Owning Your Space With Earvin Narvasa
Those involved with real estate know just how important it is to find the right place to call home, but for Earvin Narvasa, that phrase takes on a deeper meaning.
The Seattleite has walked many paths on their journey towards self-realization and connection, and while some didn’t turn out as expected, they all provided Earvin with the ability to discern what’s best for themselves both personally and professionally.
Indeed, this journey has seen Earvin try out many-a-role within real estate. From out in the field realtor to listings coordinator, top producer’s assistant, and now a transactions and operations manager who’s busy studying for their managing broker’s license, this dynamic, empathetic, and energetic professional understands the significance of feeling like you’re in the right place—a sentiment that echoes throughout their experiences onstage, online, and in all of life itself.
Having landed a coveted position at a boutique brokerage, and having come out as transgender and non-binary in the last year, Earvin Narvasa feels as though they can finally settle in, speak their voice, and make a difference in the world through the work they do and the stories they share. A dedicated advocate for equal rights and representation whose own identity informs their experience, it’s not hard to understand why so many look up to this young professional.
We caught up with this beaming, bubbly, and brave Real Pride Network member to hear more about their journey thus far.
What are your favorite areas or hidden gems in your city?
I love Seattle! I live on First Hill, which is right next to the gayborhood (Capitol Hill), so obviously I love it there because I love being amongst my people. Being able to walk everywhere is great; it's a five minute walk to Pike Place Market, which I like to go to when it’s not busy. Green Lake is really cute, I used to live in that neighborhood and walk around that lake every single day. It's really cool because you can boat on it, and there's a lot of grass volleyball. There’s cool breweries in the Georgetown area, I like to hang out there too. We have a lot of really cool neighborhoods, like Fremont and Ballard, and even the suburbs can be fun—we've got great wineries up in Woodinville, so I frequent those.
How do you spend your free time?
I bought a Peloton! I was a competitive swimmer growing up, I played volleyball and play tennis. I haven't been able to do those things in the last year with COVID, so I went stir crazy and bought a Peloton because I need to be active. I’ve been cooking, which was not my thing before COVID, but what else is a girl gonna do?
I'm not one of those hardcore hikers, but I like being outside, and by outside I mean drinks on the patio. I’m a pretty social person, I do drag…but that’s pre COVID. I got my first vaccine this week, my second dose is the day before my 30th birthday. It's not like I can do anything on my birthday anyway, so I'm just gonna be laid up in bed! But I'm usually playing or coaching sports, or just being active.
What's your anthem?
I’m a huge music person. My love language is sharing music, that’s my thing.
I actually am a part of this group—it’s a mixtape club—and every two weeks we have a theme, and it's always a playlist. We did a Women's History Month playlist, a Black Lives Matter playlist, a playlist based on our signs...we do all these random playlists.
I hate when people say this, but I’m honestly such an old soul. It’s all 80s, 90s, early 2000s... I'm always listening to Whitney, Mariah or Tina Turner. That's my go-to if I need a pick-me-up, it’s always blasting my office. If I needed [to choose] a song, it would probably be Whitney Houston’s ‘So Emotional’ or ‘I'm Your Baby Tonight’.
What do you watch?
I watch RuPaul’s drag race because I feel like I'm supposed to. Schitts Creek..I watched the entire series 20,000 times, and I'm still sad that it's over! The series Pose is super important because it’s black, trans, trans people of color, and the whole story of the 80s and 90s during the AIDS epidemic in the ballroom scene. Having people that look like me be on mainstream television, that representation is so important. So I love Pose, I love Schitts Creek...kind of stereotypical.
What differentiates you from others in the business?
My biggest strength is that I'm such an empath, and it's super easy for me to automatically read a situation. Sometimes it's hard for me to disconnect if I have to share bad news, or I have to do something tough...it's hard to not harbour that emotion that the other person is having. Growing up I felt that everyone had that skill, but I've come to learn that everyone does not! There’s just some people who aren't empathetic; they can't read the room, they can't necessarily pivot or do anything where they can take in a situation and take it a different way or adjust. I think that’s what I've really learned to own within myself: being able to communicate effectively with people that maybe don't agree with me or don't share my life experiences. It's really valuable in real estate because there's all sorts of people, so I’m able to be the middle person that helps facilitate negotiations and is well liked by everyone, even if I don't necessarily like them.
What are your goals for 2021?
I want to get my managing broker's license and help our MB get our business licensed so we can help more people across the country. Right now we're the only company of our kind, and we only serve Western Washington. We want to be able to coach other people and be able to help seniors because they are such a vulnerable community. I’m very family-oriented, and my boss started this company because she had a not-so-great experience with her grandfather, so I vibe with that. I think that a big call for me professionally is to take on more roles within the services side of our company.
On a personal level, in 2020 I got selected to be a drag ambassador and go to Cuba to do a drag show there. It’s been postponed to this December, so I'm really hoping that happens...and I want to focus on me! I started transitioning last summer, so just discovering more of myself and being able to own my womanhood. I turn 30 next month! I feel like a lot of people my age dread turning 30, but I'm super excited, because my 20s were a mess. I'm ready to start a new chapter and keep going with my transition.
Earvin Narvasa’s entrance into the realm of real estate started after they got licensed in 2014. Attracted to the glitz and glamour of the industry As Seen On TV, the then-23 year old was out in the field and working for a large brokerage when they began to experience the uneasiness that comes with being new, young, and not having a guaranteed income.
Earvin left the field and was hired on as a listing coordinator/transactions manager before being poached by a prestigious hotel, setting into motion a one year detour into the hospitality industry. All of this, mind you, was happening while they were still taking university courses and playing on the Volleyball team!
Subsequently, Earvin realized how much they missed real estate and jumped head first back into the game—but this time as the assistant and “right hand” of a Top Producing agent. Working at breakneck speeds for a few years, Earvin again found themselves questioning whether this role felt truly right.
Missing their time spent in the office mentoring agents one-on-one, Earvin would seek out a position at a boutique brokerage. SASH Realty in Kent, Washington was just that—an office with about a dozen tight-knit agents that also happened to align with Earvin’s community-focused, family-minded values.
Beyond the scope of a typical brokerage, SASH realty helps seniors transition to new living arrangements. When a senior needs help moving out of their house, SASH realty either markets their home as is, or remodels the property if the situation calls for it. This component often means assisting hoarders and people who have lived upwards of fifty years in a home manage this overwhelming experience.
Between both of these aspects of the business, Earvin notes that they are “the wearer of many hats”, and they love it. The twenty nine year-old extols their work as something that helps them give back to the community, and get in touch with the history of Seattle and the diversity of people therein.
Tell me about your experience getting your degree in integrated social sciences.
I took the long way with my bachelors, graduating just three years ago. I played volleyball on the men's club team at University of Washington, worked full time at the hotel, and I went to school online...it was a lot! Multitasking and time management are skills that I’ve had to develop.
I got a degree in social science at the University of Washington because I love people and I love working with people...that’s the reason I'm in real estate. It's the ultimate customer service for me, it's the ultimate way to help someone. Once upon a time I wanted to be a counselor, which I still get to do in real estate—especially working in the office, because it's a lot of venting and putting fires out. I wouldn’t say I use my degree directly, but a lot of the skills and the empathy I developed in different groups of people has been helpful. It's really learning about different lenses of how people experience things. It opened up a lot of avenues for me: I wasn't out back then as a trans person, and the classes I took in womens and global health were the most fascinating because it wasn't an experience that I had growing up, so it was really valuable for me to learn. I love learning about other people's experiences. I'm a trans person of color, so I do intersect with a lot of things, but I still love learning about other people and experiences that I might not be familiar with. That way I can be more well-rounded.
Volleyball was great. I play and I coach, so that kind of plays into real estate...sometimes you have to do a lot of hand holding and a lot of problem solving! Coaching, negotiating...a lot of it is reading the room and how to approach a transaction or negotiation based on the vibe that you're getting from certain people. If you know that your client is an engineer, you know they're gonna want numbers, hard facts, and statistics...or if you're working with an artist, they're just gonna want to feel like they're home, where it's a lot less about numbers and a lot more of a feeling. Being able to communicate with different types of people has been the most valuable part of my education and my background with real estate.
Proudest career moment?
Finding my home in the position that I'm in now. It took me a really long time to figure out whether I wanted to be in the field, be a high producer, be an admin person, work for a big brokerage, or for a small brokerage. I think my proudest moment was being able to unpack things I had learned from society and from old mentors over what I thought I needed to do, and now being I’m in a position where I love what I do every day. The workload is just right, I'm always busy but not overwhelmed. I was able to come out—obviously it was weird during COVID, [as] I started this job last June— but I’m in a place now where I can be out and proud and give back to my community. I think that's such a huge deal that a lot of people don’t think about: really finding that home.
Graduating college was a big deal too, because I was the first person in my family to do that—that was really cool. I think my parents were more excited than I was. Watching them watch me graduate, I will never forget it.
What's your proudest life moment?
Graduating college for sure, because I never thought I'd do it. I’d bounced around to so many that by the very last semester I was working 60-70 hour work weeks at the hotel, and still playing on the volleyball team. I had gone to school so many times that if I didn't graduate that quarter, I was going to have to start paying out of pocket. That just wasn't an option for me...and I was going through divorce! It was all these life events at one time, so just getting to that point and being able to succeed at graduating was such a huge deal.
That probably saved my relationship with my dad. He died suddenly last year, but when I came out as gay in high school, my dad and I didn't have a good relationship for the longest time. It took me moving away and a lot of maturing for the both of us, and eventually he really became my biggest fan. I do drag, and I remember the first show he went to...it was such a huge deal for him to show up for me. I'm really, really proud of that, and even though he did die young, I still got to build this relationship with him, which I don't take for granted ever— because I know a lot of people in the queer community don't get that.
How did you rebuild that relationship?
We just started checking in with each other more, and it got to the point where we were talking more often. I don't know if there was ever an “Aha” moment, but it was slowly rebuilding our relationship and showing each other we cared. It was words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service for each other. I've had two knee surgeries, he came up for both and was always there for me. It really took us not living together and being apart for us to really cherish each other.
He immigrated from the Philippines in the late 70s, and named me after Earvin Magic Johnson, who was his favorite basketball player. The reason why I didn't change my name after I transitioned is because I wanted to honor my dad. I never got to come out to him as trans, so it's my way of keeping him with me. I was always ashamed of my name growing up because no one could say it or spell it right. Now that I've come out and finally truly realized myself, I know he'd be really proud of me, so I want to take back ownership of my name and be proud of my name and be proud of myself.
It’s clear how deeply Earvin Narvasa cares for their dad. When asked what they’ve been doing for fun lately, Earvin answers that, alongside being an avid Peloton user, they’ve been trying their hand in the kitchen–a craft intrinsically connected to the spirit of their late father, who loved to cook.
A self described foodie who admits that their restaurant budget would alarm financial advisors, Earvin Narvasa found that cooking the Filipino food their Dad always made (such as Sinigang, a tamarind-based soup) was their way of processing his death and mourning the loss. Much like keeping their given name was a way to honour him, so too is this new culinary practice.
With the conversation shifting towards more personal and political considerations, the importance of seeking out supportive spaces and speaking one’s truth emanates. Earvin’s insights regarding the challenges they’ve experienced, and what they’ve discovered about self-care, self-esteem, and setting boundaries along the way, are key takeaways that anyone can learn from.
Have you dealt with stigma or prejudice as an LGBTQ+ individual in business ?
I've been really lucky. To my face, I don't know if there's anything where I was affected directly by it. Have I faced it? Absolutely. I definitely have in other careers (the hotel was a mess!), but in real estate I think that we're lucky enough because of the nature of our job. I’ve been able to surround myself with peers where if they don't understand me, then they at least respect me. I get misgendered on the phone all the time; I get it, I have a deeper voice. But it really is those microaggressions that come to mind, which are just as dangerous! I think that people overlook microaggressions and focus more on outward homophobia or transphobia or racism–which also exists–but it’s those questions of “where are you from?” and stuff like that. A lot of it is microaggressions that people don't necessarily realize: it's showing clients an open house and them assuming that I'm not an agent. or it's where people assume I don't know what I'm doing. I definitely run into that at open houses where I've been followed like I'm going to steal something. It's just like, really? Here's my business card, I did have a really good offer for you, but I'm not feeling this vibe!
For the most part, realtors have come to realize that if they want to last in this industry, even if you don't agree with someone, it's such a small realm that you really do have to save face. I've also only been in the industry since 2014. Obviously it's not perfect, but I hear stories from the 80s/90s and even the early 2000s about things that have happened, and it's just horrifying. I'm also very lucky that I live in Washington State, so we do have higher levels of protections and protected classes.
So not necessarily to my face, but there's been a lot of things I’ve noticed, and I think that for people in our community, especially the lgbtqia+ community of color, we just notice things, or we pick up on things that maybe other people wouldn't. There's always the tokenism, I was always the person who had to speak up about, “What does the Asian community feel about this?” and blah blah blah.
When did you get started with doing drag?
I started drag when I moved to Seattle in 2012. I was a choir band kid growing up, so I’ve always loved performing, and I started drag because I didn't know what my place was in the queer community. I grew up Mormon in a predominantly white working class town, and I thought: “Oh, I'm moving to the gayborhood, this is gonna fix everything. I’m going to meet people, it’s going to be wonderful…” and then I realized that I was still Brown, and I didn't have a place in the queer community. I was like, “how can I escape my life? How can I be welcomed?” It's better now, but I still think there's a lot to be said about being queer and a person of color.
I found that drag was my way in. I could walk into a club in drag and everyone wants to talk to me, buy me a drink, get to know me...but I could go home, take it all off, and go in there...and nothing. It was a way to escape the fact that I didn't know who I was, and [I could] be someone else for a night, be larger than life, and be the center of attention. One of my volleyball friends is also a drag queen, so she became a drag mother and I started performing. My makeup was awful, my performances were awful. They’re documented on Facebook. If you scroll far enough, you will find those pictures! I hardly ever delete them, as I like to see where I've been.
I was Miss Seattle Pride 2013, Miss Gay Washington 2015-2016...I think I'm done competing, but I still love performing. I took a hiatus from drag for a couple of years after I won Miss Gay Washington, and came back to it because I missed performing. I guess we're kind of the mascots for our community, really. It is the drag queens and trans women who lead the way for the gay community, and our bi and lesbian women as well. I really missed fundraising, performing, and being amongst my people...so I still do it, I just do it for different reasons now. It’s a lot more for fun as opposed to needing an escape.
How has your experience on TikTok been?
It started off with just a couple of viral videos of me in different wigs, and it took off. I was like, “If I want to do this, I can't take 2-3 hours and get into drag every time. I have all these followers, how do I want to use this platform?” I realized I want to just tell my story. Originally I wanted to do either podcasts or YouTube for documenting my transition, because I also identify as non binary and there really isn't a lot of representation around that. It took a long time for me to come out and accept myself because I didn't see that representation. All my chosen family and friends were like: “if you don't see a path for you, then you have to make one for yourself”. In making that path, I thought: this doesn't have to be this hard for the people who come after me. I wanted to document my journey and answer questions so it’s easier for people who come after to know what my journey was like. Maybe they aren't like me, or maybe they're only partially like me, and that’s okay. I've gotten so much feedback from people...even if I can help one person make their journey easier, it's so worth it. 87% of my followers are women, which I thought was really surprising...but it's predominantly a lot of women, moms, parents, and I think that's fantastic. I love that I'm reaching people who are impacting the future and our next generation.
There are a lot of hateful people out there, and I get a lot of comments. Me five years ago probably wouldn't have been able to do this. I think that the trauma and the life experience I've had, especially in the last few years, has [made me] build up a thicker skin in being able to pick and choose my battles of what I want to spend my emotional capital on. That’s a huge theme for me: emotional capital, and what I'm willing and not willing to spend it on, and knowing when it's worth my time to educate someone versus when I need to leave the conversation.
There's been a few perks. I've gotten to model for a company! It's not a pandering thing where companies are reaching out just to check that box of “we have a trans POC”. This boutique in Seattle [I’m working with], they’re very much: “We want to take gender out of fashion. We don't want it to be like tokenism, we don't want it to be fetishized—we want genuine representation of people that aren’t just cis white masculine, or cis white and super feminine and traditionally attractive”. It’s breaking down those beauty standards, which I think are all encompassing, because there are cis people that look like me, and there are trans people that look like me. It’s being able to let people know that they are valid and seen. That’s important to me, and why Trans Day of Visibility is so important, because it's representation for someone out there in the middle of Nebraska who can know they aren't alone. There's a statistic that says ~80% of people don't know a trans person personally, and I think that number is actually so much lower because there’s many that are trans but aren't out, or are trans but don't know it yet because they have to be closeted for safety. Being present on social media, having a voice and showing myself as someone thriving in mainstream society as a trans person of color is just my small way of making a difference.
I think every single person in the LGBTQIA community, every person of color out there, just by existing and being alive, is a form of protest. Not everyone is going to be at the front of the picket lines, or online fighting people, that isn't everyone's path. I had to learn that, because I would be exhausted and feeling like if I didn't say something online, I wasn't doing enough. It took a long time to realize that maybe my journey and my way of protest is just existing and being positive. I don't have to fight every single battle. I don't have to fight every single person. I can be an activist and an ally in my own way.
What gives you hope moving forward into the future?
I've had the opportunity to speak and hang out with middle school/high school gay-straight alliances and queer clubs a few times, and I didn't have that growing up. Seeing all these studies about how this new generation is half queer is like, yes! We're all queer, it's great! Watching this newer generation being allowed to discover themselves gives me a lot of hope, and seeing kids walk out of schools because of black lives matter, protesting, and knowing that they have a voice. The biggest thing [I teach] when I coach volleyball/work with kids is that just because I'm older than you doesn't mean your experience is invalid or that I know more. You have to start advocating for yourself when you’re younger.
When I was younger, I wouldn't dare protest something. I wouldn't dare walk out of class. I wouldn't do any of those things. Both my parents are Filipino and immigrated here, so it was very much “you don't talk back, you respect your elders, you're not allowed to have an opinion”. I'm still unpacking these things...I’ll be in a room full of people who are older than me, or white people who are older than me, and I still feel like I don't have permission to exist, take up space or speak up. I'm seeing the newer generation find their voice so much sooner, and I think that the parents are starting to recognize that too. There's a lot of work left to do, but what gives me hope is having kids find their voices and find themselves, being able to come out as trans or gay, lesbian, bi, pan, asexual sooner, and not being brushed off as “just a phase”. If you talk to most queer people and ask when they knew, it's usually at a very young age. I can't wait for the day when a dad wearing a princess dress with their son isn't abnormal, like it’s not something to be applauded. Obviously, it's wonderful, but this should be normal! It's your kid, they should be able to wear wherever they want. So seeing them be advocates for themselves and realize their agency and how powerful their voice is gives me hope.
RPN has a focus on philanthropy. What cause is close to your heart and/or deserves more attention?
The fair housing stuff that we've been working on, and dissecting that racist past. In Washington State we're finally eliminating racist covenants on deeds (it just passed the House, and it's going to the Senate). It’s 2021, and we still have them! They're not being enforced, but they're still there, so that's something I've been following.
Within my career in real estate wise, it really has been focused on seniors, fair housing, and racism. I'm also apart of the diversity and inclusion committee for Real Pride Network (shameless plug: please join us! We only have four people right now!), but that's been a big deal. I want every place I'm at to be diverse, and not just because I'm there, but making it so that other people like me, or people who aren't like me, can join, feel welcome, and feel like this is a safe place. I think that's my biggest thing overall in every facet of my life; I want my presence to mean that you can be here too.
Luckily for everybody else following their journey, their presence is a forced to be reckoned with.
With their 30th birthday on the horizon and their managing broker’s exam coming up, you can bet that Earvin Narvasa is only going to continue making a positive impact on the world, all while settling into space and skin that’s completely their own.
Home sweet home, indeed.
Any Advice for new queer agents?
Find a support crew. You can't do it all by yourself, even if you think you can. Being a queer person and surviving—especially in the professional world—makes you a stronger person that lot of people, but having a support system and a chosen family is super important in every facet of your life. Find your support, listen to yourself, and be able to take a step back. If you're feeling some sort of way [like] “I'm not good enough” or “I don't belong here”, take a step back and think about why you think that. Why do you think you're not masculine enough, or not feminine enough, or not pretty enough? Realize that these are things that society has told you to be, and you don't have to be those things. It took me—and I'm still working on it—almost 30 years of “Why do I feel the need to look or present a certain way?” Being able to unpack that for yourself, and release yourself from the obligation to fit into a white, heteronormative society is such a huge burden to lift. It's not a magic button that you can press and all of a sudden your problems are gone, but it makes everything make a lot more sense.
