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

Joshua, appreciate you 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?

There was a time I was making a living from my creative work. It started as a hobby and sorta grew from there. A lot of hussle and putting myself out there. A lot of “no”s but the “yes”s made it all worth it.

I learned a lot about myself and what it is to navigate. Los Angeles nightlife. Now that I’m living in Palm Springs, I have taken my passion for cannabis and My passion for drag and I’m combining those two.

Working in the Cannabis industry and sharing the benefits of the medicine of cannabis is also a passion of mine and since both drag and cannabis have helped me grow to be a better person, I’m hoping that I can share these two things with others and inspire them.

Joshua, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m from a small town in the deep south of Georgia. If you’ve seen the movie “Gator” then you’ve seen my home town. I’m an only child. I got into Drag in my late 20s after moving from the South to Los Angeles. I dabbled in drag in highschool but as most, it was usually on Halloween.
Drag helped me find and connect to parts of myself I had lost or hidden away. I’m a much better person because of drag.

I was fortunate enough to have three continuously running events for about 2 years in Los Angeles. Ahead of once a month after hours party that was in a secret location. I collaborated and curated a twice a month event with a collective of artists called “Haus of ATM – Art. Talent. Music” And also a weekly Friday night event called “Oblivion Fridays”

You can also find me on YouTube ‘Transformations with James St James”

I did take a short little hiatus from drag when I moved out to Palm Springs, I leaned into a lot of my spiritual practice at that time and started opening up to reading oracle cards for people. I still do that from time to time but not as much as I used to.

During this time I have started a career in the Cannabis industry and I find ways to incorporate my drag into working in the Cannabis industry as I find that representation in that industry is very very important.
I did bring the first drag show in a dispensary to the Coachella valley. It was called Boyz N’ Bongz, we held it at what is now called The Mainstage Dispensary and Lounge I did it for about a year. I also collaborate with different Cannabis brands for something I like to call “Drag Dabz”

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Stop concerning yourself with the thoughts of others. We’re all a little insecure out here, even the most confident have something they feel insecure about.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist or a creative is being able to do these things. So many people are locked in fear of moving forward and doing the creative things that they want to do. I’ve overcome that fear and in doing so I have found joy and liberation.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @thevalentineanger @joshwaganja