We had the good fortune of connecting with Fernie Rosales and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Fernie, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I give the same answer every time I’m asked this question and it’s quite simple… it makes me happy! I don’t believe I’ve ever felt so much joy in my heart, well unless I’m in love but that’s only happened a handful of times. At first, this was not the journey I thought I was going to take, I wanted to be a veterinarian at first because of my love for animals. But then I saw the movies “Honey” and “You Got Served” and I was blown away! I was hooked to the point where I ended up memorizing every dance routine from both movies. I would then take those dance moves I learned and use them at all the school dances, I was a hit haha! Throughout high school, more and more people would know that I dance so at some point I was asked to be a part of a lot of Quincenera’s and even got asked to choreograph a few of them too. This is probably what helped jump-start my decision to pursue a career in dance.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
What I think sets me apart from others is that I live 2 lives. To be honest, what I’m most proud of is being able to balance everything that goes on in my life. Let me break it down for you:

My 1st life consists of helping my father run the family business. Rosales Metal is the name, feel free to Google us. Our line of work is we electropolish stainless steel parts serving all types industries such as Marine, Water, Food & Beverage, Pharmaceutical, and even Architectural Designs. Still don’t know what we do? I’ll simplify it, I love using this Shrek reference. You know how an onion has layers? Well picture an onion made out of stainless steel, got it in your head? Great, now picture that stainless steel onion being dipped into an acid tank. Now using copper as a conductor, we run an electrical current that starts to heat up the onion and beings to burn a few microscopic layers. After a certain amount of time we take out the onion and what was once a dull-looking grey piece of metal is now a shiny mirror like beautiful non-edible onion that will not rust and last a lifetime. How’d did I get into this line of work? Well, long story short my father worked at an Electropolishing factory for over 20 years. During my mid-teen years I would work with my dad to earn some cash on the side and also learn some responsibility. Sooner or later my father had a fallout with the owner, he decided to leave and eventually opened a shop of his own. At the time I was a manager at a movie theatre and I ended up leaving so I could help my father build what is now the family business. Was it an easy transition? Oh heck no! Starting a small business has it’s ups and downs more often than you think. Rosales Metal was heading in the right direction and things were looking bright. We had a good handful of clientele that kept us busy and growing! Then the pandemic happened and thus entering our toughest year. Our biggest clientele decided to close down and that was a huge hit on us both work-wise and financially. We became dependent on our 2nd biggest client and we were just getting by. During the summer of 2020 half our clientele either closed down or they sold their business. I can remember making so many phone calls, sending thousands of emails, and even driving to possible new clients in hopes of getting some work to keep us afloat. I had little success and a lot had to do due with COVID-19. Other businesses were having a difficult time finding work as well, let alone just getting material to manufacture parts for us to electropolish. It came to the point were my father and I had a deep conversation of closing for a few weeks just to save money on electricity, water, and labor. But we couldn’t do it, we had employees to worry about, their own bills to pay, our own bills to pay… I haven’t been paid in weeks, well I was given my paycheck but couldn’t cash it to do lack of funds. We would barely get by paying our employees and the Late Fees on our bills continued to pile up.

There came a time where I could sense my father losing hope on the business, I’ve never seen him so stressed out in my life. He was so concerned about not being able to pay our employees he would pay them out of his own pocket. Seeing my father do that made me realized that I had to do everything I possibly can to save this business. There was no way I was going to let my father see his business crumble before him like that, not without a fight. In fact this flame that spark inside me allowed me to find us a breath of fresh air for once. An old client hit me up out of the blue, saying they desperately needed our services. I found the answer we need and all that weight on our shoulders started to feel light. Business was slowing back to on track and our employees and bills were getting paid on time! But I didn’t stop there, I refused to just barely getting by anymore. It wasn’t until this year where I managed to seal the deal on what is now our biggest clientele! Business is BOOMING and my father has a smile on his face again. The major lesson I learned in all this is that my family and I are survivors…as long as I can keep this mentality then there’s nothing I cant’ do.

Oh you thought I was done? There’s still another side of me you need to know. My 2nd life is my favorite side. You got to know what my day life consists of and now it’s time for my night life. No, I don’t mean my party life but my other line of work can feel like a party. My professional dance life has also been a roller coaster but a little more enjoyable. I started dancing the age of 11 at least that’s what I recall, but my mother tells me this crazy story that I actually stared dancing before I even started walking, weird right? I didn’t really take dance seriously until i graduated high school. I was attending Cal Poly Pomona where I meet my first mentor, Brendan J. Brasier. I pretty much became his side-kick and taught me everything I needed to know as a pro. To this day I hold his lessons close and even pass them down to others. Over the years you learn a thing or two within the industry. I learned that you’re either naturally gifted, trained for years, or know the right people in more ways than one…either way it’s tough. I’ve literally put my mind and my body through hell, as rewarding it is to work in this industry, it can also easily break you. To the long late-night rehearsal schedules, the lack of sleep, to always being on the move is just the gist of it. It’s affected my love live but that’s not their fault it was mine, at the time I was making dance my main priority I neglected the people who were truly down for me. My relationship with my family was up and down and it was understandable. They only saw what I did as a hobby and nothing else, it breaks my heart because I want them to understand why I continue to do this and the only way I know they will is if they actually see me perform in person. My family has yet to see my perform, they’ve seen videos but I don’t count that. They can’t feel my energy via video, they can’t feel the emotions and everything else that I leave on that stage. I don’t think that day will every happen and I’ve accepted that, I learned that you’re not always going to have the support from the people closest to you.

Even through all the downs, I still have a strong passion and love for dance. I’ve been able to experience a lot of wonderful and unforgettable memories; to being in music videos, performing at concerts, being in commercials, you name it! But through this journey you eventually find your home and start a new journey from there. I found a home at Snowglobe Perspective, to where I continue my training to this day. Within that studio I’ve gotten the honor to know and befriend such amazing people. People that lead me to teams such as <ThaMost & Snowtorious, to name a few. Can you imagine what it’s like to be in a room with 40 plus people who share the same passion as you? Now imagine sharing a stage with them. The energy is insane and I live for it! I live for it so much I also work for Insomniac where I perform and dance at almost all the EDM Raves you can possibly think of! It doesn’t stop there, I also love teach other dancers the knowledge I’ve acquired during my time that I direct a kid’s hip-hop dance known as DND Entertainment. Now this job right here is seriously the cherry on top, why? Not only does it warm my heart knowing that kids want to learn how to dance at such a young age and the mere fact that the kids I currently direct; I’ve been teaching them for almost 3 years now and it’s a beautiful feeling know their growth is because of my teachings. I don’t know about you, but that hits the sweet spot for me.

In the end, what I want the world to know is that there are people out there like me…hungry survivors. I’m not the only one who has a story like this, I’m truly honored to be able to share mine and I hope more stories get heard! Best believe that by the end of this year Rosales Metal will be a bigger name than what it was before, I will manifest it. As for my dancing… I have no intention of stopping anytime soon I still have a few things on my bucket list I need to cross off. I like to always think on the bright-side of things, so if and when life knocks you down and you’ve gotten up countless times. Tell yourself this that my grandpa used to tell me, “sigo aprendiendo” which translate to… I”m Still Learning.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Man, there are so many options on how to answer this question! Hmmm, a week-long trip?

Monday: Magaratia Monday’s
No place sells better Magarita’s then El Pescador in West Covina! We would definitely hit up this spot for sure with a couple of friends, follow by the bowling lanes down the street.

Tuesday: Taco & Tequila Tuesday!
On this day we would hit up Disneyland because we used to have annual passes before they expired. Now tickets costs an arm and an leg, but it used to be a tradition of ours so the sacrifice would be worth it. This will surely be an all day thing.

Wednesday: Whiskey Wednesday!
One of my favorite days of the week, Hump Day! Hmmmm, seeing how my best friend is visiting the area why not spice up his wardrobe by go to the mall and window shop most of the time. Going into high-end stores to look at the price tag and sayING, “DAAAAAMMMNNNNN!” End the day by catching the new Batman movie that I have yet to see, don’t spoil it for me!

Thursday; Tequila Thursday!
That’s right tequila again! This day would be our chill day and just relax. Probably sleep-in a little and starting the day with some breakfast burritos. Take a trip to LA and do a litte site-seeing until we find a spot with a pool table and that’s when all hell breaks loose. Most of my friends, lies, the majority of them are really competitive so when it comes to one-on-one games or any game ingeneral, it gets pretty crazy. Knowing us, we would spend all day there just trying to best one another. Don’t tell them i told you this but I usually win. 😀

Friday-Sunday: HWGA Weekend
WHGA meaning “Here We Go Again” weekend is going to be a toss up depending on what’s going on that weekend. It’s between a Rave or San Diego, we both love EDM and San Diego just happens to be a spot we like to go too. So I’m going to do what our great forefathers always did to solve their issues, Flip A Coin…one sec. Okay it’s Tails so San Diego Trip it is! This would be an all weekend event ending with us coming back that Sunday evening. Now I will not say what we be doing because well, I just rather not say but it will with out a doubt be unforgettable!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Wow, honestly I want to give a HUGE shout-out to EVERYONE that’s been and is still a part of my life. I know that may sound a little cheesy but, there are just too many people to name. Everyone has had some impact on my life whether it be good or bad. But if I was to give the spotlight to a few people it’ll be these:

My Family
My Friends
My Afeenix Family
My Snowglobe Family
My Insomniac Family

Thank you for allowing me to be myself and giving me the space to do what I love to do.

Website: www.rosalesmetal.net

Instagram: blackrose24_

Twitter: @blvckrose24

Facebook: Fernie Rosales

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1nY9PtuuAnMDPXaCKtC3SA

Other: Pokemon GO Trainer Code: 8980 6366 4113

Image Credits
Vibrncy Collective Brain Rodriguez World Of Dance

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