March 10, 2025 • 42 mins
From Broadway Lights to Family Nights: Bret Shuford's Journey of Dance, Sobriety, and Manifesting Dreams!
In this episode, we're diving into the inspiring and transformative journey of Bret Shuford, a Broadway star turned content creator, family man, and wellness advocate. Bret opens up about his incredible shift from Broadway’s spotlight to building a life centered around wellness, family, and dance. He shares how movement isn't just about shaking it off but about grounding, healing, and connecting with others on a deeper level.
We talk about the power of community in the arts, how dancing became Bret's way of coping, and the life-changing journey of sobriety. Bret’s honesty and vulnerability in content creation are a game-changer—he explains why collaboration trumps competition and how embracing your true self can create real connections.
Bret also spills the tea on manifesting your dreams with vision boards, how taking action (even when it’s imperfect) can lead to growth, and the magic of saying no to make space for something new! Plus, find out how he balances family life and passion while staying connected to his audience in a joy-filled way.
Takeaways you don’t want to miss:
- From Broadway to content creation, Bret proves you can pivot and manifest your dreams.
- Dance is more than art—it's wellness and connection.
- Curiosity and vulnerability are game-changers for personal growth and creative success.
- Vision boards work, but it’s taking action that makes the magic happen.
- Collaboration > Competition – let’s build communities together!
Tune in for a conversation filled with inspiration, laughter, and real talk about turning dreams into action—we promise it’ll leave you feeling motivated and ready to dance through life!
Follow Bret Shuford on IG, YT, website
As well as Broadway Husbands on IG, YT
You can watch the full episode on Youtube
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Work Besties! Theme Song Written by Ralph Lentini @therallyband
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jess (00:00):
What if dancing through life's challenges could be your
secret to staying grounded andconnected?
In today's episode, we'rediving into the world of one of
the Broadway husbands, BretShuford, who balances family, he
balances a podcast, he has anew book, he's doing everything.
He does it all while usingmovement and his vulnerability
(00:23):
as his wellness hacks.
So today, work Besties, getready, because you're going to
learn how to dance through thetough stuff with grace and
support.
Claude (00:33):
Hi.
I'm Claude and I'm Jess.
We are corporate employees byday, entrepreneurs by night and
Work Besties for life.
Jess (00:41):
Join us as we explore how Work Besties lift each other up,
laugh through the chaos andthrive together in every
industry.
Work Besties Welcome Bret.
We're so excited to have you.
Bret Shuford (00:56):
I am so honored to be here, besties.
Jess (01:00):
So we thought, Bret, if you wouldn't mind for our Work
Bestie community.
I'm sure many of you alreadyfollow Bret on one of his many
cool social platforms, but ifnot, if you could just give a
little bit of background on you,who you are.
Bret Shuford (01:14):
Yeah, sure.
So I'm originally fromSoutheast Texas and was called
very early in my life to be aperformer, and I followed that
call all the way to new yorkcity, uh, where I was in eight
broadway shows and, whilepursuing that dream, ended up
meeting my husband now husband,steven hannah, who was at the
(01:37):
time, a principal dancer withnew york city ballet and then
left, uh, the ballet to be onbroadway as.
So that's where we came up withour now Instagram account
called Broadway Husbands, and wemet in 2007.
We got married in 2011.
And then, in 2022, we had ourson by a surrogacy, who's now
(01:59):
going to be three in March.
So we love to share on ourInstagram a bit of our journey
to as parents, as gay dads.
We currently now live inHouston, texas, of all places,
which is always bewildering topeople, but I just want to
remind everyone we had apandemic, and then I don't know
(02:21):
if you remember that I was goingto say you answered, answered
my very first question.
Jess (02:24):
I was going to be like what inspired you to leave New
York to go to Texas?
Bret Shuford (02:28):
We can get into more details, but now you know,
now we love to make content thatbrings joy.
And we love to dance together.
And we are also bringing ourcommunity together by launching
a new podcast this spring calledFrom Husbands to Dads, and
we're going to share what it'slike as parents navigating this
(02:49):
journey and hopefully create amore inclusive space for all
families.
Claude (02:54):
That's beautiful, love it.
Bret Shuford (02:55):
Thanks.
Claude (02:56):
And I have to say I'm in awe also because I love, I mean
, people.
Performing for me is such athrill, it's so cool, and from
you being on Broadway and yourhusband being a principal in the
Ballet of New York is likeincredible, so it's really,
really impressive.
Thank you Do you miss actuallybeing on Broadway.
Bret Shuford (03:18):
There's things about it I miss.
I think the thing I miss themost are the people, because
it's just, it's a sort of Ithink anyone who's done theater,
no matter what point in yourlife where you've maybe you
performed, you have a built-incommunity when you do that right
the drama club kids from highschool.
So we I do miss the artisticcommunity.
I do not miss the scheduleright.
(03:40):
The schedule is brutal.
You're doing eight shows a week, working six days a week.
You only get two weeks off, ayear Plus understudy rehearsals.
Claude (03:48):
Working on holidays, doing holidays, working on
holidays and just balancing itall.
Bret Shuford (03:51):
And it would be so much harder with a kid and
there are lots of people who doit with kids but for me,
especially at this stage in mylife, I don't really miss that
schedule and the repetition ofit, that schedule and the
repetition of it.
But I've done some shows in thelast few years, just locally.
There's a great theater here inHouston that I've worked at a
few times and it's been quitenice to get to do it and then
(04:12):
also know that it's going to endafter a couple of weeks and get
to go put my son to bed More orless in your, you know the way
you want.
Claude (04:19):
It's like a happy medium .
Yeah, the happy medium.
You, yeah, the happy medium.
Jess (04:21):
You get a little bit of the fun, the connection,
camaraderie, but you don't haveto do it for such an extensive
time.
Bret Shuford (04:27):
Yeah exactly.
That's amazing.
So I'm kind of wondering.
You made mention that you weactually never did a show
together.
(04:47):
He Valley World is so differentand so separate from what I was
doing on Broadway.
And then when he booked hisfirst Broadway show, which was
Billy Elliot, his stage door wasacross the street from mine.
I was doing the Little Mermaid.
So we were sort of work bestiesin that we would take each
other on the subway to TimesSquare, we would drop each other
(05:08):
off at our stage doors, youknow, and then, like between
shows, we would go to BryantPark and sit and have lunch, you
know, and then go back and doour second show and that was
sort of.
Jess (05:20):
It was sort of like if you can have a Broadway work bestie
, that's kind of a great way todo it yeah, I would feel like,
because that's one of the manybenefits of a work bestie is
having that break in the day.
So it sounds like you were ableto leverage your connection, so
we'll count it and somethinggoing to the work.
Claude (05:36):
Bestie also, we actually last year we interviewed some
actors, two actresses, and Iloved it because when you said
that you, you know you miss thecommunity, you miss the people,
us we thought that, being on theoutside, we thought that it
would be very cutthroat, youknow, with all the audition and
(05:57):
all that, and she actually toldus that, no, there's a lot of
support in this world also.
Bret Shuford (06:04):
It's true.
Jess (06:06):
She did.
Yeah, I was going to say shedid comment, though.
So you're right, like onceyou're in, you're actually in a
show.
There is like a built-incommunity, as long as you get
along with the people.
Why not say we were Right?
Yeah, for sure.
But then she did comment aboutwhat's different, which we find
fascinating as well, is yourinterview process.
Right, you're in a veryinteresting situation where you
(06:29):
usually walk into a room and youcan see your competition before
you are interviewing.
Well, in our industries, or alot of the people we talk to,
you don't necessarily know whoyou're up against.
Right, because you're.
You're meeting either through aZoom or you're one at a time.
So we thought that was kind offascinating, and they made the
comment that they actuallystarted to enjoy the process
(06:53):
more when they met each other,because then they would go
together to a lot of theauditions and it made that
moment where you're usually inthat room and it was so tense
with all the other people, butbecause they were there, it
brought the brevity to it.
They felt like they actuallyperformed and auditioned better
when they were together, likenot actually auditioning
(07:13):
together but in the roomtogether.
So we found that fascinatingtoo yeah, I would totally agree.
Bret Shuford (07:18):
But it's also one of those things where when you
do it long enough, you juststart to know the people.
So that's kind of the communitypart of it it's like, especially
when you're in what we do,you're such a specific type,
right like, so you're gonnaalways see the same people at
(07:39):
every audition because, like youall keep getting called for the
same stuff, most of the timeyou all don't book it though.
Right, so it's like one of usis gonna book it, but you get so
used to seeing people that itcould be oh hey, I was like
how's your kid doing, or did youbook that last thing?
I saw you at so funny.
Jess (07:58):
Yeah, that's like an interesting dynamic that you're
like, well now, well, if I seeyou there, then maybe, maybe I
don't have the great of a chance.
Yeah it's true.
Bret Shuford (08:07):
Yeah.
Jess (08:08):
That's so cool.
So, Bret, one of the things wethink you bring to the table
that our work besties can reallyvalue and kind of understand is
two things.
One, just watching some of yourvideos, I think will give them
a little bit of a break in theday and make them a little
happier.
Happy, yeah.
But two is the dancing.
So I'm wondering, from yourperspective, how do you feel
(08:29):
dancing?
Does it you feel like it fitsinto your wellness routine, or
is it something that, for you,maybe helps you feel grounded?
Bret Shuford (08:36):
Yeah, dancing for me, you know now, it used to be
part of my work, right?
So now it really does become amoment of joy and a moment of
expression.
Sometimes it just for us.
It's also a moment of connectionwhere steven and I get to do it
together sometimes we're sobusy parenting and getting
(08:58):
through the day that for us tojust like, do a dance together
just feels like being who we,who we were even before we met
each other.
You know, it's like it sort ofbrings us back to that.
We love to dance for thatreason, and what what's been
really fun is we've starteddoing monthly online virtual
(09:20):
dance classes for people whowant to just like, and it's like
for any level.
It's so simple and easy.
But we had a lot of peoplesaying I want to, I want to come
dance with you, and so we werelike well, come dance with us.
So so we're.
We've committed the lastSaturday of every month for this
year we're going to do a livevirtual jazz class, we're going
to do a warmup and we're goingto teach a little dance
(09:42):
combination, and it's just a funway to bring people together.
We do it on Zoom and this month, actually, every dollar that we
raise from the class is goingto go to the American Red Cross
to help Los Angeles.
Yeah, oh, that's fabulous, yeah, so I think it's a fun way to
bring people together and I knowit's intimidating for some
people.
They get very self-consciousand what's beautiful about doing
(10:10):
it virtually is no one's gonnasee you.
Yeah, you know you can turnyour camera off and we can
listen to some fun music and youknow, it can just be a great
way to get together.
Claude (10:16):
Yeah, it's just like to exercise, but also kind of
belonging with a community andhaving all this stress coming
out and exactly like no judgment, and that, I think, is
beautiful.
Bret Shuford (10:28):
That's what we need yes, I agree and I think
that, honestly, the wellnesspart of that is is the coming
together.
Finding a common ground withpeople right now is hard to do,
and so when you're together in agroup and you're just listening
to the same song and you'rejust grooving, it's easy to to
find to come together and bringa smile which just I think that
(10:49):
takes any of the stresses oryeah, it's not just physical,
it's emotional, yeah as well,you know, and therapeutic for
sure yeah, I'm excited to showyou where these classes.
Claude (11:00):
Please come, I'm sure you, we will see, you'll see us
that's going to be something.
But yeah, let's do that.
Jess (11:10):
I totally want to you would be really good at it.
I used to be good at it.
So, along the lines of um dance, would you um be able to share
a story with us where dancing ormovement maybe helped push you
through a tough time?
Because we're trying to helppeople realize how sometimes
(11:31):
just taking your mind offsomething can help.
Bret Shuford (11:35):
Sure, you know I mean yoga, of course, is a big
part of my life too.
I'm very much into yoga, whichis also movement and very, very
similar to dance.
It's mind body connection, andI've always found myself in
those moments.
I'm ADHD, right, and somethingthat I'm pretty open about Steve
(11:56):
and I are both open about we'veboth been sober for a long time
.
I've been sober for about 20years to talk about wellness,
made that decision to stopdrinking 20 years ago, and when
I did that, it was a bigchallenge because I was
discovering I was young.
I was 25 at the time.
I thought, oh my God, my lifeis over.
It's like no one's going towant to hang out with me because
(12:19):
I don't know.
Jess (12:20):
Yeah, that's a really mature decision to make at that
age.
Very impressed.
No, yeah, that's a reallymature decision to make at that
age.
Bret Shuford (12:27):
Very impressed.
What it did for me was I hadbeen dance.
For me, growing up as a littlegay kid in the South, was an
escape, because I didn't reallyfit in at school and I didn't
fit in at home, and so I couldgo and I could look at myself in
the mirror and like myself, andI could get lost in the
movement and I could get lost inthe movement and I could get
lost in the music and I was goodat it.
(12:49):
So I just found a way to connectto myself through that.
But when it transitioned intome then needing to do it for
work, I didn't know how toescape anymore through it.
So then I started usingsubstances to do that and so
when I got sober I learned howto stop needing to escape myself
(13:13):
at all and really starting tolook at myself and own myself
for who I was.
And then movement and dancebecame this thing where I could
connect more fully to myself,because as an ADHD person, I can
get very much in my head andlose track of my body.
Movement for me is aboutgetting both of those things
(13:37):
aligned in the present moment,where usually, when you get into
the present moment, everythingis, you know, there's no fear of
the future and regret of thepast, and you're.
You're just in this presentmoment, and that's why I love it
, that's why I love to.
I love movement.
Jess (13:56):
Yeah, I feel like.
So I'm also ADHD and I think,um, what helps me is running in
the morning and I think you'reyou're you kind of say it much
more eloquently than I do, butit is when I'm running.
The ability to kind of get outof that and just be one with
your body and figure out it kindof helps ground you into the
moment versus thinking about allthe 20 other things that are
(14:18):
going on.
Bret Shuford (14:19):
Yeah, isn't that amazing yeah.
Jess (14:22):
It's crazy how our mind and bodies can work like that
together.
Claude (14:27):
But I think that it's quite interesting that you know
when you say that dancing usedto be your escape and then it
became your work, so you didn'thave that escape anymore.
Bret Shuford (14:39):
Yeah.
Claude (14:40):
You know it's.
I never thought of that, really, that you know you needed
something else.
So you've now found a newavenue.
Bret Shuford (14:48):
Yeah, and what's challenging, I think, for a lot
of people who end up pursuing Ican speak for myself, but I
think there are a lot of youngpeople who pursue the arts or
pursue theater as a profession,but they found it because they
didn't fit in.
They were sort of these misfits.
Right then you think aboutthose theater nerds and I.
I think it's always a bit of anawakening when you enter the
(15:11):
competition of the industry andthe commercial part of it, how
hard it is for people to reallyfind themselves once it's no
longer this escape.
You know and that was why Ibecame a coach, like that's.
When I got certified as a coachwas I was like I want to help
those people really find theirfulfillment so they're not
(15:32):
looking for it outside ofthemselves, right?
Jess (15:35):
watching some of your content is you have this great
ability to center people andthen think about bigger, broader
opportunities at the same time.
Would be willing to share withus your journey for that and
kind of your kind of ethos ofwhen you do coach people?
Bret Shuford (15:58):
Yeah, thank you, it's really a thoughtful
question.
I mean, I don't know, sometimesyou're so close to something you
just don't even see it Like.
I think that, for me, what Ilove about coaching and honestly
it's the same thing I lovedabout performing it's like I, my
goal and the reason like I loveto do what I've done and it's
(16:18):
the same transfers over towhatever it is I'm doing is I
love to help people see theworld and see themselves
differently.
Right, and I think it's soimportant that we be curious.
I think there's so much magicand curiosity and so many of us
like whenever someone loses thatcuriosity and they're just like
no, this is how it is is whenI'm like you are holding
(16:41):
yourself back from so much.
And so for me and I and I useso much of my own story to teach
this because for me, I didn'tbook my first Broadway show
until I made the decision to getsober- right, it was it wasn't
until about three months intolike getting one day at a time
of just getting clean and takingcare of myself and getting
(17:03):
truthful and honest with myself.
And then, boom, I booked myfirst Broadway show.
This thing I'd wanted for mywhole life, you know, from when
I was six, and it was this signto me.
It was like, okay, taking careof yourself and prioritizing
honesty and authenticity andtruthfulness actually leads you
to down the path to what youtruly want.
(17:24):
And then I got that firstBroadway show and was like, now
what?
Like I didn't, hadn't thoughtthrough the rest of my life, and
so then I needed to start goingokay, well, do I want to keep
doing this?
Do I want to do tv film, do I?
And then I met Stephen and Iwas like, oh, do I want?
to get married or do I want tohave a kid?
So many options open up to youwhen you're curious and when
(17:49):
you're honest and truthful.
And I want to help people staycurious.
I want to help people let go ofwhatever things that feel so
finite in their brains about whothey are and what they're
supposed to be doing and howthey're supposed to do it, and
get to that place where, like,what if it could be different?
What if I could approach thisin a different way?
(18:10):
What if I could be vulnerablewhen I make this social media
posts right or whatever it is?
And so in my content, I love toinspire people to just show up
even before you feel ready.
Right.
That's the thing I think mostpeople have always who've known
me as long as I've been around.
(18:31):
They always say you just showup, right.
Even when you don't feelprepared, or even when it's
messy, you still show up, whichis so scary for some people who
want to be perfect.
They want that, to have thatperfect image, and what I've
learned over the years is whenyou just show up, you learn and
(18:53):
you get better and youexperience new things and you
meet new people and then you getbetter and then um and so that,
for me, is really what I thinkabout when I'm coaching is
unlocking people's curiosity andhelping them have the courage
to just show up, no matter what.
Claude (19:14):
And how do you do that?
Because, yes, when you havesomeone that have this need of
perfection, you know, and, yes,they block themselves because it
has to be perfect.
How do you unlock?
And also, like you say, it'sthrough curiosity, but how do
you do that?
Bret Shuford (19:33):
Well, first off, I can't do it right.
I'm not the expert.
No, you have to do it Right.
You have to want that.
You have to want somethingdifferent For some people, and
it all depends on where thatperson is and what they really
truly want, but for some people,it really is about getting
clear.
Number one is, like clear whatdo I really want and what do I
want my life to look like?
(19:54):
Because the vision is whatmatters more, more than anything
.
You know for me, like I grew up, at six years old, I made this
decision.
I wanted to be a performer, Iwanted to be on Broadway.
I wanted to be on Broadway.
I made that decision at six.
I knew I wanted to do that.
I would have dreams in middleschool and high school waking up
(20:17):
, vivid dreams of being onBroadway and being on stage
doing cats.
I remember this very vividdream of doing cats, dreams of
meeting celebrities, and I wouldgo to every show that I would
go to, I would go to the stagedoor.
That, to me, was me manifestingthe vision of what I wanted.
So if I didn't have that vision, it probably never would have
(20:38):
happened.
Right, and so, understandingthat, like having a clear vision
, clarity is the best.
So then you know that everystep is leading you towards that
.
And once you know that, whatthat vision is, and who you want
to be and who you want tobecome, then you take action
from that place not from theplace you've been or the place
(21:01):
you feel like you're supposed tobe.
But, like I always tell people,you want to take action from
the person that you're becoming,not the person that you think
you are it's true, but it's adifferent way of thinking.
Claude (21:13):
Right, there's a lot of people is like even me, it's
like who I am, but no who youwant to be, and going um, and it
makes me think, alsosimplistically, your vision
board, in a way.
Right, big fan of man, she's abig fan and I never did a vision
.
Jess (21:31):
You are on our vision board for this year.
I don't know why.
When you wrote to us, I waslike, oh, it works it does work.
Bret Shuford (21:38):
the problem so many of us hold with those
things and this is perfectionismis that you make a vision and
then you hold it to some sort oftimeline.
Right, and my favorite thingthis kind of goes back to your,
to your question, claude is myfavorite thing to teach people
is you're not taking action toget results.
Like, the action that you'retaking on a daily basis towards
(22:03):
that vision is to create energy.
Right, you're broadcasting tothe universe every time you take
action, saying this is what Iwant, and then the universe
quantum physics, which is anactual you know law, tells us
(22:24):
that what you put out, you getback.
Now, it doesn't mean you'regoing to get it back when you
want it the way you want it, butyou're going to get that energy
back in some way and in somereturn.
You're never going to get thatenergy back if you don't put it
out.
Claude (22:36):
I think also, it's like not being stuck of what you want
to get back.
Maybe you're getting it back ina different way, but you're
still getting this energy in adifferent way.
Yeah, but you're still getting,like this energy and you know,
in a different way I mean, forinstance.
Bret Shuford (22:49):
So you know, and I have to constantly look for
proof of this right and this,which is why I think it's so
important to notice every daythe things that are, the
abundance that is coming in, nomatter how small, right, right
and but, like I made a decisionin a few months ago.
I was, I got asked to goperform on a show and I said no.
(23:10):
I was like the first time I wasa little scared because I was
like I know that that's aguaranteed income, right.
The next week, out of the blue,because of our social media, I
got offered a book deal from apublisher to write two
children's picture books thatare going to come out next year.
Right, and a major publisher.
(23:32):
This isn't like small dinky,like this is like penguin
publishing, right.
So, hey, and it it was.
And I that was not something Imean visions of like writing a
children's book, because that'sall we read these days.
Jess (23:43):
Yes, very much in the wheelhouse.
Bret Shuford (23:55):
But I'd never said oh, I want to be a children's
book author, Right.
But I it was this moment of youmade the right decision.
By saying no, you created spacefor this, Like the curiosity
was there, instead of saying tomyself oh, I'm an actor, I'm
supposed to do these things.
No this doesn't, I want to dosome.
I'm not sure what it is.
I'm going to say no, and Icreated space for this new thing
, and so I think it's reallyimportant to know like you are
(24:15):
manifesting, even when you don'tknow what it is.
Claude (24:18):
Something's going to come If you're creating space
from the place you want to go Tobe scared of, like you said, of
saying no because because youknow it was an income or
whatever and you had thisintuition that you could say no
right, or I think it's okay tobe scared yeah, you're gonna be
scared, I would be friend butit's holding your vision right
(24:39):
like it's going back, you'retaking but, you take action.
Yeah, exactly.
Yes, you're going to be scared,right, but, like you say,
you're taking action.
Jess (24:49):
Yeah.
So, brad, exciting news aboutthe books We'll be first in line
.
In addition to now being anauthor, you also are a content
creator, so we wanted to chatwith you a little bit, because I
think that's actually infairness.
When I first became aware ofyou is I followed your podcast.
That was about content creation, and one of the things that you
talked about there was you'recreating a vision and then
(25:13):
sticking to it.
Doing small things, commit tosmall things, one at a time.
Bret Shuford (25:16):
So I listened, but we did that, we did that
exactly yeah, and I learned somuch from it.
Jess (25:24):
So thank you.
But I was wondering.
So what got you to go fromBroadway coaching and then to
content creation?
Bret Shuford (25:34):
That's a good question.
I mean, I had always beencreating content because I'd
always been very curious aboutsocial media, but I would be a
little bit envious of the peoplewho were doing content creation
as like for work.
I would tell myself things like, oh, I'm not as creative as
them, or what am I gonna?
I have to figure out what I'mgonna do.
And I finally uh, I guess itwas in 2015 or 16 was in this
(25:58):
musical on broadway calledparamore.
It was a Cirque du Soleil showand, uh, that's a whole nother
podcast.
I'm working for Cirque duSoleil, but I ended up when that
show opened.
It had been such a long five orsix months of rehearsal that I
(26:18):
decided I was going to commit tomaking a YouTube video every
week for a year.
So I did it.
I actually accomplished thatand was I learned so much.
And it was actually kind ofthrough that that Broadway
Husbands was born, because wewould do a video series on my
channel called Broadway Husbandswhere Steven and I would talk
(26:39):
about something, um, talk aboutwork, talk about whatever and
that those always outperformedanything that I made when it was
just me, and I was like Iwonder if, like, I created a
separate account for that and soI found no one had the handle
on instagram and I createdbroadway husbands and we just
started to explore and I startedto kind of replicate I wouldn't
(27:02):
say like copy but I would startto sort of mimic or test or try
to do what other people whowere already successful on these
platforms were doing, um, andand test things out like are we,
are we a couple account?
So sometimes we'd post content.
It was a little too thirsty andit'd be like no, that's not
really our fit, you know, orwe'd post you know, and this is
(27:23):
really when Instagram wasn't avideo platform.
It was all images, um, and wepromote the YouTube channel
sometimes, but at some point wedecided in 2018, we decided to
start documenting our journeytowards parenthood through
surrogacy, and that really iswhen it started to blow up.
People were very curious aboutthat process and we were coming
(27:46):
from this angle of two freelanceartists who don't just have
like a trust fund to pay forthis, and we had to figure that
out.
Yeah, and that was really whenit started to grow.
People were very curious aboutthat, and so that, for me, was
when I was like, huh, maybe thiscould be a full-time thing.
(28:07):
And then, when the pandemic hit, what happened was all of the
actors that I knew who didtheater were out of work.
So they were like how have youdone this?
They, people, were coming to mehow did you grow this social
media following?
How have you made this content?
And I started thinking that'swhat I should coach.
(28:27):
I should start helping peopledo that, because people need
this, like there's an income tobe made here, there's a, there's
a whole economy here, and sothat's when I transitioned my
coaching away from performingand really started leaning more
into content creation andunderstanding that world a
little bit more, and it's coolthat you got to kind of combine
(28:48):
your two passions.
Yeah.
Claude (28:51):
And it's so funny how you say about Cirque du Soleil,
because we have an episode whereJess actually asked what would
you have liked to do in?
Jess (29:02):
the past.
What would be your dream job ifyou could do anything For me?
Claude (29:05):
it was be a performer in Cirque du Soleil.
I used to do rhythmic gymnasticand I did a performance with
someone in Monaco, where I'mfrom, where someone was from
Cirque du Soleil, and so it's sofunny when you say that I'm
like I see stars in my eyes,because I think for me, cirque
(29:26):
du Soleil is the ultimate show,right.
Bret Shuford (29:30):
They do.
I mean, it's interestingbecause they are sort of a
corporation now, so they justhave so much money and they
throw so much money into theirshows and they take care of
their artists in a wonderful way.
You know, I think they reallydo take care of their,
especially their circus artists,but Broadway is not built for
(29:50):
what Cirque du Soleil does.
So Broadway is a very differentworld in that it's unions, it's
New York, it's you know, andthey're non-union, they're
street artists, they're acrobats, you know.
Jess (30:04):
So it was a very confusing experience for them and for us
I think that's like the nicestway to probably say yeah, no one
knew how to how to handle eachother, and then you had the
french barrier.
Claude (30:16):
I realize that, and deal with that every day.
Jess (30:20):
You're lucky she hasn't clothes plain yet, because
usually that's what happens Isay something people don't
understand and she's going torepeat yeah, like I guess we'll
get like a really funny look ontheir face and I'll be like,
okay, so here's what she wastrying to ask, but you get it
after having to do that, yeah itwas a cool experience in that
(30:44):
there were my gosh, there wereso many acrobats, there was
something like 80 different likeum nations being represented in
that one show.
Bret Shuford (30:53):
Oh, it was so cool , you know, from argentina to
ukraine, to poland, to I mean,there was just so many different
and where else?
I would never have gotten thatexperience anywhere else if it
hadn't been for Cirque du Soleil.
Jess (31:10):
No wonder why you always say that, Because I feel like
whenever you bring up that show,you're like that could be a
whole podcast.
And now I get why.
Bret Shuford (31:17):
There's so many experiences from that, yeah.
Jess (31:20):
Wow, it's like you lived a life just with that experience.
Bret Shuford (31:24):
No, it's true.
I mean, I actually would loveto write a book about that whole
experience, but I don't know ifCirque might come after me.
I don't know they might sue methat wouldn't be a kid's book.
Jess (31:35):
So, Bret, speaking of that , I feel like you do a great job
of balancing, providingvulnerable topics as well as
bringing lightness to things,and you bring a really cool,
unique niche to your contentcreation, but you make it still
feel welcoming for everybody.
Is that by design, or do youhave kind of a focus or
(31:56):
perspective, or are you kind ofebbing and flowing with that?
Bret Shuford (32:00):
It's all an ebb and flow, you know.
I think there's days where I'mlike I'm so confused like what
am I making?
And there's, I mean, I thinkthere's days where I'm like.
I'm so confused Like what am Imaking?
And there's I mean it's mucheasier with Broadway Husbands
because it's very specific Forus.
The gauge there is before weclick post.
We always ask ourself does thiscreate joy?
That's our only gauge.
(32:21):
We want this to be a joyfulaccount.
It's joyful for our audience.
I mean it's not going to bejoyful for everybody.
We might push some people'sbuttons, but those aren't our
people.
Right, right, exactly,no-transcript feel really good
(32:58):
because my, my real mission, youknow, on my personal account,
is to inspire people and helppeople live their life better
and see themselves as, see thecuriosity and unlock that for
them.
And so that really is reallyall I try to do on my personal
account, but it's through thelens of connection.
You know, what I teach peoplewhen I'm teaching them about
(33:21):
social media and building theirown brand, is that you want to
connect to one person.
And so for me, I think of myaversion of myself, you know,
five, 10 years ago.
What would he have needed todayto feel seen?
And the fact that that evenresonates with you, jess, just
makes me feel so good too.
Jess (33:41):
I think that's I mean we're trying to do something
similar right with us.
We're trying to create thatconnection as well and create
that community where, whenpeople come to us, it is that
your five-minute break of funand pause and just reminding
yourself of the importance ofyour work best and I think what
I get from your insights, orfrom your sites too is it is
(34:01):
that it is connection, but itdoes still make you pause and
think right, because I thinkthere's a lot of times that you
challenge a question or youbring up to the fact of like,
don't be the one thing foreverybody, be the one thing for
that group of people.
So it's okay to have a nicheaudience and you should, which I
really value.
Bret Shuford (34:19):
Yeah, yeah.
It's easier to show up for whenyou do that, when you do that.
Claude (34:27):
And the audience is also being authentic because, at the
end of the day, you'reauthentic, you're, you're
yourself, right and yeah, andpeople react to that they do.
Jess (34:36):
Yes, yeah, I'm like always forwarding it to cloud, did you
see this one?
Bret Shuford (34:40):
and and yeah, I think it's understandable you
know, some people, what'sauthentic to you is not going to
be authentic to somebody else,right and so for.
So for me, to me, authenticitycomes back to what we talked
(35:03):
about earlier, which is likeabout that honesty and about
being honest that could helpsomeone else, because that can
really.
That's where the vulnerabilitypart is, and that's true
authenticity it's beingvulnerable you had commented
(35:27):
about this how sometimes westruggle right.
Jess (35:28):
So if we are content creators and we start in the
game, we get like a big pop,maybe in the beginning and you
start to grow your niche andyour network, but then maybe it
plateaus.
What would be your coaching andrecommendation to content
creators when that does happen?
Bret Shuford (35:39):
The first thing I would say is put collaboration
over competition.
So what I mean by that is youknow, it's easy we were just
having this conversation whenyou go to an audition, let's say
, or an interview, one person'sgoing to get that job.
But in social media and contentcreation there's so much
(35:59):
abundance, there's so muchavailability to everyone and
it's easy to apply those realworld limitations on social
media, but they don't actuallyapply.
So when you see every personwho creates content for a
similar audience, when you startto see them as potential
collaborators and notcompetition, you can unlock so
(36:22):
much more potential for yourgrowth, and so the next level to
me is always to when youplateau who doesn't know me.
Who do I need to pitch to?
Who do I need to reach out to?
Who could I invite to go livewith me or create a piece of
content with me as acollaborator?
Who could like be on my podcastthat serves a similar audience?
(36:42):
Because that is how you expandyour network and get in front of
new people.
And sometimes, as contentcreators, it's kind of fun just
to be isolated and like makestuff and then be disappointed
that it didn't hit, but likethere's that extra step of oh, I
need to actually put it outthere and I need to push myself
out of my comfort zone a littlebit and reach out to big.
(37:05):
I'm doing this right now.
My big challenge this firstquarter of the year is to grow
my email list.
So I'm pitching to hugepodcasts right now.
Who would probably either notrespond or say no, but huge
pockets, like I sent to AmyPorterfield today and I'm Jenna
Kutcher, like I'm like these biglifestyle, influencer, thought
leader kind of platforms,because that's again the vision
(37:28):
I have for myself moving forward.
I'm just going to act as if andsee what happens.
You know, and I think that'sreally essential is like taking
action from where you're goingmeans these people are my
collaborators.
We're all going to know eachother.
We're all going to be at akeynote presentation together in
this holding room before we goout, Right?
It's like that's how you haveto think we want to get together
(37:49):
now.
Jess (37:49):
Yeah, you know, I find it so fascinating and amazing that
this content creation world isso inviting.
We did, we've done, the samething.
I mean, you're an example of it.
You reach out and you'd besurprised how many people say
yes, or maybe not now, but let'skeep talking and it's and even
giving us so amazing it's.
Claude (38:11):
It just feels like a warm community in that regards
and giving us tips also becausewe were new and helping us to go
to the next level and then thenext, and that was something
that again there wasn.
I mean, we haven't felt acompetition, but more like
embrace.
You know, the embraces.
Bret Shuford (38:30):
Good.
Claude (38:31):
Yeah, that's good.
Bret Shuford (38:32):
You know it's interesting because I've learned
in the content creation that wedo with Broadway Husbands.
There are some people I reachout to.
They just don't respond andyou're like it's hard not to
take it personally, but it's soimportant to remember that not
everyone is doing this for thesame reasons.
Reasons right, yeah, right.
Jess (38:51):
Yeah, and if they don't respond, sometimes you just
write again.
Bret Shuford (38:55):
That's the third one, that's it.
Claude (38:57):
That's right, so we'll only give them three times.
Bret Shuford (39:00):
Three times, and then we'll leave you alone.
Jess (39:02):
Oh, this has been amazing.
So what's going on for you onthe horizon?
You've mentioned about yourbook and you've got a podcast.
Anything else you want to sharewith our Work Bestie community.
Bret Shuford (39:13):
I mean those are the big, big, exciting things.
I mean I feel the book thing islike huge.
I just happened to get aliterary agent because of it and
now I'm writing two other booksthat she's going to help with
proposals to help me get thosedone.
One's a personal developmentbook, um okay, so not just kids
(39:34):
books.
You're doing I'm going to tryand we're going to try to get
this like use this as a way tosort of get my coaching out
there in a different, in adifferent way.
Jess (39:43):
Right, when you go in, you go all in.
Why?
Bret Shuford (39:46):
not.
Yes, I love it.
I was like, well, I got anagent, now why not go for it?
And so we're going to launchthe podcast in April from
Husbands to Dads and along withthat we're going to build, or
building out, a community forthat group so, like all of our
jazz classes will be a part ofthat community we're just.
(40:07):
Our hope is to really buildsomething where all parents you
know, as a two dad family, welearned very early on living in
the suburbs.
It's pretty isolating andsometimes we feel like the only
two dad family that lives herefor miles.
So we want to try to bring notjust two dad families together,
but allies and people who reallywant to move away from like
(40:30):
that heteronormative, like worldthat has been traditionally
what people see families as andreally embrace what families
truly are.
Jess (40:40):
That's so amazing and impressive.
I feel like there aredefinitely pockets of that, but
you're giving it a bigger,broader platform, which is
amazing.
It's of acceptance, you know,and love.
Any parting words to our work.
Besties out there.
Bret Shuford (40:58):
I just think it's so beautiful to see that you
found your person and you arecreating with them, and I think
that's so important for people.
That's what I feel like withSteven is like we get to create
together, and when you makesomething out of nothing and you
get to share that with somebodyand then you get to see that it
(41:18):
actually resonates with others,there's nothing bigger than
that reward you know?
Jess (41:23):
Yeah, I agree, we definitely agree.
Yes, thank you so much, Bret.
This is um.
As I said, it was on our visionboard, so you've made my year
already why can't we just sharethis?
Bret Shuford (41:36):
this is so exciting.
Jess (41:37):
Thank you thank you so much for sharing your your
journey, for talking about yourwellness, for for just being on
our podcast, like we are sohonored and um thank the world
of you and the words of wisdomthat I know that our community
totally can learn from, so sowell about being yourself and
looking at the vision I love andbe curious yeah, just love it.
(42:00):
It's a lot of call to attentionto our work besties out there.
Thank you, Fred.
Thank you so much.
We appreciate you.
And we look forward to dancingwith you soon.
Remember whether you'reswapping snacks in the break
room, rescuing each other fromendless meetings, or just
sending that perfectly timedmeme.
Having a work bestie is likehaving your own personal hype
(42:22):
squad.
Claude (42:22):
So keep lifting each other, laughing through the
chaos and, of course, thriving.
Until next time, stay positive,stay productive and don't
forget to keep supporting eachother.
Work besties.
What if dancing through life's challenges could be your
secret to staying grounded andconnected?
In today's episode, we'rediving into the world of one of
the Broadway husbands, BretShuford, who balances family, he
balances a podcast, he has anew book, he's doing everything.
He does it all while usingmovement and his vulnerability
(00:23):
as his wellness hacks.
So today, work Besties, getready, because you're going to
learn how to dance through thetough stuff with grace and
support.
Claude (00:33):
Hi.
I'm Claude and I'm Jess.
We are corporate employees byday, entrepreneurs by night and
Work Besties for life.
Jess (00:41):
Join us as we explore how Work Besties lift each other up,
laugh through the chaos andthrive together in every
industry.
Work Besties Welcome Bret.
We're so excited to have you.
Bret Shuford (00:56):
I am so honored to be here, besties.
Jess (01:00):
So we thought, Bret, if you wouldn't mind for our Work
Bestie community.
I'm sure many of you alreadyfollow Bret on one of his many
cool social platforms, but ifnot, if you could just give a
little bit of background on you,who you are.
Bret Shuford (01:14):
Yeah, sure.
So I'm originally fromSoutheast Texas and was called
very early in my life to be aperformer, and I followed that
call all the way to new yorkcity, uh, where I was in eight
broadway shows and, whilepursuing that dream, ended up
meeting my husband now husband,steven hannah, who was at the
(01:37):
time, a principal dancer withnew york city ballet and then
left, uh, the ballet to be onbroadway as.
So that's where we came up withour now Instagram account
called Broadway Husbands, and wemet in 2007.
We got married in 2011.
And then, in 2022, we had ourson by a surrogacy, who's now
(01:59):
going to be three in March.
So we love to share on ourInstagram a bit of our journey
to as parents, as gay dads.
We currently now live inHouston, texas, of all places,
which is always bewildering topeople, but I just want to
remind everyone we had apandemic, and then I don't know
(02:21):
if you remember that I was goingto say you answered, answered
my very first question.
Jess (02:24):
I was going to be like what inspired you to leave New
York to go to Texas?
Bret Shuford (02:28):
We can get into more details, but now you know,
now we love to make content thatbrings joy.
And we love to dance together.
And we are also bringing ourcommunity together by launching
a new podcast this spring calledFrom Husbands to Dads, and
we're going to share what it'slike as parents navigating this
(02:49):
journey and hopefully create amore inclusive space for all
families.
Claude (02:54):
That's beautiful, love it.
Bret Shuford (02:55):
Thanks.
Claude (02:56):
And I have to say I'm in awe also because I love, I mean
, people.
Performing for me is such athrill, it's so cool, and from
you being on Broadway and yourhusband being a principal in the
Ballet of New York is likeincredible, so it's really,
really impressive.
Thank you Do you miss actuallybeing on Broadway.
Bret Shuford (03:18):
There's things about it I miss.
I think the thing I miss themost are the people, because
it's just, it's a sort of Ithink anyone who's done theater,
no matter what point in yourlife where you've maybe you
performed, you have a built-incommunity when you do that right
the drama club kids from highschool.
So we I do miss the artisticcommunity.
I do not miss the scheduleright.
(03:40):
The schedule is brutal.
You're doing eight shows a week, working six days a week.
You only get two weeks off, ayear Plus understudy rehearsals.
Claude (03:48):
Working on holidays, doing holidays, working on
holidays and just balancing itall.
Bret Shuford (03:51):
And it would be so much harder with a kid and
there are lots of people who doit with kids but for me,
especially at this stage in mylife, I don't really miss that
schedule and the repetition ofit, that schedule and the
repetition of it.
But I've done some shows in thelast few years, just locally.
There's a great theater here inHouston that I've worked at a
few times and it's been quitenice to get to do it and then
(04:12):
also know that it's going to endafter a couple of weeks and get
to go put my son to bed More orless in your, you know the way
you want.
Claude (04:19):
It's like a happy medium .
Yeah, the happy medium.
You, yeah, the happy medium.
Jess (04:21):
You get a little bit of the fun, the connection,
camaraderie, but you don't haveto do it for such an extensive
time.
Bret Shuford (04:27):
Yeah exactly.
That's amazing.
So I'm kind of wondering.
You made mention that you weactually never did a show
together.
(04:47):
He Valley World is so differentand so separate from what I was
doing on Broadway.
And then when he booked hisfirst Broadway show, which was
Billy Elliot, his stage door wasacross the street from mine.
I was doing the Little Mermaid.
So we were sort of work bestiesin that we would take each
other on the subway to TimesSquare, we would drop each other
(05:08):
off at our stage doors, youknow, and then, like between
shows, we would go to BryantPark and sit and have lunch, you
know, and then go back and doour second show and that was
sort of.
Jess (05:20):
It was sort of like if you can have a Broadway work bestie
, that's kind of a great way todo it yeah, I would feel like,
because that's one of the manybenefits of a work bestie is
having that break in the day.
So it sounds like you were ableto leverage your connection, so
we'll count it and somethinggoing to the work.
Claude (05:36):
Bestie also, we actually last year we interviewed some
actors, two actresses, and Iloved it because when you said
that you, you know you miss thecommunity, you miss the people,
us we thought that, being on theoutside, we thought that it
would be very cutthroat, youknow, with all the audition and
(05:57):
all that, and she actually toldus that, no, there's a lot of
support in this world also.
Bret Shuford (06:04):
It's true.
Jess (06:06):
She did.
Yeah, I was going to say shedid comment, though.
So you're right, like onceyou're in, you're actually in a
show.
There is like a built-incommunity, as long as you get
along with the people.
Why not say we were Right?
Yeah, for sure.
But then she did comment aboutwhat's different, which we find
fascinating as well, is yourinterview process.
Right, you're in a veryinteresting situation where you
(06:29):
usually walk into a room and youcan see your competition before
you are interviewing.
Well, in our industries, or alot of the people we talk to,
you don't necessarily know whoyou're up against.
Right, because you're.
You're meeting either through aZoom or you're one at a time.
So we thought that was kind offascinating, and they made the
comment that they actuallystarted to enjoy the process
(06:53):
more when they met each other,because then they would go
together to a lot of theauditions and it made that
moment where you're usually inthat room and it was so tense
with all the other people, butbecause they were there, it
brought the brevity to it.
They felt like they actuallyperformed and auditioned better
when they were together, likenot actually auditioning
(07:13):
together but in the roomtogether.
So we found that fascinatingtoo yeah, I would totally agree.
Bret Shuford (07:18):
But it's also one of those things where when you
do it long enough, you juststart to know the people.
So that's kind of the communitypart of it it's like, especially
when you're in what we do,you're such a specific type,
right like, so you're gonnaalways see the same people at
(07:39):
every audition because, like youall keep getting called for the
same stuff, most of the timeyou all don't book it though.
Right, so it's like one of usis gonna book it, but you get so
used to seeing people that itcould be oh hey, I was like
how's your kid doing, or did youbook that last thing?
I saw you at so funny.
Jess (07:58):
Yeah, that's like an interesting dynamic that you're
like, well now, well, if I seeyou there, then maybe, maybe I
don't have the great of a chance.
Yeah it's true.
Bret Shuford (08:07):
Yeah.
Jess (08:08):
That's so cool.
So, Bret, one of the things wethink you bring to the table
that our work besties can reallyvalue and kind of understand is
two things.
One, just watching some of yourvideos, I think will give them
a little bit of a break in theday and make them a little
happier.
Happy, yeah.
But two is the dancing.
So I'm wondering, from yourperspective, how do you feel
(08:29):
dancing?
Does it you feel like it fitsinto your wellness routine, or
is it something that, for you,maybe helps you feel grounded?
Bret Shuford (08:36):
Yeah, dancing for me, you know now, it used to be
part of my work, right?
So now it really does become amoment of joy and a moment of
expression.
Sometimes it just for us.
It's also a moment of connectionwhere steven and I get to do it
together sometimes we're sobusy parenting and getting
(08:58):
through the day that for us tojust like, do a dance together
just feels like being who we,who we were even before we met
each other.
You know, it's like it sort ofbrings us back to that.
We love to dance for thatreason, and what what's been
really fun is we've starteddoing monthly online virtual
(09:20):
dance classes for people whowant to just like, and it's like
for any level.
It's so simple and easy.
But we had a lot of peoplesaying I want to, I want to come
dance with you, and so we werelike well, come dance with us.
So so we're.
We've committed the lastSaturday of every month for this
year we're going to do a livevirtual jazz class, we're going
to do a warmup and we're goingto teach a little dance
(09:42):
combination, and it's just a funway to bring people together.
We do it on Zoom and this month, actually, every dollar that we
raise from the class is goingto go to the American Red Cross
to help Los Angeles.
Yeah, oh, that's fabulous, yeah, so I think it's a fun way to
bring people together and I knowit's intimidating for some
people.
They get very self-consciousand what's beautiful about doing
(10:10):
it virtually is no one's gonnasee you.
Yeah, you know you can turnyour camera off and we can
listen to some fun music and youknow, it can just be a great
way to get together.
Claude (10:16):
Yeah, it's just like to exercise, but also kind of
belonging with a community andhaving all this stress coming
out and exactly like no judgment, and that, I think, is
beautiful.
Bret Shuford (10:28):
That's what we need yes, I agree and I think
that, honestly, the wellnesspart of that is is the coming
together.
Finding a common ground withpeople right now is hard to do,
and so when you're together in agroup and you're just listening
to the same song and you'rejust grooving, it's easy to to
find to come together and bringa smile which just I think that
(10:49):
takes any of the stresses oryeah, it's not just physical,
it's emotional, yeah as well,you know, and therapeutic for
sure yeah, I'm excited to showyou where these classes.
Claude (11:00):
Please come, I'm sure you, we will see, you'll see us
that's going to be something.
But yeah, let's do that.
Jess (11:10):
I totally want to you would be really good at it.
I used to be good at it.
So, along the lines of um dance, would you um be able to share
a story with us where dancing ormovement maybe helped push you
through a tough time?
Because we're trying to helppeople realize how sometimes
(11:31):
just taking your mind offsomething can help.
Bret Shuford (11:35):
Sure, you know I mean yoga, of course, is a big
part of my life too.
I'm very much into yoga, whichis also movement and very, very
similar to dance.
It's mind body connection, andI've always found myself in
those moments.
I'm ADHD, right, and somethingthat I'm pretty open about Steve
(11:56):
and I are both open about we'veboth been sober for a long time
.
I've been sober for about 20years to talk about wellness,
made that decision to stopdrinking 20 years ago, and when
I did that, it was a bigchallenge because I was
discovering I was young.
I was 25 at the time.
I thought, oh my God, my lifeis over.
It's like no one's going towant to hang out with me because
(12:19):
I don't know.
Jess (12:20):
Yeah, that's a really mature decision to make at that
age.
Very impressed.
No, yeah, that's a reallymature decision to make at that
age.
Bret Shuford (12:27):
Very impressed.
What it did for me was I hadbeen dance.
For me, growing up as a littlegay kid in the South, was an
escape, because I didn't reallyfit in at school and I didn't
fit in at home, and so I couldgo and I could look at myself in
the mirror and like myself, andI could get lost in the
movement and I could get lost inthe movement and I could get
lost in the music and I was goodat it.
(12:49):
So I just found a way to connectto myself through that.
But when it transitioned intome then needing to do it for
work, I didn't know how toescape anymore through it.
So then I started usingsubstances to do that and so
when I got sober I learned howto stop needing to escape myself
(13:13):
at all and really starting tolook at myself and own myself
for who I was.
And then movement and dancebecame this thing where I could
connect more fully to myself,because as an ADHD person, I can
get very much in my head andlose track of my body.
Movement for me is aboutgetting both of those things
(13:37):
aligned in the present moment,where usually, when you get into
the present moment, everythingis, you know, there's no fear of
the future and regret of thepast, and you're.
You're just in this presentmoment, and that's why I love it
, that's why I love to.
I love movement.
Jess (13:56):
Yeah, I feel like.
So I'm also ADHD and I think,um, what helps me is running in
the morning and I think you'reyou're you kind of say it much
more eloquently than I do, butit is when I'm running.
The ability to kind of get outof that and just be one with
your body and figure out it kindof helps ground you into the
moment versus thinking about allthe 20 other things that are
(14:18):
going on.
Bret Shuford (14:19):
Yeah, isn't that amazing yeah.
Jess (14:22):
It's crazy how our mind and bodies can work like that
together.
Claude (14:27):
But I think that it's quite interesting that you know
when you say that dancing usedto be your escape and then it
became your work, so you didn'thave that escape anymore.
Bret Shuford (14:39):
Yeah.
Claude (14:40):
You know it's.
I never thought of that, really, that you know you needed
something else.
So you've now found a newavenue.
Bret Shuford (14:48):
Yeah, and what's challenging, I think, for a lot
of people who end up pursuing Ican speak for myself, but I
think there are a lot of youngpeople who pursue the arts or
pursue theater as a profession,but they found it because they
didn't fit in.
They were sort of these misfits.
Right then you think aboutthose theater nerds and I.
I think it's always a bit of anawakening when you enter the
(15:11):
competition of the industry andthe commercial part of it, how
hard it is for people to reallyfind themselves once it's no
longer this escape.
You know and that was why Ibecame a coach, like that's.
When I got certified as a coachwas I was like I want to help
those people really find theirfulfillment so they're not
(15:32):
looking for it outside ofthemselves, right?
Jess (15:35):
watching some of your content is you have this great
ability to center people andthen think about bigger, broader
opportunities at the same time.
Would be willing to share withus your journey for that and
kind of your kind of ethos ofwhen you do coach people?
Bret Shuford (15:58):
Yeah, thank you, it's really a thoughtful
question.
I mean, I don't know, sometimesyou're so close to something you
just don't even see it Like.
I think that, for me, what Ilove about coaching and honestly
it's the same thing I lovedabout performing it's like I, my
goal and the reason like I loveto do what I've done and it's
(16:18):
the same transfers over towhatever it is I'm doing is I
love to help people see theworld and see themselves
differently.
Right, and I think it's soimportant that we be curious.
I think there's so much magicand curiosity and so many of us
like whenever someone loses thatcuriosity and they're just like
no, this is how it is is whenI'm like you are holding
(16:41):
yourself back from so much.
And so for me and I and I useso much of my own story to teach
this because for me, I didn'tbook my first Broadway show
until I made the decision to getsober- right, it was it wasn't
until about three months intolike getting one day at a time
of just getting clean and takingcare of myself and getting
(17:03):
truthful and honest with myself.
And then, boom, I booked myfirst Broadway show.
This thing I'd wanted for mywhole life, you know, from when
I was six, and it was this signto me.
It was like, okay, taking careof yourself and prioritizing
honesty and authenticity andtruthfulness actually leads you
to down the path to what youtruly want.
(17:24):
And then I got that firstBroadway show and was like, now
what?
Like I didn't, hadn't thoughtthrough the rest of my life, and
so then I needed to start goingokay, well, do I want to keep
doing this?
Do I want to do tv film, do I?
And then I met Stephen and Iwas like, oh, do I want?
to get married or do I want tohave a kid?
So many options open up to youwhen you're curious and when
(17:49):
you're honest and truthful.
And I want to help people staycurious.
I want to help people let go ofwhatever things that feel so
finite in their brains about whothey are and what they're
supposed to be doing and howthey're supposed to do it, and
get to that place where, like,what if it could be different?
What if I could approach thisin a different way?
(18:10):
What if I could be vulnerablewhen I make this social media
posts right or whatever it is?
And so in my content, I love toinspire people to just show up
even before you feel ready.
Right.
That's the thing I think mostpeople have always who've known
me as long as I've been around.
(18:31):
They always say you just showup, right.
Even when you don't feelprepared, or even when it's
messy, you still show up, whichis so scary for some people who
want to be perfect.
They want that, to have thatperfect image, and what I've
learned over the years is whenyou just show up, you learn and
(18:53):
you get better and youexperience new things and you
meet new people and then you getbetter and then um and so that,
for me, is really what I thinkabout when I'm coaching is
unlocking people's curiosity andhelping them have the courage
to just show up, no matter what.
Claude (19:14):
And how do you do that?
Because, yes, when you havesomeone that have this need of
perfection, you know, and, yes,they block themselves because it
has to be perfect.
How do you unlock?
And also, like you say, it'sthrough curiosity, but how do
you do that?
Bret Shuford (19:33):
Well, first off, I can't do it right.
I'm not the expert.
No, you have to do it Right.
You have to want that.
You have to want somethingdifferent For some people, and
it all depends on where thatperson is and what they really
truly want, but for some people,it really is about getting
clear.
Number one is, like clear whatdo I really want and what do I
want my life to look like?
(19:54):
Because the vision is whatmatters more, more than anything
.
You know for me, like I grew up, at six years old, I made this
decision.
I wanted to be a performer, Iwanted to be on Broadway.
I wanted to be on Broadway.
I made that decision at six.
I knew I wanted to do that.
I would have dreams in middleschool and high school waking up
(20:17):
, vivid dreams of being onBroadway and being on stage
doing cats.
I remember this very vividdream of doing cats, dreams of
meeting celebrities, and I wouldgo to every show that I would
go to, I would go to the stagedoor.
That, to me, was me manifestingthe vision of what I wanted.
So if I didn't have that vision, it probably never would have
(20:38):
happened.
Right, and so, understandingthat, like having a clear vision
, clarity is the best.
So then you know that everystep is leading you towards that
.
And once you know that, whatthat vision is, and who you want
to be and who you want tobecome, then you take action
from that place not from theplace you've been or the place
(21:01):
you feel like you're supposed tobe.
But, like I always tell people,you want to take action from
the person that you're becoming,not the person that you think
you are it's true, but it's adifferent way of thinking.
Claude (21:13):
Right, there's a lot of people is like even me, it's
like who I am, but no who youwant to be, and going um, and it
makes me think, alsosimplistically, your vision
board, in a way.
Right, big fan of man, she's abig fan and I never did a vision
.
Jess (21:31):
You are on our vision board for this year.
I don't know why.
When you wrote to us, I waslike, oh, it works it does work.
Bret Shuford (21:38):
the problem so many of us hold with those
things and this is perfectionismis that you make a vision and
then you hold it to some sort oftimeline.
Right, and my favorite thingthis kind of goes back to your,
to your question, claude is myfavorite thing to teach people
is you're not taking action toget results.
Like, the action that you'retaking on a daily basis towards
(22:03):
that vision is to create energy.
Right, you're broadcasting tothe universe every time you take
action, saying this is what Iwant, and then the universe
quantum physics, which is anactual you know law, tells us
(22:24):
that what you put out, you getback.
Now, it doesn't mean you'regoing to get it back when you
want it the way you want it, butyou're going to get that energy
back in some way and in somereturn.
You're never going to get thatenergy back if you don't put it
out.
Claude (22:36):
I think also, it's like not being stuck of what you want
to get back.
Maybe you're getting it back ina different way, but you're
still getting this energy in adifferent way.
Yeah, but you're still getting,like this energy and you know,
in a different way I mean, forinstance.
Bret Shuford (22:49):
So you know, and I have to constantly look for
proof of this right and this,which is why I think it's so
important to notice every daythe things that are, the
abundance that is coming in, nomatter how small, right, right
and but, like I made a decisionin a few months ago.
I was, I got asked to goperform on a show and I said no.
(23:10):
I was like the first time I wasa little scared because I was
like I know that that's aguaranteed income, right.
The next week, out of the blue,because of our social media, I
got offered a book deal from apublisher to write two
children's picture books thatare going to come out next year.
Right, and a major publisher.
(23:32):
This isn't like small dinky,like this is like penguin
publishing, right.
So, hey, and it it was.
And I that was not something Imean visions of like writing a
children's book, because that'sall we read these days.
Jess (23:43):
Yes, very much in the wheelhouse.
Bret Shuford (23:55):
But I'd never said oh, I want to be a children's
book author, Right.
But I it was this moment of youmade the right decision.
By saying no, you created spacefor this, Like the curiosity
was there, instead of saying tomyself oh, I'm an actor, I'm
supposed to do these things.
No this doesn't, I want to dosome.
I'm not sure what it is.
I'm going to say no, and Icreated space for this new thing
, and so I think it's reallyimportant to know like you are
(24:15):
manifesting, even when you don'tknow what it is.
Claude (24:18):
Something's going to come If you're creating space
from the place you want to go Tobe scared of, like you said, of
saying no because because youknow it was an income or
whatever and you had thisintuition that you could say no
right, or I think it's okay tobe scared yeah, you're gonna be
scared, I would be friend butit's holding your vision right
(24:39):
like it's going back, you'retaking but, you take action.
Yeah, exactly.
Yes, you're going to be scared,right, but, like you say,
you're taking action.
Jess (24:49):
Yeah.
So, brad, exciting news aboutthe books We'll be first in line
.
In addition to now being anauthor, you also are a content
creator, so we wanted to chatwith you a little bit, because I
think that's actually infairness.
When I first became aware ofyou is I followed your podcast.
That was about content creation, and one of the things that you
talked about there was you'recreating a vision and then
(25:13):
sticking to it.
Doing small things, commit tosmall things, one at a time.
Bret Shuford (25:16):
So I listened, but we did that, we did that
exactly yeah, and I learned somuch from it.
Jess (25:24):
So thank you.
But I was wondering.
So what got you to go fromBroadway coaching and then to
content creation?
Bret Shuford (25:34):
That's a good question.
I mean, I had always beencreating content because I'd
always been very curious aboutsocial media, but I would be a
little bit envious of the peoplewho were doing content creation
as like for work.
I would tell myself things like, oh, I'm not as creative as
them, or what am I gonna?
I have to figure out what I'mgonna do.
And I finally uh, I guess itwas in 2015 or 16 was in this
(25:58):
musical on broadway calledparamore.
It was a Cirque du Soleil showand, uh, that's a whole nother
podcast.
I'm working for Cirque duSoleil, but I ended up when that
show opened.
It had been such a long five orsix months of rehearsal that I
(26:18):
decided I was going to commit tomaking a YouTube video every
week for a year.
So I did it.
I actually accomplished thatand was I learned so much.
And it was actually kind ofthrough that that Broadway
Husbands was born, because wewould do a video series on my
channel called Broadway Husbandswhere Steven and I would talk
(26:39):
about something, um, talk aboutwork, talk about whatever and
that those always outperformedanything that I made when it was
just me, and I was like Iwonder if, like, I created a
separate account for that and soI found no one had the handle
on instagram and I createdbroadway husbands and we just
started to explore and I startedto kind of replicate I wouldn't
(27:02):
say like copy but I would startto sort of mimic or test or try
to do what other people whowere already successful on these
platforms were doing, um, andand test things out like are we,
are we a couple account?
So sometimes we'd post content.
It was a little too thirsty andit'd be like no, that's not
really our fit, you know, orwe'd post you know, and this is
(27:23):
really when Instagram wasn't avideo platform.
It was all images, um, and wepromote the YouTube channel
sometimes, but at some point wedecided in 2018, we decided to
start documenting our journeytowards parenthood through
surrogacy, and that really iswhen it started to blow up.
People were very curious aboutthat process and we were coming
(27:46):
from this angle of two freelanceartists who don't just have
like a trust fund to pay forthis, and we had to figure that
out.
Yeah, and that was really whenit started to grow.
People were very curious aboutthat, and so that, for me, was
when I was like, huh, maybe thiscould be a full-time thing.
(28:07):
And then, when the pandemic hit, what happened was all of the
actors that I knew who didtheater were out of work.
So they were like how have youdone this?
They, people, were coming to mehow did you grow this social
media following?
How have you made this content?
And I started thinking that'swhat I should coach.
(28:27):
I should start helping peopledo that, because people need
this, like there's an income tobe made here, there's a, there's
a whole economy here, and sothat's when I transitioned my
coaching away from performingand really started leaning more
into content creation andunderstanding that world a
little bit more, and it's coolthat you got to kind of combine
(28:48):
your two passions.
Yeah.
Claude (28:51):
And it's so funny how you say about Cirque du Soleil,
because we have an episode whereJess actually asked what would
you have liked to do in?
Jess (29:02):
the past.
What would be your dream job ifyou could do anything For me?
Claude (29:05):
it was be a performer in Cirque du Soleil.
I used to do rhythmic gymnasticand I did a performance with
someone in Monaco, where I'mfrom, where someone was from
Cirque du Soleil, and so it's sofunny when you say that I'm
like I see stars in my eyes,because I think for me, cirque
(29:26):
du Soleil is the ultimate show,right.
Bret Shuford (29:30):
They do.
I mean, it's interestingbecause they are sort of a
corporation now, so they justhave so much money and they
throw so much money into theirshows and they take care of
their artists in a wonderful way.
You know, I think they reallydo take care of their,
especially their circus artists,but Broadway is not built for
(29:50):
what Cirque du Soleil does.
So Broadway is a very differentworld in that it's unions, it's
New York, it's you know, andthey're non-union, they're
street artists, they're acrobats, you know.
Jess (30:04):
So it was a very confusing experience for them and for us
I think that's like the nicestway to probably say yeah, no one
knew how to how to handle eachother, and then you had the
french barrier.
Claude (30:16):
I realize that, and deal with that every day.
Jess (30:20):
You're lucky she hasn't clothes plain yet, because
usually that's what happens Isay something people don't
understand and she's going torepeat yeah, like I guess we'll
get like a really funny look ontheir face and I'll be like,
okay, so here's what she wastrying to ask, but you get it
after having to do that, yeah itwas a cool experience in that
(30:44):
there were my gosh, there wereso many acrobats, there was
something like 80 different likeum nations being represented in
that one show.
Bret Shuford (30:53):
Oh, it was so cool , you know, from argentina to
ukraine, to poland, to I mean,there was just so many different
and where else?
I would never have gotten thatexperience anywhere else if it
hadn't been for Cirque du Soleil.
Jess (31:10):
No wonder why you always say that, Because I feel like
whenever you bring up that show,you're like that could be a
whole podcast.
And now I get why.
Bret Shuford (31:17):
There's so many experiences from that, yeah.
Jess (31:20):
Wow, it's like you lived a life just with that experience.
Bret Shuford (31:24):
No, it's true.
I mean, I actually would loveto write a book about that whole
experience, but I don't know ifCirque might come after me.
I don't know they might sue methat wouldn't be a kid's book.
Jess (31:35):
So, Bret, speaking of that , I feel like you do a great job
of balancing, providingvulnerable topics as well as
bringing lightness to things,and you bring a really cool,
unique niche to your contentcreation, but you make it still
feel welcoming for everybody.
Is that by design, or do youhave kind of a focus or
(31:56):
perspective, or are you kind ofebbing and flowing with that?
Bret Shuford (32:00):
It's all an ebb and flow, you know.
I think there's days where I'mlike I'm so confused like what
am I making?
And there's, I mean, I thinkthere's days where I'm like.
I'm so confused Like what am Imaking?
And there's I mean it's mucheasier with Broadway Husbands
because it's very specific Forus.
The gauge there is before weclick post.
We always ask ourself does thiscreate joy?
That's our only gauge.
(32:21):
We want this to be a joyfulaccount.
It's joyful for our audience.
I mean it's not going to bejoyful for everybody.
We might push some people'sbuttons, but those aren't our
people.
Right, right, exactly,no-transcript feel really good
(32:58):
because my, my real mission, youknow, on my personal account,
is to inspire people and helppeople live their life better
and see themselves as, see thecuriosity and unlock that for
them.
And so that really is reallyall I try to do on my personal
account, but it's through thelens of connection.
You know, what I teach peoplewhen I'm teaching them about
(33:21):
social media and building theirown brand, is that you want to
connect to one person.
And so for me, I think of myaversion of myself, you know,
five, 10 years ago.
What would he have needed todayto feel seen?
And the fact that that evenresonates with you, jess, just
makes me feel so good too.
Jess (33:41):
I think that's I mean we're trying to do something
similar right with us.
We're trying to create thatconnection as well and create
that community where, whenpeople come to us, it is that
your five-minute break of funand pause and just reminding
yourself of the importance ofyour work best and I think what
I get from your insights, orfrom your sites too is it is
(34:01):
that it is connection, but itdoes still make you pause and
think right, because I thinkthere's a lot of times that you
challenge a question or youbring up to the fact of like,
don't be the one thing foreverybody, be the one thing for
that group of people.
So it's okay to have a nicheaudience and you should, which I
really value.
Bret Shuford (34:19):
Yeah, yeah.
It's easier to show up for whenyou do that, when you do that.
Claude (34:27):
And the audience is also being authentic because, at the
end of the day, you'reauthentic, you're, you're
yourself, right and yeah, andpeople react to that they do.
Jess (34:36):
Yes, yeah, I'm like always forwarding it to cloud, did you
see this one?
Bret Shuford (34:40):
and and yeah, I think it's understandable you
know, some people, what'sauthentic to you is not going to
be authentic to somebody else,right and so for.
So for me, to me, authenticitycomes back to what we talked
(35:03):
about earlier, which is likeabout that honesty and about
being honest that could helpsomeone else, because that can
really.
That's where the vulnerabilitypart is, and that's true
authenticity it's beingvulnerable you had commented
(35:27):
about this how sometimes westruggle right.
Jess (35:28):
So if we are content creators and we start in the
game, we get like a big pop,maybe in the beginning and you
start to grow your niche andyour network, but then maybe it
plateaus.
What would be your coaching andrecommendation to content
creators when that does happen?
Bret Shuford (35:39):
The first thing I would say is put collaboration
over competition.
So what I mean by that is youknow, it's easy we were just
having this conversation whenyou go to an audition, let's say
, or an interview, one person'sgoing to get that job.
But in social media and contentcreation there's so much
(35:59):
abundance, there's so muchavailability to everyone and
it's easy to apply those realworld limitations on social
media, but they don't actuallyapply.
So when you see every personwho creates content for a
similar audience, when you startto see them as potential
collaborators and notcompetition, you can unlock so
(36:22):
much more potential for yourgrowth, and so the next level to
me is always to when youplateau who doesn't know me.
Who do I need to pitch to?
Who do I need to reach out to?
Who could I invite to go livewith me or create a piece of
content with me as acollaborator?
Who could like be on my podcastthat serves a similar audience?
(36:42):
Because that is how you expandyour network and get in front of
new people.
And sometimes, as contentcreators, it's kind of fun just
to be isolated and like makestuff and then be disappointed
that it didn't hit, but likethere's that extra step of oh, I
need to actually put it outthere and I need to push myself
out of my comfort zone a littlebit and reach out to big.
(37:05):
I'm doing this right now.
My big challenge this firstquarter of the year is to grow
my email list.
So I'm pitching to hugepodcasts right now.
Who would probably either notrespond or say no, but huge
pockets, like I sent to AmyPorterfield today and I'm Jenna
Kutcher, like I'm like these biglifestyle, influencer, thought
leader kind of platforms,because that's again the vision
(37:28):
I have for myself moving forward.
I'm just going to act as if andsee what happens.
You know, and I think that'sreally essential is like taking
action from where you're goingmeans these people are my
collaborators.
We're all going to know eachother.
We're all going to be at akeynote presentation together in
this holding room before we goout, Right?
It's like that's how you haveto think we want to get together
(37:49):
now.
Jess (37:49):
Yeah, you know, I find it so fascinating and amazing that
this content creation world isso inviting.
We did, we've done, the samething.
I mean, you're an example of it.
You reach out and you'd besurprised how many people say
yes, or maybe not now, but let'skeep talking and it's and even
giving us so amazing it's.
Claude (38:11):
It just feels like a warm community in that regards
and giving us tips also becausewe were new and helping us to go
to the next level and then thenext, and that was something
that again there wasn.
I mean, we haven't felt acompetition, but more like
embrace.
You know, the embraces.
Bret Shuford (38:30):
Good.
Claude (38:31):
Yeah, that's good.
Bret Shuford (38:32):
You know it's interesting because I've learned
in the content creation that wedo with Broadway Husbands.
There are some people I reachout to.
They just don't respond andyou're like it's hard not to
take it personally, but it's soimportant to remember that not
everyone is doing this for thesame reasons.
Reasons right, yeah, right.
Jess (38:51):
Yeah, and if they don't respond, sometimes you just
write again.
Bret Shuford (38:55):
That's the third one, that's it.
Claude (38:57):
That's right, so we'll only give them three times.
Bret Shuford (39:00):
Three times, and then we'll leave you alone.
Jess (39:02):
Oh, this has been amazing.
So what's going on for you onthe horizon?
You've mentioned about yourbook and you've got a podcast.
Anything else you want to sharewith our Work Bestie community.
Bret Shuford (39:13):
I mean those are the big, big, exciting things.
I mean I feel the book thing islike huge.
I just happened to get aliterary agent because of it and
now I'm writing two other booksthat she's going to help with
proposals to help me get thosedone.
One's a personal developmentbook, um okay, so not just kids
(39:34):
books.
You're doing I'm going to tryand we're going to try to get
this like use this as a way tosort of get my coaching out
there in a different, in adifferent way.
Jess (39:43):
Right, when you go in, you go all in.
Why?
Bret Shuford (39:46):
not.
Yes, I love it.
I was like, well, I got anagent, now why not go for it?
And so we're going to launchthe podcast in April from
Husbands to Dads and along withthat we're going to build, or
building out, a community forthat group so, like all of our
jazz classes will be a part ofthat community we're just.
(40:07):
Our hope is to really buildsomething where all parents you
know, as a two dad family, welearned very early on living in
the suburbs.
It's pretty isolating andsometimes we feel like the only
two dad family that lives herefor miles.
So we want to try to bring notjust two dad families together,
but allies and people who reallywant to move away from like
(40:30):
that heteronormative, like worldthat has been traditionally
what people see families as andreally embrace what families
truly are.
Jess (40:40):
That's so amazing and impressive.
I feel like there aredefinitely pockets of that, but
you're giving it a bigger,broader platform, which is
amazing.
It's of acceptance, you know,and love.
Any parting words to our work.
Besties out there.
Bret Shuford (40:58):
I just think it's so beautiful to see that you
found your person and you arecreating with them, and I think
that's so important for people.
That's what I feel like withSteven is like we get to create
together, and when you makesomething out of nothing and you
get to share that with somebodyand then you get to see that it
(41:18):
actually resonates with others,there's nothing bigger than
that reward you know?
Jess (41:23):
Yeah, I agree, we definitely agree.
Yes, thank you so much, Bret.
This is um.
As I said, it was on our visionboard, so you've made my year
already why can't we just sharethis?
Bret Shuford (41:36):
this is so exciting.
Jess (41:37):
Thank you thank you so much for sharing your your
journey, for talking about yourwellness, for for just being on
our podcast, like we are sohonored and um thank the world
of you and the words of wisdomthat I know that our community
totally can learn from, so sowell about being yourself and
looking at the vision I love andbe curious yeah, just love it.
(42:00):
It's a lot of call to attentionto our work besties out there.
Thank you, Fred.
Thank you so much.
We appreciate you.
And we look forward to dancingwith you soon.
Remember whether you'reswapping snacks in the break
room, rescuing each other fromendless meetings, or just
sending that perfectly timedmeme.
Having a work bestie is likehaving your own personal hype
(42:22):
squad.
Claude (42:22):
So keep lifting each other, laughing through the
chaos and, of course, thriving.
Until next time, stay positive,stay productive and don't
forget to keep supporting eachother.
Work besties.
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