Bobby Pen Illuminates Her Path to Success In The Media Industry

By Madison Naves | WeINSPIRE Journalist 

BIRMINGHAM, AL. -- Lauren Williams is a multimedia consultant and brand coach. Williams is known in the media industry under her stage name Bobby Pen. She has been in the media industry for over 15 years, beginning as a journalist. She has worked red carpet events interviewing celebrities she grew up watching like Brandy, Neyo, and Snoop Dogg, among more. Her achievements have landed her opportunities to work with companies like The Grio, Hello Beautiful, and Revolt TV. To build her platform to the extensive work it is today, the first thing Williams had to do was secure a name for herself.

Williams first came by the idea of a stage name while studying communications as a Temple University student. It was there that Williams took a poetry performance class that taught her the importance of stage names and immersing oneself into a character. After months of attending class, Williams would go home one day and scour for stage names she thought could fit her personality and love of writing. She stood at her dresser, staring into a mirror. She played with names that would be universal and keep people guessing, taking inspiration from entertainer Jamie Foxx.  Williams danced with unisex names like Jordan and Alex remembering the concept of “Anything a guy can do, a girl can do better” before landing on the name Bobby. She smiled into the mirror that day, knowing she was on the right track before looking down at an item perched across her dresser. It was a Bobby-pin. Being a writer, Williams changed the “I” in pin to an “E” to encompass her writing passion. Her new name would be Bobby Pen.

Williams originally grew up in Washington, D.C. She had a love for language and often excelled in language arts and creative writing classes. She drew upon inspiration to pursue writing after the successful career her aunt Lena Williams established as a reporter for The New York Times. Williams’ remembered visiting her aunt in NY and scavenging unreleased music from the artists her aunt would work alongside. “She’d have bins of unreleased CDs from Brandy, Jade, Total; She had all the new releases before they actually came out, ” said Williams. 

She remembered attending her first red carpet event with her aunt at 10 for Michael Jordan’s IMAX film, Michael Jordan To The Max. 

“It was really exciting to witness and experience, ” Willams said. “So If this was the key to [that] sort of lifestyle, then this [was] the life for me.” 

She worked tirelessly in her English courses and developed her middle school’s first student-run newsletter while engaging in music and entertainment.  

“As a young girl, music and entertainment were always a big deal to me, ” Williams began. “ I was the girl that would run home and watch The Box [television network] and see whatever the latest music video was; I was the kid that would read album covers and cd inserts to read who wrote and produced songs. I would collect and thumb through magazines to learn the business.” 

Having a front-row seat to this culture allowed Williams to create her media platform in multiple forms such as broadcasting, digital, and print media as an entertainment writer. 

“It’s been really cool to have access to a world that at the time seemed so foreign,“ Willams said.

Her journey to success was not always easy, and at times presented Williams with tough challenges like homelessness, grief, sexism, and ageism. According to Bloomberg’s article, for women in media, challenges like these often keep them from reaching success or higher-level positions, despite qualifications and making up half of the total workforce in the media and entertainment industry.  Racism and sexual harassment can also present barriers for women in this industry and have even sparked national outrage in movements like the Me Too movement.  The Women’s Media Center conducted a research study in 2018 to explain how the underrepresentation of women in media, especially women of color has reinforced toxic work environments in this industry. Stories of these mistreatments have played out In the public eye through journalists like Kathleen Newman-Bremang. She shared her experiences with racism and sexism while working in the media industry in a Refinery29 article in 2020. These experiences are often overlooked or diminished as a part of the job, thus creating more toxic experiences for other women. Williams’ courage to share her story with openness and pride inspires prospective journalists to speak up about mistreatment and construct new healthy work environments in this industry.

Success stories like Williams’ are not created without strength and perseverance. 

“Everybody has a story; I just feel that everything feels more obtainable when you understand that this person had obstacles too, ” Williams said.  “There’s something that we all have to get through to become who we’re supposed to be.”

Having now worked over 15 years in the media industry, Williams helps others reach their full potential with media brand-building courses through her business, Put Yourself On Academy. Williams teaches artists, entrepreneurs, start-up companies, and others through interactive lessons to succeed without compromising important values ethically in a fun and educational way. 

Williams continues to work hard to seal her place in the media industry. She hopes to continue making a positive impact on the industry while achieving her dreams. To explore more of Williams’ story and career in the media industry, please listen to our podcast and check out more of Williams’ work on TheBobbyPen.com and PutYourselfOnAcademy.com