Life and Work with Erik Ortiz

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erik Ortiz.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Erik. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My story… well its pretty random how it all worked out. I guess it all really starts when I was eight years old. I remember visiting my Dads family in Mexico for the first time that summer. In Mexico most of their grocery shopping back then was done at what they call a Mercado. Very similar to a farmers market but way larger. My grandma had woke me up one morning at around 5am and asked me to join her, so we got ready and took off.

We do our grocery shopping, and head back home. Now, the reason I feel this had such an impact on me was because we all carry a special place in our hearts for grandmas and moms cooking, especially in Latin culture. Now the part that just drove the creative in me was getting back to the house and seeing her cook, she would start with breakfast, then once done with that we’d have lunch and dinner working as well. The amount of love she had for cooking was unreal. So anyway that year I remember being really into drawing, photography and cooking. Music is a huge part of my life as well so for as long as i can remember expressing myself through art forms has always been a thing and i never really realized it until it came time to go college. Through out the years cooking was one of my favorite things to do, as well as taking pictures. i remember buying myself my first camera and using that on trips, with friends and just on spare time. The ability to bring family or friends together through food was something i had really enjoyed and so i decided to chase it as a profession but as we all know doing something for pleasure and doing it professionally is way different. After getting a degree in culinary and working in the industry I realized doing it professionally wasn’t what i wanted anymore. I was very very unhappy, un heathy, and it just didn’t feel like something i was supposed to be doing anymore. At this point i was very unhealthy physically, nearly 300 lbs and so i started taking fitness more serious. So fast forward and i lose a crap ton of weight and well now im working for this gym in house creating content, working on filming ad campaigns, creating full time for them (@campxcel). @xcellent_nutrition opens up and here i go doing the same thing for vanessa, creating content, food pictures, ad campaigns, and anything video or photo related. Videography and Photography to me, let me bring all my worlds together. Theres really this sense of happiness when helping out business succeed or document their wins, both big or small. This led the beginning of TresLeches Media (@treslechesmedia). 2019 I met some pretty amazing guys by the name of Jerome (jayromeo5) and Jonothan (@jonogonzo). This really was an opportunity for all of us to work on better projects that had higher budgets, for example we’ve done work for Harley Davidson, Unsung Brewing, and many other lifestyle brands. We decided that we wanted to continue to work as a group because it allowed us to deliver higher quality production value.

Has it been a smooth road?
Well to be completely honest the reason for TresLeches Media is because we wanted to build off of eachothers strengths. As a freelance anything you encounter many struggles, from clients to just having a hard time saying yes because you’re limited to by budget, so you can hire help/models/studio space, and so we said we all do pretty incredible work. Leveraging a team to business owners has really help us landing bigger projects with better budgets which allow us to get as creative as possible with what we do.

Advise, well one thing i’ve learned is that the amount of work you put into something is the amount of progress/success you’ll get out of it. I work 7 days a week, normally 12 hours a day, I sleep for 6 ( on a good day), and the other 6 are spent doing things for myself, gym, cooking, reading, anything for myself really. So keep in mind you cant perform at your best if you’re not aware or present throughout everything you do. If this “Entrepreneur” lifestyle isnt for you then thats okay, theres nothing wrong with being the best effing number 2 somewhere. Know that building something is really lonely to be quite honest. You miss out on something to get work done and you’re a “bad friend”, if you outgrow people you’re an “asshole” and many other things as well. Yes of course there are people who understand but for the most part there are a lot who dont, You really have to just remember the reason you do it. For me its to give back everything and more to my parents and for the family ill have one day.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with TresLeches Media – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
TresLeches Media is everything you love about having an in house content creator but on a production level. We work closely with businesses to develop creative content for social media, ad campaigns & commercial level photo and video for products and services.

Our work primarily revolves around those businesses in the lifestyle brand space. We thrive on the fact that we can create captivating content, that stems from a just small idea. We are proud to be at the crossroads of marketing and creativity, which allows us to make something that not only looks incredible but also drives conversions.

Often it feels as if the media, by and large, is only focused on the obstacles faced by women, but we feel it’s important to also look for the opportunities. In your view, are there opportunities that you see that women are particularly well positioned for?
Well to be honest one of our biggest clients, Vanessa @vanessaescobar_ is a great example for this question, She’s a great example for women who are defying the odds. I think there are many opportunities for women. I think that as long as there is drive there is room to achieve anything you want and many women such as Vanessa are doing that today. She is someone in business who i look up to.

Contact Info:

• Address: Whittier Ca
• Website: https://vimeo.com/createdbyortiz
• Email: createdbyortiz@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/createdbyortiz/#

Image Credit:
Erik Ortiz @createdbyortiz

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