DESMOND SAM: CREATING HIS OWN LANE
FEATURING DESMOND SAM ★ PHOTOS BY MARIA SMITH ★ WORDS AND INTERVIEW BY ANDYOMO
Desmond Sam never waited for a lane to open up for him—he created his own. From growing up in Brooklyn’s Flatbush to becoming a force in New York’s fashion and nightlife scenes, Dez has always trusted his instincts, even when the world around him couldn’t yet see his vision. His journey is one of self-determination, of making space where none existed, and of refusing to conform to an industry that often tried to box him in. Whether navigating fashion as a young Black queer creative or building Dine with Dez, the hottest new dinner party series popping up in cities across the country, Dez has proven time and time again that when the doors don’t open, you knock harder—or better yet, build your own.
His fashion journey began in the most New York way possible: a spontaneous decision, five dollars in his pocket, and an internship with the legendary Patricia Field that started with a steamer in hand. That moment set the stage for everything that followed. As he moved through the industry, Dez noticed a glaring absence—where were the people who looked like him? Who moved like him? Who understood the intersections of queerness, Blackness, and fashion in a way that felt relatable? The industry wasn’t offering answers, so Dez decided to become one. He refused to shrink himself or fit into the molds others tried to place him in. Instead, he leaned into what made him unique, turning it into his strength.
That same ethos led to Dine with Dez, a dining experience that’s far more than just food—it’s about community, culture, and conversation. “I created my own space because I didn’t feel fully taken in and embraced by the rooms I was in,” Dez shares. The dinners became a way to connect creatives in an intimate setting, offering something more meaningful than the temporary highs and lows of a club night. The warmth of those gatherings, the intentionality behind them, is what sets Dine with Dez apart. It’s not about exclusivity—it’s about belonging. And for Dez, that’s always been the mission: to make sure people feel seen, valued, and celebrated in ways that institutions often fail to do.
His outlook on success and mental health is just as intentional. Dez doesn’t believe in the idea of perfect balance. “There is no balance. There’s integration,” he explains. Instead of trying to separate work and life, he focuses on blending them in ways that feel sustainable. That perspective has given him the freedom to push forward without guilt, to trust his process, and to allow himself grace. In an industry that often demands exhaustion in exchange for success, Dez is rewriting the rules—prioritizing fulfillment over burnout and purpose over performativity.
Now, with Dine with Dez expanding to new cities and a larger vision taking shape, Dez is thinking globally. “Everything happens in my life when I give it a purpose,” he says, and his purpose has never been clearer. Whether through fashion, cultural storytelling, or event curation—crafting experiences that merge artistry, identity, and connection—Dez is paving the way for the next generation of Black, brown, and queer creatives. His story is a testament to the power of trusting yourself, building your own table when you’re not invited to the existing ones, and knowing that when you move with intention, the world eventually catches up. And we at Worldwide Magazine love to see it!
AndyOmo: Hi, Desmond. How are you today?
Desmond Sam: I'm doing good! Thank you for having me!
We're so excited here at Worldwide Magazine.
Same here, I'm excited to talk to y'all. I've been admiring you guys from afar!
Aww, that's so exciting to hear from you. Let's start by telling our readers a little bit about you; your name, your age, where you're from, and how long you've been in New York City.
My name is Desmond, but most people know me as Dez. I am 29, freshly, well I like to say freshly 29 even though I turned 29 in May.
[Laughs] Love it.
[Laughs] And I actually grew up here. I'm a New Yorker. I'm from Flatbush, Brooklyn.
Period. Exciting. And when in May? Are you in early May or late May?
May 12th. A real Taurus I like to say. [Laughs]
[Laughs] A real Taurus. I love it. That's so funny. I'm a May baby, but at the end of May, so I'm a Gemini.
Oh, Gemini. That's my rising.
Is it? That makes a lot of sense actually. You do give off very air sign right off the bat, so love that.
I'll take that. [Laughs]
What's kept you here in Brooklyn? Or not just in Brooklyn, but in the city- what's kept you here being born and raised?
Honestly, I feel like New York changes so much when you're in different parts of your life. Growing up here as a child it's not the same city as it is now. It was different even in my teens vs my early twenties. It's just always changing. I feel that my goal for New York was always that I'd leave here when I feel that I've done everything that I could, you know?
Right, I hear that.
Once that's done, once I feel that I can't do anything more in a place, I gotta go.
Totally!
What's really been the reason thats kept me here, is there's still so much for me to do [here].
I feel that. I'm always saying that you can go outside every day and get into something completely different.
For sure!
Moving onwards, can you tell us a little bit about your journey into the world of fashion and entrepreneurship?
My journey, well, like I said, I grew up here. I went to LaGuardia Arts High School. There, I wanted to study music. I thought I wanted to be an opera singer or something in theater. That's what my goal always was.
Wow!
Yeah, when I left high school, I was like, "This isn't it." [Laughs] "This isn't what I actually wanna do." And I had no idea what I wanted to do. And my parents told me, "Well, you need to go to college. You're not gonna sit here right after high school and not go get a degree. So I was like, “Okay.”
Right. [Laughs]
It's those Caribbean black parents from Brooklyn. Like, they're not gonna let you chill. [Laughs]
No, of course not. [Laughs]
So I jumped into the first CUNY I could get into and didn't really have any rhyme or reason to be there. I was majoring in music, but what's interesting about it is that when I went to Queensborough [Community College}, I minored in journalism. I did not even think twice about it [at the time].
But you were interested?
Yeah, I [figured I would try] it because at that point I was kind of falling out of love with music, especially in the way that I was engaging with it. So in my head, I was like, "Okay, I'll just do whatever sounds the most thrilling. Something so different from the music world." But honestly, my journalism class ended up being my favorite class that I took in college. Which is so funny that later on in life I became a publicist because I did not see that coming.
Full circle, right?
From there, when I left school, I would just go meet my friends at Union Square and we would just go run around the studios, shoot, take pictures, and that's how I got into modeling, literally just meeting these kids from Union and them taking pictures of me and putting them on Tumblr and brands started reaching out to me.
I love it. That's so great. Very early times for sure.
Yeah. Very that [Laughs] Tumblr meetups, you know?
Right.
I was doing that and then I had called my friend at the time and she was working for this woman named Patricia Field, and was like, "Hey, if you want a job, you need to come here right now, literally leave school." So I remember leaving school and I had only $5 in my pocket. I came to the city, used the rest of the money I had to get here, went to her, and I was like, "I need a job." And she was like, "You need to intern first." And she just handed me a steamer, and I just started steaming. [Laughs]
I love it.
[Laughs] And then two weeks later, she hired me!
Wow, that's super awesome!
And that was my first fashion job!
That's such a New York experience, just the story itself, Patricia Field, and getting on the train with five dollars in your pocket. Very relatable, I love that.
And I had to take three buses to get to that train! [Laughs]
[Laughs] That's so funny, I love that. Those three buses changed your life, it's truly amazing! What creative inspirations did you have growing up? Were you exposed to creatives or any creative outlets at an early age? I know you were passionate about music when you were younger but, was that something that was present in your youth and looked at as an option for you?
Well I grew up heavily around the church, through my grandparents. My mom tried to uphold that. Until she had her own relationship with religion and felt like, "I'm not going to force this on you as much as [I] got forced into religion as a child." She left it very up to my choice of what I wanted to do. And the one thing I really liked about church was the music. That was always the thing that called to me, but honestly, not understanding or knowing how to navigate my queerness at such a young age, being in religious spaces made me feel uncomfortable. I couldn't pinpoint why until later on in life.
Totally.
But what I did love was the music aspect. I was blessed to have parents who once they saw my interest in something, invested in it.
That's amazing.
They put time and attention into whatever it was that I wanted to do. So when music was that they were like, let's go. They didn't know that I was even into music until they came to my elementary graduation. I had gotten [to sing] a solo and I hadn't told anyone in my family about it.
Oh, that's so funny!
They just saw me up there singing. I forgot what I sang. [Laughs] So I sang and they saw that, "Oh, he likes music!" Ever since then they encouraged me to get into band practice and to try to study [music]. I went to music camp at a young age, and I was in school for music which trained me to go to Laguardia Arts for high school. I was always involved in music and my family are big music buffs— very into music. I grew up just listening to everything you can imagine.
Mm. That's amazing though 'cause I feel like that in itself is a very indirect way of inspiration to discovering your passions at a very young age. I love that. I can even relate, as my dad was also in music within the church, as a percussionist, and so from a very young age, I could relate to that feeling of loving the music as a way of expressing myself while not necessarily knowing how to feel in a religious space as a queer child. But that's very awesome, just that level of support at such a young age, even if it wasn't for the fashion industry quite yet. Showing you that you did have that support in a creative aspect, which is honestly quite uncommon in a lot of Black and Caribbean families too. I think that's so cool in itself.
I didn't make it easy to support me. I fought tooth and nail with them! [Laughs]
Of course. [Laughs] We're all teenagers once, so, I feel you there. It's great to look back with that perspective now, to feel that constant support throughout your journey. Moving forward a bit, talking about your personality, would you say that it takes a certain personality type to be in the roles that you take on now as an entrepreneur and as a publicist?
Oh, for sure. It takes a certain level of patience. It's funny 'cause I feel like my friends that are close to me probably wouldn't say I'm the most patient person. [Laughs]
That's funny.
But If you work with me in a corporate environment, my patience comes out. And I realized that that's what I put it into. But in my personal life, I have no patience. [Laughs]
[Laughs]
It takes a certain level of understanding of detail to be in a creative space. I'm not your conventional artist. I'm not a painter. I'm not here making music at this moment. I'm not doing your traditional artwork. My PR, my curation of events, my consulting, and my keen way of creating strategy, are my art form. And because I can stand ten toes down on what makes me a creative is the reason why I'm able to maneuver and navigate in the world that I am. You have to be able to trust yourself.
Totally, that's huge. So patience, trusting yourself, and going after what you believe in. Would you say that you have picked up these traits and learned about yourself through challenges in your career? Or would you say that these are traits that you have always possessed and tuned throughout your life?
Oh no, for sure. It took my mentors, the people who took a chance on me, to help cultivate where I am right now because I wasn't always as confident as I am at this moment in my life. I didn't always feel like I got it. You know?
Completely.
It's so different when you wake up and have that moment of, "This makes sense, I got it. This is what I'm supposed to be doing. This is who I am." Only then can you start to live in the world that you're creating.
Wow, so true!
It's so different because I feel like before I was living in a world that was given to me and the moment I decided I didn't want to be a part of that world, one that was just handed to me, but instead I wanted to create my own [world]. That’s when I realized that I had to trust myself completely. I had to learn how to be patient. I had to learn that not everyone's going to tell you yes right away. You might hear a hundred no's, but those no's are not to hold you back. They're meant to push you forward.
Amen! That's a great reminder, truly inspiring. Every no is just an opportunity for you to edit and continue on. It's just constantly figuring out what works for you and what doesn't. And I'm a big believer, too, in the fact that the path's already there. It's just about opening our eyes to going towards it and trusting in that self-confidence. And that confidence does come from an internal space, even though, that is also being built up and supported by your mentors, your friends, and the people that love you. It's gotta come from within, right?
It starts with you!
Totally. What other unique challenges have you maybe as a black creative? And how else have they maybe shaped your work and your ethos as an artist?
Well, I always say that everything I've done in my life thus far has been an answer to a question that I had. I got into fashion because I always wondered why I wasn't seeing people like me on campaigns, specifically at that time [ in my life.] I was a queer black boy with dreads in the fashion world who was getting so mistreated and stereotyped. I couldn't do certain things or get booked for certain campaigns because of the fact of my hair, right? Wow, I was resenting Outerly wasn't reflecting on who I am as a person. Queer [projects] didn't want to book me because I wasn't out here in full makeup or presenting myself in a certain way. And then streetwear was questioning me because they didn't think I was fully adaptable. And then high-end [ fashion] didn't want me because they didn't feel like I could be digested. I feel like I was always trying to appease these worlds and then when I finally said, "No, I'm going to break that, this is who I'm going to be and this is how I'm going to maneuver," that's when things started to come to me differently. That was when I was like, trust your process. People are going to sit here and try to tell you how to be. But at the end of the day, they wouldn't be coming to you if they didn't see it.
Right.
If they didn't see that thing they wouldn't have come to you. So you gotta say "No, let me do it how I do it, 'cause this is what you came to me for."
That's so key. That light is exactly what draws them in. So let it shine.
Let it shine. One thing I love about where I am now is that people gravitate towards me because I may come up with an idea that may be so left field, but they can see that there's [ a] vision. And that right now has become my biggest success, my way of being able to see so beyond myself and whatever I'm working on, that before it used to seem too big. When people tell you don't dream so big, I was dreaming so big and people weren't relating to it until they started to see that if you dream this big, you can create something bigger.
Right. It can happen and the limits are really what we put on ourselves, I believe that truly. Talking a little bit about community, how important has the community been for you, not just as an artist, but for your mental health as a black queer man?
Honestly, I wouldn't be anywhere without my community. My communities are those I lean on when I'm struggling, when I'm feeling lost, and when I'm feeling misunderstood. I lean into the community to get those answers and to get that clarity. When I started throwing parties, it was really because I didn't feel safe when I would go to certain spaces. I didn't feel fully taken in and embraced by the rooms I was in. It was bothering not just me, but my friends too. We're going to places, and we might be the most stylish people in the room, we might be the most creative people in the room, but because of our orientation or the color of our skin, we still feel so on the outskirts.
Left out.
Yeah left out. I'm in the room, how am I still feeling left out?
Right. Totally.
So the moment I felt that way, I created my own space. I bonded with my people and my community to say, "Hey, let's throw our own parties, and we'll do it in conjunction with the masses. We'll throw our parties during fashion week." Even if it's not an official fashion week party, we're going to treat it like it and those ended up being the most fun. The parties that other artists and other celebs and other fashion folks wanted to come to because it was more authentic. Going to the big brand or the big label that was a bit stuffy and just didn't feel right.
What I'm hearing is, when there's not a lane, you make a lane. And I think that's such a strong message. As a young creative in a very oversaturated world and industry, it can feel like, "What am I doing/ why am I doing this for?" And as an artist, I have to remind myself that it's beyond me, in a sense. As you said, I'm doing this because I don't see enough people like me. I'm doing this because I feel uncomfortable with my curls, my skin color, or whatever it may be when I walk into certain settings. And I think that it's just such a strong reminder to create the lane that you want to be in when there is no other room and there is no other lane.
Yeah, and if you're trying to conform then all you will do is conform.
It's true.
All you're ever going to do! What always affected me too, is I know a lot of people that have come into this industry and their stories are different. They created animosity towards the world they were in and the people in the community because they just felt like they were being drained. They just felt like they were being used. And not celebrated.
Mm-hmm. And it can be so easy to feel that. I hear that a lot from a lot of people. So I, I fully hear that. I think it's using that as a tool, to light the fire, you know what I mean? To remind yourself that you're here for a reason and that if you're not happy, then get the hell out.
Exactly.
If you're not, if you're not happy in this industry, get the hell out, I'll say that. We have to find our reason to be happy.
Right. It's about intention. How you target and how you curate. I was doing things on such a big scale and it wasn't satisfying me because I realized that for me to get what I needed, and that's connection, is by honing in. That's what helped me develop dinners and do these other things that are just more quaint and together because that to me was more beneficial than being in big clubs or doing these large-scale events. Like even though they're curating their cultivating community on their own. At the end of the day, a party's a party. It may leave a mark on you, but after a while, a few drinks later and a few months go by, you won't remember it fully.
It's all surface-level connection. And constantly reminding yourself that everything big starts out small and everything small starts with a dream. Paying attention to those Little things that you're feeling whether it be whether you're not feeling represented or you're not feeling safe in certain spaces. That's the beauty of what has turned into Dine with Dez, starting with a feeling and reminding ourselves that they are valid and most likely relateable to other artists and people in the community. I don't know if you relate to this but a lot of people I've spoken to have said they would never change their stories and the journey that brought them their successes and roles in life because that's exactly how they ended up where they're at. Diving forward a bit, how has social media influenced and changed the way you connect with other artists and your audience while staying active within your community and your work?
Social media has become the new telephone of business. That's where honestly a lot of my ideas and concepts come from and being able to have these platforms to reach out to whoever, and some people respond and some people don't, but that's how you figure out your tribe. Who is going to see you and who's going to find you to be appealing and who's going to be like, okay, there is some interest here. So social media can definitely help. I think it can be a gift and a curse. A lot of things that exist on social media can be the epitome of a facade!
Misleading.
So misleading because it's not always what it seems. And being in my business, especially as a publicist, we always have to break down exactly how the social media numbers correlate to real life, right? I feel like a lot of normal people don't think too much about that, where we have to think about what people give on social media, and if that's going to reflect the reality if we were to hire you to do some brand placement or hire you to do posting or whatever it may be. What capacity is going to translate to real revenue? That concept of social media is still something I think is being developed and understood now.
Mmm. That, that discernment of being able to see through the BS of it all, the facade as you will.
Exactly, because at the end of the day, anyone can buy followers.
It's true.
Anyone can do something that goes viral and gets organic followers. But not all those people can actually, curate an audience that is going to pay money for things, that are actually going to support. If you go and put out a petition on your story right now, how many of those people are just watching or going to sign up?
True. Turning those numbers into actual people can turn into revenue.
Or just action. You want to be able to have people that can call to action, you know what I mean? The perfect example is a Kai Cenat. He can post something on his story saying, "Meet me on this block at this time." And he shut down the block. There you go.
Yeah I get that, it's that call to action like you said. Moving on talking a little bit about your past creative outlets, we've talked a bit about your past creative outlets, are you still involved with music? Or do you have any other artistic or creative outlets that are just for you?
Yeah, I would say the art I do just for me would be film photography. Photography has always been my little love note to the world. How I see things and how I capture them. When I had gotten out of high school I was out in the world, going into these parties, sometimes sneaking into these parties, [Laughs] And also meeting all these people. I would go back to Flatbush to talk to my cousins, and no one would believe me. No one would believe that I met these people, that I was doing the things I was doing. They were just passing me off. They would be like, "No, you didn't do it." And I'd be like, what? At the time I wasn't going around taking selfies or posting on stories. Instagram was still a budding flower. So I said I'm gonna go to CVS get these disposable cameras and I'm gonna shoot whatever I see and bring that to life and that really for me helped keep myself creative. It wasn't about being a perfect photographer. I always told people I'm not a photographer. I still don't consider myself to be, but film was just a way that I could communicate what I was seeing.
It's a form of expression and what you're feeling, what you're seeing and to capture that memory with permanence.
Exactly. It was giving something tangible to the experience.
Right.
That was really what I was using film for and still do. Even when I have my own events, sometimes we don't hire a photographer. For events that I feel are just more intimate, I'll just put cameras. I go back to my roots, get a bag full of disposables and I say we're tonight's photographers.
I love that.
Sometimes I love those moments 'cause it just makes the experience seem a little bit more euphoric.
It's so personal. It's living in the moment while just having fun. I've always said this and I forget where I heard it originally, but the people in a photo might change, those relationships might end, and those places might not exist anymore, but a photo lives forever in time. Those memories never change just like that photo. I think that's beautiful because as sure it's cool to run into the celebrities, it's cool to have these fun moments, but it's also just about how you felt when you were taking that picture, right? And I think that that's a cool way of expressing yourself through something that isn't putting a lot of pressure on your life as a creative or otherwise. So that's awesome. Are there any other ways you prioritize self-care and your mental health while juggling the demands of your career? Um,
I'm still figuring that out. [Laughs] Okay, that's still a concept I'm processing. It's interesting, I've been telling my friends that I was watching Tyra Banks on Good Morning America. And, they had asked her, "How do you create balance in your work and personal life?" And she was just like, "There is no balance. There's integration." You learn how to integrate work and life and that's how you find your beaten path but thinking that there's a fucking balance or a recipe to balance, you will never be able to be successful. True success is finding integration, not about finding balance. And since I have had that revelation recently, it's changed my whole way of thinking about things. I always thought that balance was the key and it surely isn't.
That's so fascinating to hear out loud, I've never thought about it that way.
Of course, you need to have balance within your spirit. Your spirit and your soul need to be balanced. But your plate is never going to be fully balanced!
That's a great way of looking at that and I think it's cool that you said that. Integration is making it a part of your routine and making sure you do check off the things that you need to get done and not just allowing it to happen when it feels convenient. As somebody with ADHD myself, if I don't write it down if I don't plan it out, it doesn't get done.
Same.
For me, I must have routines and I'm strict to it, but that can be so tiresome at times weeks can go by and you're like, I've been sticking to my stuff, I'm so tired. So, I do understand what you mean when you say, like, there is no balance, you know, it is just integration, because I think as an artist, in a way, we're always going to be tired if we're attempting to live up to our potentials, both creatively and personally.
Mm-hmm and on top of that, we have the backdrop of this fucking crazy world that we're dealing with, and what that means to be a part of this world. And then do what we need to do as a human being as well.
Totally. It's a lot. And I, so I understand this idea of taking the word balance out of it equation and creating something that works for you, that's truly personal.
My biggest, my biggest form of self-care is giving myself grace.
Tea.
That's the only way I could really say that I give myself self-care at this moment in my life. If I feel tired and I can't do it that day, I'm not doing it.
Right. No, that's so great. Grace is so important.
Yeah, if a client calls me on the weekend, I may not answer, because I have to give myself grace to also give myself to other things in my life.
Totally. You gotta have personal boundaries, which is hard, I think. I notice these conversations of mental health and these conversations of boundaries and these conversations of checking in with yourself are still very new, especially for black and brown communities. I wasn't raised with exposure to positive mental health and work-life separation.
It's very true because a lot of black queer communities are taught that you work until you die.
Exactly, right,
When a lot of other, you know, races or backgrounds of people do not have that same mentality.
Totally. It's about getting outta these mindsets that we, in a way keep ourselves in. Do you have an underlying ethos or message that you hope to maintain throughout everything you do? Both creatively and professionally? If there's like one thing that you had to like tell people that you're about, what would that be?
Well, one thing that I feel like I say on a regular, and I think this will tap into a lot of previous things I've already said, is that your network is your network. That's something that my ex-boss told me once, and I bring it up all the time. It's something I always say, because hearing that, showed me that everything I do wouldn't be valuable if it wasn't for the people I'm surrounding myself with. There would be no value in creating spaces if there were no people to bring into the space. You know?
Completely.
What makes the space so valuable is the quality of the people in the room, not the quantity, but the quality. So if you have a, if you have a network of quality then you really should truly have a network of wealth.
Right. That does tap back into everything that you said. I love that. Looking ahead, what are some of your own personal and professional goals? What's next for you and how are you dreaming big? Is there anything crazy that you can tell us?
I think for me it's figuring out where in the world I want to be. Like I said, New York will always be my home I definitely don't see it being the only place I'll ever call home. Right now I have been prioritizing traveling and what that looks like and what's been great is, that creating these dinner spaces has helped me think bigger and more globally. Things happen in my life when I give it a purpose.
Totally.
I've always told myself I'm going to travel the world and realized I didn't have a purpose to do so besides just the want. Now being able to have this moment where I feel like I'm spreading a concept and a message, everything has been pointing me to travel more. Doing these dinners, I've done four cities in less than a year. That has shown me that, okay, like, prioritize going to the world because it just expands you. Traveling is the key to expansion. That's my main goal right now, but I would say overall, honestly, [Laughs] I see a TV show. I see full-length productions. I see my revolution being televised.
Love it.
That's really the mission.
That's exciting, and I'm excited to watch it continue. It's genuinely so inspiring. Kinda lightly bouncing off that, if you could collaborate with any artist, dead or alive who would it be? And what project would you want to work on together?
Ooh, with someone dead or alive...
Whether it be for a campaign, or it be for a personal project, or it be even just a guest that you'd love to show up at one of your events.
Well, of course, Beyonce. [Laughs]
[Laughs] Haha of course Queen B!
Honestly [Laughs] We're Bey- Hive over here. Beyonce, girl, I would love to do her dinner rollout for her next album. Would be hot!
Love that.
Putting that out there. I think collaboratively, someone I admire is Ghetto Gastro. I love Ghetto Gastro. They're like a cooking collective. They do a lot of events and I've been to a few just to see how they've grown I believe they're also New York natives for the most part and seeing what they created down to like their spices and creating their own recipes and food products and like they have their own line of nutritious bars. They just have maximized their concept.
Leaving their mark!
Yeah, they're leaving their mark and I think they're inspiring. So I would love to collaborate with Ghetto Gastro I
I feel like it's very doable. In terms of coming together with what you're already doing with Dine with Dez, that's exciting. Moving on, I love to do a series of rapid-fire questions, for our readers to get to know more about you, and you just choose either one or the other. Then we'll end off with one last serious question.
Okay.
Are you a thrifty queen or are you a retail queen? Do you like thrifting or not your thing?
Definitely thrifty for sure.
Love that. Hot Girl Summer or Cozy Winter vibes?
Hot Girl Summer, honestly. [Laughs]
Period. I feel it. Keep the skin out. Fur coats or a leather jacket?
Leather jackets now. I used to be a big fur coat, but I live for a good leather jacket right now.
I feel it. Spotify or Apple Music. Which one?
Apple Music.
Okay controversy! [Laughs]. Charlie XCX, or Lady Gaga.
Charlie Period. Sorry gaga, I am a little monster but I am truly a brat.
Okay, brat . And the last one, was the dress black and blue or was it white and gold? [Laughs]
It was black and blue! [Laughs]
Period! That's what I think too! [Laughs] Okay, last question. What is one piece of advice for young black, brown, and queer creatives that you can pass on to the next generation within our industry and our communities?
Do your research. Find the outlets that need the resources, that need that angle to branch out because I feel like one thing happening right now is there are so many problems and I think too many people are focusing on the same things. So we need to branch out and figure out what are these other plethora of issues and how can we provide an answer to these other issues.
Right. Divide and conquer.
It creates a mess. It creates a mess of too many people not feeling seen because too many people are doing the same thing. Find your lane. And once you find it, as small as it may be, build it into something great.
That's great advice. Overall, I think you and your story are truly inspiring. Everything you're doing with Dine with Dez. on a worldwide scale. We can't wait to keep on seeing how that grows and expands into something even more beautiful. We at Worldwide Magazine hope to continue resonating with that ethos of Dine with Dez, and that is to bring people together and get us talking about each other and supporting each other in different ways. So I appreciate you just taking the time to talk with us.
I appreciate you having me! I think it's beautiful to see how you've been identifying the pioneers and the champions within our community in such a cool and eclectic way because sometimes it goes a long way to know that someone sees you.
Absolutely.
To know that someone's giving you a flower It- doesn't have to be the full bouquet. Sometimes all a girl needs is a flower! [Laughs]
Of course, and thank you for that. We at Worldwide strive to give people their flowers while they’re here to receive them, not just after they’re gone.
Y'all do that and I love it, thank you!
We appreciate you taking the time. You enjoy the rest of your day. Bye, Dez!
I appreciate it, you too! Bye, Andy!
