Meet Luv Hankins: Community Leader & Pioneer of CLTRE. vgn jnt

We had the good fortune of connecting with Luv Hankins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Luv, how do you think about risk?
Risk taking is vital to success, I feel. Every decision to elevate involves some sort of investment, whether it’s time, money, emotions, personal sacrifice, or the like. Risks have been a huge asset to my success. I’ve learned lessons beyond any school or book could ever give me. I’ve assessed and re-assessed in order to take new risks and gain more reward. Without risks, I may have not been able to accomplish the same level of insight and discernment about new opportunities that come my way. Take risks!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am doing exactly what I set out to do since I was a teenager. I’m reminded by so many people from my past about conversations I’ve had about wanting a cafe that allowed me to give people a platform to express themselves. A neo-soul, artsy fartsy space where we can do music, live art and just hold space for misfits and people who would like a place where they can just BE. No politics, no drama, no competition, just pure LOVE & SUPPORT.

With that said, the thing I’m most proud about is the fact that I’m doing what I said I’d do and more. I have solid supporters who see the vision and help to build upon it. Professionally, I’m where I am today because I focused a lot on personal development to include navigating childhood trauma and tribulations along with leadership development that helps me to improve upon workplace harmony and team work. I also went to college for interpersonal communication, which actually helped me build patience with others during the communication process so that my natural defense mechanisms can be at ease and I”m in true understanding of all communication styles.

Was it easy? nah. Was it hard? nah. It’s just something to do. The challenges were overcome by just moving through them and understanding what was on the other side was success. Failure is in non-action.

Lessons I’ve learned mostly include aligning myself with the right people who I can trust, but also becoming my true authentic self so that I attract those people. I’m all about diffusing the crowd so that everyone can have space to find their people. Knowing myself enough to know what I’m good at and where I can delegate my lack luster qualities to someone who is better suited, is also another lesson I’ve learned. I don’t have to do everything myself, thank goodness!

What the world needs to know about me is that I am a nomadic piece of work who was a kid mom (that’s right, not teen mom, a kid mom) and decided to change her narrative to fit that of a woman who triumphs through any and everything. I’ve overcome many obstacles simply by not allowing them to overrun my every day mental and using them as a crutch to be a shitty person or make shitty decisions. Have I made those types of decisions? Absolutely, but I’m not defined by them.

“Nothing is hard to do, it’s just something to do.” ~ Luv

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oooo ok, this should be fun. I loooooove to eat and experience different restaurants in the area so first we’d eat breakfast at this vegan coffee joint called CLTRE, who has killer waffles and brunch food. Then, we’d venture over to the oceanfront and spend the early afternoon on a nice summer day at the beach, reading, journaling, listening to reggae and just catching up. Then we’d walk the boardwalk, grab some lunch from one of the many nice restaurants that are situated right on the boardwalk. You can’t really go wrong with any of those spots. Then, we’d grab some dessert and walk back to the car where we’d head back to the house, take a quick relaxation break and then get dressed to hit the town for some more fun. Here’s a list of places we’d go outside of my favorite kind of beach day: Nature walk at First Landing, Art experience at Moka or Chyrsler Museum, drive up to Richmond for the capital experience, drive to DC for the day and eat Ethiopian food, Drive to Ocean City MD to the casino and win some coins and visit their nice beach, eat lots of exotic food, visit farmers market and pig out on samples and exclusive items made by local makers and more!! We’d also do a game night where we bond and do some bonding outside of the city and I’d cook dinner and do tarot cards and some fun spiritual stuff.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

Wow, this is tough. I would like to dedicate my shout out to a core group of people who have continued to pour into my journey. Beverly Grandison, Charlie Hasan, My boo thang Jerry Martin, my motivation my sun Elon, My bests Erica Carter & Liz Sanderson, Chef Skip, Shavonne Alexander, and many many more people who knows who they are! I truly appreciate my CLTRE team who continue to motivate me to be a better pioneer and leader. Shout out to my community who give me never ending support and confirmation that I’m exactly who I need to be for the people I love. I’m forever grateful for ya’ll 🙂

Website: cltrevgn.com

Instagram: @cltrevgn

Linkedin: Luvenia Hankins

Facebook: @cltrevgn

Yelp: CLTRE. vgn jnt

Youtube: CLTRE. vgn jnt

Other: We do something called Local Time where we feature local musicians and performers, giving them exposure and YouTube videos where they can showcase their talent to a broader audience.

Image Credits
Jerry Martin