We recently connected with Brittany Frederick and have shared our conversation below.
Brittany, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
Resilience was necessary for my survival, and from there it became an inherent part of my personality. I was born three months premature and struggled just to stay alive. That fighting instinct was necessary to overcome not only the further health challenges I faced, but also the adversity that came from being consistently prejudged and overlooked. If I wanted to move my life forward in any way, I had to push through these situations and find the strength to carry on. One of my favorite quotes is from the actor Kiefer Sutherland, who said that “Real human beings given incredible circumstances can do some heroic things.”
There have been many people who have put adversity in my path — not just because of my disability, but also because I’ve been much younger than my peers and because I want to do things differently. I still don’t believe that I’ve reached my full potential, because I’ve had a lot of doors close in my face. I had one high school teacher tell me that “You can’t win a bowling trophy because you’re handicapped” and another say that I wouldn’t graduate from college because wanting to overachieve meant I had “an authority problem.” I’ve had bosses who have literally laughed in my face and people who’ve tried to push me around because I was a “little girl.” My initial motivation was my desire to prove those people wrong, and I’m proud to say that I’ve been able to accomplish that. I have a high school bowling trophy still sitting on my desk. I graduated with two college degrees and the highest student arts honor in the State of California. I built my career while learning to walk again.
That’s not to say that resilience has been easy to come by. I’ve faced incredible physical and mental health challenges, and I haven’t always succeeded. But resilience doesn’t mean that you don’t fall or that people don’t get to you. The fact that I can still quote what those teachers said years later tells you that their words did indeed affect me. There are going to be battles, and some of them will be incredibly hard. It’s okay to be upset, to be scared or to be in pain, and you’re allowed to fail, too. Resilience is just not letting those setbacks define you. My resilience today comes from being proud of who I am and what I stand for. Rather than being focused on showing up other people, I’ve found strength in knowing that I’m doing work I love and being grateful for the experiences I’ve had. If I hadn’t been resilient, I would have let a lot of other people dictate my life and I would have missed out on a lot. Instead, while it hasn’t been perfect and I’ve endured a lot, who I am and where I’ve ended up is something I own.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I launched TVBrittanyF.com because I believe strongly in original reporting, in-depth storytelling and giving everyone the opportunity that I didn’t originally have. My original career aspiration was to become a homicide detective and serve my country through law enforcement, and when I wasn’t physically able to accomplish that, I pivoted to being of service through my best skills, which are in writing and creating. It’s still important to me that I help make things better — and that’s a goal that can be difficult as the entertainment industry relies less on original content. Creating my own company was a way to stay true to that mission.
When I started working as a student journalist, the first real article I wrote was about the September 11 terrorist attacks. On that day and those that followed, I sat down with classmates who had loved ones who were missing in or affected by the tragedy. I listened to what they were thinking and feeling. Just over a month later, I lost my best friend in a car accident and watched as our high school largely ignored his death. These experiences affirmed my own belief that everyone deserves to be heard — not just those who are important or popular. It’s up to me as a journalist not to arbitrarily decide who’s worth covering, but to listen and find the story that everyone has.
Some of the best work that I’ve done and some of the most rewarding experiences in my life have come out of obscure places. One of my favorite examples is that while watching a weekend marathon of Law & Order, I started thinking about how much I appreciated actor Linus Roache’s performance as Michael Cutter and how he had never gotten his due for that role. This led me to gather my thoughts about the character and what Linus had accomplished with him and self-publish a retrospective article. The series had been off the air for several years at that point, so there was absolutely no benefit to doing this except my own interest. Predictably, the article did not get many views and by any commercial standard, it was a failure.
However, some time after that, Linus Roache was cast in Vikings and I was able to secure an interview with him. The publicist introduced me by name and before I could even say hello, he noted that I was the person who had written that article about his character on Law & Order. He went on to praise the piece and tell me that no one fully understood what he was trying to do with that role until I had written what I did. One of my favorite actors gave me incredible feedback on something that I had impulsively thrown together on a weekend, and that most editors would not have let me publish. But out of that article, I had a moment I’ll remember for the rest of my life, while my words had a positive impact on someone I admired. In fact, I was able to work with Linus two more times and he later gave me some great advice on my acting career, essentially bringing everything full circle. All of that came out of me trusting myself and choosing to do something for no other reason than the love of it.
I’m also very blessed to say I know several people who have told me that my articles have helped further their careers, and others with whom I’ve been able to build lasting work relationships and even friendships. That comes out of being willing to put people first and having that same genuine desire to listen and learn.
More recently, I’ve moved into podcasting with the YouTube series MOTIVATE with Brittany Frederick, in which I talk to the people who’ve inspired me about what inspires them. I’ve had some wonderful guests, including my favorite actor and good friend Philip Winchester, one of the best homicide detectives in the country in Jason White, and the incredible mixologist and ultimate motivator Rob Floyd. I get to collaborate with and learn from these and other talented people because I value every person and every opportunity. I’ll never be the most popular or most financially successful in my field, but I’m able to be of service to others and in so doing, become a better person myself.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
No matter what line of work you’re in, the most important thing you can do is advocate for yourself, because you will always be your own best advocate. No one was going to speak up for me when I was younger, and while I’ve been lucky enough to find friends and allies along my journey, you can’t expect other people to fight for you. Know that your feelings and beliefs have value, and that your mental and physical health matters — no matter the professional circumstance. Even with all the ways I stood up for myself early on, I let myself stay in a toxic workplace for five years because I was more worried about financial security. It wasn’t until my supervisors caused me to have a breakdown that I quit. It was by no means an easy decision; I was unemployed for some time and the resulting financial stress took a further toll on my mental and physical health.
However, I was ultimately a much better person for making that choice. My mental and physical health rebounded and became much better than they ever were at that job, and I also felt much more secure in myself because I was no longer subjugating myself to fit someone else’s ideas. You may not be able to make the same choice I did, but don’t ever lose sight of what you need and what you stand for. Even if it’s just saying no to taking on extra work or speaking up when you feel strongly about something, you should value yourself just as much as any workplace.
Go into every situation with an open mind. I’ve watched so many people close themselves off to opportunities because it’s not something that they’re interested in or because they don’t know anything about the subject. They end up hurting themselves because not only are they sitting on their hands waiting for what they want to come to them, they’re missing out on chances for growth. As I mentioned above, a lot of my biggest successes have come from saying yes. No one knew what The Voice was when I was working the red carpet for its first season; now I can look back and say that I participated in the beginning of one of television’s biggest hits! If you take the responsibility of doing the work, you also get to take the ride — and even if it isn’t an Emmy Award-winning TV show, at the very least, you’ve learned something new.
Lastly, make space for yourself. There’s such pressure on everyone to succeed that we often get weighed down by our jobs and the responsibilities that come with them. I carve out a little bit of time every day to do something purely that I want, whether it’s taking an hour to write an article that I choose, or just relaxing on a Thursday night with an episode of The First 48. These moments give me small breaks and they also mean that no matter what else happens that day, I can take comfort in knowing I did at least one thing that was good. No day is ever a loss.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I’m always looking for new collaborators, particularly new outlets. The tallest hurdle in my career has been one I cannot control: publicists thinking I’m not big enough for press opportunities. In my industry, reporters are evaluated based on the name of the outlet they work for or the number of page views they bring, not necessarily the quality of their work. I’ve missed out on many interviews I would have loved to do because even though I was qualified, I didn’t have a big enough name behind me.
If I want to continue helping others, then I need to stay relevant in the entertainment industry — whether it’s by getting more writing opportunities at other outlets, growing my personal numbers by sharing my content with other websites, or raising my profile through other interviews and podcasts. Interested editors who want to work with me can email me directly at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.
If you’re not an editor, you can still help make a difference in other ways! People who read and enjoy my articles can share them on social media, because I can send that positive feedback to editors and publicists to help generate future opportunities. I’m at @tvbrittanyf on all major social media platforms. And if you’re someone in the entertainment or sports world who likes my interviews and wants to work with me, please reach out, too. I will always make time for another good story and another chance to see where that story takes me.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.tvbrittanyf.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/tvbrittanyf
- Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanyfrederick
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tvbrittanyf
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/tvbrittanyf
Image Credits
Photos 1-2, 7: Courtesy of Brittany Frederick Photo 3: Kelsey Yoor/Courtesy of Brittany Frederick Photo 4: Screenshot from CBR/Courtesy of Brittany Frederick Photo 5: Screenshot from official All Rise Instagram/Courtesy of Brittany Frederick Photo 6: Screenshot from TVBrittanyF.com/Courtesy of Brittany Frederick Photo 8: Stephanie Zancolli/Courtesy of Brittany Frederick
