1: What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage it?
Rasha: My absolute greatest fear is death. That’s always been a fear of mine, but it was heightened when we lost our mom to breast cancer back in 2017. When she passed it was like the wind beneath our wings was suddenly taken away. Since losing my mom I find myself worrying even more about losing other loved ones, like my sister, my family, or friends. But I don’t want to live my life in fear and our mom always taught us to live life fully, now - she was such a positive, beaming light for us.
"I allow myself to feel the fear, process the feelings, let the tears out if I need to, and then get back to the present moment and positive thinking."
So to manage this fear I allow myself to feel the fear, process the feelings, let the tears out if I need to, and then get back to the present moment and positive thinking.
Yvette: Rasha and I are similar in so many ways, and we definitely share a similar fear. When we lost our mom, I lost the love of my life - it was really hard, and it still is. Death is a trauma, and I believe overcoming that trauma, to some degree, lasts our entire lives. So I manage my fear of death by leaning on my incredible Ohana, my support system, and my community. Just like my sister said, you have to allow yourself the space to feel but at some point you have to start putting one foot in front of the other and moving through that fear. Life is going to challenge us every day and the goal for me is always to find a way to walk through that challenge gracefully. And most importantly, take deep breaths. No matter the challenge, taking deep breaths can ground you so you can approach life’s challenges with a clear mind and a calm body.
2: How do you define success?
Yvette: Success for me is finding something that you absolutely love to do, that brings you joy, and that you’re passionate about. It’s finding a purpose that makes your heart sing, and then paying it forward to others. Paying it forward can happen in many ways, but the idea is to have a positive impact on someone else’s life.
"Success for me is finding something that you absolutely love to do, that brings you joy, and that you’re passionate about. It’s finding a purpose that makes your heart sing, and then paying it forward to others."
Rasha: I’m in complete alignment with what my sister just said, and I’ll add that success is also being your authentic self in all that you do - representation matters. We’ve been in the entertainment industry for years, and we love it, but it’s important to us that we use this platform for good, and to help others. I'm literally that pride flag carrying lesbian. I want people to see that I’m gay and I’m out here, and to know that success is possible no matter who you are.
3: Who are your real-life heroes?
Yvette: My mother is definitely my first, but also Patty Jenkins, the director of I Am the Night and Wonder Woman, who helped bring my mom’s story to the public, and who has helped Rasha and I continue our mother’s legacy. Patty is such a deep, spiritual human being who really saw my mother for who she was. She is my Wonder Woman. Then there’s my sister, Rasha, who has gone through all types of obstacles in her life yet keeps climbing up, getting out of that hole, and just shining bright. I’m very proud of her. And lastly, I have to say there are people, strangers I meet on a daily basis that just inspire me. I always stay open and listen because you never know what heroic connections you may encounter.
Rasha: My mother, my sister, and Patty are also heroes to me as well. But I’ll add Oprah Winfrey to my list, who also happens to be one of our mom’s idols. Yvette and I were in San Francisco this past weekend and we saw the musical, The Color Purple. It’s about the love of these two sisters, and we both just held each other throughout the entire movie, sobbing uncontrollably. Oprah and Steven Spielberg brought that to life for us. The way art can evoke such emotion in us is just so inspiring to me.
4: What is the best gift you've given yourself?
Rasha: The best gift I've ever given myself is our daughter. My wife and I have a 12 year old daughter, and she’s literally the product of the love my wife and I have for one another. It’s wild because I didn’t want a child until I met my wife and then I wanted nothing more than to create a family with her. Becoming a mom has changed me in so many ways. It’s funny, I didn’t feel like a true grown up until I got pregnant - maybe that’s because I’m the baby of the family. I feel blessed to have this beautiful, little, bright shining light of a human that my wife and I get to raise and imprint on. If I can do right by one person in this world, it’s her.
Yvette: The greatest gift that I have given myself is the gift of listening. As a society, I don't think we fully listen when other people are speaking because we’re thinking about what we’re going to say next. It’s not an easy task, but I developed this skill at a young age.
"It’s the skill of getting out of your head and being present. I believe the world would be a better place if we all could just be more present and get out of our own way."
It’s the skill of getting out of your head and being present. I believe the world would be a better place if we all could just be more present and get out of our own way.
5: What was the last win you celebrated?
Rasha: As sisters, our last big win was being given a weekly show called “Facing Evil” with iHeartRadio and Tenderfoot TV. It all started with our eight episode limited series, “Root of Evil”, inspired by our mom’s life, and now we have a platform where we can tell our stories - and we get to do it our way. So to celebrate this achievement Yvette and I traveled to New York to stay in what used to be called the Roosevelt Hotel. We’ve always wanted to stay there because it’s the hotel from one of our favorite movies, Maid in Manhattan, with Jennifer Lopez. We like to travel to celebrate, especially since we live in two different cities - it’s an excuse to see each other.
Yvette: For my whole life I’ve been a yogi - I’ve taken several workshops and classes. Yoga has really saved my life a number of times and I believe it is a tool that can really help people heal from trauma. I’ve always wanted to get certified and finally at age 56, I made the commitment. The opportunity to fully immerse myself in this practice, and to learn how to help others deal with their own trauma is so special to me. I’m doing it in February, so once I complete this certification I will definitely be celebrating.
Yvette Gentile
Yvette is the Co-Host of the wildly successful Podcasts, “Root Of Evil:The True Story of the Hodel Family and The Black Dahlia” and “Facing Evil” with her sister, Rasha. Outside of podcasting, Yvette is an Actor, Model, Yogi, and Sandal Designer. Yvette and her husband Gino split their time between San Francisco, Italy, and her hometown in Hawai’i.
Rasha Pecoraro
Rasha is a Podcaster, Reality TV Star (“The Biggest Loser”), Plus Size Model, Voiceover Artist, Flight Attendant, and a Body Positive and LGBTQIA+ Activist. Rasha and her wife Vanna live just outside of Portland, Oregon with their daughter, Leilani, but Rasha is a forever native of her beloved Honolulu, Hawai’i.
