About Christina DeNee'
Artist/Musician/Entrepenuer/Coach
From on the street at 16 to building an international, six-figure entertainment company, Christina DeNee’ has spent her life reinventing, thinking outside the box and proving that creativity, discipline, and resourcefulness can build more than art — they can build a future. Today she is an artist, singer, entertainer, entrepreneur, and coach, helping other creatives turn their own talents into thriving service-based businesses.
Early Story
Christina was born in Buffalo, New York, to two artist-musician parents. Her father balanced his passion of performing music and entertaining with a full time job- resulting in a 70hr work week, while her mother was a natural creative who could generate income quickly but resisted the structure of business; Christina as the only child worked side by side with them both, observing closely both approaches to creative life.
Her parents divorced at age 6 so as a child, Christina grew up around both worlds — singing with her dad and drawing caricatures with him in nightclubs and restaurants on the weekends, while also learning true creativity and street hustle from her mom living in a low income neighborhood of the blue collar rust belt city. Her family history of immigrants and orphans with deep spiritual faith gave her a deep respect for hard work, prayer and perseverance- something she was going to have to pull from.
When Christina’s mother passed away suddenly at age 10, her life shifted dramatically. She was abruptly relocated to a new home to live with her father, his new wife and her older children. Bumpy to say the least- by age 16, she made the decision that it was safer for her to live independently and she left the situation. This also meant she'd be leaving any financial or parental support. Already working restaurant jobs since age 13, she quickly formed a her first high school band and began performing in clubs around the area and right back into just making ends meet. Freedom at such a young age while heavy in the music scene came with struggles — bouts of homelessness, excessive alcohol, partying, and instability — by her early 20's she was well on her way to being a statistic. Finding herself in mandatory outpatient rehab, Chapter 13 bankruptcy, 80lbs overweight, a music career stuck in the Buffalo bar scene and facing serious legal and personal consequences. All of which forced her to refocus.
She dug deep into her faith, changed people, places and things to turn her life around, break cultural codes, family substance abuse cycles and committed to building something bigger through her music and art - to live the life that on paper- she shouldn't expect to obtain. But, she has.
Music Career
Although she began performing at age 6, at 16, Christina started her first band and began to share her voice as a singer/songwriter and performer. From cover bands, to many different incarnations and groups of musicians, finally with her partner, drummer/producer Scott Calandra, she formed BREAKERBOX — a rock/pop project that rejected the traditional music industry model. Together, they:
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Invested in their own recording studio to produce their own music videos, original recordings and collaborate with their choice of musical partners.
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Book and navigate their own live performances, releases and marketing campaigns
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Obtained and nourished brand partnerships with audio and gear companies on the leading edge of the music industry as well as Heineken and Red Bull to produce their own concert series and created viral video campaigns.
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Shared the stage with some of rock’s biggest acts.
Their DIY approach to music became the blueprint for how Christina would build every venture: resourcefulness, choice partnerships, marketing creativity, and refusing to wait for permission.
Summertime (Music Video)
Miss You (Music Video) with WWP
Big Head Cartoon + a Pandemic Pivot
Alongside her music career, after years of struggling to make ends meet in the service industry- Christina turned ther lifelong skill as a caricature artist into a sole proprietorship that allowed her to move beyond restaurant jobs. With creative marketing and choice partnerships, she scaled her caricature work into a full-time business with additional contractors under her wing. She was now able to invest in her own musical ventures and no longer just survive. She began to thrive.
In 2019, Christina and her longtime partner Scott relocated to Nashville to continue growing both their music and her caricature ventures. When the Covid 19 pandemic hit, they pivoted within 72 hours, creating Big Heads & Beats — a groundbreaking virtual entertainment experience combining Scott’s live drumming DJ sets with Christina’s digital caricatures and hosting skills that she honed as a lead singer.
The concept exploded, forcing Christina to scale rapidly, hire a team of the top digital artists across North America, innovate software and production quality- all while developing multiple virtual entertainment programs. Within one year, she had grown her once-solo caricature business into a six-figure international entertainment company, earning recognition for innovation in the events industry.
As live events returned, Christina with Scott pivoted again, blending their love of live music and entertainment with caricature art to create a new kind of interactive, hybrid experience that brings their top selling virtual experience to events around the world— one that continues to change how audiences engage with live entertainment.
The Big Heads & Beats Activation
Her Pandemic Pivot ABC News Feature
Why #LifeInTheDIY?
Through her own journey, Christina realized her true mission: helping other creatives escape poverty, break through mindset barriers, and build businesses from their natural gifts.
She created #LifeInTheDIY as a ride-or-die community for artists, musicians, creative thinkers and makers who want more than survival. Inside the community, members gain access to free workshops, group boot camps, practical mindset and marketing strategies, live Q&A, and inspiration from other creatives who’ve done what they’re looking to do.
CHRISTINA'S GOAL: to save others the decade of trial and error she went through, and to prove that with the right structure and scrappy marketing, anyone can build a thriving service-based business.
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