We had the good fortune of connecting with Maria Bryant and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maria, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I think the most important factor behind my success would be staying true to myself. It’s so easy to get lost in all of the noise or keep up with the “hype”. I come from humble beginnings. I grew up in the ghetto’s of Ohio, near Cincinnati to be exact. I was emancipated by the age of 16 and always finding different ways to hustle, It was either hustle or go hungry. I’m not sure if you’ve ever wondered where your next meal is going to come from but the lessons that fear will teach you are some you won’t forget. I promised myself when things started picking up that I would always stay true to myself and always try to do the right thing. Always remembering where I come from and my humble beginnings. Over the years I’ve met several individuals like myself. That have that same hunger, that drive. You can tell the people who have really clawed and fought there way through some sort of battle to get to where they are. I love seeing people like that make it out on the other side and treat themselves. Last year I decided to treat myself to a 720s Mclaren. Not to keep up with the “hype” but because I wanted to reward myself after getting through several difficult hurdles. As fun as it was, it wasn’t me. Life doesn’t have to be all about the finer things. At the end of the day I just want a warm meal, good health and a safe place to sleep. The success of my brand is heavily based on staying true to myself and doing good business.. At the end of the day I can rest knowing all of my people are taken care of.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Modeling has been so good to me over the years. It has kept a roof over my head as far back as I can remember. As I’ve gotten older I’ve taken on several real estate projects and a few other investments for passive income. Late in the year in 2019 I closed my first wholesale deal in real estate. Now that wasn’t easy and it took a lot of patience and grace to get there. Since then it has opened my eyes to so many different passive incomes you could have in real estate. Right now that’s the path that I’m on but who knows where that will lead me.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Some of my favorite spots in Arizona would be the Snow Bowl in the winter. It’s near Flagstaff and you can go snowboarding then by the end of the day you get back to Phoenix and it’s warm again. It’s the best of both worlds. I love to go to Camelback mountain in Phoenix as well. Just make sure you bring lots of water and sunscreen.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
@Anthonybertoncin @dgshowtime @traviswolfesr

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.