Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Vivian Martínez of East Hollywood

Vivian Martínez shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Good morning Vivian, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
I’ve been attending more VHS swaps recently and I love the VHS community in Southern California. They really have each other’s backs. Having physical media seems silly, but it’s really been bringing me joy lately to be a part of that weirdo community.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I was born and raised in L.A. by UCLA engineers who loved music. If this doesn’t begin to explain who I am, nothing will.
My mother is Jewish and my father is Catholic, so we were raised Unitarian as a compromise; which is why I’m a Satanist now. My family always put a strong importance on togetherness, plus, “it takes a village” so when I say we grew up in L.A. I really mean all over L.A. County. Until the age of 9 I lived a block away from Redondo Beach, on a hill, you can see Griffith park when the smog lifts; but when my parents got divorced my older brother, little sister and I began moving from home to home, living with my Abuelos in Carson, staying in Silverlake sometimes with my Grandparents, even Chula Vista for awhile while my father’s company moved there.
I never felt truly grounded until I got my own place in Silverlake after college.

I don’t think there is anyone in the world making a variety comedy show like me… defintey not in Los Angeles. I know that’s weird to say… everyone has a comedy show. But I invite you to watch me host my show, the Vivian show: starring other people but mostly Vivian I enjoy hosting… I enjoy many forms of creative expression and art forms which help me when hosting – I love it all and it shows.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
In college, things got a little better. I wanted to get away from California, so I went as far away as I could. “I was like ‘Get me OUTTA here!’ so I picked the furthest place away… New Hampshire. As soon as I got there I was like “Oh no. Get me outta HERE!” But it was good to be on my own at a small school.
As a freshman I was the only one to get into the Main Stage play. I was, of course, the comedic relief in Harold Pinter’s “The Birthday Party” an amazingly dada play which solidified the tiny amount of self esteem I had.
I finally started thinking “I’m funny.” I never really looked at it as a personality trait; being funny, to me, was a way to stay alive. I never saw it as a positive quality, only as my pointed shield.
I flourished at the small school, albeit slowly. I’m either WAY too fast at things, or way too slow. The only good timing I have in my life is with comedy, that’s why everything thing else is so wonky.
It took years. and I’m even still learning to love myself but moving away helped.
But studying abroad my senior year in London, man that really made me who I am today. I had access to the best Theater teacher slash guidance Counselor ever. She actually encouraged me, when I was in a place to be molded. Someone believing in me got me straight A’s that semester, which later put me on the Dean’s list and yeah, I graduated Cum laude. Google it. London changed my life, also because I discovered adderal there, which I blame those rich white kids for!
(One time I wrote a 14 page paper instead of a 4 page one and the whole class got mad at me at the refectory the next day. This is why I don’t take adderal a lot now, even though I was recently diagnosed with ADHD. Which makes a lot of sense looking back…)
The reason I was at that richie rich school btw, was scholarships. My family was comfortably lower middle class most of my life and slowly moved to upper middle class ie, I played clarinet… but also ate cheerios everyday for 2 years. So I try to appreciate my privileges, while knowing that others grew up with far more. One of the kids I went to school with that semester in London was a prince lol… WTF?
Anyway, I checked off all the things a woman does in college: drugs, sex (I am queer but I identify as female fluidish? honestly a much larger question), art and, assault.
Like most woman I have been sexually assaulted, I was lucky enough to survive mine…
When I started focusing on comedy, it was with an understanding that “I’m supposed to be helping people with my words because others’ have helped me with theirs.” All I cared about was comedy. All I wanted to do was make people happy, but I’m now only realizing that… that’s because I FULL ON didn’t love myself…. and I’m still learning. But that’s all I’m trying to do with my comedy now. Use the only good timing and luck I have in my life, to give others joy.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
The eczema was the worst. And it still is, I still have it today. Most people think it means I had like bad acne… but it was more like having to peel my clothes off at the end of every day because my open wounds had healed through the clothes I wore to school. I missed so much school I failed a math class that I was getting an A in.

My teachers often sent me home not knowing what was wrong with me. I still feel the shame from that… and now knowing that it was only hives and not contagious makes me more mad that other kids are probably being shamed for their own skin conditions.

I still deal with my trichitillomania, and a new (fun!) one, BDD which came from me forming an identity of myself when I was 220lbs. I literally cannot tell you what I look like physically. One time a friend came over and we were totally just playing dress up and she put a good will dress on and then was like, “oh man my boobs are too small, you try this one” and I was like oh no that’ll never fit… but I tried it on after she forced me to… I still believed it wouldn’t fit… and it did fit… and my brian was so confused I ended up blacking out and fainting a little bit. Haha… so yeah I have a lot to work on brain-wise but I’m on my way – I’m more mentally healthy than ever now thanks to therapy and my friends.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What important truth do very few people agree with you on?
The only stupid questions is the one you don’t ask… I truly believe questioning with respect is the key to humanity.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What light inside you have you been dimming?
I’ll admit, I recently got out a long relationship that I now see was draining me of my natural light. It’s really hard to see it when you’re inside of it… and of course I’m still mourning that loss, but I feel like I’m getting my light back.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://vivianizcool.com/
• Instagram: vivianizcool
• Youtube: vivianizcool
• Other: tiktok: vivianizcool