Rico King

Interview by Lissha Sadler // Hardcore Grind

Strike A Pose: Lights Camera And Action

“If anyone says you’ve changed, tell ’em, Thank you, you think I work this hard to stay the same?”~ Rico King

Rico King has walked the runway for designers like Ean Williams for Corjor International Couture and designers from Ukraine and Nigeria for D.C. Fashion Week. Rico has walked the runway for designers like Ean Williams for Corjor International Couture and designers from Ukraine and Nigeria for D.C. Fashion Week. His other runway shows include designers like Steven Wall for Nevetes Couture and designer Adrianna Marie for her Frequency line, as well as a spread in the August 2013 issue of NYC Fashion Ave. Rico has also modeled for designer Darius Gibbs “Dark Clothing line.” As an actor Rico has been featured on network T.V. shows like Deadly Affairs hosted by Susan Lucci for the Discovery I.D channel, The Carrie Diaries, Law and Order SVU (NBC network), “Unfaithful” on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network “Deceived” on TVONE network, “Brain games” on Nat Geo Channel and the list goes on. Rico has done promo spots for The Jimmy Kimmel show, a Charter Cable company commercial, & VH1 Big Morning Buzz Live. As well as various commercials and ads.

Lissha Sadler: What made you go into modeling? Tell me how your journey started.

Rico King: Great question. After I finished a record deal with an independent label I was signed to as a music artist, I pursued modeling. My best friend, Major Dodge, whom I’ve known since kindergarten, was transitioning from modeling to acting when I ran into him in Miami. I was in Miami to perform at a winter music conference with my team, and I was having brunch at a place on south beach. I don’t recall who spotted whom first, but I remember how I felt when we saw each other. It had been over 10 yrs. See, after high school, we went in different directions. He got a scholarship to wrestle, and I got a record deal. Social media wasn’t as popular at the time. People had Aim instant messenger, and Facebook was only for college students. Yea, I remember having a Nokia non-flip cell phone. Sheesh! Anyway, we kept in contact. He told me he was moving to New York to take acting classes, and I told him to look me up once he made his move. He did, and we became roommates. He didn’t waste much time getting in where he fit in. I watched him closely and learned a lot from him. He took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. I admire the man’s resilience and devotion still to this day. I was the best man at his wedding, both of them (laughs). I was working regular jobs while figuring out my next move when Major invited me to one of his auditions. It was an international print campaign ad for Bushmills. I went with him and a friend of his named Ron. A few days later, he called me with good news telling me we had booked it and we were going to Belfast, Ireland! That’s how my modeling journey began.

LS: What has excited you the most about your powerful journey?

RK: What’s excited me the most is how God has put a hedge of protection around me through it all. He’s opened doors for me that I wouldn’t have seen; he’s directed my steps to walk through them and put people in my life who’ve made tremendous contributions to my personal and business success. There’s been so many highs and lows, and I don’t know where I’d be without his favor.

LS: What was your most memorable client?

RK: No question. I went to Ireland for my first gig. Nothing has come close to that yet. I’m reminded of Carl Sagan, who said,” Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” The best is yet to come, and the Bushmills campaign still has the top spot.

LS: What would you advise aspiring models?

RK: Start now. Identify why you want to do it. Please write it down and make it plain. Keep the dream in front of you, in plain sight - Identify 3 to 5 things you want to achieve within the next 3 to 5 yrs and write them down. Please put them in your mirror, your refrigerator, and where you frequent the most. Make a vision board, and make a list of it so that it reminds you daily that’s where I want to be in the next 3 to 5 yrs. You’re going to need to know that because when times get rough and believe me, they will, you’re going to have to remember why you even started in the first place. Who are you doing this for? What kind of impact are you trying to make? Is it for fame? Question your motives. I challenge you to do that b/c you can waste a lot of time climbing a ladder to get to a place you don’t want to be. Commit now and figure it out later. If you treat this like a hobby, it will pay you like a hobby. Treating this like a profession will pay you like a profession. Find someone in life who is where you want to be; earn their trust and respect, value their time and see if they’ll help you. People like to help those they know, like, and trust.

LS: Who has inspired you the most along your journey, and what was the best advice you’ve received?

RK: His name is Marlon Mora, he told me to never take constructive criticism from someone who has never constructed anything in the area of life that you wanna grow in. People will have opinions. They may want the best for you but they may not know exactly how to even help you succeed in the area you’re seeking. They’re like belly buttons, we all have them and they’re free.

LS: When you think about the contributions of African American men to the literary industry, what is the impact you want your writing to have?

RK: Mine will be up there with the greats. I’m a dreamer and my story will inspire other dreamers to not give up on their dream. My view is, if the dream is big enough the facts don’t count. True desire in the heart for anything good is God’s proof to you sent beforehand to indicate that it’s already yours. When it’s not in God’s time you can’t force it. When it is God’s time, you can’t stop it. The impact my writing will make will be greater than anything I currently imagine. When I go, what I take goes with me and the thought I put in these pages will live on in the hearts and minds of others to carry on my legacy.

LS: How do you think COVID has changed the modeling and fashion industries?

RK: It’s forced us to move from what we knew and practiced for years to pivot in the direction of leveraging online resources in a better way. For example, I used to hop on the train and head to NYC for auditions 3 to 4 times a week on the regular. Now, I go to my kitchen, set up my tripod and camera, do the audition from home, send it in and get on with the rest of my day. Do I miss the old process? Of course I do for many reasons. Do I save time and money from going back and forth to the city since the covid shift happened, absolutlely. I can make money back, on the other hand my time is my most valuable asset.

LS: How have you grown since the start of the pandemic?

RK: So glad you asked, I’ve grown in the most important areas, my relationships, both business and personal, my finances, my connection with God and my self-awareness have been renewed since then too. It taught me the value of working harder on myself than I do a job.

LS: If you could change anything about the fashion/modeling industry, what would it be?

RK: More inclusion of us meaning people of color and the perception of having to be a stereotypical runway model size to make it a career choice.

LS: What advice do you have for aspiring actors?

RK: Marry the process and divorce the results. Develop thick skin and a soft heart by making no your vitamin. You’ll get far more No’s than you do Yes’s as an actor. In the meantime, get better at your craft by learning it. Become a student of it. Stay ready so you don’t have to spend so much time to get ready. It’s better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have one and not be prepared. Develop an appetite for reading and do it daily. It doesn’t have to be a lot, just do it consistently b/c it trains the mind to find things in different ways. Think about it, when we read we engage more of our senses, don’t we? We see it and hear and touch the words on the page.

LS: You are a very accomplished model, but you are also an actor. What made you step into the film industry?

RK: Honestly, I really haven’t stepped into the film industry yet. You can count on one hand how many films I’ve been in. I’ve been striving in the commercial world. T.V. and film is coming.

LS: What are some of the challenges you have faced during this journey?

RK: Getting out of my own way. Meaning staying brandnew and taking action when opportunity shows up. I’m thankful I can pick and choose what projects I wanna be involved in but sometimes my attitude to audition sucks. I’m getting better though.

LS: If you could change anything about the film industry, what would it be?

RK: Hmm…I don’t really have an answer for that at this time. I haven’t really thought about what I would change.

LS: What is a phrase or mantra you live by? Why?

RK: Are you kidding me?! There’s so many of them..uh…geez.. One that comes to mind is,” Work for a cause not for applause.” Let’s see “Live to express not to impress” There’s a quote by former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden I’ll leave you with, it goes like this, “Talent is God-given, be humble; fame is man given, be thankful, conceit is self-given, be careful.” Latch on to something bigger than youself. That’s really it. That’s what I did.

LS: Moving forward in your career, what can we expect from you next?

RK: Moving forward, expect to see me in more speaking roles on television, performing in front of larger audiences on stage, and leading by example in my growing business outside of the entertainment industry. The goal is to introduce as many people I can to the people and ideas that will actually help them execute on their dreams. To do that I have to be on a constant journey of discovering what’s most important to those I desire to be relevant to, then build my brand, my offerings, and my authentic way of being from that.

LS: Stay connected with Rico King:

RK: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ricoaking Instagram: @rking6312