Today we’d like to introduce you to Bre Akers.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Bre. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am originally from Las Vegas, Nevada where I was born and raised. Growing up in Vegas, I was constantly around nightlife, entertainment, events and alcohol. My mother is a florist and growing up, I spent most of my time after school working with her in her 5,000+ square foot floral shop. She catered to the casinos on the famous Las Vegas Strip, country clubs, and private parties of local celebrities. Shadowing her my entire life, I gained experience in large scale events as she expanded her business to floral and event planning. I fell in love with seeing how someone could take their creative passion and take an empty room and turn it into something magical and provide people with a memorable experience. As much as I loved the events, I wasn’t keen on the image that Las Vegas had with twenty-four hour access to alcohol and touristy scenes.
I moved to the DFW area in 2007 to attend TCU where I graduated in 2011 with a BS in Strategic Communications and a minor in business. During my college years, I always said I would never work in a bar because I was simply “burnt out” of the scene from being raised in Vegas. However, that quickly changed. Upon graduation, I was working for local radio station 95.9 The Ranch as a promotions assistant when I was then offered the Marketing Director position at Cowboys Arlington and Cowboys Red River. Somehow, the girl swearing off the bar was now the one behind the scenes of everyone’s good times. I simply fell in love with it and really began to find passions that I never knew I had.
I was in charge of everything from running the meet and greets with the national touring music acts, to media buying, to social media content creation and ad execution, to private event sales and so much more. I had the honor of working with artists and organizations like George Strait, Gary Allan, Ronnie Dunn, The Professional Bull Riders (PBR), Kevin Hart, Ice Cube, The Kardashians and countless others. Most importantly, my job was helping brand not only the business but the staff. This is where I completely fell in love with the service and entertainment industry, something I had swore off so early on. The people behind the bar are some of the most down to earth, fun, vibrant, appreciative people you will ever find, but most importantly I learned very quickly that service industry members are a very tight-knit family. We also had a live band at each location, where I learned to appreciate music, musicians and so much of the local talent the DFW area has.
In 2014 Cowboys Arlington’s property was sold to the GM Plant and the location closed. After serving the company’s multiple locations for over four years, I also decided that this would be an end of an era for me too. With my love for the industry, I then took the opportunity to be on the other side of the bar where I became an Account Specialist launching a program with the world’s largest spirits supplier — Diageo. I represented brands such as Crown Royal, Captain Morgan, Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Ketel One and more. For over four years, I worked with the best bars in the DFW area and hands down, the best industry folks in the world. There is just something I can’t explain about how great the bartenders and staff members in DFW are.
During my time as an account specialist, I grew a social following that grew more than I had expected. I then realized people were interested in content about drinks and bars, so much so that in July of 2019 I was approached by Darrel Chumley of DC’s Barside Jive over social media and asked to be a guest on his show to talk about drinks and tips about bars and home bars. I thought it would be a great fit and opportunity. His show originally started in Bars, he featured original and cover music artists and was picked up my VOKAL Media. What I expected to be a one-time thing has led to a weekly guest spot on both his shows to provide recipes, industry news, tips and more. I absolutely love getting to not only work with DC, but get to meet musicians weekly, and get my fix of the live music entertainment that I have missed working with for the last four years. We are currently in the works of collaborating with more local bars and bartenders to really bring the industry together and provide amazing content. I am hoping that this continues to lead to expanding not only my network but highlight the amazing service industry and musicians that make up the Dallas Fort Worth area.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No. Definitely a bumpy road.
First of all, I think it’s safe to say that it’s not uncommon to not know what you want to do, especially right out of high school or even college. Sometimes it takes those twist, turns, bumps and even a few flat tires to find what you’re passionate about or even just something that can keep your interest. But you can’t stop searching.
I think it’s important to trust yourself. I remember crying after making the decision to move to Texas in 2007. When I packed up my truck I sat in the back seat and cried all the way from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon. I wasn’t sure if leaving everyone and everything I knew was the right thing for me Looking back, I always say it was the best decision I ever made, I also remember crying writing my departure letter to my work family at Cowboys. Sometimes, we have to be willing to let go of good things to move on to great things. Trust me, only great things and great people have followed!
Grow your team. The hardest lessons I ‘ve learned over the years come from learning the people who I thought were supportive or on your side weren’t. There’s going to be people out to get ahead of you, use you, throw you under the bus, or simply not support your ideas or initiatives. If you really believe in your cause or work, get those people out of your circle. You have complete control of who you associate with.
Lastly, not only have I struggled with this, but have seen many friends and coworkers struggle with this as well — stick to your values. Whether it’s an idea, relationship, business plan, or even an entire company as a whole — make sure everything you do, you stick to your values. Do not ever risk your personal worth, values or reputation over something you can’t believe in. Once you realize that you and that project or person are not lining up, take your own path.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
This all sort of started from an unexpected following on social media that grew over something as simple as posting photos of cocktails. Now, it’s become fun for me. Weekly I get to go to a state of the art recording studio to record Barside Jive which is streamed worldwide on a major network. It allows me to channel my creativity and my ideas, so gives me an outlet, something I think we all lose when we get into the routine of day jobs.
I am more so excited about the future. I want to be able to work with more bars and restaurants, service industry members, local musicians and more to really highlight what great things the music and service industry has to offer right here in the metroplex.
With my education and work history, I really hope to start private marketing and beverage consulting for nightclubs, bars and restaurants as well as social media consulting for musicians. This seems to be an area that a lot of them are looking for help in. Additionally, I really miss large scale events and would love to combine all these avenues together.
What were you like growing up?
I was a mute. I didn’t talk to anyone, I was so shy. I wouldn’t even talk to family on the phone. The fact that I ended up in sales and marketing in an industry that deals with social scenes like bars or live entertainment is something that no one in my family, including myself ever expected. I spent most of my time either working with my mom or doing solo activities like art or reading. I was a pretty nerdy kid growing up.
Contact Info:
- Website: itsthetipsygypsy.com
- Phone: 7024775841
- Email: bre@itsthetipsygypsy.com
- Instagram: @Itsthetipsygypsy
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