Britney Viores shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Britney, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Painting. Anytime I’m feeling lost or overly emotional I pull out a canvas from my pile I’ve collected of refurbished canvases and I project all of my emotion and energy into them. As time has passed over the last year I’ve poured my literal heart and soul into my art and it’s progressively gotten more and more intricate and more detailed. I’ve fallen in love with each piece more and more. Looking back at where these canvases started, abandoned at some goodwill or thrift somewhere and where they end up with these beautiful pieces of my heart on them, so intriguingly graphing my growth and my journey invigorates me to my core. I see it as such a beautiful thing to witness.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Britney Viores and I am an entrepreneurial creative (a master colorist/ business owner + painter) based out of suburban Atlanta Georgia.
I’ve been through a lot in my 12 years in the hair industry. Raising a daughter alone, 2 failed marriages, not having a healthy family / home base since childhood and constant scrutiny from others,
I’ve pushed through, learning myself, my strengths, weaknesses and today I am the happiest and most successful I have ever been. You know growth and comfort cannot coexist- something I learned and overcame a long time ago. It’s been a whirlwind of emotion and fear but inevitably I’ve prevailed and have made sure through every ounce of doubt and scared feeling that I had that I dug out the courage and mustered the ability to continue to take risks which has not only made me a great business owner but an even better stylist overall as well as a human that I am proud to walk around with the face of. I am proud of myself and my determination has always been my superpower.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
I grew up always feeling like too much. Too much curiosity, too much enthusiasm, too much bravery. It was shunned for the majority of my life, growing up I had a very toxic home life with very little support and through a lot of “shadow work”, mindfulness and healing of old wounds that kept resurfacing time and time again in my life- I’ve learned to embrace my truth and live it fully with no apologies. I’ve found that not only through this so I feel the most free I have ever been, but the relationships that I have with people in my life, especially my daughter, are more grounded and real than I could have ever imagined. I’ve taken a long hard look at the generations of trauma even in my own family and I’m breaking that cycle in every aspect.
I also like to use my chair as a safe space to help other women find their voice in their own truths of their journeys and being a part of that is one of the most rewarding things about what I do.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I used to look at my past and look at it as baggage, a burden if you will. I was single mother, lost essentially in the mundane redundancy of parenthood and responsibility, but as time progressed and I saw for myself that not only was I providing and building a path for myself and my child that I was also paving a way for other women in my situation (one that can have the tendency to look like dead end road, one of survival at its best) I saw that my determination really gave way to embark on a relentlessness that is necessary to break the stigma and even generational cycles where people can have a tendency to be stuck in. Being in this place, seeing what I’ve seen, feeling what I’ve felt, even at the time of the harsh and unbearable I’ve never felt more powerful and I use all of that to be what I am now- which is thriving, my daughter 2 years from now
graduating highschool, she’s powerful and incredibly intelligent and even more unapologetically herself than I am. Seeing her be capable and brave in all she does, makes me feel whole. Having the security to possess these qualities within herself is what I’ve fought so hard to give her no matter the storms I’ve faced.
I have built this beautiful life, rose from the Ashe’s -I am doing it on my own, all the while helping others see their own light and their own ability to reach further. I am truly grateful to be where I am now.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
They know that my truth is the most important part of who I am. That I’ve been through hell and back and despite all of it that I’ve held steadfast in being a good mother and role model to my daughter. I’ve never hid myself from her, good, bad and ugly. I’ve been real and straightforward through the whole process of where I’ve been to where I’m at now. It’s helped shape her and give her real perspective on the human experience, because it doesn’t come with an instruction manual. No one is perfect, neither are their stories, life really is what you make it and mine has been one of growth, strength and determination.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope my legacy is one of triumph and perseverance. The pain made me stronger and built me into what I became. Despite the struggle I never lost the ability to love and push forward- which a lot of people tend to lose during triumph. I should be bitter based on what I’ve been through but at the end of the day I still find gratitude in even the smallest of things and am always open to loving more.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @britneyviores
