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

Queen , appreciate you joining us today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.

One of my favorite quotes from my dad is, “We don’t raise anything soft around here!”During a moment of failure, he and my mom would comfort me, but not coddle me and encourage me to pick myself up in order to keep going. An immediate example that comes to mind is my relocation to the U.S. Coming to America from a tiny island where people eat differently, talk differently, and live differently required a tremendous amount of heart. My parents believed in me, I watched them believe in themselves and as such, I learned to believe in myself as well. “I don’t stop”. I love this the most about me. I have also come to learn that internal gifts, growth and self love makes one wealthy, not money. I believe if you strip me down of all my material things I am still wealthy because, what is inside me is priceless.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I entered the entertainment industry starting off as a regular masquerader. Myself and one of my sisters decided to play but I found myself wanting to do more with the costumes. I always wanted to wear the bigger costumes since a child. I have always had an eye for beauty, I am driven to look different, be different and be extra. Call me “Team too much!” Lol! It is from there I decided that designing costumes and entertaining was something I could actually do and do well. My business is formed from my culture. Trinidad has one of the largest carnivals in the world. Opulence Mas sells an assortment of costumes, from swimsuits to large, beautiful, ornately designed feather backpack pieces. The ultimate goal is to make people feel good. Our costumes make our clients feel regal, beautiful and allows them to walk in their own personal power. I have literally seen a client put on their costume for the first time and start to cry from the overwhelming joy of becoming their own hero. I chose Opulence Mas because, it represents luxury, wealth and strength. The costume is a visual spectacle but it is transcended into an experience when clients get to participate in an Opulence Mas event. Whether it is a parade, art show, wedding or any other event, the experience makes people forget their problems. The broken heart you felt before arriving, the financial issues on your mind, and other stress divinely disappears. Now that I think about it, it seems like what I sell is a “good energy” package.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I sincerely believe, being kind, personable, having strong communication skills, fulfilling tasks as promised, wearing my heart on my sleeve, going the extra mile and consistency all played a part in building my reputation in my market. I am to the utmost best of my ability, the same person regardless of my environment. I have found that being my authentic self takes me much further in everything that I do. What’s sets me apart from a lot of other business owners in our industry is, I am hands-on and participate alongside my clients. In my mind, each client is family and we are having fun together like family should. People meet me while on the road after carrying a large costume on my back for miles, physically bruised and battered from the strain on my body but genuinely smiling through the very end. People remember my exotic look but more importantly, they never forget the way I made them feel. That is my brand.

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

I had to unlearn trying to keep up with the society. Society sets definitions of people and behavior in order to create simple categories. I’m here to break all of them. I set out to create my own definitions by letting my soul and instincts guide my actions. I had to unlearn not having a voice. I speak positivity and truth. I hope to change the world by changing myself. Love is contagious. I had to unlearn fear. Fearlessness is a gift that a lot of people do not have. I thought blending in, staying in my comfort zone and operating as I was told, would be enough to be successful. Once I learned my power and embraced my own authenticity it changed the game for me and placed me on an upward trajectory. “Always forward, never backwards. Life is about blessings and lessons”.

Contact Info:

• Website: Opulencemas.com
• Instagram: OPMAS22
• Facebook: Trini Monroe Priceless
• Linkedin: Queen Lashley
• Other: TikTok Opulence Mas

Image Credits
Queen Trini, SBSK Productions, Hugh Morris Photography