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Reagan Des Vignes is a Trinbagonian journalist and media personality who was producer and host of Dreevay on Gayelle The Channel, his “dream company”. He credits Errol Fabien and Christopher Laird for giving him a platform on the network, and allowing him the flexibility to bring his ideas to life. Since leaving Trinidad, he’s been working for international news outlets in Latin America and Europe. Today he’s executive producer and host of Just 2 Degrees, a series that highlights the current climate crisis and related issues. Reagan tell us that the circumstances we’re born into, don’t dictate our journey:

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As a child, my family moved quite a bit as my mother, a single parent, searched for a home she could call her own. As a result, there wasn’t much stability during my younger years. It may have been the reason I was an introverted person and very sheltered. My family did everything for me.

“I wasn’t a go-getter”

I went to a mix of government and private primary schools. After doing the common entrance exam, I passed for Queen’s Royal College but was transferred to Fatima College because my mother wanted me to attend a  Roman Catholic school. I left Fatima College in the mid 90s with an awkward list of subjects because my mother recommended that I mix languages, science and business subjects. It left me  confused about my future and what that would look like as I didn’t specialise in any one field, as was the norm. Finding a job was therefore very hard. My first real job was at the quantity surveying firm where my sister worked. She was friends with the owners. Both my first and second jobs, I got through my sister’s contacts. I wasn’t a go-getter and I had no clue how to find work myself.  

While employed as a Customer Service Representative (CSR) at RBTT Bank in Westmoorings in 2005, I did a transaction for Errol Fabien. I don’t remember how most of the conversation went, but he told me to keep in touch as he was about to/or had already launched Gayelle the Channel. After getting accepted to work there, I applied for vacation from the bank and worked at Gayelle as a production assistant during that time. I  fell in love with how everything worked and never returned to RBTT. 

“They gave me the opportunity…”

Gayelle was a dream company for me. Errol and Christopher(Laird) were almost like absentee parents. They (figuratively) dropped money and resources in my lap, gave me a show called Dreevay and told me to do what I wanted. Everything I am today is because they gave me the opportunity and space to experiment, make mistakes, fix those mistakes myself and just have fun while doing it all. The truth is – if Gayelle said to me that they have funding and want me to come back, I would return there in a heartbeat.

To this day, producing Dreevay has been the most rewarding experience of my life. Meeting so many Trinbagonians and other Caribbean nationals who had the most interesting stories to tell, tasting a diverse variety of cuisine, and finding places across the island never highlighted in the media, were amazing memories. There’s not enough space here to describe how much I learned on-the-go, and how much the process contributed to my adult development and perception of the world. Through my role as host and producer of Dreevay, I had to force myself to step outside of my comfort zone. It was either stay introverted and unsuccessful, or find a gray area between introvert and extrovert, just enough to accomplish what I need to.

I might have become an adult at 18 years old, but I grew up in the 20s and 30s because of the station.

“I was infuriated…”

Despite the very  positive experiences and memories, I had developed an inflated sense of self-importance during my time at Gayelle. Based on co-workers’ accounts, I became “arrogant, disrespectful and intolerant of opposing views” on how to run the programme. They may have been right. I  do remember the weekly pressure to be interesting and provide dynamic and memorable content. At times, I felt frustrated when it seemed I was the only person doing the work. That’s not an excuse but rather just two views on my attitude at the time. At one point, a manager eventually  put her foot down over my attitude and cancelled Dreevay. I was infuriated and quietly strategised my exit from the channel, by formally pursuing journalism. During the second year of my degree programme at COSTAATT, I was offered the position of anchor at an international media outlet based in Ecuador. I eventually left Trinidad in 2018.

Another learning curve

Since then, I’ve learned a lot working with an international media house, doing what I love. Living and working abroad also allowed me to do more travel than I would have been able to do before. I’ve visited many countries and climbed the Alps – I’ve done so in France, Italy and Austria thus far. There are some more countries that I’d like to visit where the Alps stretches.

Over the past  few years, I’ve also had a number of milestones, of which some I am pretty proud. Becoming financially independent – zero debt, traveling to continents outside North & South America, working at a place where there’s a national from nearly every country or territory on the planet, and positioning myself for the job of my dreams.

My financial independence is important because it allows me to create many happy moments, with my dogs, friends, sometimes with family. I can’t say whether I’d be happy without that independence.

I’m currently the executive producer and host of a climate crisis series, Just 2 Degrees. It’s an important topic these days and will be for decades to come – how what we do impacts the natural world, and the consequences if that action isn’t curbed. This programme is also another learning curve for me. I used to think that I wanted to end up at CNN, which is a journalist’s dream. But over time, I’ve realised that the company’s work environment may not be aligned with my personal values so I’m still formulating new plans. In the short term however, I hope to finish my degree in journalism once I am able to successfully navigate the bureaucracy at COSTAATT and the school’s website.

In the interim, I remain inspired by the series I produce, my friends and my family. It may sound cheesy, but I’m constantly in awe of people who do things, though small, to make other people’s lives easier. 

Life

As I look back to my teenage years, I’m glad I  never succumbed to the peer pressure to be “normal” and fit in. My fighting spirit is why I am who I am today.

To the teenager who may be confused about his career path, you will soon realise that the word “confusion” is life described in one word. Life will probably never be easy, but taking longer than your peers to figure it out, is not necessarily a bad thing.

I hope that my life and journey can be a reminder to others that the circumstances you are born in, don’t dictate the path you must take.

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You can check out “Just 2 Degrees” on YouTube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xkpew4e3jHs