Meet Travis Coles of Travisties in West Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Travis Coles.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I moved to Los Angeles in 2009 working at the Trader Joe’s in Glendale where I met my first celebrity, professional wrestler, Chyna. I threw away my Hawaiian shirt one week later for my first TV industry job as a post-production assistant on a CBS pilot that never saw the light of day. I continued working in TV as an office PA for a while before moving on to assisting executives and showrunners; gaining essential insight to the industry beneficial to my career now. I realized that I was a little depressed so I moved away and decided to move back home to San Antonio, Texas where I got a job at the Hard Rock Cafe on the riverwalk and basically spent the year drinking, tubing the river and hooking up with cowboys. It was incredible.

Once the opportunity to move back to LA opened up, Hard Rock needed trainers to help open their Hollywood and Highland location, I decided it was time to move back; this time I was determined to focus on my acting and writing career. So I moved back to LA and became a drug addict bartender, working in various bars and my only performance was one fringe festival play the LA Weekly called “abysmal”. Second City Hollywood was my introduction to improv and sketch comedy, I was high every class and performance, but I was finally inspired again!

Pretty soon drugs and alcohol beat me down long enough for me to make the decision to enter rehab. I got sober and began my training at the Upright Citizens Brigade, really making an effort to grow and learn, surrounded by so many talented individuals. From there I explored different acting studios and joined a very influential writer’s group. I’ve met so many people from performing and being a part of a community, I didn’t even know that’s what was missing before, connection. Sobriety served as my catalyst to the road of greatness.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
This biggest obstacle for me has been procrastination. It’s so easy to get caught in the trap of waiting to create until everything is perfect. So I’ll spend most my time “researching” until eventually, the spark dies. Perfection is an insidious crutch that tricks me into believing that planning and thinking about ideas is actually accomplishing work.

When I finally got honest with myself I realized that it feels so much safer to hide behind the idea that, “I can’t fail if I never put myself out there.” I went even deeper and found that my main problem was that I believed I was in a race with other people, constantly comparing and judging my work. Now I know that all I can do is show up for myself, take action and stay out of the results. It’s incredibly freeing and now I celebrate other people’s creativity and success in a way that I never have, honestly.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Travisties Inc. story. Tell us more about the business.
I’m an actor/writer known mostly for live comedy performance – writing and performing at the Upright Citizens Brigade. I was cast as a series regular on the YouTube Originals comedy “Liza On Demand”. I play a recurring employee on NBC’s “Superstore” and have appeared on “Living Biblically” CBS, “Great News” NBC, and made my Sundance Film Festival debut in 2018 with the critically acclaimed “SusaneLand” created by Susane Lee, a true badass. I don’t know what sets me apart from other people because it’s none of my business, but I do know that I enjoy making fun of high status in humor and also any form of outburst that allows me to release anger.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I personally don’t believe in luck, it diminishes what’s truly valuable, hard work. Also, I think “luck” can enforce the idea of scarcity; you’ll only succeed if you’re lucky. I am one of those people who believes that the mind is very powerful so I like to encourage the idea of abundance by working hard and knowing that I’m destined for greatness.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.travisecoles.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travisties/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travis.coles.927?ref=bookmarks
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Travisties

Image Credit:
Stephen Steelman, Matt Misisco

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