Meet Catherine Martínez of Catthe1st

Today we’d like to introduce you to Catherine Martínez.

Catherine, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Sign language, which happens to be in the [Communicative Sciences and Disorders] program, is something that I fell in love with and was eager to learn. Many of my peers who were either deaf or hard of hearing always complimented my makeup and were interested in the beauty industry. However, they did not feel like they fit in since there isn’t much deaf culture beauty resources or involvement.

It just struck me one day when a few a peer in my class asked me to translate what a blogger they were watching was saying since the tutorial was auditory and had no other mode of communication. I recently started my channel to change that.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Many are thrilled to see Deaf culture inclusion in my videos, and they even express how grateful they are that someone like me is signing in tutorials and they can understand.

However, some aren’t and can be quite mean telling me I shouldn’t be signing in videos because I am neither Deaf nor Hard of Hearing. It isn’t something that discourages me and I have learned to rather listen and give feedback in a positive way and not entertain with back and forth.

Everyone has their own opinion which I respect but, I will not engage in ones where cordial discussion isn’t exchanged. I do at times need to be repetitive in order to grasp the context of how I should structure my phrases keeping in mind ASL grammar structure and memorizing the specific sign for a word.

Additionally, at first brands used to see my content and be supportive and seem to be on board with ASL inclusivity but, now it seems harder to really be heard by the beauty industry to keep in mind that they should be inclusive. Social media has made it harder for content to be seen and for it to be exposed more to the Deaf/ Hard of Hearing community.

Catthe1st – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I incorporate sign language into my videos and really bring deaf culture into such a growing makeup community. I work on inspiring and helping to facilitate that need for deaf culture of creating ASL makeup tutorials.

I hope to inspire and communicate with others to my best ability and make them feel happy, comfortable and welcome.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success comes with many ups and downs, but I believe success is defined by how you reestablish yourself after every failed attempt. The strength and knowledge you have to get closer to your goals without hindering your quintessence. Who you are as a person should evolve for the better and be positive.

At times bumps in the road can really break you, and the last thing you want is to be successful and unhappy. Where you are unable to enjoy your accomplishments and see the good in the work you have put in and how it has impacted as well as helped others.

Contact Info:

• Email: catdmartinez@gmail.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/Catthe1st
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/catthe1st?lang=en

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.