Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Renae Baca. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Renae , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

Back in 2009 my boyfriend Shane Stowell owned a Recording studio in Hollywood before I came into his life called QRS STUDIOS. We met at Astro Burger on Santa Monica Blvd 2011 . I was singing in the parking lot and he offered me a business card to go record out of his studio. I told him I could not afford it and he insisted on getting me to go over. Eventually I did. We ended up becoming great friends, which turned into a relationship FOR 4 1/2 years eventually he got really sick healthwise and passed away. His mother decided to give me all the recording equipment because I was a singer and told me to figure it out on my own because she was from Hawaii & was not shipping anything bk to the island . I was devastated and alone I didn’t know what to do , my mom had recently passed two years before him. And here I was in Hollywood all alone, heartbroken and left with shattered pieces of my dreams. I originally came to LA from Albuquerque New Mexico to pursue my dreams as an actress. I worked on breaking bad in a few movies as background . I never thought I would end up with a recording studio or much less try to run it on my own. I took a major risk because I had no other choice and I didn’t have a job at the time, I was left with his SERVICE dog Ripley who recently got stolen and not knowing an absolute thing about the business, except for what he had taught me . eventually the building I was in called Ametron electronics on Selma and Argyle shut down, and I had to relocate somewhere else . I had been living in a Recording studio for many years and showering at the gym nearby. It was studio life something I never thought I could do but I did, and it was survival for me. I end up moving to Beverlywood with a sound engineer Roger Romero who was in the same building as Argyle, and had to get out as well. The property had gotten sold, so they were tearing everything down. We pretty much found a small spot which was a room upstairs from a tattoo shop on Cashio and robertson and stayed there for several years, we were getting clients and I was working part time at a pizza shop . eventually, I had to sue the landlord, who was a producer because he had a brother there that was using drugs, and had a parrot bird that was using the bathroom everywhere. It was a mess and it was a bad situation for my clients to come and see a guy passed out with needles in his arms. I went to the law library, dtla I represented myself, I won my case and eventually I ended up in Burbank a new location & throughout that time. I ended up finding Piece by Piece which is a nonprofit that does mosaic art with glass and now I am certified five years later and able to sell my Art. The reason why I mentioned this is because on my way to the library, they were outside selling art, and that’s how I got introduced into the program that has partially helped me with my mental health . after that situation with Court I ended up relocating to burbank. I was there for about three years until Covid. I had a mentor and a life coach who was a wonderful lady, named Elani Kay but eventually financial factors came into the situation, and she became a greedy person after she saw that I was running a Covid site with another business partner & extorted me for a bunch of money which I still have to sue her within the next year cause I have two years. I also started a business with a Man Named Omar from Baltimore, who is a homeless man and an aspiring filmmaker. He was interested in me romantically n made lies about me but because I declined to date him n then he cut me out of the juice business that I had started , I was giving him rides to the gym every day taking him to the airport and helping him out as much as I could. We were a family at 4000 W. Burbank
but eventually things took a turn in the so-called owner turned out to be a scam and a fraud and other people in the building were suing her. Again I was devastated with people. I thought I could trust again. I decided to pursue the Recording business still and relocate all the equipment to a new building at 4942 vineland things were good for a month until our windows got busted out.. the owner named Anna did nothing would take our money and complain. Our windows were broken after the second day of moving in & we eventually had to board things up and paint and get help from friends. cops were constantly being called for all the drama we had to go through inspectors were there every week and it was a mess .We built a dance floor on one side and a recording studio on the other side, we had to go to court for pipes, busting water, damaging the floor ceilings and equipment getting damaged yet again, the energy of the situation was bringing me down in my mental health. I stayed positive with my business partner, who is an amazing dancer and has his own dance collective called sessions. for nine months we stayed there and provided dance and recording sessions for our clients until our business started getting broken into and we had to sleep in the night after night even though we had cameras and police constantly came . goin through it was a process and a headache. Eventually we went to the burbank courthouse and had to go through a trial with everything that we went through, it was hard emotionally an with lack of support it destroyed my relationship with my business partner Bliss which ended up bringing me back to Hollywood Boulevard where I now reside, and have all my equipment in my apartment . I’m looking for a new location and waiting on a settlement so I have the funds to be able to do things by myself again although I do want to pay for my sag union because I have three vouchers from acting.. it has been very hard to trust people, especially in Los Angeles, and I still have not found the circle of people that belong in my life. I have gone through a lot of ups and downs, but I have decided no matter what to stay positive and thankful to God, for all that I have. . I am still taking my art classes and acting gigs from time and other jobs I do . i’ve been connected with an engineer by the name of RJ, since 2018 who has been a wonderful lead and helping me with all the clients that we have and working out of other studios. I still have my Google listing and people still call me almost every day, and I plug them into other studios since mine is on hold right now. The past 10 years have been a struggle with smiles and frowns throughout it. All
I have met a lot of superstars, celebrities and hollywood clients that people are fascinated by as for myself I am a recording artist as well. I have modeled bras for savage, Fenty, and acted in plenty of music videos, bastilles torn apart- bellys consuella – fallout boy hold me tight and events with other collectives and Artists – there have been times especially during Covid when I had to put things in storage and live in a tiny home that was another situation and I was thankful for the shelter although I did have to deal with a lot of drug users and homeless people that were not motivated like I was
I was begging God to get me out of that situation and eventually I did within that time I got into three car accidents where my head busted open and the car rental place has not taken accountability so of course I have to go through another settlement. It’s just been a lot of issues and I’m ready for my life to change for the better , me and my fellow artist Mark Daniel and Isaac Armani did a mural on Hesby & Lankershim please go check it out
Art is the only thing that has healed me through this emotional roller coaster I call life. I aspire for so much more this inspires me the art inspires me, and all the struggling stories from people who are wanting to make it to where they want to be also inspire me. there are days when I cry and Beg God 4 Change – I know he listens and change is inevitable. I’m single right now with no kids eventually I want a family and I want to be able to get my passport and travel around the world but for right now I’ve been working on a children’s book that I just wrote & illustrated it’s about my dog Ripley that got stolen. I have so many ideas and things I wanna do and I’m so thankful I get to live in the city of Angels that protect me and bless me to continue to have opportunity and pursue each day with an open mind to stay positive.. it’s really hard out here, financially emotionally and if you don’t have support. I wish for anybody who is going through the struggle to stay keeping your head up and don’t give up.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I knew I always wanted to be an actress and into the film industry. I never knew I would be in the music industry although I absolutely love to sing and was a karaoke host for five years, and won several singing competitions . It was just something that happened. although I am a singer, I never pursued it seriously because of acting & that was what I came out to do when I left home in new mexico . I learned a lot about the business by going to different seminars, talking to people who have been successful in what they are doing, and mainly networking and finding events on Eventbrite. I have gone to NAMM 🎶👂🏽 for several years and been introduced to a lot of people who have guided me and giving me information and resourceful needs for the industry that I am in. I have solved a lot of issues for people by being resourceful and having connections and truly caring about the well-being of the artist that come into my life and creating better relationships especially for people who have also been mistreated like myself. what sets me apart from everybody else is staying humble, knowing that the blessings will constantly come in not rushing the process or getting on the level of greed to destroy relationships or business. Everybody wants to make it to the top, but everybody has their own idea of what the top is. the thing that I am most proud of is being able to stay afloat through all the drama, all the heartache, and all the despair that has caused around me while trying to live my dreams staying positive is hard especially when there’s so much chaos going on with everybody else. PTSD can be triggering, especially when you don’t really have that much mental help and your therapist can talk about friendship as well only provide so many sessions. I am a 420 friendly. user so I would have to say that Mary Jane played a big role in me not losing my sanity. my brand is my art. I make merchandise I make stickers I make art and you can find everything on the Piece by Piece website that I do or message me and ask for custom work.. I am full of colorful of life and I just want to be happy and put smiles on peoples faces

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

cofounder and business partner had already had the business years prior before I had met him. His name was Shane Stowell he was in a wheelchair handicap from the waist down. He was an amazing sound engineer who knew how to mix in master. He also had a service dog by the name of Ripley, who is very favored by anyone who came around her she was very smart and also was on Cesar Millan’s show, we met at Astro Burger in the parking lot. I was singing and he gave me his business card. He told me some jokes I laughed. He kept telling me to go to his recording studio, but I kept declining because I told him I couldn’t afford sessions. Eventually we became good friends. My grandma passed away in New Mexico. I had to take off I left for year and he wanted me to move back to hollywood , eventually I did he gave me my own unit and I became his secretary. I was booking sessions for him. We became close and ended up in a 4 1/2 year relationship. He would take me to Hawaii with his family. We would spend time at the amusement parks up and down Hollywood Boulevard going to our favorite restaurants hanging out, going to other jam sessions and meeting Artist and enjoying the recording sessions in his studio at the old Amron building behind the Palladium, which is now new apartments

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

yes, there have been times when I have cried myself to sleep for having to pivot in this business and in my career in my life there has been times when I’ve needed the most help, and I’ve never asked for it because I was afraid of being told no, after hearing it, so many times from your family and your friends and your closest people around you you tend to give up on asking for help and try to figure it out on your own and sometimes you disappoint yourself when you can’t do it all but sometimes you also let yourself down when you try to trust people who don’t comprehend and get it the way that you do when you expect better . that’s why I have already taken six months to reflect and focus on my mental health so I can get back on the grid and push even harder to where I want to be. Everything I’ve ever wanted has come to fruition, and being here in hollywood has only made it a little bit harder, but I won’t give up and my best advice to anybody out there who is going through a hard time is to just keep pushing use the anger and the heartbreaks the despair, the discouragement, and everything that you’re looking for that you can’t find as fuel to get to the next stage just like a Nintendo game .

Contact Info:

• Website: www.se55ions.com
• Instagram: naenaevizion
• Facebook: renae s baca
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