If you are an EDM fanatic with an Instagram or Twitter account, it is highly likely that you have heard of the renowned Lady Casa. Hailing from Miami, FL, Lady Casa (aka: Michelle) decided to sit with us and talk to us a bit more about her life, her rise to fame, and what it means to be a PLUR Warrior. For those of you who do not know much about the rave queen, let us fill you in on a bit of background information before diving into the details.
Michelle was once a student of medicine, aiming to become a physician’s assistant. She quickly realized that the modern form of medicine wasn’t the way she was meant to heal people, “Hands on working in the medical field did not resonate with me at all. I didn’t see myself being able to express the type of healer that I wanted to be in that system of medicine.” So Michelle, an Emory graduate with a GPA of 3.8, dropped out of graduate school to completely dedicate herself to her passions: Dancing, art, music and spirituality.
Lady Casa covered in gold body paint and kandi for a photo shoot.
In 2012, Lady Casa was slowly gaining popularity through social media and her PLUR Warriors platform when the unthinkable happened: A very popular DJ and producer changed her life. You may know him as Ryan Raddon, or you may know him as Kaskade, but either way he a huge part of why Lady Casa is who she is today. “Kaskade putting that picture of me on his Instagram, following me on Twitter, and recognizing me was a huge deal for me. I remember it was a Friday, and my phone would run out of battery from all the messages coming in! And it was HOT to the touch with the non-stop Twitter and Instagram notifications.”
Michelle says she was always aware that Kaskade’s Freaks of Nature tour would be something truly special, “When the time finally came, I walked in knowing I was going to have an impact… so much so that I printed out contact cards to hand out so they could tag me in the picture. I intuitively felt it’d be big. In just that weekend, I jumped from 3,000 to 7,000 followers on Instagram.”
The Freaks of Nature outfit that helped propel Lady Casa to fame.
From the moment that Kaskade saw her potential until now, her outreach in the EDM community has only grown. Once only a local Miami celebrity, Lady Casa now travels to festivals all over the world to meet and celebrate with her fans, gathering quite the following along the way. Her fans are committed to the idea of her as “mother of all ravers,” and it’s not hard to see why.
[quote style=”1″ author=”Lady Casa”]That was the moment in my evolution as a raver and my up and coming as a performance artist that I really realized I don’t just want to be just a ‘pretty rave girl’ (not that there is anything wrong with that)! I love pretty rave girls and do consider myself one, but there are all of these younger people looking up to me, and I want to deliver something more than pretty outfits. And that’s when I started putting out that spiritual message. [/quote]
That spiritual message is the PLUR Warriors movement she created, “That’s why attach the word ‘WARRIOR’ to the phrase: It takes a brave ‘warrior’ spirit to really live out PLUR. We put out into the world what is imprinted on our hearts. If there are enough people in the world spreading love and happiness, the reality will manifest.”
Lady Casa gives back to the world through humanitarian acts.
What exactly is the PLUR Warriors movement, you say? Michelle was very quick to mention that this is not a clothing brand or about the merchandise (although the merchandise is ridiculously cool). For Lady Casa and PLUR Warriors, it’s more important for people to see a symbol that resonates with them and that they can wear proudly, “It’s amazing to see that message resonate with the younger and older generations in a time where a lot of people are seeking something like this. I believe as humans we are raising our level of consciousness.”
Unfortunately, not everyone is able to accept the PLUR Warriors movement for what it is. Many people still misunderstand its intentions, only viewing the movement as another excuse to party or promote drug use simply because it is related to the electronic dance music community.
[quote style=”1″ author=”Lady Casa”] There is a misinterpretation that as a party goer you are trying to escape reality… it’s so much more than that really… it’s so much more than partying. Spirits are being affected and energy channels are being opened. It’s so silly. We are a drug nation. That’s why I dropped out of medicine. You’re going to point at a group of people for taking methylone and ecstasy, but really look at the entire United States! We are a super drug nation. It’s not really a problem of EDM party goers, it’s a collective problem that we are all on drugs. [/quote]
A collective problem, but in Michelle’s opinion, it is not our only problem. In a “consciously young” world, we are lucky to have people like Lady Casa to lead the way, “We are evolving and transforming, and it’s impressive. I think movements like PLUR Warriors and the EDM scene gathering and reflecting that energy of love and creativity is allowing humanity to transform into what it’s supposed to turn into.” In fact, she believes this is where the current popular fascination with EDM is coming from.
Being from Miami and heavily involved in the entertainment industry as a dancer, artist and performer, Lady Casa is a huge participant and loyal fan of Ultra Music Festival. She believes that there are some very powerful and profound ways it affects the world. “Our humanity transforms person to person. When you change yourself, you are changing the whole world, when I change myself I am changing the whole world. So you are gathering thousands of people celebrating love and life together next to the Bermuda triangle! It’s powerful on a global scale.”
Lady Casa interacts with a fan at this year’s Groove Cruise.
From Ultra to Burning Man to TomorrowWorld, you have a very good chance of running into our favorite PLUR Warrior, Lady Casa. She travels the world in order to help spread the principals our culture is founded upon, and we couldn’t have a more fearless and poised leader. So how can you get more involved?
“It exists in all of our hearts. Every single person. Even the most close minded, conventional person has access to that spiritual wisdom. So it’s just about peeling the layers and awakening that part of you that already exists in you.”
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