Brian Patrick Flynn spent years working in TV before HGTV ever knew his name. There was a stretch when he was making $6 an hour, had his car repossessed and eventually moved back into his parents’ guest bedroom in Fort Lauderdale because he couldn’t afford rent. Meanwhile, old high school classmates were finishing grad school and years into their careers. It was a pretty humbling place to be, but it also ended up putting Brian on the path to Surprised by Design and, eventually, a 16-year run designing for HGTV, including HGTV Dream Home and Urban Oasis.

On this episode of Sons & Daughters, Shannon Spake sits down with someone she actually went to high school with. They were in the same grade, grew up in the same rough corner of South Florida and went to a school where riots in the hallways and asbestos removal crews were just part of the experience. Somehow, they both found their way into careers neither of them probably could have pictured back then. Brian became one of HGTV’s most recognizable design names and founded Flynn Side Out Productions, while Shannon built her career in sports and broadcasting.

Brian also talks about a part of his story he hasn’t really opened up about publicly before. He spent years hiding who he was and says he didn’t fully feel like himself until he was 27, the same year he met his now-husband, Hollis.

It’s a conversation about where they came from, how they got out and all the things that happened along the way that neither of them could have seen coming.

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