May 30, 2019 8:00 am Introducing Bro of the Month Tommy Brown – Actor, Chef & Creator of Dinner Dance Party!
Where do you live now? What have you been doing since college?
I’ve Lived in LA for the past 6 years. Prior to that I was working in NYC for my father. After work and on weekends, I’d work with a couple of coaches in the voiceover industry. After a few months, I finally worked up courage to set out across the country and pursue a career as an actor in LA. It’s been a long road with plenty of ups and downs and I’m excited with where I’m at now as a performer, and as a man. I was happy to be a part of the NCIS LA cast in Season 10, Episode 20, “Choke Point.”
Tell us about your recent travels. Where in the world would you like to go next?
Oh boy, I recently came back from the trip of a lifetime! It had been almost 8 years since I last saw one of my closest friends, Fernando Signorelli aka ‘Nando.’ We decided to head to Ecuador after hearing some rave reviews. WOW! What a beautiful country, from the city to the rainforest to the people. We spent time in the capital city Quito, drove down to Baños for some rafting, ziplining and plunging in the volcanic hot springs. The ultimate highlight though, besides getting to spend the better part of 2 weeks with Nando, was our trip deep in to the Amazon.
By pure luck, I was in Florida visiting my mom, Sarah when I booked the Ecuador trip. We had some family friends over for dinner including a particularly fire-y grand-Mom. I told everyone I was headed to Ecuador and she started furiously writing. She handed me a slip of paper with 2 email addresses and told me that if I didn’t contact them RIGHT AWAY, I would not be allowed back in to the state of Florida. Being well versed in, “mom is always right,” I obliged. Turns out, one of the emails I was given was to the chief of the indigenous Amazonian tribe, the Cofán.
Fast forward a few weeks, Nando & I took a 2 hour plane ride and a 2 hour cab ride to the small Ecuadorian town of Tarapoa, to be picked up by Randy, the Cofán chief. As we’re waiting, Nando is holding back tears of laughter because every child that walks by does a double or triple take when they see me. It soon becomes apparent that they have never seen a Ginger before. Once we find Randy, it’s another 3 ½ hour motorized canoe trip to the Cofán Village. It was unreal. We explored the rainforest, saw thousands of birds, hundreds of monkeys, Giant Caimen, Giant River Otters, swam with piranhas, ate , got to know the people in the village, etc. They’ve been doing tours since 1980… We were asked to stay another night so we could be a part of the Chonta Fiesta. They ferment Peach Palm fruit and Yucca and celebrate by playing sports and dancing until the sun comes up! We were the first tourists ever to be invited! The only problem was my mother was expecting Nando and I to emerge from the jungle that day, so our stay was contingent on someone getting an email to my Mom. Thankfully we got it out there… I was fearful that Momma B would hop on a plane and scour the Amazon looking for her oldest son and one of many inherited sons. Crisis averted!!
But if anyone is looking for a unique vacation that’s filled with beauty and puts life into perspective, please reach out! Our trip summary became, “sometimes a once in a lifetime experience is too good to only experience once…”
As I’m writing this, I’m waiting for my laundry to be done so I can pack to ship out to Anguilla to participate in the wedding of 2 of my best friends, Mike & Brookie Wiedman. I’m honored to say that I’ll be the one officiating the wedding, draped in linen, barefoot, on the beach of Mead’s Bay. Words cannot describe how fired up I am.
Who is the biggest bro in your life?
Dougie “Fresh” Brown, my biological bro! Dude’s got the innate talent of being the most likable bro around. I’ve never met anyone who was like “Ohh, that’s your brother? Yeah that dude sucks.” Let’s be clear though, homie learned his dance floor moves from Big Bro ; )
What outdoor activities do you enjoy?
Grillin’, chillin’ & swillin’… Living in LA, I have the luxury of being able to do almost anything outside. Outside > Inside. Even watching movies is better outside. Also, I love me some Spike Ball! But probably the biggest positive of LA is there’s no offseason for golf : )
What kinds of music do you like to listen to?
I listen to just about everything, sans opera (but if anyone’s got any must-listen tracks, I’m all ears!). About to launch a project on Instagram that connects music with cooking (more on that below!) so I’ve been listening to a ton of up-beat, feel good music.
What is the last good book you read? What is your favorite movie?
Delivered from Distraction by Dr. Edward Hallowell & Dr. John Ratey. Truly life-changing book about understanding ADD/ADHD and how to find strategies that make it a strength not a weakness. If you, or any loved one, wants to know more about ADD/ADHD, I cannot recommend this book any higher.
Easy. Wedding Crashers.
We hear you have a novel idea involving cooking, dancing and fun. Please describe it.
Dinner Dance Party! It’s this fun little Instagram project I had that’s finally coming to fruition. A once a week email (Sunday mornings) that contains a healthy & easy weeknight recipe paired with a curated Spotify playlist. Throw the playlist on when you start to prep and it’ll provide the fuel to see ya through preparing and cooking dinner. The email will also contain a Skill of the Week, Kitchen Hack of the Week, a feel good story or 2, and anything else I think is worth passing along. The only thing I ask in return is when you’re cooking and the Song of the Week comes on… snap a quick 5-10 second video of you and the fam dancing and post it on your Insta Story! It’s a fun way to enjoy each other’s company & make the Digital Dance Floor a little bigger. After each week, I’ll compile everyone’s videos and create a weekly highlight reel and post on Insta!
For more – Check out my insta @ElevatedDudeFood
Or learn more from the website – Dinner Dance Party!
What is your favorite kind of food to cook and what is your favorite type of restaurant?
Any kind of comfort food and anything I can throw on the grill/smoker.
Favorite type of restaurant is family-owned or really just a place where the people that work there are having a good time. Happy people make happy food… I like happy food.
What is your drink of choice and where do you like to Party with Moms!?
Cazadores & Soda w/ a lime.
Anywhere the Moms in my life are! I’m one lucky boy to have a lot of strong moms in my life!!