Speaker 1: It's been years, God, it's almost been decades since I
Speaker 1: first met Carson. And Carson Cressley is such a character,
Speaker 1: such an interesting guy, so creative, so out there, and
Speaker 1: I first met him when I was hired to be
Speaker 1: a guest on Queer I for the straight guy, and
Speaker 1: I met him and he was so sweet and funny.
Speaker 1: It's so popular, but I haven't really, you know, been
Speaker 1: in touch with him recently and I'd love to know
Speaker 1: what he's been up to. So I'm looking forward to
Speaker 1: my conversation and UH, here is my conversation with Carson Cressley. So, Carson,
Speaker 1: where are you now? I met my farm in Pennsylvania. Oh, Nice, nice, yeah,
Speaker 1: how about you? Are you in Montclair, New Jersey? I know,
Speaker 1: I know you're a Mont clary and I love Montclair.
Speaker 1: It's so pretty. Yeah, thank you. You know, it was
Speaker 1: a perfect amount of being close to New York City
Speaker 1: but getting out of New York City, so I could
Speaker 1: you know. Yeah, yeah, so cool. Well, I mean, I
Speaker 1: haven't seen you in so many years. I don't know
Speaker 1: if you remember the first time I met you. Um,
Speaker 1: I don't know what was the first time. I don't
Speaker 1: remember hired when you were on queer I as a
Speaker 1: makeup artist to get a bunch of firemen ready for
Speaker 1: a calendar that you guys were shooting. Oh Yeah, lucky. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean that was a long time ago and I
Speaker 1: also met the photographer and his wife at the time
Speaker 1: and I ended up hiring her as my creative director
Speaker 1: and you know, and he shot a lot of my campaign.
Speaker 1: So it was one of the yeah, wonderful. How how
Speaker 1: great that worked out? Yeah, no, it was. You know
Speaker 1: what it just you never know who you're going to meet.
Speaker 1: When have you had that moments in your life where
Speaker 1: you're like, I don't know, like random meetings with people?
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, there's there's just people that you on Jael
Speaker 1: with who are like your people and just even doing
Speaker 1: like home collection projects and going to like the trade
Speaker 1: shows and like high point I'll be like, oh my Gosh,
Speaker 1: how does this person not work with us like that?
Speaker 1: Like they're amazing. And there's like, you know, five or
Speaker 1: ten people I've met like during my career where I'm
Speaker 1: just like okay, I literally like write them down in
Speaker 1: my book. I'm like we need to hire them for
Speaker 1: something at some point. So there you know, they're rare,
Speaker 1: but you know, kind of instantly when, Um, you found
Speaker 1: someone that's sympathic. Go Yeah, so, you know, the truth is,
Speaker 1: I don't know that much about you. So I have
Speaker 1: a million questions, you know. Yeah, shoot, I am from Allentown, Pennsylvania,
Speaker 1: but not really like Allentown, like twenty minutes outside of Allantown,
Speaker 1: which is actually when people think about allantown Pennsylvania, they
Speaker 1: think about like the Billie Joel Video Um for his
Speaker 1: Song Allan toown and Steel Mills and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: steel towns. But I'm from the countryside. Out To Valentine,
Speaker 1: where I'm from it, you know, it looks like the
Speaker 1: Shenandoah Valley. We've got Blue Mountains and rolling hills and
Speaker 1: there's lots of Pennsylvania Dutch people and my family was
Speaker 1: like practically amish. And Yeah, you could hear butter churning
Speaker 1: in the distance. What is that? I mean, I know Amish,
Speaker 1: but what is practically? Well in Pennsylvania? There, UM, there's
Speaker 1: a huge group of people that came in the you know,
Speaker 1: from the late seventeen hundreds through like the mid eighteen
Speaker 1: hundreds that are dubbed Pennsylvania Dutch and they're really Pennsylvania German,
Speaker 1: but the word for German was Deutsch, so they said
Speaker 1: we're Deutsche. People were like, Oh, you're Dutch, welcome, but
Speaker 1: it's been a misnomer. So all Amish people are Pennsylvania Dutch,
Speaker 1: all like, but not all Pennsylvania Dutch people like me
Speaker 1: are amish. I was Lutheran, which is just a different religion.
Speaker 1: and Um, but very midwestern, even though we're from the
Speaker 1: eastern seaboard and grew up around horses and Um, you know,
Speaker 1: that was that's that's where I come from. Bobby Brown. Well, no,
Speaker 1: I come from the suburbs of Chicago, Midwest. So I
Speaker 1: you know, you know, putting the pieces together makes sense.
Speaker 1: Did you have a big family, a lot of brothers
Speaker 1: and sisters or Um? No, I have one brother and
Speaker 1: one sister and I'm the youngest. Big shocker. I'm like hello,
Speaker 1: over here, look at me. Yeah, and Um, yeah, I
Speaker 1: grew up a very suburban, you know, uh life in
Speaker 1: the seventies and you know it was people always say
Speaker 1: like where did you get your like sense of style,
Speaker 1: and I was like, I grew up in the seventies.
Speaker 1: I grew up watching like, you know, three's company and
Speaker 1: the Carol Burnett Show and seeing share wearing Bob Mackie
Speaker 1: and there was a very rich um era for fashion
Speaker 1: and flair in general. You. Have you ever met share?
Speaker 1: I have. Yeah, I did. Um. Oh Gosh, I'm trying
Speaker 1: to remember the first time. I guess the first time
Speaker 1: I met her was Um, she did a movie premiere
Speaker 1: in New York. She did a film with the fairly
Speaker 1: brothers called stuck on you, and it was not one
Speaker 1: of her like greatest cinematic, uh accomplishments, but it's a
Speaker 1: it's a good movie and they had a big party
Speaker 1: for it, back when they would have big parties, like
Speaker 1: in the early two thousand's, and it was that. I
Speaker 1: think it was at the SBA theater on twenty three street,
Speaker 1: and then they had a party after and I walked
Speaker 1: in and I got you babe was playing and share
Speaker 1: was sitting in a booth in the distance and like
Speaker 1: I made eye contact with share and she made eye
Speaker 1: contact with me and then I started going like this
Speaker 1: and I was like what is share telling me to
Speaker 1: come over? But it was during like the frenzy of
Speaker 1: queer eye and I guess she had watched the show
Speaker 1: and she was a fan so she invited me to
Speaker 1: sit with her and she was very, very, like warm
Speaker 1: and wonderful. And then I was doing a column for
Speaker 1: us weekly and I was going to go interview her
Speaker 1: the next day at her suite at the lows regency.
Speaker 1: It sounds like it's nine. I went to do the
Speaker 1: interview and I was like, Oh my God, what am
Speaker 1: I gonna wear? What would what would share where? Um?
Speaker 1: So I wore black Roberto Cavali leather pants with Purple
Speaker 1: Python insects and like a Tuxedo shirt that was open
Speaker 1: and I had like some Brazilian scapulare like medallion's on,
Speaker 1: because everyone was doing that. And we did the interview
Speaker 1: and she was like yours and I was like, Oh,
Speaker 1: you can have a share, and I'm like my body.
Speaker 1: And then she had like a do rag on, because
Speaker 1: allegedly she has volumes of like hair up in braids
Speaker 1: and always wears like and she had like a Bandana
Speaker 1: on and her assistant was in the other hotel room
Speaker 1: that I connected. And so the interview was over and
Speaker 1: I was standing above share and I was trying to
Speaker 1: put this necklace on her, which is very fine, and
Speaker 1: I couldn't get it over her head and it was
Speaker 1: like struggling and she was like making a funny noise
Speaker 1: and I was standing over top of her and then
Speaker 1: the assistant came in. They're like are you attacking share
Speaker 1: Um and I said no, no, I'm just trying to
Speaker 1: put this necklace on, and so I did that and
Speaker 1: then I didn't see her for like a while and
Speaker 1: then one day I was sitting at my kitchen table
Speaker 1: in Chelsea paying bills and my phone rang and I
Speaker 1: was like, oh no, what's it's a mystery number. I
Speaker 1: hate answering those, but I hate getting voicemails even more.
Speaker 1: So it's just like hello, and on the other it
Speaker 1: was like and I was like yeah, it's sure, and
Speaker 1: I was like Oh my God, and share called me.
Speaker 1: I don't know how she got my my cell number,
Speaker 1: but she did, and she wanted to thank me for
Speaker 1: like the necklaces and Um. So yeah, I have a
Speaker 1: I think I'm kind of friends with share. That's such
Speaker 1: a great story. Did you get a picture of you
Speaker 1: and her? I did, I do have it's a polaroid
Speaker 1: and I've scanned it and I have it. You know.
Speaker 1: I have the real one in a safe somewhere. That's
Speaker 1: so cool. I I actually once got a call from
Speaker 1: Ali McGraw, who is my my share, so I know
Speaker 1: the amazing feeling. Before you were on Queer I, because
Speaker 1: Queer I blew you up. Who Were you before? So Um,
Speaker 1: I uh growing up in Allentown. I knew I always
Speaker 1: wanted to live in New York City. So literally, like
Speaker 1: I went to college and then the day after I
Speaker 1: moved to New York City, I went to get Gettysburg
Speaker 1: College in Pennsylvania and I think I graduated like on
Speaker 1: May six and on May seven, like I'm moving to
Speaker 1: New York. So I took I took the bus and Um,
Speaker 1: moved in with two other friends from college, two girls.
Speaker 1: We lived in a one bedroom apartment on ninety six
Speaker 1: and third and I slept in the dining alcove and
Speaker 1: they took the bedroom and I started working for the
Speaker 1: US Equestrian Federation and uh, I had that job lined
Speaker 1: up before college ended and I was making thirty thousand
Speaker 1: dollars a year and I didn't know about New York City,
Speaker 1: like how expensive it was. So I was just like,
Speaker 1: oh my Gosh, how I'm going to spend all this money? Um,
Speaker 1: thirty thousand a year. I was like I'll get great
Speaker 1: suits and it was like the Armani era and I
Speaker 1: was like, Oh, I'll be fabulous, and then I found
Speaker 1: out that the rent of the apartment was like seventeen
Speaker 1: hundred dollars. M It was like wait a minute, like
Speaker 1: everything I make for the year. Um. So the three
Speaker 1: of US split that and we managed. But Um, eventually, Um,
Speaker 1: I decided I wanted to work for Ralph Lauren because
Speaker 1: I loved the brand and I loved the VIBE. And Uh,
Speaker 1: I was at my gym one day wearing like Black
Speaker 1: Watch track pants and a sweatshirt with a teddy bear
Speaker 1: holding a Black Watch basketball. And I had a Black
Speaker 1: Watch basketball that I got from buying seventy five dollars
Speaker 1: worth a fragrance at bloomingdale's. and Um, someone at the
Speaker 1: gym was a headhunter and she's like, I don't know
Speaker 1: who you are, but you need to work at Ralph Lauren.
Speaker 1: I was like I do, and it was one of
Speaker 1: those moments where like, you dressed for the job that
Speaker 1: you want and I somehow conjured it up and uh,
Speaker 1: I started working for Jerry Lauren, who's Ralph's brother. So Hook,
Speaker 1: you got a job inside, not the store. Yeah, no,
Speaker 1: I got a job inside Um being being Jerry's assistant
Speaker 1: and I would, you know, get startine sandwiches and I
Speaker 1: would drop off shampoo and I would go to the
Speaker 1: apartment and I was I was basically Anne hathaway in
Speaker 1: the Devilwa's products that everyone was really nice and preppy
Speaker 1: and had a fantastic time there. I loved Jerry and
Speaker 1: Ralph and Bobby Renett, Alice and everybody who I worked with.
Speaker 1: They were just it was such a fantastic education and
Speaker 1: it's one of those companies um where so many people
Speaker 1: have come through, whether it's Vera Wang or uh a
Speaker 1: million people have come from Ralph Lauren. It's just a
Speaker 1: great place to learn and Um you're able to climb
Speaker 1: through the ranks. They're so beautiful. Like if you're a
Speaker 1: hard worker and you get it Um, you just like
Speaker 1: before I knew it, I was like, after two years
Speaker 1: of working with Jerry, he's like you can do whatever
Speaker 1: you want, like where do you want to work? And
Speaker 1: I was like I'd really like to work in design.
Speaker 1: So I worked in men's design and I did that
Speaker 1: for a bunch of years and then I thought I
Speaker 1: had the greatest job in the world. Um, I would
Speaker 1: style all the looks for all the ad campaigns. Oh,
Speaker 1: go on, you know too all that Bruce Weber and
Speaker 1: the whole gang and Patrick and marcial yea and Mark
Speaker 1: Selliger and just all the you know, not every day.
Speaker 1: I also, you know, I did a lot of NACY'S
Speaker 1: DOT com shoots to like, you know, in Chelsea. So
Speaker 1: when you would get to go like someplace, you know,
Speaker 1: go to like the war haul of state in Mont
Speaker 1: talk for a week with Bruce Weber and like people
Speaker 1: are getting their nails done and I'm just like, Oh
Speaker 1: my God, this is great, I love it. So I
Speaker 1: did that for a number of years and then one
Speaker 1: day one of my producers, who booked the photographers and
Speaker 1: makeup artists and all of the talent Um, said I
Speaker 1: heard about this show like in a cab on the radio.
Speaker 1: It's called queer eye and it's gonna be on Bravo.
Speaker 1: And I was like what's Bravo? And nonstick cooking spray,
Speaker 1: like I didn't know Bravo. I was, you know, young
Speaker 1: and live in New York City. I didn't even have cable.
Speaker 1: You know, you just don't. You're out you're out being fun,
Speaker 1: so they said. I I asked Jeeves. We didn't even
Speaker 1: have Google back then. Um, I asked Jeeves, like where's Bravo,
Speaker 1: and it gave me like a number in Jericho, Long Island.
Speaker 1: I called them. They were like, Oh no, a production
Speaker 1: company makes the show, weest hair it. And I was
Speaker 1: like okay, I knew nothing about TV. Called the production company.
Speaker 1: They from Boston. Got An intern. She was like no,
Speaker 1: they're only New York casting this show. I'm like, I know,
Speaker 1: that's what I'm calling about. She said send a headshot
Speaker 1: and like a letter via messenger or something to this
Speaker 1: casting agency and Chelsea, which I had no headshot. I
Speaker 1: had a picture of me like that Arnaldo and IA
Speaker 1: Luca had taken, like, you know on set or something,
Speaker 1: holding some sweaters, and I was like I'll send that
Speaker 1: and then I went down and I was my Sassy
Speaker 1: self and they're like we really like you. and Um,
Speaker 1: we made a pilot in two thousand two and I
Speaker 1: remember telling my boss at Ralph Lauren like I'm just
Speaker 1: gonna take a couple of days off on vacation. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna make this thing, but I just won't let you know.
Speaker 1: We made it in two thousand two and nothing did
Speaker 1: happen and we didn't hear anything for like a year
Speaker 1: and then, like in the beginning of two thousand three,
Speaker 1: the production company called and said, yeah, Bravo was purchased
Speaker 1: by NBC. They're revamping the network. It's going to be
Speaker 1: very splashy. They want your show to be like the lead,
Speaker 1: you know, for the rebrand. You need to quit your
Speaker 1: job and I was like, do you even have dental insurance?
Speaker 1: Like I didn't even know. Like I was like wait,
Speaker 1: I'm supposed to quit my amazing job to do eight
Speaker 1: episodes of a TV show for like three thousand dollars
Speaker 1: in episode and then maybe never work again. But I
Speaker 1: had the most amazing boss at Ralph Laurence. She's like
Speaker 1: you should try it, it sounds amazing and if it
Speaker 1: doesn't work out, we'll figure out a way to get
Speaker 1: you back. And I was I was like, thank you Jesus.
Speaker 1: Heard Liz Paley and I owe Um, I owe my
Speaker 1: life to her because she gave me that Um flexibility
Speaker 1: to take a risk. Yeah, but you also, I love
Speaker 1: the fact and whoever's listening like what you did, like
Speaker 1: when I moved to New York. I opened up the
Speaker 1: yellow pages because I didn't know anything, sourceful and not afraid,
Speaker 1: like you have a like you seem naive, like all right,
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna do this and I think great quality. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I have the ignorance is bliss Um Syndrome, and I've
Speaker 1: heard that some people have the opposite, where they're like
Speaker 1: they always feel like an imposter. I just always felt
Speaker 1: like I could maybe do it, like I didn't know that,
Speaker 1: like I wasn't this enough or that enough to like
Speaker 1: do what I was trying to do. I just said, Oh,
Speaker 1: I'm going to go to an interview at Ralph Lauren,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna Wear Cute Ralph Lauren outfit and I'm gonna
Speaker 1: do my homework and I'm gonna be very enthusiastic, and
Speaker 1: it continued to work. Yeah, I think it's being naive
Speaker 1: and I kind of am the same way. So I
Speaker 1: get it. So you did. So you quit your job.
Speaker 1: To do ever go back to Ralph Lauren? Or No? No, no,
Speaker 1: I never. Um, we started making the show in March
Speaker 1: of two thousand three. It aired in July of two
Speaker 1: thousand three and like a week or two later we
Speaker 1: were on the tonight show and Doing Ellen and Um,
Speaker 1: I have. Fortunately, I've been working in of bits for
Speaker 1: twenty years now and and there are moments, like show
Speaker 1: Biz or like fashion or the beauty business. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: their their highs and lows, where you're just like, Oh
Speaker 1: my God, I'm gonna pack it in, like this is
Speaker 1: not working, um. But you, if you're persistent and you keep, Um,
Speaker 1: the right attitude and always looking for opportunities, you can,
Speaker 1: you know, make it through those slow periods and then
Speaker 1: you you know, start to ride the wave again. So
Speaker 1: I've been doing that for a long time. Okay. So, so,
Speaker 1: how many years were you on query? And I'm sorry,
Speaker 1: that's my dog scratching in the back. Don't worries, Um, Um,
Speaker 1: I we did Um, I think it was about five years.
Speaker 1: We did five seasons and a hundred episodes. So that
Speaker 1: was also like a great you know, who gets that
Speaker 1: as their first television show? Like I was like, Oh,
Speaker 1: I guess, you know, you do a TV show and
Speaker 1: then you just event you get an emmy the next year.
Speaker 1: Like I didn't know how, Um, how rare was and
Speaker 1: how lucky we were, and we were just so caught
Speaker 1: up in the whirlwind and I wish we had instagram
Speaker 1: back then because people will literally say to me remember
Speaker 1: that time we all went to the White House and
Speaker 1: we met and I was like no, I don't. I
Speaker 1: vaguely remember, but there were so many fun things and
Speaker 1: it was such a whirlwind for those first two or
Speaker 1: three years, Um, that I wish I had a better
Speaker 1: record of it. But you also you must have gotten
Speaker 1: an agent right to negotiate your deal, or did? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, and then then things just kind of took
Speaker 1: off right. I mean, besides Queer, I didn't. I mean
Speaker 1: you did a whole bunch of other things. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: once the show was successful. Um, then you can get
Speaker 1: an agent, which is, you know, kind of backwards, but
Speaker 1: that's how it works, and then you're able to people
Speaker 1: know you and it becomes easier and they say, oh,
Speaker 1: we were doing this show about beauty queen contestants and
Speaker 1: there's a big makeover element. We should get Carson. So
Speaker 1: what are some of your highlights, like what are like? Um, well, Queer,
Speaker 1: I obviously, and then, Um, this one was dancing with
Speaker 1: the stars. So you are on dancing with the stars.
Speaker 1: I was. Yes, I think I was, like I lasted
Speaker 1: for like five or six weeks and I was a
Speaker 1: terrible dancer, but I had really great costumes and I
Speaker 1: did full on productions with like smoke effects and like
Speaker 1: I was really into it, you know, like like does it? What?
Speaker 1: Does anything make you nervous? You know, that should have
Speaker 1: made me very nervous. And, Um, my philosophy and life
Speaker 1: and with show bizines that I usually say yes and
Speaker 1: then I figure it out later. Um, and this is
Speaker 1: like a theme throughout my life, like, Oh, I want
Speaker 1: to buy this farm in Pennsylvania, I'm just gonna do it.
Speaker 1: I'll you know, fast forward to me like in February
Speaker 1: with like frozen pipes, like, Um, who do I call
Speaker 1: about this? I don't have the super anymore. Um, so
Speaker 1: I you know, I just kind of say yes and
Speaker 1: then I figured it out later. So I should have
Speaker 1: been nervous about dancing with the stars. I didn't realize
Speaker 1: how hard it was. and Um, here's some backstory that
Speaker 1: nobody knows. But Um, they had wanted me to do
Speaker 1: the show a couple of times and I was like,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna wait, like so I have like more of
Speaker 1: a lull or something, or have more time or just
Speaker 1: doesn't seem like I need to do it now. And
Speaker 1: then the year that I did it, which was like
Speaker 1: ten years ago, they had called just before Labor Day,
Speaker 1: because the show always starts like in the first week
Speaker 1: in September, and they said, oh, we had a last
Speaker 1: minute cancelation, somebody had backed out. Um, we really need
Speaker 1: you to do the show, and I was like okay.
Speaker 1: So they called and said, okay, we're gonna, you know,
Speaker 1: here you up with your partner and I said, Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: I just want to go to fire island for the weekend,
Speaker 1: it's Labor Day, and then I'll start on Tuesday. And
Speaker 1: they're like no, no, no, you're like a week behind already.
Speaker 1: You need to start now. And I went for like
Speaker 1: that for rehearsal and I was like, Oh my God,
Speaker 1: this is no joke. And I am very bad with
Speaker 1: numbers in general, so like choreography doesn't make sense to me.
Speaker 1: They're like and on the three count and I'm like,
Speaker 1: it's music. Why are we counting like we're supposed to
Speaker 1: just be feeling Um. So I was terrible, but I
Speaker 1: had a great time and I embraced it. Your partner,
Speaker 1: I had this amazing Russian Um professional dancer named Anna
Speaker 1: Treblin Skaya, and she was really, really fantastic and very
Speaker 1: like stern and a good Yang to my Yang, and
Speaker 1: we had a deal that I would buy her like
Speaker 1: Lu Boton's every week that we made it through. We
Speaker 1: did five weeks and we actually we had I think
Speaker 1: the very first dance I did was the encore dance
Speaker 1: that they wanted. They wanted to see again the next
Speaker 1: night because they enjoyed it. So it was a great experience.
Speaker 1: So what are you working on now? Right now I'm
Speaker 1: I've been very lucky, Um, where I was the groundbreaking
Speaker 1: show for several reasons. Um, twenty years ago, and I'm lucky.
Speaker 1: I've been working for the last ten years, ten seasons
Speaker 1: on Rupaul's drag race. Um, we won four Emmys for,
Speaker 1: you know, Best Reality Competition series the last four years. Um,
Speaker 1: and Um it's just it's Super Fun. First of all,
Speaker 1: Rupaul was amazing because he seems like he'd be a
Speaker 1: really nice guy. Um, he is. There's a few people
Speaker 1: I've worked with in my, you know, lifetime, whether it's
Speaker 1: like a share or Dolly or Oprah, Um, and there
Speaker 1: are people that are just so wise and they just
Speaker 1: they understand people. They understand life, they understand show business
Speaker 1: like it's not that deep Um, and he has that
Speaker 1: very um grounded, wise Um Um vibe and um he
Speaker 1: is the reason why that show is such a big hit.
Speaker 1: And we have amazing producers and amazing contestants and but
Speaker 1: you know, it's it's from the top down and that Um,
Speaker 1: the aesthetic, the sensibility, the heart, Um, that's all kind
Speaker 1: of Um comes from Ruth. So I'm very happy that
Speaker 1: I get to work on that. And I worked on
Speaker 1: fear I too, shows that have really helped a lot
Speaker 1: of Um, young people, I think. You know, can see
Speaker 1: these shows all over the world and see marginalized people
Speaker 1: or people who maybe used to be marginalized, be celebrated,
Speaker 1: and I think that's really powerful because you can be like, Oh,
Speaker 1: I can I can use every crayon in the box,
Speaker 1: as rue says, and I can express myself and I
Speaker 1: don't have to be different, I can just be who
Speaker 1: I'm supposed to be. Um. So I'm very lucky to
Speaker 1: work in these spaces. And how old were you when you,
Speaker 1: you know, came out of the closet? Like how, like,
Speaker 1: how old are you, and how did your parents take it? Oh, UM, well, Um,
Speaker 1: you know, I think I'm one of those gay kids
Speaker 1: that you know when you're like my kindergarten picture, I
Speaker 1: have it right here. Hold on, okay, getting some real
Speaker 1: scoop here, Bobby Brown, that's that's me, like kindergarten, wearing
Speaker 1: nail Polish. Your mother let you wear nail polished to school.
Speaker 1: I don't think she really knew. and like my cousins
Speaker 1: and my older sister were always like putting makeup on
Speaker 1: me and painting my nails. So I just thought that
Speaker 1: was normal. So I went to, you know, Picture Day
Speaker 1: with my painted nails and I was always one of
Speaker 1: those little boys too. Were like you'd be in the
Speaker 1: grocery store and they'd be like, oh my gosh, what
Speaker 1: is her name? She is so cute, like pretty effeminate,
Speaker 1: and I don't think my parents were ever really like surprised. Um,
Speaker 1: and we're always amazing about it. You know, I think that.
Speaker 1: You know, I had a grand law who would like
Speaker 1: buy me t sets and dollhouses for Christmas because that's
Speaker 1: what I wanted, and she's like, well then that's what
Speaker 1: he gets. So I was very fortunate and luckier than
Speaker 1: I realized. Yeah, and I and it is amazing that
Speaker 1: you've been such a role model to so many, you know,
Speaker 1: kids that don't have the support of families, and it
Speaker 1: is because haven't you been an advocate for that for
Speaker 1: a long time? Yeah, I worked for a long time
Speaker 1: with Cindy lauper on her foundation called true colors united,
Speaker 1: and we worked specifically, Um, to help end youth homelessness,
Speaker 1: especially within the LGBT community, because gay kids are still
Speaker 1: much more likely to become homeless, because sometimes they're turned
Speaker 1: away by their families, where sometimes they're turned away by
Speaker 1: shelters that are maybe run by religious organizations that don't Um,
Speaker 1: except that Um their orientation. So, Um, I know how
Speaker 1: lucky I've been. So I just think I've got to
Speaker 1: help other people who aren't as lucky, and helping kids is,
Speaker 1: I think, the most important thing, because they're the most vulnerable. No,
Speaker 1: that's so, so nice and so wonderful. And you know,
Speaker 1: you don't hear a lot about your personal life. Are
Speaker 1: you with some? Haven't been? Are you? No? Well, I
Speaker 1: am single, if you know anybody. Um, I was. Um,
Speaker 1: I wasn't married, but I was practically married for a
Speaker 1: long time. Um, and that was over about three years
Speaker 1: ago and then you go through that, you know, like
Speaker 1: who am I? What am I like in the ether
Speaker 1: for a while? So now I'm ready to mingle right. Well,
Speaker 1: now that, now that we're kind of out of our
Speaker 1: houses and our basis. Yeah, that must have been a
Speaker 1: tough time, though. Yeah, no, it was, but it was also,
Speaker 1: I think, like the pandemic. For me and I think
Speaker 1: a lot of people, it was a very reflective time too,
Speaker 1: and it allowed us to like take a breather from
Speaker 1: all of the white noise of work and family and
Speaker 1: travel and, Um, start to figure out what's really important.
Speaker 1: So now I know what I want. Okay. Well, that's good.
Speaker 1: You gotta, you gotta, and like you gotta start somewhere
Speaker 1: and you visualize it. So what about your health and wellness?
Speaker 1: How do you take care of yourself? Oh, I should
Speaker 1: be better about that. Um, yeah, I take going to
Speaker 1: the doctor and I'm like one of those people that
Speaker 1: goes like twice, once every two years. You know, I'm
Speaker 1: just bad, Um, but I do try to just do
Speaker 1: like the common sense stuff, like I, you know, I
Speaker 1: parked far away at the grocery store, I take the
Speaker 1: stairs when I go to a hotel, I watch what
Speaker 1: I eat. Um, I exercise more than I realized because
Speaker 1: most of the time I'm in New York, I'm walking everywhere.
Speaker 1: If I'm here in the country, I'm like, I cannot
Speaker 1: sit still. In one of those people. So, like I'll
Speaker 1: have people over and they're like laying by the pool
Speaker 1: having drinks and I'm the person like pulling weeds because
Speaker 1: there's a weed over there and I have to be
Speaker 1: busy and they're like would you calm down? I'm just
Speaker 1: like no, no, no, I like it. It's relaxing for me.
Speaker 1: Like I like to do stuff. So I stay active
Speaker 1: and Um, yeah, and I stay aware and I you know,
Speaker 1: I try to be good about it, and also lots
Speaker 1: of water, good sleep and, Um, my secret weapon are
Speaker 1: those little vitamin sea packets. I think they're great for
Speaker 1: the skin, but they're also good to keep your immune
Speaker 1: system up, because when you're always on airplanes and you're
Speaker 1: always going from job to job, you really need to, Um,
Speaker 1: keep an eye on that, because you can get run down.
Speaker 1: You need to recharge. Are you someone that needs to
Speaker 1: like take time? Yeah, I'm really, really good. Um, I
Speaker 1: love to entertain the troops and razzle dazzle like six
Speaker 1: days out of the week, but then like on the
Speaker 1: seventh day I need to not see anybody and like
Speaker 1: literally like either just be with my horses or like
Speaker 1: floating around in my pool cool or like pulling weeds
Speaker 1: or doing or just vacuuming my house. Like I just
Speaker 1: need a day of like no talking to anybody. What
Speaker 1: are you wearing when you're home doing those things? Are
Speaker 1: you in sweats? No, I'm like wearing this, like, you know,
Speaker 1: like a Ralph Lauren like cotton cable knit sweater and
Speaker 1: some you know, uh uh, some jeans from Scotch and
Speaker 1: Soda Um or like, you know, vineyard vines. People are
Speaker 1: like you wear a vineyard I was like, yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: just like bouncing around at home like or if I
Speaker 1: go to the barn, you know, I usually we're just
Speaker 1: like a pair of breeches and like a white Polo shirt. Um,
Speaker 1: but I don't. I mean you're very preppy. I am
Speaker 1: very preppy in general and I think it was my
Speaker 1: long history with Ralph Lauren, but it's also just my
Speaker 1: my natural like comfort zone. So like I do like,
Speaker 1: you know, going to the EMMYS and wearing La Givanshi
Speaker 1: and being all sparkly. Um. But one thing I learned
Speaker 1: from my mom Um, and I think it's a really
Speaker 1: most important fashion less than anyone can learn, is that, um,
Speaker 1: it's not about like the most sparkliest and the most
Speaker 1: expensive of the most high end label. It's about what's
Speaker 1: appropriate for what you're doing. So if, if I'm at
Speaker 1: the farm, I'm gonna wear like, you know, Ralph Lauren,
Speaker 1: and I'm going to wear like Oxford, and it's more
Speaker 1: rugged and it can, you know, hold up to like,
Speaker 1: you know, wear and tear. And if I'm going to
Speaker 1: the EMMYS, I'm gonna wear, you know, Givanshi or Gucci. Um.
Speaker 1: So it's it's all about wearing the right thing at
Speaker 1: the right venue. Um. That's like the key to always
Speaker 1: looking good. And what do you think about fashion trends?
Speaker 1: Are you like you know, I'm not a big beauty
Speaker 1: trend person, like, I just don't. I'm not a big
Speaker 1: trend person either, especially for me personally, because I think
Speaker 1: men's trends to like that ship has sailed. For me,
Speaker 1: like now it's all about being classic and I look
Speaker 1: to people like Tom Ford whoor like, listen, you need
Speaker 1: a black suit, a bunch of white shirts, a great
Speaker 1: pair of darkwashed jeans, a loafer, a good watch and like,
Speaker 1: if you're like a fifty year old man, that's what
Speaker 1: you need and you're done. I'm trying to embrace that.
Speaker 1: I love clothes so much, though, that, like, you know,
Speaker 1: every time there's like a new Ralph Lauren like Santa
Speaker 1: Fe inspired thing, I'm like buying all the NAVA host
Speaker 1: sweaters and Um, if there's d squared like sparkly encrusted
Speaker 1: Shambrai shirts, I have to buy those. So I still
Speaker 1: have fun with it. So did you get a Ralph Flauren? Discounts? Still,
Speaker 1: I actually do. Okay, you better, I mean, come on,
Speaker 1: I think. I think you're such good, you know, spreading
Speaker 1: of the Ralph Lauren brand. Are you a guy on Tiktok?
Speaker 1: I'm not on TIKTOK. I mean I have a Tiktok,
Speaker 1: you know, just because I needed to get one, but
Speaker 1: I have never used it and I love like doing
Speaker 1: Martha's Stuarty kind of things, like around the farm, like
Speaker 1: landscaping and, uh, potting, you know, beautiful pots with flowers like.
Speaker 1: I love all those domestic arts. So I should start
Speaker 1: doing TIKTOK's about that? Yeah, because, I mean I'm kind
Speaker 1: of sensing that you're coming into another phase in your life. Absolutely, no,
Speaker 1: I totally am. Um. I think it's like being in
Speaker 1: my fifties and emerging on the other side of the pandemic. Um,
Speaker 1: I really kind of you know, know what I want
Speaker 1: to do and I know what's important, and your priorities change. Yeah, what,
Speaker 1: what haven't you done that you wish you know that
Speaker 1: you want to still do? Oh, Um, I would. I
Speaker 1: would love to, you know, do something maybe in like
Speaker 1: the daytime TV space about like lifestyle. Um. I do
Speaker 1: love all things like cooking, entertaining, decorating, fashion, Um, and
Speaker 1: they're all kind of like, you know, text styled driven. Um.
Speaker 1: And then personally, Um, I do have a farm now,
Speaker 1: but there's another one that it's ridiculous, like I have
Speaker 1: this real estate like obsession. Um. There's another one that
Speaker 1: was my grandparents where I learned to ride and it's
Speaker 1: very sentimental and it's beautiful and it was, you know,
Speaker 1: sold when I was a kid and now it's maybe
Speaker 1: potentially available again. So I'm I'm trying to figure out
Speaker 1: like if I can be like the real estate guru
Speaker 1: and like have an airbnb and maybe have like a
Speaker 1: farm to table something. So I'm just feeling very entrepreneurial.
Speaker 1: And you know what, yes, the answer is yes, you
Speaker 1: could do all of those things and we will be
Speaker 1: either coming to visit to have dinner there or we'll
Speaker 1: be buying the things you're making to get that feel.
Speaker 1: So I'm excited to hear it all. So I always
Speaker 1: asked this question. Is the last question I ask everyone,
Speaker 1: and whatever pops out of your head, but if you
Speaker 1: could tell everyone listening to this podcast what's the one
Speaker 1: thing that they could do that could change the course
Speaker 1: of their life just by listening to us talk today,
Speaker 1: what could it be? Oh, I'M gonna go back to
Speaker 1: my life, my philosophy of life, which is just, you know,
Speaker 1: the say yes and figure it out later. And I
Speaker 1: it's good to be cautious and prudent and all of that,
Speaker 1: but sometimes I think we're a little bit too hamstring
Speaker 1: by fear and sometimes you just need to say yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna do that and then figure it out later.
Speaker 1: I love that. I love that and honestly, I expected
Speaker 1: different from you today and I'm so happy, like what
Speaker 1: what I experienced talking to I just thought you were
Speaker 1: going to be much more something from being and loud.
Speaker 1: I can do that too, but you know, this is
Speaker 1: so intimate. was just like a one on one um
Speaker 1: wow amongst friends. So, but this is the real you.
Speaker 1: I mean the other is your I like this, Carson,
Speaker 1: so of them. I like the other one too, but
Speaker 1: it's I've been really fun talking to you and I
Speaker 1: really appreciate you coming on the podcast. I loved you
Speaker 1: every second and I will come back any time. Just
Speaker 1: let me know. Thanks. Thank you. Bye. Thanks for listening.
Speaker 1: Follow us on social apt the important things podcast on
Speaker 1: instagram and just Bobby Brown on Tiktok. See you guys
Speaker 1: next time.