Meet Trey Douyon | Content Creator & Social Media Strategist

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

Hi Trey, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Growing up, I always had an entrepreneurial mentality, I was always looking for ways to make money from selling lemonade to burning disks to sell to classmates. I thrived off of being able to be creative on my own terms, make my own rules, and build my own dream.

In reality, my version of a successful career always started with using my own talents and knowledge to serve other people.

In 2020, when the pandemic hit I had just graduated from college with a major in Digital Media Production. Although I had been already accepted for an internship with the NFL, because of the immediate stoppage of all actives and uncertain future, there was no need for my internship position.

After luckily finishing my internship, I began to freelance on the side but never saw it becoming something that I could do to fully sustain myself, until it did.

By the grace of God and meeting a few people in the right places, I went full time with freelancing in January of 2021 after working a part time job at Lowes for the last 7 months.

It was the scariest decision I made in my life so far, but I knew that if I took the safe route that I would. always be stuck thinking about what I could have done.

In the number of ways that I thought it could go wrong, I could think of hundreds of other ways why it would go right, and it has.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Something I always fall back on in my work is storytelling. In everything we do, there is a story that needs to be told. Regardless of status, age, origin, we all have a story and live an experience that is unique and unlike anyone else’s.

When I approach my work, I always ask myself, “How can I tell this story the way it deserves to be told?”

And the answer that I usually come to in pursuit of answering that question is, “evoke emotion.” the work that I create always aims to make the viewer, person telling the story feel something. Emotion is how we connect. Emotion is how we form bonds. In sadness and in happiness, it is something that we all understand, something universal.

So often we are just trying to tell the facts or make people feel the wrong emotions.

In my own story, there was a lot of uncertainty in what I was doing. As a creative, there is a lot of appreciation for the work that we do, but it is also undervalued and looked at as an unsustainable career.

Often times I would take on shoots for free, even lose money just to get my foot in the door to meet someone and show them my work.

Self-doubt also plays a huge role. It’s typical for creatives to compare themselves to other creatives thinking that their work isn’t good enough.

Here’s what I learned. Everyone is in a different chapter of their growth and work and we shouldn’t go comparing our chapter 1 to someone else’s chapter ten.

When I fully realized this, I just started making what felt good to me even if it didn’t follow norms or standards. You have to create your own lane.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
oh MAN, this is a good one.

You gotta start the week off by going to Brickell City Centre to get your friend fresh the Miami way, after that you gotta head to Moxies for the best mimosas. Finish off the day in south beach hit a jetski or boat ride.

During the week, you wanna spend your day exploring the good food and cool neighborhoods in Miami. Wynwood, Midtown, Design District, Coco grove, I could spend all day in these places.

Museums, small shops, and happy hours are best during the week.

Can’t forget about Taco Tuessssday, catch me @ La Bodega in the South Beach Best Tacos in Miami hands down.

The only place to go out on Thursdays is Marion in Brickell for their Soiree Thursday, best party on a Thursday night.

On the weekend, you’d find me hanging pool / beach side at Nikki beach, SLS or Strawberry Moon in south beach.

Miami has the best night life and you can’t visit without experiencing it. LIV, Story, Mr. Jones, Komodo, or Elleven is where I would take them.

For a more low-key time, I would go to Wynwood or Brickell. My favorite spots in Wynwood are Oasis, Dirty Rabbit, and Pilos.

When you want to get away from all that noise, Crandon Park in Key Biscayne is a great spot.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There’s nothing more important than community. When I started my entrepreneurial journey, I had just moved to Miami, and my support system down here made all the difference. From my friends and family, VOUS Church family, and even people that I had just met through social media when I first got here.

I couldn’t have done it without them.

I’d like to specifically shout out Krystina Dowdell for thinking of me for this series. An awesome friend and person to work with. She is doing amazing things with Miami Retreat and soon it will be the biggest holistic health retreat in Miami!

Website: TreyDouyon.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com