Today we’d like to introduce you to April Monet.
Hi April, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Growing up an athlete, my whole life revolved around sports. I was a multi-sport athlete who had big dreams of playing pro basketball however I suffered from 2 torn ACL’s between high school and college that ended my basketball career. I went on to play women’s pro football and suffered another torn ACL. During my football career, I met a publicist that represented pro athletes and celebrities who casted me in my first movie. Since clearly, my pro sports days were over, I decided to pursue a different career path that still kept me involved in sports as much as possible. However, since the movie, I had also developed a deeper interest in acting and decided to pursue that as well. I started working with the publicist and found that PR was something I was naturally good at. After about five years I started my own PR Firm, A.M. Elite, and started repping athletes and entertainers. I’ve been going strong on my own for the past six years representing many players in the NFL, NBA, and WNBA helping them with their branding and media exposure, as well as a plethora of actors and musicians. I’m still acting as well, I have been on a few television shows and movies and I’m still hoping to be cast as a villain in a Marvel movie.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
A journey on the road to success is hardly ever a smooth one. Running your own business is hard enough as it is, then factor in being a black woman and a single mother, it’s 10x harder. There have been many obstacles over the years that have tried to derail my path. I’ve dealt with high profile public relationships, homelessness, domestic violence incidents, racial profiling, bad business deals, crazy clientele, sexual harassment, and currently dealing with a situation where my child was kidnapped by her father … and yet I’m still standing. I’ve learned many lessons along the way, lost some friends, gained some friends, been in love, had my heart broken, but it’s all made me who I am today and I’m a stronger woman for it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Besides just running a successful PR Firm, I’m also an active entrepreneur. I love cooking and just launched my new cooking line Monet Gourmét. I also love essential oils and have released a new Aromatherapy on the go product called Rin’GO Aroma, they are disposable nose rings infused with natural essential oils. Philanthropy is something else that I hold close to my heart. With any of my PR clients, I’m always looking for ways to give back to the community. My favorite part of working with my athlete clients is the kid’s camps and community events we do during the holidays and off-season.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I think it’s important to have a wide network. You have to get out there and let your face card be known. I love going to events meeting new people and discovering new collabs and business ventures. My advice would be to always be genuine. I’m very authentic when I meet people and I feel like that’s what they respect and remember about me the most.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @iamaprilmonet
