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Brandon Styles

@brandon.w.styles

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People connector🇵🇭🇮🇪 lifelong volleyball nerd 🏐 Airbnb Superhost🏠SLO 🏡OAK 🔩DIY🔨🧰

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“All of us who are minorities — the Black community, the Asian community, the disabled, the seniors, and yes, the gay community — we are not going to win our rights by staying quietly in the closet.”
— Harvey Milk 🕊️

This quote has been echoing in my head since performing in @opera_parallele’s Harvey Milk Reimagined. It’s a line from the recording he created in the event of his assassination, and it resonates today more than ever. Harvey would have turned 95 recently if not brutally murdered by a bigot hiding behind religious righteousness, as many do today in justifying their violent indignities.

Harvey Milk believed in universal dignity and justice. He saw the LGBTQ+ movement not as an isolated fight, but as part of a broader struggle — against racism, ableism, ageism, poverty, and all systems of exclusion. His voice was for all of us who’ve been told to shrink ourselves, stay silent, or hide.

Playing a Stonewall Riot Queen / Sailor in this performance was an artistic experience (HUGE thanks to you, amazingly talented cast mates, for nurturing this amateur along), and a personal act of solidarity — a way to keep Harvey’s inclusive vision alive through music and voice. Also, this was my tribute to my uncle Gary (framed picture shown in my dressing room), who passed during the 80s when gay/civil rights activism was at its peak. As a gay man, recording artist, and pianist, I know he would have been proud to see his nephew’s show catch national news coverage.

https://www.kqed.org/arts/13976935/review-harvey-milk-opera-reimagined-opera-parallele

https://www.classicalite.com/articles/1725134/20250605/harvey-milks-legacy-returns-stag-even-trump-tries-sink-his-name.htm by @brandon.w.styles

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a year ago

Happy Vollidays.. lucky to be surrounded by these humans taken in San Francisco, California by @brandon.w.styles

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4 years ago

Congrats on another great season team “You Up?” 🥈🥈🥈thank you @ballsoffurry @jjbark and @dcfraguglia for bringing this community together once again. Thank you @ndraper09 for being our fearless leader, and we missed you @deeskie and Rachel! taken in SF Elite Volleyball Club by @brandon.w.styles

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4 years ago

Mentally I’m still back here with these wonderful and talented people.. Thankful for this sport and community, and proud of landing in the top four out of 25 teams at #nagva #sactownthrowdown - congrats to @ruhhmmel on your uprate and big thanks to @teddy_sf for captaining this ship #volleyball #gayvolleyball @ballsoffurry taken in Sacramento Sportsplex by @brandon.w.styles

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3 years ago

Wishing everyone a very happy pride doing things they love.. in our case #wigs #barbie parties #volleyball winning 🏅 #dancing and having each other’s backs. Hoping we all take care of each other, w/o sexual orientation considered. taken in San Francisco, California by @brandon.w.styles

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3 years ago

Thankful for family and chosen family this year #thanksgiving #family taken in Porterville, California by @brandon.w.styles

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4 years ago

“Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.”

Happy #nationalpetday 🐕 🐕 💕

Our lives would be lacking if it wasn’t for Luka & Fredo, our little #iggys #italiangreyhoundsofinstagram by @brandon.w.styles

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6 months ago

🎉 Happy 11th birthday to our sweet Little Man, Luka 🎂💛
Blind? Yep. Skin cancer? Yep. Still the happiest hardware store supervisor you’ll ever meet? Absolutely. Always ready for snuggles, snacks, and stealing hearts—one cart ride at a time. 🐾🛒 #italiangreyhoundsofinstagram #iggys taken in Oakland, California by @brandon.w.styles

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a year ago

She’s a succulent queen now 💅🌵

Took us five years, countless paint swatches, a few landscaping tantrums, and a borderline spiritual bond with a 70+ year old cactus… but the Cactus House has officially had her main character moment.

We didn’t just give her curb appeal — we gave her cactus couture.
✨ New siding
✨ Fresh paint
✨ Drama lighting
✨ Drought-tolerant diva energy

Moral of the story? Renovating your home is NOT an HGTV montage. It’s a marathon with mood boards, dirt under your nails, and occasional plant-induced identity crises. And we wouldn’t change a thing.

📹 footage @capturestudio.us

#CactusHouse #GlowUpGoals #ExteriorFlex #PlantParenthood #SucculentEnergy #DesertDrama #OaklandDesign #WilliamAdamsDesign #MarathonNotAMakeover taken in Oakland, California by @brandon.w.styles

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a year ago

Some highlights from our brief visit to the beautiful beach town of Sitges, Spain 🇪🇸

Also my first trip with the new #insta360 camera 📸 taken in Sitges, Barcelona, Spain by @brandon.w.styles

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4 months ago

The living room at the Cactus 🌵 House ✨
After five years of transforming the exterior, it was time to bring that same sense of story and soul inside.

This room—our living room—isn’t just where we unwind. It’s where we reconnect, entertain friends, and soak up the light that floods through those windows. It’s also where @brandon.w.styles and I chose to add something unexpected: wallpaper as art.

The soft ombré blends of terra-cotta and blush from @rebelwalls echo the warmth of the dining room and pick up on the earthy tones we fell in love with during our travels. This wall became more than just a backdrop—it became a feeling. A reflection of the color story that runs through our home and our life together.

We didn’t rush it. Like everything at the Cactus House, we waited until we knew exactly what we wanted it to feel like.

Color, when used intentionally, doesn’t just decorate a room—it transforms it. It sets the tone for how you live and feel in the space.

You can read more about how I approach color in design over on the blog:
👉 [link in bio or use www.williamadamsdesign.com/post/how-colors-transform-your-luxury-home]

📸 @capturestudio.us taken in Oakland, California by @brandon.w.styles

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a year ago

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

🏡🌵 Five years in the making — welcome to the Cactus House.

When we bought this home, we knew we had something special — not just in the bones of the house, but in the 70+ year old cactus that stood tall and proud in the front yard. That cactus became the heart of our vision, and everything else we did was about embracing and elevating its presence.

Over the years, we’ve taken our time:
▪️ Replacing every piece of siding
▪️ Painting the entire exterior
▪️ Reimagining the landscape
▪️ Adding new plantings and lighting

Each decision was part of a much bigger picture. It wasn’t about doing it all at once — it was about doing it right.

This house has reminded us over and over again: creating a home is a marathon, not a sprint. Whether it’s sourcing the right shade of paint, waiting for the right season to plant, or simply living in a space long enough to understand what it needs — this kind of transformation takes time, patience, and love.

What started as a project slowly became our home — and now, a little landmark on our block. 🌵✨

After photos 📸 @capturestudio.us
Swipe ➡️to see the transformation over the years taken in Oakland, California by @brandon.w.styles

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a year ago