We all remember the BET reality show Harlem Heights that was suppose to highlight young black go-getters on the come up in NYC. Although the show tended to focus on their personal drama more so than their professional achievements, there were 2 cast members that weren't in the middle of drama and have been doing big things since the show.

Briana Marie, at the time of the show was working for Victoria's Secret Pink line and had been laying the foundation for her own bag line. Last week she made her first batch of bags available on her site www.bmariestyle.com!

Peep video of her talking about what she's been doing since the show and her passion for fashion.



As stated in the video...she has a special discount on her site for Eb the Celeb's readers. When checking out put it the code RAYMOND and you get 20% off. Make sure you check her out!

Landon Dais was setting the groundwork for running for City Council during the shows run and did just that. Although he didn't win, he acknowledges learning a lot and plans on running again. Since the campaign he's temporarily moved to Miami and I got him on the phone to talk about what he's doing now and what he plans to do in the future.

Eb - It's been a year since Harlem Heights premiered on BET. What was your initial reason for wanting to be apart of the show?

LD - I met the producers a while back. People don't realize that even though the show came out last year we shot the pilot 2 years prior. The original vision for the show (even though things changed) was the inner workings of the black professional life. I thought it was genuine and a good idea and felt there wasn't any type of show that showed the real life of young black professionals.

Eb - So like you said the focus of the show ended up changing and showcasing a lot of personal issues and relationship drama, but we never saw anything personal with you or any chicks around you on the show. Whazup with that?

LD - Actually when I was on the show I had a girlfriend at the time and she didn't want to be featured on it. Also with my political aspirations, I didn't want people to be in my personal life like that.

Eb - After the show you ran for City Council, unfortunately you lost, but what did you learn from the experience?

LD - Even though I lost I did extremely well. I still obtained over 2800 votes going up against a political legend. I learned a lot about how to run a campaign and if I could do it all over again, go a year back... I'm not sure if I would have won but I would have made it a lot closer because I understand how campaigns work now and how to win races. Also the nuances of Harlem politics. I got a better understanding of Harlem than I never had. I had to force myself to go to different environments, going to the projects and understanding the social ails that are really plaguing us. Education, lack of jobs, drugs... people whose chances of success is so limited because of their surrounding environments. That gave me a genuine reason to try to do better by them and when I do win, because I do believe I will win when I run again in 2013, they'll have someone who will genuinely try to make their lives better.

Eb - It's good to hear that you will be running again. What have you been doing since your campaign?

LD - I'm working with the democratic party on a national congregation race down in Miami that is very similar to the 15th district in Harlem and there is also a race in New Orleans that we are consulting on. It was hard to leave NY but it gave me a unique opportunity to be the #2 on a campaign for a congressional race and that's something that most 20something year olds don't have an opportunity to do. But I'll be back in NY in a year and will return to my work again back in the community.

Eb - You have done a lot being young so what advice would you give to someone coming up that wants to get in politics?

LD - You just have to jump right into the fire and get on a campaign. If not a campaign then a lobbying issue like green energy or better education. You just have to jump in. Just sitting around saying you're a Democrat and that you vote isn't enough. Just like with our President, we all got excited about Obama but now we aren't doing our part for him. I'm ashamed of my Senators right now and a lot of congress because they aren't standing up for the people that voted them in. They are so worried about being re-elected instead of doing what's right. That's why we need change.

Eb - There are rumors floating around that there is going to be a 2nd season of Harlem Heights? Is there any truth to that?

LD - I don't know. I haven't heard anything about it and haven't been contacted. If they are it might be with a new cast but like I said I'm not sure. But I do want to say everybody from the show, we still hang out, we still talk, and every one is doing well and I miss them being down here in Miami. The one thing that I'm proud of is that I refused to sacrifice my self respect, who I am, and my family name for ratings. Yeah we could have been a Jersey Shore and acted an ignorant fool for 15 minutes of fame or I could keep my integrity and have people email me all the time and say "Yo Landon you're an inspiration to me and I love everything you're doing in the community and I want to be like you" and so on and so on. That's why I did what I did and I have no shame about it. The last year has been a whirlwind for me but I appreciate everything.