Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alexander Rodriguez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Alexander, thanks for joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
After my dreams of being Broadway bound were dashed, I somehow got into the world of commercial banking, quickly rising the ranks to Vice President for the Entertainment Division of City National Bank. Making six figures, having the car, the fancy suits, the everything…I was still miserable. After a chance meeting with a podcast station owner, I started getting into the world of podcasting and celebrity interviews. As my “hobby” became more substantial, I became more and more disilusioned with my job. After a couple of years trying to juggle both, I left my cushy banking job to pursue my creative life full time. It was more than scary as the money started to run out. It was a rough period of time when I lost my apartment, my car, and more in trying to make money in my dream career. I kept with it, I didn’t stop the hustle, I never gave up, I took smart chances and worked on my network to build my media personality. After a year of hardship, it finally started to pay off and now, five years later, I can safely say I am more happy in my lucractive career. It is all about the hard work and sticking with it, even in the face of adversity.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am an entertainment personality of many different trades. Through my main podcast, On the Rocks with Alexander, I have been able to establish a brand that includes emcee gigs across the nation, hosting and producing a total of five podcasts, and serving as the lead writer for Metrosoruce national and GED regional LGBTQ magazines. In my free time, I perform my latest one man cabaret wherever I can. You never know where I am going to pop up – Pride events, cruises, red carpets…I’m always around!
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
During my transition from banker to entertainment personality, I lost a lot of friends in my circle. My friends came from the business world where everything was black and white and money driven. Being a creative, sometimes you have to make sacrifices that don’t make sense out of the passion to live your dream. Sometimes you have to take chances that don’t have a clear benefit, sometimes you just have to have faith and believe that success is around the corner. People thought I was crazy to leave an office in Beverly Hills to become a professional podcaster…and for a time, I felt defeated by life and it affected my self esteem. Today, I couldn’t be more secure in life and more proud of the choice I made to live life for myself and not for a paycheck.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When my fancy Lexus was towed away because I was two months behind in car payments, I thought that was it. I was ready to go back to my job and give up my dream of being an entertainment personality. In fact, that night I had to walk to a red carpet event that I was covering. Smoke and mirrors, I hobnobbed and strutted my stuff like the Hollywood personality I wanted to be. Little did I know that that night I would make contacts with a handful of PR reps that would send me big name clients to appear on my podcast, and how that would directly lead to my first substantial sponsor and get my first emcee gig for a major Pride event. I just had to take that leap. You can never get down on yourself or compare yourself to other people’s success.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ontherocksradioshow.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexanderisonair/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OntheRocksRadioShow
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-rodriguez-205690184/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo0qaq-m6Xmufl5Dj-o8vuA
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@ontherocksradioshow?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc