Meet Baya From The Real World: Brooklyn! April 17, 2009

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You may have seen her on the ever addictive show, The Real World: Brooklyn, or maybe you've seen her as the resident DJ at Angels & Kings, the New York hotspot where you can find the Gym Class Heroes, Fall Out Boy, and Cobra Starship partying hard. Either way, we love Baya Voce, and we love her even more that she's willing to stick up for animals any chance she gets. Check out her interview below!

What was it like having your life filmed for reality television?
Baya: It was wild! As time went on I thought I would get used to the cameras being around, but it had the reverse effect on me. The longer we filmed, the more I was like "what the hell did I get myself into!?" I can't explain how cool it is thinking back on it and being like, holy crap, did I really just do that? Did I really just have someone filming my every move for 4 months? Seeing the final edit is pretty crazy as well. You get to see what character the producers wanted to world to see you as.

We also hear that you are an animal rights activist—what are some issues regarding cruelty to animals that really stand out for you?
Baya: All animal cruelty really hits home to me, so I would like to say I am an activist in all areas of the subject, but for the readers sanity I will only cover a few. Something hugely important to me and something that in my eyes is a huge fraud is USDA certified products. When I think about the way the government has fooled us into thinking that USDA certified free range and organic animals are treated well it makes me sick! Mass distribution of products can't be easy, but I know how the "free range" chickens are treated and their living conditions, and they aren't good. This is why I choose to be vegetarian. If I don't trust that the meat I eat has been given a happy life, why would I put that animals' stress into my body? Cruelty for the purpose of entertainment is awful as well. I would really love to do work with elephants in the future, I want to learn more about their treatment in different countries.

We recently blogged about your Real World roommate, Devyn, adopting an adorable pup from a shelter. Do you recommend adopting from shelters?
Baya: I absolutely recommend buying from shelters. Every animal I have ever had has been from a shelter, and I have had great experiences. I wish more people were open to getting animals from shelters, I think it is really important.

Our summer campaign will focus on product testing on animals. How does it make you feel to know that some companies still use painful and unnecessary product testing on animals while other companies are using alternative non-animal methods?
Baya: I can't believe it isn't illegal, to be honest. We obviously know there are different ways to test products, why would we still be harming animals when there are alternate routes?

If one of your friends was interested in getting involved with animal rights, what would your advice to them be?
Baya: Advice I give myself all the time is not to press my beliefs on other people, but to lead by example. I hate when people think because I am vegetarian I will come down on them for eating meat. For me, it is about the proper education about the subject. Unfortunately, I don't think people generally understand what really happens to the food they are eating before it was put on their plate. It's all about the proper education tools, I get a far better and more receptive reaction when I tell them why I live the way I do, rather than look down on them for being different. As frustrating as it is to realize how naive people can be, one thing I learned from living in the Real World Brooklyn house, is that you never know where someone comes from and their history. It may not be their fault for not knowing.

What's next for you?
Baya: As far as my professional life goes, I will be DJ'ing, dancing, and performing for as long as I can see into the future! When I get big, and I mean reeeeeal big, I hope to be all over billboards advocating for all sorts of issues. Most recently I have become an ambassador for a non-profit Breast Cancer organization called Keep A Breast, so I am really excited to start working with them. You can check me out and keep updated with what's going on with me on djbayavoce.com!

See? I told you she was rad.

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