We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shirley Touzin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Shirley , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your creative career?

One of the most valuable lessons I ever learned didn’t come from a stage, a mic, or a spotlight… it came from a desk.

Back in 2005, I worked with H&R Block as a Client Service Coordinator. On the surface, it was about taxes, paperwork, and problem-solving—but beneath that, it was about people. Real people. With real worries, real stories, real needs.

And what they taught me there shifted everything.

They taught me how to champion the client.

Not just serve them… but see them.Not just hear words… but listen for meaning.Not just respond… but understand.

I learned how to slow down and tune in—how to catch what’s being said and what’s being felt. Because sometimes what people need isn’t just an answer… it’s acknowledgment. It’s connection.

And I carry that with me into every space I step into now.

As an artist, as a creative, as a voice—I don’t just speak to be heard. I listen so I can reach. I pay attention to the energy, the silence, the comments, the eyes, the unspoken. I hear what people are craving, what they’re healing from, what they’re holding onto.

And then? I meet them there.

Because real impact isn’t about performing at people… it’s about connecting with them.

That lesson turned my creativity into service.It turned my voice into a bridge.It turned my art into something people can feel themselves inside of.

So whether I’m on a stage, on a live, or just speaking life into someone—I lead with listening.

Because when people feel seen… they stay.When people feel heard… they open.And when people feel understood… that’s where the magic lives.

That’s the real razzle dazzle ✨

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am Shirley Touzin—also known as Queen Liberatti, once called Suicide’s Rival, and now evolving into Augustine François. I am not just one name, one title, or one version of myself. I am a living, breathing transformation. Every name I’ve carried marks a chapter—every chapter, a becoming.

I am a poet, author, creative, visionary, and certified life coach—but more than anything, I am a woman who chose to stay. Chose to fight. Chose to turn pain into purpose and make art out of survival.

My journey into this work wasn’t polished or planned—it was necessary. Life introduced me to heartbreak, confusion, spiritual searching, questions of worth, and moments where giving up could have been easier. But instead of disappearing, I started writing. Poetry became my voice when I felt unheard. It became my release, my mirror, my truth-teller. It was never just about creating—it was about saving my own life in real time.

That is where “Suicide’s Rival” was born—not as a brand, but as a declaration. A stance. A refusal to let darkness win. And as I’ve grown, I’ve evolved into Augustine François—a deeper, more refined embodiment of wisdom, healing, discipline, and grace. I am constantly shedding, learning, rising. I don’t stay the same—I ascend.

I am the author of Give It 100: My Weight Loss Journey in a Hundred Words, a body of work that goes far beyond physical transformation. It’s about shedding emotional weight, spiritual heaviness, old habits, and outdated versions of self. It’s about discipline, honesty, and becoming lighter in mind, body, and soul.

My creative work spans poetry, live discussions, storytelling, and coaching. I write about real life—love, loss, God, identity, healing, desire, loneliness, growth, and the quiet battles people don’t always speak about. My words are raw, intentional, and unfiltered. I don’t create to impress—I create to connect.

As a certified life coach, my focus is rooted in anti-suicide advocacy and life celebration. I hold space for people who feel unseen, unheard, or uncertain about their place in this world. My philosophy, “Give It 100,” is about giving life your all—even on the days when you feel like you have nothing left. Especially on those days.

What I offer is more than a service—it’s an experience. I offer poetry that feels like truth. Conversations that feel like release. Coaching that feels like being understood. I create spaces where people can breathe, reflect, and remember their worth.

What sets me apart is my honesty. I don’t speak from a pedestal—I speak from the process. I am living everything I share. I am not perfect, and I don’t pretend to be. I am becoming in real time, and I invite others to do the same without shame.

What I am most proud of is my resilience. The fact that I am still here—still choosing life, still choosing growth, still choosing myself—is my greatest flex. I’ve walked away from things that once numbed me, and I’m learning how to feel fully, live fully, and stand fully in who I am becoming.

Queen Liberatti is freedom. Freedom to be yourself. Freedom to evolve. Freedom to release what no longer serves you. Freedom to heal out loud and exist unapologetically.

This is my work. This is my purpose. This is my becoming.

And I’m only getting started. 

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My mission is deeply personal—it’s rooted in survival, transformation, and service. At the core of everything I create is one driving force: to make life feel worth living.

I don’t just speak about purpose—I live it. I’ve experienced the weight of life in ways that could have silenced me, but instead, I chose to turn that weight into something meaningful. My journey is about becoming lighter, not just physically, but emotionally, spiritually, and mentally—and I use my voice to show others that it’s possible for them too.

“Give It 100” isn’t just a title or a philosophy—it’s my way of life. It means showing up fully, even when you feel empty. It means choosing discipline when it’s hard, choosing growth when it’s uncomfortable, and choosing yourself when it would be easier not to. My mission is to embody that and reflect it back to others until they begin to believe it for themselves.

Everything I create—whether it’s poetry, coaching, or conversation—is designed to reach the parts of people that feel unseen. I want my work to sit with someone in their lowest moment and remind them: you’re still here for a reason. There is still something in you worth fighting for.

I am also driven by legacy. I don’t want to just create content—I want to create impact that outlives me. I want my words to travel into rooms I may never enter and still shift something in someone’s spirit. I want to build spaces, communities, and even physical environments one day where people can come as they are and leave feeling lighter, clearer, and more connected to themselves.

My mission is to evolve out loud so others feel permission to do the same. To break cycles—mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and generationally. To show that you don’t have to stay who you were just because that’s who you’ve been.

At the end of the day, my goal is simple but powerful: to be a living reminder that no matter how heavy life gets, you can still rise, still transform, and still give it everything you’ve got.

That’s the mission. That’s the journey. And I walk it every single day.  

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist, for me, is the freedom—real, raw, unfiltered freedom.

It’s the ability to be fully myself in every sense of the word. To express without apology. To feel without editing. To speak without softening the truth just to make it more comfortable for others. I don’t have to pretty up my emotions or paint a false portrait of perfection—I get to show up as I am, in all my layers.

There is something powerful about embracing being both unique and perfectly flawed. As an artist, I don’t have to hide my humanity—I get to honor it. Every emotion, every contradiction, every moment of growth or struggle becomes something I can transform into meaning.

I get to be 100% human.

And in that honesty, I inspire myself. I remind myself that it’s okay to feel, to evolve, to not have everything figured out. And through that self-expression, others find permission to do the same. That’s where the real reward lives—not just in creating, but in connection. In knowing that by being fully myself, I give someone else the courage to be fully themselves too.

It’s not just art—it’s liberation. It’s truth. It’s living out loud without shrinking.

And that kind of freedom… that’s priceless.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/augustinefrancois1?igsh=MTVyaG1nMGRmeWczZg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1LYGMWEo39/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Youtube: @SuiCidesRivalqueenliberatti
• Other: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NCOC3JJ?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZnRzaAQ5MsFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xMjQwMjQ1NzQyODc0MTQAAac5q-uV80rqxcue1OSt50bDbyp-nEhXMKzpV0MuILphGKeo7wTNHOQBUXo38w_aem_Epd8b2s-0A1dhZh5qoG4CA