Now, however, he’s taking over the United States through his Lowe’s partnership.
This isn’t a small or short undertaking, though.
Lowe’s will spin up the program for five years and has committed to a $100 million investment.
What specifically can you tell us about the initiative?
Can I get you to be a part of it somehow?"
And I was like, “Well, duh.”
I have nominated an organization myself that I’m actually going to personally design this space for.
It’s a lot of fun.
That’s really amazing.
I was reading that you specifically nominated My Friend’s Place in Los Angeles.
Tell us about this place and why you chose them.
My first place is a nonprofit here in L.A. that is a shelter for homeless youth.
How have you personally handled this exposure to the world since being on “Queer Eye?”
and who were maybe some of your heroes, queer or otherwise, leading up to the show?
One of my heroes was Elton John.
I grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, and there was really nobody out then.
I definitely have to say the original Fab Five.
They were the first gay people, real gay people, that I saw as [successful].
You’re not going to have a family.
You’re not going to be loved.
You’re not going to find success.
No one’s going to accept you."
To see them in that way really inspired me and gave me hope.
You’ve been taking on these partnerships and initiatives before.
I know you’ve worked with Jill Biden on campaign stuff, and you’ve worked with Lizzo before.
What are your favorite partnerships you’ve done?
She is amazing and lovely and wonderful and everything you’d hope she’d be.
Originally, it was supposed to be a real video, but then COVID hit.
It’s a bit of a coincidence that every state we filmed in turned blue in the last election.
It’s insane that we’re able to help move the needle politically.
My goal is to always use design as a way to help change people’s lives.
That’s what I do on “Queer Eye.”
That’s really interesting because I’m the exact same way.
I have to have everything neat and organized.
Keep in mind that chaos around you creates chaos in your mind.
A lot of people these days, with everything going on in the world, are suffering from anxiety.
Remember that the chaos inside your home makes that worse.
I talk with Carson [Kressley] and Thom [Filicia] all the time, actually.
Actually, our offices used to be in the same building in New York years ago.
We bonded over that, but we bonded because we’ve known each other for a very long time.
I’ve known Thom, God, since he filmed the original show back in 2004.
Going on 18 years, I’ve known Thom.
Last year, you were on [Fox’s] “Masked Singer.”
What are some of your other passions outside of design that you want to explore?
We’re working on some music.
Singing’s definitely a passion of mine.
It’s always been a passion of mine.
I am honestly not a big reality show fan.
I love crime drama.
I want to watch it."
I became obsessed with it.
It’s so good, it’s so good.
I started watching live feed.
I’ve always been like, “Who would watch live feed?
Who has time for that?”
I’m like, “What’s going on in the house?
I want to know.”
It was really great.
I was shocked at some of the things that went on.
I know you’re close with Carson, and he’s on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
Do you watch “Drag Race?”
We watch all the ones in English.
He watched the Dutch one, the Thai one.
I’m like, “Enough.”
Finally, what can you tell us about what’s next for you?
Not a lot I can talk about right now.
There’s a lot of things in the work that haven’t been announced yet.
We’re waiting on timing based on some possible “Queer Eye” announcements.
It’s an editorial site where we talk about social issues and health and fitness and design.
Today, we did an article about “Where are they now?”
with “Queer Eye” heroes.
you could catch Bobby Berk in Netflix’s"Queer Eye.
