September 17, 2020
Current Conversations: Q&A with Brook Power
Handle: @brookpower
Location: Grew up in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu, next to the ocean and the jungle. Now lives in the mountains above North Malibu outside of Los Angeles.
Occupation: mixed media artist, which includes art direction, videography, photography, “my silly Bushbaby collage art,” modeling and acting
Q: Can you share three pieces of info our audience may not know about you?
Hmmmm, because of social media my life is kind of embarrassingly an open book. I left home at 15, and then I started taking care of my mom and all my siblings financially when I was about 17. When I started modeling, it was just going to be a side job that I did to make some extra cash while I was in college. But duty-to -family called so it turned into a long term career that supported my entire family up until like last year. I am also a surfer aaaand a horse girl, and a mom –– not just to my siblings, but to my own babies as well.
Q: What's been a high priority for you –– or on your agenda –– as of late?
Lately, I have made becoming more self-sufficient/ sustainable a priority –– installing solar power on my properties, increasing the size of our chicken flock, and bunny proofing our vegetable garden –– all the little kinds of chores, you know.
Q: What have you learned this year about yourself?
I can’t consciously recognize or pinpoint one thing about myself. I think I’ve just adapted to dealing with even higher levels of stress and learned more patience. I’ve learned to not let anger and anxiety control me or my emotions, or actions even more than before. I’ve grown my ability to generate inner light and peace in the midst of adversity, because you can only help others if you are able to control your own mental state.
Q: Who has been a role model for you growing up?
Leonard Cohen and Martin Luther King were my main father figures. Working with horses taught me a lot about the importance of listening and observing, so horses were an important role model. I also loved Angelica Houston, and Gwen Stefani!
Q: How do you unwind?
Surfing or hiking
Q: What's your sign, and what is the most striking quality or characteristic indicative of your horoscope?
I’m a Virgo, honestly through and through, and a slight control freak as I’m the oldest of so many kids and the self-appointed matriarch, hah. I’m a neat freak, busy body, fiercely loyal and attentive to details, though I am chill –– I grew up in Hawaii, but I’m ALWAYS watching everyone. I don’t like putting myself in a box and justifying all my flaws as just part of my astrological sign, but I can’t deny how Virgo I am.
I hold everyone around me to a high standard because I just want to see everyone meet their full potential. I always immediately assess everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. But for whatever reason, I just want to see my people be successful and happy so I guess being brutally honest and sometimes critical is part of that process –– tough love, b*tches.
Q: What's something you do every day, without fail?
Drink coffee, do my squats and pray. In that order too, lol!
Q: How do you integrate eco-friendly or environmentally conscious activities into your daily routine?
I’ve been actively trying to get my neighbors to stop using rat/mouse poison, roundup and other glyphosate and weed killers. Especially where I live, there’s so much wildlife everywhere so those poisons quickly make their way through the food chain.
I also have a big tortoise and chickens that I give all my scrap food and biodegradable waste to, or we compost it. The third largest CO2 output (although some argue it’s the biggest) comes from biodegradable – mostly food waste –decomposing in our landfills!
And of course, our chickens give us eggs, which is small, but one little thing you’re actively self-sustainable is better than nothing.
Q: What are a few key lessons you'd like to pass on as a mother?
A love for others and for nature, how important work ethic is, self responsibility and self-healing. I tell all my siblings that their trauma is not their fault, but that the healing is their responsibility.
Q: What does nature mean to you?
It’s us. We are nature. We aren’t supposed to live a life separate from nature. That mentality is what has destroyed humanity’s mental state and poisoned our earth. We are one!
Location: Grew up in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu, next to the ocean and the jungle. Now lives in the mountains above North Malibu outside of Los Angeles.
Occupation: mixed media artist, which includes art direction, videography, photography, “my silly Bushbaby collage art,” modeling and acting
Q: Can you share three pieces of info our audience may not know about you?
Hmmmm, because of social media my life is kind of embarrassingly an open book. I left home at 15, and then I started taking care of my mom and all my siblings financially when I was about 17. When I started modeling, it was just going to be a side job that I did to make some extra cash while I was in college. But duty-to -family called so it turned into a long term career that supported my entire family up until like last year. I am also a surfer aaaand a horse girl, and a mom –– not just to my siblings, but to my own babies as well.
Q: What's been a high priority for you –– or on your agenda –– as of late?
Lately, I have made becoming more self-sufficient/ sustainable a priority –– installing solar power on my properties, increasing the size of our chicken flock, and bunny proofing our vegetable garden –– all the little kinds of chores, you know.
Q: What have you learned this year about yourself?
I can’t consciously recognize or pinpoint one thing about myself. I think I’ve just adapted to dealing with even higher levels of stress and learned more patience. I’ve learned to not let anger and anxiety control me or my emotions, or actions even more than before. I’ve grown my ability to generate inner light and peace in the midst of adversity, because you can only help others if you are able to control your own mental state.
Q: Who has been a role model for you growing up?
Leonard Cohen and Martin Luther King were my main father figures. Working with horses taught me a lot about the importance of listening and observing, so horses were an important role model. I also loved Angelica Houston, and Gwen Stefani!
Q: How do you unwind?
Surfing or hiking
Q: What's your sign, and what is the most striking quality or characteristic indicative of your horoscope?
I’m a Virgo, honestly through and through, and a slight control freak as I’m the oldest of so many kids and the self-appointed matriarch, hah. I’m a neat freak, busy body, fiercely loyal and attentive to details, though I am chill –– I grew up in Hawaii, but I’m ALWAYS watching everyone. I don’t like putting myself in a box and justifying all my flaws as just part of my astrological sign, but I can’t deny how Virgo I am.
I hold everyone around me to a high standard because I just want to see everyone meet their full potential. I always immediately assess everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. But for whatever reason, I just want to see my people be successful and happy so I guess being brutally honest and sometimes critical is part of that process –– tough love, b*tches.
Q: What's something you do every day, without fail?
Drink coffee, do my squats and pray. In that order too, lol!
Q: How do you integrate eco-friendly or environmentally conscious activities into your daily routine?
I’ve been actively trying to get my neighbors to stop using rat/mouse poison, roundup and other glyphosate and weed killers. Especially where I live, there’s so much wildlife everywhere so those poisons quickly make their way through the food chain.
I also have a big tortoise and chickens that I give all my scrap food and biodegradable waste to, or we compost it. The third largest CO2 output (although some argue it’s the biggest) comes from biodegradable – mostly food waste –decomposing in our landfills!
And of course, our chickens give us eggs, which is small, but one little thing you’re actively self-sustainable is better than nothing.
Q: What are a few key lessons you'd like to pass on as a mother?
A love for others and for nature, how important work ethic is, self responsibility and self-healing. I tell all my siblings that their trauma is not their fault, but that the healing is their responsibility.
Q: What does nature mean to you?
It’s us. We are nature. We aren’t supposed to live a life separate from nature. That mentality is what has destroyed humanity’s mental state and poisoned our earth. We are one!