Last Updated on May 14, 2021
Actor, personal trainer and acrobat Brennan Mejia is best known for his role as red ranger in the Power Rangers Dino Charge series. Additionally, Brennan has been in series such as Supergirl, 90210, iCarly, CSI: Miami and American Ninja Warrior, to name a few. Brennan has been involved in the world of fitness and athletics since before he could talk. Attributing much of his success in the entertainment industry to the skills and discipline he attained through fitness, Brennan is also a certified Vinyasa Flow Yoga Instructor and has a Bachelors degree in Kinesiology from California Baptist University. According to his official bio, part of what drives Brennan in acting is the aspiration to inspire others through the platform he has been given. Brennan often uses the phrase, “Inspiration through perspiration” in order to elevate those who around him. To learn more about Brennan, check out Brennanmejia.com.
Yeah well I actually started as a circus performed. There is a youth circus near where I lived and I just kind of fell in love with performing that way. And then low and behold I kind of joked around with my mom about hey watching Degrassi “do you think you could be like one of them” I was like “yeah, why not” and one thing lead to another and opportunities opened and I got an agent and then was out auditioning not knowing what the heck I was doing.
And I was like “maybe I should just do modeling because I don’t have to talk and talking is scary in front of the camera” and then my agent was like “no you should talk”. So did the acting class thing and now it’s like a forever always trying to improve your skills whenever you can, reading books, watching shows, even just conversations. Like at the end of the day acting is, what you know, imitating life to a degree so the more you know about other people and are empathetic the more you can bring to life.
At what point did you branch out into influencer marketing?
That was when I booked Power Rangers. One of my of my co stars, Yoshi Sudarso he’s the blue ranger in my season, I had no idea like how to do anything on social media and he was the one kind of like “you need to make like this and a Facebook fan page and link it to your Instagram” and I had a thousand like subscribers at the point or followers, whatever. And so it was really him that made me realize the value of doing it and not even from a business perspective but just when you have a platform I feel like there’s a lot of people who have platforms who don’t use them to better the world or those that they can reach.
It’s all about them or all about their money, their things, material items, and again not saying that’s all bad but like I try to – if you look at my social media I try to be more of a positive force and like encouraging people that you’re enough, you don’t need to compare yourself to other people, you know, we’re all different. Like I may be good at handstands but I’m a horrible artist when it comes to drawing like I can’t, I can’t do it. So we all just have different skills and gifts and abilities and that’s kind what I like to do with social media. It’s just to remind people it’s not about trying to be someone else it’s being yourself and the best version of you.
In a recent post on Instagram, you say that fitness is a lifestyle, not an hour in the gym on days you feel motivated. I completely agree. So it’s January, our resolutions are fresh in our minds, we’re committed… How do you stay the course when you reach let’s say mid-July and sitting around, for us it’s 110 degrees in Phoenix, and doing nothing sounds more appealing than being active?
Well for me it’s kind like, you know. when we brush our teeth you don’t just brush them when you have like a bad taste in your mouth you do it when you wake up , you know, you do it – well most people I don’t know for everybody. At least twice a day that seems what most people do. Same with showering we shower once at day at least that kind of thing it just becomes a habit. You know, people think I have this crazy desire to always go to the gym and I really don’t. Some days I’m exhausted, I have a lot going on, or I film late and I get home.
I try to fit the workouts in. Sometimes I’ll make the workout shorter but more intense to make up for the lack of time but again like I said it’s about making a consistent effort. What is it consistency, no persistence will get you there but consistency will keep you there and I fell that’s kind of true with any goal you are trying to accomplish. Yeah, so it’s really just showing up, you know, that’s more than half the battle is getting yourself to the gym or wherever you work out, a rock climbing facility a yoga studio just do something, you know, and eventually you’ll realize the benefits of it outweigh not going.
So like “oh yeah I can sit on the couch and watch one more tv show that I’ll mindlessly look at and not really gain anything from or do I want to do something that can actually help my health, let me be around my family longer, you know, with more energy and longevity and when you really weigh the pros and cons exercise typically wins over most other free time activities to a degree.
As a busy actor, athlete and influencer, how do you structure your average work week, or is there even such a thing as an average work week?
Honestly, like one of the – I love acting for the lifestyle it gives and I also hate acting for the lifestyle it gives. Like basically what I mean when you are working on a show as a regular you have no time you’re like “ oh my gosh I just want a weekend off” but then when you are not on a show you’re like “oh my gosh I jusr want something to do” cause I’m home a lot by myself, you know, and I just – I have to find ways to be motivated and productive.
So I’ve taken up guitar I’m practicing that, I read acting books in my spare time, I try to watch movies and analyze, you know, the acting, the cinematography and I’ll stretch a lot during the movies, [and] I make sure I go to some kind of workout six days a week, so this morning I did yoga. So I’m always trying to do something. Like sometimes I’ll submit myself to things or a friend will be like “hey did you hear about that audition’” I’ll be like “no I should pass it on to my agent” so it’s really just always – you know, people always think if I had more time I would go to the gym. Would you though? I mean most of us when we have more time we just waste it.
So for me since I have some much time most days in between jobs I just I have to do something. So I’m trying to train whether it’s for stunts or again working – it’s basically I’m training or I’m working that’s really it. Not just physically but I mean training some aspect of a skill. So it’s gets a little sometime when you’re alone so like I got to remember to talk to people at the gym or whatever and do acting classes or whatever it is that let’s me be around other humans when I’m not working on a set.
You state in your Instagram bio that “goals take time to accomplish”. What are some of your goals for the next few years, whether in film, athletics or influencer marketing?
In film you can’t really choose in a time frame that I’m going to be in a trilogy movie in the next year I mean that’s so out of your control. I’d like to say that would be one, getting on a show. I quit teaching yoga because I used to, I do private still but I was teaching in a studio a couple times a week and at the end of last year I let it go because I kind of felt like I was holding myself hostage with this semi steady job because I too afraid to fully commit to the industry.
But since I let go of yoga I’ve done multiple jobs, I did a co-star role on Life in Pieces, I just guest starred on Supergirl that comes out in a couple weeks, I did some stunt jobs for SEAL Team and How To Get Away With Murder so really it’s – you don’t put all your eggs in one basket but make sure you’re putting enough energy into the basket you actually want to succeed at, you know, don’t settle that’s kind of a thing. But skills that I actually want to improve physically I’m working on one-arm handstand presses from the floor, again learning guitar, and I’d like to get better at some kind of style of dance. Maybe take break dancing lessons because I feel like it would tie well with my acrobatics and it’s just something I keep saying I’ll do and then I don’t so, you know.
What has been your favorite role to-date?
I mean American Horror Story was really fun to film just because I got the news literally during Thanksgiving lunch that I booked it. And so I’m in the season finale of Murder House , the first season, and I was always so close to quitting so many times because I kept taking rejection personally and you can’t do that in act5ing. You’re going to be told no way more than you’re going to be told yes so that was cool but Power Rangers honestly I’d say probably holds the crown right now. I grew up watching Power Rangers the physicality, the teamwork, the comradery, and again for whatever reason when I’m about to quit that’s when I book jobs. I just need to quit more.
I literally told my agents I’m going to go to college finish my degree, you know, acting I haven’t booked a job in two years at this point I was working at the San Diego Zoo as an acrobat during the summer seven days a week, and I was like “i can’t I’m not booking”. And then I got an audition for Power Rangers through a friend who’s like “hey, you know, you should go because they’re looking for athletic people and I told them about you and they are interested” so I went in. I think I did five auditions over the course of like several months but when I got on set for that like just being the lead of a show, you know, for the first time versus just being a guest star or something was just really really rewarding.
And again being welcomed into this legacy fans already existed like I could have been horrible and there still would have been some fans that still, you know. I’m glad like a lot of fans like “you did a good job” it’s like “yay” because I was scared but I feel like they would of supported me anyway just because they’re that loving. There’s so other fandoms that like if you do something that they don’t like and what they have decided is canon before you showed up you’re like “hey don’t like you at all. It’s like you become Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars or something, you know. So I was just glad I was able to do it and afterwards I felt well received by the fans that allowed me to even do it so now doing conventions with it is really cool too.
What’s your dream role?
Honestly, I love all the action kind of stuff. I mean if I could in the short term well not short term like for TV and film I feel like graduating from Power Rangers to the CW shows like Supergirl but I wasn’t -I can’t really say what I was doing in that show but I wasn’t like a superhero. But being something like Smallville or Supergirl or Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow, Flash those kinds of roles are really cool just because I love playing a hero I guess. Like I have a hero complex like even in life I feel like if a building was burning and a cat was trapped I’d be that dumb guy who goes and runs in to save the cat. Like that’s kind of how I’m built but I like challenging roles too.
Like I have a – we’re doing a short film next month a couple people up in Merced and I’m not playing not a good guy at all and it’s just going to be polar opposite because I just have like a lot of energy and I’m always trying to be like a positive person and I’m totally not that in this role. So for challenges like playing opposite is cool but like Tom Cruise Mission Impossible kind of roles that’s kind of more up my alley where you get to do a lot of action and stunts and then, you know, just really bring that character to life.
Is there an actor or actress you would love to co-star with?
Sure. I mean I really like Will Smith and Tom Hanks. Man I’m blanking right now. Like these are the questions that, you know, you should – every actor should know these things and like when you actually like forget who is that person what were they in.
That would be cool. I actually – do you know the Teen Choice Awards where they give like the trophies out. I was the trophy presenter one year so I actually gave him his surfboard award for High School Musical 3. Yeah I so I have long hair so if you find a recording online where Dane Cook is in it or something.
Note: Intellifluence Influencer Spotlights are edited for time and clarity.
Andrew is the Head of Client Services for Intellifluence and has a background in communications. He is committed to helping brands get the most out of their campaigns and is the co-host of the Influencer Spotlight series.
