Peter Rein of Denver on Life, Lessons & Legacy

Peter Rein shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Peter, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Well, my fiancée and I recently adopted a puppy, a 6-month old boy named Rebo! He’s full of energy and absolutely loves people. Rebo is some sort of Australian cattle-dog mix, we’re guessing mostly red heeler. He’s brought some much-needed levity to our lives.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a voice actor, musician, audio engineer, and small business owner. Peter Rein VO is my voice over business, and also works as a general umbrella for the services I provide. As you might guess, voice over is my primary service, and it includes narration, commercial voice over, audiobooks, video games, telephony (which is basically any time you hear a voice on the phone, for example the ones that have you screaming “Let me talk to a person!!!”– sorry and you’re welcome?), and more!

I also have developed a separate wing of my business titled “Voice Over for Small Business,” where I focus specifically on working with other small business owners and brands on effectively and creatively using a professional voice to elevate their connections with their customers or clients. My services in this are expanded, including audio engineering, video production, consulting, and more!

I’m also a musician and engineer, so I help other voice actors with their audio setup and acoustics, and will sometimes provide my skillset to musicians as well as needed.

Essentially, Peter Rein VO can be pretty broad or very narrow focused, depending on the day and the need of the client!

Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
This goes out to two people: My fiancée, Anastasia, and my original voice over coach, Tim Powers.

Without Anastasia’s love, encouragement, support, and never-ending belief in me, I know there is no way I could have pursued such a difficult and intensive career path. She was confident in my success way before I was, and I have long since learned to trust her judgement. (She also has a doctorate and two masters degrees, so she pretty much always knows what she’s talking about). This industry has many ups and downs, and is one where the average ratio of rejection to booking is at least 100 to one, and she stands by me through it all. She also let me take over a full room in our house to build my studio, which is no small thing, and I’m so grateful.

Tim Powers is an incredible mentor, advocate, and friend. He also has a very keen ear, and as cheesy as it sounds, he can hear potential for talent very early on. He’s also known for telling it like it is, and being honest if people aren’t cut out for this industry. Similarly, if you show up, put in the work, and have the dedication and talent to build a voice over career, he will empower you. Tim’s proverbial stamp of approval was the first I received in this industry, and one of the one’s I still cherish most.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Oh, definitely. Making a living in a creative industry is incredibly challenging. It is an industry where you are consistently undervalued, taken for granted, or replaced with whatever the “cheapest option” is. The rise of AI hasn’t exactly helped moral either. Creatives are also often in the unique position where our external value is tied to our craft, which usually means our self-worth is tied to it as well. For example, I don’t just play music or voice act, I AM a musician and I AM a voice actor, and so often it feels like any failure or success is not just an aspect of my business, but a reflection of who I am.

Fortunately, I have a strong support system in my personal life as well as in my voice over community that is incredibly encouraging and uplifting. So though there have been moments where I felt like throwing in the towel, I can lean on my community to lift me back up.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes, of course. And no, of course not.

I always try to be authentic in everything I post or write publicly. After all, if someone hires me for my voice, at least a sliver of my personality comes with it. That bit of personality is probably WHY you hired me in the first place.

That being said, social media is a dangerous place– hard to build and easy to tear down. So my social presence is me, authentic, but with some polish. I try to stay professional, or at least creative-professional. Do I reveal my deepest, darkest emotions, thoughts, and secrets to the world? No, because I don’t believe that serves me or anyone else. I take the time to re-read posts, re-take videos and pictures before I post them because the internet is forever. Would it be more authentic to always post off-the-cuff and unedited? Maybe, but that’s not my style.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
This is a fun question, because for me it’s neither.

Nobody told me to be a voice actor, nobody told me to be a musician. Quite the opposite in fact, I was often warned about those career paths.

So was I born to do either of those? No, I don’t think so. What defines something you were “born to do?” In my mind, it’s what you naturally had a propensity towards growing up. For me, that would probably have been math or science.

I was not a naturally talented musician, I was one of the worst in my class when I started. I didn’t have a great sense of rhythm, I couldn’t match pitch until I was a senior in high school. But I wanted to be, so I worked hard.

I also wasn’t innately gifted at voice over. When I started, I already had years of music training and improv experience which helped, but I didn’t start out good. I also definitely don’t have a voice that makes people go, “Oh, you should do VO!” But I wanted to, so I worked hard.

So I didn’t do what I was born to do, I didn’t do what I was told to do, I’m doing what I want to do, and what I’m willing to work hard to do.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
McBoat Photography

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