Local StoriesMay 19, 2022

Daily Inspiration: Meet Brea Monét

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brea Monét.

Hi Brea, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
As a Michigan State Spartan chasing my dreams to be a journalist, I felt that I wasn’t doing enough. I was staring at my senior year in the face, ashamed, without an internship, and hopeless about my future. Towards the end of my senior year, I went to do a news story for an up and coming photography studio called The Creative Playground owned by the one and only Jet Mitchell. During our interview he offered me a social media management internship for the studio. Coincidently, a childhood friend of mine who is currently a photographer (Isaiah Owens, @iro_entx2) popped his head around the corner to say hello. I had later discovered that he was a member of the studio and was in desperate need of management. I decided to take the internship, allowing me to get Isaiah aka IRO off to a good start with management and gaining more clientele. Within three months of managing him, IRO creative directed dozens of shoots including my mother’s 55th birthday shoot. I helped IRO start his own beginners level modeling agency called IRO’s Intellectuals. From there, IRO skyrocketed. Our assistant Joz was the first of many models to be published in publications such as Black Magazine and VoyageATL.

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?
In the beginning, there were many life stressors that challenged IRO and I. COVID-19 was a major stressor. It put a hold on a lot of events which put everything at a halt for us. Many people were scared to leave the house and really put the CDC guidelines into practice. As creatives, we felt like a rock stuck in a hard place. We had no idea how to pick business back up. That’s when we started IRO’s Intellectuals. Girls from all over wanted to join to gain experience and expand their portfolio. Then we hit another rock. Michigan Unemployment had shut down and school was starting back up. Many of our girls are out of state college students. We lost most of our girls to school and economic reasons. It saddened us deeply and IRO and I had to push past this setback and get back to what we do best; scout, educate, and execute.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am most proud of my drive, craft, and passion for storytelling. Partnering with IRO showed me I can be a jack of all trades. My management skills for IRO personally helped me step out of my comfort zone to be a better journalist. Towards the end of my internship, I seen a demand for social media leadership with businesses ran by millennials and older. I created my own business called @Monets.Montages, a content creation business for artists, creatives, freelancers, and other businesses. IRO started out as a client and from there, my business began to take off. I began making reels, Tiktoks, and news stories for lash techs, nail techs, hairdressers, photographers, musical artists and even personal trainers. From one local business to another, I felt honored to do what I love while supporting black/local businesses.

One thing that differentiates IRO and I from the rest is our drive and passion for what we do. Both IRO and I are 22 and 23 years old, in college pursuing multiple degrees in business management, journalism, communications, and more. We study and do our research before we execute. As a manager, journalist, model, creative director, set director, and businesswoman I plan to take myself and every client to the highest limit God will allow. I love what I do, and I cant wait to see what opportunities arise once these degrees are in my possession.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My favorite childhood memory is participating at an acting and modeling contest at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. I was 11 years old when I first heard the radio ad on 97.9 WJLB. I called the number and pretended to be my mother (talk about good acting skills, lol). I scheduled an audition and told my mom she was going to have to drive me Downtown Detroit to the Westin Hotel. My mom, in disbelief and a little curiosity, took me to my audition. Once I got to the Audition, there was a huge conference room with hundreds of chairs and a giant screen in the front of the room. Off in the corner, there was a camcorder and a line of kids reading lines off of half sheet papers. The camcorder was connected to the projector, allowing everyone to see you on camera. I walked up, read my “got milk” commercial selection and left. Two days later, I received a phone call saying I had a callback and an invitation to the acting competition called THE pronounced (TAY) in Orlando, Florida. I had three months to prepare for this competition, studying monologues and commercials. During this time in my life, my dad had received neck surgery, putting him in a neck brace for months. I had no idea if I was going to be able to do this competition without the help of my dad. He ended up rehabilitating himself every day before the competition so he could be there for his baby. When I got to the competition, I gave my all. Many of my competitors thought I was the best one there. In the end, I didn’t win due to a flaw in the system, I wasn’t a model. Little did I know, it was only the beginning. After the competition, I was reached out to by talent agents and managers. From there, I auditioned for shows on Nickelodeon (Haunted Hathaway’s), Cartoon Network (an ICE Cube production), and even Disney Channel (Frenemies). One manager asked me what I wanted to be when I got older. I told her a Talk Show Host. She said “show me”. So here I was at age 11, making a 45 minute talk show titled “The Best of Brea”. The show focused on education, healthy eating, and even a live band performance. I even recorded my own commercials. I loved this time in my childhood. Little did I know, everything happens for a reason….

Pricing:

Reels/TikToks starting at $50
News PKG’s starting at $80

Contact Info:

Image Credits:
Isaiah Owens Instagram: Iro_entx2

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