We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Peppur Chambers a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Peppur thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

It’s really easy for any of us to think about the “shoulda’s” and “coulda’s” when it comes to being a creative artist and starting a career in the field. I do sometimes wish that I had gone to a performing arts school because I would have been given the license to formally study and hone my crafts (dance, music) earlier in life. However, the idea of being a performer was not top priority in our family. Business was. Education was. To that end, I am really happy I went to college and earned a marketing and advertising degree because that knowledge helped me be a business-minded creative later in life…and I suppose in some ways, it extended my creative career over several decades because I had the sense to pursue multiple outlets rather than just one or two.

Peppur, 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?

I’m the founder of the Brown Betties, a women’s empowerment lifestyle brand where I teach workshops to women on how to be sultry, sassy and sophisticated (all the things I learned to be over the years!) “The Brown Betties” originated as the star characters in my 1940s dinner-theater burlesque show I produced for almost ten years, “Harlem’s Night: A Cabaret Story”. They are also featured in my fiction novella, “Harlem’s Awakening” and “Harlem’s Last Dance” (available on Amazon and published by Spaceboy Books).

Brown Betties and Harlem’s Night have been my life’s work, it seems! I went to Marquette University for Advertising & Marketing and was a record-holding track athlete. When I graduated, I had dreams to be in entertainment, but went into mutual funds marketing because, you know, a girl’s gotta eat. When I did leave corporate, I danced as a Chicago Bulls Luv-A-Bulls dancer and also for the Milwaukee Bucks Energee teams. In my heart, I just knew that these stages would catapult me to a life of fame, fortune and excitement, just like Paula Abdul. That didn’t happen exactly! Still, not to be deterred, I moved to New York where I started to sing and act. As a singer, I wrote the songs that would later appear in Harlem’s Night Cabaret. Becoming a trained actor prepared me to take the stage in the show I created where I was able to sing, dance and act. Producing the show and building the brand in Los Angeles was truly full of major ups and downs, but it was also something I knew I had to do if I wanted “to make it”.

Today, I do much more writing than performing. I’m out promoting my latest novel, “Harlem’s Last Dance” now, of which I’ve always envisioned as a film or limited series (#Goals). A short film I wrote and co-produced, “Ownership” is currently in post-production, and my film, “Do Something” is streaming on Tubi. com.

Being a writer has been the through-line in all that I do and that is incredibly fulfilling to me.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I feel like I should rename myself, “Peppur ‘The Pivot’ Chambers”…but then I wouldn’t be The Hot One.

My entire career has been a series of pivots. I’m proud of this. I’m really happy that as hard as change is, I am often not haltingly afraid of taking a risk on something new, especially when the status quo just isn’t working. I am a goal setter and I am very driven; these traits make it hard for me to not try every avenue to make something that I want to work. Like a robot in a corner, I do bang my head against a wall when I get stuck; thankfully, I only do this about 10 times rather than 100 before I realize I need to turn and pivot away from that dead-end corner and find a new way to my goal. Oftentimes, I think that art of the pivot is one of the most useful skills we can develop.

Recently, with my novel, I was out pitching to agents. I really wanted an agent and no one was responding to me. I felt like that robot. And this time, the dead-end and headbanging were emotionally painful. I just couldn’t take the rejection. So, instead of continuing on that path, I pitched my book to Nate Ragolia, an amazing friend and colleague who has a publishing company. A fellow author, Nate made a pivot himself years ago and created his imprint, Spaceboy Books. I’m deeply honored he accepted my book to print.

As creatives, and as business-minded people. If we want to see the way, sometimes we must create it. That is a form of pivot.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Because I’ve experienced Hollywood, one lesson I have to keep learning is that gatekeepers hold a lot a of power, but they don’t hold all of it. I hold the power, and if I want to succeed, it is up to me — not others allowing me to do so.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.peppurchambers.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peppurthehotone/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppur-chambers-29972b1/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Peppurthehotone
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@herwordshiswine1924/videos
• Other: www.penandpeppur.com

Image Credits
Leticia Rey Photography Benjamin Mills