We were lucky to catch up with  Aubrey Shine recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Aubrey, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

All of my life I have wanted to be in the Entertainment Industry. I got my real start after I started my podcast “The Shake Up”. Someone at the local radio station heard it and asked me to come in for a live, on air interview. From there, I became a part-time Radio Personality. After a year, I took the riskiest leap of faith ever and quit my day job. I took a major pay cut from being a hospital administrator to live my dream as a full-time Radio Personality. So many doors have opened for me to be a successful business owner (Aubrey Shine Cosmetics), event host/promotor (Aubrey Shine, LLC) and singer/songwriter. I have become a published journalist and a blogger over the last couple of years, which is one of my childhood dreams.
This summer marks 5 years in the industry! Approximately every 6 months my career is elevated with awards, collaborations, publications, etcetera. I am beyond blessed.

Aubrey, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Entertainment is in my DNA. My mother was a Radio Personality and TV Producer for local stations where we lived in Little Rock, Arkansas when I was younger. I would often times wake up early before school to go to work with her at either location depending on where she was reporting. I attended all of the radio station’s events as a VIP and after high school I began doing voiceovers for the competition. Later in life, I moved to Oklahoma and eventually started my podcast “The Shake Up”, which is widely available on platforms such as: iHeart, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etcetera. After about a month of successful interviews with my peers, using my phone to record, the only HipHop and R&B station contacted me and the rest is history in the making. Over the years, I got a logo, an LLC, and a website established. I have hosted and promoted a wide range of events including, the largest Juneteenth Celebration in the nation (2021). I started a small business selling natural skincare and cosmetics for men and women of all skin types. Some of the products include, but aren’t limited to facial oils, beard oil, charcoal mask, moisturizers, eye gel, lipgloss, and lip scrubs.

I began creating and releasing music through UnitedMasters.
All things in reference to the brand can be found on my website www.aubreyshine.com.

I am a published journalist with front page articles in The Black Chronicle Newspaper. I also blog lifestyle and entertainment segments www.womenonair.org.

What sets me apart from most people is that I look to build relationships in each avenue that I may venture to so I’m always viewed as an asset in the networking aspect. I don’t only want to create a name for myself, but I want to help others. I have garnered experience to be able to pass on necessary information about various things. One of my fondest quotes by yours truly is “Aspire to Inspire” and I take that literally. Anytime I can inspire someone to live boldly in their truth and reach for their dreams unapologetically then I have done a portion of what I set out to do.

I am most proud of myself that I never stop going even when I’m not certain of the steps to take. Most of my career has been trial and error. If I can leave the readers with a thought it’d be to, ” NEVER QUIT”.

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Creating a better life for my family and I is the ultimate goal driving my creative journey. Yes, I enjoy the freedom of doing what I love in the best way possible. I also enjoy the relationships I’ve built and the opportunities that have presented themselves. My why has never changed. I want my son, my siblings and anyone looking up to me to see that with hardworking and God, all things are possible. You may not always have the answers, but as long as you get up and do something towards achieving your goals then you’ve made a conscious decision to DO WORK.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Something that I think non-creatives struggle to understand is that creatives work double time to achieve their goals because they often are working for themselves while holding up the demands of working for someone else. As a creative, we are mentally, emotionally and sometimes in a physical fight to continue building someone else’s legacy while striving to be seen, heard and taken seriously. The creative’s journey is not like the typical 9-5. We wake up and work all times of the day and night. Often times we are working simultaneously on our mission as we are for a company. Creatives usually don’t have an off day. It may not seem that way but the mental and emotional anguish a creative goes through from funding their own projects, sometimes not having enough, deciding between bills or their own mission is taxing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.aubreyshine.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeaubreyshine/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheeAubreyShine
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aubrey-shine-67602971/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheeAubreyShine
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU6n85H4YgddbwPAewLe3Rg

Image Credits
James Tingle, MackJuneTV, Lucky 7 and Finally Focus Photography