Meet Denise Love Hewett | DJ, Speaker, and Host

We had the good fortune of connecting with Denise Love Hewett and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Denise Love, what’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?
As a creative, it’s imperative to focus on the joy of the process and not the outcome. We have no control over how our work is perceived or supported, we can only make the thing we are called to make.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Curiousity is the throughline. I have switched industries four times. The work finds a way to evolve, I just follow the threads. It’s important to me to be out of my comfort zone and find the growth edge. To be fully human is to be courageous so I try and remember that before I take big leaps that petrify me.

I used to work in corporate Hollywood before becoming a startup founder. Both those power centers forced me to confront that we are living in a moral leadership crisis. I’ve been following that thread for the past 5 years. I speak at conferences on the subject as well as on my podcast Do the Work where I interview leaders that embody a more holistic way of leadership. I’m now writing my first book on the subject. I am bullish on living in a world where people feel seen, heard and supported.

To counteract the intensity of that work, I DJ at night. I’ve been a professional DJ for over a decade and in many ways it has been the blueprint for the rest of my career. For a long time, I was swimming upstream professionally. DJing was the only path that loved me back. Now, I hold that tidbit as sacred. I make sure to ask myself if there is a level of ease and flow to the professional choices I make.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
As a former staunch New Yorker, Los Angeles took time to grow on me but now I love her!

My ideal itinerary is one that mixes old Hollywood with the new magic of the city.

I would be sure to stop by the Walk of Fame and the Chinese Theater to put my hands in the cement. I still feel like a little kid when I walk by there. Then we would head to Universal for the infamous backlot tour for some more movie magic. The backlot is still my happy place where anything feels possible. After all that sightseeing we’d go to the Chateau Marmont for a cozy drink and dinner.

To fuel up for a day of vintage shopping, I’d start with breakfast at All Time before heading to Recess on La Brea for the world’s best curated vintage store. After, I’d head to Red Vintage in East Hollywood for the city’s best vintage tees and sweatshirts. All that scouring would lead to an afternoon cat nap before a meal at The Benjamin followed by cocktails at The Moon Room.

The next day, we’d hike Griffith Park up to the Observatory for the view before walking around Chinatown. You have to stop for a happy hour glass of wine at Cafe Triste before dinner at the exquisite Mexico City inspired seafood at Loreto.

Naturally, on the weekend I head to The Little Friend in Venice for my weekly residency where it’s nonstop dance pandemonium from 10pm-2am.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I stand on the shoulders of so many courageous women. There are far too many to thank. You can meet many of them in my podcast or in my book highlights on Instagram. I am wildly and eternally grateful for my ancestors and my current mentors. I am consistently in awe of women who dare.

Website: https://deniselovehewett.com

Instagram: deniselovehewett

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DeniseLoveHewett