Becoming Chase Stokes
Editorial Director
Bryan Kong
Creative Director
Melvin Chan
Photographer
Matthew Priestley / Sibling Artists
Fashion Stylist
Jungle Lin
Chase Stokes understands the power of a pause. In an industry that glorifies motion — where the next role, the next opportunity, the next social media post can feel like currency — he’s learning that stillness is just as valuable. Patience, he tells me, does not equate to laziness. It’s a lesson he’s carried into 2025, a quiet recalibration after years of running on rocket fuel. And yet, for all his moments of solitude — mornings spent cradling a cup of coffee, watching the sunrise before the world comes knocking — Stokes is, at his core, a man of connection. He is the oldest of eight, a fact that shaped his perspective on family, belonging, and the ever-shifting nature of relationships. He is an actor who found fame in the tempest of Outer Banks, but whose true north has always been storytelling — the kind that pulls people in, offers them an escape, and maybe, if he’s lucky, leaves them a little more understood. His latest projects Valiant One, and Marked Men echo this sentiment. Over the course of our conversation, we wade through the weight of visibility, the myths that trail him online, the strange poetry of “universe winks,” and the small, sacred rituals that keep him tethered to himself. In conversation, Stokes is thoughtful and unguarded, speaking with the kind of warmth that makes you feel like you’ve known him forever. He doesn’t over-intellectualize fate, but he trusts it. If there’s one thing that’s clear, it’s that Chase Stokes is exactly where he’s meant to be. And for once, he’s allowing himself to sit in that truth, unhurried.
Chase Stokes on the February 2025 Digital Cover of The Laterals. Photographed by Matthew Priestley.
Chase Stokes wears OMEGA
DIO ANTHONY — I thought I’d take a different approach to today’s interview being as though you’ve had a few cover stories come out recently. I thought we could try and dig a little deeper in our conversation. How’s that?
CHASE STOKES — I like it.
DIO — Great. I wanted to start off by asking you something that I was curious about. I was looking at your Instagram this morning and I thought, wow, okay, so your follower account is close to 9 million. That feels more like the population count of a major city. Does it feel scary to use? Is it daunting in some way knowing that so many people are watching, listening, and reading into all of the things you do and say?
CHASE — Yes and no. I think it’s a byproduct of work. And I think that’s where it always has to start. I’ll speak for myself here — when I got into the industry, my intention wasn’t ever to have success on a social platform. It’s to tell stories and to take people out of the chaos of what society is and can be. To allow them a moment or a touch point outside of their life to disconnect. And that feels like a really safe space to be. On the opposite side of that it seems like it has become sort of a metric to show whether or not the projects that you’re doing are working. You definitely feel a sense of obligation and you understand the value of your voice.
DIO — I feel that that’s a very healthy way of looking at it. By chance, have you found that there are any misconceptions about who you are that are vastly inaccurate?
CHASE — I try not to dig too deep into the internet. There are times early in your career where you get caught googling yourself or going down rabbit holes and whatnot. You can learn some pretty disturbing things or what people’s perceptions of you might be. I think with time you learn to disconnect from those things and just focus on the things that matter in your life, like family, friends, my partner and things of that sort. There was an early misconception that I would lie about my height, which I thought was kind of funny. (Laughs). I guess that’s something that happens in this industry, but I am in fact 6’1, that’s not a lie. I’ve got a very mixed family, I’m the oldest of eight, and sometimes people have gone to some of my siblings and have told them that they don’t think they’re actually related to me. I’m sure that’s not a fun thing to hear about your older brother. There are definitely misconceptions, but part of finding a safe space is not really worrying too much about the ideas that the internet has about me, VS what those in my life know about me.
DIO — Wow. So, the oldest of eight — that’s really interesting. My mother’s also the oldest of six.
CHASE — Oh wow…
DIO — She had a very different upbringing because of the fact that she was older. Her and her sisters were always experiencing completely different lives because of the age gaps. She wasn’t always as close to her siblings in the early years, because they were on such separate timelines. What was that like for you growing up? Was it a full house or were you a bit removed because of age?
CHASE — Kind of a little bit of both. My parents split up when I was really young, and my mom and I moved into a retirement community in Fort Myers, Florida. We lived there for a number of years, and then she remarried, having three kids there. My biological father has two kids and is also happily remarried. Then my mom married for a third time and he has two kids. So, the majority of my siblings are either teenagers or in their twenties. Now we’re at an age where the connection is a heck of a lot better than, say, the age gap when you’re in high school and they’re in elementary school. It’s kind of hard to have that genuine sense of connection when that’s the case.
That being said. It’s been beautiful in this chapter of life to be able to relearn about each other and sort of discover who they are as teenagers and as adults and as they’re entering the world in this new chapter. So, it’s fun. I’m the only one from my mom and my dad, so I think there’s an inevitable outlier-ness that plays into that. I’ve never felt entirely 100% like I am all the way in. But that’s a part of life. I’m navigating and battling through it.
DIO — That’s so interesting. Kind of like The Brady Bunch.
CHASE — Yeah, very much a Brady Bunch situation.
DIO — Is there something that you do in your day that you absolutely can’t miss? Something that day in, and day out, you try to accomplish.
CHASE — It’s going to be a little melodramatic, but coffee. Coffee and 20 minutes in the morning to just not be on my phone, not associate with anything. It’s super important to me to allow my brain to just awake on its own, and to caffeinate. I feel like that’s my favorite time of the day and when most of the ideas start to flow. Also just not to get too ramped up into anything too fast. So, I have to do that, or else I’d feel all sorts of outta whack.
DIO — I love that. I was going to ask you what your favorite time of the day was and why. You just answered that.
CHASE — I am a morning person. I had a lot of fun in my twenties and lived out all of the things that you’d hope to do. But as soon as I turned 30, being in bed by 10:30 PM became my favorite thing.
“Universe winks — those little moments that remind you you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.”
DIO — I’m 34, so I totally sympathize. (Laughs). There’s something healing about the morning time. It’s inspiring to know that no matter how your day goes, you’ve always got a fresh morning to look forward to.
CHASE — It’s a really compelling time, right? I am a pretty early riser and I think that time to yourself is really important. The world at any given moment wants to take something or wants something out of me. Whether it be through social media, where it be more work — anything. But before that, it’s just little ole’ me. I think being able to be selfish for a little bit every morning is just a subtle reminder that it starts and ends here. And that I can’t give unless I give to myself. Even this morning, I woke up at 6:30 and sat on the porch and just watched the sunrise, while giving a moment of thanks.
DIO — Absolutely. There’s a certain part of the morning where after you get going, your attention no longer belongs to you. You’re just pulled in so many directions. Things that you have planned and then the things that happen that aren’t planned. Is there something that you learned last year that you’ve brought with you into 2025?
CHASE — A lesson that I brought into 2025? That’s a great question. I think that patience doesn’t translate to laziness. And I think sometimes being patient can be perceived as not wanting to work or looking in all the wrong places for the next right thing to do. I’ve been practicing patience. I think the last five years of my life have been fueled by rocket fuel, just only moving forward. You can only go so far and can only sustain it for so long at that pace. At the halfway mark of 2024, after we wrapped the last season of Outer Banks, I really made it a point to just try to be still and try to be patient, and not jump into the next job. Or jump into traveling too much or to jump into all this work-related stuff.
And it served me in more ways than one. Being patient, it’s not something that I think is really practiced for actors or artists. We’re always told — you gotta keep going, you gotta keep moving. Relevancy is your currency. And I think taking a step back for a second is just a good way of recentering yourself to allow new opportunities to present themselves. To allow your body and mind to reset so that you’re prepared in a way that maybe if you’re just constantly going forward, you wouldn’t be as prepared for.
“Relevancy is currency in this industry, but taking a step back allows new opportunities to find you. It’s about trusting the timing of your life.”
DIO — That’s really great. Patience doesn’t translate to laziness. Thank you. I’ll definitely be thinking about that for days. When you think of a good day, what comes to mind instantly?
CHASE — I think — connection. Going back to what I was talking about with the idea of patience. I think some of the things that you lose in the fast pace of this career is time. You lose connection with people that you love at points, and you don’t get to have those thoroughly engaging conversations that you crave.
DIO — What does it look like to you, or what does it feel like when you’re being the best version of yourself? What has that looked like in the past?
CHASE — I think routine. Anytime I can find a form of routine, that’s where I find myself at my best. And I think routine fluctuates depending on what’s going on in life. But I know that if I can have my days mapped out and have at least a two week to three week build on my life, then I feel a little bit more at peace. It allows me to be more present in everything that I do. And I know that’s super rare in this industry because it is just the nature of the beast. But I think routine for me is something that keeps me sane in a way that I think if you were to ask 25-year-old Chase, he would’ve been like, I don’t need a routine! Let’s just strap in and go. Maybe that’s just getting older and appreciating the value of structure.
DIO — There’s beauty in routine and structure.
CHASE — It just allows your brain to settle in. I think when you don’t have a form of consistency, you’re operating a little bit too often from fight or flight or freeze. I can be a freezer at times. And I think when you have those dopamine hits so often and the adrenaline and the endorphins that are running through your body — you’re inevitably going to crash, right? The human body just can’t sustain it. With a routine, I can get myself in a space where I can operate and allow my body to relax so that I’m not operating from such a high intensity internally. And it allows you to just be more present externally. I’m able to be present by spending an extra 10 minutes on the phone with my mom or taking 20 minutes and sending text messages and responding to people that I haven’t responded to. A routine will allow you to find those moments in the day where you can come up for air and just allow yourself more time.
DIO — That’s so inspiring and true. Is there a complete moment of bliss, of complete happiness that comes to mind when in recent memory?
CHASE — I mean, truthfully, it was this Christmas. I hosted my whole family, and I have an adult home now, and everybody came and stayed at my house. It just felt like I was actually in the right place at the right time, not worried about anything except being present with the people I love. And there was absolutely a point in my life when I never thought that was an achievable or realistic goal.
We went out to dinner a couple of days before Christmas, and we were all sitting around the table, laughing. I was watching my siblings and their partners, sitting with my girlfriend, and it was just a really magical moment — one where I could step back and say, “Wow, okay.”
All I’ve ever wanted to do in life is take care of the people I love and be present for them. And, in that moment, I really felt like I was outside of my career, in real life, actively acknowledging that. I just sat back and got teary-eyed because it felt so far-fetched — and it wasn’t even that long ago that it did. So, for me, that was very much one of those moments of bliss.
“The world is always going to want something from you. But before all of that, it’s just little ole’ me. And I have to give to myself before I can give to anyone else.”
DIO — That’s beautiful. I would say that time stopped for you at that moment..
CHASE — Very much so. Yeah. And it was at one of my favorite restaurants, too. I’ve gotten to know the owners and most of the staff, so being able to share something I love so much — with my family knowing I go there often — just felt like the stars were aligning.
DIO — The next question I have for you is somewhat similar, but I wanted to share something with you first. The question is really about whether there’s a philosophy or quote that you live by — something that tends to guide you or that you find yourself always coming back to. It doesn’t have to be something super deep, but for me, one thing I came up with one day is this: If I’m ever out and I hear a rare song that I really love — something that wouldn’t just pop up anywhere — it feels like a sign. Like, Oh, this means I’m exactly where I need to be. It’s a little moment that speaks to me, and I think, Wow, I can’t believe this song is playing right now. No one else in the room even knows it.
Is there something like that for you — something that keeps you going, something you always find yourself returning to for inspiration
CHASE — That’s really beautiful, man. Yeah, I mean, I don’t know if I’d call them “universe winks,” but I like to think of them that way. I was very much raised and influenced by my mother and grandmother, and my grandmother actually passed away right as we started filming the first season of Outer Banks.
I’ve always felt very drawn to the ocean, which is an interesting connection between me and the show. My mom and I once spoke with a kind of spiritual, woo-woo person who told us to look out for certain signs. Whether it was real or not, they mentioned the number three appearing in patterns and how being close to the ocean would always be a source of connection for me.
It’s interesting how those things show up in ways you don’t expect — especially when you’re not actively looking for them. I think that’s the beauty of it. Just like you were saying about the songs, these moments tend to arrive unexpectedly, and that’s when they’re the most meaningful.
DIO — “Universe winks”—that’s clever. I love that.
CHASE — Yeah, and they come in different ways and from different people, whether they’re living or have passed on. I think it’s your heart and body reminding you that, just like you said, you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be at that moment.
DIO — Yeah. So, I know you spent a good amount of time in Florida — what would you say is the most Florida thing about you? I spent a lot of time there too, especially summers in Miami, but Miami is its own world, you know?
CHASE — Very different.
DIO — There are so many quintessential “Florida things,” but what would you say is the most Florida thing about you?
CHASE — Oh man. I lived just outside of Orlando, on the east side of town, where I spent most of high school and college. Florida people are just a different breed. I grew up fishing in retention ponds, tying ropes to the back of friends’ trucks, and wakeboarding in those same ponds. We’d always go down to Cocoa Beach, sneak into Ron Jon Surf Shop, and use their hot tub after a long day at the beach. Just classic Florida things, you know? Kind of a little bit of the hood-rat kid in my soul.
We also used to throw hurricane parties. In Orlando, we were usually lucky enough to avoid the worst of the storms, so whenever school got canceled, someone’s parents would be out of town, and next thing you know — there’s a keg party at a random house in the middle of a hurricane break.
It’s funny looking back because a lot of these things seem completely illogical to the rest of the world. Maybe chasing after an alligator in a retention pond wasn’t the smartest idea, but at the time, it was just fun and a little dangerous. That’s definitely the most Florida part of me.
DIO — I love that. I’ve been to the Everglades, so gators and all that — super familiar. Hilarious. Is there a film you saw recently that really left an impression on you?
CHASE — Hmm. A film that really left an impression on me… Honestly, I saw Baby Girl in Venice, and I thought Nicole was unbelievable in it. Harris Dickinson was phenomenal too. It’s such a compelling movie with an interesting structure and power dynamic. The undertones were so strong, and it was shot beautifully. I really enjoyed it. I saw it with my mom, which… probably not the best person to watch Baby Girl with, but still, I thought it was an incredible film.
“I’ve always felt drawn to the ocean. It’s a source of connection, a reminder that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
Video
Tristan Hsu
Groomer
Kumi Craig / The Wall Group
DIO — Last question — I’m really curious, what are some “Chase-isms” that your loved ones would agree with? Like, the quintessential things about you that people who spend a lot of time with you would instantly recognize.
CHASE — Chase-isms — things people would know about me?
DIO — Are you forgetful? Do you have any quirks?
CHASE — Oh yeah. I’d say 98% of the time, I have no idea where my car keys or wallet are. I have a chronic issue with losing AirPods. What else…? Oh, I break phones at an alarming rate. I know it probably makes me sound super clumsy and forgetful, but maybe I just need to accept that I am. But yeah, the AirPods thing and never knowing where my wallet or keys are — that’s probably the most me thing ever.
DIO — Same. I sympathize with that completely. I really loved all your answers. Thank you for being so open—this was a super fun conversation, and I think it’ll be really nice to read back as well.
CHASE — Yes, thank you for your time this morning. I really appreciate the thoughtful and mindful questions.
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