“Happy” isn’t the right word. It’s more about belonging or knowing your purpose that brings the real satisfaction. I don’t wonder about a regular job because what I do is a “regular job.” It’s funny, working as an artist/creative isn’t immediately viewed as a “job,” let alone a “regular job.” Maybe because it begins as a hobby that you can carve out a career path for yourself. You don’t see many people pretending to work retail in their free time or waiting tables for fun – just sayin’. I look at it like there’s ups and downs no matter what career I choose, so I focus on work that speaks to me and let my work speak for itself. Working full-time as an artist/creative has taught me a lot about the value of a dollar, but more importantly the value of what I do. More so than any other “regular” job I’ve ever had has.

I’m born and raised in Nashville, TN where I currently reside and have been performing as my drag character for over ten years now. I produce, write, and direct a weekly live-streaming podcast called “RKNLive,” a morning motivational show and a live-chat late night show called “Pillow Talk.” I host events around the country and opened a media company creating content for artists and politicians. As most men in dresses do, I grew up admiring glamorous pop stars like Mariah Carey and Dolly Parton. At age 8 I wrote fan letter to RuPaul after taking his cassette tape to my 5th grade Show & Tell. He later called me to thank me for the letter. At age 13 I got my first Sony CamCorder and wore the buttons off filming everything from my own talk show to nightly news programs. My first job in the business was for a huge Christian television network who had recently set up a production facility in my hometown. I was fascinated by working in television and equally fascinated by the enormous, pink, cotton-candy wig worn by network’s founder and CEO, Jan Crouch. I later moved to LA where I was befriend by my childhood idol, RuPaul, who encouraged me to audition for his then “new” show, RuPaul’s Drag Race. I started performing and hosting shows around West Hollywood for a few years, never making it on RuPaul’s Drag Race. I returned home to Nashville and did not fit in anymore. I didn’t appreciated how different things where in the gay bar scene compared to West Hollywood and they didn’t appreciated me either. After being blacklisted by a community fighting for inclusion and diversity in Nashville, I turned to streaming online. A friend had asked me to host his class project where he wanted to film me interviewing people on the sidewalk. “Raquel Knows Nashville” was born after the first episode was a success and we shot several more episodes available now on YouTube. From that I created a satirical late-night talk show where I display not only my writing and producing abilities, but my abilities to create every aspect of a production from jingles and animations to show running and self-directing. I’m also the host and play a cast of characters such as “Mya Pinion,” the Chief Head Expert on RKN Unreported – “Headlines you won’t hear any where else because we made them up!” On the show, I host interviews with guest from all over and created a gameshow called “Mugshot Match Game” where you match a mugshot to the charge. This show has opened up opportunities I wouldn’t of found otherwise and we’ve created an entire community around the country who watch together weekly. Next year, I will be taking my show into it’s 6th season and I still feel like I’m just getting started! I’m so proud of what I’ve built and the opportunities ahead to take it even further! I want people to watch who like to laugh and/or who seeks an experienced producer for your television/podcast needs. I’d love for you to watch and follow and you might love it too!

“Believing Before Seeing” by Candice Bar really got me together with this book! It was the most easy to understand, fundamental principals that are required if you plan to be success at anything. I’m reading it for the second time! Mindset is the most important pillar of your life. What ever you are thinking about will drastically influence what you experience. When navigating running a business on your own, your mindset will make or break you. And there’s no middle. This book breaks this down in ways that really make it make sense and easy to practice and you’ll love her writing style as much as I do!