MY NEW NORM Podcast
MY NEW NORM Podcast- with host, BARRY SCOTT YOUNG.
This podcast is about REAL PEOPLE and REAL STORIES.
We all have our own stories of change and challenges, and it is my hope these episodes will provide encouragement. I hope you will listen and will share this podcast with others.
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MY NEW NORM Podcast
MY NEW NORM Podcast- S5 E3 / PIP ABRIGO / From BROADWAY to BOARDROOMS
MY NEW NORM Podcast- S5 E3
Guest: PIP ABRIGO
Episode: From BROADWAY to BROARDROOMS
Host: BARRY SCOTT YOUNG
Produced by BEARANOOGA PRODUCTIONS
What if the key to a fulfilling life lies in the stories of those who dared to follow their passion? Join us as we sit down with Pip Abrigo, an accomplished dancer whose artistic journey began in the vibrant cultural tapestry of the Philippines and led him to the iconic stages of Los Angeles and New York. Pip candidly shares how his family and early education fueled his dedication to dance, and recounts the unforgettable experience of working with legends like Paula Abdul and Michael Jackson. Through Pip's narrative, we uncover the grit and determination it takes to succeed in the demanding world of professional dance.
Ever wondered what it feels like to pivot from a high-energy dance career to the entrepreneurial world? As Pip transitions from the bustling streets of New York to launching his own business in San Diego, he opens up about the physical and emotional challenges of this dramatic shift. From coping with burnout and societal expectations to finding new aspirations and redefining success, Pip’s story offers a rich tapestry of lessons for anyone contemplating a career change or simply seeking personal growth. His reflections on managing failures and the importance of enduring passion offer invaluable insights into the winding paths of life and career.
What's the secret to reinventing yourself in the face of life's unpredictability? In the final segment of our conversation, Pip delves into the wisdom gained from navigating life’s adversities. We discuss the essence of letting go of uncontrollable factors, the importance of support networks, and the isolation often felt in entrepreneurial endeavors. Tune in to explore how maintaining a sense of curiosity and creativity can be a beacon of hope during periods of reinvention, and gain practical advice on adapting to new challenges, whether you’re in your 20s or your 70s. This episode is a heartfelt reminder that it's never too late to rebuild and pursue your passions.
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This is the my New Norm podcast and I'm your host, Barry Scott Young. Welcome. I was just thinking. We all have our own stories of change and challenges and it is my hope these episodes will provide encouragement. Remember to follow, listen and share with those you know. Thank you for your interest and your support. Now on to the episode.
Pip Abrigo:Became a professional dancer, started in LA, did back then auditions with Paula Abdul and Michael Jackson. I did Donny Osmond's video years later when I did the King and I the national tour of the King and I. I got to work with Marie Osmond. Before that it was Hayley Mills and Maureen McGovern. When you have a goal in life, you know that's all you know and that's all you wanna achieve. I had some potential and I kept going and I built the support that I needed and I took it all the way. After I graduated high school about a year or two when I was in college I hit a ceiling. I just got burned out. I didn't know where to go from there. My name is Hipah Brigo and this is my story.
Barry Scott Young:Today in studio, I am honored to have Pip Abrigo from San Diego. Pip and I actually worked under the same roof but had never met each other, and today it's really more of an episode of encouragement strategy for those that are having to retool or restart their life in their 20s, 30s, 40s or 50s, or even 70s or 80s. You will revisit this, but there's a time to retool, especially after an unexpected interruption or an unseen crisis. So, Pip, how are you doing today?
Pip Abrigo:Pleasure. Thank you for inviting me. I was in Los Angeles for about eight years, moved from New York, but I was originally from the Los Angeles area. That's where I grew up, and then I ended up in New York City and did a couple of shows there on Broadway.
Barry Scott Young:Unpack that a little bit From our conversations. I learned that from a very early age you wanted to be a dancer.
Pip Abrigo:So it was just like maybe back in the 80s, growing up as a kid in the Philippines and it was fun and it's all about arts, performing, entertainment and stuff like that. So it's very festive where I was going and there's a lot of artistic support. So that was my first love, maybe influenced by my mom, my sisters, my brother and I danced for many years when we were kids and then when we moved to the United States, we both got into our own paths in life. He wanted to be a martial artist and he did that, but he was also a really good dancer. So he was my partner in crime back in the days I moved and I keep pursuing dancing.
Pip Abrigo:I was a young age 15, 14 years old and went to high school for the arts, majored in dance in high school. From there, you know, I danced with UCLA people all over Los Angeles as a young kid 17, 18 years old, then graduated from high school and became a professional dancer while I was in Santa Monica College because I didn't really know what to do. I knew it was my prime and I had to keep going. But I also knew that there was a burning desire to stop. Everybody knows about burning out and it starts in early life. Kids get burned out.
Pip Abrigo:So a mentor of mine told me that it's useless for a child to learn ballet at the age of five or six years old. They don't have the capacity to understand the technicality of what ballet is. For them, ballet is just dancing imagination, and that's their specialty as a kid. So as a young age I fell in love with the art form and the sound and music, and so I just went and dove into that whole world of dancing and became a professional dancer. I just went and dove into the whole world of dancing and became a professional dancer, started in LA, did back then auditions, you know, with Paula Abdul and Michael Jackson. I did Donny Osmond's video and then I ended up working with his sister, Marie Osmond. Oh, yeah.
Pip Abrigo:Years later, when I did the King and I, the national tour of the King and I, I got to work with Marie Osmond, before that, Hayley Mills and Maureen McGovern, so it was a great. It was a great experience, you know, being a kid and wanting to reach that goal. When you have a goal in life, you know that's all you know and that's all you want to achieve, which, when I think about it, actually it's a beautiful thing, especially as a young child. When you have a goal, it's good to encourage kids to like hey, what do you want to be? Because you get excited and it sticks in your head and, with a little encouragement, they see appreciation around them and they keep going. And luckily, I had some potential and I kept going and I built the support that I needed and I took it all the way.
Pip Abrigo:After I graduated from high school, I hit a ceiling where I didn't feel like I just got burned out. I didn't know where to go from there and realizing that I'm going to starve because that's what everybody's telling me. At the same time, you know you're good and all that, but you're not gonna make any money from that, you know. So, um, I understood that and then of course I knew that you can make a living because of course you know, yeah, you make a living as an artist. You just have to make it work and so so these things you learn as you move on in life. As a young kid it's like what are you learning as you're moving forward? And a lot of these things you just move forward because you don't appreciate the value that you're learning, even though you're learning a lot.
Pip Abrigo:When I was in New York as a dancer, it was a wild place to be, but I had such a great time coming from Los Angeles. It was a night and day for me. I wish I grew up in New York at that time because it was my place to be. Anyway, so you learn a lot from there. You learn a lot of mistakes. You learn how to manage when you don't get a job right. I learned to manage failure and accept all that whole unacceptance feeling. Especially as an artist, you are really sensitive and you want know all that whole unacceptance feeling. You know, especially as an artist, you are really sensitive and you want to get that show and so when you're a kid, you know, you're just like, oh, you're getting hurt and you're getting punched in the face and but somehow you keep going.
Pip Abrigo:As a kid, you know, it's almost like nobody tells you what to do. I mean why, you know right. So back then I was thinking like well, because I really love this thing, you know, I quit twice. I became a surgical tech for a couple of years, when I was maybe 19, 20 years old. I was like you know. And then, after I did for a couple of years and I was in surgeries and stuff like that, even though I was still kind of, I was still with local performers or local artists or local groups in los angeles at it, I just didn't want to be in it because I was influenced by family members and other people that, uh, become more practical, you know. So you remember, check this out.
Pip Abrigo:It's like you're in your 20s, you're you just put so much hard work in this skill that you invested in as a young kid and you're now hitting your adulthood, you're supposed to take the next level, but what happened is that you are burned out. You, you put in a lot, you know. So that's why you have to be careful, especially for young guys out there, young, young artists or anyone. Really, when you're young, you get so excited, you put in so much effort and then you hit a certain block, that whole mental thing that you, you learn and you get hurt. As you're getting older, you're learning how to manage your pain emotionally, physically. I had a lot of physical pain because I was a dancer, so I knew what was like. I was learning to grind and I was learning to become a man and I was learning to dream better.
Pip Abrigo:When I was a dancer I was like, okay, I'm getting older, what's next? Maybe I should go back to school. I mean, this is like you're making all these decisions as a young kid. You remember those times where you keep thinking what should I do next? So, going back as a child, you know when I, when I went to Broadway and become a professional and really got into it and that was my last uh gig in Broadway because I knew I was getting older and time to change. So now this is like the next step. Uh, I experienced I had to had to stop after I did a couple of shows. I did king and I lion king for a couple of years uh work with amazing people, learned a lot when it comes to arts and and really embedded the arts and the appreciation you know, art form kind of brought that out of me. And so at that point of my life, you, you know the next, the next step is to to become an adult, or what is it like to become an adult, you know?
Barry Scott Young:Right.
Pip Abrigo:You're watching your society, right. So next is get married and all that. Some people see that as a success, right, and in some cultures that's like you reach a pinnacle. You know you're. You're now a parent, you're now a husband and wife. To me, that was a goal. Get a good job, stable job, have a spouse, couple of kids, house Typical American dream. Now things are starting to change Again the ideologies, the world is changing and I don't know what happened in the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.
Pip Abrigo:I heard things, but the only path that you really know is the one that you're on. You keep learning things and you want to be better. I'm sure a lot of us. Deep inside, we always want to be better, and so I guess that's part of the goal. Right, be better, get a better education, get a better job. You know better pay, just keep getting better.
Pip Abrigo:You know, when you're entertaining, when you're an entertainer, you want to have that a little bit of fame, a little recognition. Right, it's part of you and that fuels you to do better in front of the audience. So it's a give and take. So you make more money and you perform better. Production gets better. Make more money, production gets better and all that, and you make more people laugh and smile and be in awe, so you feel like you're growing and you're becoming more successful. So, yeah, whatever it is, you know, or or you, uh, let's say, you build a business, um, like what I'm doing now. I'm an entrepreneur here in san diego. So after I did the whole um broadway thing and came back to los angeles, I I started having you know, I I met my wife and had children. Um started in New York and then moved back to los angeles and that's where it all started. You know how I got to San Diego?
Barry Scott Young:Uh, did you land in LA after New York with a job, or was it really kind of a start over for?
Pip Abrigo:So, when it was really quick, when I was in, uh, on broadway. Here's another thing is I never thought that I would stop doing what I loved, which is dancing performing by the way, I'm still performing now. I'm a musician, not a dancer, but uh, but back then, you know, you did it for 15 years, you know 20 years as a kid, and you just all of a sudden, because now you have a new goal, which is to be a dad, to be a father, to be a husband, to build a family, and of course, a lot of people say, well, you could do both. Yeah, but at that point I think it was really complex for me because I knew the business and, like I mentioned before, uh, I went through a couple of burnouts, so I was exhausted, right, and the flame wasn't there anymore. It's weird, right, like, because this has been the thing I've been doing since I was a kid. This is who, everybody knew who I was. That's why I couldn't get into music back then, because it's hard, because everybody knows a dancer. And it's like, all of a sudden, I'm producing the show where I'm inviting people like dancers to sing. You know, because, because, because, because I recognize that you know there's a lot of kids in New York, they're just multi-talented. So, and my burning desire to become a musician was really becoming big.
Pip Abrigo:Even though I was really into dance, at that point I stopped performing. I was going to school full time and I was doing Broadway full time. So it was really, you know, burning both ends of the candle. But you're young, so you know, you're in your 20s, so, and that was, that was a paid-in pleasure too, right, because you feel like you're going somewhere. So that's the thing, you know, like that's the thing.
Pip Abrigo:When you're in the middle of something like you're building a business or you're, you're going through a second chance in your life. Even though it's a very beautiful thing, you stop doing one thing. There's always that bittersweet right, because you're leaving what you loved and you're moving towards a new passion, and it's always been there. But for practical reason, I was getting older. Dancing dance is like it has the shortest end of the stick out of four disciplines because, uh, at some point you need to stop. You can become a teacher, but you can't dance forever. You know you can paint forever, you can sing forever pretty much you can act forever, but you cannot dance forever is that because the breakdown of the body then?
Pip Abrigo:It's like sports? Yeah so, and the whole all that pain that dancers carry through. Um, it's like being, you know, like being an athlete says like in a war.
Pip Abrigo:You get banged up and you know so now you gotta think, oh, what am I gonna do next? You know? So I think there's that dilemma that the dancers don't share with other artists, like painters and I mean, I'm sure they have their own dilemma too. You know, especially painters, they're crazy, they got their ears off and stuff like that. You know, artists like visual artists are the weirdest people I've ever met when I was in high school. They think of the weirdest things, but anyway, um, so you stop doing what you love doing. I'm sure a lot of people, like some listeners, gone through this too. You don't have to be in your fifties or sixties to, like you know, start all over again. I mean, like I said, you know, I think a lot of us would experience those little micro forks on the road.
Barry Scott Young:Yeah.
Pip Abrigo:Constantly are. It's like I've been told hey, you're gonna starve being a dancer, pick something else or have a backup. So what are you gonna do? It scares you, right? Okay, fork in the road again. What do I do? Uh, okay, well, choose one. Then you choose one and you just go through it. You can't, you can't go right, so you choose one, you know, and you can pivot.
Pip Abrigo:Um, so that's another thing too in life, right, like a lot of some of your listeners probably. Like well, you know, it's like how do you know if you're going the right direction? You don't. You can just assess it, right, assess it, go through it. I mean, there's even in business. You can go, you can.
Pip Abrigo:You don't want to change course because you invested in it, and that's that's a dilemma that a lot of people go through. We tell them not to give up. You hear that all the time Stay the course, stay the course. I guess what that means is that, if you make a mistake, stay the course on being tenacious and finding the right adjustment. Like stay the course, be focused on finding the right answer, be vigilant, stay the course, be focused on finding the right answer, be vigilant, stay the course you know, and focus on what needs to be done next. Right, and so that's why you know, when I'm learning things, like I'm building a business right now and I'm spending all this money and time listening to whatever you're listening to reading books and stuff like that so that's a big challenge too.
Pip Abrigo:I stopped dancing and I think I'm going to go become a graphic designer, and so now I'm pouring all this money. I got into debt and at the time I was enjoying it in the beginning, and then I started to learn that, oh, this is a whole new career. It's like you have to start all over again. You got to rebuild everything, and I've done a couple of times already, but I don't realize how hard it is until you've done it already. I mean, you experience. This freaking thing is hard. I should stop. You know some people do that, and I think we had this conversation too.
Barry Scott Young:It's like before you give up and all the difficulties and stuff, I mean just think about what you're learning, and there's so much, because you've gone through so much, that you have a pool of information that can help you where you are. I mean, you're getting older and you've experienced things that you didn't experience in your 20s, so you have more of a pull to draw from. You know, leadership is basically learning to solve problems. If it's with people or a team or the organization you're there to lead and so, without the problems, there's no advancing or no changing in the organization. So leadership is learning to deal and solve problems.
Barry Scott Young:Well, you know, when I look back on my life, to be honest, I changed the most when I encountered pain and discomfort. I changed and I think for the most part we don't change until we have to. So you know you're talking about pain. I think the greatest way to use pain is to correct, grow, make adjustments to move out of that. You can't sit in it, but you can change based on the discomfort. You know, I think we change the most that way. Let me ask you a question. It's the question that everyone at some point is going to be asked of them, and that is if you could go back and actually talk to yourself when you were in your 20s, what would you say?
Pip Abrigo:First thing I I noticed is that, no matter what happened to me back in the days, um, it's I don't know, this is a cliche thing to say, but everything turns out to be okay. It's just the weirdest thing. I mean, it's like some people say, oh, what about death? That would be the ultimate sacrifice and all that. Well, even then, you know, we lose people. A couple weeks later, a couple months later, most of us move on Right. We remember them our dads, our moms, our moms, our friends, you know, even our children. Um, it's painful, you know, but so what I would tell my myself is that you're gonna, you know, you, just like we were talking about, understand, really understand, kid, what all the pain, what all these mean to you when you're growing up. The pain that you're going to experience is just a way for you know, universe telling you you make, you need to make adjustments even if you're the pain of jealousy, or losing a girlfriend, a breakup, um, it's just very, you know, very devastating.
Pip Abrigo:As a kid, you know, I would tell myself like you had breakups, you had these relationships. I mean, they they tear, they destroy you. I mean, you know, you get traumatized by these relationships and this is a very important thing, and I'm not saying like they're not talking about this, but a breakup is devastating, you know. Or losing a toy that you love when you're a kid, that will scar you forever, you know. So I didn't know really how to manage all that, and that's what I would tell myself Just get, be prepared. You know all this, all this setbacks that you're about to experience, just use those as an ammunition, because every time, you know, every time you're challenged like this, it's, um, it's, it's like you're taking another course in life, you know yeah, yeah, I think, um, the thing we had talked about as well is learning to focus on the things that you actually can, can control, and let go of the things that are out of your reach or you can't control.
Barry Scott Young:If not, you're going to be very frustrated, and you know that was another thing that we had said. So you know all the things that you go through. When you talk to yourself at 22, you know you're kind of saying, hey, life's going to be great, but it's going to be hard, keep going. You know, keep going. There's more to this. So what are some other things that you've learned now, being in your 50s, that you would want to say to yourself in your 20s?
Pip Abrigo:One thing I don't think I ever lost is my yearning for being a child again Not childish Right, that moment of carefree and just the moment. You can't stop being curious. You know you can't stop. You know you got to keep making shit up. You got to do something, you gotta. I think that's where we, we find ourselves stuck. I would tell myself you're gonna get stuck a lot. You know you're gonna get stuck a lot. Confusion not your mother can help you, nobody, nobody can help you. And that's what I learned now too, in my in my 50s that at the end of the day, man, you're on your own.
Pip Abrigo:There are times where these people who are listening now they're entrepreneurs and or they, they, they, for example, like, like me. I get really serious. I take, I take how am I gonna say this? I like the fact that I'm engaged with the universe. What's going to happen in the future. I get excited about that. I get so curious, I'm so fascinated by us, by human beings, and that's one of the things that really keep me moving forward is the fascination of who we are, and I think that's what I would tell myself. I always be fascinated about things. There's so many things in life that you can be fascinated about all those questions that we're constantly asking ourselves. But just look at around you and just from your point of view, don't stop.
Barry Scott Young:Everybody has so much to offer when, know, when, we're questioning or you're pursuing, but we're not sure. It's amazing when you talk to someone going through or that had already gone through something, you kind of go I'm going to keep going, I was encouraged, or yeah, that was me, or that is me. So I think the network of support that we have family or friends is very important. You're in a greater state of despair when you're alone, so the ability that we have to talk, to share, to exchange experiences really helps our own too.
Pip Abrigo:Which I encourage for them to reach out to other people and build a circle, because I feel a lot of times alone and I do talk to a lot of people about my plans, my ideas right, and I have experiences with other people Really quickly touch up on this really quick, because I think it's kind of relevant when it comes to the point of confusion, when you're trying to rebuild your life, especially at the point of like, especially nowadays, a lot of people are rethinking about what's going to happen to them next. I know they are, they always been, but even more now because times have changed, unprecedented times. Right now and I'm just not talking about politically just everything People are now on the second'm just not talking about politically just everything People are now on the second face of their lives. A lot of them, I'm not just because they're in their 50s, whatever, and you could be in your 30s, 40s, you could lose your job and you never go back there and you're like 29 years old, 25, 35. What are you going to do next? You know, and now you're in the spartan house, like either I go back to the corporate world or I start on my own. The subject that we're talking about right now is moving forward and not giving up and all that. The most important things like when? I think that when we're relating or we're trying to gather and and exchange information, is to how can we teach each other tools and something that we can implement right away and really go directly to the problem.
Pip Abrigo:What makes you stop from pursuing your passion? Frustration, not enough love, not enough skills, not enough support. Right, yes, we do need, you need to build that support. It's so important. Even just you know books, I, you know people that you listen to. You need those because you're not always going to have friends and relatives to support you, and this is a reality and you know I'm sure some of your listeners would attest to this, because a lot of times you know you're the only one who understands what you want to bring to the world. If you're failing to get your point across to your friends and relatives to support you, and then you're thinking like, well, then my customers are not going to support me and that's wrong. That's not the way it is.
Pip Abrigo:There is a dynamics in having friends and relatives. They don't want you to fail, so a lot of times they don't want to talk about your dreams and all that. Sometimes they will support you. You know, oh, you want to do that, oh, that's great, you know. But when it comes to like work and become, you know you're getting into it and you're explaining everything and all that, um, and there's risk involved. Oh, they, they stamp, they go. Okay, are you sure you thought about this thoroughly? I was glad, I love you. I don't want you to fail, um, and that really is not good for individuals who are want to move forward in life, and especially if this is their second chance. Uh, it's very terrifying and I think there should be some sort of a community where we can kind of help each other and really unpack a lot of these feelings that most people are going through.
Barry Scott Young:Yeah, I was going to ask you. You know, your conversation today has been about kind of retooling, making adjustments and pursuing. Well, you were, I think, pursuing right now resource for businesses, or yeah, tell us about that.
Pip Abrigo:So, business right, my position is that I'm not going back to corporate world, at least so I can help it. So that's where I'm coming from. Really, that's my soapbox. Yeah, this is all about you. You know, a lot of people got laid off last year, this year and it's becoming worse. So, yeah, I'm building something and the resources that you need. You know, because now you started to understand what should I do? This is here's a fork in the road if I go this direction. This is bigger than this. Bigger than this is kind of boring and technical, right, because it's all about your survival at the end of the line. Retirement, this is big, this is a huge issue, but you cannot do that. You will not do that because you're going to be busy working. I know this sounds so practical and when you're building something, you're constantly being reminded that you don't know a lot. But also you're constantly being reminded now I know more.
Pip Abrigo:I started refining a system and I felt so good because my stress was really coming from the fact that I didn't know what's going to happen to my presentation, because I have so many things going on without the system. But I just stopped everything. I said let's segment your thoughts, you know. So how are you going to do this? So what are you going to say first? Okay, I'll say that first. And then next, how are you going to build a story to guide your client to understand what you're trying to recommend? This whole thing about building your future livelihood? A lot of people right now I understand, I know for a fact that they're thinking the way I'm thinking right now. It's things are changing, especially especially now you're thinking about the future, because economically, now you start to understand you're going to run into a lot of things. That is not going to go your way. All I remember is that yesterday I was panicking and I was just so exhausted.
Pip Abrigo:The moment I saw the system that I just built that I can use for my next client and my next client, my next client I started to feel that relief and then immediately I jumped onto the next project task and I finished that. I was washing dishes. I was like, okay, just take two minutes. How are you going to do this? Okay, I'm going to do that. Okay, I'm going to do that. I'm going to do that.
Pip Abrigo:Okay, when I hit the computer, turn off everything, don't get distracted. You have the half hour to do this, so I did it Half hour Maybe. It took me an hour. I always get distracted, but I pull back and I finish it and then I move forward. It's a big win for me to do that. Building anything is like being born in a whole new world. You got to start again as a child, but it happens so quickly, so you gotta, you gotta, learn these things and get to process them quickly. You know what I mean. You don't have to be in my age, but there's always that feeling of like you're running out of time, you know, and I think the impatient comes in and all that instead of like, just just let it breathe a little bit.
Barry Scott Young:Thank you for sharing honestly and transparently kind of the challenges of reinventing and retooling as, as you kind of are faced with what I know today and what I need to know tomorrow. You're faced with what do I do, and your honesty here has been really encouraging. Thank you so much for being part of the podcast and sharing your story. I look forward to more conversations with you as well.
Pip Abrigo:Absolutely Thank you so much Pleasure. Thank you for inviting me.
Speaker 3:Now you can help support this podcast with as little as the price of a cup of coffee. Go to www. ki-fi. com/my new norm. Thank you in advance for your support and interest in this podcast. Until the next episode, this is the my New Norm podcast. It's all about real people and real stories with your host, Barry Scott Young. Thank you so much.
