Exploring Life & Business with Athena Brownson of Realtor at Compass Real Estate

Today we’d like to introduce you to Athena Brownson.

Hi Athena, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I will begin by saying that being brief has never been a strong suit of mine and looking back at the path and journey that has gotten me to where I am today has been one filled with twists, turns, flips and well..you get the idea!

I was born and raised in Breckenridge, Colorado – a rare Colorado native – where my parents had both relocated to after attending graduate school in search of building a life in which they could both pursue their passions while being what I would call high functioning ski bums 🙂 My father was a professional speed skier and residential builder and developer while my mother was not only an incredible painter but an art teacher and interior designer. I am an only child and growing up in Breck, I basically learned how to ski at the same age I learned how to walk. With my parents passion for skiing, and traveling the world to watch my father speed ski competitively it became clear from a young age that I wanted to pursue a career in skiing and quickly joined a competitive ski team under some of the best coaches in the world. I always say that my formative years as an athlete was the best business school I ever attended as it unknowingly to me taught me the importance of hard work, resilience, consistency and accountability. I wanted to be the best and had the coaching and determination that allowed me to become a professional skier (my main event was Slopestyle) at the age of 15 and from there I had the incredible opportunity to travel the world skiing about 300 days a year and when I was not skiing it was likely because I was recovering from one of the dozens of surgeries I had due to injuries from skiing (9 blown knees, 2 broken legs, 2 wrists and 2 necks).

Apart from skiing, to be completely honest I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life and future. Real Estate was never an option I considered as not only did I associate it with my Dad dragging me to his job sites in the freezing cold but I quite frankly thought Realtors were a dime a dozen as there were more Real Estate Brokerages in Breck than T-Shirt shops. I was a total hater and I could not have been more wrong in my assumptions.

After “retiring” from skiing I finished up college at CU Boulder and began working for an Interior Design firm that covered both Denver and the mountain markets. I absolutely loved the ability to help clients create beautiful and unique spaces, but learned that coming from an individual sport in which I had control of how far I could go with my career I found myself feeling unfulfilled and was restless and in search of an endeavor that would allow me to be more of an entrepreneur. After an evening of venting to my best friend, Charlotte Durham, about 10 years ago she looked at me and said, “Athena. You need to be in Real Estate. I can’t believe I did not think of this sooner”. I of course gave her a skeptical look but she quickly pointed out that not only did I love home design, but I loved people and building relationships with people, I loved homes and I loved the idea of being my own boss and being responsible for my own success. She urged me to have lunch with the owner of the company she worked for to pick his brain and two days later I sat down with John Stegner and together the two of them changed my life completely. John is the type of human that radiates goodness and expressed that he thought I would do well in the industry and that he would love to mentor me after I got my license. Long story short, I quit my job the next day right before a knee surgery I had scheduled to clean up an old injury, and I used the time rehabbing my knee to complete Real Estate School and pass the test. That was about 9.5 years ago and was the best decision I ever made. I love being a Realtor more every year and honestly could not imagine myself doing anything else. I had found my Why…but that did not mean it has been easy to say the least.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I believe that anytime we set out in life with a plan that we think is “foolproof”, that life laughs and throws curve balls that you never could have dreamt of in a million years. In my younger years, I was a planner (I am a Virgo) to say the least and this skill combined with incredible mentorship from both John and Charlotte along with the work ethic I had learned from skiing truly was a combo that set me up for success. Anyone who tells you that Realtors don’t work hard has clearly not spent time around high producing, successful agents who genuinely care about their clients because it quickly became apparent that in order to be successful and continually grow my business that it was almost like working 2 full time jobs and then some….and I freaking loved it. I had found my thing, my why, the career that I wanted (and still do) to pour my heart and energy into 100%. Right around the 2,5 year mark of being a Realtor when I had finally built up my own business and was finding success, it was time for me to go back under the knife and have a disc replaced in my cervical spine at c6/c7 from an old ski injury that was absolutely miserable and unfortunately proving that nothing else was going to do the trick other than surgery. I remember waking up from surgery and I could immediately tell that the very specific pain I had endured for so long was gone and I could not be more excited….but what was to come next was something I had not planned for, nor do I think anyone could.
As I recovered from neck surgery, I started to experience really odd G.I infections, fatigue, random joint pain none of which I had really experienced previously and seemed to hit me like a ton of bricks. I was sooooooooo incredibly lucky to be working with such a brilliant doctor whose knowledge base extended far from simply neurosurgery and after seeing what was happening in my body he recommended that we test for Lyme disease – I thought he was crazy as not only did I have 0 knowledge of being bit by a tick ever but I have to this day never even seen a tick! But I listened and I am so thankful that I had found one of the very few Lyme literate doctors in the country who recognized that a young healthy adult should not be experiencing these odd health issues. Not only did I have more than 7 strains of Lyme disease but 2 equally impossible co-infections and this day has changed my life forever…one tick…one bite I never knew about….almost 9 years of unbearable misery and searching for answers.
You see Lyme disease affects everyone differently, whatever your genetically pre-disposed to, whatever your genetic weaknesses are, it attacks/activities. This can range from Autoimmune Diseases (like me), to GI Nightmares, Pyschiatric Challenges, 24/7 Chronic pain and fatigue, Extreme sensitivities to pollutants, mold and chemicals, Electro-Magntic Frequencies etc. The shape of the cell of Lyme is unique (as is its co-infections) as it is a screw that screws itself into your cells and completely raveges your body. There is no one treatment that cures all and often it is decades of trial and error which is not only extremely brutal and hard to navigate, but more expensive than one could imagine and most of which insurance companies do not cover, honestly it is insane.
To make a long story well..long..Lyme disease completely stripped me of life in a matter of months and it has been over 8 years so far living in constant pain, constant fatigue and brain fog, neuropathy so bad my arms feel like they are in a fire and this is just s small glimpse. To me as cheesy as it sounds, Real Estate and it’s ability to create authentic life long relationships and truly be there during one of the most important chapters has been my WHY. It keeps me getting out of bed, keeps me motivated and I am surrounded by the best team and support system a girl could ask for and that has given me the willpower to keep swimming when at times it feels impossible. I am a woman with a plan to regain her health and continue to rise in the world of Real Estate to continue assisting incredible people. Lyme through a huge curveball at me but unfortunately I believe it is pushing me to grow in ways I never would have and hopefully I will be able to be a huge advocate and speaker too those battling chronic illness.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Realtor at Compass Real Estate?
I swear I have no idea where time flys to, but as I have briefly mentioned, I am a Realtor here in the Denver Metro region with a small team at Compass that covers the territory ranging from Colorado Springs to Fort Collins and of course my old stomping grounds in Summit County. I began my career and spent my first 5 years with an absolutely incredible local brokerage called the New Era Group led by my mentor John Stegner, and it could not have been a more pivotal part in forming me into the broker I am today and truly bringing relationship based business to the Real Estate transaction. Around 5 years into my career I was offered the opportunity to become one of the Compass Denver founding agents and although I never imagined parting with the New Era Group, after extensive conversations and learning more about the CEO Robert Reffkin, I was excited by their innovate approach using technology combined with Brokers to provide the client with the best experience, and their entire business approach and values revolves around 8 Principles in which I could not relate to any more. Although a large brokerage, their emphasis on the importance of culture amongst Compass agent and beyond is something that is an absolute must for me and I love the emphasis on culture throughout the company.

After almost a decade in the Real Estate industry, truly my goal is to continue to connect with people authentically and earn the honor to be their no questions asked “Go-To” when it comes to anything and everything Real Estate which lasts far beyond the closing table. My team and I are always striving to provide our clients, and thus our friends, with the best Real Estate experience possible and build a lifelong relationship in the process. We strive to be our clients “go-to” for anything home related ranging from home vendor recommendations to discussions on renovations and ROI. We understand the power of Real Estate to build long term financial wellness and love to assist clients at every level from purchasing your first home to investing in your 50th to selling your 6th, we have you covered!

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
What an excellent question….I am a firm believer that our tolerance or ability to face risk head on is what teaches one and helps one to build grit, and are much more likely to accomplish big things in life. Risk is inherent in our every day lives, in most decisions that we make and grasping who you are and what your goals are are often the “guiding principles” so to speak that help us to help see which risks are truly necessary for our growth, for our ability to evolve in all aspects of life and for us to understand which risks could help us propel to the next level with consistent action and which are simplest careless. I truly believe that if we look back on our lives, it is often when we were taking the greatest risks, experiencing being uncomfortable and maybe even afraid are when the greatest periods of growth in our lives occurred and we accomplished something incredible be it in personal growth or any of your endeavors. Explaining to a dear friend a few weeks ago I had expressed how nervous and uncomfortable I was feeling about a public speaking opportunity coming up. She really helped me to pivot this mentality by pointing out that anxiety and fear have a sneaky way of tricking us that we can’t do something and our ability to pivot this thinking into excitement and lean into the uncomfortable maybe terrifying task at hand is truly brave, something to be proud of and where the best things happen.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.AthenaBrownsonRealtor.com
• Instagram: @athenabrownsonrealtor
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AthenaBrownsonRealtor
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/athenabrownsonrealtor/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@athenabrownson2044

Image Credits
All photos taken by Kassia Phoy Photography @kassiaphoy at Realm Denver @realmdenver except last 2 which are I phone photos from Parker Adventist Hospital during one of my monthly plasma transfusions.