We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tamara Washington a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Tamara, appreciate you joining us today. Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?
I had just walked away from television news. No safety net, just the clarity that I was done and the quiet knowing that I was built for something more. I knew I wanted to start a PR firm, but I had no roadmap for how to actually get there.
Then my friend DJ Cruze Control — who was a Red Bull deejay at the time — called me up and said, *come to South Padre Island.* He had a set to play for Spring Break. I wasn’t working, so I went.
When I arrived, I looked around and immediately noticed something that felt wrong: there were major names performing — Snoop Dogg among them — and virtually no media in sight. No cameras, no journalists, no coverage. And I thought, *this doesn’t make sense.* These were the instincts I’d built over years in news, and they kicked in automatically.
So I did what I knew how to do. I started making calls — reaching out to media contacts I had in that market, people who could also help amplify it to a national level. The response was strong. Cameras showed up. Coverage happened.
Red Bull executives were in the building, and they noticed.
The next day, I got a request for a meeting.
I walked in, we talked, and by the time I walked out — Red Bull was my first client. I started on their music side and eventually expanded into their sports division.
I hadn’t pitched them. I hadn’t sent a deck. I hadn’t even planned for it. I just saw a gap, trusted what I knew, and moved. That’s the origin story of Boom Media — not a boardroom moment, but a beach in South Padre Island where I couldn’t *not* act.
That’s still how I operate today.
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?
Seventeen years. That’s how long I have been building, protecting, and elevating brands through my firm, Boom Media and Image Consulting LLC — and I’ll be the first to tell you the journey hasn’t always been pretty. But it has always been purposeful.
Before Boom, I was in television news. That background isn’t just a line on a résumé — it’s the foundation of everything I’ve done. Working in news taught me something most PR professionals never fully learn: how journalists actually think. What they’re looking for. What makes a story land in one market versus another across television, radio, print, and digital. That insight, and the relationships I’ve built along the way, gave me a rolodex that is genuinely rare in this industry — and it still gives me a distinct edge over my peers today.
“The news comes on at five, no matter what,” and that philosophy drives everything. In news, if something falls through, you don’t fold. You find a way to fill the hour and keep things moving. I’ve carried that same relentless, solution-first energy directly into entrepreneurship.
What I do:
My work spans the full spectrum of brand building and protection. Through Boom, I offer media training, image consulting, brand strategy, crisis communications, reputation management, business development, business management, product placement, event management, sponsorship and partnership development, event creation, and public relations — for athletes, executives, founders, entertainers, non-profits, and corporate clients.
I also lead Boom Effect Entertainment and Sports (BEES), extending my reach into the worlds of sports and entertainment with the same strategic precision that has defined my career.
If you want someone who can build your brand from the ground up, I can do that. If you need someone to protect it when things get complicated, I’m built for that too.
What sets me apart:
It’s the combination of journalism instincts and PR execution that I believe puts me in a unique category. I don’t just know how to craft a message — I know how a journalist receives it, what they’ll question, what they’ll cut, and what will make them call back. That perspective informs every strategy, every pitch, and every media training session I conduct.
I also have a particular gift for creating events that don’t just happen — they resonate. My signature productions, including Cocktails 4 A Cause, Kitchen Throwdown, and The Ultimate Most Dopest Dodgeball Charity Challenge, are proof that I don’t just manage events; I build experiences people talk about long after the lights go down.
What I Most Proud of:
Longevity. In an industry where firms come and go, I have been standing for seventeen years. Not because it was easy — I’m clear that it wasn’t — but because I refuse to quit. And I am more energized about what’s ahead than I’ve ever been.
I’ve learned so much and I am genuinely excited about this next chapter.
What I Want Others to Know:
If you’re considering working with me, there’s one thing I want you to understand before anything else: I am a fighter. For my clients, without exception. I will protect your name, build your strategy, and push until the goal is not just reached — but exceeded.
That’s not a tagline. Seventeen years in, it’s a track record.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
Where the Best Business Comes From:
For me, the best clients don’t come from cold outreach or ad spend — they come from the work itself.
The most consistent source of new business for Boom has been existing clients and the partners born out of those relationships. When I do the work right, the people in the room talk. Referrals follow. Collaborations form. And signature events like Cocktails 4 A Cause and The Most Dopest Celebrity Dodgeball Game have functioned as living proof of what Boom can do, putting my brand in rooms full of exactly the kind of people who need what I offer. The events aren’t just productions. They’re pipelines.
The second wave has come from sports — specifically, women’s sports.
Seventeen years of working in the sports space has positioned me at exactly the right intersection at exactly the right moment. Female athletes are no longer waiting to be recognized. They’re taking over, and the industry is finally catching up. That shift has opened significant doors for Boom, particularly around signing female athletes and expanding into NIL consulting — a space that is still evolving, still growing, and still in desperate need of advisors who understand both the business and the brand side.
Women in sports are being recognized and taking over. And I’ve been ready for this moment for a long time.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
The Pivot That Changed Everything
About three years ago, I had a moment of honest reckoning with where the industry was heading — and where my business needed to go.
The digital space was no longer optional. Clients needed digital consulting, digital brand strategy, and media training built specifically for online platforms. The problem wasn’t the vision. It was the economics. Client budgets had shifted, and I had to find a way to deliver real value at a scale that made sense for both sides of the table.
So I got creative…Out of that challenge came ‘Boom Tip Thursdays’ — a consistent, themed content series that delivers targeted, actionable tips around a specific topic each month. What started as a practical solution to a budget problem became something much bigger: a channel, a community, and a direct line between Boom and the clients who needed me most but didn’t yet know it.
The results have been real. Strategy sessions have been booked directly from it. Visibility has grown. And I am still building it, still refining it — because that’s how I operate. I don’t wait until something is perfect to launch it. I launch it, learn from it, and make it better.
I’m still building it and perfecting it — and there’s no apology in that. There’s pride. Because the pivot wasn’t a retreat. It was proof that when the rules change, I change with them, and then finds a way to win anyway.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://boommediaandimage.com
- Instagram: @boommediaandimage @boomtamara
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tamara.m.washington |https://www.facebook.com/BoomMandI/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamaramwashington/
- Twitter: @boomediandimage @boomtamara
- Youtube: @CEOBoomTamara
Image Credits
Tito Garcia
David Settle
I have the rights to use the images