Meet Gabrielle Thomas of My Beauty Truck

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabrielle Thomas.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Gabrielle. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
Before there was ever a truck, My Beauty was an empowerment workshop for girls. The idea was to teach girls life skills in a fun way they could relate to. For instance: skin care with an actual spa facial, etiquette with a three-course catered meal and finances related to their biggest dreams and how to make them come true.

Founded on principals of self-care and sisterhood, the overarching goal was for girls to love themselves enough to want the best for themselves and each other. For them to know their worth and own it. No comparisons. Set your own standards; no need to measure up to anyone else. MY Beauty.

It’s something I wished I’d had as a girl. I was teased a lot, and because of this, I was insecure. I felt like I never fit in and was always looking outside of myself for validation. This led to me making some bad decisions that I see a lot of girls making- and many times these decisions can completely change the trajectory of a girls life.

Thankfully, I had some big sister types (I would actually listen to) in my life to encourage me along the way and help keep me on the right path. I want to create that kind of support system for girls. Since 2005 we have worked with dozens of schools, groups and organizations are reaching thousands of girls.

The goal with adding the My Beauty Truck was to be able to go into communities and meet girls where they are. This was always my vision but to be honest, it was a struggle getting people to give even $5 to support a girl. And then of the flip side, I had all these wealthy people requesting parties with the Truck willing to pay $1000 for a party, so things kinda shifted at some point. It was never supposed to be just about parties, BUT parties paid the bills. However, for me, making money is never enough without purpose. My work needs to mean something to me.

So, a few years ago, I stopped running the My Beauty Truck because it stopped being meaningful. And when I relaunched at the beginning of this year, 2019, I said: we are going to #partyonpurpose using the money from parties to support our sisters in foster care, an issue very close to my heart AND we are going to get back to the original vision of hitting the streets with the My Beauty Truck, taking it into communities and meeting girls where they are. That’s always been the mission #girlpower #selfcare and #sisterhood

Has it been a smooth road?
Heeeecccck naw. The road has been like walking in heels on cobblestones… like being on the edge of a cliff with no railing… like stepping off a curb onto black ice. I fell A LOT.

And without clear direction, I got lost too. I think they call it “Vision Drift.” Now I have a solid business plan but before I didn’t, and I think that is one of the main reasons I lost sight of my path, passion, and purpose. When you’re trying to keep your business alive, it’s easy to just go with the dough.

Visions take money and like I said, it was a struggle to get people to support a girl for $5, but then I had all these wealthy people willing to pay $1000 for a private party for their daughters. And I enjoyed working with those girls too, but there was just a huge hole in my soul knowing that I wasn’t reaching so many girls who couldn’t afford the “privilege” of the My Beauty Truck. It really broke my heart to the point where I just stopped it all. We were at an all-time high!

Our last party was for Jennifer Garner and her sweet daughters, and it was hard to say no when she called again- at that point, I had shut everything down. That was definitely my hardest moment as an entrepreneur. I would always hear: “A quitter never wins and a winner never quits” so I felt like a failure and like I had made the wrong decision passing up opportunities that were coming my way. But at the time I really felt like that was the best decision and honestly, I wouldn’t change it because stepping back gave me a chance to see the big picture.

And during that break, God reignited my passion and gave me a fresh vision of how I can do the work I was called to do. Now we #partyonpurpose, and I don’t rely on people to carry my vision forward. I put 100% faith in God and trust that the right people and provision will come at the perfect time. I’m so happy to be back doing work that matters to me.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with My Beauty Truck – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
My Beauty started in 2005 as an empowerment program for girls. Since then, we have evolved with the addition of the My Beauty truck and now offer our signature Party on Purpose, Girl Power Workshops, and Community Popups, We have done some pretty cool projects reaching thousands of women & girls in the community!

It is really important to me that My Beauty’s mission and core values are at the forefront of all we do. My Beauty is more than just a fun experience, it is an opportunity to bring girls together and educate them in a relatable way.​ My goal is for My Beauty to be a light that shines in the community, and to support girls who are in foster care, an issue very close to my heart.

What set us apart is being mobile. The My Beauty Truck allows us to meet girls where they are. The cool factor makes them actually engage.

Mission: The heart and soul of My Beauty is self-care and sisterhood. Our mission is to spread this message by bringing girls together for fun events and experiences!

Our Vision: A world where girls love themselves and each other.

​Our Purpose: To use the blessings we receive to give back to the community. A % of every event booked benefits girls in foster care.

​Our Core Values:
-Self-worth
-Individuality
-Girl Power
-Beauty from Within

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and the least?
What I love best about my city are my roots within it. I was born at Kaiser on Sunset Blvd, 3rd generation LA native. My mom and aunt both went to St. Mary’s Academy. My aunt (blue tie) attended when it was still on Crenshaw and Slauson and my mom (red tie) was the first graduating class at the current Inglewood location. She remembers the city of Inglewood protesting the new location because of the black students. My (maternal) gramma has Louisiana roots, but she was born in L.A at Queen of Angels hospital which used to be off Temple and Alvarado. My (maternal) Grampa was born in Mobile, Alabama and came to L.A when he was 3. He attended L.A High and kept his yearbooks from the 30s which has awesome aerial photos of the city. So cool to see what L.A used to look like- ‘The Grove’ was nothing but oil fields! Grampa was also a Tuskegee Airman, one of the first African American pilots in the U.S Army and one of the last to die in L.A. His aunt, my great aunt, was the first African American librarian in L.A and the Miriam Matthews branch in Hyde Park is named after her. She amassed a collection of over 4000 photos documenting the contributions made by African Americans to L.A history and culture.

Pricing:

• Party on Purpose- Starting at $799
• Girl Power Workshops- starting at $599
• Community Pop Ups- FREE

Contact Info:

• Website: mybeautytruck.com
• Phone: 310-919-0099
• Email: mybeautytruck@gmail.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/mybeautytruck
• Facebook: facebook.com/mybeautytruckla

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.