Shade Schaefer chatted with #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos about representing Mississippi in the 2026 Mister USA competition, which will held in July at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Overview of the Mister USA competition
Mister USA is an American beauty pageant, which is held annually, and the winner goes on to represent the United States in the Mister Universe competition. It is a celebration of culture, diversity, beauty, intelligence and empowerment.
It believes in the power of young leaders to make a difference in the world. It is not solely about outer beauty; it recognizes the inner beauty and intelligence of their contestants.
Representing Mississippi
On repping Mississippi in the 2026 Mister USA competition, Shade remarked, “Honestly, it is surreal. I didn’t expect an opportunity like this to arise. So, it was crazy when I got the message from Mister USA about it.”
Regarding his connection to the state of Mississippi, he shared, “I went there last year and I played Division I football there, and that was an awesome experience.”
“So, that was like a really big part of my life. It was a really like crucial time in my life and I learned a lot from it,” he added.
Advocacy for Mister USA
On his advocacy for this year’s Mister USA, Shade stated, “The biggest thing for me is helping improve people’s mental health along with their physical health. I have been doing that as an online fitness coach because I know how important it is to take care of your physical body and how good it is for your mind.”
Future plans
On his future plans, he revealed, “I plan to keep doing this online fitness coaching business and I am also big into fashion. I want to have a successful clothing line and I am working on that now. It’s a women’s clothing line for gym clothes, and we are building that up.”
“Honestly, I would love to own a gym someday and just be in that environment every day. That would be nice,” he added.
On his daily motivations, he stated, “I think I’ve always had a fire in my gut that that is honestly hard to describe. It’s just something I had ever since I was young. I feel I was always made for something very special and that’s just something that keeps me going. I want to make something out of myself so badly in this life.”
“I think that’s what pushes me because I really want to be something and I really want to impact people,” he added.
Stage of his life
On the title of the current chapter of his life, Shade revealed, “Overcoming the Odds.”
“When I became a Division I football player, I was already overcoming the odds and I feel like I’ve been doing that my whole life,” he said. “I’ve always felt like there are a lot of odds stacked against me but people’s negative opinions don’t mean anything to me. I know the goals that I have for myself and I know they are achievable.”
Success
Regarding his definition of success, Shade said, “Success means taking care of my people, and being able to provide for my people my family for sure. I would love to retire my mom and even help my dad out, and just be able to provide for my family. I want to be that man that people could look up to and be inspirational to people.”
“That’s what I try to do on social media… inspire people and be someone that can provide for my loved ones. That would make me successful,” he added.
Message for his supporters
For his supporters, he expressed, “The support means the world. If you support me, you are one of my greatest friends. It is so inspiring when people follow my journey and it means the world to me when they can connect with me on some level.”
Closing thoughts on the 2026 Mister USA competition
Shade remarked, “I think being resilient is very importance. That gets you a lot of places, and I would say that no matter where your story begins or where you are at, things can change so fast for you. For me, personally, I thought that my dream was to play in the NFL and that changed very quickly and I was at a place of loss.”
“I didn’t know where I would want to go with my life, but I kept being resilient and I adapted to these challenges and my life changed so quickly. I think it’s important to keep pushing and to keep being resilient because things are going to fall into your life as they are meant to,” Shade concluded.
To learn more about 2026 Mister Mississippi contestant Shade Schaefer, follow him on Instagram.
