April Masini was introduced to the entertainment industry by her former husband, Al Masini, and began her career as a model and actress. She refined her skills at The Actors Studio and Hofstra University before moving into the production side of the industry as the president of Al Masini Productions, a role she held from 1992 to 2002. During this time, she had the opportunity to serve as the co-chair and event coordinator of the 1998 Miss Universe Pageant. That same year, she created the affiliated contest “Share Aloha with the World,” which encouraged children to express their creativity through poetry and art. Some of these contest entries still decorate the walls of Hawaii airports. In addition, 1998 was the year that saw her presented with both the Maile Award and the Volunteer of the Year Award by the city and county of Honolulu for various civic endeavors.
In 2001, Ms. Masini became the president and chief executive officer for Masini Enterprises, Inc., where she remains to this day. The following year, the company was responsible for financing the feature film “Blue Crush” and became the first to do cross-promotion with Universal Studios. Under the auspices of Masini Enterprises, she went on to launch “Ask April,” in 2006, which kicked off what has become a longstanding career in dating and relationship advice. Since she started as a relationship columnist, she has answered more than 27,500 questions on her quarter-of-a-million-member advice forum, and her advice has appeared in a wide range of other publications, including O, Glamour, Ebony, Cosmopolitan and many more.
Furthermore, Ms. Masini has shared her expertise as a featured guest on The Wall Street Journal’s podcast “Do Men Still Have to Pay on the First Date?” and “The O’Reilly Factor” and was the host of “Everything You Need to Know About Sex.” In 2003, she published her first book, “Date Out of Your League,” which was followed in 2005 by “Think & Date Like a Man.” In addition to general relationship advice, Ms. Masini has given advice on financial issues in dating and marriage as well as on workplace relationships and has given interviews on said topics to MainStreet, GoBankingRates and TheStreet. Ms. Masini also spent 2016 to 2017 as a corporate relationship expert with TD Bank.
Ms. Masini founded AiFi, the American Initiative for Film Industry Research Institute & Development Council, LLC, in 2019 as part of an effort to revitalize Florida’s film industry. Earlier in her career, she had worked to relocate the series “Baywatch” from filming in California to filming in Hawaii. This accomplishment, among others, resulted in her being recognized for reviving Hawaii’s television and film industry by former Gov. Cayetano with the establishment of Masini Day on June 4th. To remain up to date in her field, Ms. Masini maintains affiliation with professional organizations such as the American Film Institute, the Producers Guild of America, and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
While she didn’t expect to become a relationship advice and etiquette expert, Ms. Masini has always been passionate about trying new things, taking on challenges and making a positive impact on the world around her. She attributes much of her success to figuring out what she lacked and striving toward it. For her, that was stability, as her father walked out on her mother when she was very young. Her mother would go on to encourage Ms. Masini to be independent and not rely on others for her happiness and success, citing that “When you have nothing to lose, you have nothing to lose. Just go for it,” which is exactly what Ms. Masini did.
