LATV’s Champions of Queer Authenticity in Entrepreneurship

This Pride month, LATV is proud to present our Top 20 list of influential people championing queer authenticity. Over the course of the month, we will be featuring five artists, five entrepreneurs, five media personalities, and five community leaders who are changing the narrative around queerness in culture today.

Our third category: ENTREPRENEURS!

Creator of Badass x Bonita Kim Guerra tells personal queer stories to cultivate community. As CEO of Luna Vibe Co., Brandi Andrews provides skincare solutions and treatments for melanated skin. Multi-hyphenate Demetre is on the rise using art-making to share his point of view. Make-up artist Luigi Chamorro uses his own queer identity to inform how he approaches beauty. And for fashion designer Usama Ishtay, being proud of his queer identity took him some time — and now he’s thriving.

KIM GUERRA / The Storyteller

Writer, advocate, and entrepreneur Kim Guerra wants her work to inspire queer women to love themselves.

“I am woman who loves women, a woman who loves non-binary folks, a woman who loves almas,” she says on an episode of LATV’s Más Qué Pride.

As creator of Badass x Bonita, both her apparel brand and social movement, Guerra develops product collections that uplift the queer experience. In Mariposa and Mija, her two published books of bilingual poetry, she explores beauty and resilience in a difficult world.

She started writing as a way to express herself when she was scared to use her voice. Now, her writing champions all parts of her identities, cultivates community, and calls on us to heal ourselves, to act lovingly.

She goes on to say: “For me, Pride is a celebration and it’s also an act of protest to remind us where we are, how far we’ve come, and how far we need to go.”

BRANDI ANDREWS / The Educator

Skincare and melanin specialist Brandi Andrews is revolutionizing the beauty industry’s approach to melanated skin. As Founder and CEO of Luna Vice Co., she provides treatments for hyperpigmentation disorders and skin conditions for people of color. She’s launched and created a stem cell-based skincare line. And last year, she opened up her own spa.

“I started seeing the need in the beauty industry for people like me,” she says on an episode of LATV’s Shades of Beauty.

For over 22 years, Andrews has advocated for melanated skin in an environment that wasn’t always welcoming. Being a queer Afro-Latina, she’s overcome colorism, racism, and misogyny. Now, in her own practice, she fills a necessary gap.

“Leveraging science and holistic practices, we provide a radically new experience for people of color, our LGBTQ+ family, and our allies,” she says on her website.

Next up, Andrews plans to open an academy that will train already licensed beauty professionals on melanated skin. What they don’t learn in school they will learn with her.

DEMETRE / The Self-Made

Demetre Durham — or “Demetre” — refuses to choose a lane, and that’s his superpower. A cartoonist, actor, dancer, pin maker, and hair influencer, his voice (which happens to be queer) is percolating through many of Hollywood’s creative circles.

“My first love was always drawing,” he tells Canvas Rebel. “When you asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, it was ‘I’m gonna have my own cartoon!’ And I meant it.”

His first comic book, Titan Up, is on the way, which will feature Black and Brown superheroes who battle infamous Greek mythological characters who’ve returned to wreak havoc on the contemporary world. Recent TV acting credits include “Kyle” in Pieces and “Bronson” in Dancers for Sale. On his social platforms online, he champions all aspects of his identity as a creator—personally and professionally.

“I want to be able to reach as many people as I can with my art,” he tells Canvas Rebel. “I also want to help and encourage others to do the same.”

LUIGI CHAMORRO / The Beauty Guru

For award-winning make-up artist Luigi Chamorro, embracing queerness keeps his work cutting-edge and versatile.

“My understanding and exploration of my own identity is ultimately what inspires me to create,” he told LATV. “As a queer person, my perspective and experiences bring fresh ideas, creativity, and an authenticity to every face I touch.”

For eighteen years, Chamorro has championed his own freelance brand doing make-up for fashion lines, on-air TV personalities, weddings, and special events. His work has been featured editorially in Wonderland, Harper’s Bazaar, and Galore. Whether he accentuates natural allure or makes a show out of a bold look, first, he finds the beauty within.

“[I] create a space where a wide range of gender expressions, sexual orientations, and cultural backgrounds can feel beautiful,” he continues. “By representing and promoting diversity in my work, I strive for others to feel seen, valued, and empowered.”

USAMA ISHTAY / The Fashionista

Fashion designer Usama Ishtay has always been proud to say he was the most fashionable kid in school. As for his queer identity, celebrating that pride came later.

“I can say I was living in hiding for 32 years,” Ishtay says on LATV’s The Q Agenda.

Born in Venezuela to Syrian parents, he wasn’t free to champion who he was growing up. After a brief engineering career to satisfy parental expectation, he made a hard pivot and moved to the United States to study fashion design. And, in time, what started as a women’s clothing store turned into an upscale brand.

For Ishtay, making a dress is like building a structure. He adapts every look to the body. Now, having dressed celebrities like Eve and Tyra Banks, he’s making space for his style and authentic expression in Hollywood’s competitive landscape.

“The problem isn’t getting to the top,” he goes on to say, “it’s maintaining yourself at the top.”

*

Next week, stay tuned for the next phase of the list featuring queer community leaders. For more Pride content, check out LATV queer on the LATV+ app!