Daily Inspiration: Meet Chase Austin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chase Austin

Hi Chase, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in raised in a small town in southern Oregon known as Grants Pass. It was there that I started a career with Dutch Bros Coffee in 2017 that moved from being a Barista all the way to a career with their headquarters. At one point in this journey I was sent to Denver for about 4 months where I fell in love with the city, nature, and the connections I made while here. When headed back home I knew Denver would always be in the back of my mind as somewhere I would love to live at one point. Later on work sparked a move to Houston, Texas where I spent about two years. Houston was a learning experience and brought much opportunity to me, but never quite fit what I was looking for in a home. About a year and a half ago I spur of the moment decided to leave Houston and finally follow the dream of living in Denver! It was one the best decisions I have made to date.

The last year and a half in Denver has been a journey of self discovery and acceptance. I have made some of the closest friends of my life, rediscovered passions I once lost, and really embraced who I am as a member of the LGBTQ community. As of recently I have parted ways with Dutch Bros Coffee and will be starting a new journey attending Heritage School of Interior Design in the Winter.

I have a huge passion for the arts especially Design, Fashion, and Music. I recently have started to have more of a presence on social media and it has been the creative outlet I didn’t know I needed. Tik Tok has become a place where I can fully be me and express everything on my mind. It is a mix of fashion content, comedy videos, and just anything that is on my mind. Posting has helped me to gain so much confidence in what I have to say and a place to showcase my passions. It is a new Journey in social media, but I hope to continue for as long as people want tune in. But knowing me I’ll be posting for long after even if it’s just for me and my close fiends!

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?
The biggest obstacle I have had to overcome has been my journey with self acceptance and self confidence. My move to Denver was a restart I needed to really find myself, and my time here has truly been revolutionary. Growing up in a small conservative town with a lack of important representation definitely delayed my realizations and acceptance of myself as part of the LGBTQ community. Realization was the first step, which came many years ago, but full acceptance is something that has only recently come. As much as this journey was not easy and is very personal to me I want nothing more than to be even the smallest piece of representation as a pound gay man! I wish younger me had access to this representation, so I strive to be that for others.

Over the past year and a half in Denver I have embraced my sexuality, made new connections and healed old ones, reignited old passions, found new ones, and found true happiness in myself. They say people move to Denver to find myself and yes I was one of them hahaha! Shout out to my therapist as a guiding light in my journey. I am the biggest advocate for therapy and truly believe every single person can benefit in one way or another!

I am excited to take this new version of myself into the future with both social media and my new career path in Interior Design. Excitement for the future is a new feeling for me and I plan to embrace it!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I recently left my full time corporate job to pursue a career in Interior Design! I will be starting at Heritage School of Interior Design this Winter. I have always had great passion for Interior Design and am so excited for this Journey. I may be one of the few people ever that actually enjoys moving, but that is purely for the opportunity to design a new space. I have also helped many friends and family members to design their spaces, and it always brings me much joy!

Interior design is one of the many things in the creative space that I enjoy. I also am deeply passionate about fashion. I am never someone that can limit my passions to one so that is where social media has become a huge creative outlet. Tik tok and Instagram have become a place to showcase my fashion, humor, and just anything I want to share! It is a new journey online, but I hope to continue it long into the future.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
If you were to have asked me a couple years ago I probably would have told you my life has been filled with many instances of bad luck. While I have had great opportunities and people around me through it all, there were many instances of things I would have viewed as bad. Now looking back I fully believe all of those things needed to happen to get me where I am now. I learned so much over the past 26 years of my life and those hard journeys shaped me to where I have ended up, the choices I can make, and the opportunities that are currently coming my way! You could say that everything I am experiencing now is good luck, but I believe it’s the battles I have worked through that have opened me up for these new opportunities. Old me didn’t have the capacity for where I am now, so I am thankful for what I may have considered “bad luck” at one time!

Contact Info:

• Email: itschaseaaustin@gmail.com
• Instagram: @chaseaaustin
• Other: @chaseaaustin (TikTok)