still cannot reach.
I sit here remembering writing in the Tribe, last May, about making sure I made a trip to go see familyintermittent with all these NomadnessX trips and personal trips. It was my brother who checked me on that. And last May my then boyfriend and I met in Montego Bay and I saw the whole family. My step father's family, yet none the less, these people raised me a good part of my younger years until they themselves moved back to Jamaica. I was warned, 'He may not remember you.'
What I was not ready for was the emotional toll that I would take looking at someone suffering from moderate to sever Alzheimer's. He mentally floated between me, my mom, and a stranger. Not knowing which I was depending on the moment. Rougher than I ever imagined. It was then that I realized how important this trip was. I needed to see them. They needed to see me and I am never more grateful than today for taking that trip last May. It had been about a decade before then.
Now the nomad is hit with life. This is the 3rd death I have had to deal with in the last three summers. Rudi, Shalanda, Grandpa Williams. I am learning to dread this season. This is also when being a travel oriented entrepreneur gets tricky. This happens as I am supposed to fly out to Spain next Tuesday night for the NomadnessX trip. Now, it is all about how to get to Jamaica for at least a day before then. Trying to breathe and pace myself. Just breathe.
The Nomadness RV tour spends some time in Atlanta, Georgia. There, Evie visits both Spelman and Morehouse, with a night presentation to the ladies of Spelman College. Atlanta also gives way to another RV Crew member rotation and Ghana and Keisha join the group from Atlanta on through to the finish line of the tour.
I'm drawn to innovators. The people of the world that I look up to, didn't go the generic route. In fact, they had to make the conscious decision to refuse to go the generic route. Trailblazers. Iconoclasts. The beings that recognize the sheepish route, and dip out the back of the herd. The people who don't play by the rules, but recreate them. The Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerbergs, Oprah Winfreys, Seth Godins, Kanye Wests, Malcom Gladwells, Jay-Zs...artists in their own rite, but innovators to the world we know.
I am cut from this mold. I fit among these names. Nomadness is described with the same adjectives. I am merely where they were, when they started to pick up steam-- when their immediate community began to take notice. When sh*t started to get all the way real. When grass was cut and snakes scattered like roaches. When the Universe has to start ushering people in, and filtering people out, the process gets messy. Super messy.
I said to my friend the other day, 'I don't think famous people get paid millions for what they do. I think it's collateral for all they have to put up with in order to still effectively do what they do, at the level of fame."
I cannot, and will not, front, the last few weeks have kicked my ass and lifted me higher than ever before at the same time. The pendulum has shifted, swiftly, daily, from one said of the spectrum to the other-- to the point where in a matter of hours I've gone from elation to depression at the epicness greatness, and epic fails, that have presented themselves... daily. In this space I thought, 'This is why they get paid the way they do. Who needs this sh*t?"
I need it. Innovators need it. Iconoclasts need it. It is our fuel for hunger, and our survival. We don't fear, instead thrive off change. We need to break down walls, question authority, and make our own way...then show the way to others and be their leaders. Our tribes need us to be this individual. They need us to rise to the occassion of fame, and be the trusted one to represent them well when the bullsh*t hits the fan. As an innovator, you are the first in line of fire AND the clean up crew.
I am getting used to how my life is changing, evolving, augmenting, manifesting and it's very stressful. But very necessary. I am tougher than even I thought I was, and when I'm weak, I pull from those who had to ride this road before me. The chose few, that the Universe has annointed to strike a nerve with status quo, and just go! You don't need to be a physical fighter, but hell if you don't have the mental capacity to house all that is thrown your way, you'll psychologically die.
To anyone who once was in this position, is currently in this position, or are the next generation of innovators, I am here to tell you, sometimes it f&*king sucks and you want the big red button to make it stop. It will not stop, and you CANNOT stop!It is your duty and responsibility while on this Earth, to help change it.
Even when in tears, feeling victimized, consulting with your elders and mentors, under attack, mimicked, chastized, misunderstood, mistated, and needing to show face for all those following you, never ever forget:
You were built for this shit.
Here are words from your forefathers:
"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do."
"People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I'm actually as proud of the things we haven't done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things." - Steve Jobs (Apple Worldwide Developers' Conference, 1997)
"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." Steve Jobs ("The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs," 2001)
“Success is a function of persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard for twenty-two minutes to make sense of something that most people would give up on after thirty seconds.” ― Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success
