John Gonzalez is a Staff Instructor and Judge with The Universal Cheerleaders Association and The Spirit Consultants, a Judge/Master Teacher for Dancer’s Inc. Dance Conventions & Competitions. A Judge/Master Teacher for Step Up 2 Dance Dance Conventions & Competitions. A certified Dance Instructor through Dance Educators of America, Cheerleading Coach through USA Cheer, and member of The National Dance Educators Organization, all while teaching dance full time at Ascend Charter School. John continues to perform as a Timeless Torch with the WNBA New York Liberty at the Barclays Center.
Cheer New York: https://www.instagram.com/cheernewyork Pride Cheerleading Association: https://www.instagram.com/pridecheerleadingassociation Port Chest Cheer: https://www.instagram.com/port_chester_cheer Hofstra Cheer: https://www.instagram.com/hofstracheer
Summary: Stepping into the spotlight, my fraternity brother John Gonzalez offers a raw and compelling glimpse into the life of a Latino artist navigating the complexities of identity and industry expectations. As we peel back the layers of his experiences, we unearth vital conversations about overcoming typecasting, financial hurdles in accessing dance education, and the broader socioeconomic challenges that often shadow minority success in the arts. John's journey is a vibrant tapestry of grit and grace, a narrative that celebrates the strength found in mentorship and the relentless pursuit of dreams.
Imagine a sanctuary where cheerleading becomes more than soaring stunts and synchronized chants; it's a place for self-expression, community, and, for many like John, a journey of authenticity. Our episode spins through his cheerleading chronicles—from high school squads to coaching champions—while embracing the personal narratives that intersect with this evolving sport. It's an intimate look at the LGBTQ+ experience, underscored by personal anecdotes that traverse the non-linear paths of queer fraternity members and artists juggling both academia and their passion for performance.
Echoing through the final chords of this episode is a celebration of resilience, exemplified by the incredible comeback story of Movimiento, a dancer who danced with darkness but found his way back to the stage. The theme of transformation continues as we unpack the realities of transitioning from performer to mentor, the joy of coaching, and the vital role of education in sustaining a career in the demanding world of dance. Our discussion extends a grateful nod to the insightful questions that tie together the threads of passion, identity, and excellence in the performing arts.
John Gonzalez is a Staff Instructor and Judge with The Universal Cheerleaders Association and The Spirit Consultants, a Judge/Master Teacher for Dancer’s Inc. Dance Conventions & Competitions. A Judge/Master Teacher for Step Up 2 Dance Dance Conventions & Competitions. A certified Dance Instructor through Dance Educators of America, Cheerleading Coach through USA Cheer, and member of The National Dance Educators Organization, all while teaching dance full time at Ascend Charter School. John continues to perform as a Timeless Torch with the WNBA New York Liberty at the Barclays Center.
Cheer New York: https://www.instagram.com/cheernewyork Pride Cheerleading Association: https://www.instagram.com/pridecheerleadingassociation Port Chest Cheer: https://www.instagram.com/port_chester_cheer Hofstra Cheer: https://www.instagram.com/hofstracheer
Summary: Stepping into the spotlight, my fraternity brother John Gonzalez offers a raw and compelling glimpse into the life of a Latino artist navigating the complexities of identity and industry expectations. As we peel back the layers of his experiences, we unearth vital conversations about overcoming typecasting, financial hurdles in accessing dance education, and the broader socioeconomic challenges that often shadow minority success in the arts. John's journey is a vibrant tapestry of grit and grace, a narrative that celebrates the strength found in mentorship and the relentless pursuit of dreams.
Imagine a sanctuary where cheerleading becomes more than soaring stunts and synchronized chants; it's a place for self-expression, community, and, for many like John, a journey of authenticity. Our episode spins through his cheerleading chronicles—from high school squads to coaching champions—while embracing the personal narratives that intersect with this evolving sport. It's an intimate look at the LGBTQ+ experience, underscored by personal anecdotes that traverse the non-linear paths of queer fraternity members and artists juggling both academia and their passion for performance.
Echoing through the final chords of this episode is a celebration of resilience, exemplified by the incredible comeback story of Movimiento, a dancer who danced with darkness but found his way back to the stage. The theme of transformation continues as we unpack the realities of transitioning from performer to mentor, the joy of coaching, and the vital role of education in sustaining a career in the demanding world of dance. Our discussion extends a grateful nod to the insightful questions that tie together the threads of passion, identity, and excellence in the performing arts.
Hey guys, before we start I wanted to give a little bit of a warning. In this episode we do have a discussion regarding depression in an attempt at suicide. If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, please dial 988 or visit 988 lifelineorg. There are lots of resources out there that are available 24-7 to help. The path to success isn't easy For minorities and people of color. Many attempts to turn you with little to no guidance. Join me as I sit down with individuals who share their stories of perseverance so that together we can learn how to say success in Spanish.
Raul Lopez:
We have a great episode with a good friend of mine, one of my fraternity brothers John Gonzalez. Hello, hello. Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate you taking the time. I know you're probably very busy, but just to kind of give an intro, john Gonzalez is a staff instructor and judge with the Universal Cheerleaders Association and the Spirit Consultants. A judge master teacher for Dancers Inc Dance Conventions and Competitions. A judge master teacher for Step Up to Dance Dance Conventions and Competitions. Certified dance instructor through Dance Educators of America. A certified cheerleading coach to USA Cheer and a member of the National Dance Educators Organization, all while teaching dance full-time at Ascent Charter School and still performing as a timeless torch with a WNBA New York Liberty at the Barclay Center, and wow, that's a lot of stuff to do, man. So I guess, to start off, tell me a little bit about you. Who is John Gonzalez?
John Gonzalez:
John Gonzalez is a lot so, since I've done so much in my life and through various avenues of entertainment. But it did all start growing up as a Latino in the Upper East Side, which already is different because the area was predominantly white. So I was the only Latino in the building that I lived at, and it was a building with a doorman, and I was very fortunate for my parents to be well off. So that's the first thing, like my parents were luckily well off and I was in private school all my life. I went to a private university and navigating through that as a Latino when the predominantly white spaces was, it was a journey. It was a journey.
John Gonzalez:
But I did grow up on the Upper East Side. I went to college in Long Island and I danced and cheer almost my entire life. I mean, dance started late in my life, as opposed to those that choose career paths early on and they start training from when they were like five years old, straight out the womb. But for me it started later. So I had a lot of catching up to do and luckily I had a lot of mentors and people that believed in me and guided me down the right path to make everything that you just said happen.
Raul Lopez:
Nice, nice yeah, and I mean it's an interesting point you bring out and I think I know you did mention that in your in our pre interview that we had with you, where you did feel kind of like you weren't quite Latino Puerto Rican enough for your Puerto Rican community and you didn't really feel mainstream enough for mainstream. And I think identity is always an issue with us, regardless of how we live and where we're at. You know, some of us don't recognize that until we get later into, like college or whatever.
Raul Lopez:
And some of us and someone like you in your situation actually had to deal with it at an earlier, at an earlier age. How does how did that affect you and what are some of the challenges you had to deal with that?
John Gonzalez:
So and it's funny because I also dealt with it when I was a dancer at Disney World, being typecasted for different roles, like what? When I did the Lion King at Disney World, you would notice that predominantly the cast was predominantly people of color, because it's the Lion King, right. So. But then when it came to other shows at Disney, the, the technique part of it came in. So because I had a great technique in dance, I was casted more at Magic Kingdom where it's more of technical dancers as opposed to it's called Hollywood Studios. Now Dancers had more like a hip hop, jazz dance kind of vibe, but then I was only.
John Gonzalez:
I was always the one Latino in the cast, or there was always one black guy and one black girl or and one Latino and then everybody else was white. Because technique, technical dance is not really taught or people of color don't have the money to afford taking those classes, so predominantly white spaces or white people are the ones they succeed in that because they have the money to pay X amount of dollars to take classes. So it was. It was, I don't want to say difficult, but it was different. It was different because I was the Latino and everybody else was white and I knew that I belonged in the space, but then I didn't belong as well, so it was difficult. It was difficult, but I still did it and I pushed through because I knew that my talent will make it.
Raul Lopez:
Yeah, no, and it's. It's an interesting point you put out when you talk about the training that people can't afford. So it kind of keeps a lot of us out of it, out of that area, out of that spectrum. My daughter, she's soccer we were talking about that a little bit earlier and she's doing a travel team expensive, you know, it's like three thousand for the year for her to play soccer and when I go to her practices predominantly white you know, there's not that many.
Raul Lopez:
Latino kids. There's not that many kids from the hood. Everybody's coming in. You know people coming in and their beamers and their nice fancy cars and all this stuff and I'm like man, how many of these you know our people are the soccer players and how many of our kids are in the hood not being able to get this opportunity? Then they provide college, college assistants, getting you interviews with recruiters and stuff like that.
Raul Lopez:
And and so no, it's. It's such a crazy thing to think that you know, oh, if you had a little more money and you were a little bit there, you might be able to become that dream that you wanted to. So it's nice to see you know. I'm glad you were able to get in there. But were you taking classes like that at an early age? You said 14 is when you started, or.
John Gonzalez:
Yeah, so my dance career is a funny story. I just did salsa merengue by Chata, dancing at home with my cousins. Whenever there's a party, they will ask, you know, john, me to put on a show. So my cousin and I will put on a show. And so I didn't really take any technique classes until I got into high school.
John Gonzalez:
My freshman year of high school I auditioned for the Spanish dance team as a freshman and I didn't make it. Right, I didn't make it and I told myself, oh, no, no, no, who know? That is false. I'm, I'm making this team. So I saw the list, didn't see my name. I went up to the moderator, to the classroom, and I said hi, I'm John Gonzalez, I'm a freshman. I tried out for the dance Spanish dance team. I noticed that my name wasn't on the list. I'm going to assume you forgot and I'll be there.
John Gonzalez:
The first day of rehearsal. The teacher was just like, okay, I guess. So, like I advocated for myself, I was like I know what I can bring to the table and I'm going to show it to you, right? But I soon later found out that the only reason why I didn't make it is because she doesn't take freshman.
John Gonzalez:
I'm a freshman arm and she was like once you become sophomore, I would have taken you, but you were so you know, strong in your thoughts and so, like advocating for yourself, there was nothing else I could do but accept you. So from there, this white lady who owns a dance studio saw me performing at my show at my high school and from there she spoke to me and she was like I see a spark in you, I see a passion in you and I see something in you. So I'm actually going to give you a scholarship to attend my dance studio and get the technique that you need in order to make it if you want to become a professional dancer. So I feel like I owe my whole career and my trajectory to this one white woman who believed in me and paid for everything Everything costumes, training, anything. I didn't spend a dime.
Raul Lopez:
Nice, yeah, and it's, you know, I think, one of the previous interviews that I had, david said, you know, sometimes it's not so much about finding the opportunity. Is that being able to see that an opportunity has been given to you by someone and taking advantage of it. And I mean it's wonderful you did that. I'm glad I was able to help you out. Did you come from a family of dancers at all, or was it just you that?
John Gonzalez:
can have that spark. No, my mother, my mom and my dad cannot dance. They cannot dance. I have a nephew who's 25 now and he dances Latin dance. So when he was younger until my sister he wanted to dance. Like I felt a joy in my heart, like, oh my God, he wants to dance too, like it's uncool. So it's just him and me.
Raul Lopez:
Nice, nice. So you? For a lot of people, especially parents in general, a kid says, hey, I want to do dance, that's where I want to go for the future. You know, do you ever run through any issues, or were your parents very supportive of you deciding you want to do dance?
John Gonzalez:
Supportive? Absolutely not. They were not supportive at all. I went to college. I entered college as a business major and a dance minor, because you know, you got to be a lawyer, you got to be a businessman, you got to be a doctor. You have to do something that's going to make you money. And so that whole thought process growing up is what we thought we needed to do. And so I went in my freshman year of college as a business major and failed. I failed. I got on freaking academic probation because everything that was on my schedule was business and it's not the passion that I had, it's not the love that I had, like I didn't care. I didn't care about business. I wanted to before, I wanted to entertain. And that same semester, when I told my parents I'm switching majors, it was like, oh my gosh, what are you going to do with your life? That's not a real job. Are you going to make money? And here I am making money and actually sending them money. Nice.
Raul Lopez:
Nice, I just see. I just see like in the videos, like what are you going to do? So I dance, you know like I'm going to dance. And then the music starts. The musical starts. You know it's like the musical of John. You know that's how it goes, yeah, so, but then you know the. So we talk about Hofstra. You got into Hofstra. I think you mentioned that you were able to get a dance scholarship while you were in Hofstra.
John Gonzalez:
Yeah, so that. So usually the dance scholarships are done the year prior. You attend the audition and you know as a senior high school you'll attend the audition and then you get accepted to a dance program or any arts program your freshman year. From there you can either you can also get a scholarship. So I had to do that part. My second semester year of freshman, of my freshman year. They actually had a special audition slash scholarship opportunity for me because I expressed so much interest in the program and they saw something in me too which was like wow, I guess something is here because so many people see it and I wasn't really seeing it within myself, but others were. So from there I did the audition and I got into the program and I got a scholarship as well as cheerleading.
Raul Lopez:
Nice, and so did you start cheerleading in college, or was that something you started doing earlier on as well?
John Gonzalez:
I started doing it in high school, also something against my not against my parents, but something they didn't understand because they didn't. And then that cheerleading is an American thing.
John Gonzalez:
It's really that now it's becoming bigger to the point where it's not going to be in the Olympics, in case you didn't know, yeah in the in the Olympics, and there is actually a world cheerleading championship is called worlds happens every year at Disney World, where different countries do come and compete is like the Olympics that we've created on our own. But I did start cheering in high school because I will watch it on TV. I saw the ESPN nationals competitions and, being this little gay boy, I'm like, oh, I want to be sassy, all those things. And I found friends that were also doing it and I was able to part, be part of an all start cheerleading team, which is different from school cheerleading team. I'm part of an all start team in Jersey in which I didn't have to pay anything either. I got my training for cheerleading and became a collegiate cheerleader national champion. I'm a coach. Yeah, it's just. I feel it's just all been in me, I guess.
John Gonzalez:
No, you just somebody to bring it out.
Raul Lopez:
Yeah, I was just gonna say like all you need to do is someone to believe in you and give you that outlet to say, hey, here, give this a try. And cheerleading too it's. I mean, my school wasn't big with cheerleaders, we barely had the funding for it and they had to kind of cheerlead. It's funny, they had to cheerlead at all the sports. So they're like at soccer cheerleading, at baseball cheerleading, just because they were like we're not going to sign up, pay for a cheerleading team that's only going to go to football games and so. But we only had like 12 girls and they were kind of. You know, it wasn't really well organized and we didn't have a band. We had a DJ. So we had one of my senior year, one of our students, our classmates, who was a senior too. He was a DJ, so he'd come to the baseball, football games and play music and stuff. So we're coming out like, wow, loud and rough, pride of the anthem. So it was fun, it was funny.
Raul Lopez:
Yeah, so. So you started doing cheerleading in high school, and then you also mentioned you were out by that point in high school as well.
John Gonzalez:
Yeah. So I love this question because everyone asks oh, when did you come out? Or when did you tell your parents? I never had a coming out story.
Raul Lopez:
Oh yeah, nice.
John Gonzalez:
So I never had a moment where, like, all right, we need to have a family meeting, I need to sit you down and to say to tell you, mom and dad, I'm gay. That never happened. That never happened because my, my viewpoint on it is no one, no one says, no one has a straight coming out. Yeah. So why should I have a gay coming out? I just live my life the way I wanted to live, and they figured it out.
Raul Lopez:
They figured it out on their own.
John Gonzalez:
They weren't any questions, so I never had a coming out. I was just me, and if people ask that, I will say yes, nice, but from high school on. I mean I was a freshman in high school and my boyfriend was a junior in my high school.
Raul Lopez:
Okay, okay, you swing for the for the rafters. I went.
John Gonzalez:
I went in, I was quick, I was like, let's go.
Raul Lopez:
Nice, nice, yeah. And so when, when talking about college again, you're in my fraternity as well and we're in a lot of fraternity, Phi Iota Alpha and 20 years ago compared to now, is very different and being queer, was there any other struggles or within the fraternity or college school that you had to deal with?
John Gonzalez:
Oh, 20 years ago when I pledged and crossed, is way different than the brotherhood that's coming in now because it wasn't as accepting back then. I can actually tell you and if they hear this podcast they're probably like oh, why are you talking about us that when I was an interest for the fraternity, the chapter actually did not want me and voted not to have put me online. I found out later, obviously because they didn't want to be known as the gay chapter and they did, or they didn't want to be known as the gay fraternity on the campus. So that that hit me. That hit me a bit. Finding out later that like these guys there, like training me to become a brother or want me to call them a brother or want this title of brother, now saying that they didn't even want me in the first place. So how am I supposed to respect you and give you that brotherly love and call your brother when in the back of my head I'm thinking and knowing that you didn't even want me? So it was like All right, now I have to prove myself double time Because I'm the gay pledge or the gay person, the gay guy on the line.
John Gonzalez:
I had to prove myself more than all my other line brothers who were straight and back in the day it I had also interest in other organizations and it was the same thing. They didn't want to be known, they didn't want that stigma attached to them. So I don't want to say, and they were fired off of, but fired off of, show me more love than all the other organizations that I was showing interest in. But now these pledges are coming out of the gate. I was waiting for you at the door. They're just like living their life. The non-binary interest, non-binary pledges are online and it's funny because even to this day I have chapters that give my information out to pledges to reach out to me, because I was the first openly gay pledge and the first openly gay brother 20 years ago and now I guess my name is still around Niki Moose, as my pledge name says.
Raul Lopez:
Yeah, yeah, no, I mean it's a big difference. You know, there was, I think, a handful of brothers back in the day and now it's, you know, a lot more accepting brothers. I think, I think people in general, you know, I just a lot more accepting on all that stuff, and it's a wonderful thing to see. I mean, I think we hit it off since day one. Back in the day we used to meet at convention. I think we'd see each other like once a year at conventions and we just party, and you know so.
John Gonzalez:
Macho thing too.
Raul Lopez:
Yeah, it's the machismo thing.
John Gonzalez:
Machismo thing, and it's the same thing translates over to being in a Latino frat. It's not any different.
Raul Lopez:
I mean it's between that and the urban environment A lot of us grew up in. I mean, I know kids that were in high school that were gay, but they weren't coming out in the hood, they were just out of fear. You know, some of them didn't even graduate because of it. And you know, even when I was in high school I was kind of was like, you know, they would say stuff and you're like, oh yeah, I want to deal with that either. And then I get to college and it's like, oh, my RA is gay. Oh, and it's like five gay kids on my floor and my neighbor is gay and I'm just like I'll just get over it, you know. But then I have my boys come up to visit and we go in the elevator and my RA comes in and I'm like, hey, how's it going? Is this your friend? Well, you guys have a good time. And they like walked out and he's like, hold on, is your RA gay? He's like, oh, yeah, he's like if he touches me I'm going to beat him.
Raul Lopez:
Like dude, that's not how it works and I was like shut the hell up, but like that's not how it works.
Raul Lopez:
Nobody's going to jump out to you Like just go upstairs and go have fun, Like stop being weird, you know, but it's that mentality that they just can't get out. And it's good to see that it's a lot different now and more accepting, you know. But I'm glad it worked out for you and I'm glad that you're still a resource, because even you know, regardless of the time, it's so difficult for queer people. You know, you know. And so college, we're working through that. So you mentioned that your college during actually took you about 20 years.
John Gonzalez:
You started taking gigs and jobs in there and coming in and out, yeah, and I said, yeah, and this is something that I teach my kids now, because we're not going to be young forever. Our bodies are not going to be the way they are when we were young. So for me, during my college experience, I would audition, get a gig. Then I'll have to leave school for a bit. The longest was five years away because I was a dancer at Disney World. So I would go away, then come back, do a semester, maybe a year, get another gig, had to leave because I was on tour or doing something, and so my career path took a long time and even that aspect of it.
John Gonzalez:
My parents were like when you're going to graduate, when you're going to graduate, you need to degree, you need to do something. It's already bad that you're getting a degree in dance. What is that going to do? You don't have a degree, you're not going to get paid as much. And my sister actually just finished her bachelor's and she's 60, she's 60. She's 60, yeah, and so for me it just took long because I just had to do what I needed to do, because I was young and still able to do it. So I tell anyone that wants to be in entertainment, like college is going to be there. It's going to be there, but your ability to execute things won't be your look, and unfortunately, the entertainment world is the way it is Like. The way you look is how you're going to get gigs, how you're going to get jobs, how you're going to get booked, and then your reputation and your work ethic is how you're going to keep getting booked and keep getting gigs, which I've been lucky enough to also have in my pocket.
John Gonzalez:
My gig now with the WNBA New York Liberty, the timeless tortures I, the senior director of entertainment. She reached out to me because we used to dance together for the Knicks, so she was a Knicks City dancer and I was on the 7th Avenue Squad, which is like a cheer dance team for them, and so later on she went on to the Brooklyn Nets and now she is the senior director entertainment for the Brooklyn Nets and the WNBA New York Liberty. And just having that relationship with her, she reached out to me hey, you want to be part of this party and over team that we have and I've gotten other gigs as well by, just, you know, having good, great work ethic.
Raul Lopez:
So you're bringing a very interesting point and I think a lot of people don't think of it that way. But this is similar to like sports. You know what I mean. You can't be an old professional athlete. You know this is a dance cheerleading. You know athletic. You have to be athletic. You usually have to be young. You can't be hurt.
Raul Lopez:
You know dance has that extra part with the looks. You know you have to usually fit a part to be accepted and stuff like that. And what kind of toll does that take? You know you have to be physically fit to do that.
John Gonzalez:
I had to leave Disney World, which was my dream job to dance at. I flew down to Florida just to audition and was lucky to get it the same day. And I say lucky because, as in the beginning, as all the dancers are out stretching and getting ready to go in get their number, do the routines, I was meeting people and they were saying this is my fifth time auditioning. This is my sixth time and they still never got it, like they haven't gotten the job. But yet my first time auditioning I got it, and the reason I say that is because it was my dream job. But then I had an injury. I had an injury and I had to get surgery in my back. It was workers come because it happened during the show and the doctor was like you're not going to be able to dance again Like this. This is it. So that's the worst thing and any athlete wants to hear from a doctor is you're never going to be able to play football, you're never going to be able to play basketball, and to me I didn't know anything else.
John Gonzalez:
I went to college for dance, like there's nothing else that I knew or wanted to do but be an entertainer, and so I went into a deep depression because I had to move. I moved back to New York and the reason why I moved to Florida is to dance. I mean, this goes back to. My parents were a lot world off, thank goodness. But my parents bought me a house and I was like, all right, I'm ready, I'm going to live my life in Florida. Here we go, and then it just gets snatched away.
John Gonzalez:
I moved back to New York and deep depression. I actually tried to take my life. Once God was with me. I guess it wasn't my time to go, because my neighbor found me and did the whole hospital thing and I'm here today, but it's still for years and years. I still was deep, deep dead to the repression where I ate my depression I started doing.
John Gonzalez:
At that time marijuana wasn't legal, so it was like taboo, like oh my gosh, you're smoking marijuana, I will do it all the time just to like escape. But it never led to like harder drugs. So thank you for that. But I thought that I will never dance again because that's what I was told. And here I am dancing again. I made a work, I figured it out, I said I they had. There was a moment where I needed to just tilted or to turn, and so myself, you know I need to get out of this space and I need to make a change, which for some people does, it's hard, it's hard for some to do, and it took me over 10 years to make that, that, that change in my life, to realize that you need to get your ears together.
Raul Lopez:
Yeah, it's, it's difficult, you, I mean from age of 14 on. But you were dancing as you were a little kid, and it's kind of always been in your blood and to be so committed and so getting to the point of you've gotten what you wanted and you've gotten what you needed to do and to be taken away from it and put it as difficult, and so I commend you for one your honesty with it.
Raul Lopez:
I appreciate you being open and honest about all that stuff, and I'm glad you're still here with us. There's a lot more of you. For people who don't know, your brother's name is Movimiento. So Movi, there's a lot more people need a. Movi. So I'm glad to have you here, bro, but so I'm glad you overcame everything. Were you doing cheerleading coaching at that same time, or was that something you started doing after the injury?
John Gonzalez:
Coaching happened. Yeah, it was happening before, more so choreography setting, choreography with different schools and different teams. But coaching diving really deep into coaching happened afterwards. Yeah, after Disney Once I moved back to New York. Yeah, and what? Kind of Because I told myself, no, I told myself, okay, well, if I really can't dance anymore, then the plan B is coaching cheerleading, because I don't have to actually do dances that will be straining us on the body or things that I can no longer do because I'm not young and but Viral is the word, yeah.
Raul Lopez:
You know, they say that. What's the saying? Those that can do it, those that can't teach so that's, and do you think teaching kind of helped keep you ahead above water from?
John Gonzalez:
thinking even deeper, absolutely, absolutely. I think seeing the passion from younger kids and passing that passion and that drive to the younger generation kept me going and kept me afloat. Seeing them succeed has me succeeding. You know, I have three championship rings as a coach and I wasn't on the mat. I didn't put the hard work on the floor they did, but I helped them get there, you know, and just having that moment of like a proud dad, yeah, I did that. And now, as they grow older, they're going to remember me like, yeah, I won this because my coach was so great. Or yeah, my coach was hard on us, but was hard on us for a reason because I'm a hard coach Good, definitely a hard coach which is hard to be in this day and age where, if a kid doesn't get on the team, all of a sudden parents are calling administration and all these shenanigans because you know the privileged life of kids nowadays.
Raul Lopez:
Yeah, I assist coach with my daughter, I mean they're only ten so you can't yell at them as they'll go do laughs, but you know it is a very you know. Oh, you have to be very careful about everything you say and how much you say now Things like when I was, when I was a kid playing soccer and being treated like an asshole. We could also chop a kid and I was like they can't talk to kids like that anymore.
John Gonzalez:
Yeah, no, fire immediately, yeah, exactly.
Raul Lopez:
And so when you're part of the cheerleading industry and things like that, it's I think it's an enigma for a lot of people. They don't know what that life is like and what's that thing. You know, cheerleading is huge. I've been to, I've seen championships, like when I went to visit LSU once and there were just huge amounts of cheerleading competitions for the weekend. It's a big moneymaker. It's very dangerous. It's a very injury. Yeah, number one injury and thing. How is it as like a Latino and a queer coach, to like handle all that when I started shooting college.
John Gonzalez:
Well, there's this already. There's already this stigma about oh, if you're a guy cheerleader, you're gay. When I went to cheer in college, I was the only gay one. All right, all the guys are going to be gay. Yes, it's going to be a party. I was the only gay one. All the other guys on the team were like ex football players. They were like these masculine, big muscle dudes and I'm just like, well, that's, that's a waste, because you don't even want me.
Raul Lopez:
It's funny because I played football and I know a lot that it was very common for football players who didn't make the team would become go into cheerleading, you know, and sometimes they get scholarships for cheerleading.
John Gonzalez:
And people think they're like oh, it's cheerleading, whatever. No, like we are holding humans in our hand. We are throwing over like a hundred pound humans in the air and catching them in our hands, like that's, that's not easy, you need the strength for that. It was in addition to being the only gay one, but then also cheerleading. And it goes back to the dance.
John Gonzalez:
How, like, if you don't have the means to get the training to become a dancer, same thing with cheerleading, and cheerleading you have to have gymnastics ability, you have to be able to dance, you have to be able to stun, you have to be able to, you know, even have the athletic ability. Like going to the gym having that in your disposal. Not many people of color in the cheerleading industry, because we don't have those, because we don't have those means, we don't have the money to pay for gymnastics classics, to take tumbling, and that's something that's the first thing. The first requirement in cheerleading is you have to be able to know how to tumble, because that takes longer to coach and learn than throwing people in the air.
Raul Lopez:
Yep, yep. And I mean as a dad who had a daughter who wanted to do gymnastics for a year. It can get expensive, you know. They lower you in with these cute little one classes where they do a couple little things and then they're like oh, are you interested in signing up for competitions? Oh, sure, okay, well, that's going to be an additional $100 a month plus competitions.
John Gonzalez:
And you got to pay for competitions and now you're looking at like four or $500, $600 a month or, and if it's a way, then you have to get a hotel. Yep, then you have food, so it's a big expense.
Raul Lopez:
And it's with a lot of sports. Like I mentioned, soccer, my daughter's soccer, the same way. We luckily were pretty local where we don't go too far. You know, her soccer games are about an hour away every Sunday or Saturday, so we drive one hour. I got to go down there, come back. And then my cousin, who's a big soccer guy same thing, his daughter, like she, goes to Florida every year for soccer tournament, you know. So they take road trips to Ohio and they drive and they go for the weekend and if you don't have, that means you're, you're left out.
Raul Lopez:
And so how are you able to overcome some of that stuff with within the community as a coach?
John Gonzalez:
Yeah, being a Latino coach, it was, and coaching in predominantly white schools and with predominantly white teams, it was difficult. It was difficult because I had parents contacting administration or talking to me because they didn't like the way I spoke to their kid or they didn't like my tone or my sassiness, because, of course, when you're gay, you're automatically attached to being sassy and it's just like no, I'm just being direct and honest and I'm letting you know what you need to do. If I was a white coach, it would have been okay, but because I'm a Latino, y'all think that I'm being disgruntled or you think that I'm doing too much. So it was. I had to prove myself a lot. I had to prove myself a lot of the times, and when I won the championships and had one conversation, that was proof enough.
Raul Lopez:
Yeah, yeah, put, put um. Was it good how? Do you? Like them apples.
John Gonzalez:
Yeah, yeah, Basically how do you like them? They don't lie here what you got yeah, no.
Raul Lopez:
And so, um, you're doing teaching, cheerleading, coaching, um you're doing dance, uh, instructor and stuff. And then now you're also, you judge a lot of these competitions as well.
John Gonzalez:
Yep on weekends. So I have no life. Um, that's why I'm still single, because I have no life. I teach at a normal, at a regular school. It's part of the curriculum. Where the kids take dance as part of like usually gets like the PE credit for the state. And then right after that I drive to coach until 8pm and then on weekends I, if my kids are not competing, I'm judging. So I don't judge the competitions therein for obvious reasons, and I don't judge for the section that I coach in in New York state, but I do judge in other sections for obvious reasons. But yeah, it takes a lot of you, but how does the same go? When you love what you do, it doesn't feel like it's not work, or it doesn't feel like work. I don't feel like I work at all.
John Gonzalez:
I just feel like I'm doing something that I love, and I wake up every morning and I'm never like, oh, I got to go to work. It's always like okay, work, I got to go to work.
Raul Lopez:
Yeah, and it's a nice transition too, cause obviously when you're younger like you mentioned the athleticism you're there, you're ready, you want to be the one performing. You know, and even though you had your injury, I think at some point you have to wean off and go the other route. You know, and find um, regardless of whether or not you were injured or not you're not going to be able to do it forever and eventually, you need to figure out and find what's going to keep your passion driving and so it's it's nice to see that you were able to find that through teaching.
John Gonzalez:
Yeah, and I was actually talking about the, my therapist, cause I am seeing the therapist after I tried to do the thing that wasn't successful. And we were talking about it how the aging the aging dancer is always a thing. Like dancers or anyone in entertainment goes through that part in their life. Like wow, I'm aging. Now I'm not how I used to look, my body is not the way it used to look. I'm not going to get those opportunities that I had before. I now have to look at other opportunities, like if I'm an actor, now I need to look at roles that are the mom or the dad and not the child or the high school student. Now you're the administrator or the teacher. So it's just like realizing that and navigating that pathway through like yeah, this is life, you're going to age.
Raul Lopez:
Yeah, and it's. It's funny when you think of. I was thinking about that one when I was watching that new Chucky movie that came out a few years ago and the mom was Audre Plaza and I'm like I keep thinking of her like the young girl from Parks and Rec you know what I mean and I'm like, oh my God, I guess she's getting older and I'm like oh my God, I'm getting older. We all get older. It doesn't end, it doesn't stop.
John Gonzalez:
I mean, what I know right is the mom and stranger things. But I remember her being the high school student.
Raul Lopez:
She was using Beetlejuice. She was a young kid in Beetlejuice, yeah, no little woman, yeah. So I mean we all get older and it's sometimes you have to find a different outlet, especially in certain industries, and so, like I said, it's it's good to see that from you as well. And so when did you graduate from House Show?
John Gonzalez:
I walked in 2016,.
John Gonzalez:
but I got the official paper, the official degree, in 2020. Because I was able to walk with six credits remaining. So I did the walk, not for me, because I didn't even want to walk. I did it for my parents. I wanted them to see me in the cap and gown from college, walking down and, you know, doing the whole graduation thing, because that's what they want to see, that's what they want, that's what they all, to me, want to see. Like I came to the States because you know better life for my kids, yada, yada, all that stuff. And they got it. And now they're. I feel that they could die happy.
John Gonzalez:
You know, they haven't been bothering me, Not necessarily bothering me, but just like. What are you going to do with your life? What are you going to do? Well, here it is. I finished.
Raul Lopez:
And what did you graduate with? Was it music? I mean dance, sorry, Dance.
John Gonzalez:
Yeah, I had to do green dance. I fully switched over to dance and not business.
Raul Lopez:
Nice, nice, good, good. And then, what do your parents think about your career now? I mean, you got a lot more to show them than they did before.
John Gonzalez:
Yeah, I do. I don't want to say that they don't care, but they're just like, okay, I mean, I could tell them I'm dancing with Beyonce and they're going to be like, okay, I could say I'm dancing with like someone from who they know, like Cheyenne or something. I'm like, yeah, I'm going to go on to where Cheyenne, okay, que, without Be careful out there when you're in different countries, like it's nothing, like oh, wow, you're doing this. I guess maybe that's just my parents.
Raul Lopez:
Maybe you spoiled them, because I think you did mention too that you did do dances with other some performing artists too right.
John Gonzalez:
Yes, yes, yes, yes, but to them it was just nothing, it was all right. Have fun, be careful.
Raul Lopez:
No, parents are funny. Sometimes the everything you do is amazing. Sometimes everything you do is just kind of oh, that's kind of great, it's fine.
John Gonzalez:
It's fine. Yeah, I'm like. I'm so in my, in my craft, like for me being able to perform at Disney World or with these big time artists, like I've succeeded, I've gotten to where I needed, I wanted to be. And some dancers is sometimes dancing on Broadway, like when they make Broadway, all right, they succeeded. Or cruise ships, whatever it may be. It's different for anyone in entertainment, like being in the movies for an actor or getting a TV show, but to our parents is just like okay.
Raul Lopez:
And it's a success is always relative. You know everybody's success is going to be different. What makes you successful isn't what somebody else thinks success is, is what you feel and what makes you feel like you've accomplished something.
John Gonzalez:
Exactly.
Raul Lopez:
Right, I'm glad man. And so if we go back and you think about everything you've gone through your life and you can go back and say, hey, you know, we have a time machine, you go back in time and you go talk to Yang Zhang. That's something, some advice you'd keep yourself.
John Gonzalez:
Wow, that's a good question. It's weird because I want to say go after all those opportunities. But I did. I pursued every opportunity that was given to me.
John Gonzalez:
I think I would say value my craft earlier on in my career. What I mean by that is as a struggling artist, as they say, in the beginning of your career. You usually do a lot of things for free to get your name out there, to get your face out there. Or you do things for extended period time and not really get paid where you should be getting paid, because you're so fresh and you're not aware. Or you're the new face in town and I think telling my younger John they're like no, no, you're worth earlier on.
Raul Lopez:
Yeah, advocate for yourself, like that first audition you did.
John Gonzalez:
Like I did in high school, yeah, and, but do it in the professional world now I don't know what happened to that John in high school, but when he became a professional it wasn't that much.
Raul Lopez:
Yeah, I think sometimes we get stuck with that in postures and journalism but we feel we're you know, oh, we've made it here but we're still not there. I don't know if I'm still good enough, and you eat shit a little bit and then eventually you get to the point you're like, fuck that, I ain't nothing.
John Gonzalez:
Exactly what. That's exactly what my third person. I talked about the process of them and how I felt like I wasn't good in certain spaces.
Raul Lopez:
Yeah, Well, look, it's impressive and it's amazing journey that you've been through and there's so much that you've accomplished and you know, I'm glad to see you're. You're happy man. I think that's ultimately the most important thing.
John Gonzalez:
So yeah, yeah, dark times but the light. There was a light at the end of the tunnel.
Raul Lopez:
Yeah, no man, that's wonderful man and so I really appreciate it. Thank you so much for joining me. I definitely hope to, in the future, have more little things where we talk about industry specific questions and maybe start getting some stuff like that. But, like, I really appreciate you being here today. Thank you so much, yeah.
John Gonzalez:
Thank you for having me.
Raul Lopez:
Oh, no, man, Like I said, you reached out to me and I thought you know, and I was like why don't I have you on here? So thank you, you know, thank you and thank you for advocating for yourself and pushing me to join my audition here and to everyone else listening. Once again, thank you, guys all for the support you give me and all the kind words and hope you'll join me again next time as we continue to learn how to say success in Spanish.