Kriti Mehrotra
As an absolute, intense human transformation reality original living up to its title in every way imaginable, Netflix’s ‘Queer Eye‘ or ‘Queer Eye: More than a Makeover’ is simply unlike any other. That’s because it carefully revolves around five specialized experts (aka the Fab Five) as they help individuals from all walks of life (or Heroes) be the best, most confident version of themselves. Amongst them was actually native New Orleanian Michael Richard II in season 7 — so now, if you just wish to learn more about him as well as his current standing, we’ve got the details for you.
Michael Richard’s Queer Eye Journey
It was admittedly back when Michael was still a young child that he first developed a keen interest in plants, gardening, and farming, only for it to continue evolving as the years passed by. The truth is his passion actually comes from growing up in an environment that constantly gave back despite never having much for themselves because they knew the reality of food insecurity. However, his early years were not happy or comfortable since there was no stability at home either — while his father had his own set of issues, his mother outrightly refused to let him live with her.
Therefore, Michael was merely 15 when he had to quit school for financial reasons, only to later realize there were several ways he could make a living from his passion for sustainable farming too. That’s when he joined Recirculating Farms and thrived no matter the situation thrown at him, that is, until he gradually grew into his own biggest enemy owing to his past as well as his fear of failure. After all, per his unwaveringly supportive supervisor, his dream is to take over the executive director role at the farm one day, but he’s not taking any necessary steps to help him along the way.
Michael did get his GED before obtaining a Bachelor’s in Sociology, yet his months of postponing the application for a Master’s owing to the personal statement alone was a clear indication something had to give. That’s when the Fab Five came in to make it known he deserved to accomplish his dreams even if his journey toward it wasn’t the most traditional. In fact, interior designer Bobby Berk went as far as to sit with him to write his statement and submit the application, whereas culture expert Karamo Brown proved there was nothing bad in his opening up about his trauma. Plus, of course, he was helped in his style by Tan France, grooming by Jonathan Van Ness, as well as food lifestyle by Antoni Porowski.
Michael Richard is Thriving in Personal and Professional Pursuits Now
Despite everything Michael went through as a youngster, his continued journey of self-appreciation and confidence genuinely makes it appear as if he’s doing great for himself at the moment. This actually goes toward both his personal as well as professional life, especially as he’s still engaged to long-term partner Kaila Marie Vignes and holds the position of Director at Recirculating Farms. The New Orleans, Louisiana, resident is thus responsible for running this business’ site in Central City while also overseeing other partner farms and helming different programs for all age groups. Plus, he serves on the leadership team of the Greater New Orleans Growers Alliance and is a Food Policy Action Council member.
Moreover, Michael is a Brand Ambassador at Imagine Festival, a Street Team member at BUKU Music+Art Project as well as Amps Events, a model, and a Loyola University New Orleans College of Law student. It turns out the 32-year-old was not just accepted into the Master’s in Environmental Law & Policy program, but he was also offered a scholarship owing to his 10+ years of experience in working with diverse populations in local food and wellness. In other words, the aspiring Recirculating Farms Executive Director is now well on his way to achieving his goals of food inclusivity in the community through means of knowledge, and we can’t wait to see what he does next.
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