#MomCrush Monday: Meet Deena Lang, Content Creator, Influencer & Long-time Radio Personality
1. You are a Mompreneur, Content Creator, Influencer, and a busy mama bear. What are some tips you can share with other moms about how to juggle it all AND do it successfully?
Truth be told, I never feel like I’m doing anything successfully… and that might be a GOOD thing. I’m someone who is constantly tinkering and tweaking EVERYTHING. My appearance, my home… I’ve found it to be the only healthy-ish way to channel my commitment issues. Because of that, I never feel like anything is “done” and that drives me to continue to try. I’m also VERY motivated by the idea of making people laugh and helping them understand they’re not alone. I try to incorporate that energy into most of my content, even when the subject is a serious one, like the skin cancer I’ve been dealing with on my face over the past year. Some would say it’s crass to laugh about it, but I wouldn’t want to cope any other way.
2. You spent the last 21 years over the radio airwaves with all your interactions with musicians and celebrities. What are some of the fun & kooky life tips/tricks you learned that could help our readers not take themselves or life too seriously?
I spent my first few years in radio really overestimating my importance and it actually took someone flat out telling me that to my face in order for the message to register. I’ll never forget the moment because it changed my life… I was hosting an event at a club, standing in the middle of the dance floor paralyzed with fear that people were watching and judging my every awful dance move and when those words were spoken to me something clicked. It completely changed the way I viewed how others saw me and I realized that, truly, NOBODY CARES. That moment and, of course, the process of childbirth, laying naked sprawled out on a table with a bunch of strangers peeking in at my vag really helped me drop my guard and just be the ridiculous person that I am. And I INSTANTLY noticed a difference in the quality and outcome of my interviews with celebrities and musicians. Leveling with them as a human being and not putting them on a pedestal made it possible to ask the hard questions and receive raw, unfabricated answers in return. In many cases they’d open up so much that their PR rep would call my boss after the fact and request that we scrap the interview because they’d revealed things that were supposed to be kept quiet and their label/manager didn’t want their image “tarnished”.
3. As a content creator, you create humorous videos about #momlife. What inspires you? Where do you come up with your ideas? Any tips for the aspiring TikToker?
I’ve conditioned myself to look for either the humor or the relatability in every situation. I’m terrible at getting (and STAYING) organized and I jot ideas down all over the place. Maybe 30% of those ideas actually come to life, but I like to write everything down regardless of how stupid it seems… I can always tweak a concept later on, but if I don’t put it on paper or in my phone there’s ZERO chance I’ll remember it. My biggest piece of advice is to think about the show Seinfeld… it was literally a “show about nothing” and was one of the biggest TV success stories of all time. That’s how I view my life and my content. If I go to the grocery store, there’s content there… I just need to open my eyes and look for it. My biggest piece of advice would be to start with the topics you’re texting with your friends about. It means they’re relatable and if you can put a humorous spin on them, you’re all set!
4. On your blog and social media platforms, you give a real raw look at your motherhood journey, the trials and tribulations you endure. What are three things you’d like to share with moms about how to navigate their own journeys and how to find their own paths to happiness?
I think you really need to roll up your sleeves and face who you are as a person. The answers are there and it’s easy to push them off because you need to run errands or clean the house or take the kids to school. Once you come to terms with who you are you can start putting the work in and learn to like that person and help that person morph into someone you’re proud of. I’m so incredibly flawed and trying to mask those flaws is just exhausting. Surrounding myself both irl and on social media with people who cut the shit and really show me who they are is what makes me understand I’m not alone and I CAN make it through tough times.
5. What is your favorite song lyric and why?
Counting Crows – Round Here:
“She knows she’s more than just a little misunderstood. She has trouble acting normal when she’s nervous”
The album August and Everything After came out while my parents were going through a nasty divorce and I was struggling with obesity and all of the mean things kids say and do that goes along with it. I didn’t know anyone else who came from a divorced family or was navigating weight issues and felt entirely alone.
That album helped me see outside of my bubble and understand that there were people in the world, not my immediate world, but THE world, who were going through the same things I was experiencing. It sounds cliché, but that album saved me.
