Meet Tia Mullins

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tia Mullins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tia, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

I get my resilience from my mom. She had all the odds stack against her, yet and still she conquered. Born into poverty, single parent household, an abusive spouse, Cancer TWICE, but still showed up for her family with a smile. When you get blessed with a woman like that in your life, you have no choice but to take notes. By no means am I saying she was perfect, but she showed me anything is possible when you put your heart and soul into it. I often think back to the days where I wondered if I would make it and thank her because she was right every time.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I always like to say I am someone who is just trying to figure it all out. Being born and raised in Detroit, Michigan(What up doe) the only option was to “get it out the mud”. I did not have the luxury of having my life set up for me. I grew up in the hood, had to grind in high school to get the grades for a scholarship or I wasn’t going. I had the pressure of the world and my family name on my back. I would be the FIRST person in my family, not only to go to college, but graduate. While in college, I discovered so much about myself and how life works. I taught myself how to do protective styles and started charging students on campus to do their hair. With the money I made from that, I paid for the remainder of my tuition. It tripped something off in my brain though. I realized I had the drive/hustle that so many wished they had. Innocently, I thought this was everyone’s default. Even though undergrad was arguably, the hardest years of my life, I pushed through. Coping with my mom’s final battle with cancer, working 3 jobs, being a full time student, and becoming a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. I am proud to say I left no stone unturned. After graduating, I started a youtube channel to share my life with the world. I figured I had a story worth telling, and I was right! I branded myself as Reina Rayann, creating a TikTok and Instagram as well. Then I moved to Dallas, Texas to really focus on my content and self discovery. It’s been 3 years and i’ve gained over 20 thousand supporters, garnered millions of views, worked with brands I never thought I would, and finally found peace within myself. The best part of it all, is I know this is just the tip of the iceberg for me. There is so much more on the other side of my present/future hard work. I can’t wait to gain more supporters and hopefully impact millions of lives positively through my silly, fun, and motivational content.

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?

The first 3 things I think, would be authenticity, resilience, and creativity. Without these, I would still be back in the hood, not caring to do anything with my life. Me being myself is what helped me gain my audience. You have to be yourself unapologetically. People respect that. They admire that. Stay as creative as you were from your childhood. It makes life more colorful and enjoyable. Keep your hobbies near and dear to you, because they just might be the thing to pay your bills later on down the road. Lastly, stay resilient. Life is not always linear. Things don’t always work how we want them to. That is why your job is to keep pushing until the cards turn in your favor. It isn’t going to be easy, but when you stay resilient, it will ALWAYS be worth it. Take me for example. It took me 2+ years to see growth on my socials. When one angle/niche didn’t work, I went back to the board and pivoted. I studied, I put myself out there, and did not stop until I saw my fruits.

What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?

In this last year, I have worked on myself a lot. Realizing I am my biggest investment and critic, I started treating myself a lot better. Self love, self discipline. and physical/mental health. I put myself through my variation of the 75hard twice. My entire outlook on life has changed for the better. I make sure my cup is full so I can show up for my supporters and loved ones. It has improved my relationships, job performance, and my content creation. I am forever thankful to my past self who made sure I showed up for myself.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reinarayann/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@reinarayann1135
• Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@reinarayann