Meet Actor & Entrepreneur Robin Beltrán
We are relaunching our blog this month starting with a #womencrushwednesday and the incredibly talented actor and entrepreneur, Robin Beltrán! Robin is many things. An actor, chef, mom, model, and the revolutionary owner of The Black Vegan Company, just to name a few! She is currently located in Austin and is one of Texas’s top in demand talents.
Robin started as a world class volleyball player from Houston until her life got turned upside down when her husband was shot during a robbery in 2015. His large intestine, small intestine, and colon were damaged and he couldn’t process meat anymore and Robin and her family decided to go vegan to improve his health. Robin didn’t make just any old vegan food, as a chef, she started creating aromatic and flavorful meals. Her talents in the kitchen were noticed and soon she started cooking professionally for the Houston Rockets and partnering with Central Market for a series of demo's across Texas.
In 2017, a friend of her husband noticed their family’s transformation and wanted to improve his life similarly. He had been participating in Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, but found that his body was too unhealthy and he wouldn’t be able to keep helping people unless he made a change. With Robin’s help (read: her cooking), he went vegan for a month and changed his life. They soon co-founded The Black Vegan Company with the mission to provide vegan guidance and meal solutions, “full of flavor and full of soul”.
After a few lucky happenstances six years ago, Robin started modeling and acting. She has starred in commercials for big names like Dell, UPS, Ford, and T-Mobile (produced by Plaid Pony Productions!). We are so pleased to have Austin local Robin Beltrán answer a few questions for us this week. Keep scrolling to find out more about this hard-working multi-hyphenate that we love so much!
CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR ART AND HOW YOU GOT INVOLVED WITH COMMERCIAL WORK AND ACTING? WHAT LED YOU TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
There are three individual directions: art, acting, and entrepreneurship. My art comes from how I am unfolding in the world and in the industry I’m working in. I am always constantly evolving in spaces, which is really important. It takes a lot of self evaluation and breaking yourself down. I really had a chance to do that after my husband was injured. So much weight was upon me at that time that I became a shell of myself.
He couldn’t process meat anymore. His intestines were removed and he couldn’t digest anything really tough or it could rupture his stomach. The doctors never told us that and didn’t give recommendations for anything and he would come home, doubled over in pain. I am naturally kind of a scientist and investigator and I love experimenting and I have to find out what was the cause. I always say if I wasn’t an actor, I would be a scientist. So we had gone through a transformation of going vegan because we were forced to. My husband was the test dummy and we all ate the same meal, I was not cooking two separate meals! But they were super flavorful and really delicious.
I learned that plant based eating is really about herbs and spices. I started researching everything I could possibly find and all the things that can heal you are in your pantry. When you start using natural ingredients, it changes everything. Medicine is an imitation of natural herbs and going back to our roots. I thought, oh my gosh, I am going to heal [my husband] with herbs and spices. I started diving into foods and I didn’t want it to feel like vegan foods, I wanted to make sure the food resonated with my grandmother's dishes. I wanted a thorough, methodical, five sensory food experience. I was experimenting with different recipes and products. I wanted amazing vegan food that didn’t feel bland. As part of this discovery, I wanted to share my knowledge, and this is how Black Vegan Company came about.
A friend of my husband saw us posting vegan information and could really sense an energy shift and our increased quality of life. He went vegan for a month and [completely transformed]. He said “you have to start a company” and wanted to call it Black Vegan Company. I said “I can’t call it that. No one is going to take a Black woman seriously”. He said “you are Black, you are vegan, and you are amazing and you are revolutionary.”
[While becoming vegan], I went from a size 10 to a size 2 in a year, it just happened. After being fired for having an afro, a friend said to me “something was telling me to let you know that whatever space you step into, you will be the center of that space.” Two weeks later, I went to a fashion show after a friend who had tickets couldn’t make it and I was seated next to an executive at Essence Magazine and Tory Burch’s jewelry designer. She told me she was starting a new company and wanted me to be one of her main models. I said “I don’t model” and she said “well, you do now.”
I submitted the pictures from the first campaign to an agent and got signed. I got my second audition, which was for a T-Mobile campaign, cast by Plaid Pony. It was a magical experience of being on set that day. Everything was so cushy, the makeup artist was incredible and the hair stylist was comfortable, which is very hard for an African American woman. It was just a really amazing set. It has been really cool to see, literally from that moment, that I wanted to do it again and I have been doing it non-stop and now it’s been six years!
WHAT WAS A PIVOTAL MOMENT IN YOUR CAREER?
There is never just one pivot. My biggest accomplishment is being a full time professional in the industry. After living in Houston and moving to Austin and seeing how much central Texas has to offer and seeing that people who look like me can have a full, thriving career. It’s a really big deal these days to be able to pay my bills and take care of my family doing just commercial work. I’ve been able to work on amazing campaigns and have a centered and balanced life for ourselves in a way I never thought to be feasible. To be able to be in that moment is a moment of peace for me, a moment to just be. I’m here and I didn’t know this is what it would look like.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE SET TO WORK ON?
I have a few for different reasons. My favorite commercial set was T-Mobile. It was a moment that I knew I was at home and where I was supposed to be. There really was a space for me. [The set] was really dynamic in its fullness.
I love love love Evelyn x Evelyn on HBO, directed by Eric Pumphrey. It’s about the internal struggle African Americans go through mentally, physically, and emotionally. It was filmed two doors down from my grandmother’s old home in the Third Ward and it helped me see where I could go and where I came from, all in one space, and where my family’s from. It’s about a mom who loses a child and the internal battles she goes through. It went to ABFF and won some awards. It was an amazing experience to see people working and the techniques that go into film. It was really fun to make high end Black art that we don’t too often get to see.
WHAT IS ONE OF THE PROUDEST MOMENTS IN YOUR CAREER SO FAR?
I wear a lot of hats and take pride in them all. They all have moments, but I think one of my proudest moments as a person was healing the relationship with my dad and family and being able to evolve and change into a new person of acceptance and forgiveness and having so much faith and love and persistence.
That moment of transformation when I went vegan and healed my family, without that moment, none of the really exciting moments happened, personally and professionally..
WHAT ARE SOME OTHER THINGS YOU ENJOY WHEN YOU AREN’T ON SET?
I don’t really have hobbies, but I love to roller skate! When I was in LA, I would pack a backpack and take a train and go to Venice to find my favorite skaters and skate with them all summer long.
But my favorite hobby is working on myself. I considered that part of my craft - to always be studying or reading to morph into this new person. If I’m not comfortable in my body, I teach myself to dance. If I’m feeling lazy, I change my routines. If I’m feeling sad, I do shadow work and meditate. I also love helping other people get into the business. I love helping people who really want to do it.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF BEING ON SET?
I love transformation, it’s my favorite thing in life. From skincare, haircuts, makeovers to extreme home makeovers. It goes back to being a scientist, I love watching things unfold. I love to work in teams, it’s one of my favorite things, and seeing everyone come together from the different spaces to make one beautiful product. Seeing everyone’s talents come together is the coolest thing and I love watching it unfold. I have a new appreciation for all the departments coming together, especially during the pandemic when you have to direct yourself and become your own lighting, and hair and makeup people. It makes you more of a complete artist.
WHAT DOES #PONYUP MEAN TO YOU?
Get off your ass and go! I started in this business post two children and started modeling with 16 year olds - not the conventional way. And to be one of the top talents in Texas - don’t tell me what I can’t do! I woke up one day and said I was going to be Oprah, and I am going to fucking be Oprah. Go do it, go the extra mile.
WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
Myself. I’m currently in the process of transitioning out of Austin and full time to LA and having new fun adventures. You will see me on one of Bravo’s biggest shows on October 14.
WHAT IS SOMETHING YOUR FANS MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU?
I can spin my arm around 360° because I’m double jointed. I’m secretly funny and always coming up with comedy bits and routines.
WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU PROVIDE FOR FUTURE ACTORS AND MODELS?
Always evolve through yourself. If you’re always pushing yourself to evolve, you can fit and mold to whatever space you want to be in because you know yourself. The best way to be able to do that is through yourself. Always stack whatever you’re doing, work simultaneously for you. If I am going to study, I am going to sit on my yoga mat in Pigeon Pose to open up my body and gain knowledge. Always have a routine and be really inclusive with yourself. Do what feels really good for you, if something doesn’t feel good for you, let it go.
For entrepreneurs, a huge part of what you do needs to be finding people and mentors.
ANYTHING YOU WANT TO ADD THAT WE DIDN’T ASK YOU?
Start to say no to people that don’t value your work, it’s really powerful. During the pandemic, there was a moment where clients were coming back and wanting to renew campaigns, but were lowballing me. I need to make sure I don’t come off as an angry Black woman, but to be an amazing talent and asking for what you deserve takes a lot of guts.
Check out Robin in action:
Instagram: @mrsrobinbeltran
Business: @theblackvegancompany
Agent: Rebecca Beazley, Beaz Talent
