PHOTO: Dreka Gates radiates confidence and serenity, embodying her mission to promote wellness and holistic living in every aspect of her life.
Discovering Dreka Gates: A Journey of Self-Love and Empowerment
Dreka Gates shares her journey in beauty and wellness, highlighting her brand’s ethos, innovative products, and commitment to empowering others through holistic living and self-care.
Dreka Gates stands as a luminous beacon within the realms of beauty, wellness, and entrepreneurship. With an impressive following of over 3.1 million on Instagram, her influence is undeniable. Her authentic approach to self-care and her empowering lifestyle content have garnered her a loyal base of admirers who look to her as a trusted voice in their journey towards holistic living and personal fulfilment.
In our exclusive interview, we delve deep into the remarkable world of Dreka Gates. As the driving force behind Dreka, her burgeoning wellness brand, Gates is committed to the ethos of self-love and the fearless pursuit of dreams. Her certification as a wellness coach and her ongoing studies in sex and love coaching further underscore her dedication to helping others achieve a balanced and holistic life.
Gates’ collaboration with Yaupon Brothers American Teas birthed the Love Tea, a blend designed to foster relaxation and stress relief. Each ingredient in this heart-opening brew echoes Gates’ emphasis on health and wellness—from the energy-boosting organic yaupon to the immune-supporting ginger and the heart-healthy hibiscus. As it steeps into a beautiful blush pink, this tea embodies the warm, nurturing essence that Gates brings to all her endeavours.
Beyond teas, Gates is expanding her impact with an upcoming eyewear collection in collaboration with Kazoku Lunettes and Michael Nicholas, a venture that seamlessly blends personal style with a commitment to sustainability. Additionally, her partnership with BeautyStat sees her joining the ranks of celebrated figures like Bethenny Frankel and Hailey Bieber, further solidifying her stature in the beauty industry.
In this compelling conversation, Dreka Gates shares insights on her bold decisions from an early age, her intricate balancing act as a mother, wife, entrepreneur, and wellness advocate, and her unwavering vision for her brand and community. Her journey, filled with courage and innovation, serves as a testament to her indomitable spirit and her unyielding commitment to making wellness accessible for all.
Join us as we explore the many facets of Dreka Gates’ inspiring narrative, capturing the essence of a woman who is not only shaping her destiny but also uplifting others along the way.
What inspired you to leave the church at such a young age, and how did that decision shape your spiritual journey?
I spent so much time as a kid in the church and it just had gotten to a point where I just wanted to stand up for myself and the way it made me feel. I never left feeling good about myself. There was always a bunch of sermons about the “children these days” and it was all very negative. One day I just finally decided to tell my mom that I was no longer going to church. It was one of the scariest things I did at that point in my life. I was a child, still living with my parents. It was a very bold move. I just knew that there was something bigger, something greater than what was being preached to me. It just didn’t feel right or aligned with my inner knowing of life, the truth of who I was.
How do you balance being a mother, wife, entrepreneur, and advocate for wellness?
Balance is something that is always a constant work in progress with me. It’s extremely difficult but the one thing that allows me to be able to be there for my family, work, and be an entrepreneur is taking the time out for myself to fill myself with love. I know it may sound crazy, another thing to do, another thing on my list…but it keeps me from burnout. 30 minutes a day, just being selfish and doing something that I thoroughly enjoy without interruption gives me the energy to be able to get through life. Things are not perfect by any means but I try to make sure that I make time for everything. My days are very planned out. Everything is scheduled!
“Self-love is the foundation of everything I do.” – Dreka Gates
Can you share more about the vision and mission behind your wellness line, Dreka?
My vision and mission for DREKA is to make love and wellness accessible for all. So many people feel like to be well is to be perfect and to always eat clean, to work out, to always meditate and to practice mindfulness when it’s just about being whole and being balanced in all things. It’s ok to indulge in what people may consider to be “not-so-healthy” things. What’s more important is what you spend MOST of your time doing. It also doesn’t mean that you’re walking around in a white robe with your hair tied up. I also want people to truly experience the power of love and how transformative it can be. I’ve learned and experienced real self-love that allowed me to reconnect with my true authentic self. It helped me to heal past traumas and also create my dream life. It’s the secret to a fulfilling life. Through DREKA, I will continue to provide wellness tools in the form of wellness tinctures and formulas, educational programs, and retreats. I’m currently collecting my sex, love, and wellness coaching certification so that will also help me to further develop my offerings with DREKA.
What challenges have you faced as a woman in the male-dominated cannabis industry, and how have you overcome them?
DG: Not being taken seriously or just being looked at as a pretty face. It’s unfortunate but I’ve pretty much had to always “prove” myself through my actions; showing them, ‘Hey, I can do that, too.’ That’s something that at the end of the day can’t be denied. It has worked and I am respected in the space so I’m very proud and happy about that.
“My goal is to make wellness accessible for everyone.” – Dreka Gates
How do you integrate your role as a certified doula and love coach into your mission of holistic healing?
Those pieces are still coming together for me. At the end of the day wellness and holistic healing for me is about treating the body as a whole. No parts are separate. Birthing is the beginning of all creation and so is love. Love is the energy, the vibration, the frequency that we must be in to manifest, create, and bring our dreams to life. So for me, all of this goes hand in hand. It all works together.
What are your long-term goals for the Gates Family Farm, and how do you see it impacting your community?
DG: My long-term goals for Gates Family Farm is to eventually host my wellness retreats there once I have the infrastructure. That’s when I want to provide educational programs to kids and adults about gardening, animal husbandry, communing with the land and how it’s a vital part of being a balanced human and living a self-sustainable life. The knowledge is much needed. I feel like the era we are moving into is more of a community/tribe-based world like it was back in the day.
You and your family may grow certain things and provide certain services while your neighbors and/or other family members may grow & provide other services; you all can actively form a community and all provide for each other. I feel like we’ve gotten so far away from that but being on the farm really brought me back to that way of being and I feel like it’s something that’s much needed right now and in the near future.
What advice would you give to someone looking to embrace a more holistic and nature-centered lifestyle?
Start small you know. You don’t have to dive all in and go out and buy a farm. You can start by growing herbs that you typically cook with (rosemary, thyme, oregano). Those are fairly easy. Maybe even some tomatoes. And just start getting out in nature. Go for 20-minute walks daily without any technology. And when you’re comfortable enough, take your shoes off. Walk around for 20 minutes without any shoes on; sit in the grass or just sit outside for a while; lay in the grass; go for a swim in the ocean. Eventually, your body will start craving that and you will do more and more. Eventually, you will find your groove and what works for you. This may sound crazy but after doing this for a while, the plants and nature will start communicating/talking to you. It’s like a form of meditation.
