Arika Kaosa grew up in a household surrounded by art and music. Their mother's past as a staple in the 1960's American music scene fueled their creativity and drive for greatness. Weeks before their college signing day, Arika was involved in an accident which resulted in a serious hand injury forcing them medically retire from tennis after being one of the nation’s top college tennis recruits. Knowing the sacrifices their mother made for them to pursue tennis from the age of five, they promised their mother they would work relentlessly in every avenue in which they believed they could succeed from that day forward.
Arika Kaosa started creating designs in their apartment across from Grant Park when they were a student at Columbia College Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. Their work soon received recognition by upscale retailer, Nordstrom, which made their art piece "Natural" go viral. "Natural" went on to be included in Tumblr's ‘Year In Review’ as one of the website's best art pieces of the year and was sold in midwestern Nordstrom stores during the Winter holiday season. Arika has gone on to show in regional, national, and international art shows and festivals.
Their journalism career has lead to writing jobs with Yahoo News, Examiner (now AXS), and Punk Globe Magazine and interviews with some of music's biggest and legendary stars. Their music career gained them access to national and international performances as a solo artist and session musician.
They are the founder of the mutual aid organization Fuerza and was the Social Media Coordinator for the Intersection Stage and Red Light District at Milwaukee Pridefest in 2024 and 2025.
Arika has been recognized as a finalist in the Shepherd Express Magazine’s Best of Milwaukee Awards in the LGBTQ+ Advocate category in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
They are a working commercial and background actor appearing in TV series such as “Power Book IV: Force”, “The Bear”, “Chicago P.D.”, and “Chicago Med”.
Their vintage clothing store, Fear and Clothing Vintage, specializes in items from the 1930’s through the 2000’s focusing on vintage designer wear, vintage sports apparel, and accessories.
Arika is an active storm chaser and weather researcher with a fortune 500 company.
Their education includes time at Columbia College Chicago in Chicago, Illinois for journalism, marketing at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California, and meteorology at Mississippi state university in starkville, Mississippi.
Arika Kaosa can be reached via the 'contact' link