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

Rachel Star, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

I always expect things to fail. My plans, commitments from others, technology… anything and everything that can fail will. I’m not being pessimistic, the opposite really, because even with the potential of everything falling apart I’m still going on with my project.

I play out scenarios:

What if all the footage shot gets destroyed (that has happened 3 times over the years due to malfunctioning external hard drives)?
We will start over and now we know what scenes to cut that were not playing out right and what changes to make. Perfect, the first go will be our rough draft.

What if no one buys or distributes the final project?
Then I’m dumping it on the internet. Yay for free things!
My horror/thriller #shockfight lost its distribution due to the company closing but I found a distribution directory to list my movie. TUBI and a host of smaller streaming sites picked it up. I love telling people I have a movie on TUBI, the free streaming service – absolutely no excuse on why you can’t watch it! This is a self-plug… go watch it.

What if I get hurt or some other catastrophic event occurs in my life?
I have schizophrenia… that right there is hard to top. What else could happen worse than reality breaking?
Rare. Flesh-Eating. Bacterial. Infection. … in my face.
Picked up my little friends while on an international speaking tour and then for the next year my face and leg started to ulcerate and rot. Everyone always asks, “Did it hurt?” Yes, it felt exactly as one would expect if something is eating its way out of your face.
Tons of doctors, hospital isolation, every antibiotic known to man pumped into my heart, tubes coming out of me, and some wicked scars later- still here. My pictures and hospital videos I made went viral, and multiple news organizations picked it up. Then due to translation errors, the article started to change. The next thing I know, I have one country saying that I was attacking people in a bathroom and another country issuing a national health alert on tainted soap dispensers. How many people have caused a nationwide health scare in a country they have never been to? It looks incredible on my resume.

Unexpected problems are the best part because they force you to adapt and look at your projects from a different view.

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?

First off… sadly I am not the quite popular porn star by the same name. I am sorry to disappoint.

THIS Rachel Star is an entertainer (not the sexy kind), stunt woman, and content producer.
My main claim to fame is multiple appearances on MTV’s Ridiculousness and other wild shows doing crazy stunts. I’ve filmed different movies like Marvel’s Black Panther and #shockfight doing real stunts- explosions, martial arts, falls.

It all started with the idea to play paintball in a bikini and film it. This was back when the concept of uploading videos onto the internet was novel, youtube was just starting, and uploading a short video took HOURS even DAYS. If you read that and identified with my struggle- then don’t forget to take your glucosamine for your joints.

Bikini Paintball, walking on broken glass, nailbeds, and nunchucks progressed to topless skydiving, alligator wrestling, being set on fire. And while this fun, weird version of me grew online I decided to start filming something more serious- my struggles with schizophrenia. I filmed my hallucinations, recalled my failed exorcism, and documented going through electroconvulsive therapy… I unknowingly created the longest video documentation of a schizophrenic. College classes started using my videos, students across the world studied me and psychology textbooks featured me.

Back when I was first diagnosed with “paranoid schizophrenia with dysthymia” if you went to the internet all you could find about the diagnosis were horror movie references, articles from medical journals, and serial killer facts. It was a bleak hopeless landscape. I didn’t want that for anyone else. I made the videos so people like me would know they weren’t alone. It’s wild to me now that you can look up schizophrenia on TikTok and find a host of people sharing, making jokes, and finding others like themselves so easily. I could have never imagined that 18 years ago.

I never had an overall goal, no 5-year plan, no mission statement… and thank god I have never been overly successful at anything because I could never have imagined all the things I’ve done or the places it has led me or dragged me.

Currently, I host HealthLine’s “Inside Schizophrenia” podcast, rated the #1 podcast about schizophrenia where I get to interview other amazing people with schizophrenia and top doctors.
Featured in the Meta Oculus virtual reality game/experience “Goliath: Playing with Reality”. It takes you inside the mind of a man as he develops schizophrenia and his journey through it.
I am developing multiple TV shows/movies for streaming.

None of those things existed 18 years ago. That’s why I love entertainment, it is constantly evolving with technology. I love getting to be a part of finding new ways to tell a story and connect with people.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

We live in the information age. There is no excuse for not knowing how to do something. Google it. Watch how-to videos. Read articles. Download books. Listen to podcasts. Don’t worry if you are good enough because there is someone out there far worse than you doing the exact same thing and being successful. You will probably also find that person on the internet.

Those are my favorite people to learn from. Follow them, study them, and reach out to them. How did they get this far? What were their steps? What do they have that you don’t?

But of course, everyone wants specifics…
For my entertainment producers/storytellers I highly suggest the book, “Save The Cat! -The last book on screenwriting that you will ever need” by Blake Snyder. Even if you are not interested in screenwriting, this book teaches you how to create stories and worlds.

Become an expert in the field of whatever you are doing. If it is a product, then you know the most about a distinct part, process, or item. Even if it seems insignificant. Become the go-to person for ________. I accidentally became the go-to person for information about “tardive dyskinesia”. If you are like most people and have no idea what those words mean, it’s a side effect of antipsychotic medication. I am not a doctor, my college degree is in entertainment management, and I went to an online film school… I should never be considered an expert in any medical aspect. But, I documented my own experiences with it when major drug companies were trying to keep quiet about it, so when journalists started googling “tardive dyskinesia” my name kept popping up.

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

I love this question. Nothing. Stop giving yourself excuses on why you haven’t “made it”. Our society is ingrained in entertainment and creation. It is no one’s job to support your creativity. You and your mom are The only ones who care about your idea/product/art.

If you have a fantastic idea and I have an okay one, guess which one I will support? MINE. Support your damn self.

“How can society support artists/creatives blah, blah, blah?” is actually “How can I make money doing my passion full time?” Sounds like you can’t friend. If it is your passion, your love, your goal you will do it no matter what. Society can suck it.

Always have a part-time job. Always have money coming in from somewhere for when things dry up. Uber on the weekends, bartend nights, work catering events, stack produce at Walmart.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rachelstarlive.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/rachelstarlive
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/rachelstarlive
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/rachelstarwithers
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/rachelstarlive
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/rachelstarlive
• Other: www.psychcentral.com/is