1 00:00:15,050 --> 00:00:17,810 Hello everyone, and welcome back to People You want to know 2 00:00:17,810 --> 00:00:20,930 podcast. So excited to introduce you to a 3 00:00:20,930 --> 00:00:25,090 friend and our very first guest that's APR professional Rebecca 4 00:00:25,090 --> 00:00:29,050 Brooks of Rebecca Brooks PR. Often on podcasts like this, we 5 00:00:29,050 --> 00:00:31,970 hear from the stars, the celebrities, the personalities, 6 00:00:32,210 --> 00:00:35,850 but who are the people working behind the scenes to support 7 00:00:35,850 --> 00:00:38,400 this talent? And what does it take to support 8 00:00:38,400 --> 00:00:40,360 the best? That's what I wanted to chat 9 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:42,720 with Rebecca about. Rebecca is the founder, 10 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,320 entrepreneur, and intuitive strategist who launched The 11 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:48,400 Brooks Group at the age of 25 in New York City. 12 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:52,320 From the beginning, her work has been guided by a deep ability to 13 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:55,200 see potential before it's fully formed, and to help people 14 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:58,560 translate who they truly are into stories the world can 15 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:01,320 understand. For more than 25 years, Rebecca 16 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:04,400 has partnered with visionary entrepreneurs and creators at 17 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,080 pivotal moments in their journeys, helping them clarify 18 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:09,800 their voices, expand their platforms, and grow with 19 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:12,080 intention. Her early transformative work 20 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:14,680 with Rachael Ray marked a turning point for the agency, 21 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:17,480 expanding its focus beyond beauty and fitness into a 22 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:21,520 broader lifestyle lens included hospitality, food, travel, and 23 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:23,800 culture. The story of how Rebecca ended 24 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:27,400 up representing Rachael Ray is pretty incredible. 1 of 25 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:30,160 Rebecca's college friends was a talent agent who wanted to 26 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:33,200 connect Rebecca with Rachael. At the time, Rebecca didn't know 27 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:36,800 much about hospitality and food and that industry was nothing 28 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:39,360 like it is today. She was basically like, what's 29 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:41,680 Food Network? Rebecca had said no to the 30 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:44,240 meeting because food personalities weren't really a 31 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:47,040 thing back then, and Rachael said no to the meeting because 32 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:48,720 she had a really bad image of PR. 33 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:51,200 Our people. The college friend, convinced 34 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:53,840 them to meet anyway, and the rest was history. 35 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:57,960 Rebecca helped pioneer what we now know as the Lifestyle of 36 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:01,600 Food category, and it opened up so many new doors. 37 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:04,360 Rebecca's company has represented famous chefs like 38 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:08,320 Jacques Torres, Andrew Zimmern, Guy Fieri, and Adam Richman, and 39 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:11,520 she's helped launch products for Chrissy Teigen, Thomas Keller, 40 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:14,720 and many more over the years. She's represented personalities 41 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:16,520 in various other categories as well. 42 00:02:16,920 --> 00:02:19,880 After the original Queer Eye, she presented Tom Felicia to 43 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:22,200 build his brand. She worked with Lori Graner from 44 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:25,040 Shark Tank, Samantha Brown who was originally on Travel 45 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:28,560 Channel, Frederick Eklund from $1,000,000 Listings and much 46 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:30,280 more. In addition to her work as a 47 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:33,240 communications leader, Rebecca is also a Certified Women's 48 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,760 Leadership Coach, a Reiki Master, and a lifelong student 49 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:39,240 of mindfulness and energy based practices. 50 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:42,840 These disciplines inform the way she leads, listens, and advises, 51 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:45,760 bringing presence, clarity and intuition into every 52 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:48,040 partnership. Outside of work, Rebecca finds 53 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:50,840 grounding and joy and movement and exploration, cheering for 54 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:53,640 her sons and husband from soccer stadiums around the world, 55 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:56,920 strength training, practicing yoga and meditation, hiking, 56 00:02:56,920 --> 00:03:00,120 traveling and gathering around the table to experience food and 57 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:03,440 culture with friends and family. What can I say, folks, she is 58 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:04,880 really a people. Do you want to know? 59 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:07,840 There's a bunch of other cool historic moments that Rebecca 60 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:10,480 has made happen that I figured I should mention to you. 61 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:13,440 She was there with Guy Fieri when he received his Hollywood 62 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:15,840 star. And Guy, as a thank you, even 63 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:18,840 made Rebecca her very own star plaque with her name on it. 64 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:22,320 In general, she got to know Guy very, very closely and she even 65 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:24,440 booked Guy on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. 66 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:27,760 Rebecca got Rachael Ray her first Oprah booking, which then 67 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:30,560 ended up establishing the partnership between Rachael and 68 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:32,840 Oprah. She was Gary Vaynerchuk's first 69 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:36,320 PR team when he launched his wine library.tv product. 70 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:39,680 If you remember those days. She supported a few of his other 71 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:43,560 key projects like his book Crush It and then his wine brand 72 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:45,400 Empathy. I'll add that I had the 73 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:49,080 tremendous privilege of of being roommates with Gary's nephew, 74 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:51,800 David. David, if you are listening to 75 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:53,760 this, you're the best of the best. 76 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,600 Of course, Rebecca is also entirely responsible for making 77 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:00,360 Andrew Zimmern's appearance on my podcast happen. 78 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,280 I am so grateful she trusted me with this conversation. 79 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:07,320 Behind every successful person is a whole team, a whole 80 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:10,160 village. PR people make or break your 81 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:11,960 career. They are integral to your 82 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:14,760 development as a creative chef, whatever it may be. 83 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:17,800 It's so cool to get a glimpse of Rebecca's world. 84 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:21,240 The more I learn about PR, the more I realize that it's really 85 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:23,960 more of an art than a science. It's having the right 86 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:26,600 relationships, being in the right room at the right time. 87 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:29,840 I have so much respect for this incredibly challenging role 88 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,520 that's so crucial to the success of all of the personalities we 89 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,160 know and love. I also want to add a bit about 90 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:38,200 Rebecca's intuitive work. Now. 91 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:41,400 What I'm about to share doesn't have much to do with what she's 92 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:43,960 doing, like the practices, meditation, Reiki. 93 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:48,040 But learning about it from her made me want to go down a rabbit 94 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:52,600 hole here because I wanted to understand what's accepted 95 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:57,240 versus frowned upon in Judaism. So what does the Torah say about 96 00:04:57,240 --> 00:04:59,360 psychics, mediums and all that jazz? 97 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:03,120 Dreams, intuition, spiritual discernment, all of that is 98 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:05,000 integral to Judaism and Jewish life. 99 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:08,400 It's more like consulting the dead, fortune telling and 100 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,400 sorcery that are frowned upon. And there are different reasons 101 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:13,600 why they're frowned upon or outright forbidden. 102 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:17,480 Firstly, it's giving Pagan a lot of practices, like sorcery for 103 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:19,560 example, are associated with paganism. 104 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:23,520 Judaism also encourages trust in God, which fortune telling is 105 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:26,200 the opposite of. Those who claim to be fortune 106 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:29,440 tellers can give false hope to vulnerable people, which is 107 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:32,160 unkind. I'll also add the spiritual 108 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:35,720 explanation for something like this is that we're meant to live 109 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:38,560 our lives in the fullest here in the physical world. 110 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:42,680 When we engage with mediums and fortune tellers, etcetera, our 111 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:46,800 soul is connecting to something it's not supposed to connect to 112 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:49,360 right now. It's connecting prematurely. 113 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:52,960 As with all things in Judaism, there's a weird delicate balance 114 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:55,920 and a lot of Gray areas here when it comes to Jewish 115 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:58,400 mysticism. It's very, very gate kept. 116 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:02,080 Lots of rabbis out there have like psychic, like medium like 117 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:04,200 abilities, but they'll never ever share. 118 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:06,520 It's on an if you know, you know basis. 119 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:09,280 Anyway, that's my little tangent on the woo stuff. 120 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:11,880 Please enjoy this episode. Rebecca. 121 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:14,760 Hello, welcome to people. Do you want to know podcast? 122 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:18,200 So great to be here, thanks for having me. 123 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:22,800 I am so excited to chat. Look, I have a lot of people, 124 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:25,760 all sorts of guests. Many of them are always, you 125 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:29,280 know, in the camera. And you are my first PR 126 00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:33,560 professional on the show and I think you are the dark horse of 127 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:37,480 the industry and there is so much wisdom and interesting 128 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:39,800 knowledge that you can share with my audience today. 129 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:42,120 So please tell us about yourself. 130 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:43,840 What do you do and how did you get there? 131 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:48,960 So I grew up in Saint James, which is a small town in Long 132 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:53,240 Island. And my parents, especially my 133 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:56,640 mom, they were so proud of being Jewish. 134 00:06:56,640 --> 00:07:01,160 It was very important to them. My mom was very involved in 135 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:05,440 Hadassah. She had countless fundraisers at 136 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:07,840 the house. They brought us to Israel many 137 00:07:07,840 --> 00:07:12,240 times and especially loved entertaining for the Jewish 138 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:15,400 holidays. I learned so much from her. 139 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:19,160 I learned actually, when I think about it, I learned hospitality 140 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:23,440 from my mom, learned about entertaining, making people feel 141 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:28,640 welcome, and just showing up and Sedaka giving back. 142 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:34,880 And for me, Judaism is about community, connection and 143 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:38,000 contribution. There was always an underlying 144 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:42,440 expectation that you show up and really do something meaningful 145 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:45,160 that lights you up. And for me, that made a lasting 146 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:49,400 impact. I went to Hebrew school. 147 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:55,280 I may or may not have been known for cutting some classes, but I 148 00:07:55,280 --> 00:08:01,360 did graduate and I had my bat mitzvah on Masada, which was 149 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:07,000 absolutely just like a momentous experience growing up. 150 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,440 I was also known as a little bit of a rebel, so. 151 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:12,280 I can see that. I can see that. 152 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:16,560 And that that theme definitely carried throughout my life. 153 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:20,400 But at that particular time, my parents really wanted me to date 154 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:24,240 someone Jewish, and I always did the opposite of whatever they 155 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:27,720 said. So that went on until about my 156 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:31,640 sophomore year in college when I met Meadenburg. 157 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:38,000 Now, Mark grew up partially in Israel and I have to say my my 158 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:39,679 parents are really, they were thrilled. 159 00:08:40,159 --> 00:08:44,800 And after college I went with him to Israel to meet his 160 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:47,840 family. And a few years after that we 161 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:51,520 were married. We have two kids, Max and Sam. 162 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:57,960 Sam lives in New York City and Max lives in Los Angeles, and I 163 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:00,160 have to say I feel incredibly blessed. 164 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:04,560 They are thriving and living their best lives. 165 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:08,840 I want you to talk about how you started your business because 166 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:11,840 that also deals with your husband and his. 167 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:15,640 Family, totally. So for me, I'm I was a 168 00:09:15,680 --> 00:09:20,080 communications major and I had absolutely no idea what I wanted 169 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:22,680 to do. So I went to Boston University 170 00:09:22,680 --> 00:09:26,320 and when it came time to choosing a major, I closed my 171 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:31,280 eyes and I was just like, OK, PR, that sounds great. 172 00:09:31,680 --> 00:09:35,200 I love people. I consider myself a people 173 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:37,800 person, but I really didn't know anything about it. 174 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:44,000 Clearly it was meant to be. And when I graduated college, my 175 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:48,800 first job was in a really big corporate PR firm and I was in 176 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:51,960 the consumer electronic and investor relations group. 177 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:57,040 And I have to say I didn't even say it feels obvious like do 178 00:09:57,040 --> 00:10:00,760 something you love, join APR firm that has clients that you 179 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:03,720 are passionate about. I just didn't know. 180 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:09,320 So I took the first job I could get and I worked at this agency 181 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:11,680 for a year. I hated it. 182 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:17,480 I learned I could not conform to corporate culture and but I did 183 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:21,720 learn as well how to be a good assistant, how to deal with a 184 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:26,000 lot of difficult personalities. And I also learned that I need 185 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:29,840 to find a job with clients that light me up. 186 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:36,120 So I left that agency and I started looking for a job. 187 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:39,360 It didn't happen right away. So I decided, OK, I love 188 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:42,280 fitness, so I'm going to become a fitness instructor. 189 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:46,040 And I started teaching various classes. 190 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:48,760 And then I realized, OK, if I could combine things that I'm 191 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:52,040 passionate about fitness and beauty at the time, then it 192 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:57,040 would be the ultimate job. So I went and I found an agency 193 00:10:57,040 --> 00:11:03,240 that had beauty clients and it was this very small agency and I 194 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:06,160 learned everything there from from A-Z. 195 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:10,960 So at a really young age I started bringing clients into 196 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:18,040 this agency and I I loved it. And I also realized I wanted to 197 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:23,600 work at another agency that had fitness clients, so I took the 198 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:27,920 beauty clients that I brought into this agency and went to 199 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:31,560 another company. So I learned I could not conform 200 00:11:31,560 --> 00:11:33,760 to a corporate culture, and that's not for me. 201 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:38,960 I also learned I had a knack for new business, so I decided I 202 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:41,800 would start my own agency. What was the worst that could 203 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:44,760 happen? PR is a service. 204 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:49,880 So I started the Brooks Group when I was 25 in my husband's 205 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:51,840 office. He was in the family business 206 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:57,160 and they had a huge space. So I took an office there and 207 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:00,480 when I started the company, our specialty was beauty. 208 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:04,760 Two of my first clients were beauty inventors. 209 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:08,880 One of them was called Hair Dini, and Dini was a hair 210 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:12,360 stylist from Dallas who came up with a product called The Hair 211 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:16,440 Dini and it was spendable foam covered wire. 212 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:19,640 You twist it up into your hair and she went from zero to 20 213 00:12:19,640 --> 00:12:24,520 million in less than two years. And back in the 90s, that was 214 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:28,800 like a huge story. My other first client was a 215 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:32,920 product called Curves and a woman invented that product as 216 00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:36,080 well. She created the first silicone 217 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:38,000 gel insert that goes into your bra. 218 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:40,640 They were. Interesting. 219 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:44,120 Plan of them after that, but she was the first. 220 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:47,720 So in the beginning, for the first eight years we were 221 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:50,880 everything. Beauty, hair care, skin care, 222 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:53,680 cosmetics and a lot of inventors. 223 00:12:54,280 --> 00:12:57,560 Another one of my first clients was Bare Essentials, which is 224 00:12:57,560 --> 00:13:03,000 now called Bare Minerals, and we worked with them for eight years 225 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:08,400 and they grew tremendously. It was a really incredible 226 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:10,640 story. I remember that era, that like 227 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:13,960 golden era of Bare Minerals, when everybody wanted to 228 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:16,840 purchase those products and how well they lasted, how natural 229 00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:18,400 they were. It was great. 230 00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:20,960 It was amazing and I was doing something a little differently 231 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:25,120 back then that is pretty common today, but I was always telling 232 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:29,160 the story behind the product and in beauty PR that wasn't done. 233 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:33,080 It was like you're promoting a foundation or a lipstick and it 234 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:34,920 was just always very straightforward. 235 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:38,960 But I knew there was more to it. And that's how I help my clients 236 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:42,320 even back then, build their brand through storytelling, 237 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:45,480 right? There is a business story, a 238 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:49,440 parenting story, a product story, like it was really the 239 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:52,520 lifestyle of a person. I really think in some sense you 240 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:55,120 were ahead of your time because when we look at like, social 241 00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:58,240 media and marketing today, it's only about storytelling. 242 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:01,160 Like even the largest celebrities have had to kind of 243 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:05,400 make their lives feel small and relatable. 244 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:08,920 Even the Kardashians, you know, with the meme culture and 245 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:12,840 authenticity and relatability, like the vertical series that 246 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:17,400 brands are doing that are skit comedy, we're all boiling down 247 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:19,600 to kind of a baseline of humanity. 248 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:23,520 And that's why I think that form of storytelling people can 249 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:26,240 always connect with. So that's why I think in some 250 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:28,160 sense you were so ahead of the curve. 251 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:32,280 Now, you know, you know, the media NPR landscape is changing 252 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:35,480 rapidly with AI. You know how much time it takes 253 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:40,160 us to send out communication for the Jewish world in particular, 254 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:43,800 it's changed a lot because of the rise of anti-Semitism. 255 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:48,160 Today you support some of like the best, you know, food, 256 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:55,600 hospitality, chefs, creators in our kind of world of media and a 257 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:59,200 lot of them are Jewish, but they're not like Jewish creators 258 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:02,040 in the sense that that's what their platforms focused on. 259 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:07,880 How are you deciding with them how to talk about maybe 260 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:11,520 anti-Semitism or being Jewish? What are those conversations 261 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:15,480 that you're having with them? So for our clients, it's really, 262 00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:20,800 I tell them they have to do what feels true to them and to really 263 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:24,800 talk about what they believe in and not be afraid to just stand 264 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:27,280 in their power and share their truth. 265 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:31,480 And you know, it's each person has to do what they're most 266 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:34,840 comfortable with. So I just share, you know, my, 267 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:37,520 my opinion and kind of help to guide them. 268 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:41,240 And then then they choose really ultimately what they. 269 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:45,240 Want the choice is theirs. I had my first like PR 270 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:48,520 experience recently. For those listening, the Jewish 271 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:50,360 PR space is actually quite limited. 272 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:54,440 Unless you're like a top tier Jewish activists, you know, 273 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:57,880 charging $45,000 and speaking engagement, there's really not a 274 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:00,960 lot of PR support for you. And even then the kind of PR 275 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:04,800 support that's available is on retainer like minimum $5000 a 276 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:06,400 month. If you're a small creator, 277 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:09,320 you're not going to make it back right in a month most likely. 278 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:13,720 And there is an up and coming PR group that I'm in touch with 279 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:16,360 that has done a tremendous amount to support smaller 280 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:18,760 creators like myself, a noise group. 281 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:23,280 And they called me up to do A to moderate a panel with a 282 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:26,600 Holocaust survivor. And so I went ahead and I did 283 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:28,960 that. And unbeknownst to me, they 284 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:32,400 brought in CBS to report on that conversation. 285 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:36,240 They brought in New York Post. And all of a sudden my name was 286 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:39,160 in these publications that when you Google Margarita Laidova, 287 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:42,280 these articles come up. And I had no idea that this 288 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:45,080 would happen. And it was such a cool 289 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:46,920 experience. Like I really understand the 290 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:51,960 value of these kinds of almost passive media opportunities and 291 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:55,160 the long term effect they have in building out your portfolio 292 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:57,880 as a public figure. The thing I want to ask you 293 00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:02,640 about is let's imagine your creator who's gotten themselves 294 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:05,200 in a bit of a pickle. You said something wrong on the 295 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:07,839 record, you made a mistake, you fumble. 296 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:11,400 What are the like do's and don'ts of that moment? 297 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:15,079 In that moment, I mean, today, transparency is everything. 298 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:20,079 And years ago when I worked with Gary Vaynerchuk, he certainly 299 00:17:20,079 --> 00:17:24,079 taught me that. So it's really important to own 300 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:26,280 your mistake. If you make a mistake, if you 301 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:30,480 say something, it's OK. Everyone, we're human. 302 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:34,800 So own it and move on. Don't spend too much time like 303 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:40,800 talking about it or even mental space like own it, move on and 304 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:44,200 people are forgiving. Why do you think so many people, 305 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:49,160 or even artist creators with PR teams tend to double down? 306 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:50,800 Like when they've made a mistake? 307 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:52,680 Are they being advised to do that? 308 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:55,520 What do you mean by double? Down Well, let's say they made a 309 00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:58,600 mistake or there's some kind of crisis, Instead of saying, you 310 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:01,480 know what, this was a mistake, I would like to apologize to 311 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:04,760 anybody that I've hurt. It will be something like, you 312 00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:07,360 know, this was never the intent of our messaging. 313 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:13,160 We did not mean it this way. We are troubled by the response 314 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:15,960 this has gotten as it's clearly misunderstood. 315 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:19,280 Something like that. I would never recommend that. 316 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:23,160 I think it's just own it and move on. 317 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:25,960 Why do people do that? Yeah, I think you're right. 318 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:28,960 It's just it could be some some bad advice. 319 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:34,520 There was one of my favorite podcasts is a behavioral science 320 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:37,240 podcast and as you were speaking about, you know, owning your 321 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:40,520 mistake, it reminded me of apologies. 322 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:44,640 How to apologize correctly as a behavioral scientist. 323 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:50,760 There are 6 Rs that you follow to do a proper apology. 324 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:54,800 The 1st is regret, so expressing regret, meaning owning your 325 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:57,920 mistake. The second is rationale, perhaps 326 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:01,120 contextualizing why the mistake occurred or what led to the 327 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:04,000 mistake. The third is responsibility, 328 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:06,440 taking responsibility for the mistake. 329 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:10,440 The 4th is repentance, showing that you would like to be 330 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:12,400 forgiven. You hope that you can make it 331 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:13,680 right. What would make it right? 332 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:18,240 Repentance is an integral point of showing a sincere apology. 333 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:23,880 The 5th is repair, so explaining how you plan to repair it. 334 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:29,080 And then the 6th it perhaps the most important request to 335 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:34,880 forgive an invitation. OK, Is there a way that after 336 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,800 everything we've discussed that you'd be willing to forgive me? 337 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:41,680 Or will I have made it right? If right, it's an invitation for 338 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:43,640 dialogue, for continuing the conversation. 339 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:47,080 And I thought that that was such an amazing, like, profound 340 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:50,560 framework that of course, when you hear it, you're like, Oh my 341 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:52,400 gosh, that's right. That's so obvious. 342 00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:55,280 But someone really had to think of that. 343 00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:58,240 And there's a mechanism in that that works. 344 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:02,440 The other thing in that podcast that I learned actually was 345 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:07,480 about how to say no, which I think is such a related PR kind 346 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:12,120 of situation where often times when you're representing your 347 00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:15,160 clients especially, you have to say no to things that feel like 348 00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:19,080 they don't fit the brand or they're not in the spirit of. 349 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:21,840 Let's say when you support Andrew Zimmer and maybe he turns 350 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:24,560 down some engagements because they have a different philosophy 351 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:28,040 on hospitality or they're not as other centered as you'd like. 352 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:33,040 There are ways to say no that are strategic in that they don't 353 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:36,640 offend and they don't feel like a no to the person receiving it. 354 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:40,480 So the simple first, simple one obvious is saying no but 355 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:43,400 offering a referral to other resources, right? 356 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:48,440 That's very obvious. The second one is if they ask 357 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:51,840 you in person, tell them you want to think about it and 358 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:55,800 follow up over e-mail because in person you're much more likely 359 00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:58,040 to say yes out of pressure in the environment. 360 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:03,960 Another one, that is if you're the one making the ask, framing 361 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:08,160 it as do you or anyone you know, or taking the pressure off by 362 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:11,200 saying, if this is not up your alley, no pressure, just say 363 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:14,120 hell no. And it's such a light hearted, 364 00:21:14,120 --> 00:21:16,520 pleasant way to give somebody an out. 365 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:20,000 But my favorite one that I've heard recently from Dan Ariely 366 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:22,760 was how to say no by saying you have a rule. 367 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:26,040 I'm going to run a hypothetical example, You know, so sorry, 368 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:27,920 Andrew Zimmern actually has a hard rule. 369 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:31,040 He doesn't do any engagements virtually. 370 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:33,400 We're going to have to pass on this one, but we wish you all 371 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:35,000 the best. I'm just totally making this up. 372 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:39,120 But when you frame it as this is not personal, this is a rule 373 00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:40,680 that applies to everybody equally. 374 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:44,120 Suddenly it's so easy to let them know. 375 00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:46,480 Land without a feeling. Painful and icky. 376 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:50,760 I like the rule idea. The thing is, you can't be 377 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:54,160 fibbing, right? Because if you say no and this 378 00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:57,120 is a rule, then and then he does something. 379 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:01,360 Two months later, of course. I'm, I'm always really 380 00:22:01,360 --> 00:22:05,840 straightforward and honest and I absolutely always will, you 381 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:07,960 know, try to help them find someone else. 382 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:11,720 And the truth is, so our clients are so busy all the time. 383 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:14,600 So a lot of the time it's really scheduling. 384 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:17,200 So it is important for it to be on brand. 385 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:21,200 And if a client is on the fence, I always advise them to like, 386 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:24,600 even to like close their eyes for a minute and feel into like, 387 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:28,600 do they want to do this? Is it a hell yes or is it a hell 388 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:29,520 no? Right. 389 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:31,920 It's important for it to be a hell yes. 390 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:34,280 You always go on your gut. Yeah. 391 00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:39,360 Speaking of trusting your gut offline, you told me about your 392 00:22:39,360 --> 00:22:42,680 passion for spiritual learning and mindfulness. 393 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:45,920 You might be like the only person I know who's attended a 394 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:49,920 Joe Dispenza retreat not only once, but multiple times. 395 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:52,240 And you've also learned how to do Reiki. 396 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:56,200 Can you tell me about this? What brought you to this and how 397 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:59,920 does it jive with your Judaism? So my journey of spiritual 398 00:22:59,920 --> 00:23:04,080 exploration started when my mom died more than 20 years ago. 399 00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:07,040 She was my person. I just couldn't wrap my head 400 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:10,720 around her being gone. So I went on a quest to connect 401 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:13,960 with her. I start going to intuitives that 402 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:17,320 went on for many years. I, I felt like I connected with 403 00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:20,200 her. And one day someone said to me, 404 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:24,240 everyone can do this. I was like, what? 405 00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:31,280 So I love learning new things. So I started taking so many 406 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:34,240 different classes. I became a Reiki master. 407 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:39,840 I learned how to read energy. I took shamanic practices class, 408 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,920 I went on retreats and it's like it's a muscle. 409 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,920 I practice, practice, practiced and learned how to do it. 410 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:52,080 And it's really been incredible because I've always been an 411 00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:57,480 empath and now being able to like, connect with people on a 412 00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:01,640 deeper level, being able to read them, being able to help them. 413 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:05,440 Even in my work, it's taken it to a whole other level. 414 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:10,520 I started going on retreats, various ones, and my favorite by 415 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:13,400 far has been Doctor Joe Dispenza. 416 00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:18,040 I've been on a few. And what's incredible is that he 417 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:22,760 teaches you how to bring your heart and your brain into 418 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:28,840 complete coherence so you can receive messages. 419 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:35,480 And also he he teaches you how to be in the present and in the 420 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:39,160 future, not ruminate on the past, because where you put your 421 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:41,600 attention is where your energy is. 422 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:44,240 So if your energy is constantly in the past and you're 423 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:47,360 ruminating about something that happened, it could be with a 424 00:24:47,360 --> 00:24:50,960 client, a Co worker, a loved one, that's where your energy is 425 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:53,240 and you're never going to move forward. 426 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:59,280 So I mean, I can't some up, you know, 7 days of teachings in a 427 00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:02,840 few seconds, but it's been incredibly invaluable. 428 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:06,840 And when I'm super passionate about something, I find ways to 429 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:10,760 not only spread the word, but even to work with people I'm 430 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:14,840 passionate about. So I started doing some work 431 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:19,520 with his one of his nonprofits called Give to Give and that 432 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:21,720 which is my heart. Interesting. 433 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:23,840 Seven days. It's a long time to do a 434 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:25,400 retreat. This is like a pretty big 435 00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:29,680 undertaking. I am so curious how it develops 436 00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:31,800 for you. I'm wondering what is your 437 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:36,680 message to the Jewish people? My message is we are incredibly 438 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:43,600 resilient and so important to stand in your power and anyone 439 00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:48,160 bring you down and be yourself. Don't be afraid to share 440 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:50,000 messages that are really important to you. 441 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:52,600 Short, simple and profound. I like it. 442 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:55,960 Tell me, how can people connect with you and keep up with your 443 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:58,280 work? They can visit our website 444 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:03,880 whichisbrookspr.com. They can follow us on Instagram 445 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:09,080 at Brooks PR and happy to connect with anyone. 446 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:11,800 Any clients that you want to shout out so people know if they 447 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:14,640 want to do bookings with the clients to reach out to you? 448 00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:18,920 Absolutely. We represent Andrew Zimmern, 449 00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:23,560 Robert Irvine, We work with Jacques Torres, many of them for 450 00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:27,000 more than 10 years. We work with hospitality 451 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:30,960 companies across the country and we're really known for working 452 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:34,480 with personalities of purpose to help them build their brands. 453 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:39,600 And over the years, like our our first food client was Rachel 454 00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:41,680 Ray. We work with her for four years 455 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:43,280 leading up to the daytime talk show. 456 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:46,920 And that's really how I got out of beauty and more into food 457 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:51,000 personalities. And over the years, we've worked 458 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:56,120 with the most inspiring people. When Rachel show launch that 459 00:26:56,120 --> 00:26:59,120 door closed. But we started working at that 460 00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:03,720 time with Andrew Zimmern and Guy Fieri, and we've worked with 461 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:08,720 Scott Conan and Curtis Stone. And I've had some really 462 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:11,880 incredible pinch me moments over the years. 463 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:16,160 Mark and I, we went with Andrew to Israel when he was shooting 464 00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:18,440 Delicious Destiny. Oh my God. 465 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:21,440 OK. I worked with a Cheech Marin to 466 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:25,120 launch his mezcal. This is such like an energetic 467 00:27:25,360 --> 00:27:28,320 career full of vibrancy and experiences. 468 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:32,240 I'm leaving with more questions and answers honestly and I can't 469 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:35,200 wait to learn more. Tell me I have one final 470 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:36,880 question for you is one that I ask every guest. 471 00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:39,760 Is there anyone you'd like to nominate for people you want to 472 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:41,720 know? I would love to nominate Diane 473 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:44,360 Neal. You might know her, or you might 474 00:27:44,360 --> 00:27:47,120 remember her from mine order years ago. 475 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:49,440 She's an actress used to represent. 476 00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:50,640 Interesting. OK. 477 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:56,160 Being made Alia to Israel a little over a year ago and she's 478 00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:58,560 got a phenomenal story. I think she'd make a great 479 00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:00,160 guest. Thanks so much. 480 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:01,400 Thank you very much for doing this. 481 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:04,080 This has been a delight. Thanks for having me. 482 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:07,520 If you've enjoyed this podcast, please go ahead and rate US five 483 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:09,280 stars. Be the first to hear our 484 00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:11,600 episodes by subscribing to PEOPLE Do You Want to Know? 485 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:15,160 Wherever you get your podcasts? And for exclusive content, 486 00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:16,880 follow us on Instagram at PEOPLE. 487 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:17,600 Do You Want to Know?