Brian Tellis: ‘If You Do Something You Love, You End Up Loving What You Do'

The music multi-hyphenate opens up about his early years in aviation, dipping his toes into the world of performing arts, creative entrepreneurship and more

- DAVID BRITTO

IF YOU GREW UP in Mumbai, Bandra to be precise, chances are that the name Brian Tellis will ring a bell and perhaps even bring a smile to your face. You’ve either seen him on the stage as a singer, theater artist or host, or probably heard his unmistakable baritone voice on the radio. Many may know him as an inspiring entrepreneur in the live entertainment industry. Although it’s hard to count all his talents in one go, when we catch up over the phone, Tellis is quick to share with a new trivia about his glorious innings. He says, “I started my career actually working in a pharmaceutical, believe it or not!”

In his early twenties, Tellis was eager to travel the world and the only way for him to do that at the time was to work with an airline or be a general sales agent (GSA). “I spent some time looking around and then there was an opening in a company called Pan Tours, which was the sales agent for Pan American so I started off there.” Tellis went on to have stints in Air Canada and Air France in their sales and accounting departments and spent the better part of a decade in the airline industry which laid the foundation for what was to come from him.

The performing arts bug

Before we go forward in the life of Tellis, we first need to go back and get a sense of how and why he’s been so versatile over the years. The Bandra boy immediately points out that it all stems from the fact that he’s always had the performing arts needle stuck in his vein. “I can’t get it out,” he says. From taking part in the Zonals (talent competition) to being cast in musicals and theater productions, the arts played a large role in shaping Tellis’ life, right from his early teens.