We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Spencer Otto a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Spencer thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
My parents are incredible people. They are the most generous, compassionate, kind hearted folks you will meet. Amongst many others, the thing they did right which I appreciate the most is model to my sister and I what it means to be emotionally and spiritually connected. They were very intentional in showing us how to have compassion, empathy and love for others, especially those who were less fortunate than we were. I truly believe that developing emotional and spiritual intelligence, especially at a a young age, is crucial for a full, happy life. We live in such a disconnected world today where so many people have no idea how to relate others, and lack the ability to access their emotions. I’m so blessed to have had that modeled to me from such a young age.
They also taught my Sister and I to value people for who they are, not what they look like, or where they come from. I love them for that!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a SAG-E actor, fitness model, and author of “Diaries of a Homeless Junkie”, a memoir that chronicles my life as a homeless drug addict.
I have always loved the arts. I wanted to be an actor and or a rock star from as early as I can remember. I’ve always loved performing, whether on stage or screen, and feel the most alive when I am creating. My first role was a featured extra role on the hit TV show “Friday Night Lights” when I was 16. They filmed the show in my hometown, and somehow I landed an audition. I had no representation or management, but decided to give it a shot. I got featured screen time in 2 episodes, and was so excited. That was when I decided I wanted to make it a career.
However, around the same time, my life took a drastic turn. Due to a series of unfortunate events, as well as some bad decisions on my part, I took a detour in life and spent the next 14 years addicted to heroin/meth, and eventually lived on the streets for over a year as a result of my addiction. Due to this, I gave up my dreams. But, 20 months ago, I got sober (and am still sober today) and rekindled my love for acting, which has landed me TV & Film credits that ultimately earned me my SAG-AFTRA Union eligibility, something I am very proud of. My next step is getting signed to an agency in Texas, which I am submitting for as we speak.
My book “Diaries of a Homeless Junkie” is my proudest accomplishment. Recovering from years of addiction, trauma, and homelessness has been the hardest thing I have ever done. The sad truth is that most people don’t make it. I initially started writing the book as a way to come to terms with accepting responsibility for the choices I had made which led me to that dark place, as well as processing everything that happened. I had no intention of turning into a book. But, shortly after beginning, I realized that my story can bring so much hope to people that are not only struggling with their afflictions, but also show that our past doesn’t define us, and we don’t have to walk with a figurative limp the rest of our lives. We can not only recover, we can thrive.
As far as the fitness modeling goes, I love working out. It is another form of therapy for me, and does so much for my body, mind, and spirit. Being that I am in good shape, and am really tall, it has opened up many modeling opportunities which I have and continue to pursue. Its been really fun!
If there’s one thing I want people to see through me, it’s that God can take a hopeless situation and turn it into something beautiful. I firmly believe that we are never too far gone, our dreams are never out of reach, and there’s always a reason to keep going!
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
For me, studying and embracing Stoic philosophy has been a game changer for my mind, emotions, and spirit. Stoicism is a school of thought from ancient Greece and Rome, founded by Zeno of Citium around 300 BCE. It teaches the pursuit of virtue, wisdom, and self-control as the highest goods, enabling individuals to live in harmony with nature and reason. Stoics emphasize accepting things beyond one’s control with equanimity and focusing on what can be controlled: thoughts, actions, and reactions. Core principles include practicing courage, justice, temperance, and wisdom, while recognizing that external events do not determine happiness—only our response to them does.
Most of my life, unbeknownst to me, my happiness, joy, success, and mindset relied on external circumstances. Essentially, my identity, self esteem, and self worth was contingent on what people thought about me, how externally “successful” I was, and ultimately depended on things outside of myself. As you can imagine, this was akin to building a house on a foundation of sand. It might look strong, but the second a storm rolls through, it would crumble and fall. My life was no exception. Stoicism has taught me how to be ok with myself, regardless of what goes on around me. It has helped me become a more securely attached individual who doesn’t need the acceptance, praise, or adoration of others in order to be ok. I am able to be myself, and not place expectations on others do be what I want them or need them to be. It has given me a freedom which I didn’t know was available.
This has especially been useful in relationships. I’ve learned that once we are able to securely stand on our own, validating and affirming ourselves, we not only have more meaningful, rich relationships, we start to attract the type of people we want in our lives, because we have become that person.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I built my 48K instagram following by accident! I had no intention of becoming an “influencer” or “going viral”. I simply started posting reels about my journey through addiction, living homeless on the streets, and very vulnerable experiences that I had. One of my first reels, “Angel at the Bus Stop” went super viral with over 3.6 millions views, which opened the door for my large following.
In this reel I talk about sleeping on a bus stop bench in Austin, TX, 11 months into homelessness, at 2AM during freezing temperatures wearing nothing but a tank top and shorts. Randomly, a man stops in the street and gives me a blanket, $20, then proceeds to tell me, “Spencer, God has a plan for your life.” It didn’t hit me until 10 minutes later that I had not told that man my name. I choose to believe that man was an angel, because it gave me the hope I needed in the moment to not give up, and keep fighting.
To this day, that reel has been my most successful. Interestingly enough, that reel is also the one that I have put the least amount of effort into. No SEO/hashtag research, no pretty captions with cliche sayings, no fancy effects, etc. Simply a vulnerable, real, genuine message which can resonate with the masses.
I’ve learned that people want something to believe in. People want real, not fake. Our world is full of disingenuous, superficial, fake people that blindly follow the crowd. In my opinion, if you want to build a following, be yourself! Don’t worry about conforming to the cookie cutter image of what others/the world says you have to be. If you want to stand out from the crowd, whatever your product is, present it in a genuine, human, authentic way that people can connect to. Regardless of the masks we wear, we are all just looking to be loved and accepted. The first step to that is allowing yourself to become vulnerable, and let your true colors show.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://spenceotto3.wixsite.com/hard-knock-gospel
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/hardknockgospel
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091751089455
Image Credits
Tika Creations – Austin TX