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A sitdown with one of our Reality Show finalists

Preface

The road to the next big reality show has many twists, turns and challenges, but we have yet to meet the the people whose stories will drive the show. While the final casting has yet to be announced and/or solidified, we sat down with three smart, talented finalists to find out more about them. Here’s Dina Brown’s story:

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“Everyone’s always telling me, “Girl you need your own show! You’re crazy, you need your own show!’ stuff like that.”

Well, Dina. That time may have come.

The young mom/entrepreneur/bartender/stylist is a woman of many different layers and oodles of charisma. Hailing from the great state of Connecticut, Dina leads an eventful life that’s definitely not for the weak-hearted. One moment she’s thrifting, handling big stakes bills or designing clothes for her boutique, Venom Vintage. The next minute, you’ll see her as the picture-perfect mother to her beautiful two children. “It’s a good life though,” Brown says confidently. “It’s a good life to live; it’s hard, it’s non-stop”

It wasn’t always this way, however.

“I started thinking of my own business three years ago, sitting on my couching thinking, ‘Oh man, wouldn’t it be so great to have a place that’s a boutique along with an art gallery and performance venue (for) all the arts under one roof?” It took about a year for Venom Vintage to finally get off the ground, but after two years operational, it’s safe to say the mission was accomplished. Brown’s business has served as an elevated platform for not just for local artists in Hartford, but throughout the state of Connecticut and New England at large. One major focus is graffiti and enlightening patrons who flippantly dismiss the works as vandalism or scribbles. There’s not much opportunity for the artistically inclined in the capital city and budget cuts to public outlets have only made it worse. Fortunately, Venom Vintage has become the ideal venue that many youths and young adults crave to express themselves.

“I’m really big into the elements of hip hop….I’m talking about beautiful aerosol art,” said Brown. “I want to open people’s minds to things you only see on Instagram or Facebook, like the murals that are in California and stuff like that,” said Brown.

The benefits of such a free-flowing forum for ideas and creativity is the diversity of perspective and fashion that’s been thrown into the mix. For a professional in fashion , it’s truly a blast. “I really love finding a combination of all the different eras”, said Brown. “Like I’ll have 1950s style high-waisted shorts with a cut-up crop top from the 80s; use our imagination”. Yet that’s still not the full story. From fashion shows for area high schools to fundraisers for the local Prom, creative events for numerous charities and benefits for children suffering from cancer, the organization has made it a priority to give back. It hasn’t gone unnoticed. Out of 2700 small businesses, Venom Vintage won a statewide contest by NBC Connecticut to be featured in a spotlight; voted in not by judges, but the body politic themselves.  

“As far as support goes that shows you right there”, said Brown. “I mean it was a voting cap to win and we got the most votes so I’m excited and I worked really, really, really hard.”

The key behind all the juggernaut’s success? Balance and time management. Brown says that both traits come from maturity and experience. There’s no better way to establish that without trial and error, “unless people are simply born organized”, she quips. Whether it’s overloading your plate with too many things to do or simply forgetting that one task you couldn’t quite place your finger on, it’s best to be proactive and prepared. She’s always talking on her phone, plugging it in, charting down important dates and notices. A quick look into her bag and you’ll find at least 5 different agendas to track progress. Some will get more use than others, she admits, yet all are nevertheless important in establishing order.

“It’s about recognizing what your flaws are and not feeling bad about it,” she said. “Like if you know that you’re bad at (organizing), don’t feel uncomfortable taking out the agenda and writing it down”. Many people get caught up in their problems and appearances vs taking steps to fix them. She continued her previous statement saying. “If I’m trying get organized and it’s following through for myself when I’m following my agenda and not forgetting anything, there you go”. She concluded with a prompt to us all: “You just gotta try hard and fix your flaws, eliminate your flaws”

We have a pretty good idea about what makes her tick, but what is the reality show finalist like behind the scenes? 

To give a better insight into her personality. We set asked a set of questions with the opportunity for her to answer and elaborate in her own words.

OM: How would people describe you?

Dina Brown: I think that people don’t really know me. (When) I say people that don’t really know me, like I have friends on Facebook or people that know me through meetings, who know me as “Dina Brass”. "Oh, that’s Dina Brass!”, you know what I mean? People that are like “Oh, oh, she’s crazy, she’s wild, she’s outspoken, she always tells it like it is or whatever”. But people that know me-know me. People that know not just Dina Brass….me…would tell you that I’m just honest; brutally honest to a fault and that I’m loving and that I’m caring and that I’m very social. I have a really, really good ability to see both sides of the story and see through the bullshit. I’m a great mediator. People say that I’m trustworthy, i’m honest and loyal.

OM: What has your experience been like as a finalist. Talking to Annmarie, getting to this point in the run up to the show….what is it like?

Dina Brown: “I told my grandmother, you know, I told my roommate, told my kids and my children’s father, you know what I’m saying? Just because that’s my support system. So say I have to be away for like two days or a week, or whatever, you know what I mean? I need to make sure that my kids are number 1. I have to keep everything straight, which of course (I do), (because) I have a great support system.

But yeah, no, I don’t let (the hype) affect me at all. I’m still a finalist, but when I cross the threshold and I got the ok, I’m signing the papers, working off contracts…I’m doing all that and they’re like “Ok, we’re really gonna do this”, it’s a reality for me? Wooo!! Ask me the question again because it might be different. I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch and I’m out you know.

OM: What would you like people to get from your first introduction to us?

Dina Brown: I don’t know. I don’t know. I’m just a….I’m just a normal person with a big personality and striving for greatness.  I’m excited to do it and I’m excited for people to be able to see it…to do it with me. It’’s not just me by myself for show. People are watching, people care what you’re going through, what you’re doing and I think that that’s dope.

The other thing is that I have people that don’t like me and that’s fine, that’s cool, like I’m the roast queen so I’m ready for that.

OM: Any Final Words?

Dina Brown: I’m know I’m ready (to go). Are you ready?