We were lucky to catch up with Messiah Adonis recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Messiah, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience comes from being homeless for 3 years due to not feeling comfortable where I was staying at because of my sexuality. I was sleeping in a tent, storage unit, and just the streets for a while trying to get my life together and be happy at the same time. I started a groupchat for transgender males so I could network and get inspiration through my situation and I was so surprised how many guys were out there with a story like mine or similar. Also losing my grandma was a big hardship on my heart that took me years to heal from but I stayed strong the whole time giving my 110% til I couldn’t give it anymore. It gave me a mental peace and resilience no one could take from me if they tried.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I started my own organization for transgender people called T.R.A.P. meaning trans rights aren’t protected. And I am mainly focusing on visibility and creative outlets for our community. I also do male entertainment/drag in Vegas which came from me moving to Atlanta and experiencing my first pageant. After that, I was in love with the art form from there and I have met the love of my life in this art as well. He’s my first love and inspiration! He drives me to be better everyday which is exactly what I needed in my life!! I plan to keep growing in my drag career and make content for the people but ultimately become a successful actor. Also I want to keep my community presence present and continue to grow my organization to be effective to our community.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Patience, resilience, and faith has definitely been the main things that have brought me through on my journey. I was homeless for so long but I had to keep faith in a lot of situations of my life but thank God I’ve made it this far and I’m here now. That’s why it’s so important I support my brothers and sisters because I remember when I had no one. It was mentally frustrating being the funny guy on TikTok who has nothing to eat for the day and sleeping in the rain with no blanket no friend or family member with me. Just me all by myself encouraging myself daily to keep being an influence for others. Their love and support lifted me up to feel like I had purpose to keep doin what I love to get to where I want to go!
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
My boyfriend has been a main role in my life change now. He seen me for me and my potential in life so we just clicked from there. His patience with me is so amazing and rare I’m forever grateful! He’s the most genuine loving man I’ve ever met and my bestfriend. His success is inspiring for me and I can’t wait until I’m truly in a better position to spoil him the way he deserves it!
