November 27, 2025 • 37 mins
In this episode, Geselle sits down with me for one of the realest conversations she’s had yet. Fresh off her visit to La Casa de Alofoke, one of the biggest Dominican media platforms, she opens up about what that experience was really like the energy, the pressure, the opportunities, and the way it shifted her perspective on the Dominican content world.
We break down her rapid rise in the Dominican community, the way creators are reshaping the culture, and what it takes to stand out in such a competitive space. But we don’t stop at the success, Geselle shares the struggles she’s had to fight through behind the scenes. The pain, the setbacks, the moments she thought she wouldn’t make it, and the strength it took to rebuild her life.
This episode is raw, inspiring, and a must-watch for anyone chasing big dreams while carrying a heavy past.
If you're Dominican, a creator, or someone grinding through your own story, this one will hit you.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
So thank you for being on the podcast. Everything is live,
by the way, you're welcome to everything is live. We're live,
like recording live. That why you're welcome to tephones. You
don't have to, but that's just there.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Oh do you use headphones?
Speaker 1 (00:12):
It's up to you. You don't really need them.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
We don't need them.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
No, you're good. So first of all, thank you for
being here. You're taking the trip.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Thank you for having me. I've never done a podcast before.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
I could be the first person to do a podcast with.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
You, but I've always been interested.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
What's your interest in podcasts?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
I like to talk.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Yeah, that's all I do on social media too, is
Someone on TikTok live was like that my specialty is
bla blah blah.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
And I was like, wait, that's so true. So when
people ask me what do I.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Do, I'm like a black that's a very Dominican thing.
That blast specific. So tell us about yourself. I can
introduce you, but I'd rather you tell me who you are,
what makes you you?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Uh? Where do I begin?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Like?
Speaker 2 (00:57):
What do you mean?
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Like if someone as just describe yourself?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, what would that look like?
Speaker 3 (01:04):
There's like so many like I don't even know where
to begin. But I'm a content creator. I wait, asked
me that question again.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
If someone want to ask you to tell me, I
lisphrase it. Let's make it even more interesting. If some
of your dad would describe I saw the dad major tries.
I think that's the most adorable thing in the world
that you really care to stepped into that. If he
had to describe you to a friend, what do you
say it to them? This is made for this mountain
with Josh Rosa, or we're turning pain into purpose.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
That is such a hard question for me to answer
because I just feel like I do so many things,
and I am so many things. But professionally I work
in social media content managing for a beauty company, and
then I also make content.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Okay, so.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
When I was young, I did a little Cinderella. I
was like in the third grade, I did like the
elementary school musical and I was in Cinderella and everyone
was like to my mom and I was, I think
the evil step mom, Like I was not Cinderella, And yeah,
everyone told my mom, oh my gosh, you did so good,
(02:15):
like I ate that role up And my oldest sister
was like, we need to put her in acting classes immediately.
So in the like around third fourth grade, I was
doing acting classes and I have headshots from when I
was very young.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
And then nothing came of it. But I always knew
that I loved to be in front of the camera.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Then I went to college, I got a business degree,
and then I somehow ended up like still in front
of the camera. So like I'm just like I don't know,
Like I'm a creator. Yeah that's the word.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
I'm a creator. I'm a storyteller.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Because the queen of the Dominican niche right now, that
just happening in social media for you.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Yeah, that's what happened. So it happens on accident. I've
been making content for six years, seven years now, and
I'll never forget. Like at first, when I went into business,
social media marketing was not a degree.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Right, it's a new thing, new world.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
It's a new world.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
So I graduated from college and what two thousand and eighteen,
I have my years all messed up?
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yeah, twenty eighteen. Yeah, in twenty eighteen.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
So when I was in college, I went to school
for marketing, and I thought, because I always have something
to say, I can watch a movie, I can try something,
and I always have an opinion, so I thought I
was going to be in product development.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
So I went to school for marketing.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
I started working for the number one be to company
in the world, and then social media started to really
grow and become a.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Thing, and I fell in love and learned how to
do makeup through YouTube.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
So I was like, I told my sister, I'm like,
I want to start making videos. I'm gonna buy a camera,
I'm gonna buy a laptop, I'm gonna do all this thing.
And she was like, no, she's my mentor. She's like,
how about you just start creating and then we'll talk
about you investing in equipment and things like that. So
I started creating and then I started networking at loreal
as like these roles started opening up for social media,
(04:02):
and then when the opportunity came, it was like, oh, hey,
like I do create content like I do do it
for myself. So at the time, it was very curated,
like if you think back to the Beauty Area era,
like it was a studio like this where the girls
of film like very professional cameras. Everything had to be perfect.
And I was never like that, and I never could
(04:24):
be like that. And then I would My content has
always been all over the place, like one day I'm
talking about makeup, the next hair, the next something fitness
or something else. People would always tell me like piccaniche PICCANII,
and I'm like, I can't pickanese because I'm not one thing.
I'm a lot of things. So it never felt right
for me. I'm like, I can't just talk about fitness
when I'm not that healthy, like half the time I'm outside,
or like right, or like I don't want to just
(04:45):
do makeup, like I'm not out here doing the craziest.
I looks like it's just and I didn't want to
become that person either. I didn't call my attention. So
years of that and I started going viral honestly since
I started making tiktoks five years ago during COVID, But
it was always like I go viral and then you know,
I don't have it drops, I don't have a niche,
I don't have something consistent. Then like years later, I'm
(05:07):
talking about just two years ago. What started sticking was
that I'm Dominican, and I'm like, that makes so much
sense because your people. I found my people because I'm
all the within all these things that I am, at
the end of the day, I'm still Dominican.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Yeah, so that's how the niche found me.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Like with posting all the things that I'm doing, whether
I'm at the gym, that it could be the music
that I'm listening to or this and the third Like
it always comes back to me being Dominican.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
And Dominicans love to support Dominicans. Like there's just something
if you see a person that's like, like you said,
oh little meal don't know it. Yeah, that's the biggest
world for that. So how you felt that? Have you
felt the support from the from the Dominican.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Community one thousand percent?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Like I could make videos about saying my mom did
this and I'll flop, but I'll say my Dominican mom
did this and they'll go viral.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
W Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
So to be honest, I feel like a lot of
Dominicans like to see Dominicans win and support other Dominicans,
and they love to see their culture being celebrated and
shown so beautifully. So I feel like that's definitely what
has helped me grow.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
We did an event actually have you heard of it?
But the next day they're trying to be even bigger people.
Don't know. We'll talk about that later, but they brought
a lot of people that were in many industries, the
beauty industry but the music industry. I was there. We
actually shot a live podcast episode, which I don't know
when that's gonna come out because they haven't liit to
me yet, but it was It was really dope because
(06:27):
its Latinos in general, it was very densely Dominican populated.
We saw this this beauty of us just kind of
celebrating these achievements, these things that we've been into, these
things that we've done, And I think that's one of
the dopest things. Before we go any deeper, we're going
to take our first quick commercial break talking about that.
Getting he was really quick. So the thing that's that's
(06:49):
that's like everyone's thing. I'm just genuinely curious, like how
was that experience for you? Like, how'd you end up there?
What the what the relationships you made? I saw I
was watching some of the stuff that they were posted.
I'm like, this is the Oh. Because I'll be completely candid,
I didn't watch much of it. All of my friends
in my entire circle about what's happening and I'm just like,
that's it's it looks entertaining, but to be running twenty
(07:13):
four hours, there has to be something. So how did
you end up there? Like what's that story?
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Yeah, and before we get into that, I forgot something
about like the Dominican niche If that's okay, I'll go
back to that. So I really do think, like when
you're in the moment and you're like, why am I
going through this?
Speaker 2 (07:28):
What is this?
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Like you don't understand the process, but it all comes
to the bigger picture, Like I told you, like, I've
been trying to be in front of the camera since
I was in the third grade. I've been doing content
for six years and nothing stuck. I went corporate, but
all that brought me to this point right now. So
for example, I didn't I was born and raised in Perthamiway,
New Jersey, and we were at a comedy show.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Dominicans are exactly.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
We were at a comedy show and Jay Ramiris was like, I.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
See people, Oh he's the best.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
He was like, I swear to God, there's a private
tunnel that no one talks about that goes from my
seat well straight to for them. All the Dominicans are there,
so I never experienced culture shock. Then I went to
college and although I was dorming, my family's huge and
I was dorming with my cousin, I was having lunch
with my sister. I was working with all my cousins
like we are a pack. Like yeah, we were working
at the tech center. It was five cousins working at
(08:15):
the second. We were all in Montclair State together. We
were all so I never was like out of my
Dominican like bubble. Then I went to Lorel I went
to work and I'm like, wait, so you guys. Although
it was extremely uncomfortable, that big culture shock when you know,
we're sitting at dinner tables and they're like, oh, you
know this summer I'm going to mom talk or you know,
like my parents' vacation home. I'm like, you have two mansions,
(08:37):
not just one, like you know what I mean. But
then yeah, but then something about me. I never felt
like less than for not having those things. I just
always knew I was different. But I was so excited
to talk about it. And that's where my Dominican content
started to come from. Because they'd be like, oh.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
What are you doing. I'm like, oh, going on vacation
with forty people.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
They're like with forty people or like oh yeah, like
a baptism with ninety people.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Like that's where it got in.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
I'm so so connected, so tight, so connect is.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
So tight, and that's where I realized, like it's so different.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Not everybody lives this life, Like let me talk about
how unique these experiences are. And that's where I think,
like the content was inspired from.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Yeah, I mean, but that's the best, most genuine content
your actual life. Yeah, Like everyone has a deal that
drings way too much and gives money out, Like I
feel like that's always related to the Dominican family. But
that's why people connect with you. That's why they're looking
for those things because again it's like, oh that's my uncle,
that's the same thing. What is the ultimate goal for you.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
There in my content?
Speaker 1 (09:34):
In your content? Like social media wise.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
The ultimate goal?
Speaker 3 (09:38):
I have a few goals, but like, do.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
You want this to be like your career? Obviously he's
your career ready because you work, But I mean like
personal like.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Yeah, I mean I always say like I would love
to be a Bretman Rock. I don't know if you
follow Breatman Rock. I don't, but I've heard, you've heard
of him. Bretman does whatever Breatman wants. Like you know,
he started from the very first days of YouTube and
all the influencers moved to la and he staid in
Hawaii with his family.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
He never changes his way.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
And one day Bretman is like running around with chickens
or at the gym or eating a fruit. In the
next day he's like on a runway, you know, at
the VMA's or something, and like whatever Bretman like. He
doesn't have to confine to like a certain style of
content or do what other people are doing like people,
you know, it's She's just him.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
All the time, all around.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
So I love the not having the pressure of like
having to do a certain thing because that's not me.
I'm not the same person every day. Like one day
I'm committed to like running a marathon. The next day
work is consuming me. The following day, I'm like I'm
exaggerating with the days. But like there's different moments in
my life, and every day looks different, every week looks different. Yeah,
(10:43):
And I don't want it to feel forced. I don't
want to have to think about it too much. Like
so I just want my content to flow with my life.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Yeah, yeah, I mean that's how it should be, right,
I should flow from the natural because if anything is forced,
people see it. It's disingenuine. You can see through that reality.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
I would also love to give back, Like I see
a lot of content about like because also my growth
is coming from my culture, and I would love to.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Pour back into it.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
Like I've seen videos of like people that build homes
for like the less fortunate, or like I saw a
video of this guy who did a barbershop for a
kid that was cutting hair.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Yeah, Like I would love to do stuff like that
to pour back into the people, especially in dr where
it's like super needed.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
I mean I drive around and it's like, wow, it's
so crazy because how come I get to live this
life and you have to live that one and your
life could change within a day. And I would love
to be able to like give that to people, be
the change.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
And I mean that's also like the one of those
benefits to call it a benefit, is when you have
a platform or stage and people's recognize you, know you,
You're able to kind of coordinate how people do things.
So if your goal is to help people because you
have that relationship, with that connection with these people, it's
easier for you to bring people together looking at those
things and mentioning how you were connecting, how you went
(11:58):
to the black class stuff. So is this the avenue
that took you there? Like your social media stuff, is
somebody like tell you, hey, be a part of this
or how do you how'd you end up there?
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Yeah? So it just okay.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
So I was never really into that much like the
Dominican Chiefe man, like.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
I couldn't keep up. Yeah, it sounds fun, but.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Yeah, I just didn't know, like about.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Their lives or like who like Suberabs like beefing with
and the Demposeros, even though I really like the music
and the culture like the Chiese Men.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Just like I just couldn't keep up.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Then, like I said, it was very similar to Love Islands,
where like I wasn't watching but it was all over
social media that it gets to the point where it's
like ah, right, or like big.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Brother, like the one that's here, that's what they're doing
because they're watching them twenty four to seven.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Oh, I didn't know about that.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
It's a big brother. Well, they have the Americans and
the European one. But the same thing. It's the same concept.
They're just watch but they're just not influencers, just regular
people in the house and the cameras never stop. So
that's that's kind of the same, the same premise.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Yeah, oh I didn't know about that. I've heard about
like and like other Spanish onek I know Cai Sinette
does thirty day live streams, but different because it's not
like a bunch of different people. But I guess the
other one. I'm gonna have to check it out. But
it became to the point where everyone was watching it
and I'm like, am I missing out? Like I want
to talk about it like I do, like you know,
pop culture and things like that. So everyone and for
(13:20):
the first time, I feel like more Americans were involved
where it's like a lot of the people that you
know are in my circle, we're watching too. So I
started watching and I started making videos just like I
do about anything else. And then we, like I said,
we got really into it. And Love Island was doing
watch parties. I don't know if you not watch parties,
(13:41):
but like people they were okay, so they.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Had bars, bars, they literally had bars with people watching
Love Island, like Le Joe. Yes, I still don't know
who one, but I didn't know the other girls like
from New York or something.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
Yes, that's exactly where the inspiration came from. So at
one point I was talking about the business and my
with the business by my house, telling them like, what
do we do a Dominican watch party right of Love
Island where it's like because you know how they were
saying like the bars, they were like American. But I'm like,
if in between the commercial there's like them both playing
like that will go viral. I'm just thinking like content, like,
(14:13):
oh that would be fun too, I can host it
whatever whatever, nun because I was second whatever. Then my sister,
when we were all watching it, she was like, wait,
but Love Isolence had watched parties. Why don't we do
that at the salon? For was my sister's idea. So
because the salon had gone viral before I had made
a video of just saying like Dominican salons because every
(14:34):
they have karaoke, My sister's sister's husband's family has like
that DJ blah blah blah like, so they had gone viral. Yes,
so Michelle was like, oh my god, we should do
it at the salon, like that's such a good idea.
Everybody's watching anyway, and she has these parties anyway, like
her sister in law. So we did the video and
(14:56):
Santiago reposted it. I come to find out that my
cousins is this how you know where Dominican? So many
people to keep track of. My cousin's cousin in law
used to work with him back in the day, and
he was like, oh, shoot, this is so cool. Like
a team, a group of people in New Jersey made
this video blah blah blah. So then Santa would have
reposted it. So I'm like, oh, that's so cool. Then
(15:18):
I made another video, not thinking anything of it because,
like I said, I've been going viral for six years,
nothing ever comes of it, so I don't have these expectations,
but I'm patient. I just love what I do, and
I'm like it still got me a career doing this
full time. So every time something goes viral, I'm like, okay,
like nothing's gonna happen.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Nothing nothing.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
I don't even look if I grew followers because I'm
just like I'm used to this. I had eleven thousand
followers six years later.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
You know what I mean. So now I don't have
a big platform.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
So then I made the Santago was a marketing genius
because I'm like, listen, I've been making content for six years.
I also made content professionally, like it's definitely difficult to
get people's attention, and he happy. I mean my uber
driver she was driving me and she was watching, like
looking at the GPS. My sister's friends ride a wedding
and they're like at the wedding like I play though
(16:08):
we're watching it at the salon like this is I'm
like seeing this, and I'm like marketing genius to get
people hooked, you know, whether it's controversial or not, whatever
the case may be. You have people tuned in around
the clock, you know. So I made that video and
he reached out to the guy and he was like
give her my number.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
So I'm like, I'm like that my number. I literally
was like mommy, mommy, some that was my number. I
was like shaking, and then my sister was like, don't worry.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
Like talking to him was like talking to anyone else,
like blah blah, and I'm like okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
So I was like, so I saited, So he goes
to me.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
Another thing that's different about Dominicans versus Americans, Like one,
someone at Santiago's reach wouldn't be so accessible in America. Yeah,
I feel like, you know, I can't just text the
jacali it or something. I mean, I'm not comparing like
apples to apples, but I'm just thinking like music.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
You know, in the industries, in the industry.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
Someone that's very big in the Dominican Republic, these people
are like so reachable.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
So yeah, I was like shocked.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
But something that he does is that he'll be like
he told me that day, like oh, I'm in New York,
Let's meet up. And I'm like to talk and I'm like, okay,
let's meet up. So he over promises and then at
first I'm like, oh, we're gonna meet up, but we're
gonna whatever. Never happens. It left me on read afterwards,
and I'm like okay. So then I was like, oh,
I have an idea. Other people from his team started
(17:21):
following me from that video. Like I met his music producer,
his like video production guy. I forget his title, but
he does like all his music videos, like he films
and edits them, and he hit me up. He was like, oh,
I can make this introduction happen blah blah blah, Like
I just have people wanting to make.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
It happen for me. Like it was wild. I was.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
I told my boyfriend, I'm like, hey, I want to
go from behind the scenes.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
And then he was like.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
I was like, I think I'm a text his production
guy and he was like, you have something I Goo's number,
just text him. I was like, yeah, you're right, then
go right to the source. And he also has a
video on his Instagram where it's like, you, guys, I
would love to help as many people as possible, but
I just don't have the bandwid to help as many
people want. But he was like something that you have
to do if you're trying to make it like the
life is for I forget his exact words, but like Labi,
(18:10):
he's like, you have to break windows. You have to
be persistent, you have to So I was like, I'm mean,
use this is his exact words. I was like, Santiago,
I want to go to film behind the scenes. He
was like, okay, ring, that's it. That's that's it. It
was that simple. I was like, I was like, okay,
be there Friday. This was this past Thursday. He was like, okay,
so you're Friday. That's it, and it was that's how
(18:31):
it happens.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
That's so awesome, and it's awesome. It's more awesome that
you took that chance to actually, you know, dive into
that because again, it makes sense cause if you're actually
going to make the effort to be a part of something,
and there's that old saying in English, the squeaky wheel
gets the oil if you can't complain that you're not
doing something or being in places, if you're not willing
(18:53):
to be vocal about it, if you're not willing to
show up for it, and that's what you're doing, You're
showing up. Did you did you make any other connect
with those people there or do relationships? Because that's that's
end the day. All things that we do is based
on relationships. So how was it meeting the people there?
Speaker 3 (19:08):
Oh? My god? His team was the kindest group of
people I have ever met. And you know, he's very
rough around the edges, like he goes into La Casa
and he starts ripping everyone.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
He does it on the radio.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
But the way I felt the energy from his team,
they were very cool, common collective, and I feel like
if he was.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
That like actually like that to them, to.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
Them, they would have been more on edge.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
Like everybody was Kikiti king laughing, very like relaxed. They
treated me with so much respect and so much kindness.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
I met his the moment I walked in.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
I got connected to his like main producer, which is
like his right hand man. And every time he talks
about his his like success, he says we we and
he starts naming everyone that does everything because he never
says just like I, and so Manaudi is like his
right hand man when it comes to production. One of
them and he was like, what do you need? How
can I help you? Also, my cousin's.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Cousin in law.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
Everyone's related.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Yeah, everyone's related.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
Who doesn't work with them anymore but work with them
back in the day. Was like definitely helping me navigate
because I'm not used to that world. And they were like, like,
what do you need? How can we help you? Here's
the production room. By the way, she's going to be
coming in here making videos. She has questions answer them.
Treating me with so much respect and like they didn't
owe me anything, literally, like anyone else that walked in
through that door.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Yeah, I mean, they were probably grateful for the things
that you created because you're also like, you know, promoting
them and helping that. But it's just the reality that
good people get good people. They want to be around
people like that. And we're going to jump real quick
to this real coal commercial. Breaker will come right back,
so we're back. You were saying, I cut you off there.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
You were saying, Yeah, they were so kind to me,
so respectful, just like anyone else that walked in through
that door, like any celebrity that walked in through that door.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
That's how they treated me.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
And I built a lot of relationships, like I have
my Naudi's number now, Santiago's wife followed me. Other people
that he works with followed me and were commenting on
my post, reposting it, sharing it.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
So yeah. And then the first.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
Night that I went, I thought that I was going
to record like behind the scenes of you know, how
they get ready when things like happen, what.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
Do they do?
Speaker 3 (21:15):
And it was the most quiet night you could ever imagine.
There was no festa, there was no big drama.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
So they knew you were coming, so they had to
behave right.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
So I'm like, oh, shoot, like what is this content
even going to be? So I was like nervous, but
I did a few like mini mics, which I never
interviewed people. It was kind of like the my cousin's
cousin in law like he and I'm like like, you know,
like I didn't come prepared to do questions, but I'm
glad I did because that was like mainly the content
that I had. And then once I put the video together,
(21:46):
everything looked good. But me and my boyfriend were literally
there like it's.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Like like so awkward the party.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
Part of the party, but they're working, you know, they're
live and they're just like running the show and I'm
sitting there like, you know, so people.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Don't think about that, like the behind the scenes is
people actually doing the job. Yeah, all the audio and
the camera stuff is happening. It's tough.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
So I felt extremely uncomfortable, not because of them, but
because it's definitely out of my comfort zone. But you know,
you don't grow in your comfort zone. So but they
were they were so helpful, but I just felt like
I was kind of like in the waven though I wasn't,
but you know, they're working their focus.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Yeah, it's not it's not your first thought to think, go,
I'm here for this. They're actually doing something.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
And my content definitely didn't go how I had a
plan like it was different, but oh and what I
was gonna say, I'm buy the seeing you see my
brain just be all over the place. So there was
no fist, no big drama. And I was like, oh, well,
there's a Fiata without Omega on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Can I come back? And he was like glad, And that's.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
So you're already here. Yeah, you put you one of us. Yep,
so that that I mean, obviously this this more solidifies
the niche that found you, because that's that's what that is,
Dominican niche. How do you see yourself like progressing in that?
What do you think is next in this niche for you?
Speaker 2 (22:58):
I have no idea.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
That mean it's a good thing to be able to discover.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Yeah, I'm flexible.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
I'm going to keep I always want to make content
that feels good.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Well, are you ever going to go back to that
makeup stuff that you were going to do with a camera?
You're you're gonna invest in that world.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
I'm well, I feel like I've been doing this kind
of content like always, like just talking about my family
and things like that. But like I'll do, like you know,
get ready with me for my sister's Dominican baby shower,
or like you know, just like put a twist, the
Dominican twist. I'll be listening to them bo while I'm
doing my makeup or like you know, talking about makeup
as I'm going somewhere that has to do with like
(23:35):
my life.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Yeah, so how well, not to that, I'm sure it
doesn't conflate, But how do you mix this with your
regular job? Like do they have any issues with what
you do? Or do they put kind of I know
corporate they put me strangts, Like even though we don't
have labels for specific reasons, I realize there are labels
in this room. I won't point them out, but I
didn't realize it un till just now, so doesn't count.
But I know, like corporate stuff, they they kind of
(23:59):
not that they limit you, but they kind of want
to know what you're doing. How do you mix these
two worlds.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
I feel like that's the best thing that could have
ever happened to me working in corporate because I protect myself.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
So much more like you.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
Like, I think sometimes you forget like how much power
your words have, or how much you can hurt.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Somewhere, how much stuff stays on social media, how.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Much stuff stays on social media.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
So I'm very considerate of what I post and what
I don't post. I try to show the best version
of myself, you know what I mean, not like like
I mean I go on there with no makeup, my
hair not brushed and all that stuff.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
But like I have.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
This this like thing where, like on social media, and
if I'm talking about a show, I'll get I'll be like, oh,
this is what they said on the show, But I'm
not going to be like talking bad about them or
dragging them, you know. And I feel like a lot
of that has to do with my job.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
I don't share my.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
Political opinions things like that because you know, you don't
know what other people may think or feel, so.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Like you alienate people lastly you want to do, especially
when you're trying to.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Reach people exactly.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
And I feel like I have this this rule where
it's like, if I don't feel comfortable with my mom
seeing this, then it shouldn't go on social media. And
that's the and that's how like I feel like if
I feel comfortable, my mom's seeing this, and I hope
my job doesn't have a problem with it, you know,
on the Internet, and when it comes to like other
beauty products, I'm not allowed to like take sponsorships with
(25:27):
other beauty brands.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
But there's so much more out there.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
There's these these microphones, there's cameras, there's fitness, there's health,
there's wealth, there's look like that ended up happening. Like
you know if one time I was invited to the
Cover Girls studio to just make content and like I
can't go because it's like that's a direct competitor. Yeah,
but I'm like, I don't think. I don't feel like
I'm missing out because I can't do beauty. If anything,
(25:51):
I feel like it has taught me how to protect
myself and how to only show like, you know.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Good things.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
It's PR training.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Yeah, it's PR training that I would have wouldn't have
known otherwise.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Yeah. Yeah, I mean obviously in this world that I'm in,
there's very specifics because I also do ministry stuff. So
I do like my church stuff where I preach my
travel and it's not that I do it not to
be like not to be scandalized or like that. But
it's the sense of like, Okay, well I wouldn't want
this to be an issue and I wouldn't want to
lead anyone down something wrong and someone you don't want
(26:23):
to look dumb, like you don't want to make yourself
a hot mess. So just looking at those things, like
where you are, what you're doing career wise, are you're
doing social media wise? What for you? And if I
had to ask this question right because the podcast has
called me for this mountain? What for you? Have you
seen as a mountain? So a mountain is like a challenge,
something that is in front of us that looks like
we can't compete with, we can't defeat, we can't be
(26:44):
in your life? What has been a mountain for you?
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Like just one of like the hardest moments in my life.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Yeah, something you felt like or even something that you're
struggling with now, but something that you felt like became
a difficulty.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
Yeah, I have two moments and I'm currently living one
right now.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
This is one of them.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
But I think the first, very very first time that
I've just was I consider myself to be a very
happy person. I'm free spirited. I'm like, wooh, Like nothing's
that serious.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Life is just great. I'm just so happy all the time.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
And I was in a relationship since I was a
freshman in high school up until like twenty seven years old.
So I had never really dated. I had never like
been around, you know, I had never dated. And then
also that's when I started to get into influencer marketing
and being in situations outside of my family, traveling with
people that weren't my family, going to dinners, doing things,
(27:38):
because I never even had friends, Like my family was
so big that like if you had one friend, we
sucked them, yeah, or we sucked them into our family.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
Like my best friend I met her senior year in
high school. One year leader.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
She's been dating my cousin. You know, she started dating
my cousin. She's married into the family. She had a son.
He has my grandfather's last name. Like, my friends get
sucked into my world, you know what I mean. So
I had never like experience, I would say, the real world.
So I became single for the first time, I got
into social media marketing, and I moved out and bought
my house for the very first time.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
All at the same time, and I literally felt.
Speaker 3 (28:12):
Like in the movie Barbie where she went to the
real world and did you watch the movie?
Speaker 1 (28:17):
I did, and she was like.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
This hurts so bad, Like why is everybody so mean?
I thought everybody was like my family, and I just
expected that from people.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
And I never knew how to read vibes.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
I never knew that people may be kind, but not
because they're actually being kind, but because they have like
an alternative, you know, like motive.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
So between dating men for the first time and seeing
how they're.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Horrible, Yeah, most guys are pretty rough.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
Yeah, Like I just couldn't believe how her I was
from all of that, and even like when I moved
out for the first time, my sister was like, where
your bills? Like, I bought my house and I moved in,
I did the construction blah blah, and she's like, where
are your bills? And I was like what bills like
and she was like yeah, she was like your water
electric and I'm like, what are you talking about, right,
(29:10):
And she was like, just sell this house is under
your name.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
There's stuff coming.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
And I hadn't checked the mail in four months, but
because I hadn't moved in, it was like since I
bought it and then it was under construction, and then
I moved in like three four months later.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
And I go to my mailbox and it's a stock
like of just bills and letters and from the city,
the government, the people that want their money, everybody. And
I put the pile on my bed and I start
opening in one by one with my sister and I
just start sobbing, and she starts crying with me, and
she's like, you're going to.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
Figure it out, and I was like how. She's like,
you just will, you can, You're going to do this.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
And I then was like, this is so much money,
Like I underestimated how much like it was going to
cost for me to move into my house.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
And she's like okay.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
So she grabs this notebook and it just happens to
be like a TikTok notebook, which I didn't know, and
she starts writing everything that I need to pay and
how I'm going to manage my finances. And at the
end of the month, because I get paid once a
month to my job, which is already crazy, I had
one hundred dollars to spare after all my bills, and
I started crying again. And she's like, you're just gonna
(30:22):
figure it out, like trust me, like you will, and
I'm telling you, God bless me. I was in living
check by check. I was living miracle by miracle, like
money was falling out of the sky, like I'd get
like a modeling gig.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
I had him modeled.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
Ever Rainbow hit me up to go model and that
I remember that trip.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
I was on a family vacation.
Speaker 3 (30:41):
I got there with negative three hundred dollars and I
had to give them a wedding gift and I was
going to Disney with my family and all these things,
and I got a thousand dollars deposit into my account
and then like it just kept things happening like that,
like miracule, my taxes will come in and it was
like three times the amount I thought, and that got
me to four months and then like another God left
my side and I just figured it out.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
That's awesome, And that's again that's the benefit of having
a sister like that, because she sat down with you
and said, listen, you're going to figure this out because
she believed in you, even I couldn't see the.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
Situation itself, and that sadness lasted like a year and
a half and it was to a point where I
was I would cry, Like I cried every day for
four months, and it was from like January to around April,
and I would be like God, like they women, like
I don't even recognize like my health, happy self anymore,
(31:34):
even though I'd go in front of the camera and
I'd smile and still create my content and do all
these things.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
But like I just knew that, Like I was just
crying every day and I wasn't happy.
Speaker 3 (31:41):
And I woke up one day and I was like,
I want to go to church, like it had been
a long time since I had been back, and I
started going to church.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
And then my grandma also came to me and my
dream who had.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
Passed away, and she told me she was like and
she told me she was like yo, sec you know, melo,
but chin up hi baby like la. And from that day,
like I just became happy. And I'll never forget. Like
two months after that moment or a month after that moment,
I was dancing, I put up the window. You don't
(32:13):
even realize sometimes the things that you do when you're depressed,
right you sit in the darkness, you don't listen to music,
you're not dancing, and I put out I see the
sun shining into my office. I put up the window,
I put on music, and I start dancing. And in
that moment, I started crying and I was like, I'm back,
I'm bad. Yeah, And that was a mountain and you
don't see the light at the end of the tunnel.
And for the first time I told my sister, like,
(32:34):
I see why not that I was suicidal?
Speaker 2 (32:37):
I never. I never was.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
You understand why people, but I.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
Understand why people can go through those situations because sometimes
it is so much easier to just end it than
to have to put in the work to get yourself out.
Because you don't see the day that you're gonna feel like.
You don't even know what it feels like like. You
don't even think you could feel happiness again, you know, And.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Then it hits you, And then it hits you. Sun
hits you when you start dancing.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
Yeah, And it's all that work that you put in
right that you don't even you know. It's doing the
little things that add up to the big things. Still
doing your hair, still going to see your family even
when you don't want to. Like I remember my sisters,
my cousin's from Pennsylvania. There there are favorite like when
those girls come, so we grew up all in the
same house. And then when they were like, I'm the baby,
(33:19):
so I'm like ten years younger than them. And when
they were like in their teen years or early twenties,
they moved to Pennsylvania. But they always come multiple times
a year to Jersey and we call it our Sister's
Weekend and we always have like we have our annual
sister Pajama Day and everything like that.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
And even for that, I couldn't get out.
Speaker 3 (33:36):
Of bed, and my sister was like, come on, justsel
like we don't want to put any pressure, but like
you know, try to like get out of bed, and
so like I And those are the moments that even
when you don't feel like it, you're still showing up,
You're still going to You're like I don't want to
see my mom, I don't want to see my family.
I just want to hide under my bed. But you
get up, you put on your little makeup, and if
you keep working towards it, like eventually you'll get back
(33:59):
to yourself, like do the things that bring you joy
even when they're not making you happy. Still going to
the gym like I'll never forget. There was a lady
rubbing my back in the sauna. She's like, are you okay.
I'm like, I'm gonna be like crazy.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
No.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
Literally, I'd walk out the gym and again in my
car and I start crying, like you know, but still
doing those things that I'll go to a friend's house
after I'm laughing, giggling with them. I'm in the car,
I'm crying after. You know, a lot of people don't
know that, but it's just like doing those little things.
That's like how you're climbing through the mountain, like still
showing up to the things that you that you don't
bring you joy even when they're not.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Yeah, just saying that says, don't dress like what you're
going through. So if you're struggling, don't let yourself become
that thing. Don't hide under it, don't make yourself that
because that's what people do.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
But it's so hard to show it.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
It is so hard. But that's the difference between people
that stay under it and the people that get over it.
Because the people that if you have to pull yourself
by your boots and you're going to show up. You're
going to show up, and that's gonna be the difference
because here you are today doing the things that you
wanted to do, the things we were dreaming of. But
I'm sure in that point in time this is this
would even be a vision, this would be a thought,
It just be how but you're here. This is the
(35:04):
beauty of it. So speaking to me here, thank you
for being here on this podcast, Thank you for being
this episode. If last remarks, if there's something that you
needed the world to know about you. I don't know
about the world, because I mean, we do pretty good
numbers are maybe not the whole world. But if you
need the people to know something about you, what would
you need them to know.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
I mean, I wouldn't want to even share something about me.
I would mainly want to say, like, I don't.
Speaker 2 (35:29):
Have it all figured out.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
But if it's a piece of advice that I could
give someone is to keep showing up, keep trying, keep
doing the things that make you uncomfortable.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
Like every time that I showed.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
Up somewhere, it's when I haven't felt ready, even when
I told you, Like you know, when I started making
the content I told my sister I wanted all that equipment,
and she was like, no, do.
Speaker 2 (35:49):
It with what you have, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
If I waited to the moment to be ready for
I would have never made my way there. I would
have been like, well, I don't know that I just
started getting into the Spanish media.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
I'm like, I don't know that much about him.
Speaker 3 (36:03):
I don't know about that much about his business or
the people that are there or anything like that. Like
I'm just you know, getting into it right now. But
I still showed up, and even when I was able
to go back two days later, I was so like
worked up still from like the first time that I had.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
To do it.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
I'm like, maybe I should just like hi, to not
show up, you know what I mean, It's easier to
do that, But I'm like, no, I'm still going to go.
And then I ended up getting like really good content
and like everything that I do.
Speaker 2 (36:27):
Even when I started.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
My role in social media and content, like I used
to go to my sister's house crying because I didn't
know how to do certain things that were asked of me,
and I just would go to her before I tell
them like I can't do and she'd help me figure
it out, you know, this marathon training, like I've.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
It's been so difficult. It's been so difficult. I underestimated
how hard it was going to be.
Speaker 3 (36:52):
And like I'm still showing up even though I'm not
a runner or an athlete like that, you know what
I mean, Like I'm trying, so just keep doing the.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
Most, trying your every day and your best.
Speaker 3 (37:02):
Every day does not look the same like I've seen
a posts or like you know, consistency looks like one
day your cup is this full and one day it's
that good that full. One day you're like doing so
you know, lifting super heavy weights at the gym, the
next you can't even walk on the treadmill the next.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
Week, Like every day looks different, but as long as.
Speaker 3 (37:21):
It's your best, you're showing up, and just keep showing up.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
Yeah, thank you, thank you for those words, and just
thank you for being here, thank you for having me well,
thank you guys for listening, and we'll see you on
the next one.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
Thank you, guys.
So thank you for being on the podcast. Everything is live,
by the way, you're welcome to everything is live. We're live,
like recording live. That why you're welcome to tephones. You
don't have to, but that's just there.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Oh do you use headphones?
Speaker 1 (00:12):
It's up to you. You don't really need them.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
We don't need them.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
No, you're good. So first of all, thank you for
being here. You're taking the trip.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Thank you for having me. I've never done a podcast before.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
I could be the first person to do a podcast with.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
You, but I've always been interested.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
What's your interest in podcasts?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
I like to talk.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Yeah, that's all I do on social media too, is
Someone on TikTok live was like that my specialty is
bla blah blah.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
And I was like, wait, that's so true. So when
people ask me what do I.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Do, I'm like a black that's a very Dominican thing.
That blast specific. So tell us about yourself. I can
introduce you, but I'd rather you tell me who you are,
what makes you you?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Uh? Where do I begin?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Like?
Speaker 2 (00:57):
What do you mean?
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Like if someone as just describe yourself?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, what would that look like?
Speaker 3 (01:04):
There's like so many like I don't even know where
to begin. But I'm a content creator. I wait, asked
me that question again.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
If someone want to ask you to tell me, I
lisphrase it. Let's make it even more interesting. If some
of your dad would describe I saw the dad major tries.
I think that's the most adorable thing in the world
that you really care to stepped into that. If he
had to describe you to a friend, what do you
say it to them? This is made for this mountain
with Josh Rosa, or we're turning pain into purpose.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
That is such a hard question for me to answer
because I just feel like I do so many things,
and I am so many things. But professionally I work
in social media content managing for a beauty company, and
then I also make content.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Okay, so.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
When I was young, I did a little Cinderella. I
was like in the third grade, I did like the
elementary school musical and I was in Cinderella and everyone
was like to my mom and I was, I think
the evil step mom, Like I was not Cinderella, And yeah,
everyone told my mom, oh my gosh, you did so good,
(02:15):
like I ate that role up And my oldest sister
was like, we need to put her in acting classes immediately.
So in the like around third fourth grade, I was
doing acting classes and I have headshots from when I
was very young.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
And then nothing came of it. But I always knew
that I loved to be in front of the camera.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Then I went to college, I got a business degree,
and then I somehow ended up like still in front
of the camera. So like I'm just like I don't know,
Like I'm a creator. Yeah that's the word.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
I'm a creator. I'm a storyteller.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Because the queen of the Dominican niche right now, that
just happening in social media for you.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Yeah, that's what happened. So it happens on accident. I've
been making content for six years, seven years now, and
I'll never forget. Like at first, when I went into business,
social media marketing was not a degree.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Right, it's a new thing, new world.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
It's a new world.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
So I graduated from college and what two thousand and eighteen,
I have my years all messed up?
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yeah, twenty eighteen. Yeah, in twenty eighteen.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
So when I was in college, I went to school
for marketing, and I thought, because I always have something
to say, I can watch a movie, I can try something,
and I always have an opinion, so I thought I
was going to be in product development.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
So I went to school for marketing.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
I started working for the number one be to company
in the world, and then social media started to really
grow and become a.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Thing, and I fell in love and learned how to
do makeup through YouTube.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
So I was like, I told my sister, I'm like,
I want to start making videos. I'm gonna buy a camera,
I'm gonna buy a laptop, I'm gonna do all this thing.
And she was like, no, she's my mentor. She's like,
how about you just start creating and then we'll talk
about you investing in equipment and things like that. So
I started creating and then I started networking at loreal
as like these roles started opening up for social media,
(04:02):
and then when the opportunity came, it was like, oh, hey,
like I do create content like I do do it
for myself. So at the time, it was very curated,
like if you think back to the Beauty Area era,
like it was a studio like this where the girls
of film like very professional cameras. Everything had to be perfect.
And I was never like that, and I never could
(04:24):
be like that. And then I would My content has
always been all over the place, like one day I'm
talking about makeup, the next hair, the next something fitness
or something else. People would always tell me like piccaniche PICCANII,
and I'm like, I can't pickanese because I'm not one thing.
I'm a lot of things. So it never felt right
for me. I'm like, I can't just talk about fitness
when I'm not that healthy, like half the time I'm outside,
or like right, or like I don't want to just
(04:45):
do makeup, like I'm not out here doing the craziest.
I looks like it's just and I didn't want to
become that person either. I didn't call my attention. So
years of that and I started going viral honestly since
I started making tiktoks five years ago during COVID, But
it was always like I go viral and then you know,
I don't have it drops, I don't have a niche,
I don't have something consistent. Then like years later, I'm
(05:07):
talking about just two years ago. What started sticking was
that I'm Dominican, and I'm like, that makes so much
sense because your people. I found my people because I'm
all the within all these things that I am, at
the end of the day, I'm still Dominican.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Yeah, so that's how the niche found me.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Like with posting all the things that I'm doing, whether
I'm at the gym, that it could be the music
that I'm listening to or this and the third Like
it always comes back to me being Dominican.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
And Dominicans love to support Dominicans. Like there's just something
if you see a person that's like, like you said,
oh little meal don't know it. Yeah, that's the biggest
world for that. So how you felt that? Have you
felt the support from the from the Dominican.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Community one thousand percent?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Like I could make videos about saying my mom did
this and I'll flop, but I'll say my Dominican mom
did this and they'll go viral.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
W Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
So to be honest, I feel like a lot of
Dominicans like to see Dominicans win and support other Dominicans,
and they love to see their culture being celebrated and
shown so beautifully. So I feel like that's definitely what
has helped me grow.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
We did an event actually have you heard of it?
But the next day they're trying to be even bigger people.
Don't know. We'll talk about that later, but they brought
a lot of people that were in many industries, the
beauty industry but the music industry. I was there. We
actually shot a live podcast episode, which I don't know
when that's gonna come out because they haven't liit to
me yet, but it was It was really dope because
(06:27):
its Latinos in general, it was very densely Dominican populated.
We saw this this beauty of us just kind of
celebrating these achievements, these things that we've been into, these
things that we've done, And I think that's one of
the dopest things. Before we go any deeper, we're going
to take our first quick commercial break talking about that.
Getting he was really quick. So the thing that's that's
(06:49):
that's like everyone's thing. I'm just genuinely curious, like how
was that experience for you? Like, how'd you end up there?
What the what the relationships you made? I saw I
was watching some of the stuff that they were posted.
I'm like, this is the Oh. Because I'll be completely candid,
I didn't watch much of it. All of my friends
in my entire circle about what's happening and I'm just like,
that's it's it looks entertaining, but to be running twenty
(07:13):
four hours, there has to be something. So how did
you end up there? Like what's that story?
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Yeah, and before we get into that, I forgot something
about like the Dominican niche If that's okay, I'll go
back to that. So I really do think, like when
you're in the moment and you're like, why am I
going through this?
Speaker 2 (07:28):
What is this?
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Like you don't understand the process, but it all comes
to the bigger picture, Like I told you, like, I've
been trying to be in front of the camera since
I was in the third grade. I've been doing content
for six years and nothing stuck. I went corporate, but
all that brought me to this point right now. So
for example, I didn't I was born and raised in Perthamiway,
New Jersey, and we were at a comedy show.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Dominicans are exactly.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
We were at a comedy show and Jay Ramiris was like, I.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
See people, Oh he's the best.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
He was like, I swear to God, there's a private
tunnel that no one talks about that goes from my
seat well straight to for them. All the Dominicans are there,
so I never experienced culture shock. Then I went to
college and although I was dorming, my family's huge and
I was dorming with my cousin, I was having lunch
with my sister. I was working with all my cousins
like we are a pack. Like yeah, we were working
at the tech center. It was five cousins working at
(08:15):
the second. We were all in Montclair State together. We
were all so I never was like out of my
Dominican like bubble. Then I went to Lorel I went
to work and I'm like, wait, so you guys. Although
it was extremely uncomfortable, that big culture shock when you know,
we're sitting at dinner tables and they're like, oh, you
know this summer I'm going to mom talk or you know,
like my parents' vacation home. I'm like, you have two mansions,
(08:37):
not just one, like you know what I mean. But
then yeah, but then something about me. I never felt
like less than for not having those things. I just
always knew I was different. But I was so excited
to talk about it. And that's where my Dominican content
started to come from. Because they'd be like, oh.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
What are you doing. I'm like, oh, going on vacation
with forty people.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
They're like with forty people or like oh yeah, like
a baptism with ninety people.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Like that's where it got in.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
I'm so so connected, so tight, so connect is.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
So tight, and that's where I realized, like it's so different.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Not everybody lives this life, Like let me talk about
how unique these experiences are. And that's where I think,
like the content was inspired from.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Yeah, I mean, but that's the best, most genuine content
your actual life. Yeah, Like everyone has a deal that
drings way too much and gives money out, Like I
feel like that's always related to the Dominican family. But
that's why people connect with you. That's why they're looking
for those things because again it's like, oh that's my uncle,
that's the same thing. What is the ultimate goal for you.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
There in my content?
Speaker 1 (09:34):
In your content? Like social media wise.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
The ultimate goal?
Speaker 3 (09:38):
I have a few goals, but like, do.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
You want this to be like your career? Obviously he's
your career ready because you work, But I mean like
personal like.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Yeah, I mean I always say like I would love
to be a Bretman Rock. I don't know if you
follow Breatman Rock. I don't, but I've heard, you've heard
of him. Bretman does whatever Breatman wants. Like you know,
he started from the very first days of YouTube and
all the influencers moved to la and he staid in
Hawaii with his family.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
He never changes his way.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
And one day Bretman is like running around with chickens
or at the gym or eating a fruit. In the
next day he's like on a runway, you know, at
the VMA's or something, and like whatever Bretman like. He
doesn't have to confine to like a certain style of
content or do what other people are doing like people,
you know, it's She's just him.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
All the time, all around.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
So I love the not having the pressure of like
having to do a certain thing because that's not me.
I'm not the same person every day. Like one day
I'm committed to like running a marathon. The next day
work is consuming me. The following day, I'm like I'm
exaggerating with the days. But like there's different moments in
my life, and every day looks different, every week looks different. Yeah,
(10:43):
And I don't want it to feel forced. I don't
want to have to think about it too much. Like
so I just want my content to flow with my life.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Yeah, yeah, I mean that's how it should be, right,
I should flow from the natural because if anything is forced,
people see it. It's disingenuine. You can see through that reality.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
I would also love to give back, Like I see
a lot of content about like because also my growth
is coming from my culture, and I would love to.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Pour back into it.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
Like I've seen videos of like people that build homes
for like the less fortunate, or like I saw a
video of this guy who did a barbershop for a
kid that was cutting hair.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Yeah, Like I would love to do stuff like that
to pour back into the people, especially in dr where
it's like super needed.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
I mean I drive around and it's like, wow, it's
so crazy because how come I get to live this
life and you have to live that one and your
life could change within a day. And I would love
to be able to like give that to people, be
the change.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
And I mean that's also like the one of those
benefits to call it a benefit, is when you have
a platform or stage and people's recognize you, know you,
You're able to kind of coordinate how people do things.
So if your goal is to help people because you
have that relationship, with that connection with these people, it's
easier for you to bring people together looking at those
things and mentioning how you were connecting, how you went
(11:58):
to the black class stuff. So is this the avenue
that took you there? Like your social media stuff, is
somebody like tell you, hey, be a part of this
or how do you how'd you end up there?
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Yeah? So it just okay.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
So I was never really into that much like the
Dominican Chiefe man, like.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
I couldn't keep up. Yeah, it sounds fun, but.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Yeah, I just didn't know, like about.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Their lives or like who like Suberabs like beefing with
and the Demposeros, even though I really like the music
and the culture like the Chiese Men.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Just like I just couldn't keep up.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Then, like I said, it was very similar to Love Islands,
where like I wasn't watching but it was all over
social media that it gets to the point where it's
like ah, right, or like big.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Brother, like the one that's here, that's what they're doing
because they're watching them twenty four to seven.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Oh, I didn't know about that.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
It's a big brother. Well, they have the Americans and
the European one. But the same thing. It's the same concept.
They're just watch but they're just not influencers, just regular
people in the house and the cameras never stop. So
that's that's kind of the same, the same premise.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Yeah, oh I didn't know about that. I've heard about
like and like other Spanish onek I know Cai Sinette
does thirty day live streams, but different because it's not
like a bunch of different people. But I guess the
other one. I'm gonna have to check it out. But
it became to the point where everyone was watching it
and I'm like, am I missing out? Like I want
to talk about it like I do, like you know,
pop culture and things like that. So everyone and for
(13:20):
the first time, I feel like more Americans were involved
where it's like a lot of the people that you
know are in my circle, we're watching too. So I
started watching and I started making videos just like I
do about anything else. And then we, like I said,
we got really into it. And Love Island was doing
watch parties. I don't know if you not watch parties,
(13:41):
but like people they were okay, so they.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Had bars, bars, they literally had bars with people watching
Love Island, like Le Joe. Yes, I still don't know
who one, but I didn't know the other girls like
from New York or something.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
Yes, that's exactly where the inspiration came from. So at
one point I was talking about the business and my
with the business by my house, telling them like, what
do we do a Dominican watch party right of Love
Island where it's like because you know how they were
saying like the bars, they were like American. But I'm like,
if in between the commercial there's like them both playing
like that will go viral. I'm just thinking like content, like,
(14:13):
oh that would be fun too, I can host it
whatever whatever, nun because I was second whatever. Then my sister,
when we were all watching it, she was like, wait,
but Love Isolence had watched parties. Why don't we do
that at the salon? For was my sister's idea. So
because the salon had gone viral before I had made
a video of just saying like Dominican salons because every
(14:34):
they have karaoke, My sister's sister's husband's family has like
that DJ blah blah blah like, so they had gone viral. Yes,
so Michelle was like, oh my god, we should do
it at the salon, like that's such a good idea.
Everybody's watching anyway, and she has these parties anyway, like
her sister in law. So we did the video and
(14:56):
Santiago reposted it. I come to find out that my
cousins is this how you know where Dominican? So many
people to keep track of. My cousin's cousin in law
used to work with him back in the day, and
he was like, oh, shoot, this is so cool. Like
a team, a group of people in New Jersey made
this video blah blah blah. So then Santa would have
reposted it. So I'm like, oh, that's so cool. Then
(15:18):
I made another video, not thinking anything of it because,
like I said, I've been going viral for six years,
nothing ever comes of it, so I don't have these expectations,
but I'm patient. I just love what I do, and
I'm like it still got me a career doing this
full time. So every time something goes viral, I'm like, okay,
like nothing's gonna happen.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Nothing nothing.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
I don't even look if I grew followers because I'm
just like I'm used to this. I had eleven thousand
followers six years later.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
You know what I mean. So now I don't have
a big platform.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
So then I made the Santago was a marketing genius
because I'm like, listen, I've been making content for six years.
I also made content professionally, like it's definitely difficult to
get people's attention, and he happy. I mean my uber
driver she was driving me and she was watching, like
looking at the GPS. My sister's friends ride a wedding
and they're like at the wedding like I play though
(16:08):
we're watching it at the salon like this is I'm
like seeing this, and I'm like marketing genius to get
people hooked, you know, whether it's controversial or not, whatever
the case may be. You have people tuned in around
the clock, you know. So I made that video and
he reached out to the guy and he was like
give her my number.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
So I'm like, I'm like that my number. I literally
was like mommy, mommy, some that was my number. I
was like shaking, and then my sister was like, don't worry.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
Like talking to him was like talking to anyone else,
like blah blah, and I'm like okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
So I was like, so I saited, So he goes
to me.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
Another thing that's different about Dominicans versus Americans, Like one,
someone at Santiago's reach wouldn't be so accessible in America. Yeah,
I feel like, you know, I can't just text the
jacali it or something. I mean, I'm not comparing like
apples to apples, but I'm just thinking like music.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
You know, in the industries, in the industry.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
Someone that's very big in the Dominican Republic, these people
are like so reachable.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
So yeah, I was like shocked.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
But something that he does is that he'll be like
he told me that day, like oh, I'm in New York,
Let's meet up. And I'm like to talk and I'm like, okay,
let's meet up. So he over promises and then at
first I'm like, oh, we're gonna meet up, but we're
gonna whatever. Never happens. It left me on read afterwards,
and I'm like okay. So then I was like, oh,
I have an idea. Other people from his team started
(17:21):
following me from that video. Like I met his music producer,
his like video production guy. I forget his title, but
he does like all his music videos, like he films
and edits them, and he hit me up. He was like, oh,
I can make this introduction happen blah blah blah, Like
I just have people wanting to make.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
It happen for me. Like it was wild. I was.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
I told my boyfriend, I'm like, hey, I want to
go from behind the scenes.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
And then he was like.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
I was like, I think I'm a text his production
guy and he was like, you have something I Goo's number,
just text him. I was like, yeah, you're right, then
go right to the source. And he also has a
video on his Instagram where it's like, you, guys, I
would love to help as many people as possible, but
I just don't have the bandwid to help as many
people want. But he was like something that you have
to do if you're trying to make it like the
life is for I forget his exact words, but like Labi,
(18:10):
he's like, you have to break windows. You have to
be persistent, you have to So I was like, I'm mean,
use this is his exact words. I was like, Santiago,
I want to go to film behind the scenes. He
was like, okay, ring, that's it. That's that's it. It
was that simple. I was like, I was like, okay,
be there Friday. This was this past Thursday. He was like, okay,
so you're Friday. That's it, and it was that's how
(18:31):
it happens.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
That's so awesome, and it's awesome. It's more awesome that
you took that chance to actually, you know, dive into
that because again, it makes sense cause if you're actually
going to make the effort to be a part of something,
and there's that old saying in English, the squeaky wheel
gets the oil if you can't complain that you're not
doing something or being in places, if you're not willing
(18:53):
to be vocal about it, if you're not willing to
show up for it, and that's what you're doing, You're
showing up. Did you did you make any other connect
with those people there or do relationships? Because that's that's
end the day. All things that we do is based
on relationships. So how was it meeting the people there?
Speaker 3 (19:08):
Oh? My god? His team was the kindest group of
people I have ever met. And you know, he's very
rough around the edges, like he goes into La Casa
and he starts ripping everyone.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
He does it on the radio.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
But the way I felt the energy from his team,
they were very cool, common collective, and I feel like
if he was.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
That like actually like that to them, to.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
Them, they would have been more on edge.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
Like everybody was Kikiti king laughing, very like relaxed. They
treated me with so much respect and so much kindness.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
I met his the moment I walked in.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
I got connected to his like main producer, which is
like his right hand man. And every time he talks
about his his like success, he says we we and
he starts naming everyone that does everything because he never
says just like I, and so Manaudi is like his
right hand man when it comes to production. One of
them and he was like, what do you need? How
can I help you? Also, my cousin's.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Cousin in law.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
Everyone's related.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Yeah, everyone's related.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
Who doesn't work with them anymore but work with them
back in the day. Was like definitely helping me navigate
because I'm not used to that world. And they were like, like,
what do you need? How can we help you? Here's
the production room. By the way, she's going to be
coming in here making videos. She has questions answer them.
Treating me with so much respect and like they didn't
owe me anything, literally, like anyone else that walked in
through that door.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Yeah, I mean, they were probably grateful for the things
that you created because you're also like, you know, promoting
them and helping that. But it's just the reality that
good people get good people. They want to be around
people like that. And we're going to jump real quick
to this real coal commercial. Breaker will come right back,
so we're back. You were saying, I cut you off there.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
You were saying, Yeah, they were so kind to me,
so respectful, just like anyone else that walked in through
that door, like any celebrity that walked in through that door.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
That's how they treated me.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
And I built a lot of relationships, like I have
my Naudi's number now, Santiago's wife followed me. Other people
that he works with followed me and were commenting on
my post, reposting it, sharing it.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
So yeah. And then the first.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
Night that I went, I thought that I was going
to record like behind the scenes of you know, how
they get ready when things like happen, what.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
Do they do?
Speaker 3 (21:15):
And it was the most quiet night you could ever imagine.
There was no festa, there was no big drama.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
So they knew you were coming, so they had to
behave right.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
So I'm like, oh, shoot, like what is this content
even going to be? So I was like nervous, but
I did a few like mini mics, which I never
interviewed people. It was kind of like the my cousin's
cousin in law like he and I'm like like, you know,
like I didn't come prepared to do questions, but I'm
glad I did because that was like mainly the content
that I had. And then once I put the video together,
(21:46):
everything looked good. But me and my boyfriend were literally
there like it's.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Like like so awkward the party.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
Part of the party, but they're working, you know, they're
live and they're just like running the show and I'm
sitting there like, you know, so people.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Don't think about that, like the behind the scenes is
people actually doing the job. Yeah, all the audio and
the camera stuff is happening. It's tough.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
So I felt extremely uncomfortable, not because of them, but
because it's definitely out of my comfort zone. But you know,
you don't grow in your comfort zone. So but they
were they were so helpful, but I just felt like
I was kind of like in the waven though I wasn't,
but you know, they're working their focus.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Yeah, it's not it's not your first thought to think, go,
I'm here for this. They're actually doing something.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
And my content definitely didn't go how I had a
plan like it was different, but oh and what I
was gonna say, I'm buy the seeing you see my
brain just be all over the place. So there was
no fist, no big drama. And I was like, oh, well,
there's a Fiata without Omega on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Can I come back? And he was like glad, And that's.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
So you're already here. Yeah, you put you one of us. Yep,
so that that I mean, obviously this this more solidifies
the niche that found you, because that's that's what that is,
Dominican niche. How do you see yourself like progressing in that?
What do you think is next in this niche for you?
Speaker 2 (22:58):
I have no idea.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
That mean it's a good thing to be able to discover.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Yeah, I'm flexible.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
I'm going to keep I always want to make content
that feels good.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Well, are you ever going to go back to that
makeup stuff that you were going to do with a camera?
You're you're gonna invest in that world.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
I'm well, I feel like I've been doing this kind
of content like always, like just talking about my family
and things like that. But like I'll do, like you know,
get ready with me for my sister's Dominican baby shower,
or like you know, just like put a twist, the
Dominican twist. I'll be listening to them bo while I'm
doing my makeup or like you know, talking about makeup
as I'm going somewhere that has to do with like
(23:35):
my life.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Yeah, so how well, not to that, I'm sure it
doesn't conflate, But how do you mix this with your
regular job? Like do they have any issues with what
you do? Or do they put kind of I know
corporate they put me strangts, Like even though we don't
have labels for specific reasons, I realize there are labels
in this room. I won't point them out, but I
didn't realize it un till just now, so doesn't count.
But I know, like corporate stuff, they they kind of
(23:59):
not that they limit you, but they kind of want
to know what you're doing. How do you mix these
two worlds.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
I feel like that's the best thing that could have
ever happened to me working in corporate because I protect myself.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
So much more like you.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
Like, I think sometimes you forget like how much power
your words have, or how much you can hurt.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Somewhere, how much stuff stays on social media, how.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Much stuff stays on social media.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
So I'm very considerate of what I post and what
I don't post. I try to show the best version
of myself, you know what I mean, not like like
I mean I go on there with no makeup, my
hair not brushed and all that stuff.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
But like I have.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
This this like thing where, like on social media, and
if I'm talking about a show, I'll get I'll be like, oh,
this is what they said on the show, But I'm
not going to be like talking bad about them or
dragging them, you know. And I feel like a lot
of that has to do with my job.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
I don't share my.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
Political opinions things like that because you know, you don't
know what other people may think or feel, so.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Like you alienate people lastly you want to do, especially
when you're trying to.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Reach people exactly.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
And I feel like I have this this rule where
it's like, if I don't feel comfortable with my mom
seeing this, then it shouldn't go on social media. And
that's the and that's how like I feel like if
I feel comfortable, my mom's seeing this, and I hope
my job doesn't have a problem with it, you know,
on the Internet, and when it comes to like other
beauty products, I'm not allowed to like take sponsorships with
(25:27):
other beauty brands.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
But there's so much more out there.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
There's these these microphones, there's cameras, there's fitness, there's health,
there's wealth, there's look like that ended up happening. Like
you know if one time I was invited to the
Cover Girls studio to just make content and like I
can't go because it's like that's a direct competitor. Yeah,
but I'm like, I don't think. I don't feel like
I'm missing out because I can't do beauty. If anything,
(25:51):
I feel like it has taught me how to protect
myself and how to only show like, you know.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Good things.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
It's PR training.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Yeah, it's PR training that I would have wouldn't have
known otherwise.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Yeah. Yeah, I mean obviously in this world that I'm in,
there's very specifics because I also do ministry stuff. So
I do like my church stuff where I preach my
travel and it's not that I do it not to
be like not to be scandalized or like that. But
it's the sense of like, Okay, well I wouldn't want
this to be an issue and I wouldn't want to
lead anyone down something wrong and someone you don't want
(26:23):
to look dumb, like you don't want to make yourself
a hot mess. So just looking at those things, like
where you are, what you're doing career wise, are you're
doing social media wise? What for you? And if I
had to ask this question right because the podcast has
called me for this mountain? What for you? Have you
seen as a mountain? So a mountain is like a challenge,
something that is in front of us that looks like
we can't compete with, we can't defeat, we can't be
(26:44):
in your life? What has been a mountain for you?
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Like just one of like the hardest moments in my life.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Yeah, something you felt like or even something that you're
struggling with now, but something that you felt like became
a difficulty.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
Yeah, I have two moments and I'm currently living one
right now.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
This is one of them.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
But I think the first, very very first time that
I've just was I consider myself to be a very
happy person. I'm free spirited. I'm like, wooh, Like nothing's
that serious.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Life is just great. I'm just so happy all the time.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
And I was in a relationship since I was a
freshman in high school up until like twenty seven years old.
So I had never really dated. I had never like
been around, you know, I had never dated. And then
also that's when I started to get into influencer marketing
and being in situations outside of my family, traveling with
people that weren't my family, going to dinners, doing things,
(27:38):
because I never even had friends, Like my family was
so big that like if you had one friend, we
sucked them, yeah, or we sucked them into our family.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
Like my best friend I met her senior year in
high school. One year leader.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
She's been dating my cousin. You know, she started dating
my cousin. She's married into the family. She had a son.
He has my grandfather's last name. Like, my friends get
sucked into my world, you know what I mean. So
I had never like experience, I would say, the real world.
So I became single for the first time, I got
into social media marketing, and I moved out and bought
my house for the very first time.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
All at the same time, and I literally felt.
Speaker 3 (28:12):
Like in the movie Barbie where she went to the
real world and did you watch the movie?
Speaker 1 (28:17):
I did, and she was like.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
This hurts so bad, Like why is everybody so mean?
I thought everybody was like my family, and I just
expected that from people.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
And I never knew how to read vibes.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
I never knew that people may be kind, but not
because they're actually being kind, but because they have like
an alternative, you know, like motive.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
So between dating men for the first time and seeing
how they're.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Horrible, Yeah, most guys are pretty rough.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
Yeah, Like I just couldn't believe how her I was
from all of that, and even like when I moved
out for the first time, my sister was like, where
your bills? Like, I bought my house and I moved in,
I did the construction blah blah, and she's like, where
are your bills? And I was like what bills like
and she was like yeah, she was like your water
electric and I'm like, what are you talking about, right,
(29:10):
And she was like, just sell this house is under
your name.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
There's stuff coming.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
And I hadn't checked the mail in four months, but
because I hadn't moved in, it was like since I
bought it and then it was under construction, and then
I moved in like three four months later.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
And I go to my mailbox and it's a stock
like of just bills and letters and from the city,
the government, the people that want their money, everybody. And
I put the pile on my bed and I start
opening in one by one with my sister and I
just start sobbing, and she starts crying with me, and
she's like, you're going to.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
Figure it out, and I was like how. She's like,
you just will, you can, You're going to do this.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
And I then was like, this is so much money,
Like I underestimated how much like it was going to
cost for me to move into my house.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
And she's like okay.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
So she grabs this notebook and it just happens to
be like a TikTok notebook, which I didn't know, and
she starts writing everything that I need to pay and
how I'm going to manage my finances. And at the
end of the month, because I get paid once a
month to my job, which is already crazy, I had
one hundred dollars to spare after all my bills, and
I started crying again. And she's like, you're just gonna
(30:22):
figure it out, like trust me, like you will, and
I'm telling you, God bless me. I was in living
check by check. I was living miracle by miracle, like
money was falling out of the sky, like I'd get
like a modeling gig.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
I had him modeled.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
Ever Rainbow hit me up to go model and that
I remember that trip.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
I was on a family vacation.
Speaker 3 (30:41):
I got there with negative three hundred dollars and I
had to give them a wedding gift and I was
going to Disney with my family and all these things,
and I got a thousand dollars deposit into my account
and then like it just kept things happening like that,
like miracule, my taxes will come in and it was
like three times the amount I thought, and that got
me to four months and then like another God left
my side and I just figured it out.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
That's awesome, And that's again that's the benefit of having
a sister like that, because she sat down with you
and said, listen, you're going to figure this out because
she believed in you, even I couldn't see the.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
Situation itself, and that sadness lasted like a year and
a half and it was to a point where I
was I would cry, Like I cried every day for
four months, and it was from like January to around April,
and I would be like God, like they women, like
I don't even recognize like my health, happy self anymore,
(31:34):
even though I'd go in front of the camera and
I'd smile and still create my content and do all
these things.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
But like I just knew that, Like I was just
crying every day and I wasn't happy.
Speaker 3 (31:41):
And I woke up one day and I was like,
I want to go to church, like it had been
a long time since I had been back, and I
started going to church.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
And then my grandma also came to me and my
dream who had.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
Passed away, and she told me she was like and
she told me she was like yo, sec you know, melo,
but chin up hi baby like la. And from that day,
like I just became happy. And I'll never forget. Like
two months after that moment or a month after that moment,
I was dancing, I put up the window. You don't
(32:13):
even realize sometimes the things that you do when you're depressed,
right you sit in the darkness, you don't listen to music,
you're not dancing, and I put out I see the
sun shining into my office. I put up the window,
I put on music, and I start dancing. And in
that moment, I started crying and I was like, I'm back,
I'm bad. Yeah, And that was a mountain and you
don't see the light at the end of the tunnel.
And for the first time I told my sister, like,
(32:34):
I see why not that I was suicidal?
Speaker 2 (32:37):
I never. I never was.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
You understand why people, but I.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
Understand why people can go through those situations because sometimes
it is so much easier to just end it than
to have to put in the work to get yourself out.
Because you don't see the day that you're gonna feel like.
You don't even know what it feels like like. You
don't even think you could feel happiness again, you know, And.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Then it hits you, And then it hits you. Sun
hits you when you start dancing.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
Yeah, And it's all that work that you put in
right that you don't even you know. It's doing the
little things that add up to the big things. Still
doing your hair, still going to see your family even
when you don't want to. Like I remember my sisters,
my cousin's from Pennsylvania. There there are favorite like when
those girls come, so we grew up all in the
same house. And then when they were like, I'm the baby,
(33:19):
so I'm like ten years younger than them. And when
they were like in their teen years or early twenties,
they moved to Pennsylvania. But they always come multiple times
a year to Jersey and we call it our Sister's
Weekend and we always have like we have our annual
sister Pajama Day and everything like that.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
And even for that, I couldn't get out.
Speaker 3 (33:36):
Of bed, and my sister was like, come on, justsel
like we don't want to put any pressure, but like
you know, try to like get out of bed, and
so like I And those are the moments that even
when you don't feel like it, you're still showing up,
You're still going to You're like I don't want to
see my mom, I don't want to see my family.
I just want to hide under my bed. But you
get up, you put on your little makeup, and if
you keep working towards it, like eventually you'll get back
(33:59):
to yourself, like do the things that bring you joy
even when they're not making you happy. Still going to
the gym like I'll never forget. There was a lady
rubbing my back in the sauna. She's like, are you okay.
I'm like, I'm gonna be like crazy.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
No.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
Literally, I'd walk out the gym and again in my
car and I start crying, like you know, but still
doing those things that I'll go to a friend's house
after I'm laughing, giggling with them. I'm in the car,
I'm crying after. You know, a lot of people don't
know that, but it's just like doing those little things.
That's like how you're climbing through the mountain, like still
showing up to the things that you that you don't
bring you joy even when they're not.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Yeah, just saying that says, don't dress like what you're
going through. So if you're struggling, don't let yourself become
that thing. Don't hide under it, don't make yourself that
because that's what people do.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
But it's so hard to show it.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
It is so hard. But that's the difference between people
that stay under it and the people that get over it.
Because the people that if you have to pull yourself
by your boots and you're going to show up. You're
going to show up, and that's gonna be the difference
because here you are today doing the things that you
wanted to do, the things we were dreaming of. But
I'm sure in that point in time this is this
would even be a vision, this would be a thought,
It just be how but you're here. This is the
(35:04):
beauty of it. So speaking to me here, thank you
for being here on this podcast, Thank you for being
this episode. If last remarks, if there's something that you
needed the world to know about you. I don't know
about the world, because I mean, we do pretty good
numbers are maybe not the whole world. But if you
need the people to know something about you, what would
you need them to know.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
I mean, I wouldn't want to even share something about me.
I would mainly want to say, like, I don't.
Speaker 2 (35:29):
Have it all figured out.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
But if it's a piece of advice that I could
give someone is to keep showing up, keep trying, keep
doing the things that make you uncomfortable.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
Like every time that I showed.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
Up somewhere, it's when I haven't felt ready, even when
I told you, Like you know, when I started making
the content I told my sister I wanted all that equipment,
and she was like, no, do.
Speaker 2 (35:49):
It with what you have, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
If I waited to the moment to be ready for
I would have never made my way there. I would
have been like, well, I don't know that I just
started getting into the Spanish media.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
I'm like, I don't know that much about him.
Speaker 3 (36:03):
I don't know about that much about his business or
the people that are there or anything like that. Like
I'm just you know, getting into it right now. But
I still showed up, and even when I was able
to go back two days later, I was so like
worked up still from like the first time that I had.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
To do it.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
I'm like, maybe I should just like hi, to not
show up, you know what I mean, It's easier to
do that, But I'm like, no, I'm still going to go.
And then I ended up getting like really good content
and like everything that I do.
Speaker 2 (36:27):
Even when I started.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
My role in social media and content, like I used
to go to my sister's house crying because I didn't
know how to do certain things that were asked of me,
and I just would go to her before I tell
them like I can't do and she'd help me figure
it out, you know, this marathon training, like I've.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
It's been so difficult. It's been so difficult. I underestimated
how hard it was going to be.
Speaker 3 (36:52):
And like I'm still showing up even though I'm not
a runner or an athlete like that, you know what
I mean, Like I'm trying, so just keep doing the.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
Most, trying your every day and your best.
Speaker 3 (37:02):
Every day does not look the same like I've seen
a posts or like you know, consistency looks like one
day your cup is this full and one day it's
that good that full. One day you're like doing so
you know, lifting super heavy weights at the gym, the
next you can't even walk on the treadmill the next.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
Week, Like every day looks different, but as long as.
Speaker 3 (37:21):
It's your best, you're showing up, and just keep showing up.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
Yeah, thank you, thank you for those words, and just
thank you for being here, thank you for having me well,
thank you guys for listening, and we'll see you on
the next one.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
Thank you, guys.
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