She made many of her own costumes and developed a friendship with Bob Mackie who made custom gowns for some of the top contestants in the Miss Continental pageantry system. The 5th Annual Hollywood Hots fundraiser took place on September 11, 1993, in the lower lot of the Atlanta Heretic on Cheshire Bridge Road and featured Amber along with other performers including winner of the 1973 Miss Gay Georgia America pageant, Charlie Brown. Richards was a featured performer at the Hollywood Hots fundraiser, an annual event in Atlanta which raised money for the National Association of People with AIDS. She traveled extensively during this time and performed in clubs and pageant productions throughout the United States and abroad.
Amber headlined two cabaret style shows at The Otherside in Atlanta including The Amber Richards Show and Dangerous Divas.
Richards moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1977 before relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, where she became a mainstay of Atlanta nightlife performing at nightclubs including Sweet Gum Head, Illusions, Lavita's, Lipstix, Deana's One Mo Time, Petrus, Backstreet, The Otherside, Revolutions, and many more. She began performing in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the Famous Door nightclub and participated in her first drag pageant at The Hunt & Chase where she was crowned Miss Gay Indiana Emeritus in 1979. Richards was born Richard "Rick" Atkinson in Marion, Indiana, on November 17, 1957, and graduated from Marion High School in 1976.