Today we’d like to introduce you to Braylen Brooks.
Braylen, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I moved to California about seven years ago, in August of 2010 to work for Smashbox Cosmetics. My main goal was to move to LA and get into television. After I moved to San Diego, I picked up a second job at Aldo. I was working there when this actress named Sheree Swanson walked in and complimented me, asking if I had ever thought about styling. I said ‘no,’ and her response was, “Oh, well I work on pilots all the time in LA. If a designer on set ever needs an assistant or anything, I’ll definitely tell them about you and let you know.” So two months later, she called and said she was working on this pilot called Shared Spaces, which Miguel Núñez was producing.
So I met the wardrobe stylist (Lynette Tyner) on that set, and we became really close. She actually had properties in LA, and I told her I really wanted to move to LA, so she said, “I’ll lease you out while you’re here.” Back in San Diego, I was going through a really hard time, I was homeless, going from pillow to post, just trying to figure out what I was going to do. So when I got to LA, I just kind of hit the ground running professionally, but personally, it didn’t last. I was really notorious in my group of friends for crashing Hollywood Red Carpet events. Any event, you name it, Golden Globes, Grammy’s, Oscar parties. I think it really worked for me because I was completely oblivious to knowing who anyone was, so I wasn’t intimidated. At the same time as that was happening, I was living on Skid Row, where I lived for about a year. There was a huge contrast in my life—I was living on Skid Row, in a facility, and at the same time, crashing these lavish Red Carpet events.
I met Joanna, the founder of Scenester.TV, at an event that I crashed. I overheard her saying, “You know, I’d really like to interview the celebrities at this event, but I don’t have a host. We have the equipment, but no host.” This was at Madame Tussaud in Hollywood, and I just kind of leaned over and said, “I can interview them, it can’t be that hard.” She kind of looked me up and down and said: “Okay, well let’s have you test on the wax figures first.” So we did that for like 15 minutes, and after that, I started to interview the celebrities that were there. Larry King, Nick Cannon, Soulja Boy, and Vanilla Ice were my first interviews. At the end of the night, she said, “Hey I want to start this Hollywood red carpet web series for the outlet, and I think you’d be fit for it, so I’ll call you in a couple of months.” So she did, and then we did the Golden Globes and some other fun things like gifting suites for the Emmy’s and the Oscars.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My life seems to be really going great. I never had a problem obtaining an opportunity. My personal life just always seemed not to have much of a stable balance. I’ve always experienced two extreme contrasts in life for example.
Being homeless/living on skid row while attending Hollywood events interviewing public figures on the red carpet. I was exposed to many things; thankfully I never picked up any bad habits such as drug abuse and other things that could have hindered my success now that I currently have. However, my journey has not been easy.
Please tell us about The Real Life Mannequin (The RLM Agency).
I built up a strong online platform from doing red carpet interviews, so it was only.
Natural progression for me to start partnering up with brands to highlight and promote them. run a Luxury Lifestyle Fashion Travel Platform (The Real Life Mannequin) (RLM) is a multifaceted platform where I create and curate editorial photo and video content for luxury boutique and corporate brands internationally to highlight and promote to create effective brand awareness and to promote brand strategy.
This has allowed me to creative consult/brand -Image other upcoming brands from marketing/content development and social media Development. This is a new venture that I just launched (The RLM Agency).
I am also launching an Exclusive Social Club this summer! I’m excited because I will be partnering with a Blockchain Private Jet Charter Company! This is something I’m really proud of. The social club will give members the opportunity to travel luxury at a ‘’discounted rates” only through affiliations and partnerships orchestrated by the RLM Agency/Platform.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
When I was 16, my mom took me to a model casting. This was right after my dad committed suicide on Christmas Eve.
Obviously, that isn’t my favorite memory but the fact that I had a vision and a dream to look forward to keep hope alive for my family changed my perspective on life, and I’m so thankful I was able to attach on to something that gave me drive ambition and perseverance
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Www.instagram.com/BraylenBrooks
- Twitter: Wwww.twitter.com/BraylenBrooks
- Other: TripAdvisor.com/members/thereallifemannequin

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