The True Beauty Podcast

Andre Springer: Founder of the World's First Drag Queen Hot Sauce, Shaquanda's Hot Pepper SauceI’m actually so excited to come back from our hiatus to this episode of The True Beauty Brooklyn Podcast. As Alix and I listened to this interview in preparing to record, we realized that there are things that our incredible guest, Andre Springer recalls that are so striking, and a little haunting considering the timing of the COVID-19 crisis. Andre is the artist behind what we consider the personification of your favorite Auntie, Shaquanda, and the co-founder of the consumer goods company, Shaquanda’s Hot Pepper Sauce. You guys will see what we mean, in that Andre first really started working on his Drag character, Shaquanda during the first financial crisis of our millennial lives, back in 2008. As we listened to this episode, we remembered what it was like during the first times of uncertainty in our adult lives, and how it forced creativity in our generation. The loving, endearing, funny, and beautiful drag character Shaquanda was first created by Andre back in the early 2000’s. As you’ll hear, she was resurrected after the Great Recession when he returned to New York from California and began working in restaurants and nightlife. At the time there weren’t many jobs available, especially within the creative and luxury industries that he had always worked in. When he met his first drag mentor, Linda Simpson host of Gay Jeopardy, a spark was ignited. He was inspired to focus, fusing his creativity, his incredibly friendly and loving personality, the pride of his heritage with the love of his City, and hone his artistic, and design skills. The result is not only a character for the stage, but a consumer goods product to line the shelves of our grocery stores. The logo of brand includes the image of a beautiful, gender-fluid, brown drag queen, sporting the friendliest wide-mouthed smile that you can’t help but smile back at. In our episode Andre is brilliant enough to speak on the importance of equity and equality, (can I get an amen?), the importance of kindness, empathy and of course, representation. You might be thinking, why does representation matter? Off the top of your head, name an American food brand character. HINT: it’s not good when you can name 7 make-believe creatures, and talking animals before you can name a person of color on a food box. I hope that his story is what some of you need to hear today! I think we can all take the message that Andre’s story tells to heart. Now more than ever, we all need to believe in ourselves 100%, even if we don’t know what the road ahead looks like. Just like Andre! Please visit our new site at www.truebeautybrooklynpodcast.com and email us your questions and comments at truebeautybrooklynpodcast@gmail.com visit https://shaquandawillfeedyou.com/ for more information on Andre and to purchase Shaquanda's Hot Pepper Sauce Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1T 2M

Cassi Lopez : Celebrity Body Piercer, Owner of So Gold Studios and 8x Brain Surgery SurvivorThe story that we are sharing today is so special to me, not only because it’s from the woman who inspired me to begin this podcasting journey, but because her’s is a story that every person listening today needs to hear. The first time I interviewed our guest was back in November, but her story is so inspiring and relevant to today’s health crisis, that I asked her if we could re-record and include the current crisis in our conversation. Cassi Lopez is the owner of So Gold Studio, she is arguably the best body piercer in New York City, and she is a warrior. Cassi has been featured in The Coveteur, Refinery29, Nylon, Elite Daily, Allure, Cosmopolitan, Insider, Elle Australia, and The Daily Mail, and her client list includes A-listers such as Game of Thrones actor, Nathalie Emmanuel. But most importantly, Cassi is an 8-time brain surgery survivor. And she is still with us today because she continuously and relentlessly advocated for herself when doctor after doctor sent her home, some even insinuating that she was mentally unstable, all dismissing the fluid that was leaking out of her nose as mucus. She would later learn that it was in fact fluid from her brain leaking out of her nose. Cassi never gave up on herself because she knew herself, and she knew her body, and she knew that something wasn’t right. So she continued advocating for herself until one Independence Day she went to an Urgent Care Walk-In Center and met the Doctor (a woman) who immediately recognized her symptoms, and ultimately saved her life. Now more than ever, living in our Global Community we can see that life isn’t always kind to us all, nor is it fair. But strength comes from adversity, and humans are drawn to those whose stories show the incredibly resilient nature of the human spirit to not only survive but also to thrive. Cassi is certainly one of these angels. After meeting her for the first time over coffee, it became clear to me that hers is a story that holds the secret to life: you have to be your own advocate. This story is intense and can be triggering for some people, as we describe some graphic details about a serious health condition and surgery that Cassi has gone through. For more information about Cassi and So Gold Studios please visit https://sogoldstudios.com/ and be sure to check out her Instagram pages @sogoldbk and @cassisoclassy. Please add us on Instagram @truebeautybrooklyn and @truebeautybrooklynpodcast, visit us at www.truebeautybrooklynpodcast.com, and send us your questions and comments to truebeautybrooklynpodcast@gmail.com. If you like The True Beauty Brooklyn Podcast, please be sure to tell a friend, and rate and review us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

55M

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