Today we’d like to introduce you to Ella Monroe Vazquez.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am the owner and one-woman show behind my company EllaVpbl, LLC better known to the world as pop culture. POPCulture began as an audio-only gossip and media updates podcast as part of my hosting responsibilities when I was a board member and events coordinator for LLPMedia a now-defunct entertainment and performance company active throughout 2018-2020 in Chicago before the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the lockdown the company dissolved and the owner Ashley informed me that I could keep my podcast if I was so inclined and do with it what I wanted so I did. I was extremely nervous never having run my own business before so I made a plan and decided I wanted to do more than just gossip and updates. POPCulture is a media and entertainment company where I cover a bit of everything from interviewing local and non-local artists and entrepreneurs, to doing reviews for movies, tv shows/series, concerts/events, beauty/self-care products, and of course music.
I also provide information on spiritual topics such as tarot, astrology, and horoscopes and offer tarot and oracle readings to whoever needs a reading. The most difficult aspect of what I do now is incorporating advocacy and awareness of Endometriosis a chronic medical condition I have had since I was a child and mental health awareness in both English and Spanish.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been a rocky road, to say the least, and not the yummy ice cream kind. Since POPCulture began during the pandemic there were some slight deterrents to being able to do what I wanted in its entirety but the main downsides have revolved around health issues and being able to find a happy balance between it and the responsibilities and energy required to keep up both my work for POPCulture and my personal life balanced.
I got COVID at my place of employment during the first wave and afterward dealt with immunological health issues that worsened or developed from it and continue to deal with my Endometriosis which is a reproductive chronic health condition that I developed as a child and comes with so many fun symptoms including anxiety and depression and lower abdominal pelvic issues and overall pain.
I also sadly have lost a few family members during this time and began my trauma healing through it all so it has been more like an episode of Supernatural battling demons and I get to have some beer or a pie at the end of the day.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
POPCulture is a media and entertainment company that specializes in artist interviews, spirituality, mental health, and Endometriosis advocacy, I am most known for my makeup and cosplay work that I incorporate into my YouTube podcast episodes and TikTok videos to keep things entertaining, colorful, and light when discussing often difficult topics. Honestly what I am most proud of is the interactions with the people I have gotten to meet and interview because of POPCulture and that despite my health issues, I can continue doing what I love and providing information to all those that might not readily have means of obtaining it when it comes to spirituality, mental health, and especially endometriosis.
What sets me apart besides providing my content in English and Spanish is my laugh my friends have told me if they ever lose me in a crowd they can locate me via the sound of my cackle but on a more serious note. What sets me apart is my approach to the interview process, the events I attend and have helped create, and the reason why I have this company to begin with. I want it to be a bridge and launching pad at the same time for the artists and entrepreneurs that I interview, I want to make a bridge connecting them all not just across industries but also across levels of fame and recognition. And the other thing that sets me apart is my personal story it’s what keeps me going especially on the days that aren’t shown when things get dark.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting?
What I wish I knew starting was first how much work and patience it takes to keep yourself consistent when you are an interviewer, researcher, editor, marketer, and makeup artist, and all of it, second the sacrifices of people, places, and things that come along the way to make space for what needs to be there and third the constant learning along the way. My advice is to trust in yourself and your capability to follow through and most importantly love it every step of the way because even in the darkest, most uncertain, comedy after-school special seeming moments if you love it then it will be worth it.
Also, as cliché as it sounds don’t be afraid of the screw-ups and the mistakes and the “OMG I have edited this for the 15th time and the one dot is slightly to the left more than all the other ones” moments that come with creating content and art because that is how you get to know yourself, what you do and do not like and what works and what doesn’t. The final piece of advice make sure you take care of yourself through it all, drink your water, get some rest in between because proper sleep might not be a thing at first, do some deep breathing, and take vitamins, all the self-care is very important.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/EllaV
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellamonroevazquez/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@EllaVpblLLC
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6xjPkgYZZr8ycy3GZ35jsF
- Other: https://calendly.com/ellavpblllc
