Today we’d like to introduce you to Tino DeMartino.
Hi Tino, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I came to Los Angeles in February of 2010 to open Soho House West Hollywood. I was meant to be here for 6 weeks, then go back to my life in New York. 2 weeks into my LA journey, I fell in love with the city and the back-to-back 85-degree days (this was before LA got seasons, which only seemed to come about within the last 5 years)!
I moved to West Hollywood, as it was close to work, and stayed for my first few years here. I made my way to Hollywood, back to West Hollywood, and over to Brentwood before settling in my current neighborhood, which I just learned is referred to as Theatre Row, though I’ve only been to one theatre in my 7 years there… I would LOVE to see more theatre come to LA!
I love my neighborhood as it is the intersection of Melrose, Hancock Park, Hollywood, and Larchmont…we get the best of all of them!
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Packing up my life and coming to LA from NY, once I made the decision, was easy; I had the Universe on my side! I was easily swayed by the quality of life here: delicious restaurants were opening, art galleries were popping up everywhere, and you could easily get to the best spots that Southern California has to offer within a few hours: Palm Springs, Joshua Tree, Santa Barbara, San Diego. Time seemed to fly by my first decade here! I have started to get a bit homesick for New York, though; fortunately, work takes me back every few months, so I get my Big Apple fix and feel, taking in the city and getting the opportunity to see family and friends.
Outside of the occasional wave of homesickness, I have truly enjoyed my time here. I have had so many personal, professional, and spiritual evolutions and opportunities in Los Angeles… all confirming that I made the right decision to switch coasts!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have been with Soho House since March of 2007, starting at Soho House New York when that was the only property in North America. I came to Los Angeles to open our second North American property, Soho House West Hollywood, and now look after Member Experience for North America. I opened our additional Los Angeles properties and now work between all our properties in North America: creating special moments for members, working on ways to improve the day-to-day experience, and collaborating with our operators, membership teams, member events programmers, and our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Board.
I am proud to have conceived, produced, and executed some of our one-of-a-kind events and experiences: wellness retreats, musical programming, intimate dinners/conversations, offsite weekend getaways, LGBTQ programming, and more. I am proud to have just celebrated 17 years with the Soho House family, navigated our growth and expansion while attempting to make every single member I interact with feel special.
I also got my yoga teacher certification in 2010 and started facilitating sound meditations in 2023, diving into the more spiritual side of LA and loving it! I’m honored to be an ambassador for Lululemon and have had the opportunity of facilitating some really fun experiences with them over the last few years.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Best = SO MUCH. Yummy restaurants, so much variety between all of the different neighborhoods we have; I recently read LA has over 400 neighborhoods, which baffles me! Trying to check each one off my list of ‘have visited.’ I love the art scene, seeing shows (though I do wish LA had more theatre), the strong connection to all things health and wellness. Something about all of this nature and sunshine makes people want to live their best lives; I love that!
Least = ugh, traffic. Not to be the Californians skit on SNL, but having to map out my day based on the traffic is sometimes a bummer but a relatively small price to pay for all the pros LA has to offer!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tinoland/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tino-demartino-4aa69884/
Image Credits
Kevin Rousso
Pranto Podder
Grace Bukunmi
Tyler Topacio
