[Raquel M. Horn](https://www.instagram.com/raquelmhorn/) is here to inspire women all around the world, in all aspects of life. Hailing from Hilton Head, South Carolina, Rocky may best be known as legendary music executive Damon Dash’s fiancé and creative director of Poppington, but she’s actually a jack of all trades. From photography to healthy cooking to producing films to now the mother of the adorable Baby Dusko, Rocky is the superwoman that holds Dame down in all his endeavors.
Rocky likes to consider herself as a super creative, finding something creative to do in everything. She states, “That's how I met Damon in New York. I was working for him designing logos and doing decks, we completely became best friends. Being connected at the hip with Damon, we do everything together. My things I'm really weak at, he’s really good at. Things that he’s weak at, I excel at, so we work really well together.”
But her journey to motherhood has been anything but easy. Her 7+ year-long infertility battle with IVF is a testament to her strength and resilience, even enduring her first miscarriage 7 months in back in 2019. After conquering and going through the motions of grief, in 2020 she got pregnant again and gave birth to the couple’s first child together in November.
The supercouple share endless common interests, including their love for dogs and babies. With 4 dogs in the household, Rocky and Damon had multiple puppies until they could have a baby of their own. Additionally, they have a show coming out called _In Love For A Living,_ showcasing the healthy relationship versus the toxic relationship that the media has seemingly painted as “the norm.”
_Flaunt_ caught up with Rocky via FaceTime, who was hanging out at the crib on a beautiful Sunday in Los Angeles. Read below as we discuss her love for photography, showcasing her IVF journey on _Health is Wealth_, how she bounced back from her miscarriage, teaching Baby Dusko how to float in the water, what she likes to cook, her forthcoming documentary, and more!
**When I first met you, you had a camera in your hand. What’s your love for photography?**
I love to take photos. Photography for me is that one creative thing I can do every day. I could take a picture, that's where photography came into my life. I've had a camera in my hand since I was little, but once I met Damon, I really had a camera in my hand every day. I said “Oh my God, we should be taking a picture of this,” and that's how Damon thinks too. I have some legendary pictures.
**You’re from South Carolina, what brought you to New York?**
My best friend was working for Damon, she called me and said “We just fired everybody. I have to hire 5 new people, so can you please get your ass over here so you can come work with me?” \[laughs\] That was Wednesday, I was there on Sunday. I said “Sure. I don't like what I'm doing, I'm there.”
**Talk about your new television show, _Health is Wealth_, and how it ties in with your journey to motherhood.**
This season is about my IVF journey, it's about my loss and how I healed from that. I've been trying to get pregnant for the past 7 years. It's like a ticking time capsule, you don't realize when you're in it how long it takes. When you're under 35, if you've been trying to get pregnant for over a year, that's when you're deemed to have an infertility issue. Or over 35 and you've been trying to get pregnant for over 6 months, that's when you’re deemed with an infertility issue, because you’re older and it's harder to get pregnant anyways. When you're younger, they say “just keep trying. Try for a year.” If that doesn't work, they really start putting you on different things. At first, there's a pill. If that pill doesn't work, then you go see a specialist and try different things there.
**I know you had a miscarriage, I’m so sorry you had to go through that.**
I lost the baby at 7.5 months, it was really hard. This season of _Health Is Wealth_, Season 3 is about my healing process in Hawaii. We’d done so much to get the baby that it was really hard. What I did to heal, for me it was taking myself out of my comfort zone. The biggest thing was getting away from your triggers. In therapy, they talk about triggers a lot. If I was to stay home during the holidays and Christmas, I’m comfortable in my own bed and in my own environment, but things can help you remind you of the loss easier.
Damon did a really good job because he suffered a huge loss himself with his mother and Aaliyah, so he knew exactly what to do to help me. He took my phone away. He took out all the baby stuff, he took everything away. He just let me sleep for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, he said, “You've taken this time of mourning, now you need to get strong again. If you want to have another baby, you need to be strong. I'm not going to be insensitive, but a lot of women have gone through losses. A lot of women have done this, let's be strong. I'll help you get through this.” That's when we went to Hawaii, it was a good trip.
It was really rough at first, we’re pretty much stranded in the furthest area of Hawaii. The power went out, there’s no hot water the first couple nights. I was bawling crying, “I want to go back to LA! I want to be in my own bed.” \[laughs\] But it made us detach, it was the best thing for it. The whole episode is about getting involved with different foods, meeting different people. We did a radio show out there. We went to the farmers market, we sat on the beach. It was fun. I did 4 different dishes. 2 of them are a classic Hawaiian comfort food. One is vegetable hekka and one is mushroom long rice. They're usually with chicken, but we veganized them.
**You're both vegan?**
I'm not vegan right now. While I was pregnant, I had the strongest craving for eggs I've ever had in my life so I gave into it. Right now, I'm vegetarian, but I still eat a lot of vegan food. I still eat vegan eggs all the time. Sometimes I have weak moments, I don't know what it is. I'm still breastfeeding right now. Anytime I have a craving, I'll give into it.
**How does it feel to be a mother? To have your own child?**
Amazing, it's something I've been really wanting for a long time. Having this baby right now has really been architected. I wanted all these moments, I've looked forward to everything. “When I have a baby, I want to teach him swimming early.” The one I did is called ISR, it's survival swimming. They teach children how to float so that if he accidentally falls in the pool, he can float on his own.
**I saw that video, I freaked out!**
It's crazy. It’s intense, but I know it's for the best. I've heard way too many bad stories, even with friends that were strong swimmers. I know their kids should’ve been strong swimmers, but they hadn't taught them how to swim yet. They dove into the pool without their floaties. Luckily the parents saw them so it was only a few minutes after, but the kids still sunk to the bottom. You never know what can happen. In LA, if you don't have a fence around your pool, it's your fault if the baby falls in. It's pretty intense because that's child endangerment. I'm teaching my child how to float because I love the water too much, he’s gonna be around it. I don't want him to have any fear. He has no fear. You watch the video, “oh my god the child's probably traumatized.” He loves the water!
It's been great to connect with other mothers in learning how to be a mom. I'm part of the mommy group, we talk about different techniques. They're the ones that taught me about the potty training, teaching them how to use elimination communication. Learning to listen to your kid’s signs so you know when he's going to the bathroom, when he's about to poop. It's so much easier when he goes poop in the toilet rather than having to poop in a diaper, so it's definitely fun. A lot of different things I have to give credit to so many moms that have helped me. They’re positive moms.” We're not mom-shaming here. We're helping everyone be better and giving advice, you can take it if you want.” Like Damon says: he's going to give you some jewels so you can pick them up and wear them. It's up to you.
**What does it mean to have the show on his platform, the network?**
I love it. It's full circle. It's funny to me to have the show because I was always the girl behind the camera, so it's funny to be in the focus. It’s fun, I should’ve done it a while ago.
**What can we expect from _In Love for A Living_?**
You get to see our life and how we really live it. Damon and I really are in love for a living. Damon and I go everywhere together so everything becomes a date. This morning, we had the baby in the pool. Damon and I were swimming laps in the pool for exercise. Our arguments are funny because they last short amounts of time. We get really fiery, then it’s done. It's nice to see a healthy relationship.
We want to showcase a healthy relationship rather than a toxic relationship, so we change the narrative into what should be normal. It shouldn't be normal that people are wilding out at each other. That's not what we want our kids to see or think as normal, so that their relationship is bad. We want them to look for a soulmate, we want them to be happy in everything they do. I got 4 dogs, I call them all puppies. I got 2 babies: Damon’s #1 baby, then Baby Dusko.
**What do you like to do to unwind when you're not working or taking care of the kids?**
I like massages. I like to do yoga, I like to swim. Sometimes I'll go on walks or hikes. Obviously I like cooking, that's definitely an unwind.
**Favorite thing to cook?**
My favorite thing to cook probably deals with mushrooms, a mushroom stew or a mushroom soup right now. We went to the farmers market the other day, I was experimenting with all these different flavors of mushrooms. You can make them taste like chicken, seafood, or scallops. It's crazy. I've been really into desserts and smoothies, I have a huge sweet tooth.
**Talk about the Poppington merch you guys have.**
We have the Poppington stuff, all the new CEO stuff. We got in some new basketball shorts which are amazing, we have the black and white ones. For everybody that's been waiting on pre-order, they all got those. We're getting new colors. We have Baby Dusko’s line. Damon had to have it done coming out the womb with his own clothing line, his own business.
**Anything else you want to let us know?**
I got a couple of things coming out in the future. I wrote a kid's book while he was in the womb, so I look forward to that. We’re editing my documentary up, that'll be coming out soon about my whole IVF journey, from my loss to my greatest gift right here. \[Baby Dusko\] I'm doing a syllabus of all the mom stuff I've been learning. Damon has a group of over 130 principals, and I work with all the female principals. We've been putting together a syllabus, they've been teaching me a lot about being a mom.
They put together my mommy group. They've taught me stuff to do from when he was in the womb, teaching him about voices, stories, and schedules. Giving him a routine back when he was in the womb, it’s crazy. I know it works because he recognizes sound still. He knew them coming out. This is how I know it works: my dog Dusko, he barks really loud. Dusko could bark right next to him in the crib, and he will not wake up. But if you tiptoe and drop a pen or something definitely out of the normal, he’ll wake up in 2 seconds. But yeah, lots of things.
