Angelica Ross talks mentorship, entrepreneurship, and Pose on FX

Rocio Sanchez: Hello and Welcome to Transition of Style, the podcast all about queerness, fashion, business, and how all three meet. Because queer folks, we’re not footnotes in the fashion industry, because we’ve been influencing it all along. I’m your host, Rocio Sanchez. Feel free to use any pronouns for me. And I’m a digital marketer with a background in fashion who wants to bring you business insights from queer fashion leaders of today. In previous episodes, the guests have had very clear connections to fashion, business, and their lived queer experiences all in one go. Think LGBTQ+ CEOs of fashion brands that cater to queer folks, for example. But sometimes we have people who have lived many lives, started many projects, founded an organization or two, having had so many different experiences that it’s hard to roll them all into one queer fashion business story. We have so much to learn from such guests. And one such guest is the one we have today. So, Ms. Angelica Ross, actress, singer, activist, tech entrepreneur, and host of now, No Opportunity Wasted the podcast. Welcome to the show. How are you doing today?

Angelica Ross: I’m doing pretty well. You know, life is a juggle. The world is on fire. A lot is going on, but I’m actually feeling pretty good.

Rocio Sanchez: Right. Well, I can’t ask for anything more today. Thank you for being here. Let me get this out of the way to give the listeners more background on you, if they even need it. Because while I know you from Trans Tech, the organization you founded to empower trans people to get jobs in the tech industry, an organization I’m proud to be partnered with and be a member of, I know you also from playing Candy Ferocity on FX’s hit series Pose, which outlines the fictional lives of realistic transgender nonconforming and queer folks in 1990s New York, my lovely home city. That show was ripe with iconic fashion, but I actually don’t want to know about that right now. What I want to learn about is you, your fashion and your story. What is the signature Angelica Ross style? And what’s the story behind that style? Whatever you feel comfortable telling us.

Angelica Ross: I think my style has developed over decades now. Cause you know, I’m, uh, Auntie Angelica says some to a Mother to others. So, you know, what I learned, when I was younger, one of the movies that really inspired me, and this is going to kind of date me. I think I was like mid twenties or so when this was out, but, The Devil Wears Prada, obviously, I was working at the BB retail store at the time. And I was kind of, I was pretty well into my transition at that point. And I kind of was starting to get a hold of what my style was. And what I loved about working at BB was for me, it was the first time I sort of was really introduced to a brand that really felt like it tailored my body. But then I really realized with, being in Chicago, there were stores like AKIRA. Which was an insanely amazing fashion store, had several locations, but they always had the best pieces, and it was a very much like a high, low store. So you, there were times I went in there and spent a cute coin on a piece. And there were many times I could go in and find so many dresses and outfits on the low, you know, and I still have them in my, actually my closet today. But what I realized was if you could find something that was really well made, then you could just get it custom to your body. And that’s when the game changed for me. That’s when I realized I could create a lot of things.

Rocio Sanchez: Yeah, I could imagine. And now, now you are, well, we’re always self-actualizing, but in this fashion sense, you know, do you feel like you’ve kind of arrived there? Do you have people that you work with, a personal stylist? Like, how do you come into spaces now? Does it come easily to you, your style?

Angelica Ross: I think my style comes pretty easy to me now. And I used to be an image consultant when I first started out. So, in my early 20s, I realized that I wanted to be a spiritual coach or a life coach basically. But I was 25 and I realized I didn’t know anything about life yet. So, when I was studying for spiritual coaching, I realized that it was kind of in a category of coaches. And one of those categories was as an image consultant. And so I started studying and I did do some image consulting for a while and that is where I really learned how to match style according to people’s skin tones, colors, and seasons. I learned about different fashion errors. I went to fashion school online with the Art Institute. I have a lot under my belt and up my sleeve when it comes to my experience in all of these 43 years. So, you know, it’s great when I do have access to a stylist in Hollywood and, you know, the budget is there to do those things. But as folks know in Hollywood to be that star, it does take that whole team. And many times, you know, especially as a Black trans woman, they’re not giving me the budgets to have, you know, the Zendaya effect. So, I have to make the Zendaya effect for myself.

Rocio Sanchez: I can see that. I mean, you haven’t shied away from what’s been going on in Hollywood, but if we were to like, take a step back and talk about how your personal style, how you feel like it’s influenced your career. If you think it has. Whether it’s the confidence to walk into a pitch meeting or getting you in character for an audition, can you speak to that?

Angelica Ross: Yes. I mean, I would be remiss, I guess I could say if I did not acknowledge my cis-assumed privilege. So a lot of what my experience is in Hollywood has been about how I walk into a room and, you know, whether I’m wearing makeup or not, I have learned how to present myself in a way that’s attractive. And some of that is steeped in respectability politics. And, you know, I was groomed by some of the most beautiful trans women that have ever walked this Earth. Who taught me about not leaving the house without wearing at least a small stud or earring. Who taught me about skincare, who taught me, you know, about tweezing and how to, even if you were struggling with, you know, a little hair coming here and there of at least how to stay on top of it in a way that was flawless. So, that whole ballroom essence of learning how to bring it all to the floor, like that really served me of growing up in those communities and learning how to, what we call “be polished”. We always call it, being polished and that doesn’t always have to do with being pretty or beautiful. It just means being polished.

Rocio Sanchez: Yeah, I understand. And you mentioned that whole, like, in the general sense, that ballroom, bringing that to the floor. That brings me to Pose of course, because fashion was such a cornerstone of that world, whether it’s on a set or in real life or the real-life underground balls of 1990s, New York City. But if we’re to focus on, you’re talking so much about the trans women that, influenced your, that education of being polished. What was it like to work with other phenomenal queer trans women and people of color on that set, focusing on that, that positive, right, like that extravagant world, bringing that to life. What was that energy like to come into that space, wearing that extravagant fashion, as it were?

Angelica Ross: Well, listen, it was. Pose, we filmed over three seasons, which meant over many, many months. Over many, many days and many, many hours spent together on set. And it was like a family. It really did become like a family. And so we loved on each other. We supported each other. Sometimes we fought a little bit. And the truth of the matter is, you know, being in the ballroom scene, you got to deal with all kinds of egos and attitudes and all that kind of stuff. And that stuff was flying all around, you know, from folks who were in the extras to folks who were in, you know, main characters. So it, it was, it was just real, you know, that’s what was so amazing about it is you had this spectrum of people who felt a certain way because you know, they’re iconic and legendary in real life in the ballroom scene. And I’m just playing that on TV. You know what I’m saying. But I am an actor with experience. Pose was not my first time around the rodeo. I was on Claws before that, Transparent, Doubt and, you know, just a lot of other things. And so what I loved about my role and the way that I showed up on set was I understood the moment, I understood the assignment, and so I delivered both on camera.

Angelica Ross: And off camera when I was with my community. And I understood how they felt, you know, like they were in the midst of their dreams and maybe they were just right on the other side of it, you know, and just encouraging my community that this is part of the process. That I too was an extra on CSI Miami. I think it was called South Beach, it was a show that was executive produced by Jennifer Lopez. For a decade I did commercials and extra work and all this stuff before I even got to Pose. So I was able to kind of pour into my community in ways that I think after a while, they really, truly trusted me and supported me in the work that I was doing there. And that was, it was just such a beautiful, I grew so many relationships out of there that I still have today.

Rocio Sanchez: You all definitely brought it to life. You brought Candy to life, it was really beautiful. It’s something that stuck with me. That’s why I literally wrote a master’s thesis on queer fashion and Pose was one of the main passages. I was like, Pose, Pose, Pose, Pose just because, that was the visual like draw of the show, you know, I was like fashion, fashion, fashion, fashion. And then there was the stories that were brought to life by, you know, you and your amazing cast members and peers. So, we know now about your personal story a little bit more about it, of course. That signature Angelica Ross style, and how fashion plays a role in your career, as you described it. But let’s shift gears a little bit because in a recent Time article, you discussed Trans Tech, the organization you founded to train trans people with tech skills, and how you struggled to keep it funded. But you said the bills were always paid. So it’s no secret that being an entrepreneur is risky, whether that is you’ve got your own organization or you are an actor trying to make it out there. It’s even more risky when you’re a queer entrepreneur, a Black entrepreneur, trans entrepreneur, all rolled into one. Not because those are things that make you less qualified, right? But because the people who have the power to keep your idea afloat with just the check, those VCs, venture capitalists, investors, they have those biases, whether they know it or not. So in your experience, besides finding that funding from unlikely sources, which you’ve talked about was a struggle, what do you find has been your biggest struggle as a Black entrepreneur of trans experience?

Angelica Ross: Okay. So this is going to be a tough one, but basically, one of my biggest challenges was getting my community to see that my cis assumed privilege, my academic privilege, my able-bodied privilege. Although I recognize those things and I’m able to make the most out of those privileges in my life as a Black trans woman, I’m still a Black trans woman. And so, the world is not rolling out bankrolls for me. The world is not rolling out so many opportunities. And so when I get those opportunities, I create those opportunities, or when I get a budget or when I get certain things, that’s what I got. And so, unfortunately, what that looks like sometimes is when you’re a strong leader who is capable of so many things, there was just a period of time where I was truly carrying folks on my back. Who I understood were dealing with, whether it might be mental health challenges, it might be other things, but I’m also dealing with things too. And so where, my community fell short in maybe finishing a job that I brought on as a tech company or doing things, I had to personally fill in the gap, even though I was never paid for it. So there were so many times that I paid for Trans Tech’s progress. And I was doing so with such a spiritual offering. It’s basically what you do when you make an offering without expectation. So it was something that I had to, kind of process through. It wasn’t always easy to be doing work that. You didn’t always get a thank you for. That folks just expected you to do because of whatever reasons they’re, you know, expectations and entitlement. I don’t know. But, the sacrifices I made, you know, so many different things that I think folks were not aware of.

Angelica Ross: And it’s, that’s totally fine. But, what was really hard was when folks didn’t realize that that was all I had. So, if someone else wanted something from me, I couldn’t give it because, you know, that was all I had. Whatever I had was what I had. And so sometimes, you know, we have folks in our community because we’re used to the street economy or used to certain things or the hustle of things. There were times when my own community was hustling me. I mean, it just is what it is, you know? So, folks were hustling me from all kinds of things. So, I had to learn how to keep my heart open. For my community, even though I knew a lot of the tactics that were being sort of used or deployed, even when I knew that they were projecting sometimes their fears and anxieties or their anger towards the world onto me at times. You know, I’ve been doing this for a couple of decades now. So, what I know now about my experience with my community is I’m trusted. Cause people know that I’m not scared of the conversation. They know I’m not scared of confrontation, which means I’m not scared of confrontation to the system.

Angelica Ross: They know that. They know that I’m not just in here for my own privileges. Cause if I was, I would be married with a couple of stepchildren in South Florida in a gated community. Twice over. You know, I, I really feel like one of the most challenging things has been for me to, kind of put boundaries around my capacity because when I know that I don’t even have more to offer, I’ll still offer more sometimes. And as nice as that sounds, that might not be physically great for me. And so in order to protect myself and to treat myself with the utmost respect and to value myself, I have to sort of put boundaries around what I’m offering people and to know that what I’m offering is enough.

Rocio Sanchez: I see what you’re saying. And I commend you for your transparency, especially cause you’ve got so many different projects in different industries, right? Your transparency about your fallout with Hollywood, that was something that was, you know, anybody who knows about it, it’s hard to just even read it. And then, to live it, I’m sure that was hard too, but for you to just be like, nah, that’s, that’s it. This is the boundary. I’m doing my thing now. That is something that people have to commend. And that’s, that’s a trend, that I’ve, heard throughout this podcast, interviewing people of, sometimes you got to walk away from things that aren’t, you might lose something, but you got to do it, right?

Angelica Ross: Well, that’s and I’m, I have to tell folks, that’s a muscle that needs to be developed at a very, I won’t say young age, but what I will say is at a very primitive step in your journey. So what I mean by this is not when you get successful. Way before you get successful, you need to know what is that line for you to say, I’m out. And that line to know that that line changes as you develop. So for me, as a former sex worker, you know, my line looked different back then. My price point was different back then. It’s much different now. It takes time.

Rocio Sanchez: And, in the context of business partnerships, or if, I mean, we can extrapolate it to many different contexts. If you’re saying it’s a muscle, what would you say are some exercises people could maybe take from this? Maybe it could be super simple. What would you say?

Angelica Ross: Well, as my dear friend, who has passed, rest in peace, Nikki Araguz Loyd would say, “Some days chicken, some days feathers.” And what I loved about what she would tell me is to get used to enjoying this life. And to enjoy the days when the feast is here and to be had, but to also know how to maneuver when all you can pull together is a couple of feathers. And so when we come from very humble beginnings, we can start to practice this. We know what this is like. So you can practice this starting right where you are, trust and believe. And it’s a place of understanding that joy can be had, that love can be experienced, that respect can be had. That you can challenge yourself and push yourself to be good at something, even if it’s in a something small. So again, it is a mindset that you have to develop about being the same person. Whether you are with the President or with a janitor. Cause when you are able to bring that sort of, again, we call it Buddhahood or Buddha nature.When you’re able to bring that thing, that essence that makes people smile or makes people feel like they’re seen and valued to every encounter. That’s what changes your perspective on where you are in your environment. So instead of you needing your environment to change in order for you to be happy, you can change your environment by becoming absolutely happy, regardless of what is going on. It’s a great lesson in life that can, you can really start practicing from step one.

Rocio Sanchez: Thank you for that. And I’m glad you, you brought it back Buddhism. Cause I was like, let me ask something about that, but you brought it, you brought it back. So given everything that you’ve told us today, reflecting on your career, what trends do you see happening in the world of fashion, entrepreneurship, and diversity and inclusion?

Angelica Ross: I see that people are realizing that the personal is political and what is more personal than fashion. And I feel like I’ve seen people making so many sort of political statements through fashion, whether it is writings that are on their bags, whether it is traditionally masculine cisgender presenting men blurring the lines of gender with fashion that obviously has been influenced by queer culture. What I’m seeing is that the move towards liberation is also happening through fashion. And I think that’s a trend that we’re going to continue to see unfold.

Rocio Sanchez: I appreciate that insight. And I definitely agree with that. We’ve seen that for a while, back to the AIDS crisis where, you know, slogan t-shirts, on signs, but also on your, whatever you were wearing, everything was a medium to tell the message. From activism to just your personal, Hey, I like this, I like this color. You know, it says something about you. It says something about what’s going on in the culture. So I really appreciate that insight. Do you have anything else to tell the people listening before we wrap it up here?

Angelica Ross: Check out my podcast, No Opportunity Wasted. And, you know, the only reason why I say that, because what I’m doing there is with each episode, I offer also what I call a Buddhist breadcrumb, which is what I’m hoping will be these small things that will lead folks to their own study of Buddhism. So they’re, you know, very small concepts that I offer, but they’re also what we call like ships to cross the sea of suffering. Meaning like, even if you just meditated on one of these things, one of these gems, one of these breadcrumbs that I dropped, it would be able to hold you over through these moments of suffering. So some of those things, really, there’s just so, there’s just so many favorite things that I love about it. A lot of it is really just understanding that your life is a reflection. And in order to see that reflection clearly, you have to have some kind of practice that polishes your life, that polishes the mirror so that you can see through the pollution of our culture. That you could see through the sort of internalized “-isms” that we take on and see yourself and your value clearly.

Angelica Ross: And if you’re not doing that, you have to understand that there is a real onslaught that is sort of attacking us all daily on that. And so they’re winning. They’re winning if you’re not creating some sort of your own strategy to address, how do we respond to our life in the current state of things? Do we stick our head in the sand? No. Do we run away from our problems? No. Do we, embrace denial? No. So to see yourself and others clearly, I think that folks have to embrace what I call a, some sort of spiritual practice. I will be launching a free online course on MissRoss.com that is called the Personal PhD, and it basically gives the fundamentals around having a spiritual foundation, understanding intrinsic value. Understanding how to increase your life condition, as well as understanding how important it is to curate your own curriculum. You don’t need any specific degrees, delineations. You just need to understand that you are unique and the more that you can curate your learning to your uniqueness, the better your outcomes will be.

Rocio Sanchez: No Opportunity Wasted the podcast it’s out now. That’s what you’re up to now. You just answered my next question, which is what is next for you. But of course, you have a lot of other things too, right?

Angelica Ross: Just stay tuned to all the social media platforms because I trust you, we’re just getting started. I’m 43, but I feel like I’m 23 and just getting started.

Rocio Sanchez: Love to hear it. Thank you so much Angelica Ross for joining us. I will definitely keep an eye out and what’s going on with you. So thank you so much and have a good rest of your day.

Angelica Ross: Thank you.

Rocio Sanchez: Transition of Style is brought to you by FC Podcasts, a division of Fashion Consort. Learn more about how FC Podcasts can help you with podcasting, from strategy and creation to production and marketing at fcpodcasts.com. That’s fcpodcasts.com. Thank you FC Podcasts, for making Transition of Style possible. Now, back to the show.

Rocio Sanchez: Welcome back to the podcast. It’s time for the case study portion of our episode. I will give you 3 key takeaways from our guest’s business strategies that you can apply to your own entrepreneurial journey Today let’s talk about Angelica Ross and her multifaceted journey. She’s a powerhouse in the world of tech, entertainment, and advocacy.

The first thing we can learn is the importance of mentorship. Angelica Ross’s journey highlights how important mentorship is to your career journey. Throughout her career, she has been mentored by some of the most influential trans women who taught her essential skills in fashion, self-presentation, and resilience. These mentorships helped her navigate various challenges and ultimately empowered her to mentor others in her community. Seek out mentors who can guide you and provide valuable insights based on their experiences. Equally, be prepared to offer mentorship to others, sharing your knowledge and helping them overcome their challenges. Building a strong support network is so important for personal and professional growth.

Secondly, keep your heart open and embrace vulnerability. Despite facing numerous challenges, including financial struggles and dealing with biases in various industries, Angelica emphasizes the importance of keeping your heart open and embracing vulnerability. This approach has allowed her to connect deeply with her community, even when dealing with difficult situations. Embracing vulnerability can be a strength. Being honest and open about your struggles can foster trust and solidarity within your community. Proceed with caution though, because of course, you don’t want to be giving your entire life away to the world. Be careful with who you share your vulnerability with, but at the same time, understand that it is so incredibly rewarding when you are open and honest, and vulnerable, especially within our community.

Lastly, embrace a winding career path. Angelica’s career is a testament to the fact that it’s okay for your career path to be non-linear. From working in retail and image consulting to becoming an actress and tech entrepreneur, Angelica’s journey has been anything but straight. She leveraged each experience to build a diverse and impactful career. So don’t be discouraged if your career path isn’t straightforward. Embrace each step as a valuable learning experience that adds to your skillset and broadens your horizons. Be open to new opportunities and willing to pivot when necessary. Remember, just like vulnerability, a winding path can lead to unique and fulfilling destinations.

Rocio Sanchez: Angelica Ross’s journey underscores the significance of mentorship, the power of vulnerability, and the value of embracing a winding career path. By staying open to learning, connecting deeply with your community, and being flexible in your career trajectory, you can create a rich and impactful professional life and brand. So take what you can from this story. Thank you so much for listening to Transition of Style. If you would like to listen more, subscribe anywhere you listen to your podcasts, follow us on Instagram at @transitionofstyle, and subscribe to our newsletter at transitionofstyle.com. Thank you so much. I’ll see you next time.