Today we’d like to introduce you to Raquan Jackson.
Hi Raquan, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Growing up, my father was in the army and was a well-known musician around our region at that time. Moving from city to city quickly made me realize that there is no one way or path of living one’s life. A quick realization that has allowed me to become the being I am today. Greetings, my name is Raquan ‘Chef’ Jackson, I’m a 27 years old creative residing in Los Angeles, California. Welcome to my Voyage LA interview.
After I graduated from Pinellas Park High in the year 2014, I moved from home and made my way onto Valencia College in Orlando, FL. By this time I was already inclined with the arts. I was into fashion, gaming, and dancing, which led me to move to Los Angeles after my studies in 2019. Wow, was this not the best idea ever? LA has allowed me to plant seeds, water them, and watch them blossom right before my eyes. Of course, not every day is a walk in the park. I faced and am facing many adversities, however, I am grateful for the abundant and rich soil this sketchbook of a city has to offer.
Being immersed in LA culture really shows all the possibilities there can be as a young artist. I see LA as a big playground with a lot of wiggle room to figure yourself out. Since being here, I started up my creative platform OUTSIDEbyChef. A platform that is a product of its environment. OUTSIDE provides apparel and goods to the masses at exclusive times throughout the year. OUTSIDEbyChef capitalizes on my concept and practice of always being outside and moving. To be inspired by all things around. (Outsidebychef.com)
Since my move to the city, one of the seeds I had unknowingly planted was that of modeling. Over the last years, I have landed jobs from Ultimate Ears Speakers as a model as well as work for Panda Express and We Are Uprisers. I have had the luxury of being featured in major brand campaigns and events such as Complexcon. These “wins” pay homage to LA being a playground while sometimes being gracious towards artists like myself finding their way.
Los Angeles street and dance culture is one of kind. I grew up dancing my whole life and I can assure you that self-taught me would have never fathomed of ending up in California. As a street dancer there comes a point where you feel you’re at a wall, looking for the next breakthrough. After visiting LA a couple of times prior to my move, I knew for certain this is where I needed to be. Thankfully, I was right. From DaBaby music videos, passion projects, and other endeavors that entail dance on a high level, LA doesn’t owe me a thing in this department.
And here we are now, as the journey continues I am being interviewed by Voyage LA, which has always been a dream of mine ever since I started being the articles of my peers. Never thought I would have the opportunity but here we are. Thank you readers and Voyage LA for letting share my story.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Anyone who is an up and coming creative can attest that there are more than enough struggles along the journey. The road less traveled is not for the feint of hearts. I can definitely say that I have had my fair share.
I never grew up as the richest kid in the room. We moved a lot with little to no time to settle anywhere and my parents would always stress how they wanted me to be better than them in life. Go to college, get a 9-5, stay close to home. And I did those things. Never was the happiest doing it but I knew it was deeper than just me. My parents were always supportive and I felt I owed them that. After A long process of achieving my degree over a course of 5 years which should have been 2, I knew there had to be more.
There were even moments prior to my big move where I was jobless, trying to pursue a dance career. The idea of dancing was not farfetched. But trying to make ends meet as a dancer in Orlando is not the most realistic thought. With all this, there were definitely moments I won’t touch on here, but I am grateful for my hardships and struggles. For they have made me the man I am today.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I like to refer to myself as a creative or artist depending on what you prefer because I don’t only do one thing. My creative platform OUTSIDEbycHEF is the face of my business endeavor I would say. That would make me a designer/graphic artist. Also, the respected work I have put into Hip Hop culture would point to me being a “young pioneer”. However, I never wanted any of those singular titles. I never wanted be defined by one thing. And I believe this is something many artist struggles with and stunt their growth because of it. Artists are artists because of the optimism that drives that creative muscle, being only one thing I feel takes away from that. Many people are okay with just being a “dancer”. I on the other hand understand that I stand for much more than a job title or field of work. Respectfully.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
If you want to have a deeper insight of my approach toward my life and work, I can be found on Instagram @raquandachef or @outsidebychef. This is where most of my practices reside and are displayed. From modeling, design, styling, and dance of course, I can be accessed fairly easily through this media platform.
If you want to support me, follow the links above and maybe even hit the link in bio to grab something off my website! Or hit the website link to subscribe to the OUTSIDE newsletter.
Contact Info:
- Website: Outsidebychef.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raquandachef/?hl=en&__coig_restricted=1
Image Credits
@Cbradyphotography @Justfeng.photo @Ronparida @mindlesschildllc @estnyboer @Stylzz_
