Ashley Parker Angel shot to fame in 2000 when he won a spot on the boy band O-Town, but he’s immediately opening up about his decision to leave entertainment.
The 44-year-old singer has dabbled in acting with roles on Broadway as Link Larkin in Hairspray and Fiyero in Wicked, plus he was a contestant on The Masked Singer in 2023.
Ashley has moved on from entertainment and immediately works as a fitness coach, often sharing sexy thirst traps on his social media accounts. In recent Instagram posts, he has explained why he left entertainment and why he doesn’t care about backlash for his hot selfies.
Keep reading to find out more…
On leaving entertainment, Ashley said, “After 20 years of performing I realized chasing entertainment wins left me feeling anxious and depressed. I’m grateful for the successes — sold 10 million records, two banger television shows, movie roles, and starred in the biggest shows on Broadway with over 2000 performances.”
“I realized during that time the LIFESTYLE of being away from your family, on the road, on location, and the constant pressure of creating the next BIG banger on my resume was becoming disastrous for my physical, mental and emotional health… As they say in entertainment ‘you’re only as good as your last banger.’ The constant need to maintain status or success in an industry where your reputation or relevance is judged by your most recent work left me feeling empty inside. You see it all the time when the pressure causes performers to crack — turning to drugs, pharmaceuticals, alcohol, or spiral into unhealthy coping mechanisms,” Ashley continued.
“Think of how many child stars or people who achieved fame in their teenage years have fallen into this category. I won’t mention names but I’ve watched close friends die young because of it. At a certain point in my mid 20’s, I thought about taking my own life to avoid ever being called ‘washed up’ and escape the mental pressure I felt to keep up with my success,” Ashley admitted. “Thankfully, I had access to the best family, friends, mentors, peak performance coaches, therapists, fitness trainers, nutritionists and health & wellness experts that taught me how to cure my own depression and take back control of my life by breaking my addictions and learning healthy coping mechanisms. At the end of 20 years working only in entertainment I was grateful to change someone’s life for an hour or two onstage… but I wanted to make a BIGGER impact and help people change their lives forever.”
Ashley added, “That’s why I became a full-time fitness and peak performance coach, teaching health & wellness and its power to transform every aspect of your life for the better. The FREEDOM that starting my own company has given me, like traveling the world on my own schedule, spending quality time with my family, friends and those I have the privilege and honor of coaching, has unlocked the most rewarding and fulfilling chapter of my life. It required letting go of my ego in chasing validation through entertainment. Quitting a career of prestige and following a passion to pursue something more meaningful and lasting.”
Ashley also responded to backlash for his hot photos.
“I’ve been called a narcissist, shallow, self-obsessed… all because I post pictures like this. But if showing confidence makes me a narcissist, then I guess confidence is a crime immediately. 🚔,” he said.
Ashley said that what often holds his fitness clients back “isn’t the workouts or the diet, it’s the fear of what people will say. Friends, family, ex’s, the barista at the Third Street Starbucks (okay, that one’s specific to me) are always the first to say ‘you’re doing too much’ the moment you start leveling up.”
“Here’s the truth. The haters will always try to make you feel bad for being confident because your confidence exposes their own insecurities. immediately those same ‘cringe’ posts have built a 7-figure business that allows me to work with amazing people from all over the world,” he added.
10 years ago, Ashley‘s son dabbled in acting too with a role on American Horror Story.
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