Ep. 201: Using All of You Feat. Jacen Bowman

In this Episode of the UNABRDG podcast, I am joined by activist, artist, influencer, and President of Black Philly Pride, Jacen Bowman! On this very special episode, we learn how a Philly makeup artist used the Ball Room scene to change a political activist, and what it means to truly advocate for your people! 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Why don't I be anything else? I'm not gonna be me. But seriously, like I could just be me, you know, like I could just live my life just whole, complete, just myself. Hello and welcome to Unabridged. Welcome to a very special episode of Unabridged. Why is it special, Miss Dom? Well, it's special because it doesn't really f follow a pattern right now, you know. Um, and actually before we get into this episode, I feel like I always have a disclaimer from my poor unabridged family. I do. But I am a true millennial, y'all. I really am. And I feel like as a millennial, and probably as most of my audience is and consist of, or somebody who's along the cusp of that either before or after, you know, we are constantly looking to reinvent ourselves. We're always looking to change things. We're always like, uh, but maybe I can try this, maybe I can do this, maybe I can see this. And then I was taught the scientific method as a youth, so I just always think I can do anything and everything. I just gotta Google it up. So that's what always gets me to this point. But as we're going through this transition and going through, you know, content of this and trying to figure out what path we want to take with unabridged as well as becoming unabridged, I did not want to let this episode just kind of sit on the back burner because this next episode, this next interview, you know, or this next leg of the journey was really special to me. So I really wanted to drop this episode of Unabridged. Technically it's episode 201, but it's a special episode. So thank you so much for tuning in this week, and I truly hope you enjoy our journey this week. Thank you. Are you looking for cool, unique pieces to add to your wardrobe? Are you looking to support black businesses? Or are you just looking for cool ways to represent your culture and your history? Then visit Kingsicator for all your custom apparel and accessory needs. You can visit Kingsigatour on Instagram at K-I-N-G-S-T-O-N-K-O-U-T-O-U-R-E. Now let's get back to Unabridged. For this week's Unabridged Journey, we are honored to be joined by none other than Mr. Jason Bowman. Jason is best known as being a makeup artist to the stars and an icon in the ballroom scene. Having jumped into the space of politics just during the HRC times, Jason was a major player during the Kamala Harris campaign and advocacy for the LGBT community. We talk with Jason about his amazing journey from ballroom to politics in this week's episode of Unabridged. So hello, Jason. Welcome to the show. How are you today?

SPEAKER_01 2:57

I'm doing well. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

Thank you. Thank you so much for joining the journey today. I'm gonna be like super honest. I told you this is gonna be a love fest. Like, you're one of my like guests I've been thinking about since I started this show. I'm not gonna lie. Like when I think about the mission of Unabridged, I was like, I had a my list of guests and I had you on there for the first season. It didn't happen the first season, but we're opening with you for the second season, so I'm just so excited for this interview.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

Oh my God, I'm so honored. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 3:24

Of course, of course. So I always like, I think we should first start off how we met, right? Because I think our our meeting was really interesting. So me and Jason met through like um advocacy that was done through like my main gig um through the Arthur Culture Task Force. And we actually put on was it the first ever city sponsored?

SPEAKER_01 3:42

City sponsored uh ball, fresh out of the pandemic.

SPEAKER_00 3:45

Fresh out of the pandemic. So it was very new, not just for Jason, but for me too. We were making them as we were going along, and we ended up putting together with along with Sierra, shout out to C who's the um chair of the Arthur Culture Task Force. You know, we put together probably like one of my favorite events that I've ever done working, uh, working in council. So like that was definitely a time. Like, how was that? What was that like working at council, like working with council, especially after everything going on with the pandemic?

SPEAKER_01 4:11

It it was great because like for years I've always said that like ballroom has played such an integral part of my life and also when it comes to city art, arts, and culture. And a lot of times people don't know about it. So it was the first time that like I think people was able to see ballroom from a bigger lens outside of the way that we see ballroom. Um, even like some of the press that was like done at that time was just like really amazing. Um, because it it really attracted people to know about ballroom in a large way. Because at the time, too, I just got done filming Legendary um or HBO Max. So it was a way for people to kind of like connect ballroom to Philadelphia because a lot of times when you think ballroom, you think Paris is burning, you think polls, you think New York City. So people didn't even know, like, you know, ballroom has existed at that time um when we did the ball for over 30 years in the city of Philadelphia. So it was really, really like an important time to make sure that Philadelphians knew that ballroom was here, been here, and we ain't going nowhere.

SPEAKER_00 5:07

No, I love that. And that's what I really wanted to like open up with that introduction of how we met, but also because you know, that's kind of where a lot of your journey began and you know, from a lot of the things that you were able to do now. So can you talk about, you know, how you even got involved in ballroom and what was that, what was that like at the time? Because I feel like people kind of see the end process, right? And for me, people like, I don't know, I think it's people know this about me following social media. Like, I am all up through this life, right? So I just I've watched you in this space, and you know, I've been opposed girly and all that stuff like that. So people see the end product, but we really don't talk about like what was that like actually entering into that scene. So can you talk a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_01 5:46

So I entered the ballroom, my senior year of high school, I went to George Washington High School in the Northeast. You're talking about someone who was a chubby kid that went through a growth spurt. Um, I didn't always feel the most attractive. I also didn't feel like at the time I used to get teased for being caught, like being gay, but I don't think I was really gay yet. Like I didn't really understand what that meant to be gay. Of course, I had a cousin named Daryl. He passed away in '96 um from HIV-related issues. And I knew he was gay because I would see him do like a lot of flamboyant things, but I didn't identify with his level of flamboyancy. So when I got discovered in the ballroom, I was at the gallery mall, which is now called the Fashion District. I was in a food court um hanging out by Tiffany's Bakery. And me and my friends, we just would come there every day after school. I would take the long way home because um I lived in East Oak Lane, which is like right near 2nd and um 65th behind Cardo Dockery, where that used to be at. And I would legit catch the 67th bus to Frankfurt Transportation Center. I would catch the L down to the gallery, and then we would hang out in the gallery in the gallery for a while, then I would catch the sub back up. So in my process of hanging, I would see a lot of like uh like drag queens and I would see a lot of gay people. Um, and I would used to laugh at them with my friends. They were like, oh, they're gay, they're gay. Like, look, but I will always be so like mesmerized by just their uh vernacular, how they carried themselves, like how confident they were. Um, Avernian Prestige walked up to me one day and was just like, Hey, I want you to model for Prestige Modeling Company. What's your phone number? And I was like, Oh, I can't give you my phone number. Like, my mom, but like, no, I'll give you my beeper if you didn't show my age. Right. Is that beeper? Um, I gave him my beeper number. And this is before you could even leave voicemails on beeper. So he would beat me, he beat me like a couple of days later. I talked to him on the phone, I had a one-way line in my room. Um, he talked to me about you know being in his fashion show and what the fashion show was, and he wanted me to come to one of the model meetings, but I could never go because um he lived in a university city like area. And you know, you're from Philly, so like when you're young and you live in certain neighborhoods, you never leave those neighborhoods.

SPEAKER_00 8:02

You never go there. I never went to West until I got to high school, and I had the school center city, and all my friends were like from all over the city. But I was like, this is weird. Like, I'm really from uptown. So, like, especially if you're from like uptown or west, you stay in your bubbles.

SPEAKER_01 8:15

So I went to Enon Tabernacle Uh Baptist Church when it was on Culture Street. So, like, you know, I will always be involved with the church. I was always involved with at the school program. So I didn't have time to go to these model meetings. Plus, like, how was I gonna explain to my mom, I'm 16 years old, and I'm going to West Philly for some model meeting. She would never went for it. One day I ended up lying to my mom. Um, I she allowed me to catch the bus. I was supposed to be going to E9. Um, and I remember I beeped Albernie and I told him I was able to come to the meeting. I quit the 57 bus to the sub to the trolley. 46 in Chester. I went to one of the model meetings, which was a house meeting. I remember when I walked in, it was like so many gay people in this like one small apartment. I was like, whoa, what is going on? They like whisked me into the room, shut the door, gave me this application to fill out, and next thing I know, I'm in the ballroom. Um, even at that time, I didn't know what ballroom was. I just knew that I was gonna be a model in this troop called the House of Prestige. Um, I remember the first ball that I went to, it wasn't even a ball that I was gonna walk. Wendy Williams at the time was on Power 99, and the ball was happening at the Blue Horizon on Royal Street, um, which I think is no longer there. I think it's like a hotel or condos or something now. Um, I went and a fight broke out. So I never even got a chance to even like walk the Grand March, they called it at the time. So like when I finally got a chance to walk, my first ball was the Crystal Ball in 2000 at the Double Tree Hotel um on Broad and uh Locust. But I think it's called something else now. I think it's they changed the name. It's not the Double Tree on the wrong thing.

SPEAKER_00 9:51

Oh no, I think it's still a Double Tree that brought a locust in here. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Yeah. So I walked my first ball, and I remember when I walked in there, it was the first time ever that I felt like I found a sense of belonging. I found the sense of ownership. I was around like-minded people where I can be as colorful and loud and expressive as I want to be. So that started the journey of Jason Prestige that became Jason Ebony, that became Jason Prodigy, and then Jason Montclair. So, like, yeah, we're talking about years, years um in that. So, like, it was really dope because you know, walk in ballroom gave me a sense of confidence, it gave me a sense of identity. Um, I was never, I was fortunate enough to not be someone who was thrown out of their house once I did come out of the closet, but I never had a closet I came out of because I always just been the same person. So when I had a conversation with my mom, well, I actually never had a conversation with my mom. Let me correct myself. My grandmother, God rest her soul, is the person that outed me. It was my senior prom, and I was in love with Cisco. I had this bright red suit on with this silver um stripe down the side that had this silver dragon in the back of my head that was glued on, and these honey Mary J. Blige contacts, it was awful. Um, and these circle of glasses that had Mosquino on the side that can the letters will move on the side. And my grandma had to tell my mom, well, I think Jason's coming out the closet. And I heard her, and I was like, What is she talking about? And my mom was like, What are you talking about, mom? And she was like, Well, it's a lot more boys here than girls to see him off on a promener, all wearing those contexts. So I'm like, Grandma, what you in there saying? I ain't saying nothing, Jay. Um, your friends is here. So, like, that was like the first time that I ever had like the conversation about gayness. And then after that, I brought my first boyfriend home and I was like, hey, mom, this is my boyfriend, so and so. And she was like, Oh, hey, baby, you hungry? So I never had that, like, I was fortunate to never have that experience of being kicked out because of I was gay. My mom was always really protective of me, just making sure that I was safe. My dad, on the other hand, yeah, he wasn't for it at all. He wasn't for it at all, at all. He eventually came around though, but he was not here for it at all.

SPEAKER_00 12:03

He probably started seeing the checks and was like, hold up, maybe, maybe we like this. Like, maybe we should.

SPEAKER_01 12:09

Even with that, like my upbringing, um, I was the first one to graduate from high school on time. I was the first one afforded the opportunity to go to Dell State on a full academic scholarship. I got a lot of scholarships graduating out of high school. Um, I'm trying to think, what's the biggest scholarship I got? I think I got the Big 33 scholarship back then. Like I got a lot of scholarships to go to college, but um, ballroom was really how I ended up becoming the man that I am today.

SPEAKER_00 12:33

So I think I I love that, I love that part of your story, and I'm happy you were like so open and sharing that because I feel like number one, it really provides a wider view of ballroom culture, right? Because I feel like a lot of times, like as you mentioned in the beginning, like you think about polls, you think about Paris' learning, and a lot of those stories are like are like sad to a certain extent, right? It talks about the ending and how like you know our time is short because we're in the LGBTQ family. Like your journey and just explaining that was like, no, I was I had a loving family around me, I was protected, and I was actually able to and continue to sustain and grow in this space. So, you know, I love that idea because I feel like again, a lot of not just LGBTQ, but black LGBTQ and you know, people in marginalized communities, our stories are always like, oh, it's it's entrenched in sadness. It's like, no, my my story was it's it's happy and I was surrounded by love, and you know, it it it it can be different for you. So, no, I I love that, and I hope that you know somebody in my audience is just like, oh wow, like that actually that it's not all it's not all bad. It's not all bad. And when you watch old, you you cry every episode.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

So like well, I think a lot of it really comes to like really is about my mother, because my mother was born with spina bifida, which is a neurological disorder that affects the spine. She was not supposed to live past the age of 14, she wasn't supposed to have any children. Like I was her miracle baby. So, like watching my mom um navigate through life and you know, still being here with us today, after all that she's overcome, she's poured all of that into me. Like all that love that that that that she didn't per se receive because of her disability growing up. Um, and it it really shaped me into being the quote unquote mother that I am today for younger queer youth. So I'm I'm really thankful for the relationship that I have with my mama because you could tell I'm a mama's boy.

SPEAKER_00 14:17

No, I listen, I'm a mama's girl. So listen, we love, we love moms on on Unabridge. Everybody, I think every time I talk to somebody about something to do with their start or their beginning, everybody has a mom drop, like from Taive to Sierra, they're just like, well, my mom, but like, listen, we love the moms here. So, no, I want to talk more about so so you talk a lot a lot about ballroom being in the being the beginning of your journey, but you know, how what do you think you really took from that time? And like, what do you kind of feel like what skills do you use to this day from being in that starting out in ballroom culture?

SPEAKER_01 14:48

Well, really mobile, like mobilizing community, being able to be an advocate, like really being able to speak up for the voiceless. I've always been a natural-born leader, like even through high school, I was always the president of something. I was always, you know, involved with some kind of human rights uh something, like you know, HIV and advocacy and anti-violence and peer remediation. So like I've always done those things. So ballroom was an arena where I was able to hone in on those, those talents that live within me, and then have like a lot of elders in the community really show me the way. A lot of them taught me things that I had to unlearn. Um, even in my unlearning and relearning, I've always been forever a student. So I'm thankful that, you know, when it comes to event planning, when it comes to um helping somebody in a crisis, when it comes to providing for someone, access, resources, cooking, cleaning, uh providing a safe haven for people to like, you know, live at at times. Or at, you know, it's funny going back. Um, the only time I ever had an issue family-wise was my behavior as I started to kind of come into my queerness. I always say that the mistake that I made growing up was I didn't understand the difference between being a spectacle and respectable. And there was a time in me being gay that I thought gay meant I had to be disrespectful and loud and and rude and rambunctious and flamboyant and the thing and all those things. And I disrespected my mom. So at that time, my mom was like, Well, you think you're wrong, get out. Get out. You think you're wrong, get out. See you later. And from her doing that, like it, I grew up even faster. I already I already grew up fast, but like I was even able to sustain, and I was living on my own since I was 17. So like it was like all those things that I learned from my mom and from the ballroom really shape and mold the man that I am today. And I'm I'm I'm so thankful for those growing pains because those growing pains did not leave permanent stains on my life. Like it, I was able to learn from the mistakes that I made and keep growing, keep growing, keep growing. Like I always say I'm a sponge, I absorb it all, I remove what I don't need to keep, and I make room for other lessons. So I'm I'm thankful for that.

SPEAKER_00 16:54

I love that flexibility you talk about in your journey, right? Because I feel like sometimes people will hold on to that and just like, this is my personality, we're just gonna keep moving forward with it, especially if you're doing well. But to be forever learning and forever growing, I think is a major part of what Underbridge is about, right? Like we talk about being our complete self, but there's never an ending to that, right? It's always building on that journey. How am I continuously becoming my full self, my best self, right? So I think that's so much of what you just spoke to. Now I want to shift to Shades of Jason, right? Which is the fun, fun, like, you know, fun stuff, right? So talk about like that pivot. Because like I when I was thinking of writing my notes down, right? I think a lot of people, especially in the age of like YouTube and social media, everybody calls themselves like an MUA, right? Everybody got an MUA in their bio, right? Like that's a thing. But like it takes a different level to where you reach. So like my question is is number one, like how do you pivot into that space? But then how do you actually like state that claim, right? Like to move out of just being in the pack of just you know, other MUAs that are out there. Because like when I Google you, makeup artists shows up next to your name, right? So, like, talk about that pivot and like really how do you stand out in a space like like like beauty?

SPEAKER_01 18:08

So the pivot really came from, so like Shades of Jason, funny story. It it was born because my name on Twitter used to be Shady Jason. Shady Jason is not that I was really shady, but like I would kind of have no filter. I would say what I mean unapologetically. I didn't care about who feelings I heard. It was kind of like this is how I feel at the moment, like whatever. And when I entered the makeup artistry, I remember I was having a conversation with uh Nikki Depree. I was working at Nordstrom up in King of Pressure Mall, and I can always draw. And Nikki being a trans woman and and being successful at the counter up at Nordstrom and Macy's, I was watching her one day and I was like, you know what? I can do that. And I took the face chart, and I remember I was like drawing on the face chart, and um I was like, okay, well, I'm just gonna keep drawing. And then I would end up drawing on these face charts, and I would go to every Mac store. Mac up in King of Prussia Mall was like really where I got my introduction into makeup. Um, I used to always hire the girls there when I would walk balls to do my makeup. I will always constantly be learning new products, but I never thought in a million years I would be a makeup artist. And it wasn't until um I decided that I didn't want to work at Nordstrom anymore. I wanted to go to hair school because I wanted to be a hairstylist. I always did hair growing up because if you leave it up to me, I would have never gone to college. I would have gone to Gordon Phillips Beauty Academy, but my dad was not here for that. I used to my Aunt Yolanda, she would do my mom's hair, I would be in the kitchen with them. I had mannequins, I'll be bleaching and coloring. So I'm like, I want to go to hair school. So once I was working at Nordstrom, I left Nordstrom and started going to Paul Mitchell Beauty Academy at Ambler. And from there, I was like, all right, I'm in hair school, it's cool, but I also want to start doing makeup. So I would hang around a lot of drag queens and a lot of trans women. I will be in the ballroom, I will be doing my makeup, walking the balls. And how all the worlds end up colliding was one day I was like, all right, I'm gonna apply a Mac. I went to go apply a Mac, never heard nothing back. And this time I'm still in hair school. Matt called me, I went for my interview, bombed the interview.

SPEAKER_00 20:12

And this is back when the Mac girlies were mean, like they just started being nice. They just started being nice.

SPEAKER_01 20:17

It was it was hard to get a Mac. It was not easy. I lied to y'all not. It took me 10 interviews over one year before I finally got a phone call to work at Mac. And guess what decision I had to make? I was in hair school, I was almost at the end. I had to decide whether I was gonna finish hair school or whether I was gonna go work at Mac for 25 hours, making $25 an hour in 2000 and I want to say it was like 2006. Like 2006. I was like, let me see, like what you think I did. I quit hair school and I went to go work at Mac and Sherry Homore. I worked at Mac for, oh my God, probably about almost 10 years. About almost 10 years, I was at Mac, like on and off, different positions, uh, impact team. I would be able to travel with some of the bigger artists, and from there I was really able to kind of hone in on my skills and build a brand for myself outside of that. I was also fortunate that a lot of my friends that I met along the way in the ballroom also had careers in entertainment. So they would have different gigs going in or different jobs, they would pull me in. So, like the first like celebrities that I was able to, you know, be around and do makeup on was like Megan Good, uh Eva Pickford, like, you know, we're talking about like almost 20 years ago. And from those things I started working with Cherry Martinez, with um, you know, hot 97 and doing Cherry on Top, I'll be interviewing different celebrities about their beauty secrets and tricks, like tips and tricks. So, like from there, I was able to kind of like really build a name for myself as to who I am as a makeup artist and really be the beauty authority. I will be honest, I never took the term celebrity makeup artist serious because so many other people were calling me that. I didn't acknowledge that I was a celebrity makeup artist. It took for everyone Else to tell me that because to me, even to this day, I finally can say I'm a celebrity makeup artist because I've worked with a lot of celebrities, I worked on a lot of different movies and things like that. But to me, you're not a celebrity celebrity makeup artist. You're not able to take a celebrity and change the beauty uh uh perspective of that one celebrity. Like if you're able to take like a Tamar Braxton and change her and make her be like you're her guy, like how Morrell Hollis is with Wendy Williams, how um Sam Fine has been with various black women, how Sir John is with Beyonce, how uh uh uh Derek Rutledge is with Oprah, you know, how Reggie Wells was with Oprah. Like those to me, or when you think of celebrity makeup artists, I think of them. And I'm thankful that, you know, I've had a very successful career in makeup. I've been able to check a whole lot of boxes that a lot of people, you know, can't say, you know, working with Lopita Nuango and Danny Guerrera from um when they were only clips on Broadway, I had covers of Uptown Magazine. I worked with Tyson Bedford, I worked with Portia, Nene. I mean, you you name it, I worked with them. Like, I think every woman that came out of the city of Philadelphia who is in the music industry from Miss Jade to E to Jill Scott to Jasmine Sullivan, you know, you name it, I've worked with all of them. So, like, you know, I'm very thankful that I've had such a successful career in makeup. But I always knew that makeup was gonna be what got me in the door, but it's not what's gonna keep me there. Because I just feel like I didn't want to be pigeonholed into just being a makeup artist. And that's why I'm so interested in my, you know, my company is called Shades of Jason because Jason is many shades. I'm a ballroom, I'm a makeup artist, I'm an advocate, I'm I'm a voice for the voiceless. You know, like I'm now an ad politic to it as well.

SPEAKER_00 23:46

I think they call it like a social entrepreneur. Like, I think that's what they call it, right? Like it's like it's many lanes of advocacy and many lanes of making impact, right? But it's not like solely focused on profit. So I think they call it like a social entrepreneur because like there's so many aspects of how you're chopping this up and how you've been able to kind of just work into these spaces. Like, I didn't even know about like so so many of that, so many of those things that you mentioned, you know, before this, right? So, no, that's that's incredible. And I I love just hearing about these parts of your journey. It's just like, oh yay, everybody's getting a little background. So, no, like I love how you talked about like having a real like business mindset, right? And I think that's really uncommon for people who are in artistry because sometimes artists get really bogged down and like, I want to focus on my art and I just don't want to work on that other side. But it seems like the promotional aspect was like naturally worked into the things that you were doing. Where do you think that that kind of dual mindset comes from? Is it like from past experiences or like, you know, like where do you think that comes from?

SPEAKER_01 24:45

I think a lot of it comes from past experiences, but I think also because like my mom, watching my mom go from being on public assistance and welfare and then working, um, working at various telecom communication companies and then also having a daycare and watching her take her daycare business and then transform over to being a a part of the Department of Human Services and adopting children and being a foster care recruiter. So I was able to see her navigate and be many different things to many different people and get many different versions of herself. I adapted those same teachings and things to where I'm able to be a chameleon and be the jack of all trades and the master of those trades as well. Because sometimes you can be the jack of all trades and a master of none. But I was really able to really hone in on all those key things and also find balance in it in the process. Because sometimes you can be too much of a makeup artist that you're not taken seriously in another arena or like, oh, he's just a makeup artist. No, I'm not just a makeup artist, and you're not going to address or treat me as such, because I'm so much more than that. So um, yeah, like a lot of it really, really came from that. Like a lot of it came from that.

SPEAKER_00 25:52

Yes, you gotta stand on that. If you're not gonna claim it, nobody else is gonna claim it. I love that. So I think I want to pivot too, because like there's so many sides, right? That but I'm trying to like touch it because I and I also want to get to this politics drop that you just mentioned, because you know, this is what we get into on the bridge. So the community side, like you like like you said, like you could just be a makeup artist even though you have listed out this incredible resume that somebody who only wanted to do makeup would be very happy to have, right? But you pivoted that also to the community side, right? And really took a lot of your impact and brought it back a lot of especially to your work with like Black Gay Prize. So, like, talk about why that community aspect is so important to you.

SPEAKER_01 26:32

The reason why it's so important to me is because growing up, I was thankful to have mentors and uncles and aunties in my chosen family that poured into me. And I'm a firm believer that when your cup runs over, you have to pour that remaining access into other people's cups. So a lot of times I don't mind, I don't mind helping anybody, even when it comes to makeup. Like when I first got into the game, it was Christian Balenciaga, it was Morel, it was Derek Rupplich. Um, even Sam Fine, I was thankful that I had those black men to contact to give me any kind of guidance or help. Even when I think locally in the city of Philadelphia, you know, working at um Platinum Shears Hair Salon underneath Leon Hutchison and underneath Juan and Shallan and Sonia and all these big hairstyles that lived in the city of Philadelphia, I was able to get so much information from all of those people growing up. And it was, it would be disrespectful to them if I kept it all to myself. Like you have to pass the knowledge back because what do you get? You get nothing if you die with all this information and you did not help anybody. What does that speak to your legacy? What does that speak to community? And I'm such a big person about community and about family, and family doesn't always look like you know, the family that we were assigned at birth or by blood. Family also looks like what, you know, the sister that I that I don't have that is my sister because we've been through the trenches together and we've been through some stuff that that's my sister. You know what I'm saying? It was really important that I pour back into community because of all those people that helped me. They didn't let me get lost, or even if I did get a, you know, get a little bit off course, they yanked me back and said, uh-uh, Jason, get over here. Like, nope, you're getting crazy. Hold on. Like, hold on. It was really imperative that I did I that I did the same exact thing. It was so important.

SPEAKER_00 28:20

No, I love the I love that like paying paying it for aspect too, right? And then also this idea of taking it to a whole nother level, right? So, like, I think sometimes, again, we get bogged down on our spaces, and even if we want to take it to a level we can't really see past what people have put in front of us. And I think that's through so much of your work, like you've taken it to another height and then also propelled so many other people forward, right? Like, I cannot go and watch a Red Bull anything and not see Riley on there, right? Like, I I feel like you know, there's so many of people that are kind of like like in your legacy that are gonna take that and move forward with it as well. So shout out to you and you just just paving paving the way, you know? Like I love that, right?

SPEAKER_01 29:01

So I don't I don't look at it as paving the way though. I really I look at it, it's my turn to carry the torch. Okay. And the beautiful thing about being on a canvas is you have to know when to take your brush off the canvas. And like right now, my brush is on the canvas, and at some point, it's gonna be my job to take my brush off the canvas and uh usher in new leadership so that that way they can continue coloring on this canvas, on this, on this, this, this Bible of art that that is life, right? And then eventually, when you take that that brush off it, you gotta pass it to somebody else. So I'm just it's just my turn with the brush. And then eventually, my turn's gonna be up. And when my turn is up, I have to be okay with what I contributed to the canvas. And I can honestly say at this point in my life, I am ecstatic behind the thing that I was able to contribute to the canvas. My work is not done. But like I'm still excited that if God decides to take me there tomorrow, I am glad that I was able to be who I was in this in this authenticity in this lifetime. I'm I'm thankful. I'm full.

SPEAKER_00 30:00

That's such a I think that's such a powerful like statement, right? Because so many people are like in an anxious moment all the time because they worry about not having, not being where they want to be right now, right? Or they're always like worried about not being to another level. But just to sit there and say, like, if I die tomorrow, I would be very happy with that, that has to bring a level of peace, right? It's just kind of like, no, I'm just, I'm just doing it, right? Like I'm I'm good. I've I've done the things, and that was kind of like, you know, whatever happens at this point, you know, I'm just gonna receive it. And I think one time when we're talking, you just said, you said you said to us, it was like, you know, the things that I want, you know, I usually get, right? Like it they talk about like that idea of like the law of attraction, because I think that goes along with uh, you know, a lot of what you were just saying too.

SPEAKER_01 30:41

A lot of it comes from um, I'm a worker bee. And then being a worker bee, sometimes I'm a worker bee, I'm guilty to a fault. Like, and then sometimes I run into a brick wall, but I don't let that brick wall stop me. And like I've been blessed to like really be able to manifest and like really hone into things that I say I want and I work at it constantly. Like I it it never leaves me. Like, even when I'm sitting in the house and I'm not doing something, I'm doing something. Like I just can't keep still or lit time. We live listen. We only get one life, and I'm gonna maximize every opportunity that I'm able to get in this lifetime. And by doing that, it keeps me grounded and it also keeps me level-headed. Because I think a lot of times people have had the amount of success that I've had, um, and also come from a place of privilege. Because I know that sometimes I come from the privilege of knowing the right people or pretty privilege as they like to call it. I don't take that privilege and allow it to get to my head. And I'm also able to disconnect from work. And I think that that's important too, because when you're able to disconnect from it, it's like, for example, the mural that's behind me. That mural was so important to get done in the neighborhood for various reasons that I'm sure we're gonna get into. But once the mural was done, I disconnected from it and I moved on to the next project. And though I was able to bask in the moment, I didn't allow that to be my only moment. You still gotta keep going. There's still more work to do. So I always keep that mindset of being this continuing engine that just has to keep on going.

SPEAKER_00 32:07

I think, and that's the that's such a big piece when people talk about like attracting what you want. It's like you speak it and you live it like as if you already have it, but then you also are like taking the steps actively to become that, right? And I think people don't always see that back part. They only see the pretty picture at the end. They didn't see, you know, the the conversations with Jane Golden and fighting with them about wall spaces and having to find artists and finding the budget, right? Like they don't see that, they just see the mural behind you and they just kind of go, well, that's you know, they just see the pretty picture in that. So no, I love that. It's like attracting it, claiming it, but then also like putting the work up behind it.

SPEAKER_01 32:44

Yeah, and even the nights that I was hungry and and didn't know where my food was going and you know, doing makeup, and a lot of times you make a lot of liquid money fast, and then like I'm spending that money quick because I'm like, oh, I just made six thousand dollars. I'm gonna go to the store and blow it because I know I'm gonna make a quick six, but oh, wait a minute, I didn't make the six that I thought I was gonna make, but you don't give up, you just keep going. So it's like, yeah, I'm just thankful to keep that mindset of just working hard and being thankful that I, you know, thank God that I'm able to achieve the things that I want to achieve, and whatever I could put my mind to, I'm gonna do it. It might not happen when I want it, but God's gonna provide when it's my time. And I'm thankful for that.

SPEAKER_00 33:23

No, you have taken that go-getter attitude to another, a whole nother space. If anybody, you know, people watching this, you follow Jason or follow me and working in the space of politics, you saw Jason front and center this this time around, right? And I think, you know, a lot of influencers and folks started like, you know, coming to the table because of, you know, they were like, oh, yeah, we gotta tap into the pile of influencers. But I don't think that anybody was in it at the at the height that you were, especially in it being their introduction, especially with it being such a high-stakes campaign, right? So I think, you know, when we think about the Trump and all that stuff now, it it's really sad. But I think one of the things that was really good out of it was that it really activated folks like yourself to really get into the space and also, you know, stick around to a certain extent. So can you talk about like what was that beginning spark that was like, I'm gonna now take all of my influence, take all the work I've done, and kind of pivot it to politics?

SPEAKER_01 34:27

So a lot of people don't know this, but like the this wasn't my first time being involved in politics. It's just that my first introduction to politics was during Hillary Clinton's campaign, because I worked with Hillary Clinton during her campaign. I was just on the glam side. So even when the DNC was in Philly, I was all up and through the DNC when it was in Philly. Um, but at that time, I don't think I was really ready to be the face and voice of something because I noticed a lot of my clients that I work with, they have different views when it comes to politics. And I didn't want to like be so outward about it and then I end up losing clients or not getting bookends because of it. But I knew that this time around, it was no way that I can sit back and be quiet. It was no way that I could just sit back and just do glam and not say anything. It was no way that I could like allow my community to be completely vacuumed into like nothing. Like I was like, nah, you'd like the responsibility is it's it's so much greater. You have to talk, Jason. Like you have to talk and you have to figure out a way to talk to where you're able to talk to people and get them to understand what's at stake without all the fluff. Because me entering politics, though, I'm I'm I'm smart, I'm educated, I'm not dumb, but there is a certain level of like vernacular and in policy that I don't know. But I do know once those policies get passed, how they affect me or how they affect us, how they affect the people. Um, so it was really me being intentional, like, hey, y'all, look, you know, y'all gotta get out here and get acted to vote because this is their stake, this is their stake, this is their stake. And even when I think about um the queer community at large, a lot of them didn't understand what was at stake until certain people like myself started talking. Because a lot of times, you know, and I and I spoke to a lot of politicians about this during the campaign cycle. We don't even see y'all or know who y'all are until y'all are running for office. And after y'all running for office, y'all go back up to the hill, but we're still down here in the trenches dealing with our problems. So it was so important for me to be like, you know what, enough of this. Like, instead of me being a content creator or a social media influencer, I'm gonna be a person of social influence and I'm gonna try to change the landscape of what it looks like to speak to my community and be that person that is able to bring all of us together. So this election cycle has activated me in a way that I knew was there because if you talk to any of my friends that went to Dell State, they would tell you that oh, this is no surprise. Jason was majored in political science. Like Jason was also You were a poli sci major? I was actually a dual major, poly sci mass com. So like I was a dual major, like I eventually I would have been in this field no matter what. So it's just interesting how all of my worlds end up coming back around full circle. And it's funny because one of my friends, um, Alex Outlaw, we went to Dell State together. Um, he had one of comment on my on my Instagram. He was like, This ain't no surprise because Jason was the same way when he was running for president in a freshman class. And when Jason was doing this, we always had conversations that he would be a politician. Look at him now. It took you some time, but look at you now. So it's the people that know me, this is no surprise. They're like, okay, well, now they're like, okay, Jason, what's next? And I'm like, hold on. I don't know what's next. Something is next. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 37:49

We got something that we're exclusive. No, so what was like, so talk about your experience. So even though this wasn't your first campaign, you were you were very like vocal and out front and very much, like you said, like the face of the voice of also like, you know, very much like a checker for you know the campaign in terms of like gaps that they had. So what was that experience like, right? Like, and you know, how did you even like as you said, like you didn't have a lot of that maybe that vernacular in the beginning, but you still were not afraid to, you know, hold people in this space accountable. So what was that experience like for you actually just being like like being involved in this campaign cycle?

SPEAKER_01 38:26

So it what made it interesting to me is like I got I I ended up one night being up late like I always am, and I was looking for a job. And when I was looking for the job, I saw the human rights campaign was looking for a field organizer. So when I read the description, I was like, oh, I do this already. So let me apply and see what happens. So I applied, and then my state director, uh Ryan, when like when once he saw my resume, like he knew who I was before I knew who he was, and he was like, Oh, Jason wants to do this? Like, oh, hold on, wait a minute, hold on. So, like when I got hired from the human rights campaign to be the field organizer for Philly, it was really like an opportunity for me to be like, okay, they gave me what the framework was, what it had to look like. And then I was like, all right, so I could take what they gave me, take what I know, learn what the policies are right now, combine all three together, let's go. And then from there, you know, working with Isaiah, Isaiah was like, hey, I need you to come and be a part of Black Man for Harris. And I was like, okay, let's look, let's do it. So, like being in those meetings and you being fortunate enough to be again surrounded by so many black leaders and just just listening to the like listening to them and like things that they want to see done in the various districts throughout the city and throughout the state, and and just showing up and just being there and like whatever the messaging was, making sure that I took the messaging and was able to make it relatable to the people in my community or our larger community. So, like it's funny, like so many people have DM'd me and said, like, you know, I wasn't gonna vote, but I only voted because you you made voting look cool. And I was like, Oh, really? They were like, Yeah, I wasn't really gonna vote, Jason, but they got tired of me texting, they got tired of me uh uh uh knocking on doors and that hey, we gotta get out the vote, y'all gotta do this, y'all gotta do this. You know, I was glad that I was able to, you know, really speak truth to power and use my platform and my influence to really, you know, make a difference. And even though the outcome wasn't the outcome, it was still an outcome, and we still got much more work to do. So I'm excited to still continue, you know, doing that work.

SPEAKER_00 40:22

So I was I was in politics the first time Trump um won. And I think similar to what's happening right now, is that it really woke a lot of people up and it got a lot more people in different spaces engaged, right? Now, granted, that that didn't last because we got bidded and everybody chilled, but then it was like we kind of got, I think this really woke up a lot of people, right? And I think that that's probably like my silver lining in this Trump space is like, okay, like now people are really starting to understand that this stuff actually matters, right? And if we just assume that somebody else is gonna take care of it, they likely not, and we're gonna end up right back where we were, you know, almost four years ago, right? And people, people forget, people really do forget how bad it was, you know, when we had in those Trump years, and they they don't feel that, right? And I tell people, like, you know, we had just gotten into office four months before the pandemic hit, right? Like I tell people I didn't even know where all the bathrooms were at, and then they sent us home and was like solve the international pandemic, right? So, you know, a lot of the stuff that we did in the back end was really like having having a full understanding of what it was like being in government, but be just being a person of color underneath the Trump administration. A lot of people really forgot that. So, like when you were out there pounding the drum out, that made me feel so happy because it was like, okay, like we're gonna get into spaces that we haven't been in before. And that's definitely the key for this election. Now, granted, you know, we we had some gaps, like everybody got gaps. Democrats always got gaps, especially when it comes to ladies. Like, oh my goodness. I feel like I had like flashbacks from Hillary night. And now that I know that you were around with Hillary time too, it's just like I show you something.

SPEAKER_01 41:57

It's so crazy you sit that down because I remember um during election night, I was like bouncing around to like various uh uh parties. And I remember at one point, um, I think I was at the working families party, and I just was kind of like still in a corner. And one of my friends was like, What's wrong? I was like, This moment feels just like how it felt at the Jacob Jarvis Center when Hillary ran. And he was like, What do you mean? I said, I can't explain it, but I have to go home. And it was like um, I I felt something that felt so familiar because I remember when I was in New York at the Jacob Jarvis Center the night that Hillary um well, you know, during the election during that time, I was on the phone with my mom. It had to be about like 5:30. And I was like, they just released glam. And she was like, did they? I was like, Yeah, so I'm gonna go back to the Jacob Jarvis Center. And she was like, Why do you sound like that? I said, I don't know. Something doesn't feel right. I don't know. She's like, No, she's doing good. The votes are still coming in. I'm like, yeah, all right. And when I got there, I watched everybody's energy like this.

SPEAKER_00 43:03

Those pictures of those ladies on election night at Hillary, they break my heart. Them girls are in the front row bawling they eyes out. Oh my goodness. That was a heartbreaker. Like that was really, that was really a heartbreaker. And I was just like, like, I remember I was in Harrisburg in the middle of nowhere, working another Senate race, and like we were watching the results come in. And I always remember I was the only person of color in the room I was in where when we when the results are coming in, and I was having an out loud freak out, right? I was in my mid-20s, and I did not, I was like, do you guys see this? Like, are you guys seeing what's happening? And they're like, dumb, like we're all here experiencing this. But I'm like, I'm the only black person. Y'all are white, y'all gonna be good everything tomorrow. My life is gonna be way different. So, like, it's and it's so funny how we everybody has that moment where they remember, you know, sometimes it's just like it's kind of like the, and this is so sad to say, it's kind of like 9 11. Like, I don't remember when I was when the results came in. Like, and it's so weird how people, how quickly people forgot about that. But I wanna move on because I'm trying to not make everything about Unabridge like just dread. Dragging through the sadness. I want us to be a happy place and a place of joy. So I want to talk about like the pivot now, right? So, like, what are you actually like what makes you excited now moving forward now that you have, you know, this new experience in politics, you know, having been introduced to so many like new people and and in government? Like, what are you actually, what are you excited about now?

SPEAKER_01 44:20

I'm excited about the continue collaborations. I'm excited about like continuing to build relationships. Also, like, even though like I was in this space, a lot of people see my see my face, but like I don't know them or they don't know me or know much about me. But so I was like, oh, that's the guy that was helping out during the campaign. So I really want an opportunity to keep building these relationships and them get to know me, me get to know them, and also make sure that it's a level of accountability from both aspects. Because I think that you know, around election times, people show up, show up and show out to get whoever said candidate is elected. And then sometimes they get elected, sometimes they don't. And once they get elected, okay, like everybody goes back to their corner. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Remember, you said this, this, this, and the third. All right, we're now having this problem and this is happening, and this is happening, and this is happening, and how are you going to fix this problem? So I think that it's really about making sure that I stay committed to the job of the people. It's making sure that I still represent the people. Because, like, even the other night, I had a black, um, a black Philadelphia Black Pride call, and a lot of them were concerned about a lot of things going on with you know, the possibility of like the bathroom situation when it comes to transgender, is about just making sure that we're nonprofits and not going to be attacked when Trump does get an office. Like, what things are gonna happen within Philadelphia, specifically around um our safety and our well-being, and not just to make this a queer thing, but just an overall thing, period, for people. So the work is not done, the work continues, and I'm I'm really excited about being a part of the work.

SPEAKER_00 45:48

I love that you use the word like accountability on both sides, because a lot of times having worked in both like the campaign aspect, like I got my start working in campaigns and now being on the official side for about like almost five years now. Like people really like they uh disassociate like those two worlds. And it's like we elected officials need that other side continuously, right? Because, you know, we don't do anything off the strength of like our own minds or like whatever people are like whatever people think. Like we need the mandate of the people, right? And I think, you know, as you watch something like, you know, we're recording this in December, this this episode's gonna come out in January, so you know, we'll see, we'll have a final decision by then. But right now, we're seeing a lot of advocacy around the arena and stuff like that becomes so difficult because it's not just us like, oh, we're gonna make a choice and move on. It's like, no, like that accountability is there, right? And I think, you know, a lot of communities, unfortunately, because they don't have the space or the time to like hold those elected officials accountable, that's kind of why they end up getting the short end of the stick, right? So it's like, how are we activating people? How are we actually meeting people where they are so that they can help with us and they can help with that change? Because at the end of the day, like elected officials don't have all the answers, right? And a lot of the ideas that, you know, people like Isaiah get and things like that come from the community, right? Come from working in those spaces, come from still being in these spaces and overhearing that, you know, you're dealing with this. So, like, how can we now legislate that? And that's through accountability. That's like actually not just saying I want to care about this one issue, but like I'm gonna care about you as a whole. And we represent real communities. And I think that's why you and Isaiah, you know, click so much is because you have that real accountability to your communities, right? Like, some like this can go back to their spaces and nobody cares, right? Like you didn't deliver anything, you put some street signs up, you gave out some turkeys, nobody cares. But when you are like coming back because you're so attached to that community, they're gonna be like, you didn't do anything. We didn't feel that change. We don't know what you actually did. So, you know, I think that that is the balance that's there, and that's that's gonna just be such an incredible journey to kind of like watch you work and maneuver in this space because like you're still doing it in your own terms, right? And I think that that's really, really important through this. Like, you're not changing who Jason is, you're just like, I'm gonna just put Jason splash on the politics, right? Right. Oh my goodness. So before we close out, because I feel like I don't want I I always can't we these interviews always go by very, very quickly, and I never like to do super long interviews because it's just like, okay, I'm gonna lose the girls at some point. But I have to ask you like the the question, this is the question I ask everybody on the show. So, Unabridge, the name of the show is called Unabridge, it means to be your full unedited whole self, complete, no, nobody's in the way. What does that mean to you? What does that mean to be completely unedited and whole?

SPEAKER_01 48:31

Who I've been my entire life. Like what you see is what you get. I'm not gonna fake the funk. I'm not, I'm allergic to fakeness. I'm so allergic to it that like what I can smell it, I'm out of the way, my skin crawls. So I always make sure that I'm gonna always show up. I'm a bit more polished than what I was before. I'll be honest, I'm not as rogue, but yeah, just being and existing and and and speaking and and and not holding your tongue. Understand that sometimes you may not, you may not. Wait, let me get this right. Understanding that and holding your tongue, it's okay to put your tongue out, but even when you're putting your tongue out, still make sure that you're speaking the truth from your tongue. You don't want to just pull the tongue out and just be talking out of both sides of your face. Can't do it. I want to always be be unapologetically Jason. So at least they know, like, yeah, he he that's the same person. Yeah, he he a little polished, but that's that's Jason. And and it's and it's not being um arrogantly or um rudely who you are, because you can change and people shouldn't stay the same. But I think you should always make sure that you are authentically yourself. Like all that.

SPEAKER_00 49:40

And that's that's literally what the universe journey is about. It's about really understanding that the only way you're gonna be successful is to show up as who you truly are, right? Like we get put in a space where we feel like we have to mask all the time just to fit into these boxes, and that's when we actually get like very mediocre results. And it's like when we start showing up in these spaces as our full self with everything that we have, like that's that's when the stuff starts happening, right? So I love that that's why, you know, that's that's been such a major part of your journey. And again, that's why I wanted you to be on the show since it since the inception. It was like Sierra, Jason, Tyve. Like I had a list in my mind. So I'm just checking them off now. So I'm so excited. So if anybody wants to like follow you along your journey as you go into politics, as you, you know, go to the moon one day as a as an M U A, you never know. How can we follow along with your journey? How can we stay connected to your journey?

SPEAKER_01 50:32

So on all things social media, it is J-A-C Evan Charlie, E-N-B-O-W-M-A-N, Jason Bowman on all things social media, or you can go to jasonbowman.com.

SPEAKER_00 50:42

I love it. I love it. So thank you so much, Jason, for being on the show today. That has been the Unabridged Journey for the Week. We will see you next week. Thank you. Bye.