We recently connected with Andrea-Rachel Parker and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Andrea-Rachel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

thanks for asking, i mean if i am allowed to say it, i think i am working on some great creative projects. i know for me its often times difficult for me to promote my works, but there are some things i am honestly excited to talk about further outside of just acting.

for example, in 202o i refocused on some older companies, re-branded, and launched TF?! “TF?!” is a privately owned trademark of mine that has recently been valued, way higher than i ever expected or anticipated. but tf?! as a company is an online hub, that focuses on collab and bartering methods for those who assign as different, deformed, unique, differently abled, survivors (cancer survivors, sa survivors, dv survivors) and their allies. the hub is offered for free, but has a premium tier that gives access to other member & community benefits. i say that to highlight, our latest merch and product that everyone seems to love. our cinnamon acv agave squeeze! a vegan way to curb appetite, stop candy & sweet cravings, along with assisting in proper joint and gut health. it balances ph, aides in healing acne (after initial purge) and the best part… it taste great. safe for children, and dogs, our mixture provides a fun way to add a supplement into a fasting, or weightloss journey. outside of that, our site has launched the first ever national location scouting module certification course.

but for those who are solely interested in her acting, ms parker has a documentary based on an unusual experience, set for late end of 2025. which she is aiming to make available online. piggy backing off the viral hit tv shows, like wu-tang: an american saga as mam ganja, the deuce as bernice, and starz power as destiny…andrea-rachel is taking steps to producing & editing this on her own.

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 began dancing at the age of 6 officially, my first stage performance. which is late seeing as my mother tells everyone i have been speaking and talking as an adult since 7months old lol. that meant there was always a bit of pressure. so i, off & on, at a young age, sought out a manager, got my first one, took headshots & began auditioning for commercial auditions by the age of 9. skipped grades in elementary, and pursued a dance major in hs though i was a dual student who also minored as an elective in biology. i also tutored for the READE program, did dance with THE PCA ran by melissa vaughn from alvin ailey dance school, and worked within a “modeling troupe” orchestrated at the time by ty brown who ran & still owns & operates the brooklyn band and sound. lol i was young so i did a lot. this is not including, volunteer work, my job (two locations of “gamestop”), side hustles, school, and of course parties & networking events. regarding my hs degree though, in hs, i majored in dance. i did a minor course in science and so in three yrs (instead of four) i graduated early via a summer program offered. at the time, i didn’t realize older me, would think younger me was so cool. at the time i was so focused on living, now i wonder how i do it/did it. but up until i realized there was a way of life to be had as an artist i attended lincoln university (college) as a science major (transferred to journalism yr 3) before landing a gig in nyc, transferring schools my 3rd yr & going to nyc again to focus on acting & dancing. lol so for a while, in my most formative yrs there was a battle of what to focus on. i hadn’t had anyone in my family support my ambitions and dreams, and did/do love science, so it was a harder choice. but coming back to nyc, i landed 2 internships, several indie films, did psa & commercials and found myself always “upgraded” as an extra or seat filler on set which added to my motivation. going deeper. my little brother chaz antwan williams was on the spectrum and always wanted to get into doing voice overs (before we knew what or how to get into them) so much of my pursuit of happiness through the arts was for the better ability to give my younger brother & other siblings access to a freer, higher quality, and overall better life. when he passed in 2014, i almost lost myself, but ironically, that is also when many more opportunities came my way in the arts, which acted as a distraction from the pain & hurt & gave me something else to focus on. most of my motivation now stems lately on providing for my future children in better ways however possible, with a different sense of stability within the entrepreneurial and creative spaces. so many in my family deserve a life of ease luxury and peace of mind that i haven’t seen them have consistent access to, so i am hoping before its too late, i can assist with them and others, in facilitating some of their dreams and ease.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I am currently unlearning that people, no matter the need for free things, still, with their actions, show that adding a value increases their likely hood of trusting & utilizing resources.

even within a free community, creating layers, levels & additional steps may create a sense of reward, and accomplishment which helps the client or user, feel as though, there is more to be gained, had, or created; at least within that free space.

people appreciate things, that represent quality, doing some things free may make them think or feel less there is less quality. even if that isn’t true, learning that adding to a free dynamic, in some settings may change the perception of quality level. additionally, added steps may help build anticipation, create a sense of community, or assist with building a sense of want or longing. but the main goal for most creatives, is finding a community.. so free events work, free virtual conferences assist in generating, leads, figuring out analytics, creating trust, and establishing presence and visibility. now with products and services, many people are more willing to purchase within an affordable or drastically cheap bracket instead of completely free just because of the perceived level of worth or quality. or instead of completely free, some kind of trade off. the hardest part is finding the correct price point that your demographic associates as a “reasonable” price point, within’ that sector or industry. or switching target demographics, and finding the correct way to do so. we learned this by doing a few things. mainly asking questions putting things out there but most importantly reading & seeing what people seemed to naturally gravitate towards. when giving a micro gran out, many were skeptical to apply when the application process was not complicated & free. once the application required a small fee, and a couple more steps, people kind of were like, “oh that makes sense” of course you need an email or sign up or something. the congratulations emails worked better of setting a rewarding tone for accomplishing the application because we received more engagement from those who signed up, thanking us, once we gave them a reason to respond & engage after sending the email.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

i think it is a smart way to add virtual integrity and history to art. it also allows for people to appreciate graphics in a new and innovative way. but i do not, still, know too much. the entire thing is super intriguing to me. someone who has been keeping updated & abreast to it is Waka Flocka Flame. he has been super enthusiastic about it, and that rubs off, so the interest is there. think you guys should check out what he is doing in that space and gaming space. he is currently with satoshi art, & stallionka (of flyyouout), where they’ve partnered to create nfts for under-represented communities. it truly is beautiful work happening here with them all that they are sincerely trying to put out.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.doyoutradefor.com
• Instagram: doyoutf
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/andii_rae
• Other: direct website www.iamandrearachel.com

Image Credits

ryan powelll – handles [@]rocknrollazero (last image)

shaun [@]shaunxw (chckrd shirt images )

all other images by me.