Chase Stokes Is Hot, Humble, and Not Holding Back
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Chase Stokes is just a dude. He goes thrifting for vintage denim, posts photo dumps on Instagram, does his laundry, eats deep dish pizza, and had his fair share of struggles with acne as a kid. Really, he’s just a chill, down-to-earth 30-year-old.
But he’s also a 30-year-old who’s making it big. The night before the Season Three premiere of Outer Banks—the Netflix hit on which he stars as John B., the scrappy, charismatic leader of the Pogues crew—he and I caught up over the phone to discuss what he’s doing to prepare. While typically, Stokes tells me, he’s “a blue jean and flip flops guy, because growing up in Florida that’s the official uniform,” he is stepping it up big time for the carpet. “I fortunately lucked out and am wearing this super sick Tom Ford suit,” Stokes says. “It’s an all black look with a leopard undershirt.” He knows that Ford is “super picky with who he lets wear his clothes, so when we found out he wanted me to wear this look, it was an honor because I’m a big fan of him as a designer and as a director as well.” To accessorize, his stylist Avo Yermagyan adds that Stokes will be donning a “gold chain and alligator-printed Kurt chelsea boot paired with an Omega timepiece” to create a look that gives a “lasting classic image with a subtle edge.”
There’s more to Stokes’s pre-premiere preparation than fashion, though. When it comes to staying on top of his game, Stokes is all about routine. “I think any time you dive into a new realm of success, there’s this pressure that looms on top of it. For me, the big thing that I haven’t changed in life is my day-to-day routine,” Stokes says. “It’s how can I keep my life feeling as normal as possible. I still stay in touch with my friends from high school, and I try to go to Florida and stay at my mom’s house as much as I can.”
With his dog Milo occasionally chiming in from the background, Stokes goes into depth on everything that’s brought him to where he is today. It’s a heck of a journey, one that rivals that of Outer Banks's Pogues, and one that is sure to lead him somewhere even greater. Kicking off with some style insights, we proceed to delve into Stokes’s world of mental health struggles, acne battles, Canadian tuxedo opinions, and everything else under the sun. Not to mention the SPF, because yeah, it’s going to be a hot one.
On Fashion
Right now, I wear a lot of still denim, but I like to go through and find some fun vintage denim. I’m digging boots, some jeans, and a fun jacket. One of my buddies who I just did a film with—Evan Mock— has a company called Wahine, which is a group that he started out of Hawaii, and they make some really cool pieces. And I can never throw away a good pair of Vans. I’m always doodling all over them, that’s kind of the signature piece in my wardrobe. Fashion for me is always an interesting thing, and I get to work with my stylist Avo a lot to mix and match ideas and figure out what feels best. That’s the joy of it; you get to try new things from time to time.
On Canadian Tuxedos
You know what? I’m not mad at it. I think it’s a vibe if you can pull it off and do it right. But I think if you do the same color denim, it can get a little wishy-washy… for lack of better words.
On Thrifting
In the third season, we see [John B.] dive a little bit more into his closet because he’s more at home this time around. One thing that we did a little bit is...it’s kind of like if you went to Goodwill and found some comical T-shirts. We leaned into that; we don’t shy away from the fact that his wardrobe is probably some hand-me-downs from his father or Goodwill finds. I think that we definitely have that similarity; I’m all about going to a thrift store and finding some cool pieces. It’s fun to match some high-end pieces with something that you found for $12 at Goodwill or Salvation Army.
On Skincare
I had a really long battle with acne as a kid, and it was something that led to a lot of deep-rooted insecurities, as anyone in high school would attest to. And so I came onto the SkinCeutical train, and I use their moisturizer as well as their face wash. When it comes to an exfoliant, I use Jack Black’s, which has a fresh feeling to it; it almost feels like your face is tingling. And then I’m just a sucker for Le Labo, so I’m always using their Santal lotion when I get out of the shower. We are in the sun so much filming Outer Banks, so finding a good chapstick with a good SPF is important. I try to take as good of care of my skin as I can knowing that six months out of the year I’m going to be blasted by the sun. But I used to not. I would use Ivory bar soap and just dry my skin out to try and get rid of the acne. Now that we are over that hurdle and phase in life, it feels good to have some fun products that actually work and that I can use consistently.
On Being Chase vs. John B.
I would say nine times out of ten, when people come up to me on the street, it’s John B. not Chase. At first, your ego says you want to be known as your own self, and I just had to really redirect that by saying, “You know what? You’re hiding behind the lens of the character, and people have fallen in love with that character, so that they just see that right now. And that’s a beautiful thing, and it means I’ve done my job.”
On Mental Health
It’s been a lot. My mental health has definitely been tested, promoting the show in a way we haven’t in the past. This season was tough to film; it was a long season, very physically demanding, and it was a tough story arc for John B. this year. For me, it was really about making sure that I’m taking the time to be present with myself, recognizing and accepting my emotions as they come. It’s been a journey, it’s been a battle, but I’m thankful for these times because it shows you that you are human. It’s not the most glamorous experience all of the time. It may seem that way from the exterior, but once you peel back the onion, there’s layers. There’s still a human being with emotions, there’s still life outside of the show. Sometimes people forget that there’s a human behind it that still has a life and wants to live at the same capacity that everybody else does.
On Astrology
I’m pretty sure my star sign is zucchini.
On Filming and Fate
You know, I had a really serendipitous moment at the end of the season where I finished the thirtieth episode and finished the third season on my thirtieth birthday, and it was just this beautiful reminder after a really chaotic year of the universe saying, “Hey man, you are doing the right thing and on the right path. Whatever you are doing is working and it’s going in the way that it should.” So I love those kismet moments where the universe taps you on the shoulder and lets you know. In my eyes it was a beautiful way of rounding out a year of growth and learning.
Photography by Jonny Marlow, styling by Avo Yermagyan, grooming by Marissa Machado using Tom Ford Beauty, wardrobe by Tom Ford, watch by Omega.
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