An Inspired Chat with Evan Thibodeaux of New Orleans

We recently had the chance to connect with Evan Thibodeaux and have shared our conversation below.

Good morning Evan, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
The first 90 minutes of my day, since August of 2025, have been about “Myself” and about consistency.

I never sleep next to my phone and I am intentional about not looking at it for at least the first 60 min. of my day.

I have recently incorporated deeper meditations, a gratitude journal, and time to myself (or with my cats) to be at peace and to calm my mind for the day.

As a full time artist and entrepreneur, my mental and physical health have become my main priority, so I make sure to start my day with me, myself, and I.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is ET DEAUX and I am a multi-disciplined creator. I am a Grammy nominated music producer and have multiple self-produced albums.

I am currently set to release ADULTS SWIMMING III, the third installment of my “ADULTS SWIMMING” series, and have multiple projects in the working stages.

I am the creator and founder of WOAH NAH!?, the umbrella company to my many artistic ventures. WOAH NAH!? serves as a one stop shop for my art, and as a brand represents the feeling of excitement.

What makes my art and my brand unique is that it is centered around my core values and beliefs. I believe in building a better future, in supporting artists, and I believe in the ultimate power of art to create positive change.

At the same time, my brand is fun and positive, and my music and brand use contrast to provide a digestible message. Kinda like Flintstones vitamin gummies, but for the soul.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
This is a great question. I recently have been diving into the healing of my inner child, and have had some real revelations about this.

A part of me that has served its purpose and must now be released is the feeling of being overlooked.

The purpose it served was adding fuel to the fire of my determination, proving people wrong is a great motivator. However, I have now obsessively worked, for over a decade, to be the best that I can be, and the results are showing. I have accomplishments and plenty of work to validate my talents, and furthermore have true confidence in myself.

This now has me at the point in my life where I am able to recognize that part of me, dissect it, and get straight to the healing.

What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
The first thing that comes to mind is the loss of my older cousin Dustin. He was more like a brother to me and I looked up to him in so many ways. He taught me a lot and when he passed at the young age of 28, it devastated me and my family.

I don’t know if you ever truly heal from things like that, however I have been on a real journey with this wound.

This year makes it 10 years since his passing and I can definitely look back and see the stages of grief I went through that led me to my current state of healing.

His death motivated me to seriously make my dreams become reality. We always talked about the things we would do in this life, and when he passed it made me realize I have to actually “Do It” and not just talk about it. Shortly after, I released my first actual album called “Can I Get Some Change”.

About 5 years after Dustin passed, I became somewhat of an alcoholic, and one day I directly correlated it to my deep sadness. This was one of the most pivotal moments of my healing journey as it allowed me to take off the facade and truly get down to the real healing.

I am currently at peace with his passing, although I’ll never truly agree with it. I also am aware and grateful of what he brought to my life both alive and in passing, and He continues to be a huge inspiration to this day.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
The public version of me is absolutely the real me! 😂 I honestly don’t know how to not be me.

As an artist I have always valued being true to myself. I sometimes wish I had an alter ego to utilize the power of creating a character, however ET DEAUX is very much Evan Thibodeaux. I shortened my real name to be my artist name for 2 reasons. 1, to make my name more digestible while still remaining culturally representative. And 2, in homage to my favorite artist and biggest inspiration, MF DOOM. Thus the cadence and all caps of ET DEAUX (pronounced EE-TEE DOE)

I enjoy spreading positive energy and love. I enjoy deep conversations and philosophical debates. And I enjoy cannabis culture and creating art in any form. That’s exactly what you get from ET DEAUX.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: When do you feel most at peace?
I feel most at peace around bodies of water. I love sitting by the lake or the river and just being. Soaking up the sun, breathing, and clearing my mind of all thoughts. I’m a cancer so I love being around water. Something about the power of big bodies of water both terrifies me and inspires me. Water is the giver of life and in my opinion the most beautiful thing on earth.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
ADULTS SWIMMING I album: Taja Janel
ADULTS SWIMMING II album: Trenity Thomas
ADULTS SWIMMING III album: Carlos Sanchez img

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Leadership Development
Where does your self-discipline come from?

One of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. We asked some

Productivity
Working hard in 2025: Keeping Work Ethic Alive

While the media might often make it seem like hard work is dead and that

Resilience
The Power of Persistence: Overcoming Haters and Doubters

Having hates is an inevitable part of any bold journey – everyone who has made