If you aren’t familiar with [Kent Boyd](https://www.instagram.com/kent_boyd/?hl=en), prepare to fall in love. A true multi-hyphenate if there ever was one, the Ohio native is an actor, dancer, choreographer, overall lover of life, and someone who stands up for the LGBTQ+ community in a major and positive way. You may have seen him as the runner up on Season 7 of _So You Think You Can Dance_ or as the character Rascal in Disney’s _Teen Beach_ franchise— regardless, Boyd is here to entertain the masses at any chance he gets.
He describes himself as “a human who likes to have fun, has energy, has passion, and enthusiasm.” You'll probably find him getting into trouble, jumping up and down, or getting into nonsense. He’s always looking at colors and shapes or eating, but one thing is for sure…he will always be dancing.
Boyd boasts a large social media presence as a founding member of PrideHouseLA, a TikTok content house created specifically for LGBTQ+ inclusivity. The group has collaborated with well-known artists such as Darren Criss, Derek Hough, tWitch, Allison Holker Boss, and Todrick Hall. PrideHouseLA continues to expand with their own merchandise and podcast.
But of course, dance will always be his one true love. To date, he has worked with many big names in entertainment including Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Vanessa Hudgens, Becky G, Vance Joy, All Time Low, and Lauv to name a few. Additionally, Boyd, who is trained in ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary and hip-hop, is a member of the Los Angeles-based contemporary dance group Entity.
Flaunt caught up with Boyd via Zoom from his home in Studio City, and he was definitely in high spirits. Read below as we discuss his love for dancing, time on _So You Think You Can Dance,_ starting PrideHouseLA, time spent on creating content, his acting career, his fashion, encounters with fans, goals, and more!
**I love the holiday spirit! What does your sweater say?**
I got this at Art Basel from one of my favorite influencers. It says "I went to hell and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.” He burned it, which was fun.
**Do you like the holidays?**
I do. I sometimes get a lot of anxiety, like the same anxiety I get on birthdays for people. Especially the people that I really love, I'm like, "Oh my god, I don't know what to get them!" Sometimes I get like that around the holidays. I have to remember “Okay Kent, stop focusing on that and put your focus on hanging out with them.” I have so many nieces and nephews so once I get the kids around me, I feel better.
**When did you fall in love with dancing?**
You know when you’re in kindergarten and they ask you to dress up as what you want to be when you're older? I went in my sparkly tuxedo with the top hot and the tap shoes. I knew from the beginning. I'm a pretty hyperactive person so it was the perfect blend of being physical, but also artful, expressive, and strategic. It felt full-body, and I really enjoyed how much it absorbed me. You have to really be focused and very present, so I loved that aspect of it.
I knew when I was 17—you create that idea of doing what you want to do. You want to go to school, you want to do this. Everyone’s like, "You have to get serious about your life." I came from a pretty small town in Ohio. Luckily, everyone accepted it and knew “Okay, Kent’s going to dance. Kent’s going to be a dancer.”
**What’s the name of your small town in Ohio?**
The city is called Wapakoneta. It's where Neil Armstrong is from too, the first man on the moon.
**What did you learn from your time on _So You Think You Can Dance_?**
It was crazy, it was so much fun—it definitely was a dream come true. I was one of those kids that would watch it every summer after competing or dancing. I was trained in a traditional dance studio like many other people still are today. I watched the show with my friends. When I was 18, I had the opportunity to be on the show. It literally lived up to everything that I thought it would be. It was so intense, and I had the opportunity to work with people that I admired so much.
It was one of those moments where I got to rise to the occasion. It was a really beautiful moment, everything aligned and I got to be in that space. I was extremely grateful for that opportunity. Again, it was one of those experiences that was so full body, it required every part of you. Giving that much of yourself to a project always feels rewarding. Especially when you're around good people, you get to dance and show the world how fun it is to do. That was awesome.
**What do you feel when you dance?**
It's hard to explain. Not numb, but elevated like a frequency. I feel lifted and in a space where I hear things more sensitively. It's definitely euphoric—that's the word that I'm looking for. Especially if there's a piece that really allows me time to be truly present. Otherwise, some of the dances I do are so intricate, there's so much musicality to it that you can really only think about repeating it. I'm so driven by music. I love dance as much as I love the music industry. Without the sounds and energy, it’d be a little bit harder for me. There's so many things that play into it and how I feel about each project.
**What project are you most excited for as of now?**
I’m excited for a few things. Just continuing to choreograph, I’m making that transition. I got the opportunity to work with Walt Disney World and create a cute commercial to celebrate their 50th anniversary, which was really fun. I'm excited to get behind the camera for high-budget projects where there's energy and intention that gives me the chance to collaborate with like-minded people or individuals of a certain quality. I want to continue to be in that creative space: working with pop artists and working with brands. Whatever it may be, I’m excited to be behind that screen. I'm also super excited about PrideHouseLA (an LGBTQ+ TikTok house that I got to create with my friends) and continuing to help the queer youth. I am a part of the queer family, so it's important to me to continue to give back and make sure they have a place to feel comfortable and seen.
**PrideHouseLA has over 4 million likes and over 389,000 followers on TikTok, how does it feel to be making a splash with this community?**
It feels good. Obviously it makes you want to strive for more. This community has had such a positive impact on my life, and the feedback we're getting back from the fans is that we're helping them come out. We're helping them connect. We’re helping them understand themselves better. When something feels positive and it's a continuous circle, you can ride that like a hamster wheel all day long.
I'm in the right moment at the right time, ready to capitalize and create even bigger things with it. Like helping people and creating a space safe, having a brick-and-mortar. Maybe becoming a production company, or expanding to every kid in the world who is trying to reach out and create that space for the community and allies too. Connecting with our allies is our biggest goal, we need them on our side. We need them to know that “Hey, we're the exact same. Being LGBTQ+ is not a sin, it's all good. You're loving people, that's it.”
**How much time do you spend on social media, TikTok and all that?**
A lot! I spend the majority of my work days Monday through Friday on social media. Whether that's on TikTok creating content or shooting because PrideHouseLA has a podcast as well, we're always on our phones. We're always connected to the audience. We’re always streaming live. If someone in the house is creating content, it's a never-ending cycle.
**But you love it right?**
Yeah, I love it because I'm an entertainer. You get to see these little mini passion projects everywhere. You get to see people get creative, that's what I was born to do. That's why being in the industry as a dancer/choreographer/producer transitions so well into these online platforms. It's just making content. It's short-form, so it’s quick. It's rewarding, it's fast-paced, and you get to really do it.
**Talk about your acting career. When did you catch the acting bug?**
I was definitely a musical theater kid growing up. I was always involved with the plays and the musicals that were happening. Everything that I create personally has a narrative. There's always a story or a plotline so for me, it does feel very cinematic because I want to live in that movie world. The acting thing just happened because of the energy. The energy translated really well through the camera for fans and viewers. It was so fitting to be in a musical on Disney, so fitting to find that energy. I'm excited to be a part of even more musicals or more things with energy. Whatever the next project is, it will find me. The right things always do. It's about staying connected, practicing your skills, and waiting for it to come.
**How was it writing and producing the mini-series _Free Period_?**
That was amazing! I got to make this short-form program. It all started with a YouTube video I made for _Teen Beach 2_. It was a behind-the-scenes video, I caught everything and put my spin on it with a friend of mine. Disney saw it and they brought us in for a pitch meeting. They were launching a new app and ended up naming the whole block after our segment, which was really fun. It was a sketch comedy show, like _The Amanda Show_ meets Andy Milonakis. It had that raw, weird humor to it.
We got to work with one of my favorite producers over at Adult Swim called _Abso-Lutely_. It was one of my favorite things to connect my weird quirky energy to Disney with something that was so youthful, but still energetic. We had that moment to really create a whole entire show, which they then split up into little smaller clips that were spaced out like a webseries. It was so much fun, I got to cast some of the people from _Teen Beach_. I worked with Mollee Gray, and I made her play a talking robot girl who blasted people off into space when they’d diss her. It was awesome.
**How would you describe your fashion sense?**
My fashion sense is experimental, colorful, and costume-y.
**What's your favorite costume to dress up in?**
I love period pieces. If I’m going to a night event, I usually stick to the ‘40s and ‘50s. Sometimes if it's an afterparty, I'm going ‘60s. If it's a day party, I'm finding everything within the ‘80s or the ‘90s. I really do find that I use the tropes of different decades to help influence my fashion. Also, I'm a dance teacher. I'm a circus clown. I'm never afraid to find a bit of humor and find something really colorful and bright, whatever it is. I have clown vibes all the time. Life is better when you think of it as a nice, fun, learning joke.
**What's the best encounter you've had with a fan?**
The best ones are when they're really sincere and they have information to give you. On a live, we had a fan named Asher. They explained to me that they grew up with us, from _So You Think_ _You Can Dance_ to _Teen Beach_ to now PrideHouseLA. To see that journey and to connect with people who are like “you were there for me!” —that's what my job is. To be consistent and grow with people, give them little bursts of whatever I'm feeling at that moment to inspire and help them. Those interactions are the best.
**Any goals for yourself at this point in your career?**
My goals are to find even more success in the online space, and more opportunities to connect with companies and brands. My goal is to work with Remi Wolf—I want to work with Remi Wolf so badly. I want to find that newer artist that I can grow and find a connection with. That's my goal, to work with a musical artist whose music I feel so passionate about or understand…someone who I can help curate and grow by being a part of their team.
**Something that fans may not know about you that they should know?**
I'm really loud and I don't back down. If you follow me on social media, you’ll see my energy. I'm happy. I truly am happy.
**What do you like to do when you're not working?**
I love traveling and going to different places. For instance, I was recently in Miami for Art Basel, but I was also working and teaching at a dance convention there. In my free time, I’m exploring the city—getting tapped with the energy. That's instant inspiration for me, seeing different environments. When I have the opportunity to see different things and be around different things, all of a sudden I get new ideas. I’m influenced differently, through the architecture, through the culture, through the cuisine depending on where I am. Whatever it may be, I'm looking to be influenced so that it can help create the person that I am and so that I can help influence people as well.
**What are you most excited for next?**
More opportunities to connect with fans. Also PrideHouseLA is going on a Disney cruise! I’m excited, it's going to be fun. Obviously we're going to create some content, but I'm always inspired by my surroundings. I’m going to get my cute sailor outfit on and see what I can create in that atmosphere.
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Photographed by [Vince Trupsin](https://instagram.com/vincetrupsin)
Styled by [Quentin Fears](https://instagram.com/mrqfears)
Groomer: [Christine Hazelhurst](https://instagram.com/christine_pro_makeup)
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