Creator Spotlight: Chad the Maverick

CHAD THE MAVERICK

(He/Him)

Astrologer

Chad the Maverick is an intuitive and passionate astrologer, known for breaking down astrology in a way everyone can resonate with. Starting his creative and spiritual career in 2017, he has collaborated with organizations including Debra Silverman Astrology, Red Bull Inc, House of Intuition LA, and more. Known for his authentic and unique approach, he is a warm, humorous, and caring guide helping people connect with their greatness written in the stars. His deep and calming insights are refreshing, often reassuring, and come as a customized package of profound knowledge. With a careful balance of seriousness and spontaneity, Chad’s work aims to be empowering. His ultimate goal is to remind you of the shining star you are and to explain how the cosmos moves through you and your elements. Chad the Maverick offers a soul-touching explanation of identity for both newcomers and seasoned seekers.

1. Introduce yourself. Tell us who you are and what you do. Give us an overview of your career so far. (If possible, include some career highs and lows.) Give us a brief description of what daily life looks like for you.

My name is Chad the Maverick. I'm an astrologer, artist, and content strategist. My interests range from music production to photography, and within the last year, I've been getting into video production in a way I'd never imagined. This started from the necessity to keep consistent with the content I make and has slowly been turning into a passion of mine. 

As far as my career is concerned, when I was younger, I always told myself that I was going to make a living just off of being myself (ironically it matches up with my astrology who would of thought?). Although I never knew what that looked like, it seems as though I've taken my passion for space and art to a height I didn't imagine before, and I'm excited to see where it continues to take me. 

My official start year as an astrologer was 2017. I was working at a popular crystal shop in LA at the time and ended up becoming their astrologer, leading weekly classes, weekly live streams, newsletters, and more. At the time, it was an amazing opportunity and taught me a lot about my work ethic and inspired the flow that I have in my work today. 

After leaving there I took almost a year off from doing astrology. Life opened back up and I moved back to LA after the shutdown, I just wanted some time to live life again. But after realizing astrology was a unique calling of mine I decided to go all in. I put my efforts into learning all I could about social media, and building community, and I even got certified from one of the world-leading astrology schools just to tap into my craft the best I could. 

My daily life is doing 1-on-1 astrology consultations, and engaging directly with my online community. and doing creative side projects. 

It's a beautiful time.

2. Tell us about your creative process. What works best for you? Have you experienced writer’s block, imposter syndrome, procrastination, perfectionism, self-doubt, or self-limiting beliefs? How did you overcome them?

My creative process is organic and unpredictable, but after years of understanding my workflow, I know how to set tasks up in a way that lets me get them done. What works best for me is immediately diving into creating and finding the next thing almost as soon as I wake up. I love being an astrologer because every day is a new chance to explain how to use energies that have been impacting us and changing the way that we go about our lives as a collective. Thankfully, with the way the world is there's always something to talk about.

I definitely have had moments of imposter syndrome, especially in that year that I took off to figure out if this was what I wanted to do. The way that I decided to overcome that imposter syndrome was to create a catalog of work so undeniable in terms of effort that I had no choice but to look back and say, "Hey, I did that." Didn't matter if it was perfect I just wanted to improve 1% each time. That's been my philosophy.

Being able to look years back now and see how long I've dedicated to my spiritual journey and to remember the thousands of people I've come across, learned from, helped, and connected to is what keeps me inspired and going. I think my desire to constantly evolve outweighs my initial need for perfectionism. You can't always control the chaos of creativity, but you can choose to make the most of it with each moment you've got.

3. If comfortable sharing, tell us how you’ve previously struggled with your mental health. (Have you experienced anxiety, depression, a learning disability, ADHD, bipolar disorder? Or have you experienced adversity with your gender, sexuality, race?) What other challenges have you faced as a creative?

In my line of work, I encounter people from all walks of life. This brings many stories, struggles, triumphs, and losses, and sometimes I need time alone to process it all. I do my best to be open about my needs in that regard and I've found the more upfront you are the more people tend to know where you're coming from.

I have ADHD, but I don't see it as a detriment. In fact, I believe it contributes to my expressiveness. As a black man in a field often associated with lovely healing women with crystals and white gowns, I think I offer a different and unique perspective on astrology not everyone has been used to in years past.

I aim to inspire my followers and fellow creatives, showing them that they can achieve anything they set their minds to if they truly believe in themselves. I strive to lead by example the best I can, trusting that the rest will follow.

Maybe I can inspire some people who look like me in the process, if so that's a blessing.

4. Tell us what you did (or continue to do) to cope with these challenges. Tell us some of the best strategies that have helped you overcome these struggles.

Voice notes and memos really help my ADHD in organizing my thoughts. It enhances my workflow and can keep me focused. I love the current state of technology allows us to utilize such tools for better focus and productivity. I also try to line up my days and week according to what aligns best with the astrology of the moment. This approach helps provide some purpose and that's what keeps me on track.

I have not yet hired a staff yet, so I wear a lot of hats in what I do. The variety of roles I fill keeps my work exciting though. Each day brings something new, making it all worthwhile.

5. Are there any other art forms, hobbies, or interests you engage in to help restore your creative energy? What nurtures your soul? Any creative activities that recharge you?

Honestly, I would have to say that's photography. I love taking portraits of people I think are cool. Matching the energy of the pictures with how their chart looks is always a fun thing I love to do. To capture a moment like that for someone they can recognize themselves through is a surreal experience. Also I'm a sucker for film looks mixed with a dash of modern.

Another creative avenue I have is just learning about other forms of media. I'll watch a full video all about a film stock I'll probably never use, or watch the history of how a $10,000 microphone was created. There's something about seeing the levels of innovation that people of the past had to go through to get us here as a society that continues to inspire me to innovate.

6. What do you do for your self-care? Share any specific strategies, habits, or techniques that you find effective in improving your mental, emotional, physical, or spiritual self-care.

I've been learning to step back once the creative process shifts into overthinking or the pursuit of perfection. I've realized that it's okay to let ideas simmer over time, rather than rushing to put all my thoughts out into the world at once. I remind myself that my value is in what's within me, not just in what I output.

In terms of spiritual self-care, I strive to stay present. As a futurist, I tend to constantly consider what could be, but sometimes the best self-care is simply being present. I make an effort to stay consistently connected with my close friends, spend quality time with my loved ones; even if it's just being in the same room with them. I take those quiet moments in between the work to breathe. Everything is a work in progress.

I'm leaning out of fearing the unknown of what's next and have been trusting the flow. Everything happens right on time as it should.

7. What’s one piece of self-care advice you would give to a person just starting out in a creative career?

Get to know your astrology, especially your Big Three, North Node, and Midheaven. I've seen hundreds of people transform their self-perceptions in less than 10 minutes simply by understanding the key elements of their major astrology. Understanding your elemental nature can significantly enhance the way you go about your self-care.

Self-care is about knowing and understanding yourself and working with your energies. I specialize in helping people recognize how their energies function, and I strive to provide resources for independent learning. However, my top recommendation to start your self-care journey is to learn about yourself through astrology, remembering your star-like nature in the process. I'm always here to help!

Additionally, for my fellow creatives, I strongly suggest separating your creative process from your phone as much as possible. Invest in a camera, draw inspiration from others' work off of social media, and use a laptop or desktop for editing if you can.

When your creation process and main distraction reside on the same device, you can easily fall into the trap of doom-scrolling for hours on end. Splitting these two can simplify your creative process, allowing you to focus on creativity rather than likes and counts on your account's analytics. These metrics can be addictive and may not reflect the effort or quality of your work.

Don't let vanity numbers dictate your creative process.

8. Anything else you would love your audience to know or to know about you?

I think at the end of the day, life in the human experience is about love. I've begun to appreciate life in a way that truly embraces my unique experiences for what they are. I believe that mastering self-love and embodying it is the key to enlightenment that many seek. It doesn't come overnight though, it's a daily practice. I strive to love what I do every day and encourage others to do the same.

By reevaluating what you know and challenging your perception of time and life, you can attract the world in your favor. Once you radiate self-love, everything you care for starts to gravitate towards you all by itself.

So, start with that, and the rest will follow.

9. Do you consider yourself an empath or highly sensitive person?

Absolutely, I've had to exercise spiritual discernment in my work to ensure I can acknowledge, address, and sit in the emotions of others without being consumed by them. My work is therapeutic in a lot of ways so I have to navigate that emotional and spiritual world with people often.

Being creative also requires a high degree of sensitivity and an ability to perceive things that most people aren't aware of. I genuinely believe everyone has something special to offer the world which is where my empathetic side comes into play. However, empathy shouldn't cloud the truth in front of you either. It's critical to know when to engage and disengage to make it work.

This concept connects back to the idea of love I mentioned earlier.

And love is patience and love is kind.

Find Chad’s Astrology masterclasses and New Moon and Full Moon live streams on YouTube

Follow his Nes

@chadthemaverick on all social media.

Website: https://stan.store/chadthemaverick