When Travis Holp was a boy growing up in Ohio, he had experiences that, at the time, he thought everyone had, like talking to his imaginary friends, having a vivid imagination, and being able to sense and feel other people's energy, for example. He was also a little Gay sprout, and this served to make him even more aware of his surroundings and observant of life through eyes and ears that took in everything.

"I remember being very young, maybe four years old, and I would spend time in the book room at my grandparents' house," he said. "While there, I would have long conversations with what people around me probably assumed were my imaginary friends but, I now know, were my spirit guides."

How he came to know his spirit guides unfolded over the years into his adulthood. It developed over time as his mind's eye gained focus and clarity - to the point that he left his 17 years in the beauty industry behind to fully embrace his gift, which he shares privately with individuals and publicly with audiences in venues across the country.

"I never know what's going to happen. There is no rehearsal, I don't have a team of backup dancers- It's just me," he said with the type of humor he brings as a natural part of who he is. "I just show up and let Spirit work through me, and, fingers crossed, everybody has a good time."

Laughter through tears
Holp goes into any mediumship moment without knowing anything about the person who has encountered him and wants to learn about their loved ones who have passed on to the other side.

"I want to know nothing. The less I know, the better," he said. "If I do a celebrity reading, I tell my publicist to just give me an initial of who I'm reading for and let me be surprised when the camera turns on."

The same holds true when he welcomes crowds to one of his public events. Rather than respond to people raising their hands wanting a reading, he goes by feel for whom he will pick from the audience.

As he explains, "I go to them. I let Spirit take the lead. I work two different ways during an event. One way is I will receive someone's loved one, and I give a lot of information, like their name and who's connected to them. If I get somebody who says, 'That's my loved one!' I go to them and continue delivering information."

At other times, Holp said, Spirit just takes over and he starts walking around as he gets a vibe or feeling about someone in the audience whom he then approaches.

He encourages laughter and good feelings too. "I like to make these events fun, because, as you can imagine, they can sometimes get a little heavy with grief. It can be nerve-racking for the per-son receiving the reading, and I've seen so many beautiful things when we get these amazing messages that come through that people either weren't expecting or that they hear from a loved one that they really need closure from.

"Our loved ones want to see us laugh and have a good time as well."

Growing in spirit
Before taking on mediumship as a full-time profession, Holp would do tarot card readings for friends and family as more of a dabbling into his blessed gift that he wasn't quite fully aware of yet. Then a psychic medium planted a seed in him that flourished when Holp accepted what she had to say.

"When I first met with Teri, she was the second psychic I had ever met with, and she told me that one day I was going to be doing this as a job," Holp said.

Being engrossed in his work in the beauty industry at the time, he couldn't see himself doing any-thing else, but he knew something was up when two other mediums, who didn't know him, told him the same things Teri did. Holp then began hosting tarot readings on TikTok and built a strong following.

"Mediumship just sort of trickled in there during tarot readings I was giving people," he said. "Their loved ones would come through. Now I work solely with spirit energy. I don't use tools or cards in my practice anymore. For me, it's working with spirit guides and people's loved ones who have crossed over, so I work with both when I do readings for people in one-on-one settings. In event settings, like in Tacoma, that will be all spirit mediumship with loved ones who have crossed over."

Having gained notoriety for his accurate and compassionate messages from loved ones in spirit, Holp has been featured on Entertainment Tonight and Today.com, and in Us Weekly, Cosmopolitan, and Elle magazines. He's known on social media as the Warrior Unicorn, a nod to his fighting spirit toward LGBTQ and mental health awareness issues, combined with his effervescent personality. He has close to 300,000 followers on Instagram and 500,000 on TikTok.

Gay is a gift
Holp says he never really had a need to be in the closet. As a kid, he was flamboyant, loved unicorns and the color pink, and dreamed of becoming a pop star like Britney Spears. In fact, his dream is to meet with Spears and delve with her into her world to - as he does with everyone - bring healing and hope.

"We all have our nuances, our whole lives that we experience, and I think she is so fascinating," he said. "She's a Queer icon, and she's very loved by the Gay community. I certainly love her, and I think it would be fascinating to read for her."

At the end of the day, Holp is delighted to have found his calling and sees himself going nowhere but up, having just signed exclusively with Voss Events in New York City (as have RuPaul and Lady Bunny, among other Queer notables), and with book and TV deals in the works.

"I feel very fortunate that this is what I get to do for my life," he said. "One of the things I have learned from Spirit is that most of what we carry isn't necessary. In the end, all that really matters is love."

On Saturday, Oct. 5, Holp will be at Theatre on the Square in Tacoma for an evening of love, hope, healing, joy, and messages from loved ones in spirit. Tickets are still available for this 8 p.m. event and can be purchased at https://www.tacomacitytheaters.org . Visit https://travisholp.com , and follow @TravisWarriorUnicorn on Instagram and TikTok for more information.