Hustle Her - Maxanne

Maxanne Caines joins me for a real, funny, and honest look at how she becomes who she is, from a childhood shaped by structure and love to a life built on pivots, service, and joy. We talk dyslexia, confidence, career turns, and what it actually means to sit on the City of Hamilton council and represent residents well.

We get real about her experience with severe dyslexia and ADHD traits, what masking looked like in school, and why self-talk, tools, and grace still matter even when you’re confident. If you’ve ever felt embarrassed by how your brain works, this will land hard and hopefully bring you relief.

We also talk about her academic comeback, from boarding school in Canada to thriving at an HBCU at Oakwood University, then making the tough call to leave the expected pre-law track for international relations. Maxanne shares what life is like living in Brussels, working with the Bermuda government office, and chasing a diplomatic future until COVID changed everything overnight.

From there, we get into entrepreneurship and what it means to build The Pristine Group together with trust, boundaries, and room to learn. And yes, we break down what a City of Hamilton counselor actually does, what governance is versus operations, why legislation matters, and how accountability and transparency are supposed to work in local politics in Bermuda.

If you’re into women’s leadership, learning differences, career pivots, entrepreneurship, or civic engagement, hit play, then subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find Hustle Her Podcast.

Transcript

Welcome Back And Meet Maxanne

SPEAKER_04 0:00

I'm a hustle baby.

SPEAKER_03 0:02

It's time for Hustle Her Podcast. I'm your host, Deshay Keynes. Hustle Her is all about inspiring women through real life experiences that have helped to mold and develop not only me, but my guests into the entrepreneurs and leaders we are today. If you're an enterprising woman, determined to succeed, and looking for a bit of motivation, a bit of tough love, and some actionable takeaways to be the best you, girl, you are in the right place. Hey guys, and welcome back to Hustle Heart Podcast. It's been a minute, but I'm so excited to be back with you here today. This episode is probably sponsored by the Pristine Group as well as Get Married in Bermuda. Make sure you head over to DeshayKings.com to see all of our new episodes as well as old episodes and learn about some really cool things that I am doing on the website. So today, I know I say this every episode, but I'm really excited about this one. The next person that I am interviewing is my cousin slash sister. She's my business partner. She's someone that I genuinely love to spend time with. And don't tell her, shh, but she actually is one of the most important people in my life. Our dads are identical twins, so technically we're half-sisters for all of you people that love to correct us. But I'm very excited to interview today counselor Max Ann Keynes. Woo! Max Anes. And the crowd goes, well.

SPEAKER_01 1:28

Hi Ben! Hi Shakespeare. How are you? Just so blessed to be in this space. Um, I thought I was gonna get the call um years ago. It never came. Oh my god, I'm spelled. It never came. I don't understand why you keep telling people I didn't want you on the phone. No, Deshay. Am I allowed to tell the truth? This is a this is a truth space. Oh, look in the camera. So Deshe told me once that um I am not able to be on the podcast because I have nothing to share.

SPEAKER_04 1:59

It's totally true.

SPEAKER_01 2:00

And then when I became counselor, she said, finally, something I didn't say.

SPEAKER_03 2:06

Something we could talk about. That is actually insane. And I didn't say that. I think when we were first talking about being on the podcast, I was just essentially being like, no, but just in a very like sibling kind of way. Not literally, you couldn't be on the podcast. And you really took that to heart. And if that really bothers you and it's a part of your trauma, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

Well, I haven't mentioned it to you maybe a hundred times, so it definitely uh I wouldn't say it hurt, but it just like I think about it at night.

SPEAKER_03 2:34

All right, so we're going to move

Rapid Fire And Childhood Roots

SPEAKER_03 2:36

forward. Rapid fire. I'm really excited for people to get to know you, and not just someone who's behind the scenes of this podcast, but also as someone who is a counselor, who's a business owner, and who has a lot of things going on. And so I'm really excited to showcase Maxanne as opposed to all the other things that you do.

unknown 2:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 2:57

Yeah? You ready? All right, so you know how this works, so I don't have to explain things. I'm preparing it right, yeah. All right. What's one word people use to describe you? Energetic. What's one word we you would use to describe yourself? Delightful. What's something people assume about you that's completely wrong? Um, then I'm like a little stuck up. Okay. Um, and when do you feel most like yourself?

SPEAKER_02 3:30

In the water.

SPEAKER_01 3:33

Why? Well, I'm a water baby. I have always been around water and I just I feel safe in the water. Was that crazy?

SPEAKER_03 3:44

No, it wasn't crazy. I just wanted to know. Like you said, water like you were a mermaid, like we need to call you. What's the girl's name? Ariel. Anyway, okay. What's something from your childhood that still shows up with who you are today? In who you are today, I should say.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

That was a really good question. Well, um I'll say ballet, the structure that ballet taught me and um flexibility.

SPEAKER_03 4:14

I just I okay, that's great.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

This is the second time that I've brought up ballet in a conversation this week and you've like laughed.

SPEAKER_03 4:21

Because how long did you do ballet, like genuinely?

SPEAKER_01 4:24

From three to 17.

SPEAKER_03 4:26

Okay. Those are foundational years. Okay, I'll stop laughing.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

Three to four times a year, uh a week? Oh, I thought you were gonna say a year.

SPEAKER_03 4:33

No, okay. Three to four times a week you used to do ballet. Where did you dance ballet? Some school dance, big up. Okay, great. Now can we get back on track? Great. What's one thing you know for sure about your future?

SPEAKER_01 4:46

It will have my family in it, and I'll be happy. Okay.

Growing Up In A Working Family

SPEAKER_03 4:50

All right, so I want to transition into essentially where it all began, like little Maxan. Um, and obviously we'll dive into a lot more things a little bit deeper. But you grew up as an only child, but not really. Tell me a bit about that.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Um I think it was the most perfect setup uh for any human in the world. I was raised by Wayne Max and Keynes, and they gave me the world. They still actively give me the world. Um, I was my parents' priority in every way, but I was blessed to have two parents that were also really focused on their careers, and they never compromised being with me or their careers. So I tell people all the time I grew up in a law firm underneath my mother's desk or underneath my father's desk. Uh, I did not like to go with people too much unless it literally was with my sisters. Um, and if I wasn't with Daisha, Dory, and Deshe, I was with my parents until 12 o'clock at night. We will make dinner at the law firms. I was always with them. Um, but then on the flip side, I had my Uncle Dwayne's um and my Uncle Dwayne's children, which was you, Daisha and Dory, and you guys have always been everything to me. So I would uh we would get picked up from school together, we would be together Sundays, church on Saturdays, all day. Um, but then I got to go home. Yeah. So the the part about having a sibling where sometimes you don't have your own space, you have to figure those things out. I I was the best of both worlds. I got to really go home. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, but it was everything that I had ever wanted. I genuinely think my childhood was filled with happiness. Um, it was a balanced childhood where my parents held me accountable in every way, but they also showered me with love. They gave me grace. And then with my sisters, I, you know, a lot of only children, they have this notion that we don't know how to share. I had to know how to share. Daisha and Dory and I, you were a lot older, but Daisha. Whoa.

SPEAKER_02 7:05

Dang it. That just slipped up.

SPEAKER_01 7:08

That's crazy. Yeah, you were a lot older. So um, she said it again.

SPEAKER_03 7:15

We have a seven-year age gap. Like, it's not that crazy.

SPEAKER_01 7:19

Yeah, no, totally. Yeah. You're about to be 30. I really thought you would have waited a little longer than the interview to knock that one out. Let's get back on track. Yep, yep. Um, Daisha is 11 months younger than me. Dory is um two months, two years, sorry, two years younger than me. So we were very close um and we like the same things. I consider Daisha and Dory and useful. But my best friend, just because we just have such similar interests because of our older sister, we have our music taste because of you, we have our clothes taste because of you. You um we just always followed what you did and just admired. I'll get into the sappy stuff a little later. That made me cry. No, we don't need to yet. It's a long interview.

SPEAKER_03 8:07

Well, what made a good girl feel great? Um, so let's talk about your relationship with your parents, right? So obviously, you guys are three musketeers as an only child and just the three of you. Um, like tell me a bit more about that.

SPEAKER_01 8:21

Oh, my parents' relationship is one of my favorite relationships that um I'm actively nurturing and making sure that I um I look after. Uh, we are all very similar people, but very different. Um, my mom is very structured. She is to the book. If there is a rule, she will follow it to the tea to the tea. Um, but she is also, I I think everyone thinks this about their mom, but I'm my mom's everything. I genuinely think that um my mom has let me know my whole life that she's she whispers it to me every time we hug. You're the reason I breathe. I, you know, um, and then it's my dad, where my dad is also very structured from his military background, but he brings, he teaches me, he calls me, he calls it CEO class since I was young, where he will in everything that he learnt at work, he will come home and teach me since I was five. Um, and so he would constantly pour in all of his wisdom, all of his knowledge, but he's also a really fun guy. We have the same. I know that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um and so he's a really fun, fun guy. So I had structure from my mom and my dad, but also we have a good time. Uh, we also have traveled the world together, and that's something my parents they weren't able to do um when they were in their 20s. And so when they got by the time they got to their 30s and they were able to have a little more fun, we all had it together where sometimes people leave their children. My parents did not do that at all. I missed so much school.

SPEAKER_03 10:09

I don't know if we're supposed to say that.

SPEAKER_01 10:12

Because we would travel, yeah, we would go, and sometimes it didn't always align with school breaks. But they were like, no, Maxanne is gonna have this experience. Yeah, Maxana is going to learn. That's how they would, that's what they would tell me. It's like, this is learning outside of textbooks, which I actually really believe in, and I think that really shaped my life. Um, but I say all of that to say we did a lot together, we spent so much time together, and just like any relationship, it's hard, right? Especially when you're growing, you're raising a child, but you're also growing up at the same time. At the same time, it's it we've formed like a bond that is really close. And the older I get, the more I have different appreciations for my parents. Absolutely. And especially as my mom, as a woman, I just she wanted to protect me. And growing up, I'd be like, oh my goodness, she's such she's a hater. Right, right, right. Not want me to have fun. Yeah. But now looking at it, I'm like, my girl was just trying to, she saw things that I just couldn't see because I just didn't have the wisdom or the knowledge, and she just really wanted to protect me from the world. And I'm not a mother, but I I can only imagine what it feels like to see something you love so much and want to protect it, but they're just so defiant on being their own child. As you yeah, that's pretty much you though. Right. And as you know, I don't know if we're able to insert pictures of what I used to dress like. I was as I wouldn't say weird. Quirky. Yeah, very quirky. Like I always okay, yeah. I I just always wanted to be myself and I always wanted to be.

SPEAKER_03 11:53

But they let you do that too, which was great, I thought. Like, I think a large part of you growing up was your parents just letting you be you. Like, if you wanted to cut your hair all off, I my fondest memories of you growing up was when you did St. Baldrick's Day. Like you've been asking to do it for years, and then you're finally allowed to do it, and you just like embraced it. Like the same thing with the pink mobile, like you never were on the beaten path of this is what everyone's doing, so I'm gonna do it. You always took your own lane, and I I think your parents really supported you in that. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah, so I think so. For me, and I'm hoping you're okay with this, come on, let's do it. An incredibly bright human being. You were very active in school growing up, you did ballet from three to 17. Um, you also played sports, right? Very athletic.

SPEAKER_00 12:45

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 12:45

Champion girl at Work Academy four years.

SPEAKER_01 12:48

Actually, found all the trophies. Myla, I love you. Um, Jasmine, I love you too. I this actually is crazy as it's coming out of my mouth. But when I saw Myla's champion girl, I had to go find mine. I was like, I told Ashton. I was champion girl every year until I left working. Really? And I found all of the trophies.

SPEAKER_03 13:04

Oh yeah. I believe you. I was there. Thank you. Um, so I don't necessarily know. That you were champion girl every year, that you were moving forward. Yeah, no, I I think that's great. And I think you, you know, the world should totally know that. Um, but your journey wasn't necessarily traditional when it came to academics.

Dyslexia Diagnosis And Masking

SPEAKER_03 13:22

No. Right? Um, so tell me a bit more around your academic journey and what that looked like being neurodiverse.

SPEAKER_01 13:31

Sure. Um, as you know, I am severely dyslexic. Um and I also I haven't been officially diagnosed, but um our best friend is a she's my best friend. Okay, yeah, sure. She's a neuropsychologist, and she says I do have a few ADHD traits. Um, but it is a part of me that people that are close to me know. Um, but it really impacts my life on a crazy level.

SPEAKER_00 14:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:04

Um, it was something I was. How were you diagnosed? I was diagnosed in P3 in Miss Richardson's class when I first was tested. Umly one teacher noticed, and it was because I didn't like her. So I didn't, I I didn't mask, so they call it masking. Um, I I wasn't masking because I didn't want to engage in the class at all. And so she then said to my mom, hey, I think you should get her tested type thing. And my mom did it, and so they um I went to the reading clinic, they did the test, and they were like, We've never seen someone pretend to read this well. But I hadn't I could not read. It was not reading, it was all memorization.

SPEAKER_03 14:50

Yeah, no, your recall and stuff is pretty amazing. Right. And so that's what they that's masking.

SPEAKER_01 14:55

That's that's the masking. And so for maybe about five years, I had to learn how to read in the traditional sense. And still to this way, I don't read how the average person reads. My brain understands all of the vows to be one vow. So if I were to read something, I if I don't know it, I'm done. My brain, it literally just stops. And so I was watching a I was reading an article, TikTok.

SPEAKER_03 15:27

And the woman with pause, I say that all the time.

SPEAKER_02 15:32

I was reading this article, I was reading this article. No, actually, TikTok.

SPEAKER_01 15:38

Anyway, go ahead. And this lady was saying um her son was dyslexic, and he was like, Yeah, I actually memorize all the words that I spell. And she was like, What do you mean? And he was like, No, everything that I read or how we understand reading and spell, I memorize, and I hit me, and I was like, I'm actually the same way. Everything I know about reading and letters, and it's all from memory and not actually the phonetic way that other people understand it. Yeah, and so there's so much in my head that the average person they can forget because their brain would allow them to phonetically read it. That's all in my head, and it has been since I was like three or four years old since I actually started masculine. And so every day at Warc Academy or three, three to four times a week, I couldn't go to PE class because I would have to have a reading tutor. And I didn't communicate that to my classmates. They just would say, Oh, Maxanne's doing some sort of tutoring, but I never wanted to let people know.

SPEAKER_03 16:44

So your classmates didn't know that you had to do that. Not until P6.

SPEAKER_01 16:47

Yeah. Um, and so Marlon, if I talk about Marlon, I'll literally I'll start balling, but Marlon has seen the most vulnerable sides of me that we love you, Marlon.

SPEAKER_02 17:02

That people have never seen and we get two.

SPEAKER_01 17:09

I need two. There's two over there. I'm sorry. Okay, and scene. And I get back. No, we need to, please. Thank you. And so, um thank you so much.

SPEAKER_03 17:24

Dab it. Almost up your makeup. Oh, let me dab.

SPEAKER_01 17:29

Dab it, dab it. One thing I learned from Kim Kardashian. Screen. It makes me so emotional because it's not that I hide that part of my life, but it just it wasn't, it's not public knowledge. And you, my parents, the people that are closest to me, they've never seen me that frustrated because reading is so easy to people.

SPEAKER_02 17:56

But for me as a child, it wasn't it wasn't, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:01

And so the foundation of reading is school. So if you don't know how to read, you can't do math. Yeah. And so it isn't also that once I learned how to read, the reading was fine. It's not comprehension. Yeah. So once you you you get it when you memorize things, you're not necessarily comprehending it. You're not comprehending it. And also, there was just so many different stages to it. I I I guess in my head as a child, I'm like, why am I not fixed? I've been doing this for like P3, and I stopped at maybe in middle school. And that was a part of me that I was so embarrassed to share. A story. It's a traumatic story, but I think it's really good.

SPEAKER_02 18:49

And Play It's good because not a traumatic story, but really good to share.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

People don't really like it's yeah. It's I never wanted to be seen as dumb, right?

SPEAKER_03 19:02

Yeah, yeah. Because I think that stigma, because even still now, with all the things that we know about people being neurodiverse, there's still a significant stigma on it. Right. So I couldn't imagine 20, 20 years ago when we were in high school. Yeah, yeah. You know, whenever that was a long time ago. So in the 1990s, it was um, you know, it was probably even worse at that time, right? So I could I could totally understand why you would feel even more that way now. Then than now. But sorry, go ahead. Um your traumatic story.

SPEAKER_01 19:33

In P6, I um the reading clinic offered me to do an article with my dad, um, who might have some dyslexic traits as well. Um, to do a joint article. Yeah. And my dad was like, I was like, dad, yeah, I'm ready. I want to do it. And my dad was like, Maxie, everyone is gonna see this. Like, are you okay to do this? I was like, I want the world to know.

SPEAKER_03 20:00

Like, yeah, because you're a very confident person. Right. That's another thing if your parents, our family period, create really confident people in, you know, in who we are and what you're supposed to be and do. So I think that level of confidence that came from our upbringing, I think allowed you to feel that way, which I think is great, but go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 20:21

Thank you. Um, and so I was like, yep, I'm gonna do it. And my dad and my mom, they were just like, once we hit this, is no turning back. I'm like, okay, cool. Was the internet out then? Actually, I don't know. After reflection, I'm not too sure. I'm not too sure either. I think it might have yeah, yeah, yeah. Internet was out. But it wasn't like Rogue because that wasn't online. It was I got it.

SPEAKER_02 20:46

That's a lot more anyway.

SPEAKER_03 20:48

Go ahead. The internet out is the same. I mean, I think that's a good reference point to the time frame. You were born in the 90s, babe. It's fine, you got an older. Anyway, go ahead. That's about you, my bad. No, it's about us.

SPEAKER_01 21:02

So, right, so the article goes out. My teacher, Miss Ingham, she put it on the uh board and it was like a board for accomplishments, and it was like a you know how they do it in class. P six, five, six, six, Miss Ingham's P6. And then a kid in my class. Sorry, the article was about you having dyslexia. Dyslexia and just educating the public. I think it was dyslexic awareness month. It was just educating the public about it, my journey.

SPEAKER_02 21:31

Cool.

SPEAKER_01 21:33

So the article came out, goes on the class, a kid sees it, and he's like, Oh, so you're stupid like your dad. No way, Maxanne. And it broke me, not because of me being stupid, but you're talking about my daddy. No, no, so fighting words. That's fine words. And I did get suspended for beating him up. That was it was my first suspension, sadly not. My last phones were illegal back then at Work Academy, and I would always have my phone out, so I used to get suspended all the time. Yes, in school suspension. Anyway. And so yeah, I did get suspended because I I dealt with it the way my dad told me to deal with things.

SPEAKER_02 22:19

I don't think we can say that.

SPEAKER_01 22:21

Oh no.

SPEAKER_03 22:22

I okay, fine. Hey. It is what it is. Way is very clear. To be fair, sometimes people need to get caught up. Sometimes you need a little lit. No, I actually agree with that. And talking about people's parents, mama, daddy, or your kids? Like no, black people's kids. You shouldn't talk about people's kids.

SPEAKER_01 22:37

There's a certain thing that are off the kids. Off the table. I agree. To me, that was my off the table. And after that, it was really good for me because I felt free. Like the article was out in my head, the whole island knew I was dyslexic. Period. Right? I dropped it off. Um and someone said something about my dad. I dealt with it, and my life was okay. Yeah. And go ahead. It was a good lesson for me because I was really scared to put it out. But once it was out, it was okay. It was okay.

SPEAKER_03 23:10

I think also your your reaction to him saying that about your dad kind of goes to the advocacy of your parents for you. Um, so tell me a bit about how your parents advocated for you at War Academy and through your journey, especially during this process of figuring out your dyslexia and that you learn differently.

Advocacy And Learning To Self-Lead

SPEAKER_01 23:30

Yeah, so my parents had to advocate really hard. Marlon was from the reading clinic, but she came to Wark Academy. And it wasn't, from my understanding, it wasn't something that was done all the time. I was Marlon's first student at Wark Academy, and I think by the time I was in middle school, it was a lot more common, but the structure just wasn't there at the time. And so my mom saw that there was something wrong, and she was like, one, there's no way my kid is gonna be left behind. It's not happening after school, it's happening during school. This is a this is a school, this is a right now, so right now problem we need to address. Then during my GCSE, she had to advocate like crazy. They probably didn't have accommodations back then. They do, they do, they did, but you have to do a lot to get them. You can't just say, Oh, I'm dyslexic. You need the full proof that you're dyslexic. The uh neuropsychologist has to give the recommendation, and then it has to be approved by somebody else. But my mom and dad had to advocate like crazy during those GCSE times, and being my advocate in rooms that I didn't even know what rooms they were in until I'm older. And my mom was like, No, this doesn't just happen by circumstance. Like we had to push and fight because at the time, I don't I don't know if it's different, Work Academy just did not have those um was it built for support, I should say. No, not to not to support someone that needed the help that I needed. It wasn't like a little after school help. This was intense. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:08

Did you ever adult yourself? And not like outwardly, but more internal. And if you did, like what was that conversation like? It's active.

SPEAKER_01 25:17

I do it still to this day all the time. It's I get so frustrated that my brain does not work how other people's brain works. And if I don't actively stay on my tools, what do you mean stay on your tools? Like you mean it can be. I need to read. I need to be actively making sure that my brain is strong and that I am being challenged mentally, or I forget words, just all of that, me having to memori memorize so many things, it it starts to disappear, right? Got it. So the muscle, your brain is a muscle, yeah, and you have to keep working at it. Um, and so to your original question, I in grad school, having to read books after books after books every day in order to keep up. And I'm just like, is this something you should be doing? Like, is this the the work that you know you wanted to do? Or during my GCSEs when you had to study, I'm just like, maybe this just isn't for me. Yeah. And so I always have to, you did mention my confidence earlier. My confidence comes from, like you said, my my parents, but I have to speak to myself. I'm always in my brain, my son, you could do it. You've done crazier things. If you don't do it, then what?

SPEAKER_00 26:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:49

Um, so it is something that I actively have to uplift myself and make sure that I motivate myself to know that I can do it. It's nothing that it it's not crazy. Yeah. And just because I do have limitations, like this isn't a thing that I'm just gonna overcome one day and have a normal brain, I I have to give myself grace as well.

SPEAKER_03 27:14

Yeah. No, I get that. And I guess in terms of if you were talking to a kid that is struggling with dyslexia right now or being neurodiverse and having ADHD, like what's one thing you would want them to know um from your experience?

SPEAKER_01 27:30

I would so Percy Jackson is like one of your favorite movies in the entire planet. I don't know. It's a book, yes. It's a book that got converted to a movie. Yes. And one of the things that uh I like Greek mythology, um, really into it, and Percy Jackson is a demigod. All demigods in this book have some sort of dyslexia, basically. And the book basically uh references dyslexia as uh it's called um having a superpower? Not a superpower, but they say it's um I actually forgot what it's called, but it's it's your fate. It predicts your fate. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it it can kill you or it can save you. And so I see things a lot differently than how the average person sees things because my brain processes a lot differently. And it's not like um it has limitations. I can't close my eyes and like picture things. Like when I close my eyes, it's completely actually that might not have nothing to do with dyslexia, but my brain just processes, let's forget the darkness part.

SPEAKER_03 28:46

My brain, we're talking about what you want to tell kids.

SPEAKER_01 28:49

No, I'm I'm I've owned that story. Sorry, I was just getting a spot. My brain processes things differently, and with dyslexia, your brain is just wired a little differently. And it is okay for your brain to be wired differently. It doesn't make you less than, it doesn't make you not competent, it just means you're different. And understanding how your brain works is actually it's really the key. Yeah. Um, I'm almost 30, I'm 29. I still don't fully understand how my brain works, but I've learned so much about it, and I've come to really appreciate how it functions. Um, so what I would tell this child or this hypothetical kid is believe in yourself. There's absolutely nothing wrong with you, um, and give yourself grace because you tend you get so frustrated because you it's so easy for everybody else. It's like breathing, right? Everyone, everyone reads. Yeah. But that basic fundamental thing being so hard, it it eats at you and it gets you, but it's okay. Yeah. Um, and just give yourself grace.

SPEAKER_03 30:01

Yeah. So so you went from high school excelling in sports, which is usually the case with our diverse uh people as they do public speaking or they do like sports really well. Um, they have other you know avenues, which is great. Um, so you went from navigating dyslexia, ADHD, um, being great and champion girl all those years, um, back to back, um, to pursuing something incredibly intellectual and challenging in university.

Finding Confidence In Canada And An HBCU

SPEAKER_03 30:30

So, walk me through the desire to be a poli science major in university and then ultimately going into international relations.

SPEAKER_01 30:37

So, I'm actually gonna go back to boarding school. Boarding school a lot changed for me in terms of academics. I went from Work Academy during the GCSC British course, where I was an average student, maybe below average, to going to Canada and excelling in a way that I had never excelled at before. And I don't know if it I don't know what it was, but something clicked for me in Canada where I just locked in like I had never locked in before. And in terms of academics. In terms of academics. Um maybe work academy, I don't know, I'm not gonna assume what it was, but that confidence, I had never been academically confident before. But in Canada, somehow I killed it. And so then once I went to Oakwood University, I got to HBCU. Oh you. Oh, you was got that. Um, don't don't.

SPEAKER_03 31:34

I went there too, and so did our dads and our sisters and our cousins. Anyway.

SPEAKER_01 31:38

Um, so once I went to Oakwood University and I had to take my ASATs, I did follow that as well. And I'm like, girl, maybe you're not as slow as you thought.

SPEAKER_03 31:49

Jesus, you're not slow. Well, again, just you know, yeah, talking to yourself. And also, recall for neurodiverse people is actually really great because that's why they test so well, because of recall and memory and all types of things. Um which we know now, right?

SPEAKER_01 32:04

Um, and so that gave me a level of confidence going into college that I I felt okay. I didn't, I wasn't nervous. Um, but then I started to take these classes that I had never had before in political science and pre-law and in history. And it's like, you know, when you like find your home, and I'm like, oh my goodness, I don't have to learn about horrible things.

SPEAKER_03 32:29

That's true. That's what I liked about college too, to be fair. Like you basically start to hone in one on what really interests you. And being a polysline major is actually really cool. Amazing. All you do in every class is just debate, right? And it's pretty great.

SPEAKER_01 32:43

Yeah. Um, shout out to Professor Foster Um and Miss Uh Professor Warren, who she's passed, but they poured into me in a way that I had never been poured into academically before. Um, I also think it's the the black element. Being in an HBCU, I had gone to a predominantly white school in both Canada and at Warwick Academy, and being in an old black environment where black excellence was the norm. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:13

It's the standard.

SPEAKER_01 33:14

It does something to your brain, and it's a part of my life that I'm so grateful that I had because it's the safest and the most fun that I've ever had in my life.

SPEAKER_03 33:27

And people always say like it's not diverse, but it actually is a really diverse environment. Diverse environment, especially from a cultural perspective. Like there are so many countries represented, and you just learn so many different things. So, you know, shameless plug for HBCUs, but they're pretty great. Yeah, anyway, go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 33:42

To your point, we had a large Hispanic community, there's a large uh African population, there's a large European population, and just because everyone looked alike, everyone's experiences were totally different. You had high tax brackets, you had low tax brackets, you had you, it was such a diverse group of people. And I say that because everyone was so different. Yeah, yeah. Um, especially when you're an international student, we had um, there was a lot of Bermudians that went to Oakwood. I had a lot of Bermudian friends, but my core group were from Maryland, we're from New York, and so you're experiencing this part of American culture that you you see on TV, right? And it's just such an amazing experience, but also the academic point of view and the theories and the knowledge, and you're learning about James Baldwin, you're learning about Marcus Garvey, you're you're just learning about the great. Um, and it gives you a level of confidence because these people are just like you, they have different backgrounds, but it really could be you. So I'm really grateful for my HBCU experience. And academically, it was really a a breeze right after um after boarding school. Academically, I don't maybe all those hard work from Marlin.

SPEAKER_03 35:08

Shout out to Marlin. Shout out to Marlin. It paid off girls. So poly saw usually leads into people going into law

Choosing International Relations Over Law

SPEAKER_03 35:17

school. But that didn't happen, even though you, you know, are from two lawyers. Yeah. So how did that how did that navigate into international relations? And that sounds like it might have been a hard conversation.

SPEAKER_01 35:32

I'll tell the story first. Yeah. Uh sophomore year, going into junior year the summer. Yeah um I told my parents, hey, we have a dinner date. I wanted it to be in public like a breakup. So we'll meet a fool. We'll kill me. We'll meet at um the diner in the pageant.

SPEAKER_03 35:54

Uh parakeet? Parakeet. You took them to a the a diner? I was gonna say a cheap day, but parakeet is not cheap.

SPEAKER_01 36:00

Just in case I had to pay, I want to make sure I could cover. It was a three-person table. Yeah. Listen, guys, you know what you taught me? Build them up to bring them back up. Build them up, break them down, build them back up again. Love you guys so much. Thank you for everything you've done for me. Uh-uh-uh. But I will not be continuing as pre-law. I will be changing to political science if we're focused in international relations. And what you would have thought I told him I went to drop out of school to sell my body. My dad, he was emotional to say the least. I'm gonna put him on blast. Sorry.

SPEAKER_03 36:41

Like, neither. What was your mom like? Because I know love Uncle Wayne, but I know how that would have gone. But like, your what was your mom? She was just in shock.

SPEAKER_01 36:50

And I I always get confused because it's not like we had a law firm, right? It wasn't Keynes and Anderson. So I don't an associate. I think they both had this thought that I become a lawyer, they're gonna stop doing what they're gonna do. We're gonna create this crazy law firm, Keynes and Anderson, and we're gonna take over the island. None of that was in effect. Yeah. The only person that was working on that, I guess, was me with going to pre-law. Yeah. But it it it hit them because that was always what we we had discussed. We were about to be three lawyers taking the law by storm. And after I reflected in my sophomore year, um I replayed my life a lot. And I was like, my parents worked too hard for me to be as stressed as them. And I do want to work. We sadly have working genes in us. Yeah. Where I always want to work. But this is it. I did not want to do that. Yeah. I did not want to have these billable hours down my neck and what I grew up.

SPEAKER_03 37:53

Which you said earlier. You grew up in an environment where your parents are both both working in billable hour environments and you're in their offices, and it wasn't like a you didn't want that. Not at all. I didn't want that for my future, hopefully, Jesus, daughter. And I I was gonna say you can't guarantee that, but actually these days you can- IDF is really good.

SPEAKER_01 38:14

Um it is, you could pick girls. And I just didn't, I didn't want that. I wanted to have a different environment for my future child. And I actually respect lawyers more than most professions. But it just wasn't for me. And then I reflected on how many people that I knew. Um my parents are lawyers, my godparents have lawyers, my aunt is a lawyer. I I have one's three years a gang of lawyers.

SPEAKER_03 38:44

A gaggle.

SPEAKER_01 38:47

They call it a murder? Like a really no, I was joking.

SPEAKER_03 38:51

Oh that was that a group of crows. A group of crows is a murder, but you get it like you. You know, I got it. I just but if you have to explain it, it's just not as funny. But anyway, I've heard that before, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:01

Um most of them don't practice law anymore. I know, that's right. And so I was like, why go into this profession where people dislike it so much where they're they're not doing it?

SPEAKER_03 39:11

They're running from it, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:12

Um, and so yeah, that conversation went rough. But then when I showed them the plan, my parents are always good once I have a plan. And I said, hey, I want to go to school for international relations, I want to become a diplomat, and I will I I'm gonna keep going. Yeah, it's just not down this path. Yeah. Um after a few tears, everything's great. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 39:36

And then you ended up at the University of Kent in Brussels.

Brussels Life Government Work And MI6

SPEAKER_01 39:39

Yes. Brussels School of International Relations.

SPEAKER_03 39:41

Sorry, my bad. No offense, Brussels School of International Religion. They prefer that name. Yeah, okay, yes. And how was that? Walk me through it. Oh, Deshay. If I can Living in Brussels was the dream?

SPEAKER_01 39:52

Oh, traveling Europe, just dinners, parties, club, bus, and school. No. It was so fun. I it was my first time being like alone. At Huntsville, still tons of cousins. I had my best friends that I've known my whole life. In Brussels, I was alone. I knew one person, and he worked nights, so I never really got to see him. And they spoke French. I was just gonna say the language barrier. So there will go days that I would not speak to humans.

SPEAKER_03 40:28

And did you speak to things that weren't humans? Yeah, myself. You said that so like, yeah, matter-of factly, like yeah, me and me and me.

unknown 40:39

Like, that's right.

SPEAKER_01 40:41

Um also say I was on FaceTime a lot, as you know. You lived on FaceTime, Carol, um, my parents. But I really had to learn to be alone and be okay with being alone.

SPEAKER_03 40:55

Um, but no one talks about that aspect of being away while you're doing school. Yeah. It's I that it's fun, like, don't get me wrong, and like all the experiences that you have. But especially because our family's pretty close, like you want to crawl into a ball and cry when your family would call you and everyone's together for like Sabbath lunch or things like that. Like you just feel so left out. Yeah. But it's still that part of it sucks. But you're not there for, you know, you're not there for a short time, not a long time, you know. You know what I mean? Which is which works. Yeah. So while you were in Brussels, you weren't just in school, you worked, right? So tell me a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_01 41:30

Uh so I had the honor of working for the Bermuda government office in Brussels, and it was such an amazing experience. I was in rooms that I would have never thought that I would be in at 22, 23. I was representing Bermuda at Okada, which is the over overseas countries and territories, associated, you know, dyslexic. Um you can have people want to take you seriously when you do that. Like it's crazy. But anyway, good. Um, but yeah, it was such an educational experience where I was um working and doing things that I would have never thought even possible for a country like Bermuda, who is a territory. And being able to represent our country in Brussels was one of the most prideful times. I loved uh having a Bermuda pin and going to represent Bermuda. Um just to represent Bermuda. It was everything that I had dreamed of, and it it literally is what I thought I would be doing for the rest of my life. So I really thought like that, this was this was the start of my Olivia Pope in Brussels, right? I I thought I did apply for I did apply for- Do you want the world to know? Yeah, sure. I did apply for MI6 um to be a spy, and I did think I was gonna be a spy, but um I made it to like the third round, and then it was a personality test, and they said I was too much of a leader. And they seem like I was define- That's what they said. Yeah, like I was defining that I wouldn't take orders, and they're correct. They are 100% correct. They would have been like, Maxie, take the building.

SPEAKER_02 43:08

Well, I don't know if that's the best option if we have we considered other alternatives.

SPEAKER_01 43:17

You would be a horrible spot. Yeah, no, no, no, no. Actually, call me a my six if it ever happens, but I think that would be great. I just wouldn't be a conventional spot. I think he might be too old now, though.

SPEAKER_03 43:27

It's probably got like an age limit on it.

SPEAKER_01 43:29

Anyway, so what is okay, that's not a good reference. But he's so old. But he probably didn't start that old. Shey I could do some flips. It's like a shake and not stir.

SPEAKER_03 43:38

You know, what is actually wrong with you? Like, I don't understand. I'm so serious. I know you are. That's what's crazy. Anyway, so while you're in Brussels, right? And I think Brussels was one of the times, except for when it was too hot and you didn't have AC, that I probably seen you. Like you were that was the happiest because that's what you wanted to do. You wanted to do international relationships. International relations, going around to different places, advocating for Bermuda, you know, flying the Bermuda flag and things like that. And then the world came to an abrupt halt in 2020.

COVID Forces A Career Pivot Home

SPEAKER_03 44:12

Um, but not only did it come to an abrupt halt, but it literally changed the trajectory of your career. What happened?

SPEAKER_01 44:18

Girl, your interview clashes are real good. It COVID. Yeah, COVID. I remember vividly, um, there was a delegation that had come from overseas, and they had all gotten it. And we had been in the same building as them, and so we got an email basically saying there's this virus going around. Keep an eye on it, everyone's okay. But all of the delegation went back to their different countries. Um, and so it started to like get word on the street in Brussels that there's there's something going on. And so we were hearing from the other countries that the world is going to start to shut down. I called my dad, he at the time he was the Minister of National Charity. I'm like, hey, this is serious. I think it's time to come home. He's like, no, Maxie, you know, everything's okay. It's not that serious. This is also really early. This is in like February. And so um I'm like, he's like, keep an eye on it, cool. Well, three or two weeks later, they wouldn't allow us to leave our homes. In Bermuda, everything was still cool, but in Brussels, they were shutting down and people were standing outside letting us know when we can go to the grocery store. And I was like, oh yeah, I'm out. I booked a ticket and might have found my dad's credit card. I booked a ticket out next day. No questions. My apartment still packed. My I put everything in boxes and in bags, but I was gone. I left everything in Brussels and I went to Bermuda for what I thought was two weeks. And I actually never went back. You never left. Um, and because of that, like you said, my whole life has changed. Yeah. Growing up, I always thought I would never live in Bermuda. Yeah. Now I loved my country. I've always loved it. But I in my head, I was a London girl. I was a New York girl. I was supposed to be killing it somewhere else.

SPEAKER_03 46:14

But because also doing the international relations bit of it, it's it's kind of hard to do here, 100%.

SPEAKER_01 46:19

Um, so when I came back to Bermuda in my head, this was only to till everything subsided. Yeah, yeah. And it just didn't work out that way. But I am so blessed. Yeah. I tell people all the time, I love living in Bermuda. I love my life. And I'm really grateful that when it was time to pivot, I pivoted and I never looked back.

SPEAKER_03 46:41

Yeah, and I think obviously I always say this, and I say this in like the work that I do as well, is everything that you kind of go through brings you to where you are right now. So you, and I'm gonna kind of lead here a bit because it's you, but like you were working in marketing at Digicel, you were the head of marketing at Take Five, and then there came another time to pivot during that time that kind of leads us to like the best time in your life, I think.

Building The Pristine Group Together

SPEAKER_03 47:05

Which is us working together, which is pretty great. Yeah. So help me under like walk me through what it's like to build the pristine group together.

SPEAKER_01 47:16

Um, as you know, this has been my dream for since I was working with you as a summer student. Yeah. I was like, oh, maybe I could just move to Bermuda and just work up to Shea.

SPEAKER_03 47:27

First of all, quick story. You, Daisha, and Dory were my original employees. So when I first launched the business, I didn't have anyone to work with me. And Daisha, Dory, Maxie were literally in high school. I'm pretty sure Dory was like in middle school at the time. And they would just come to events with me and weddings, and you guys were my labor. Like free. I mean, I gave you something. And um I wouldn't say it was free. Listen, I I would do it again for you. I did it yesterday for you.

SPEAKER_02 47:59

So there we go. Our business. There we go. Well both. You get your dividends one day.

SPEAKER_03 48:05

One day is crazy. So yeah. So I think it was it was a family business from the beginning. And then obviously, you guys went to school and things like that, and I had to like get real stuff. But like you guys were literally the foundation of the company and like how it ran. I mean, I remember when I used to go to um trade shows in Atlanta, you and Daisha drove up to me to help me with it. Like, we have all of those things. So it wasn't like a new, new thing. It was just more of like a reshifting in what how you were in the business.

SPEAKER_01 48:37

Yeah. Um slight watching you build your business is one of my most favorite things about you. Um, just seeing you have a concept and make it, and that's one of your biggest strengths. You can make some an idea come to life. Not most people can do that, but watching you do that with the pristine group, get married in Bermuda, hustle her. Yeah, it has been such a breath of fresh air where we we have entrepreneurs in our family, but you for I I speak for Dacia and Dory, they didn't give me permission, but I feel like I can. But watching you be in your entrepreneurial space, yeah, it was new for us, right? Where Nana Keynes, of course, she was a, but we didn't see that, we didn't see that side of her. Um, and so you in that space where you worked hard, you grind, you sometimes had other jobs, but you made sure that your business was okay and you grew that business where you had four staff at one point, and it's it's been amazing, and I'm so grateful to have you to watch you do that.

SPEAKER_03 49:51

Little tinker, yes, a little sweetie pie. Thank you. You're welcome, girl. So, I mean, you did an excellent job. I think one of my greatest kind of I want to say things that I've done is being able to hand you something that was ready to go, right? So during my transition during COVID, it was definitely something that definitely fell to the wayside, not completely, but to the wayside. And so being able to essentially gift you something that you could step into and run and grow and do it differently. We don't do everything the exact same way, which is okay, although, you know, I like the way I do think um a little better. And so I but I really do enjoy watching how you do things differently, getting new clients, the way that you interact with people. I think we have very similar strengths um and also very similar weaknesses. So it's really um interesting to see the dynamic between the both of us.

SPEAKER_01 50:44

Yeah, I I think you are a blessing to me in every every way possible. But when there was a time where I'm like, hey, I think it's time I I want to leave where I am and go off on my own, you never even hesitated. You just did it without oh here's all the logins, here's the credit card, like here's everything. And you you you saved me at a time that I needed to be to be said. If I sing it, I won't cry. To be said, sing to be maxing. Um, and I really appreciate it. And we do things, we are different, um, but we are similar. And you allow me to make mistakes, you allow me to grow, and you allow me to um to be a better business owner, right? Yeah. Um, and I really do appreciate that about you, where you're with your sisters and most people, you're so selfless, and you will you will give and you will make sure everyone has everything. And you've done that in every aspect of my life, but with the business, it didn't change. And you could have been like, this is my baby, this is what I grew, but you you instantly turned it into a we.

SPEAKER_03 51:55

But because I think it's really important to me. One, I didn't want to be overbearing to you. I think oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 52:05

I didn't want to overbearing.

SPEAKER_01 52:07

I'm overbearing sometimes, but you you work hard not to be, which I'm so grateful for growth. Yo, that is an insane thing.

SPEAKER_03 52:15

Always overbearing. Anyway, sorry, yeah. I was trying to have a moment and it's completely gone now. But it is, I didn't want to be overbearing. I didn't want you to come into something and you know, be like, Jesus, I have no creative flexibility. I didn't, that is also a muscle that you should be able to flex whenever you want. And then on top of that as well, and I didn't want you, I wanted you to know you had the support, but you had to figure out a lot of this stuff by yourself. Yeah. Like you had to be able to go into it, you have to get burned by a client. Like you have to get burned by, you know, putting something in a system and you lose it. And yeah, you know, I gave you suggestions of clients to take versus not to take, and you needed, and I didn't want to be overbearing with it because at the end of the day, some of the greatest lessons I ever learned um in business were from those mistakes. Like there were a few things that I was pretty hard on when it came to like, especially like the financial stuff, because I learned the hard way about those things. Yeah, and I didn't want you to have to learn that the hard way. Um, but I think it's made you better at it. You know, I'm there's a few times, not to say I was right, but I was right, where you can. Most times I'll give it to you, girl. Very rarely have you been wrong with business. Sunday, April 19th, 1149, Maxanne said, Um, usually right. I'll give you 85.

SPEAKER_02 53:31

I'll give you 85% of the time.

SPEAKER_03 53:33

No, no, no. But I genuinely I'm very proud of you, and I'm very proud of where the business is and being able to step back in to something that's fully, fully functioning because of you is something that's pretty amazing. No, I appreciate that. Yeah, and so we're I were this is actually a lot longer than I thought it was gonna be, but I wanted to really focus on you and this new chapter that you've kind of gone into, um, and to focus on it a little bit because it's more of an educational piece because I called you counselor Maxanne. And she's laughing. Anyway, my correct title is Insanity. Sorry. Your correct title is Maxanne Chivita Keynes. Like that is your correct title. Okay, to say Tahisha Keynes. Oh, yeah, we're saying government crazy. I'm also the second. Please don't. The second, period. Oh, Maxanne. I will never disrespect. Just disrespect. Okay. Anyway, so in the walking, taking us to you being a counselor,

Why She Ran For City Counselor

SPEAKER_03 54:30

right? Uh for the city of Hamilton. Why did you decide to run? Because it is an elected position. It is. Why did you decide to run as a counselor? I could take you back to the days.

SPEAKER_01 54:40

Ma maybe not. Okay, yeah. Um, I've always wanted to get into politics. I always thought that was something that I will do one day. Um, I just always wanted to be a fully baked adult. And I wanted to be able to go all through life. Then when I saw the consulate position the first time go unattested, and then um uncontested. Sorry, thank you, Deshay. No problem, I got you. I said it quietly. We're doing a podcast. It was pretty quiet.

SPEAKER_03 55:09

It's a boom, like, right there. But it was pretty quiet. Oh, Deshay, I'm I'm grateful. Like, I'm not trying to put you out there. I was I mean, everyone knows now, but you know. Listen. I can take feedback.

SPEAKER_01 55:18

Thank you, Deshay.

SPEAKER_03 55:19

You actually you take feedback very well.

SPEAKER_01 55:21

Thank you. It came with a lot of hard work from my father.

SPEAKER_03 55:27

Anyway, so you ran uncontested. Um no, when it no, so the first time it was no one, no one put their hat in.

SPEAKER_01 55:34

And then I thought about it. I did some research on the city and everything that was going on, and I was like, this is a great opportunity. It's politics, I call it politicking light. And it's the light version. It's very light. Um, but it's essentially you're on a board. Yeah. Um, but it's a political board. But it's it's definitely not that way. Um, but that's how it feels, right? Um, and so I thought it was a great opportunity for me to not only represent uh Bermuda, but also gain experience, but give my experience um to the city. And I'm really grateful that I did it. It's been the best, it's been four, four months. It's been such an amazing four months. I've learned so much. The counselors that I serve with are the most intelligent, courageous, uh caring people that I've probably met in the last few years. They care about the city. And their priority is the city. And whether it's a resident counselor or a business counselor, a commercial counselor, they're they're representing their interests. Yeah. And they're sticking out for the people and the businesses that are in the city. And it's it's lovely to see people advocate on that level.

SPEAKER_03 56:51

Yeah, and there's a lot of misconceptions around what a counselor actually does. So most people think that it's a full-time position. Most people are not really sure. Yes. Um, is it governance versus operations or like, you know, just give me a little snippet of what that actually is because I think there's a lot of misconception around

What A City Counselor Actually Does

SPEAKER_03 57:10

it. Yeah. So I think of it as a board.

SPEAKER_01 57:12

How board meets once a week, once a month, or once a quarter. We meet once a uh once a month. In this board, there are subcommittees. And so we all have two to three subcommittees, and it is not operational at all. We essentially set the tone of the city. And so in these meetings, we are approving, or people are asking us to do things for the city, and then the people that work in the city actually implement them and do them.

SPEAKER_00 57:46

Got it.

SPEAKER_01 57:46

Right? So we probably meet together three to four times a month. Uh we uh get the same compensation as a government board. So shout out to the government, I think that's going up to $75. Right?

SPEAKER_03 58:01

Big spend the girl.

SPEAKER_01 58:03

Um, but you do not get compensated for the subcommittees. So it is a good bit of work, but you're actually doing it for the the people that you're representing. It's nothing else.

SPEAKER_03 58:17

Yeah, but I also think what's really cool about being a city counselor in terms of like the politics side of it is you can see some of the things that you do almost immediately. So the things that you approve, the things that are being implemented, it's not as long of a process as traditional politics, like being an MP, where it has to get tabled and you know, goes for consultations and things like that. Just the decisions that you guys make in those meetings happen relatively quickly. Am I correct on that?

SPEAKER_01 58:41

So we have to get uh minister approval. So after it gets passed by the board, it then has to go to minister approval and then they will get implemented. So the bureaucracy of it is reduced by a lot. Um, and most of the things that people bring to us for us to um get put in place, they are quite immediate. Maybe a week to two to two months, right? Um, and so that part of it is really great to see because the city is really efficient. Yeah. And um how the city is run is, I think, some of the best work you can see in Bermuda.

SPEAKER_03 59:20

Yeah. And then what do you think it's what's one thing or a few things you think Bermudians understood about how this system works? In terms of the city, councilors, the parliamentary process of it all. Like what do you think people need to understand a bit more about it?

SPEAKER_01 59:38

So there's so many different levels to it. You have your MPs that also represent the city, then you have us, the council member member committee, sorry. Um, and a lot of things we can't do because of legislation. We can't just make up laws that allow us to do things because that there are laws put in place that we have to follow. So sometimes we want to do things or vote for things or implement things, but the legislation just does not allow for it. And so the Municipalities Act is very clear what we cannot and can't do. So sometimes people come to us with things that they would like to be changed, but we're actually not the correct people that it needs to go to. We make sure that the trash cans are taken out, that the streets are clear, that the roads are paved, just the in the city. In the city. Yeah. How this city is run operationally is that that's us. Yeah. But when it comes to I don't even want to name things because it's just I don't want you to get too much. Right. But it's yeah, it it there are separations. Um, and I think it it it's hard for peep people to grasp in terms of the city of Hamilton itself and an issue that's in Bermuda as a whole.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:55

Absolutely. And I guess also the perception around you running. Um, your uncle, my father, is also the CEO of the city of Hamilton, and there's this misconception there that he kind of appointed you, and that's not possible, right? No, it's it's not.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:09

Uh, it is an elected post. Uh no one ran against me. Um, and so But you still had to you had to do the process. Had to do the process, right? Um, but even even with that, it's a complete separation in America. Uh, they call it um the the separation of of powers, right? You have the legislative legislation legislative body, the judicial body. You get the branches, yeah. Right. We have those branches in Bermuda as well. And this is a branch that it's a lot different, obviously, than America, but we we are we are separated. And so yeah, it is it is it is my uncle, how it's also Bermuda.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:49

So the chances of you being related to somebody that you work with or in your working environment is pretty close. It's pretty high. Yeah, so give me some of your goals that you want to accomplish as a counselor and the kind of the impact that you want to have in this role.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:03

Really, with this role, the I I'll give you one goal because it is my main goal is to represent the work represent the people that live in the city. My only objective is when I'm in that room, I don't think as Maxanne Keynes, I think as a person that represents the residents of the city, to making sure that they are advocated for, that their voice is heard when uh things are being passed, when conversations are being had. I want to be that voice, and I am that voice in those words. Everything else is it actually it does, it doesn't matter. And making sure that I listen, I ask the right questions, and I'm, you know, canvassing to make sure that I can hear I know what I'm actually and who I'm representing.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:54

So I I appreciate those goals, and you want to focus on your constituents and as a resident counselor that you want to do. But I guess what I really want to kind of leave people with is what do you want to tell people about the city that you think is kind of the biggest misconception around the city and you know, that you want to leave with everyone?

The City’s Role In Bermuda’s Future

SPEAKER_01 1:03:13

Yeah, the city is my what I would want for the city is kind of what is already happening in the city, right? The city is the heartbeat of Bermuda, the city of Hamilton, everything happens or starts within the city. We all need to go into the city. And making sure that if the city is at its best, Bermuda is at its best. And if the city is seen as a hub for innovation, for uh leisure, for experiences, then Bermuda is seen as a hub and a place for all of these things. And if we uh if our focus is making sure that the city is at its best, then Bermuda will be at its best. And I personally believe that the city is the best of Bermuda. Yeah, and the more that I get into the nitty-gritty of how it functions, I see that it's such a well-oiled machine and it is efficient. And the people that work in the city are some of the best and the brightest that we have in Bermuda. And that's something we should scream from the rooftops.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:30

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, no, I completely understand, and I think that that's a great way to kind of leave with everyone around it, especially as, and I forgot to say this earlier, I forgot that you're the youngest counselor that's ever served on the committee, and I think you're like the youngest on the board by a couple, like maybe two decades, right? I just am trying to have a serious moment. Sorry, I always just but no, I think it's a great accomplishment, you know what I mean? And it also speaks to the diversity that of age, of thought, of gender, of race that is needed when it comes to all facets of our uh system here in Bermuda when it comes to politics, when it comes to how things get done. And I think it's great that you're representing a younger demographic, I would say the youngest demographic, but a younger demographic. Um, but and and that I think you're bringing things to the table that they probably have have to think about differently now because they have a different voice in the room. And I think, you know, as we enter into newer and more efficient eras of politics in Bermuda period, I think having you there opens the doors for um the wider politics conversation around, you know, bringing in younger voices um into the space.

unknown 1:05:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:43

So to your point, um the people that I serve with on the council, they are diverse. Um they are accountability. I think that's the best way to sum up what the council. What the council represents to the city, they hold the city accountable. And so there is a checks and balances, checks and balances that exist because this board is elected. Yeah. And there's no group think in that room.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:16

You can see the minutes of public. You can see we hash it up. We talk about it.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:22

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:22

We disagree. And Mr. Harvey, Counselor Harvey, uh, Mayor Gosling, all of these people bring so much of a different um, they're all different, right? And they bring a different perspective, whether it's finance, whether it's HR, and the perspectives in the room that are being discussed, nothing gets voted on without it being fully spoken about. And so that accountability piece, I think, in any government is really important. And because we are elected, the accountability is a hundred percent there.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:58

Yeah, no, I get that. And I and I really love it. And I love that that's something that you do. And now that people can understand a bit better around the count what it means to be a counselor and

Fun Legacy And What She’s Remembered For

SPEAKER_03 1:07:07

things like that. So I think when all the titles are stripped away, entrepreneur, daughter, girlfriend, counselor, all of those. Big up to Ashton. Big up to Ashton. Love you, baby. Um, and so Love You Baby really threw me off. Oh you love you, Ashton.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:26

We love you, Ashton.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:27

And so, um I just forgot my when all the titles are stripped away, right? Yes. Like, who are you? Who is Maxanne when all these things are stripped away? When you go home and you take off the makeup, it looks great, by the way. But when you do all those things, like who's Maxie? Oh, that sounds Maxanne, because she actually really hates when I introduce her to Max as Maxi to people she doesn't know. Who's Maxanne? That's like me saying, hey, this is Shay Sky. But no one calls me Shay Sky.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:58

That's the difference. I call you Shay Sky. No, you don't. Okay. This is serious. Um, who am I? I this isn't the question, but I love to sleep. And I do just want to say that publicly. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:13

Um of all the of all the things that you could have said in that moment, that was the thing that was. No, because when you said when you go home, and I was like, man, I couldn't use a nap right now. That's interesting what I thought about. I was like, uh kill. Yeah, but we're tired. We had a wedding yesterday, like, you know, I get all that. Come on, work through the noise. Sorry. Fair, my bad. Nor diverse. Not an ally. Not an ally.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:39

I am your biggest ally. Don't irritate me. Um, who am I? I am I really love fun. Yeah. I love having a good time. I love supporting the people that are around me um and making sure that everyone is having a good time as well. I um I plan trips for my friends and Emmy. And you're my friend. You're my best friend. Oh, you're my bestie. Bestie poo. Okay, you plan a trip for your friends. Thank you. I plan trips for you. Dische does come on all my group trips, but she like has her own, it's like a solo trip with my friend. Was at the Costa Rica. Very good. She doesn't interact with us, but she's there. She does not come on any excursion, but she would eat with us once in the trip. Anyway, so I I just love to make sure that if I'm planning a trip or a party in Bermuda with my friends, I just want us all to be together and I just want us all to create memories. And, you know, this is supposed to be the best times of our life. We all don't have children right now. This is supposed to be the time where we're living it up.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:56

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:57

And I feel that in my core. Like I want to have I want to have fun. Yeah. I wanna I want to be on a beach.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:03

Yeah, party like in 1999. This is it. Yeah, you were you were alive then, right? Yeah. Anyway, go ahead. Yeah, that's pretty great. You do a really good job of that though. Like, no, no, no. Like, but that's what fun is. You do. It's like you're pretty, you're very like glued to the people in your life, just period, right? Like bringing um everyone together, you do that weird camping thing with your friends, which you guys look like you have a great time. And that's I don't do that. Um, but I do, I do like that about you. You're very much, you're very inclusive to the people who are around you to make sure everyone's having a good time. And I love that.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:35

I I thank you. I do, I want us all to be together. Like my perfect world is like just everyone that I love together, us having a good time, whether it be away or in Bermuda, but just having an experience that we all remember. Um, and that's what I hold dear. Like if I'm alone or like not sad times, we're just alone. I I could just replay different parts of my life where I'm just like, oh my gosh, I've lived. And I want to continue to live where um, not to bring up my parents again, but they work really hard. And I'm so grateful for how hard they've worked. Um, and I want to continue being their legacy, and not only their legacy in achievements and in work, but also in living life. I believe life is it has to be more to life than just working. Yeah, yeah. It it needs to be on the hamster wheel. We have to enjoy who we are and find out what what makes us happy, what makes us sad. And I think that only you can only do that by doing things and experiencing things. So, y'all girl, I'm trying to turn on. Jesus, Lord have mercy.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:54

Okay, trying to turn on. Um as a question, because we have to end this episode at some point. Um, as a question that I ask all of my guests, and you are finally won. Period. It only took five years. Oh, Jesus. Um, is what do you want to be remembered for? And obviously, when you're no longer here, very long time from now, right? When someone says Max and Keynes, like what do you want them to feel or say about you uh when that happens?

SPEAKER_01 1:12:26

I want to be known. I okay, not to go off topic, but we were speaking about it yesterday about being a girl's girl. Yeah, right. And I I had a problem with the term because I feel that I would do it for anybody. Anybody, right?

SPEAKER_03 1:12:48

And I'm a human's human, is what you said.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:49

Yes, which is a very you statement, but I I want to be known as the person that will go out of her way to help advocate, serve even when it's not convenient. Yeah, um, even have a good time. Like I I want to make sure that people are at their best, and I would like to make sure that they get there in any which way. So if someone is on the street and they need help, I would love to be that person that that helps. That's the advocate. Or on the flip side, if someone needs a friend to go have a drink with and get on the dance floor and have a good time, I want to be that person. Is that how you dance?

SPEAKER_03 1:13:34

Yeah, okay, cool, cool, cool. You gotta be a little sexy with it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Part, period. So, yeah, that's what you want to do.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:39

Yeah, okay, yeah. All right, yeah, that's it.

Gratitude Sponsors And How To Stay Connected

SPEAKER_01 1:13:43

No, I do want to close it out myself by saying Deshay. What are you doing right now? Nothing crazy. I just I'm grateful for you in this space as a the creator of Hustle Her and giving a platform for women and your dad to shout out to Duane, shout out to share their story and to um let the world and Bermuda know that there are different avenues, people are, you know, just tell people's story. And I think that's so important, especially in media, that we have to see different perspectives. We have to hear women's stories. And I'm so grateful. Correct me if I'm wrong in the comments. You're the first that I know in Bermuda to do what is being done. Now a lot of other people are doing things. No, no, it wasn't me. So True Podcast, I think, were the first.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:40

Um that shows you a goalview. You didn't take that. I like that. I I I said this in the very beginning when I first started the podcast. True podcast was definitely the inspiration for me doing this. It was Zoe, and I cannot remember her co uh her co-host name, but they were the originators of like podcasts locally. Um so I 100% like to give them the credit of that. But yeah, that this was it, it wasn't me. Shout out to True. Yeah, shout out to True.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:05

We miss you, True Space. Yes, we do. But I am so grateful that not only sharing the women that are in your life, but other women that people want to hear from. And I think that's so important, especially in Bermuda, because sometimes I feel like we're all just on this hamster trying to live and we're trying to survive, and we might be looking at other people and we don't know what people are going through. But I think hustle her gives people just a little glimpse of what the everyday woman is going through. And that is not all roses, then it's not all peaches and cream. Yeah, yeah. Peaches and cream. You need it. One of the best clubs I ever went to in Hungary was called Peaches and Cream. Really? Girl. Yo, shout out who was Peach and Cream, 112.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:48

112, we miss you. That was the first one.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:50

What is this number? Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:55

Okay, we're done. All right, thank you, Maxanne. Thanks for being here today. I love you so much. I love you from my heart, my entire heart. And I'm grateful that you were able to be on the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:06

Thank you for having me. Honestly, I'm so glad I finally have something to share.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:09

I didn't say that. Anyway, guys, this was a great, great episode with my sister, Maxanne Keynes. I'm so grateful that she was able to be here today, give us a bit of education on being a counselor, but also a bit about her journey and how she got to where she is today. And so we're so grateful to her for being here. As always, we want to say thank you to our sponsors, Get Married in Bermuda and the Pristine Group. Make sure you head over to tochekanes.com and you sign up to be a part of the Connect. The Connect is the monthly newsletter that comes out that keeps you up to date with the things that I'm doing, about the podcast, and we just want to make sure that you guys are staying connected as much as possible. Make sure you head over to YouTube. If you are watching this on YouTube, if you like and you subscribe and leave us a comment, we would love to know what you thought about the episode. And as always, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for joining me today on House of Heart Podcast.