‘Below Deck Down Under’ Brittini Says as a Female Deckhand, ‘My Ladder Is the Same Length but the Steps Are Wider Apart’ [Exclusive]
Brittini Burton from Below Deck Down Under joins the ranks of other strong female Below Deck deckhands like Rhylee Gerber and Malia White.
And like Gerber and White, Burton is the only woman on deck. She told Showbiz Cheat Sheet she had no problem being the only female on deck, but still felt that she needed to work harder and be tougher than the guys.
“I definitely didn’t feel like I’m the only one of all these guys, it feels really natural, she explained. “I have a very laid-back natural, aesthetic to myself when it comes to that. And working on deck for three years, in general, you are always the only female on deck. So it’s just something that you kind of get used to.”
Brittini recalled why she became emotional on ‘Below Deck’ when she didn’t get tipped
No stranger to adventure, Burton backpacked throughout the world alone and embraces being independent.
When it came to joining the boat, “That was easy to coexist with just men,” she said. And while she maintained a can-do, strong exterior, she broke down when charter guests didn’t give her a tip but gave one to nearly every other crew member.
“You saw that I basically got to this emotional point where I broke down because I’m like, yes, I didn’t get a tip,” she recalled. “But I have this belief that I have to prove [myself]. Like my ladder is the same length, but the steps are wider apart, which is what it feels like when I’m on deck. So not having the physical validation of their tip like everyone else got it made me feel like I’m not good enough. And so it just exposed this trigger in me. And so, yeah, I definitely put pressure on myself on top of that, being a female for sure.”
Brittini allowed herself to be vulnerable in front of Captain Jason
Captain Jason Chambers noticed Burton was struggling when she didn’t receive a tip. He gave her a quick “buck up” speech and a hug.
She felt comfortable letting go in front of Chambers. “Captain Jason, literally from the beginning, even in just the short time that we spoke, I’m very about energy and about my intuition in the universe,” she said. “He has that within him, too. And so I just naturally feel like I can speak to him at the level that I naturally want to be seen at. So for me, that’s at a deeper level.”
And added, “That’s why out of all the men on the boat, I felt like I could emotionally almost break down in front of him and not be ridiculed,” she added. “Obviously, he was able to hold space for me so beautifully and hug it out. I mean, that’s all you need is that physical like, ‘You’re OK. It’s OK, we’re going to get through it.’ And I didn’t even know I needed that at the time. But when I got that, it was all I needed. And I went upstairs to just do my thing.”
Brittini got along well with bosun Jamie on ‘Below Deck Down Under’
Burton also thought bosun Jamie Sayed was a strong leader and learned a lot from him this season.
“I felt like there was a mentor aspect because even though I worked on three boats prior, the first one I was a stew,” she explained.
“So I was greener compared to the other boys on deck as a deckhand,” she added. “And I was very upfront like, I want you to mentor me because I want to get better. And I think he saw that I was serious because when he taught me things, I would ask him questions and it would stick.”
Sayed told Showbiz Cheat Sheet he enjoyed teaching Burton. “With Brittini, she’s extremely green,” he said. “She hadn’t had much experience on a lot of boats. But it was good to have someone that was sort of green and then learn. So it wasn’t bad to have that one person to learn. You’ll see me guiding her and taking her under my wing and training her on a bunch of things.”
“She’s great and I like training people to do things correctly so they’re not going to get injured,” he added.
Episodes of Below Deck Down Under are currently streaming on Peacock.
