We had the good fortune of connecting with Richard Luis and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Richard, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I pursued a creative journey/career because of my love for arts & entertainment. I was blessed enough to grow up with a family (on both my mom & dad’s side) that shared their artistic hobbies whether it made them money or not. It was engraved in me, you could say, to have an outlet of expression through arts. The entertainment side just came from people around the neighborhood taking a liking to what I was doing. There are both hardships and wins that came with this journey (any journey you choose to embark on really) but I am just happy that I did not give up on myself even when life changing events happen.
Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I think what sets my brand aside from most artists is that I am not a gatekeeper when it comes to collaborations and opportunities. It is so obvious in the entertainment game about people using propaganda and gatekeeping to get one-up on others. Although I do not give every single person an opportunity to shine because I need to be sure of what I am putting my name behind at the end of the day it still does not benefit me to keep life changing opportunities from those who can make a profit of their own. Collaborations are what gets me to a higher level in providing a better experience for my fans who are putting their hard earned money into my ideas at the end of the day.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
You know what there are a LOT of spots to hit up on the regular but it varies depending on what kind of events I got going on throughout the week.
Monday – Hit up a breakfast spot in Long Beach called Good Time (they got coffee, breakfast, and alcohol). Hit the beach up down the street from me & chill out for a few hours and look at the attractions nearby. Come back to my place for the evening and make some Mexican comfort food & have a beer.
Tuesday – Same thing ma boieh
Wednesday – Skip breakfast and take you straight to a Muay Thai gym in Downey, CA that I like to train at. Stay there for a couple hours to get your butt whooped and then hit up 24-Hour fitness to go for a swim/hit the steam room. We will most likely be too tired to do anything at night but we’d hit up an Irish Pub for some billiards, beer, and good food.
Thursday – Same thing ma boieh
Friday – Wake up super early to hit up 24-hour fitness for another swim and a round in the steam room. Right after we get some breakfast burritos to get some energy in us. Go hit up a local bowling alley to burn off the calories again. Go back to my place to sleep for a while and get ready for bar hopping in Long Beach, CA. End the night at a friend’s house.
Saturday – Probably wake up at 11AM cause we went too hard the night before. Go hit the pool real quick to wake us up and get some coffee in us. Hit up a friend to bring the BBQ grill out for us to hang out and watch some UFC fights. At this point you are going to be too tired to even walk so I would still take you to some bars haha.
Sunday – Shower. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shoutout to my support group for being engaged with my content and always sharing my art with their friends. Also a big shoutout to the people I work with in getting all my art out, and for putting in effort in the shared collaboration for us to just get our work out there. I have worked years to have the professionalism I have now and I respect those who see that when they work with me. It’s not always an easy ask especially when people have busy schedules but I see you all putting in the work to help me achieve these milestones.
Instagram: https://instagram.com/richard.luis3?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@richardluis3
Image Credits
Victoria Gutierrez of Vicky Secrets Ross Deater of DripPhoto