We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brandi England. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brandi below.

Brandi, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

We have managed our own social media for the first 7 years. We made this choice because our mission is personal, and so the stories/lessons etc we wanted to share with our audience are personal as well, so we made the choice to create the posts on our own. I think for others, it really depends on if you have time to post consistently, and enough content to post authentically, those would be the two big factors for our success I believe.

Brandi, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Brandi, and I am a talent manager, as well as a passionate mental health advocade. I got into these two industries to help people and because people in my life told me to (lol)… sometimes life just shows you your path, and that is what happened to me.

I believe that mental health needs to be a regular conversation, not something taboo, and that all industries (including the film industry) need to be cognizant of the humans in it. Working in an industry where its hurry up and go, around the clock, demanding schedules etc isnt always easy for actors to try and have harmony between work, life, their dreams etc… and its not easy for agents/managers all the time either to be honest. Our phones ring non-stop, and setting boundaries to protect our mental health and have harmony between work and life is not easy, so we know how it can feel for an actor to have to pause life to turn around a quick audition tape (not always easy to do!).

One of the things I am most proud of is how my colleagues and I strive to be an advocate for those that may be afraid to use their voice, and to remind the industry while it moves very quickly, that people make the industry special, and so we have to slow down sometimes and remember to take care of each other. I am so grateful for the amazing humans in my life that support me, so that I can support our talent.

If you have an suggestions or thoughts on this, we would love to hear from you as it takes many voices in unison to make a difference.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

During a very busy time in the industry, someone very close to me and very special in my life passed away from their own struggles with mental health. To be honest, I wanted to crawl into bed for a long while and just cry, but I knew I had actors that depended on me with their dreams, so we push through. The team around me supported me every way possible so I could grieve, and less than a year later I was able to publish a book to help actors, and dedicate it to the memory of this person. Life is funny (and not in the haha way), but it closes and opens doors in ways you never think it will. I think resilience comes from having a purpose and a community around you of support.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

My #1 peice of advice is to actually ask people how they feel. So many times we throw parties or do pizza fridays or give an extra vacation day, and those are all fun and lovely, but sitting down, 1 on 1 with people in company, and asking them how they feel is paramount. Ask your team how they feel about work, what you can do to make their days more fufilling, what changes they would make in the company or even day to day satisfaction working for the business, that is how you truly give value to those around you.