I was on Rich House Poor House – I was terrified the poor family would crash my Porsche, it’s one of my 3 supercars
WHEN pink-haired Lisa Marie Brown leaves home she’s got a tough decision to make – which one of her three bright pink cars to drive, the Porsche, Ferrari or McLaren.
It’s a decision that many of us would love to have and one that she believes anyone can attain with hard work, luck and self-belief.
For while Lisa, who’s 42, now wants for nothing – she’s lost count of her designer handbags.
But Lisa came from humble beginnings.
After her parents got divorced when she was 10 her mum struggled to make ends meet and Lisa got her first job at 14 to help make sure the family could eat.
So when she appeared on Channel 5’s Rich House Poor House – the programme which follows a millionaire and a family in poverty as they swap homes to see how the other half lives – it took Lisa back to her roots.
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous, Lisa, who loves all things pink and is known as Supercar Barbie, says, “My mum had very little when my dad left and suffered from depression.
“We lived in a run-down house, and I got a Saturday job in a hairdresser when I was 14 sweeping up hair and making coffees to help make ends meet, and I’ve worked ever since.
“It was a tough childhood in many ways, I was also bullied at school.
“But it taught me to be resilient and it was happy too, our family was everything and we were always in and out of each other’s houses.”
For the programme, Lisa, who’s currently single, took her best friend and fellow Barbie fanatic, Alisa Thorne who she calls her Barbie twin, to live in a three-bedroom house in Bridgwater, Somerset, where Holly and Innocent usually live with their three children.
Meeting the ‘poor’ family
Lisa says, “Holly’s a carer and Innocent works in mental health, they’ve had some terrible times and were homeless in the past. They’re left with £70 a week to buy food and other essentials.
“When I’m at home I can easily get through £1,200 a week, though a lot of that goes on my cars. New tyres alone cost a fortune.
“I could cope with the small budget and batch cooking, the biggest shock to my system was not having a car to drive and I was terrified they’d crash my Porsche.
“These are the sort of people who need more help from the government, hard working families.
“To help, I agreed to give them a cash injection when Holly opens her dream business – a café.
“I believe in helping people as much as possible, I’ve been lucky with mentors, even Richard Branson has guided me, I went to his house for afternoon tea after meeting him at a networking event.”
Meanwhile the family swapped to Lisa’s stunning three-bedroom penthouse flat in Cardiff Bay which she shares with her chihuahua Chloe who she calls her ‘baby’.
There her wardrobe is filled with designer clothes from Moschino and Gucci, designer handbags and Alexander McQueen trainers.
When Lisa’s not in Cardiff, she’s either driving one of her supercars to London – with the Barbie song blaring – to stay in Mayfair and hang out in celebrity haunts such as the Dorchester or escaping the harsh winter weather in Dubai.
Her wealth is thanks to hard work… and pink
She made her fortune through her own businesses, firstly Pinkspiration, a construction business training and upskilling young people and transforming empty spaces around the Cardiff area.
More recently she started up P1nk – a business that runs supercar events. She also renovates and sells on properties, so far she’s transformed five.
She says, “I’d just turned 30 and it felt like it was now or never so I took the plunge, handed in my notice at a charity I worked with and set up Pinkspiration, after my favourite colour.
“It was scary but clearly the right thing to do. I’ve chosen two very male dominated worlds to work in.
“But they’ve always been my passions, my father worked in construction and he also loved cars so I grew up loving them. And I want other women and girls to realise there are no jobs that you can’t do – at Pinkspiration I helped over 12,000 young people get into the industry.
“Within five years of starting my business I bought my first Maserati – pink of course, costing £60,000, and I haven’t looked back.”
I’ve got one ambition left – to appear in Fast and Furious and I won’t give up on that!
Lisa Marie Brown
But Lisa’s high profile in the car world has come at a price. She’s trolled mercilessly.
She says, “I’ve ruffled feathers just because I’m a woman.
“Men gang up on me and I regularly get death threats and people wanting to vandalise my cars.
Inspirations: Barbie and Arnold Schwarznegger
“I even had a gang of guys come up to me while I was in my car, all effing and blinding. They can’t cope with a powerful woman, clad in pink – but they’ll have to learn to.
“I’ll never let it put me off. Women and girls should know they can do anything. I want to inspire them and help them – Barbie is one of my inspirations but Arnold Schwarzenegger is my other one.
“I tell women that anyone can make it if they’re prepared to put the work in.
“I’m often still working at 1am, my brain is always thinking about what I can do next. My top tips to have my life are keep pushing, be resilient and don’t fear failure – never give up.
“I’ve got one ambition left – to appear in Fast and Furious and I won’t give up on that!”