For Jim Lanahan, thrifting didn’t start as a fun hobby. It was a way to get by. Growing up two hours north of New York City — the only child of a single mom who worked long hours as a nurse, even on holidays — money was a little tight. Local thrift shops were a lifesaver. “I didn’t realize we didn’t have a lot, but I grew up around old stuff and hated it,” says the 52-year-old during a recent Zoom call from his Palm Springs home. “I wanted Nintendo and GI Joes and new things. It wasn’t until much later in life that I grew an affinity for antiquing and thrifting.”
A self-described “chubby gay kid,” Lanahan was a bright youth who loved and excelled at his studies, became a top Boy Scout, earned his red belt in Taekwondo, and mastered the cornet. “In high school, I found I could sing better than most other kids,” he remembers. “I was a big kid, but I could move and dance.”
A favorite English teacher — whom Lanahan believes was gay but closeted out of necessity — stoked his attraction to theatre, taking him to Broadway shows in Manhattan. “He knew people backstage who had previously gone to my high school. It literally just opened up a world to me. This is what I needed to do!”
It took a few years of educational and professional detours, but Lanahan eventually made it to New York City. “I was gonna be a big Broadway star,” he says. “I was just too fabulous to not be discovered. But I hated auditioning. You quickly realize there are 10 other guys who look almost exactly like you, who can do everything you can do.”
Still, Lanahan refused to give up. While roles on the Great White Way remained elusive, he did get cast in touring shows, performing around the country in the American Opera production of “La Bohème,” as Linus in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” and for three years on the road as the purser in “Anything Goes.”
“The funny friend character was always my thing, and if they tap-danced, I’d get the job every time,” he chuckles. “Then I would come back home and love the security of a temp job. I liked making money. I liked being around my friends.”
So Lanahan began working in the offices of some of the top producers on Broadway. Soon, he was moving on up the ladder, eventually becoming the person who runs musical tours around the world. “I worked for the Dodgers,” he reveals, adding they were the best people on Broadway. “I worked with Disney on ‘The Lion King,’ with Cameron Mackintosh on ‘Les Miz,’ and for Andrew Lloyd Webber on ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ ‘School of Rock,’ and the last ‘Cats’ tour. I worked on every big show except for ‘Wicked.’ Not because I’m better than anyone else. I just have a solid reputation, and I was at the right place at the right time. I got very lucky.”
Having spent his 20s, 30s, and 40s on airplanes and tour buses — and living in London and Tokyo, among other exotic locales — Lanahan saw his life take a major pivot in 2017, when his mother Mary Jo suffered a massive stroke at age 68. It paralyzed the left side of her body, requiring Lanahan to become her primary caregiver.
Following Mom’s 10-month recovery, during which time they lived together on the East Coast, Lanahan moved them cross-country to Los Angeles, where he continued to work producing stage shows.
“Caregiving is the most exhausting job I never applied for. It’s just really emotionally difficult,” he confesses. “So, I was always trying to build in self-care, part of which was to come out to Palm Springs, stay at a nice hotel, get a massage, and have a beautiful dinner.”
By 2020, with COVID-19 hitting hard, Lanahan made the decision to move them again — this time, to his beloved desert. Mary Jo, who turns 78 in April, is now in an assisted living facility in Cathedral City. “She’s a retired nurse who worked 45 years. Her back and joints feel good. Her spasticity from the stroke is a little looser in this climate. Her recovery is better. We both like it out here.”
Long before relocating, Lanahan had started documenting his showbiz life on social media. “I’d been surrounded by marketing and press teams,” he explains. “Theatre is a very close-knit community, and we’re very good at helping to promote one another.” Now he was posting about caregiving, and people gobbled it up.
His followers — known as Lanafans — currently number more than 130,000 over all platforms. Some 50% are caregivers, while 80% are in the U.S. “My number two stronghold is the United Kingdom. I have a little bit of Australia. And then, apparently, Filipinos love me because of my mom’s assisted living caregivers. They’re also a tight community.”
With a new desert condo to furnish, Lanahan was turned onto Revivals by his realtor, the iconic Arleen Cohen. “I collect a ton of Astrolite, which is a Lucite company founded by Herb Ritts and his parents in the seventies,” says Lanahan, who soon began regularly creating short videos in which he discusses his thrift finds. “I go every Saturday and hit up at least two of the four Revivals locations, collecting treasures and creating content. What I love is that every store has its own culture. If I want a really funky piece of art, I’ll find it in Palm Springs or Cathedral City. If a friend from L.A. wants some thrifted fashion, we go right to Palm Desert. Utilitarian furniture is pretty good at Indio.”
According to Lanahan — known as Thrift Boss to his Lanafans — the desert is a thrifter’s paradise thanks to the people who live here. They’ve collected amazing objects from around the world, and once they’re ready to part with them, Revivals shoppers are the lucky beneficiaries. But his embracing the brand is also about much more than unearthing treasures.
“Revivals is the unique intersection of upcycling, volunteerism, and community activism,” he says. “I love the whole package. It feels like a department store — cleaner, nicer. I love all the volunteers. I know the managers at this point, and they know me!”
In fact, at some point, Revivals itself became a Lanafan, following back the Thrift Boss — and liking his posts! That’s how Lanahan came to the attention of DAP Health Chief Marketing Officer Steven Henke, who oversees all of the stores’ promotions.
Henke was so impressed by Lanahan’s content that he asked him to star in a new set of nine Revivals commercials that would mimic his social media. In each spot, shot on a Sunday last November, Lanahan is center stage, his “co-stars” being the gems he discovers — and then riffs about on the spot for the camera. “When you find something fabulous, it does have a soul,” he maintains. “I’m a little woo-woo about this stuff. Like, ‘Who owned this?’ ‘What’s the story?’ ‘What energy am I bringing into my house?’”
To Lanahan, serving as the newest face of the Revivals brand makes perfect sense. “I’m the cheerleader, a true fan of Revivals who is appreciative of it on many levels. It’s about the thrill of the hunt. It’s about bringing my community with me. And now, with the ads, it’s about exposing an entirely new audience to the love I have for the brand.”
