Sense of Soul - Living in Passion

Episode Date: December 9, 2022

Today on Sense of Soul Podcast we have joining us, Brandi Shigley she is a dreamer and doer, an award-winning designer, entrepreneur, emcee and speaker. She is the Founder and CEO of Fashion Denver where she created a platform for the Denver fashion industry in 1999. Brandi launched her career as an international designer over 20 years ago, receiving accolades for her handbags which quickly became popular at boutiques in Paris, LA, NYC, and Denver.  Brandi was born Baby Girl Gonzales, and was abandoned at the hospital at birth, put in an orphanage, fostered, and then was adopted by the amazing Shigley family. Her beginnings, seemingly a little rough, however has shaped her into the amazing woman she is today.  Brandi’s purpose is to bring hope and light to people. She wants people to know how loved they are and that each and every one of us is created with a purpose. Brandi has a desire to help people find that Divine spark within, this is where her heart is. https://www.brandishigley.com/ https://fashiondenver.com You can also find Brandi in the beautiful book called Exposure, found here. Visit Sense of Soul at www.mysenseofsoul.com Do you want Ad Free episodes? Join our Sense of Soul Patreon, our community of seekers and lightworkers. Also recieve 50% off of Shanna’s Soul Immersion experience as a Patreon member, monthly Sacred circles, Shanna and Mande’s personal mini series, Sense of Soul merch and more. https://www.patreon.com/senseofsoul Thank you to our Sponsor!  KACHAVA:  https:// kachava.com/senseofsoul Use this link for 10% off

Welcome to the Sense of Soul podcast. We are your hosts, Shanna and Mandy. Grab your coffee, open your mind, heart, and soul. It's time to awaken. Hey friends, if you're looking for ad-free Sense of Soul episodes, you can find them at Sense of Soul Patreon. Become a monthly member at any level. You will also have access to our monthly SOS Sacred Circles, our mini-series, merch, and MuchBorn. And it's a great way to help support our podcast so that we can continue to bring you inspiring episodes twice a week with our enlightened guests from all around the world.

Check out our Patreon. Today on The Sense of Soul, we have Brandi Shigley. She, to me, represents kindness, forgiveness, determination, passion, giving. She's fearless. She is the epitome of service work and faith. And those are just a few words that I thought of when I was thinking about her. I've known her and her brother since a very young age, and we went to high school together. I have always admired her and her outlook on life. She always sees the good in everything and everyone, even after facing many challenges from her past.

She is one of the most creative people I know and carries that in how she writes, how she carries herself, the way she dresses, the way she decorates, and the way she works. She is just a bundle of love and a straight badass. And I'm so happy we finally connected on the sense of soul today. Yay. Welcome Brandy. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me on sense of soul and for both you and Shanna, just like creating this channel to share and share the stories of so many amazing people. And you, Mandy, you've inspired me so much, just how free you are living and sharing your life and all of the hard parts about life.

And that's one thing that I think is so beautiful about being alive is and also about aging is how we can be more comfortable in sharing our truth and not feel like we have to share this fake world that seems so perfect. And I feel like we're just in that stage where we can share all of our imperfections and it makes us even more bold to be broken. Yeah. I guess, Shanna, what would you consider that the little piece of the crone? I feel like it could be something for everyone, but I do think it does come with age. Yeah. I definitely didn't feel this confident

to be who I am in my thirties. Yeah. And I think I've always been pretty vulnerable and telling my story about my addiction, but I've becoming more vulnerable and more than just that now. And as mistakes as a mother, a wife, a person in society. Like I'm just able to share it without that shame, guilt, or fear of judgment. But you want to know what Brandy, I'm not joking when I say this, I don't feel like you have very many imperfections. I'm not joking when I look up to you so much, especially your faith and your, your service work. And you know what? You don't plan your service work. Like the other day, just so our listeners know, she has been frustrated with people spray painting the outside of her, her building where she lives,

but she has such a soft spot for the homeless and she's not afraid to walk up to them and learn about their story. And that's the fearless piece I was talking about. She's fearless in her faith and she's fearless in her service work. Where did you get that from Brandy? I think that I got that from both my grandmother, my grandma Shigley and my mom. I remember spending so much time with my grandma Shigley. And I had two grandmas who had very different relationships with God. Grandma Shigley was a servant. She loved going and serving her neighbors and serving and making quilts for people who lost their homes. And my other grandma was more about making sure that we all followed the laws in the Bible. So very different faiths. And one of them, I was like, I don't think God is going to like me

because I cannot follow all of those things. But the other grandma was really showing me who God was through just service. And I think that that's something that's always stuck in me was just the act of love through serving people. And so just being my grandma's little sidekick from a very early age, going out there and feeding the neighbors and distributing her quilts, it really was instilled in me at a very young age to constantly serve. Not that my other grandma didn't serve, but it was just a different angle of understanding that faith. Yeah, that makes sense. Isn't it so amazing like the impact our grandmothers have on us, especially sometimes it's even more than our own mothers. Oh yeah, absolutely. You were obviously frustrated, but you're human. You're frustrated that you went out there and you covered up the spray paint and then they did it again. You know, do you hold resentment? Like,

how do you deal with feelings like that? That's very interesting, Mandy, because this is where I feel like I have a lot of imperfections. Like I go out there and I'm like, I'm just gonna love on them. And then they do it again and again. And then I'm like, I am about to throat punch these people. We are going to find them and we are going to take them down. I'm done with this. So it like it really depends on how strong I am. And like there's days where I feel so equipped and I'm ready to conquer the world with love. And then there are days where I'm just like, I actually have to literally put on blinders and ignore it because I am such a feeler that I feel all of the darkness on our streets. And I mean, we live and work. I walk out right, right here outside my very own window is the rescue mission right below my window, our addicts doing crack and like screaming things. And so there's days where I'm equipped and I'm like, I want to go out there and love them and just talk to them. But then there's also days where I'm just like, can't today. So I feel sometimes like

I struggle with having a lot of, I don't want to say hatred, but disdain for the same community that I love. And that is, that's, what's frustrating. And the thing of it is, is there are always going to be taggers and vandals. There are always going to be addiction right on this corner. And it's just, I guess, I don't know, like there's days I can handle it and days where I'm just over it and the days that I'm over it and I just escape it I realize that it is totally okay to ignore it and then build back up my my like it's like when Super Mario Brothers like gets powered up by a flower like I just have to power up and get that confidence and that strength and courage. It's actually courage to, to handle what we see on the streets. But I think the answer to that is the way that I can be that

way is to know that it's okay that I can't be that way all the time, that it is okay to just ignore it and come back to it when I am ready. Yeah. It sounds like you're an empath that knows how to put up boundaries when need be. And that's what Shannon and I talk about a lot is that, you know, that that is going to affect you. And so there's days where you just create a boundary for your own self-care and that that's okay. Yeah. But I wish that it could be as easy as you just said, like, I wish it could be, Oh, you know, today I need to have a boundary, but no, instead it's like almost stepping in somebody's poop who pooped on our front door. And then, and then I lose my, my shit. And then I'm like, okay, create the boundary. Like, I mean, you lose their shit.

More like I step in their shit now i feel bad about just bitching about the dog shit to you you're talking about human shit i feel like come pick up your shit please yeah oh yeah yeah just yesterday we caught somebody just he casually walked by at noon pulled down his pants and did a quick shit right on our fence. So anyway, enough of that shit, that shittiness, but I wish that it didn't take me to boil over and get so angry to understand that boundary. You know what? That's the human in us and we have to give ourself grace, right? Yeah. And you want to know it. It's actually an interesting topic that we started on this because I think there are a lot of people in our world dealing with this right now because the homeless population

is out of control. And so is mental illness. I mean, you posted a very heart, like my heart strings were totally pulled. There's a particular woman. You even know her name. Yeah. That's the fearless part of you that I love. It's like, you know, you could be hurt. You know, you're in a dangerous situation. You don't know what could happen and you will just walk up to them and treat them like a human. Yeah. That's because I just love them. Like, in fact, right before I got on the, on this call, there's a woman who lives on the streets. Her name is Brittany. She carries around a little baby doll. She tatted up her baby's eyes with marker tattoos. And like I have seen her just on drugs and screaming at the top of her lungs and just full of rage.

And I've also seen her very tender. And she does this thing where she tears away all of these little pieces of paper and leaves them everywhere she goes. She leaves them in our mailbox. She leaves them underneath my door at home. And one day I was actually getting ready to be in a fashion show. It was an upcycle fashion show. And I wanted to create this piece that was about what I experienced on the street. So I started collecting all of her

little scraps of paper and I ended up attaching them to this tarp. Like a tarp is super important in the community living on the streets. A tarp is a home, it's shelter, it's covering. So I used my gown and created this fun gown out of a tarp. And I just like, we pasted her scraps all over it. And I showed it to her after the show. And she would she like was just like, you made that for me. And I'm like, Brittany, like, this is an amazing you. I want to honor you. Like you are an amazing human being. My heart aches for her because I don't know what her story is, but I think she has definitely lost a child. I don't like she's, she come the, what the women experience right below me is just I'm sure that they've experienced tons of sexual abuse, physical abuse, mental abuse, just so much. And I just saw her and she had a baby carriage a few days ago, but the city threw it away in a sweep. So she lost her baby carriage. So she carries both of her babies underneath her sweatshirt now.

And every time I just see her, I just love on her. And I'm just like, I love you, Brittany. And it's funny because like she'll be having like some major episode and I'll just be like, hi, Brittany, I love you. And she just stops and she just is like, wow, like, thank you. And I think when we can distract people with love right in the middle of some craziness, just really big, gigantic things can happen. And I've seen that a lot. I've seen people just struggling with addiction on the streets and going through an episode

and interrupt them in it. And like, they go from screaming to, oh, hello. Hi. I recently have been trying to help a friend who was completely and totally like sane and had his life together. Like he owned a penthouse in Arizona on this beautiful, like very popular street. He had an amazing job, a beautiful wife. They just had a baby girl, just full of love and energy. He loved to dance and he was prescribed Adderall and ended up getting addicted to it. And I swear, it's like, I don't know what happened to his brain, but I feel like he's passed some sort of threshold in his brain where I don't even know if there's any

coming back on top of mental illness. And he's homeless right now in Atlanta. And we didn't even know if he was alive. His wife didn't either. He just disappeared. And he reached out to me on Instagram and said that he needs help getting an ID. And if you think about it, homeless people that don't have an ID, that's a huge problem because they don't have an app. They don't have a freaking address. And if they don't have an ID, they can't get a job. There's so much things they can't do. And he's like, could you please order me a birth certificate?

Or could you order me a social security card? I mean, of course he didn't ask me that at first. He was just like, um, needing, needing a friend. And, you know, he was talking a little crazy one moment, but then when I would start loving on him through the messaging, it was like, he would become totally normal again. It was so bizarre. It was almost like anytime I got real serious with him and was asking hard questions, he would start talking about like, um, him like being Yahweh and like, um, the Kardashians being gods and like, and then I would bring them back by like, Oh, you're so, you're so worthy, Aaron. You're so loved. You're not, you know, there's nothing

wrong with you. Um, you don't need to wait for god he's there with you now and it was like all of a sudden it's totally normal wow so i totally get what you're saying and i mean love is so powerful right yeah yeah but what about the trend you know a lot of like i had a student who i highly respect she's very smart She's got a lot going for her. She went to school, but she doesn't want to live in a cookie cutter neighborhood. She'd rather travel, be free from, you know, the systems and society and just live the fan life. And it seems to be a big trend, doesn't it? Yeah. You have a dope fan, don't you? Do you still have it I donate okay let's talk about this I donated it to the homeless family you did oh my god and you know what Mandy so I did this I I felt I felt called to donate

this family that I literally just met on the street it was a man a woman and uh three beautiful children and at the time I was like, well, my window doesn't roll down. I don't really need my van. So I ended up giving it to them. And then I raised $4,000 to help them get on their feet and want to know what, so, well, basically they had hit me up like three weeks later to see if I could raise more money for them to get them out of jail. And then all this other crazy stuff. Brandy, Brandy, I really wanted a happy ending. Damn it.

Yeah. So what I realized from that and, you know, people are like, don't have any regrets. And I'm like, I started to have a regret. I love that band. But I felt very strong about giving it to this family and it is gone. But that band was everything to me. Can I ask you a question? Yes.

You know, I get these callings as well. Can you describe what a calling means to you? When in your soul, you just feel like I need to do something. It's and I feel like like it's even like walking down the street and then being like moved to talk to somebody that I normally wouldn't talk to. It's more of just that intuition or I like to call them God winks where you don't even think about it. It's a no brainer. You just do it because you're drawn to doing whatever that is. Yeah. Yeah. I kind of, I always picture it like, um, like God's just like the hello. You know, I remember one time I got on an airplane and I was exhausted.

And the last thing I wanted to do was talk to anyone sitting next to me, but I got one of those damn nudges to start talking to the lady next to me and to share my story with her about like my, my near death experience. And the next thing I know she's crying. She just lost her husband. She said, I brought her so much peace and serenity and that she felt totally different after we hugged, we cried and I got off the plane and I was like, thank God that I've learned to listen to those nudges. Yes. Yep. Yep. And that's so funny because those nudges seriously happened to me all the time where I'm like, I do not feel like talking. I'm not going to, I'm just going to mind my own

business. And the next thing I'm like, do you need my, like, does your family or anyone around you? That's not an empath get annoyed because I have some people that are like, you're such a bleeding heart. Like you just give everything away. You just do the, like, you got to stop doing that. I don't anymore. Um, fortunately the people that are so close in my life support me in that and like, give me the courage to do things like that. But you know, it's funny you say that because, Oh, um, so I do have a new Facebook now, Shanna, and, um, it actually feels awesome to rebuild the whole thing. I really do hope I can get my old one back, but I don't have hackers. It feels really good to actually only bring people in that are part of who I want to be in my life, who inspire

me. And it made me think about how there were people in my life. And Mandy, these are the people you're talking about. The people who are like, you do, you talk too much. You're you're you give everything away. Those people have not, they're not going to be on this list. These are people who said that they had to mute me because I share my faith too much. They were people who, when I talked to strangers, they got annoyed when they were hanging out with me. They were people who were annoyed that I would love to dance wherever I go. And you know what? Don't need that. Amen. Girlfriend. Good for a, a men, a women. Yeah. So let's talk about your faith because that's one of the things that I love about you. You know, just a few weeks ago, uh, you were wearing a t-shirt that said something about

God on it. What did it say? Um, I think you might've just said, pray. you're right I feel like this one look can you see it yes I love that god first what god first bro I love it so yeah you were wearing a shirt and just the shirt opened up a completely like crazy cool conversation with like a family right what'd your shirt say yeah um oh no it was my god is great sweatshirt And I was just right outside underneath my she shed. And I think this might be what you're talking about. I was I this guy was like, hey, do you know when the church is coming around? And I'm like, well, we all can be the church. And he's like, no, the church that delivers the burritos. And I'm like, well, I don't have any burritos, but I can be the church for you. And it just started this conversation where he shared with me his testimony, his walk with God, his the church that he went to and how living out on the streets. He has been so far away from any of that. And I'm like, amen, that my sweatshirt brought this conversation to be. And it allowed him to just get to express his faith so that's one thing I love about fashion and really like wearing things that are like I love wearing things that say pray or God is great or love your neighbor because it's a way to be fashionable but also really make a

statement and I love that like in in my industry, Denver, I love going to a fashion show and just be dripping with God. It's so fun. Like I was at a Denver fashion week and somehow again, God taps on my shoulder and I ended up leading like 17 people in this prayer circle at Denver Fashion Week. And like, there's really no God in Denver Fashion Week. Like it's a very secular world, but just to see how my passion for fashion and with Fashion Denver, how I can really bring some goodness and some love into some really dark areas is so much fun for me. It's given me a whole new purpose. And, you know, I actually from 15 to 40, not walking with God and very far from God. And do you know who it was, Mandy, who brought me back to God? Marty Lopez. No way. How did that

happen? So Shannon, Marty is a guy that we went to high school with, graduated with in Mandy's class. And we were friends back in high school. And then we've kind of been in touch since high school, but we became really, really good like deep into conversation. And I had shared with him and I'll share this with you and whoever's listening. But when I was 19, I got pregnant with my boyfriend and I did not have the baby. And from the ages of 19 to 40, I carried around such guilt and shame and felt like I am a horrible person and God is never going to want me as his daughter. And so I just felt, I just, I just really ran away from God because I had felt so horrible about what I did. And so I was just confessing this to Marty one night and it was like coming out of me in convulsions of like 20 years of guilt and shame. And Marty was just like, Brandy, God loves you. God loves that baby. That little baby is up in heaven with him and he

has never left your side. And it was at that moment where I literally felt 20 years of shame and guilt and all that came with all of that just instantly leave me. And it was at that moment where I'm like, I got to get to know who this God fella is. Like in elementary school, we grew up going to church and I really loved God as a kid, but then you just start kind of like being out in the world and seeing other things.

And like my faith just was non-existent for 20 years. And until Marty really like was non-existent for 20 years. And until Marty really like, was like, God loves you. He loves you right where you're at. And he's always loved you. That was a complete changing of my heart. It's so crazy how we've been conditioned to think that maybe Jesus would not forgive us. He hung out with prostitutes according to the Bible. And he also was hanging out with people who were weak and sick and, and homeless and hookers. Yeah. So I'm sure Jesus, you know, but why do we think that he wouldn't forgive us? You know what I mean? Or why would we be shamed in front of someone who this is what he lived right 100 I think for me for that it was because I didn't

know the bible I didn't know that he had hung out with the prostitutes and the beggars and the lepers um and so you know it was like one of those I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me but I really had no idea what that actually meant you You know, it was just like something I said, but, but at that moment within that conversation with Marty and how free I felt, I was like, I got to get to know this, this guy. And that was really the beginning of my being born again and really understanding who God is and seeing how he works in my life. and, you know, working in the fashion industry for over 20 years, I just look back and I see that he's been equipping me for much bigger things than just fashion stuff. And like, he's equipped me to be able to get to MC events and like be

hosts of events for many, many people. And in that, I can talk about how loved we are, how we can all be the light. And, you know, it's not, it's not an, it's not in a Bible thumping way at all. In fact, I don't even mention Jesus, but just how I can talk about love and about forgiveness and grace in any event that I am at is pretty cool. So it's, it's cool to see how, how all of these things that he's equipped me with to produce things and fashion and blah, blah, blah. Now I get to use them for something that is so much better, which is I hope really just for other people to see how loved we truly are. And I actually get very upset when I hear about Christians who are condemning and hating and being hypocrites. And, you know, and then the world who doesn't know about God, they're like, yeah, that's all Christians. I know that that's how all of them are. So, and I want to be the one that's like, that's not how it is and if they actually read the bible they would see that jesus abhorred the religious he abhorred the the legalistic people who had no grace or tolerance for people but you don't know that until you actually read it yourself yeah wow so true have you read the

first chapter of the bible second chapter actually yes recently uh three weeks ago in the beginning yes did you know that adam's daughters were hooking up with angels uh that's in the bible yeah it blew our brains brandy it blew our brains go Brandy. It blew our brains. Go get it, girl. Go get it. Yeah. And so when the angels laid with Adam's daughters. Hold on. They had hybrids. They had Nephilim. That was what they ended up having was the Nephilim, which is, you know, half angel, half man.

Which became your giants and all those things. Me and Shanna's minds were blown when we saw this and this is in chapter one might be chapter two actually hold on let me look angels of blame you know i'd love for you to read it yeah and then we want to know do you want to know what's crazy brandy is we've had on some very, um, like super famous people that have been studying religion for many, many, many, many years. They've been on like, uh, the history channel. I mean, you name it. And we bring this up to them and we brought it up to a pastor. Like we bring it up and they're like, we don't even, we don't even know. We don't even know what to say about it really which pastor um remember what who was it shannon we asked him and he said um i don't have an opinion on that oh i don't

remember it was one of our most recent interviews he said yeah i don't really understand it and i i just let it be the stuff i don't understand it's very interesting okay so it is one of god are fallen angels who had sex with human women creating the nephilim and were chained up crossing the boundaries of god okay but are you reading it uh-huh you're reading the scripture yeah it's genesis 614 okay all right cool we're gonna put you down a rabbit hole, girlfriend. So anyways, yes. So, and God told them not to, God's like, stop sleeping with Adam's daughters, dude. That's how they end up having the giants and the Nephilim and all this.

And like, they still find their skulls all over the world. Like they dig them up and like they've found them places you know another thing i mean like have you ever looked at the descriptions of the angels in the bible um well obviously frightening they're scary they got faces of three different animals right they got six wings and shit i mean it's just insane. They're not the cute little Campbell soup kids. But you know, the rumors that they were, you know, looking like Archangel Michael, because I mean, like, I totally think Archangel Michael looks like Brad Pitt. That's the vision I get. So I wouldn't keep that. You don't want a three headed horse or something, Shannon? No, it's a horse and oxen and an eagle or the heads.

Oh, I think that's kind of cool. It is. You know what? And it's much like the other deities from other, you know, cultures like, you know, Hindus and interesting that, you know, we believe what we're told. Right. And I like what you said. Read the word.

Right. But you know what, Brandy, I wanted to ask you that she brought up different religions, different cultures being that, and the listeners don't know this yet, but you were adopted you and your brother, both when you found your roots, uh, did you feel like obligated to dig into that culture and religion as well? Um, so Mandy, do you remember when I went back to the Philippines? Oh yes. And I discovered that one of my really good friends here in Denver, Sammy Taggett,

him and I were from the same freaking orphanage where 1.2 million kids are orphaned every year in Manila. There we were from the same orphanage, came out of the same orphanage and within 10 months of each other. So we went back to the Philippines and I didn't, I did not really get to find any of my roots. I know my biological parents' names, but that's really it. I know they were Catholic, but I never really dove in. I would love to help you. As soon as you said Catholic, the Catholics keep better records than almost anybody. Even more than the Mormons?

Just as good. At one point, it just depended. If you were from the 13 colonies or if you were from Louisiana, which was owned by France, they were all Catholic. The Archbishop, they kept better track than the census or the government. Wow. Do you ever want to know anything at all?

Shanna can find out anything. She's done many, many people's ancestry and she makes it a really cool experience for you. Baptism certificates were actually a legal document at one point. So when I did go back to my biological parents' house that they had on my birth certificate, we went back to the little neighborhood that they lived in and asked to see the records. And there was no record of them, but their records only went back to 1991. So in Manila, specifically in this neighborhood where my biological parents apparently lived, the record keeping was not very good at all. But it's funny because in the Philippines, I have random connections in the Philippines who are like, we are going to help you find your family. But my biological father's name is Manuel Gonzalez, which is seriously equivalent to John Smith. Yeah, right.

That's a hard one. Yeah. So let me ask you, tell our listeners the tough decision your biological parents made for you. I would say the tough decision my biological parents made for me was just giving me up and leaving me, leaving me at the hospital. And it's funny when I share my story with people, they get so sad. They're like, oh, that's just heartbreaking. And I'm like, no, it's not. Like I was raised in the most amazing, amazing family. Like it is, it all was divinely ordained and there is nothing to like feel bad about. And for me, honestly, this all comes in one big circle, but being abandoned

at birth, being fostered, being adopted, and then to having my own abortion, like all of that circled around in this way that was just so profound for me. So the fact that my biological mother gave birth to me, like he brought me to term and delivered me like to me, what a gift that that is. Oh my gosh. Wow. That's powerful. Holy crap. I, I never, yeah, I never knew that. Holy shit. So they left, they left you at the hospital. They left me at the hospital and, um, the like city and county of the Philippines or the, the government tried to give me back to them and they didn't, they chose not to take me back. I do know I have a previous sibling before me, but yeah, I think that that was

probably a very difficult decision for my biological mother, whose name is Erlinda Ignacio. And she was 23 when she had me. But at the same, like on my birthday, I always wonder if she remembers me. I always wonder if she like is just thinks of me and that for a while that really bothered me but it doesn't bother me anymore and I think it's more because of my faith I think I I realized that I am a daughter of the most high and um and that's really for me what my identity is. But yeah, for a long time, I, I like would get really depressed around my birthday. And I would wonder, like, why I look the way I do. And I have this idea that my, my biological father is this, like, small little Filipino man is super dark skinned. And, like, I actually don't look a lot like Filipinos. So even in the

Philippines, they're like, you're not Filipino, but I am. I was, both of my parents were from the Philippines. So yeah, I haven't really dug too much into the Filipino culture yet. Okay. So you've never, besides around your birthday, it felt sad too, but you didn't have resentment? No. Yesterday I was in an IOP. I'm in an IOP right now. Our listeners might not know this, but I relapsed. And so I put myself back into an intensive outpatient program and I'm really enjoying it because I love people's stories.

My passion is helping people in addiction, but there was a girl who was adopted. She's black and her family's white. And she shared, she struggled with being raised by a white family and not knowing her culture and you know, her people. And at one point she was in a school and there was only five black kids in the whole school. Her white family always tried to straighten out her curls. So now she picture her curls are rocking. She said it was just very white upbringing and she kind of seems like resentful about it. Feels like she doesn't have like a place to call like her true home. Like

she's kind of stuck in the middle. It was very brave of her to share that. Did you ever feel that way? I actually have not felt like that. And I was emceeing an event a couple nights ago, and it was very much about race and racial equality. And one of the main points that I got from a speaker who was speaking was that people need to take action. And I just, you know, when I got back up on the mic, I was just like, I am so grateful that my parents took action. And the action they took was love. They shielded me from any racism. And, you know, my mom actually did tell me, my mom and dad did tell me that a lot of their adult people were like giving them a lot of shit about adopting Asians, but I never saw it.

So they took action by shielding us from that and then by loving on us. And it's funny because my brother is like, Brandy, you know, we're Twinkies, like we're white on the inside. And I'm like, well, I don't feel like I'm white on the inside. I just feel like I'm me on the inside. I love your brother. Your brother was adopted as well. He ever tried to figure out who his parents are?

He can't so much because he was found in a shoebox as a dying baby, very premature. And there's, so there's no paperwork on my brother. Whereas my, my biological parents, like they were there at the hospital and filled out the birth certificate. But yeah, my brother really has no interest in finding out his Vietnamese heritage. And it's interesting as an adoptee, I have a lot of friends who could care less about where they came from. So I like to get into those conversations. And I think it's fun to bring a bunch of adoptees together and talk about, like, I know that I've definitely dealt with fear of abandonment. That's probably the biggest issue in throughout my life. And I didn't realize that that could even be connected to adoption. But as I get older, you know, there I was at the hospital, then I was pulled out of that into an orphanage, then I was pulled out of that

into foster care. And then I was pulled out. So every time my parents left me to go somewhere, I thought they were leaving, like the first five years of my life, feeling like someone's always going to leave me, of course, that would carry on and kind of a traumatic effect as an adult and being in relationships where I'm like, oh, they're just going to leave me, you know, and maybe even in past relationships, doing a self-fulfilling prophecy, self-fulfilling prophecy, self-fulfilling thingamajigger, like causing that because I fear it so much that I cause it. Well, and now there, you know, you can have PTSD from the womb. Yeah. That's interesting. I love your story because the love that you carry in your heart showed throughout it. Like you could have had so much

resentment. You could have been so angry. You could have been so disappointed at the end of that trip you took. But again, like I said at the beginning, when I introduced you, you always find the good in things. And I just love that about you. You know, I'm sure it's not always, but I'm sure there's times where you don't, you're able to flip it back to love real fast. And, and, and I love that about you. The other thing that I love about you, Brandy, is that you love yourself. And, and I see that like, there's a difference between self-love and being cocky or confident or overly confident. Like you carry yourself with such confidence that it's very contagious. Like it makes me want to carry myself with more confidence. I see it in your fashion and the way you express yourself. And just so our listeners know, when we say fashion, we're talking fashion that she puts together that anyone could afford.

And that's another thing I love about you is we're not talking like $2,500 Louis Vuitton purses and shit. Can you talk about your love for fashion where that started? Yeah. So let me show you this. My love of fashion began definitely when I was a kiddo on Eastbury drive four houses down from Jessica Satterfield. These are my original fashion sketches from third grade. Oh my God. I love that you still have that. I've always just loved fashion. I love, look at these. Do you remember like the gotcha swimsuits, Mandy at the Aurora mall? I've just always loved fashion. And I've really specifically always loved handbags. Ever since I was a kid, I love to organize things. When I was 23, I started a handbag business

and it was like the internet had just started. And I taught myself how to build a website and I built myself a website. And because the internet was so new, literally six months later, I blew up on the internet and went what we would call viral. And I was number three when you typed in handbag under AOL. And I was selling in boutiques in London, Paris, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, LA, Denver. And these bags were like, not even, they weren't like leather, fancy handbags. Like all of my bags are just fun little pieces of

fabric. And like, it was just crazy. So because it kind of blew up so fast, I had to learn how to have a business really fast. And I ended up hiring sewers and really going on this whole rigmarole of being a designer at the turn of the century, Y2K. And I ended up moving to California and started getting to bring my fashions out into the LA and San Francisco markets and doing all these markets with these awesome, amazing designers and really learning about the fashion industry. And life brought me back to Denver in 2004. And I knew right away, I want to help designers start up their companies. So that's when I founded Fashion Denver. And I wanted Fashion Denver just

to be something where everything I learned, I could help other people start their businesses. So I've had Fashion Denver for 18 years. And in that I've had a boutique, I've like produced tons of fashion shows and fashion markets. And right now, like our fashion industry in Denver is huge. And there are so many outlets now for designers to be in. I found like that. Well, I'm kind of like one of the veterans. And so I'm not as active as all these little youngsters are. But I really love focusing on our fashion camp for kids. And so once every I think I do it two or three times a year,

I have four to 11 year olds come to the super fun venue and we make fashion. And by the end of the day, they walk the runway with their fashion piece on, they've had their hair and makeup done, and it is just so much fun. Interesting to see how my own evolution of my passion for fashion has shifted. And like Mandy was saying, like my outfits are thrifted. They're hand-me-downs. They're my grandma's old something or other. Like I do not spend very much on fashion, but it's just so fun. That makes it more of a challenge. I think that this is a neat time to be in fashion because it's not so much about what, you know, we used to think was like the beauty that everyone had to be. We're finding beauty in every shape, color, size, race, gender, right? Had a lot of people on recently, you know, over the past year talking about fashion, talking

about this industry, how it's changed and it needed to change, right? Because, you know, for so long it was actually causing people to have eating disorders, probably kill themselves, hate themselves, you know? I mean, I think there's even like, I think there's a lawsuit even against one of the social medias. Did you hear about that? No. I guess if I see the change is what I'm saying. Yeah. I think it's amazing that people are just more bold about being exactly who they are and putting themselves out there and feeling vulnerable. For the longest time, my hair was way down to here because I have scoliosis and I was afraid people would make fun of my back. So I covered my back with my hair and like, dumb.

So like to chop off all of my hair, which I do that all the time now, I grow to cut and cut to grow. I realized, you know what? Like, so what if I have scoliosis and a crooked back? Like that is part of who I am and I don't want to hide it. So now that we do live in a society where we're more confident to be exactly who we're made to be, that's super awesome. And it's really exciting to see that in fashion as well. Like what, for my shows, I never liked to

have all five foot nine, 110 pound models. Like I want every single shape, color, and size in these shows to represent the real everybody. And you do, and you do, and you fucking rock it. And I loved your little, on your new Facebook, rocking that piece that is so original that someone made you. Isn't it fun? That was cool. I have this outfit. I'll friend you on Facebook, but it literally, it's a, I call it a transformer, but I can undo the belt and just go whoosh and it's a whole new outfit. It's amazing. It's super cool. But that's what I mean. Like you rock the mic, you rock the runway, you rock like shit that if I put on, I'd look ridiculous.

You look fucking amazing in it. You would think you look ridiculous, but it's all in your own confidence. Yes. And that's what it is. I love your confidence. Like you'll throw things together where I'm like, oh my God, you just expressed yourself so well through your fashion. It's awesome to watch.

It is. It is so fun. And honestly, I really feel like it all goes back to a having confidence that who God created me to be is for a purpose. So why would I hide that? Why would I not shine my light bright and be he delights in my heart through fashion? Like this sweatshirt used to be Patrick, my, my man's moms, but like just little fashion pieces are such fun. These found them at a thrift store for two bucks like I feel like they're just like little delights like they're little like

oh and what about this and what about this and for me it's so much more special to find something in a drunk drawer and for my mom like guys I discovered a little dresser up in my parents attic all of my mom's spandex from the late 80s and early 90s do you remember units this sounds familiar it was right next to on the move Mandy it was the one where like they were modular I know like you would have like just a tube and the tube could be a tube top it could could be a skirt. It could be a belt. Anyway, found all of my mom's units, found all of my gosh, my mom was like a little fashion lady when she was, Oh yeah. Do you want to know what the one thing I did? I didn't ever understand and maybe you can help me understand it was my dad still has like a drawer of them. Do you remember

the Dickies? They're just like a square piece with a turtleneck so you could put it under a t-shirt. It looked like you were wearing a turtleneck, but really it was just like a square piece of fabric and only the turtleneck. He still has those? Yes. I want to get one of those and wear it over like a bodysuit. There you go. See, there's your fashion. Oh my God. I'll bring get one of those and wear it over like a bodysuit. There you go. See, there's your fashion. Oh my God. I'll bring you one. It might be itchy and Brown, but Hey, whatever. You could pull it off. That's so fun. Yeah. Fashion is just fun. And I think for me,

style is just exhibiting who we are on the inside and wearing it outward. And I'm a quirky little nerdy kooky girl. And so I just like to be that on the inside and wearing it outward. And I'm a quirky little nerdy, kooky girl. And so I just like to be that on the outside too. Recently, you know, there was the one company in the news because they were using a child to advertise, not very tastefully either it seemed very deliberate some of the things they actually had a you know an article on the table that kind of pointed towards child pornography and then and then so they took that all down they put something else up and then they had a book that kind of you know was on the back of the table that kind of was another, you know, hidden kind of, I don't know what it was something they were fucking with people is kind of what I think. And, you know,

I mean, it's just really terrible. How do you feel about it? I think we live in a very dark and evil world and it's surprising and these things are coming to light and it's gross, but I think people are taking freedom of speech speech and freedom of like that I don't know what that'd be called freedom of advertising but they're taking it too far yeah they're taking it too far um for sure that was very disturbing and you know I'm not a I'm not like a big Kardashian follower but I was so happy to see that Kim like cut them out of her. Yeah, she said no more. And she's she quit collaborating with them. Well, I mean, the thing is, is that some of the stuff was so subtle, like,

I probably would have never noticed had it not been pointed out to me. Yeah, right. Which is so concerning, because how many things like that are around us all day that we are not present with? We don't see. I mean, I mean, how much of it is brainwashing us? It's just it's disappointing. Yeah. You know, it's like give them eyes to see and ears to hear. When you are understanding that this world is a spiritual battle, you see things in a different light and you can pick up on those things. I'll, I do have to say though, I'm kind of upset about this, but I got a new kick ass handbag and someone was like, is that a Balenciaga? And I'm like, no, but awesome. Are you ready? What? It's like a amazing ball of... Those spikes? That's badass.

And walking out your front door, if you get jumped, you can kill someone. Bam! I think it's amazing. Me too. And I don't think that it looks like that. Hey, Brandy, we got to also talk about this cool, like, restaurant that you have. Skybar? Yes.

Skybar. Talk about it. Yes. Okay. So about seven months ago, me, my partner, love of my life, Patrick McMichael and Sky Barker Ma put our heads together and we opened up a little 24 seat cocktail lounge at Stanley marketplaceplace that is an ode to the golden era of flight. So think 1960s flight lounge. And we are a specialty cocktail bar and spirit. Is that what it's called? Spirit free? Well, we also have a lot of mocktails and it's just been so fun. We have an amazing, um, general manager and staff and they run the day to day and Sky and Patrick and I are all behind the scenes, but the vibe is very think like Pan Am from the 1960s. It's so rad. You know what I love? You inspire people to dress up to come there like in costume or in whatever.

Yeah, it's definitely a very stylish place to be in because we're so small at 24 seats. It's really best to make a reservation. Patrick and I have gone on a random night and couldn't even get in and we're like, excuse us. Like, excuse us. We're owners of this shit. We can't get a table. Oh my God. So is it like, look like an airplane setting? No, it looks more like a flight lounge. Rad. Yeah. And my dad's helicopter helmet is in there on display, but it's very like an upscale flight lounge from the sixties. Yes. Stanley marketplace, which is so awesome. If you haven't gone there and you live in Colorado, it's a must go. One more thing, Brandy, I want to know this loft that you live in. It's so cool. And it's so funky. And it's another way that I love how creative you are and how you express yourself. We're going over there soon. Yes, we are. So

have you seen any like naked brothel chicks walking around and had any paranormal going on? That is great that you asked that because before we moved in, the Steve who owns the building was like, Brandy, I just need to let you know that that place is haunted by women. And I'm like, uh-uh, because I like in my 20s and 30s, every place I lived in Capitol Hill haunted. I've seen ghosts before and I just didn't want that in my home. So honestly, I when we were working on it, we put in insulation, electrical plumbing. We didn't do it, but we had contractors do it. I was working on the house and just cleaning out some stuff. And I just prayed and I just prayed over every single corner of where every single wall. And I was just like, Lord, I just pray that if there is any energy or spirits in

here, that they're free. And that, that this is a house that is just full of peace and love and joy and I just prayed over that entire house and entire loft. And I have not experienced anything, but it's also because I don't want to dabble in that world. And I know that it's very real, but when I'm at the loft and we have friends at the loft, it is just so full of love. And I know it has to do with, with just like bringing that energy in, do you know, Suzanne prior, she was, so her and I, before I I moved in we just really did a deep dive pray over that whole place and the temperature went from like 50 to like 70 just while we were there oh my god I love it yeah the last thing you'd want is for the love of your life Patrick to cheat on you with a

brothel naked ghost yeah I wouldn't really like. So Shanna and I do like sage and Palo Santo kind of native American style of that hitting each corner. But I love that you just shared with our listeners that you can also just do it with prayer. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. Well, Brandy, you've been awesome. Um, we, I just fricking adore you. We might have to have you on again because like you just bring up the vibration and it's that love you carry in your soul. And I so appreciate you coming on. Yeah. You both ladies, thank you so much for inviting me and asking again for this resource of amazing people that you get to, that you get to talk to and share. And I'm just honored to be one of those people. Tell our listeners where they can find out more

about Brandy Shigley. You can find out more about Brandy Shigley at brandyshigley.com. Oh, easy enough. I love it. And now it's time for break that shit down. I would say the first thing and really only thing that comes to my heart and my mind and my soul is how loved we are right where we are. How through our brokenness and being vulnerable in our brokenness, we can help heal others around us.

And to not have any fear of things that we might have shame for, of things that we have guilt, but get those things out so we can heal from them and also just be a part of someone else's healing process. We're just all created for a purpose. And when we own that, that's when freedom in our life just happens. One of our Shanna's favorite words, freedom. And you're right. It's very freeing to number one, heal from the inside out, but also to share our authenticity and our brokenness to help others. Right. That's we're all here on earth together for a reason. Yep. And I love that you and Kelly Schroed. So we had Kelly on and she talked about her book that you're in. God, I love that book.

And I love the story in it that they wrote and the picture they chose for you. And so that's another place that you can learn about. Brandy is in her book and it is called Exposure. Exposure. We'll post that on there too. If people want to read the story in there about you, because it's rad. I just wanted to say thank you so much. I think you're amazing.

I can't wait to meet you in person. And I appreciate you coming on as well. Thank you, Shannon. I look forward to hanging out at the loft. And we'll be in touch. We're going to come down and hang out and meet your homeless neighbors and see your beautiful loft. Oh my gosh, I would love to do that. I would love, love to do that. And again, thank you both so much for having me. And love you, ladies. Bye. Thanks for being with us today. We hope you will come back next week. If you like what you hear, don't forget to rate, like, and subscribe. Thank you.

We rise to lift you up. Thanks for listening.