With microphone in hand, Chris Rene explained last Friday how he came to have a cupcake created in his honor at Starz Cupcakes in Capitola. “I went to school with Connie, who owns this place,” said Rene. “She said, ‘We want some more promotions over here. We’re tryin’ to get some people to eat these cupcakes.’ And I’m like, let’s DO THIS!” The last two words were said with a deep bellow, like a sportscaster announcing a slam dunk. “God bless, love life, let’s eat some cupcakes,” he said, bringing his index and middle fingers to his mouth, kissing them and throwing them into a peace sign in the air before heading inside. There, he signed photos of himself for the 20 or so devotees (also called “Renelians” or “Love Life Soljas”) who followed him there.
Outside, Rene fans, mostly young women who watched his performances on the television show The X Factor in 2011, eagerly awaited their chance to see him and purchase a four-pack of Rene cupcakes, which are cotton candy flavored and feature a photo of his face on the icing.
“He is so inspiring,” said Krystalle Campos, who pulled down her sleeve to reveal a tattoo of Rene’s face on her shoulder. She drove from Merced to see him, but is thinking of relocating to Santa Cruz “because he’s so awesome.” She called him “the greatest, most beautiful soul ever made, God’s light on earth.” She has a history of drug use and incarceration in her family, and said he has helped so many people get off drugs, which is just one of the reasons she loves him. “He’s not about money or fame, he’s about love. He really is.”
Connie Brighton, who co-owns Starz with her mother Debbie, recalled the birth of the idea for Chris Rene’s Cotton Candy Cupcake: “He was in here for about 30 seconds. He said, ‘I want a cotton candy cupcake’. I said, ‘You got it.’ He picked everything. He picked the colors, the name.
