Discovering Authenticity with Vegan Foodie Tabitha Brown

Who’s ready for self discovery?

Recently, Gary had the pleasure of speaking with Tabitha Brown, vegan foodie and actress known for her positive, bubbly personality. She also happens to have over three million followers, across her social media platforms. Notably, she gained over one million TikTok followers in only thirty days. Dubbed, “the mom of TikTok”, Tabitha strives to be a ray of light while remaining true to herself. 

As a guest on Marketing For The Now, she and Gary discussed her journey and how she balances positivity with authenticity. Check out the highlights below!

On Confidence and Conviction

Gary: Hi Tabitha! For those who don’t know, can you tell us a little bit about who you are, your brand, and the amazing supernova that is you?

Tabitha: (laughs) Well, I am Tabitha Brown. I am what people call a “vegan foodie”, an influencer (and I’m still trying to get used to that), but most importantly, I am a wife and a mother. I am a real woman and in the real world trying to balance it all.

Gary: Taking it back further, what kind of child were you? What were your interests? Can you describe some of the key moments in your life that gave you the foundation to have the confidence and conviction to be a “real woman in today’s world”. 

Tabitha: When I was a kid I was very free; I had a huge imagination. I knew I wanted to entertain, I knew I wanted to be an actor, but I was from a small town in North Carolina. There were no [television] actors there, so [my mom] got me into the theatre. I would perform anytime because I just loved to entertain people; I loved how it felt. The reactions, the positive reinforcement, the attention–all that energy drew me in. It was that feeling that stuck with me. 

How To Confront Conformity

Tabitha: You know, I wasn’t always free. As I grew into a woman, I found myself working in corporate America and being told to “tone down” my accent. They would say it’s “it’s a little ignorant” or “we want you to be as neutral as possible. Coming to LA, to be an actress, it was the same thing. No one wants to hear an accent unless it’s a character requested type of thing. 

I got into trying to please everybody. That’s not freedom and I was so lost for a little while. I would wear my hair a certain way, cover up my accent, and try to be a certain size, just to give people what they want. 

Gary: I’m always fascinated by people who are able to do accents, or suppress them. I always tell people: the only thing I’m good at is being me. It’s the only thing, it’s all I’ve got. 

Tabitha: It’s a great thing to just be able to be you, let me tell you that. I went through a time where I was really sick and during that sickness is when I found myself again. Many times I’ll tell people I may have even gotten sick because the true me couldn’t breathe. I was suffocating myself. It took me a year and a half to come out of the depression, and anxiety, and dark space and think clearly. When I did find the light, I found my true self again and I said to myself, “Oh, I ain’t never gonna let go of it. I want to always choose light but most importantly, I want to always choose me. Because I am enough. Just as I am.”

That is how I arrived to where I am now.

The moment I did that, my whole life started to change. 

Don’t Confuse Self-Love and Compassion for Self-Delusion 

Gary: You’re right, I think it’s an awareness game. I’m a competitive man, I really like competition, who grew up in New Jersey with nothing. Throughout school I was a poor student and I wasn’t good at sports. I didn’t have a lot of positive affirmations for anything other than me grinding and working hard.Therefore, I’m against entitlement and for accountability–but that creates confusion when I give out love. 

I’m giving out a ton of love on a daily basis and so are you. I’m curious as to how you handle people receiving your positive energy while trying to paint you as something you’re not. 

People, friends, family, even those I know in the business world–try to paint me as the bad guy because I curse or because I’m aggressive. They might say I’m a hypocrite, or crazy, that my positive attitude can’t be for real. It always blows my mind when people say, “There’s no way he’s that happy.” Do you ever feel misunderstood?

Tabitha: I know what you mean, it’s crazy. It’s like, you want to attack me because I’m happy?

Gary: People say they’re keeping it real and I say, “You’re keeping it real cynical.”

Tabitha: (laughs) You know what I tell myself, I tell myself I am not the problem. I know who I am. So, whenever somebody says something like that, I just know there ain’t nothing you can do about people honey. I’m always going to choose light and try to be that light for someone else. 

I always remain true to myself because I refuse to lose myself in the process again. 

Gary: Right, you have to know yourself. Don’t let people walk all over you and don’t do nice things just because you expect something good to happen. There are people like my mother and Ms.Tabitha Brown whose natural happiness comes from making other people happy. You can’t fake it. Judgement on oneself is the foundation to being able to pull off what I’m talking about. 

Tabitha: Yeah, you have to be easy on yourself but you have to check yourself too. 

Gary: People have to be accountable. You don’t have to be judgemental because we’re all doing the best we can, but when you begin to see movement on your journey, you’re going to be so excited. 

That’s all for now. If you liked this recap, be sure to share it on your favorite platform!