Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Drake Hudson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Drake, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I actually didn’t. I wouldn’t say this was on my radar anytime soon. I had recently moved to Houston and I made a promise to myself to things I wouldn’t normally do. I wanted to get myself out of my comfort zone and really put myself out there. Suddenly, I go from no followers to millions of views and hundreds of thousands of followers. Needless to say this surely wasn’t apart of the plan.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Well where do I start, I was born and raised in a small town called Apopka, right outside of Orlando Florida. My mother and father raised me up until my mother’s passing in 2004 when I was age 11. During that time as a young child I became very independent for some reason. I taught myself how to drive, don’t ask how lol but I did. As I got older and graduated high school I worked my very first job at Walmart.

I worked there for about 3 years as a stocker mostly. I will say that’s where the birth of Thebetterdrake began really. I had an old coworker of mine come to me and say something that changed my life. She said I don’t know why I’m saying this but I God wants me to tell you ” stop worrying, you’ll be something great one day”. At first I didn’t believe her, but looking back it kinda creeps me out. Ever since that moment I took the leap of leaving Walmart. I worked a few retail jobs here and there like Macys, Express and a few others. After a while I got tired of retail so I knew a change was needed. Long story short, I started working at a call center and ended up leaving because an old coworker of mine found a job on craigslist that was paying more ($12) an hour which was crazy at the time and we wouldn’t answer phone calls but Quality Assurance.

At that very moment is where my career began. I ended up getting the job and found out the very thing were doing, people would get paid a lot more for. So I went on a mission and started teaching myself the ends and outs of Quality, Learned how to do my resume, interview, work excel, powerpoint, project management, all of it from literally YouTube. Staying up night after night determined to learn.

After all of my hard work I ended up getting my big break as a Sr Quality Assurance Analyst for an IT firm down in Tampa Florida. In my mind, it was a complete breath of air to finally break into the corporate space. Over the years I continued to learn and switch positions up until I got to where I am today,

Working for one of the top big four consulting firms without an ounce of degree to my name. Sometime I do pat myself on the back with a slight pinch to the arm because I’m still in disbelief I got here.

Fast forward, I moved to Houston in January 2022 where “The Better Drake” was born. my mission? to put myself out there. Do things that scared me, take myself to new heights and experience new things in life. in a different city. While I had been doing content from time to time before Houston, I wasn’t very good at it. I sat down learned how to record and suddenly my very first video in Houston kinda blew up.

Ever since that moment I was known officially as “the Better Drake” my entire mission is to express the loves and luxuries of life, let everyone know they are loved, help the people I can with some amazing career advice and be my true Authentic Self.

I want to change the narrative. I’m a plus size Gay black man that loves himself and his life. I want those who may feel less than, who think they don’t have what it takes or scared or the confidence to get up, get out and be your authentic self no matter who approves or rejects you. The world was made for me too and I’ll be damned if I don’t get my peace of success, love and happiness on it. I won’t let anyone or anything stop me. I want people to be inspired by my content and story and hopefully I can make a difference in at least one persons life.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

After my mother’s passing it was honestly one of the difficult times in my life. I would often think about the reasons why God let her go from me. And for the longest I went into a state of complete sadness, afraid of the world, lonely and even at times parentless even though my dad was raising me. She was my best friend and I was a young black boy struggling with his sexuality growing up in a strict holiness household now living life without his one true friend at that time. Honestly I saw no way out for a few years. Even when I became older and started working things were still rough but I knew I wanted to make a difference in life but no plan on how to get there. I was focused on making her proud because I knew she wouldn’t want me to be sad forever and live mu life to its extent.

I think that’s why I worked so hard to improve my overall life. I wanted more, I was hungry, I didnt want to be like my parents, working in their late 50’s still working but above everything . I wanted to make her Proud and there is no doubt in my mind I’ve done just that. Wherever she is, I know she’s so proud of me and knowing that keeps me going and I believe was a direct result to where I am today.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

This is quite a touchy subject especially in today’s time where social media, creators and influencers are not only under an extreme microscope, they’re also the topic of discussion for a few reasons. that could be the creator has a new life and made tons of money from creating and now their audience doesn’t feel connected to them anymore. Or there are creators that may produce questionable content. Because of this society has produced mixed feelings about the entire creator scene ( in my opinion)

As I think about someone like myself and even other influencers, artist, content creators and everything in between, I often think about how those people that I know are some of the most influential, wonderful and kind people that produce amazing content, artistry and simply are amazing in their respective places. Those type of creators I feel is what we need to focus on. the people who are not just creating content but making change and difference through their content and whatever their message may be

For me, my mission is to break barriers when It comes to men having confidence and living luxury lifestyle no matter how much money you have, how you look or even feel about yourself. Everyone deserves some time of luxury in their life and do what makes them happy.

I encourage everyone to continue to follow and support the people you feel you connect with the most. help spread their message and mission. You have no idea how much it makes us happy when we have full support of the communities we as creators and artist have built.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thebetterdrake.myshopify.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_thebetterdrake/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebetterdrake
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drake-v-1b99a8ab/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@Thebetterdrakee?si=S9puPVKQQrpQB1La

Image Credits
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