We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Britain Simons. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Britain below.
Britain, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
Funny story actually. This one goes back a bit. To those just getting acquainted, I’m an actor, content creator and natural health educator. I love uplifting people, entertaining and hopefully making a meaningful difference. The first time I knew I wanted to pursue an artistic career was as a teen. I think everyone has that nexus moment, that forks their life path in one definite direction. Most would say- I chose the least practical, most unpredictable and financially irresponsible decision. Acting. But, I wouldn’t change it for anything. I’ve carved a rewarding path.
I was always an artist. I excelled in pottery, painting, and even showcased my art at a few art shows from a young age. My only access to entertainment was two small town movie theaters and shows on tv. I was considering being an architect or engineer like my father, and I didn’t think much else of it. I was highly introverted and liked fixing things, so it made sense.
One day, when I was 14, everyone in my grade was shuffled off to see a local high school theater production, a preview. I didn’t know what to expect- having never seen a theater show and not knowing much about them. We were all seated. The theater went dark. Crowd murmurs went silent and a moment of anticipation. Then, the first lines of the play filled the room as the lights came on. It was magical. I remember feeling a different kind of excitement. It’s important to note, I was deathly afraid of public speaking, or really anything in-front of anyone, but I was in awe.
I just remember thinking how incredible it felt to be watching so much art and creativity all in one place: the set, the painted backdrop, the story, the actors, the costumes, the colorful lights and everything. It was a different world. By the time the play ended, I was buzzing with excitement. I knew I wanted to do “that,” whatever “that” was, but it was also terrifying because I knew it would mean I would have to be in-front of people. I would shake just thinking about it.
About a year went by, and now I was in high school. I started seeing flyers around school to try out for this year’s production. I marked the date. It took everything I had to show up to the theater room after school for the audition, try-outs. I wanted to conquer my fear. Walking into the packed room, the theater kids were loud, everyone was taking. I felt like the square peg trying to fit in a round hole. We signed in. I scooted past people to the back and sat behind, on a raised and carpeted stage. What was I getting myself into? I looked around the room and saw the prettiest girl I’d ever seen. Now, I was really nervous, but excited.
The theater director started writing the character names on the board. Going over the character descriptions and the plot of the play. One stuck out, Snazzy Mitchell, a coming of age character. He was meek, maybe a bit nervous (like me) and gained courage throughout the play. I could do that. And, he kisses a girl, and beats the bully, in the third act! Wow, what if? It was an ensemble cast, so maybe I’d get one of the smaller characters. I’d be okay with that, if anything.
People were called up in different groups to read scenes together. The directer would have some people stay and some would switch out, chemistry tests. The girl I saw earlier was up a lot. She was so confident and read for the main ingenue. Then, the moment came. I heard my name called. I read for Snazzy Mitchell, that character… with that girl, in-front of everyone. My hands were shaking, and sweating, but I got through it. To my surprise, I stayed up for a few more readings and read for another character. It was all a blur.
A week went by, and the wait was torture. Then the cast list was posted. I stood in the hallway looking at the tacked piece of paper. Like a movie. It was surreal. I got Snazzy, one of the main characters in the play, and that girl got the my love interest. As a teen boy, the feeling didn’t get better. I was over the moon.
It came time to actually do it, a play. Weeks of rehearsals followed. I never had so much fun, but it was still terrifying. I had stage fright, but I pressed forward. Then, came time to rehearse the kiss scene. I had never kissed a girl. I was too nervous every time, so we had to block around it. I dipped her, like we were dancing and we touched cheeks to “sell” the kiss. Opening night came. I didn’t drop one line or miss a beat. The play premiered and we had a standing ovation every night. A perfect run.
I conquered my fear. The energy, the people, the audience, the new friends, and the experience changed the course of my life. It took years to sink in, especially where to attend college, and what to study, but that was the moment I knew I wanted to pursue a creative career. What is life without passion, purpose and love? I knew then who I wanted to be and what I wanted to do. Nearly 20 years later, I’m happily married to the love of my life- an incredible woman, Kristy, and I’m still doing what I love.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m your everyday working actor, educator and online personality. But, lately, I’ve leaned more into the influencer community and social media marketing. I really enjoy helping small, purpose-driven businesses and artists grow their communities. I spent over ten years working in Hollywood television, film and commercials. I learned a ton from acting in front of the camera and working production, behind the camera. I use that experience in building my social media platform, work in entertainment and to coach others online.
All the while, one of my personal hobbies began to blend into my social media presence. I love studying science based natural healing and wellbeing, which blossomed into another career endeavor. Funny, the unexpected path life takes you.
Side note: The NIH (National Institutes of Health), Science Direct and PubMed (.gov) have a massive public research databases, so I would peel through thousands of studies about hundreds of herbs, detox protocols and traditional remedies.
I noticed a lot of health hacks, and “miracle remedies” going viral on social media. Out of personal curiosity, I would always do my due diligence. I’d spend days, weeks, months researching deeper, depending on the topic. It’s been a private passion of mine for years. But, I decided to start sharing my research discoveries publicly, online, and it went massively viral. My work was helping hundreds of thousands of people. Millions of views. I also studied meditation and deep hypnosis for wellbeing. I made completely free meditations and loved hearing the beautiful stories of the overwhelmingly positive impact it was having. I spent the last few years growing a community on TikTok, based on wellness, to around 323,000 followers talking about official .gov studies. It was incredible to build such an active and passionate community.
Unfortunately, many platforms (TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, etc.) started mass censoring and banning traditional and natural health accounts. I have many content creator friends that lost hugely popular channels. This is just my personal experience, but we’re talking accounts like mine with hundreds of thousands, to millions of followers, completely wiped off the map. All, allegedly, due to pressure from Big Pharmaceutical Giants (advertising money) and the Biden/Harris admin concerns over “misinformation,” e.g. not mainstream information or official narratives. “Alternative, traditional, and hidden” is the deep end of the pool I loved to swim in. I thought I was safe from the infamous “community guidelines violation” because I meticulously created quality educational content, but alas, they got me too. A volley of flags on my account, zero help from support, and TikTok banned me. I had no recourse. Simultaneously, I was massively censored by Meta (Facebook & Instagram). It makes you wonder about the state of free speech in America. Interesting times we live in.
It still breaks my heart knowing the countless hours and dedication, the videos, the comments, messages, interactions and community members (followers) supporting each other, that all got burned from existence. Like, books on a modern digital bonfire. Despite all that, you must plough forward and go where the people are. Back to the platforms.
I’m proud that I figured out how to use the social media algorithms to my advantage, through much trial and error. I’m proud that I could help so many people learn amazing things through my educational content and I’m proud to still connect ethical companies with the right audience. It feels amazing to create incredibly beneficial and empowering information and share it with those that need it. Today, I still run one of my surviving Instagram channels, collaborate with affiliates, coach artists and business owners, and act in the occasional film productions- to feed my soul. Real and rewarding success comes when you dedicate your talents and time in service to others. 
How did you build your audience on social media?
Since, I’ve mentioned social media so much, I think this is a great question. Here’s one big piece of advice I wish someone would have told me when starting my accounts and channels. It’s not about you. People try to become influencers, aka influential, for the wrong reasons and they fail because of it, too. I call it the “Kardashian” effect. Irreverent celebrity is a lotto played by large corporations that need a face for their brand. It’s millions of ad money and revenue that has nothing to do with you. It’s a mirage. We simpletons don’t have millions of dollars to blow, and plaster our faces on billboards. We have to think differently.
I started my social media because, like everyone, I wanted to share vignettes of my life with family, friends and acquaintances. I would post selfies, get-togethers, the beach, vacations and outings. The typical page. There’s nothing wrong with that and everyone should maintain that connection with the people they care about. It was a great way for my loved ones, especially my parents, to feel close to me even when we were unable to catch up over the phone, but there needs to be mindset shift for follower growth.
Social media has drastically changed since I started my Instagram 10 years ago. That idea of a small, stay up-to-date, simple sharing with your network idea, has morphed. Mainly due to modern algorithms. Many people are changing from private pages to public. Everyday moms, dads, students, and even grandmas are seeing the value of running a more popular account. To put it bluntly, new influencer wealth is a big draw. Especially, with current market inflation, rising costs, job loss and bills stacking up. Or, they want fame, but those are all consumer mindsets. It’s a backwards approach. From consumer to producer. Social media content creation takes a boat load of time, effort and dedication.
Before I grew my follower count, my account had maybe 600 followers, for years. That was and is normal, but here’s my advice. Switch your thinking from what can I get, to how can I serve. Service to others. That’s the magic sauce. That’s what changes you from an average consumer to a producer. If you want to create, ergo produce, it has to be something of value to other people. Pay more attention to what people are asking for, needing and wanting, than what you need and want from them. And the value cannot be vanity, “why don’t they like me?” It’s not about you anymore if you choose to pursue this path. A big part of my success is dropping my ego, to make something others need, want or are excited to discover. What demographics are most attracted to your style: age, gender, stage in life, and interests. Find the point where your skillset meets their needs and make that into content. There’s always more to build on from there, but it is a core mindset shift that took me from 600 to 300,000+ followers, and millions of views.
One more tidbit- Are you willing to look silly to your peers? Are you willing to be publicly judged in order to make something entertaining and valuable to the audience you’re trying to attract? Are you willing it stick it out through a lot of failure to discover what works? That’s the big question that only you can answer.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
There’s one thing that society, or really you (reading this), can do to support artists. Do everything in your power to support online free speech. Every artist worth their salt has something to say. Art shapes culture. It’s so important to the fabric of our daily lives. We express through painting, sculpting, TV/movie scripts, live performance, theater, music and entertaining content. Whatever medium it is, it always finds an audience on social platforms. But, as it stands, artists today don’t have the same free speech rights online, that they do in public. The legal protections haven’t caught up to our modern digital age, at least in the United States. Corporations control what we say online, until we pressure our government leaders to protect us from corporate censorship, or we pressure platforms to change their “community guidelines” by migrating our attention to more free speech platforms.
It’s actually more controversial now than ever to support free speech, because at its core, it means you must protect even the voices of those you vehemently disagree with. Now, that excludes anything illegal. But, for everything else, it means we can have public discourse without fear of being silenced or imprisoned by governments (see England currently), corporations, the rich, or anyone that seeks to hold power over you. You can comment any criticism of anything you want, positive or negative, because of that freedom, but it’s being quickly eroded.
Sign petitions, share content, elect free speech advocates, criticize any politician that echos talk of censorship through propaganda buzzwords (misinformation, conspiracy theories, national defense, civic integrity, etc.). Flood platform’s customer service portals and politicians with criticism and accountability, when creators you love are censored, banned and defamed. Free speech is the bedrock of society and the core ingredient in any valuable art form. Art tells stories, inspires, entertains and needs you more than ever to defend that creative expression.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.britainsimonsnow.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/britainsimons/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/britainsimons/
- Twitter: https://x.com/BritainSimons
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_WjR-XWNL84zPeM_03wJYg
- Other: For inquiries regarding social media feel free to reach out on instagram or my website contact page.
For TV and Film casting info please visit my official Actors website here: https://www.britainsimons.com
Image Credits
Britain Simons