In xoNecole's Finding Balance, we profile boss women making boss moves in the world and in their respective industries. We talk to them about their business, their life, and most of all, what they do to find balance in their busy lives.
If 2020 has taught us anything, it's that regardless of everything going on––now is the prime time to make yourself a priority. Whether that's being consistent with your workouts, implementing more rest, or carving out time for some serious self-care. The latter of which NOLA native and former 106 & Park host Rocsi Diaz is totally here for.
Before gracing our screens on the beloved music video countdown show, Diaz started off flexing her skills in the radio world from Dallas' 97.9 The Beat to becoming the Midday Mami at Chicago's Power 92 WPWX-FM. And now she's back on a new network and a new show alongside WWE Superstar Mike "The Miz" Mizanin. USA Network's Cannonball is the biggest, wettest, wildest competition that you've ever seen on TV.
Boasting an 80 ft-high mega slide, viewers can watch different contestants go head to head in a variety of water obstacles to compete for the chance to win a $10K cash prize. "It's so much fun," the Emmy-nominated host explains. "It's a show you can watch with the family, it's a good time. It's a lot of fun. If you got a lace front on, you better hope it's laid on tight because you might lose it on our slide, it's just crazy."
xoNecole recently got the chance to chat with the former Entertainment Tonight host about how she finds balance with her new gig, how she stays motivated during the quarantine, and why we should all make self-care a top priority.
xoNecole: At what point in your life did you understand the importance of pressing pause?
Rocsi Diaz: That didn't come until later in my mid-thirties, where I was like, 'OK, it's time to take out some time for me.' It's OK to break away every once in a while. You know, you're too busy in your twenties, you're having fun, living life, you're enjoying yourself. You get major FOMO. So it was definitely my thirties where it was like: 'step back, rewind, chill out.'
What is a typical day in your life? If no day is quite the same, give me a rundown of a typical work week and what that might consist of.
No day is the same, like today I'm doing press for Cannonball and I'm having fun and enjoying it. So it's like early wake-up calls; i wake up at 6am, get ready [and have] phoners, interviews all day long. And then I wind down at night or in the afternoon and go work out, go do a hike and hang out with some friends or something like that. The quarantine has definitely put a lot of people on pause I feel. Trying to stay motivated is really important so doing a lot of reading, self-reflecting, journaling, and things like that.
What are your mornings like?
[I usually wake up at] about 7am and then chill in bed, catch up on all the news and Instagram and what's going on. And then finally get up.
How do you wind down at night?
I just finished streaming my show! I need another show. Don't you hate when that happens? So I'm finding another show to watch. I'm a homebody so, to be honest quarantine is no different than everyday life for me, except I don't get [to go to] the meetings, it's a lot of Zoom calls. I've always been a homebody so I cook and I chill out at home. But I throw down, I throw down! I'm kind of wanting to take cooking classes because I would love to write a cookbook one day and take a journey through Honduras, New Orleans, and everywhere else I've been. It's fun for me. I'll make peas and rice, Jamaican food, New Orleans food, Italian food––I'll make everything. I have to be inspired and I have to want to cook and cook for somebody, you know? But it's just me and my dog here so we Netflix and chill.
When you have a busy week, what’s the most hectic part of it?
When we air Cannonball, I like to live-tweet and talk to everybody that's watching as well. So those days are hectic because I'm on New York time watching Cannonball, I'm on LA time and I'm just on my phone hashtagging and it's a lot! You want to respond to everybody and I really try to respond to every single person that's watching the show because I really appreciate the support and the fans. Right now it's like you want to see more brown and Black [people] on TV and so when we get that support, I want to show all the gratitude in the world.
Do you practice any types of self-care? What does that look like for you?
I'm so glad I'm friends with my girl Julissa Bermudez who has become this beauty guru where she gets all this fun self-care stuff. So I do steaming, I steam my face a lot. I try different scrubs, I do a lot of the masks. Oh my gosh, I love masks with a jade roller. I'm here for it. I'm very particular about the dark circles around my eyes so whenever I can do a depuffing situation, whether it's ice packs or just resting and putting cream underneath--I try to do that as much as possible.
What advice do you have for busy women who feel like they don’t have time for self-care?
"I would say find the time, you have the time, you're just not utilizing it properly. I guarantee if you look at your screen time and see how much time you spend on social media versus using that time for yourself--you can always find the time. You can always find thirty minutes for yourself to reset. You can find fifteen minutes. It only takes seven minutes to put on a little face mask and sit down and relax and chill. You just have to make it a priority at the end of the day."
How do you find balance with:
Friends?
I have few friends that I call 'friends'. Real friends you don't have to find balance with, they already understand you, and you understand them and it's cool. We understand that we don't have to speak every day, there's no shade if you don't respond back to a text all of a sudden or after three days. I'm blessed to have friends where I don't have to find balance with them.
Love and relationships?
I have yet to find balance with love or relationships (laughs). When I'm in a relationship, I usually am really, really good at finding that happy medium. Because I'm usually really invested in it, so maybe I haven't found a healthy balance with it yet. But right now, I'm single so it's not a part of my schedule.
Exercise?
"Exercise is very important to me. It's 100% a part of my lifestyle. I try to find fun in it as well, I've gotten into hiking a lot. I do that with Julissa, we go exploring and we try to find new hikes and new trails. It's a part of my work too. You have to stay ready. You never know when the next situation or opportunity is gonna be."
Do you ever detox? What does that look like?
It's so funny, I got my green tea right here. I do juice cleanses, I drink my celery juice in the morning, I actually just came off a juice cleanse. I drink green tea every single day that I make here at home, so yeah. I definitely do a lot of detoxing. It's about finding the thing that works for your lifestyle. If you can't go seven days without eating solid food, I get that. So what do you do? You find a cleanse that you could do where you can have one meal. Be strict about it for yourself though, because the outcome is only gonna be what you put into it at the end of the day.
When you are going through a bout of uncertainty, or feeling stuck, how do you handle it?
I log onto xoNecole.com and look at an article that'll help me get through it (laughs). And I watch ya'll on Instagram.
Cannonball airs every Thursday night at 8/7c on USA Network, with reruns airing on NBC and streaming on usanetwork.com. And for more of Rocsi, follow her on Instagram.
Featured image courtesy of Instagram/RocsiDiaz.
Adrian Marcel On Purpose, Sacrifice, And The 'Signs Of Life'
In this week's episode of xoMAN, host Kiara Walker talked with R&B artist Adrian Marcel, who opened up, full of heart and authenticity, about his personal evolution. He discussed his days transitioning from a young Bay Area singer on the come-up to becoming a grounded husband and father of four.
With honesty and introspection, Marcel reflected on how life, love, and loss have shaped the man he is today.
On ‘Life’s Subtle Signals’
Much of the conversation centered around purpose, sacrifice, and listening to life’s subtle signals. “I think that you really have to pay attention to the signs of life,” Marcel said. “Because as much as we need to make money, we are not necessarily on this Earth for that sole purpose, you know what I mean?” While he acknowledged his ambitions, adding, “that is not me saying at all I’m not trying to ball out,” he emphasized that fulfillment goes deeper.
“We are here to be happy. We are here [to] fulfill a purpose that we are put on here for.”
On Passion vs. Survival
Adrian spoke candidly about the tension between passion and survival, describing how hardship can sometimes point us away from misaligned paths. “If you find it’s constantly hurting you… that’s telling you something. That’s telling you that you’re going outside of your purpose.”
Marcel’s path hasn’t been without detours. A promising athlete in his youth, he recalled, “Early on in my career, I was still doing sports… I was good… I had a scholarship.” An injury changed everything. “My femur broke. Hence why I always say, you know, I’m gonna keep you hip like a femur.” After the injury, he pivoted to explore other careers, including teaching and corporate jobs.
“It just did not get me—even with any success that happened in anything—those times, back then, I was so unhappy. And you know, to a different degree. Like not just like, ‘I really want to be a singer so that’s why I’m unhappy.’ Nah, it was like, it was not fulfilling me in any form or fashion.”
On Connection Between Pursuing Music & Fatherhood
He recalled performing old-school songs at age 12 to impress girls, then his father challenged him: “You can lie to these girls all you want, but you're really just lying to yourself. You ain't growing.” That push led him to the piano—and eventually, to his truth. “Music is my love,” Marcel affirmed. “I wouldn’t be a happy husband if I was here trying to do anything else just to appease her [his wife].”
Want more real talk from xoMAN? Catch the full audio episodes every Tuesday on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and don’t miss the full video drops every Wednesday on YouTube. Hit follow, subscribe, and stay tapped in.
Featured image by xoNecole/YouTube
Colman Domingo’s Career Advice Is A Reminder That Our Words Shape Our Reality
When it comes to life, we are always here for a good reminder to shift our mindsets, and Colman Domingo just gave us one we didn't know we needed.
In a resurfaced clip from an appearance at NewFest shared as a repost via Micheaux Film Festival, the Emmy award winner dropped a gem on how he has navigated his decades-spanning career in Hollywood. The gem in question? Well, Colman has never identified with "struggle" in his career. Let that sit.
Colman Domingo On Not Claiming Struggle
"I’ve never said that this career was tough. I’ve never said it was difficult. I’ve never said it was hard," Colman said. "Other people would say that—‘oh, you're in a very difficult industry. It's very hard to get work and book work.’ I’m like, I’ve never believed that."
Instead of allowing himself to be defined by other people's projections about their perceptions of what the industry is or was, Colman dared to believe differently even if his reality was playing catch up with his dreams:
"Like Maya Angelou said words are things. And if you believe that, then that's actually what it is. Actually I've just never believed it. Someone told me some years ago, they said, 'I remember you were, you're a struggling actor.' I'm like, 'I don't.'"
"I wasn't attached to a struggle. I was attached to living..."
He continued:
"Even when I was bartending and hustling and not having opportunities or anything, I never believed that I was struggling because I wasn't attached to a struggle. I was attached to living and creating and being curious."
Colman’s philosophy of attaching to living instead of struggle has blossomed into an enduring career. He first made his mark on stage in acclaimed Broadway productions before transitioning to the screen, where his star began to rise in the 2010s following his role as Victor Strand in Fear The Walking Dead. From there, his presence only grew, landing memorable supporting roles in If Beale Street Could Talk, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and the hit series Euphoria.
In more recent years, Colman has stepped fully into the spotlight with standout leading performances in Rustin and Sing Sing, both of which earned him widespread critical acclaim and Academy Award nominations for Best Actor.
With all that said, Colman's advice is no doubt powerful, especially for those who are chasing their dreams, building something from the ground up, or have question marks about what's next in their careers. Words shape our realities, and how we speak about our journeys even in passing matters.
Words Create Our Reality & Colman Is Living Proof
"I tell young people that. To remember the words that you say about yourself and your career are true. So, I choose to make it full of light and love and it's interesting and every day I'm going to learn something new even if it looks like I don't have what I want but it's important to be in the moment... you really build on the moments moment to moment.
"And you're looking back at your career as I've been in it for what 33 years and you're like, 'Wow, that's what I've been doing.' And I've stayed strong to that so I think that is truly my advice."
Let this be your sign to give your path a reframe. When the path you're on feels uncertain, the journey is still unfolding. Like Colman said: "I wasn't attached to a struggle. I was attached to living."
That's a Black king right there.
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Featured image by Soul Brother/Soul B Photos/Shutterstock