# Ep. 304: From Chemical Sales to Couture: Ricky on Painting, Sewing, DJing & Reinventing Yourself in Midlife

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/everything-anything-and-a-bit-gay-podcast-6752108/ep-304-from-chemical-sales-to-couture-ricky-on-painting-sewing-djing-reinventing-yourself-in-midlife
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/everything-anything-and-a-bit-gay-podcast-6752108/ep-304-from-chemical-sales-to-couture-ricky-on-painting-sewing-djing-reinventing-yourself-in-midlife.md
Podcast: [Everything & Anything...and a bit gay Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/everything-anything-and-a-bit-gay-podcast-6752108)
Published: 2026-09-03T08:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.everythingandanythingpodcast.com/
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pdcn.co/e/afp-939909-injected.calisto.simplecastaudio.com/cfe1ea8e-7d0f-47dc-a4ba-305ba19ff04f/episodes/354930a5-2c03-4edb-96b9-b55aa41edfe7/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=cfe1ea8e-7d0f-47dc-a4ba-305ba19ff04f&awEpisodeId=354930a5-2c03-4edb-96b9-b55aa41edfe7&feed=prFhjice
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Duration seconds: 3680

## Resource

Zach welcomes Ricky — a painter, sewist, and self-taught DJ who spent his first career in chemical sales and internet technology before reinventing himself as a full-time artist. The two swap strikingly similar stories about corporate mentors who pushed them toward unexpected paths, and Rick opens up about leaving 20 years in Boston for a tiny village in Vermont, training formally at the Florence Academy of Art, and picking up sewing this year to the point of building an entire wardrobe by hand. Along the way they talk queer life in rural New England, what podcasting reveals about human nature, and Zach's evolving views on transgender allyship and reincarnation after a past-life regression session. It's a warm, wide-ranging conversation about creativity, reinvention, and building a life on your own terms. Find Rick: RickyArtist.com

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## Transcript

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