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Blake Mycoskie (0:02)

Lemonada.

Karamo Brown (0:06)

I was hired by Oprah Winfrey, and I thought my life was going to change. My executive producer came to me after four months. She told me that I did not have it.

And so I went back home and laughed at them and was like, all these people can't be right. Y'all don't know my destiny.

Blake Mycoskie (0:22)

Today's guest is Karamo Brown, one of the hosts of the hit show Queer Eye. It's a show that helps people have a life transformation. He adds the meaning to the makeover.

Karamo Brown (0:33)

Reality TV made me realize that there was a space for people to be vulnerable. It was okay for people to be real. The reality TV was a place that I could turn and see myself. It was the first place that I saw a man crying.

Blake Mycoskie (0:47)

He has had to battle a lot in his own inner demons over the years. And he shared his personal journey publicly in hopes of helping others.

Karamo Brown (0:57)

As a black man, you don't talk about your feelings. You don't talk about emotions. You don't talk about what you're going through. That conditioning became my prison. And I was pretending that I wasn't drowning. I was pretending that I was happy. I was just full of anxiety consistently and not a single person knew. What was wrong with me?

Blake Mycoskie (1:15)

Today, we are going to talk about what to do when you are feeling stuck and how to manage a relapse or career setback along the way.

Karamo Brown (1:24)

You have to be number one. You have to be the priority. Because as you know, I was a successful business man. I know is that if I fall apart, my company falls apart. My encouragement and what I've learned is to make yourself the priority on your list, make your piece the priority and everything else would be great.

Blake Mycoskie (1:48)

It is such a pleasure to have Karamo here in the Santa Barbara Studio. Thank you so much for being here.

Karamo Brown (1:54)

Thank you. First of all, the meaning to the makeover. Where were you for the past 10 years? Yeah. I needed that marketing. That is good marketing. I'm going to call my publicist immediately and be like, none of you thought about that? That is brilliant. No one ever said that before? Never. The meaning in the makeover. I mean, that was the goal and the gift that I was hoping to give of like helping you understand what was going on. But the way you phrased that, good job.

Blake Mycoskie (2:19)

I do have a marketing background.

Karamo Brown (2:20)

Yeah, I see.

Blake Mycoskie (2:21)

Okay, so one of the things I want to start off is, first, you were a social worker, and then you got your big break on reality TV, on the real world. And last night at dinner, you were talking about not just being on reality shows, but being like a connoisseur of reality television. What is it that you love so much about watching reality TV, not just being on it?

Karamo Brown (2:42)

I come from a Jamaican household, so my parents are not from this country. They moved here in their 20s, late 20s. And I then grew up in Texas. And both of those places and the cultures of Jamaica, the culture of Texas was very much like, especially for me as a man, as a black man, as a masculine presenting man, was you don't talk about your feelings. You don't talk about emotions. You don't talk about what you're going through. And I knew very early on without having that language, that reality TV was a place that I could turn and see myself. I could see the vulnerability.

It was the first place that I saw a man crying.

Blake Mycoskie (3:20)

Wow.

Karamo Brown (3:22)

There was this horrible character on reality television. I don't know what he is now, but his name was Puck. Yeah, I mean, he used to like blow snot boogers on the camera, like that kind of guy. But I remember seeing him cry.

And I remember thinking like, I've never seen my dad cry. Like this guy on TV who's like a tough ass, hard ass is crying. I remember the first time I had saw on Real World, another Real World alum, his name was Pedro. He was contracted HIV and was dying. They followed his journey with his partner. And you saw him holding his partner saying, I love you. I'm scared to like, I'm scared, but I'm happy that I have this moment. You saw him fighting. And so reality TV made me realize that there was a space for people to be vulnerable. It was okay for people to be real. And it's sort of what led me on my journey somewhat of saying like I was okay with going reality television because I was like if 12, 9 to 12 year old me could get that from reality television, then maybe someone seeing me be vulnerable and seeing me be honest would help them. It's why we're in this different paths but brought us to the same conclusion.