← The Amazing Authorities Podcast
The Amazing Authorities Podcast
From Princess to Powerhouse: Alexis Boyett on Reinventing Character Entertainment & Corporate Connection
00:30:14
Loading summary
Transcript72 lines
- [00:03]
A
Alexis Boyer. Or do I say Boyet?
- [00:06]
B
Boyette?
- [00:07]
A
Boyet is in the house. My fellow American. Like me, she lives outside of our home country. We've escaped Trump, and she is living in Lucent, Switzerland, and I'm in Jomtien Beach, Thailand. So, hello, and I salute you with the American flag, Alexis. But we're world travelers. How did you end up in Lu San? Let's start there, because I always like to find out why people leave and how they end up outside of our. Our great country I still refer to as a great country.
- [00:41]
B
Oh, absolutely, it is. And Switzerland is actually one of my favorite places in the world. So in order for me to greet you properly, I could do it in the Swiss German, which is grizzy, or I could do it in Swiss French, which is bonjour. So. So hello.
- [00:58]
A
Or show off. That's cool.
- [01:01]
B
Yeah. So I love Switzerland. I fell in love with it back in 2019 when I hiked the Alps for my 29th birthday, and I come back every year since.
- [01:10]
A
Okay, so you just disclosed how old you are, and you don't look it, which is good. All right. And I mentioned how old I was, which we won't reveal. It's only three decades more than you, but. But who's counting? So you went there, you fell in love and came back?
- [01:26]
B
Yeah, I come back every single year, and I just turned 35. So it's been. I've been traveling the world full time for seven years now.
- [01:35]
A
Full. Where have you been?
- [01:38]
B
Oof. Everywhere. Except for Asia and Canada and Africa.
- [01:44]
A
Okay, well, there's a lot to see in Africa. Unlike Sarah Palin statement, Africa is not a country, it's a continent. And there are the most countries of any continent in the world. I don't know if you remember that. That mistake she made calling Africa a country. I think that caused the election.
- [02:04]
B
I'm the least political person you'll ever meet in your entire life.
- [02:08]
A
Oh, I fall a little bit even though I live overseas. So. All right, so you've settled there, and you are. You've been a model. You've been involved in the arts and entertainment. What are you doing now? Tell us what you're doing.
- [02:25]
B
Yeah, thanks so much for asking. So I have been immersed in the world of character entertainment, and it's something that many people don't really realize, but essentially, I started out as a professional princess at children's birthday parties and events, and that transferred over into me eventually starting my own nationwide company, which I sold, and then developing the world's biggest business. And Personal development platform, specifically for children's party entertainers and character entertainers. And so I am very passionate about the psychology behind characters and how I can implement characters into different areas of life, including corporate spaces, in order to create inner like child joy and wonder and helping people remember who they were before the world told them who to be.
- [03:11]
A
Well, that's a mouthful, but let's go back to the beginning of I'm a. Prof. I was a professional princess. I didn't know, I thought that was by birthright. So tell me how you, you turn that into a business. I thought you can remember I'm in Thailand, they have a whole royal family here. So you became a professional princess, but I didn't know we had royalty in the US but you're going to tell me how you established that spot?
- [03:34]
B
Absolutely. So it essentially was established by me being raised by a 19 year old mother and growing up in front of the television on Disney films. We wouldn't really get to the heart of it. And I admired Disney princesses so much growing up because they inspired me to believe in myself and to achieve my dreams and that I could accomplish so much more than the reality in which I was living. And so I fell in love with Disney. Obviously I'm not like the most Disney. I'm not a Disney Disney. What do they call it? A Disney found person. That Disney is a huge part of every area of my life, but its ethics and values were instilled in me from a very young age. So when I was modeling and acting in Los Angeles, of course you always have to have a side job, right? Like nobody models and acts full time usually. And so I came across princessing through a modeling agency that I found and I was like, this is incredible. So I get to portray the, the characters that inspired me to believe in myself and chase my dreams. And I was reminded of a memory that I had when I was 6 years old and I went to Disney World and I met Ariel for the first time. And I remember leaving her grotto and going up to my grandmother and my grandmother was like, how was it? You know, was it amazing? It was so incredible meeting your hero. And I was like, it was fine. And she was like, what do you mean it was fine? And I was like, well, I was expecting her to give me a pep talk and a speech and inspire me in the way that her character inspired me in the movie. And all I got was an autograph, a photo. And my grandmother at that time was like, wow, this kid is deep. But also, you know, I Realized, okay, this is the impact that these characters have on people's lives, including children. So how can I use that in order to make an impact? And so when I started character performing as a princess, specifically, you know, cosplaying iconic Disney characters, I was Cinderella and Elsa, and I was performing for this princess party company in Orange county, and I started instilling the ethics and values that I wished had been instilled in me through the use of these characters. And I started teaching anti bullying and believing in yourself and achieving your dreams and kindness and camaraderie. And that is those. Essentially, those ethics and values have translated over into everything that I do, from my, you know, children's workbooks to my corporate spaces for character entertainment to my school. It's really the ethos of my being.
- [05:58]
A
Wow. One of the beauties of being a podcast host and a TV show host is I learn a lot from people in niches I never imagined existed. I have interviewed tons of authors. That's illuminating. But I've interviewed today my first princess. Wow. That's awesome. That is a fantastic moment here. So you have. You are a professional princess. And then the character development for corporate. Tell me about that and what it would look like. Give me a scenario or give me a case study, an example of who used your skills that you learned as a princess and as an actress and as a model to help a corporate client.
- [06:45]
B
Absolutely. So with my nationwide character entertainment company, we performed a lot for corporate clients, specifically for their big expos and their big events that they were having, their holiday parties. And I was able to witness the end impact that characters had on grown adults. Right. Like you would expect only children to get excited about Santa or these characters, but in reality, the adults got just as excited, and you were able to see the inner child come out, and they were nicer to each other. They were more playful. They were more excited to be there. And you remember that adults are just big kids, right? And somewhere along the way, our creativity and our inspiration gets pushed and squeezed out of us, and we're told to grow up. And growing up can be beautiful in a lot of ways, but we lose our most powerful versions of ourselves when we stop playing. And so I wanted to be able to bring play back into the office, but not in a traditional sense, not in a way that everybody else does it. I wanted to do it through the use of characters because I've been able to witness the impact that these characters make. And having a visual representation of something that inspired you as a child, come back into your Life as an adult is what evokes that spark. So I created an Advent calendar. It's called the Holiday Cheer calendar. And it is a 5, 10 or 15 day activation which is run and led by a professional Santa Claus. And it is a digital product. Santa Stewart, he's incredible. He's in Texas. And we've catered the scripts to be corporate focused, but also adult friendly and humor based. And so Santa brings in some sort of really fun activity. Like we have a holiday apocalypse where the Naughty or nice list has gone missing and everybody in the team has to create a different role and someone's, you know, the hypochondriac elf and someone's the, the reindeer who can't remember if he ate the naughty or nice list. And you have all these different characters and essentially your team plays out this activity or game for about 15 to 30 minutes. They connect with their inner child again and then the next day they get a new activity and the next day they get a new activity and we have badges and awards and it's just a way of helping people reconnect with the part of themselves that they feel like they've lost and also humanize each other in the workplace. And so with Bipity, which is my school, we just got our first nationwide sponsor, which is gigsalad, which we're very excited about. And my plan is to have gigsalad be our first corporate client that tests out the activity. But I also have connections over at Morgan Stanley and they're very excited about it as well. But I just launched this holiday to your calendar back in March, so it's still very new. And this is our first year in.
- [09:17]
A
Business, so Holiday cheer. So this is the focus to have a Santa who drives this program through remotely.
- [09:28]
B
Yeah. And this is just our first project through the company with character. I plan on having many other initiatives, but I figured leading with something that was holiday focused would not only be the easiest way of bringing characters back in, because Santa Claus is something we can all resonate with, but it's also going to be a really easy transition for a corporate space to be able to jump on board. Because with so many offices being hybrid and remote now, it, it that lack of Christmas spirit is, is something that, is something that needs to come back.
- [09:58]
A
Around and it needs to lacking right now.
- [10:01]
B
Yeah, exactly.
- [10:02]
A
Well, how about corporate retreats? How about corporate sales events? They have budgets and they can use something different than in somebody who wrote a book on sales that comes in and keynotes. I think this sounds fun. I know People I could align you with in Singapore that would enjoy this. That's my biggest market. Yeah, yeah.
- [10:26]
B
That would be incredible because for me it's all about creating custom IP characters because Disney's iconic in its own way, you know, and you have so many companies who are portraying, you know, Disney IP characters. And while that's beautiful and a great representation of the brand, for me I believe that you can create all sorts of characters. You can have your own ip, they can have their own backstories, you can include your own company tagline and your history and your values and your ethics and your mission statement into that character. And if it's done well, that character can have just as big of an impact as any IP character that's already in motion. So for me it's really about connecting with companies and creating characters and experiences that reflect that brand's mission and values.
- [11:06]
A
So it isn't a Disney character, it's not necessarily an existing character because then you run into copyright and trademark issues and the multi named law, law practice that's going to send you a cease and desist. So you create a character for the market.
- [11:24]
B
Absolutely. Because while I admire and respect the Disney brand, I also understand that in order for me to remain ethical that what I teach in my school and the initiatives that I create through the company with character, they need to be either mine or my clients ideas, you know, they need to be original. And while iconic characters are great, it's important to remember that they're someone else's property and that there's no shortage of creativity or magic to go around.
- [11:54]
A
All right, Joe's Plumbing. Who's who's throughout the state of California. They've got a thousand plumbers who they're going to have their annual party. What would you do for them? Let's talk blue collar. These are guys that are known for not smelling great, exposing their butt cracks. So then they're at the annual Christmas party. How would you incorporate a character for them? I'm putting you on the spot here because I know you can handle it.
- [12:24]
B
Absolutely I can. So it will really depend on if you would want something digital or you want something physical at the holiday party. Are you looking for a character to come at the holiday party and entertain both?
- [12:35]
A
Let's see if. What would be a good scenario? Would it be just a. I think for a holiday party with, with a thousand attendees, I think it would be important to have a person in a character in person, possibly part of their brand. Is that what you get involved in, brand building? Don't you?
- [12:53]
B
Absolutely. So tell me a little bit more about Joe. So why did he start plumbing?
- [12:58]
A
Joe was frustrated after he left the military. I'm making this scenario up. He was frustrated after he left the military. He was relegated to plumbing all the latrines when he was in the army and found it. But the training was great. And then he went out and worked for, you know, Bill's Plumbing, and Bill smokes too much weed and has no motivation. And, you know, he smells. And Joe thinks that he can do a better job by pulling up his pants and not being the butt crack plumber. And he takes a shower every day and even uses, you know, deodorant. So he. And he shows up on time and has a smile and his teeth are brushed. So he's. He's. He's marketing himself as no butt crack clean and no stink, and we show up on time. So that is his brand promise. And I think it would absolutely benefit him to have some type of a character that would endear him even further. So he's handled the problems. The biggest complaints about plumbers, I'm from LA originally, so it's always the joke. They. They smell, they're late, they're butt crack, and they are just not, you know, necessarily friendly.
- [14:15]
B
So thank you so much for all that information. So what it sounds like is Joe is essentially a superhero plumber because he comes in and he does it better than everybody else and he saves the day.
- [14:25]
A
I love. I love it.
- [14:28]
B
Yeah. So we could create a superhero similar character that is a plumber and has this incredible backstory where he was working, you know, in the armed forces, and how he saw this need and wanted to create safety and he wanted to create a new standard for plumbing. Right. We could create an entire world based off of this, and we could have different villains, you know, so we could have plumbers who are, you know, messy and sloppy and, like, they never get the job done and they leave the toilet a mess. And then Joe the superhero plumber comes in and saves the day, and he looks great and he smells great. And then he has this team similar to the Avengers. He has a team of, you know, plumb vendors who come in and have their own special skills and, you know, their own superhero strategies for how they show up and how they deliver. And so you could essentially not only create a backstory using Joe's experience, but then you could take these characters and you can perform skits, comedic skits, depending on if Joe wants. Wants us to be more inspirational or if he wants us to Be more lighthearted if he's going to have families involved or if he's going for the comedy angle. So we could create skits using characters. And the great thing is, because I own a school, I have access to all the best character entertainers in the world. And they're all professionally certified by my school and trained. And so we could have them come in, create these iconic characters, act out this skit and make it holiday themed. So, you know, maybe superhero plumber comes in, Joe to save the day and it's a holiday meltdown. Maybe Santa's toilet, it got backed up, you know, and he has to come in. And I just think that there's so much that we can do with it, but it would really depend on what he's looking for, performance wise. But creating a character, implementing it throughout the year and having that be the face of his brand would be something that no other companies are doing and something that people can relate to. I mean, when you think of iconic tire companies, what do you think of? What's the first company that you think of when you think of an iconic tire company in America?
- [16:22]
A
Higher. Good year.
- [16:25]
B
Good year. Okay, what's another one?
- [16:28]
A
Pirelli?
- [16:31]
B
Okay, I was gonna say the Michelin Man.
- [16:33]
A
Oh, Michelin. Okay, there's another one. Yeah. Well, okay, those are there, but I think of the Goodyear blimp.
- [16:39]
B
Oh, yeah, that's true.
- [16:41]
A
That's what I think of. Okay, the Michelin man is number. It would be two. And that certainly is a character more in line with yours. I didn't mean to be difficult, but I get you this. The Michelin man is the character. But I think of the Goodyear blimp.
- [16:53]
B
Because what you've just mentioned is iconic branding. It's a way in which a company connects with its people. So you think of a blimp and you think of Goodyear. You think of the Michelin Tire man and you think of Michelin. Right. So all these really strong brands, when you think of Coca Cola, you think of the holidays, you think of the polar bears. All these really brands have ways of connecting with their customers that bring a human element. Even if it's a bear, even if it's a tire man, even if it's a Geico lizard. There's some sort of human connection because that character has feelings and thoughts and stands for something. And the reason that we keep. You know, there's so many marketing statistics that say people don't buy because of what the product that you're offering. They buy because of the feeling that you're selling. And when you can humanize a brand and you can connect a team with a company through characters and through experiential marketing experiences that allow people to really feel, then that brand is going to stay cemented in their mind and they're automatically going to have more trust and value with that brand over anybody else.
- [17:55]
A
No, I love it. I'm in total agreement. Total alignment. One of my, let's say, calling cards when I speak professionally and when I train people, is the use of props when they speak, which serves two purposes. Memory. They are remembered. Number two, it kills any feeling of nervousness, any nerves that might have been there evaporate because you feed off the audience's reaction to the humor. I have to show you one thing, and you're going to. I know the reaction I'm going to get because you're a fun lady, fun person. Yesterday, after I came up at the conference I was speaking at, there were about 100 people that were in Australia. I said, well, I want to thank you for your time here for these eight days. And so does my chicken. This is my travel chicken. And, you know, don't. Everybody laughed. They couldn't handle it. But I said, don't squeeze the chicken. You can't squeeze my chicken. He's my chicken. Get your own chicken. Oh, they just couldn't handle it. But it's a little device. It goes with me everywhere. I have a big one for bigger stages, but I use this. This goes in my bag with. With me everywhere. Someone's having a rough day. I might be sitting next to somebody in an airplane. I take out the chicken, and it's just my little character, Mitch, is the guy that, you know, uses the. The squeaking chicken.
- [19:25]
B
And I love the chicken.
- [19:27]
A
Yeah, it's great. You can't have it. It's my chicken. I share other things, but not my chicken, Alexis. It's mine.
- [19:34]
B
Exactly.
- [19:34]
A
Travel chicken.
- [19:36]
B
I. The psychology behind that, it's. It fascinates me. So the characters, the psychology, everything, how it all plays together. So it's interesting. So when you take out that chicken immediately, what clicks into people's minds is I remember what it's like to play. I remember what it's like to have a toy. And that is what makes them immediately disarm. It immediately makes them connect with you because their inner child comes back to play. And kids, they don't have any feelings of fear or scarcity or separation. Kids are very much just in the moment and present, and one is with. With, you know, and so when you bring that out, you immediately connect that person with their inner child, which makes them connect with you. I have a little bear that I travel around the world with and I write children's books about named Patrick.
- [20:18]
A
Oh, cool, Cool. So you have your own character. It's fun to live in that world. Life's too short. Have fun. So that's great. I've got another one just to show how creative you are. I put you on the spot. 1. I think he can handle a second. It's going to be a Hanukkah party. Because you lived in la, you can relate to this. Goldberg, Silverstein and Cohen law firm in Beverly Hills, California. One doesn't exist. I just made up the names because that could be a three partner firm. They're having their annual Hanukkah party now. I'm going to make a strong judgment. People of that faith like to have fun. They do. I grew up in that area, so I'm surrounded by very serious business people when it comes to fun. They're all in what would be a fun Hanukkah party character. And they have a budget and they're willing to spend it. And I learned that because of all the bar mitzvahs I attended growing up.
- [21:26]
B
That's incredible. And thank you so much for the opportunity and the question. Mitch, as much as I would love to give you insight and feedback on creating a character for a Hanukkah party, I will automatically let you know that I am not Jewish, and I have never really been involved with the Jewish community. And I think that it would be beautiful to create a character. And all I know about Hanukkah is dreidels, which is not enough. It's not enough to go on to create a character.
- [21:53]
A
All right.
- [21:54]
B
I would love to do is I would love to sit down and ask them, were there any iconic characters that they enjoyed growing up that had to do with Hanukkah? If not, then what were the major themes of their Hanukkah celebrations? And what characters did they resonate with the most that they would feel like would be an extension of their personalities? So for me, it's really about creating characters that feel like an extension of those people that they can really resonate with, that they feel like is going to be on brand for the event and. And then tying it together with their celebrations and their traditions and what means, what's really going to create that heartfelt connection between them and their guests. So I would need a lot more information to go on.
- [22:31]
A
Okay, all right. That's Fair. That's fair. I have a little bit of an advantage because I grew up in an all Jewish neighborhood. I was the only Christian in an all Jewish. I grew up in Beverly Hills. So I was surrounded by this ethnic group. They were great. Nobody mistreated me. I have no sob story. I have a, an inclusion story. So I understand. So I don't think they have eight days of their celebration versus Christians have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which we celebrate. But for them, they get eight days, they have a menorah and their colors are blue and white versus, you know, red and green and white, let's say for, for Christmas. And they celebrate for eight, eight nights. So the kids typically get eight gifts and it's. I, I probably gave you too much. I don't, I didn't give you enough information to be fair. But it's, it's clear that you have that talent of coming up with a character very quickly. You were able to do that with the plumber, with the Joe, Joe Plummer. So you can, we can save that for another day, another time when you have more information. But that would be a market where lawyers need to laugh because they're in a serious line of work. But when they do choose to laugh and let go, they're an extremely fun group of people that love entertainment because as you know, if you lived in la, the entertainment industry is surrounded by a lot of creative people that come from that faith.
- [24:02]
B
Absolutely. And that's the thing, Mitch, is I'm never going to pretend like I know more about something that I do in order to book a job. I'm going to make sure that I know all of the nuances and all the intricacies of the person who wants me to work with them, the characters that they want to create and the impact that they want to make through those characters. And okay, until I have that information, I'm not going to provide any sort of ideas because for me it's really a personal connection. It's a personal experience and I really love to know all the nuances of the world before I start creating.
- [24:36]
A
No, I get it. So that, yeah, it was just off the cuff. I thought, okay, well, let's have some fun here. Let's do a real life scenario of a fictitious business. I don't know. Joe or a plumber just made him up. But I talked about the pain people felt as a homeowner myself, when I lived in la, in my former life of not traveling, when I was married and had all those issues. That was a scenario butt crack Smelly, late, and not necessarily friendly and not necessarily honest. Overstating the bills and doing that whole deal is not trusting the blue collar tradesmen.
- [25:16]
B
Yeah. And maybe for the Hanukkah party, we have some very straight laced, very buttoned up, very, you know, conservative, you know, work hard, men. Or a Jewish character that tends to, like, have like a Jekyll and Hyde moment where something happens and he turns into this fun, crazy, like, off the wall, celebratory Jewish character. And maybe he's. He transforms in that way, kind of like the Hulk. You know, maybe he takes something or drinks something, and then all of a sudden he turns into the fun Jewish guy. So who knows? There's so many different things we can do with that.
- [25:51]
A
Did you ever watch the movie Fiddler on the Roof?
- [25:54]
B
I haven't, no.
- [25:55]
A
Okay. It's a must. And it's so well done. It's a classic within the Jewish community, but everybody enjoyed it, and it has a depiction of Jewish fun and just there's a lot of story. It's a musical, and it's fantastic. So if you look at that after our interview, Fiddler on the Roof, it'll give you an insight into that culture and background, and there's a lot of fun to be in that. Fiddler on the Roof. It's very Hollywood.
- [26:27]
B
Perfect. I'm writing that down right now because I would love to learn more. I am a lifelong learner, and I definitely believe in broadening my experiences and my horizons, and thus why I've been a digital nomad for seven years. So thank you for giving me the opportunity to do so in this podcast.
- [26:41]
A
Okay, well, you've chosen Switzerland as your home. What would be your alternate?
- [26:48]
B
My top three favorite places in the world are Switzerland in the summer. I love Byron Bay, Australia, in summer. And Hawaii. I lived in Hawaii for five years, and it's essentially where I found myself because it was the first time I was able to disconnect from the noise around me. And so Hawaii will forever hold a very special place.
- [27:07]
A
In Waikiki?
- [27:09]
B
No, actually, the Big Island.
- [27:11]
A
Oh, I love the Big Island. I was on. Yep. When I finished grad school, I went there for 10 days when the Four Seasons Hualalai had opened up.
- [27:23]
B
So incredible. I love. I love Hawaii. And the Big island is especially important to me because it was the first place I owned a character entertainment company. So working with the KT and creating experiences for the local ohana was everything to me.
- [27:37]
A
Wow. Well, you've lived around. So what's next for Alexis?
- [27:40]
B
Yeah, so I have a lot more travels planned this year, but my goal is next year to have a home base in Portugal. So working towards that and just working on creating more magic in the world, bring more character experiences to businesses, to events, to corporate spaces, you know, and strengthening the character entertainment industry as a whole. Because many people don't realize this, I'm the first business and personal development platform in the world. Because in the past 50 years, however long character entertainment has been around, now the industry itself, including, you know, the Santa spaces, the mermaid spaces, the princess spaces, they've been very toxic and very unwelcoming. So when I had a nationwide company, I didn't have any fellow business friends. There were no educational resources. There was no community. And so after Covid, when I sold my company, I decided to be the change that I wish to see. So my platform isn't just about education, it's about community. And we're creating something that has never been done before in any space. And so for me, it's really about strengthening the character entertainment industry as a whole while also bringing the magic into every facet of the world.
- [28:53]
A
Awesome. Alexis, you have been a fantastic guest. Thank you for playing with me and going along the lines of my questions. I know it wasn't part of the anticipated question back and forth that we were supposed to go through, but I wanted to challenge you because I knew you could handle it. And I believe our listeners and viewers enjoyed that, that interaction. So I would love. Yeah, I would love to have you back as a guest down the road so you can share more about your experiences and your successes so people can learn from that. So what's the best way for people to get in touch with you? They want to hire you. Hire your company.
- [29:35]
B
That would be lovely. Yes, hire me. I would love to work with you. You can visit me on my website, which is alexisboyet.com that's a L E X I S B as in boy O Y E T T dot com. Or you can reach me on my email address, which is alexisoin bippity.com and my email address is also on my website, but those are the top two places that you can reach me. I'm also on LinkedIn.
- [29:58]
A
Wow. Well, Alexis, you've been a superb entertainment and brought smiles to me, and I'm sure people will smile as a result of viewing and watching this interview. So thank you so much and we will have you back again real soon.
- [30:12]
B
Thank you so much, Mitch. I hope you have a magical day.