We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ellen Acuario a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ellen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

I started on social media during Covid because I couldn’t do stand up comedy with all the venues being closed. At first I thought it was just an app to be silly and dance but learned I could share my stories and thoughts. I started to speak on gender equality and race issues because as a Korean American woman that puts myself out on stage, it’s very much a daily thing to get out into a box. But speaking up has gotten me targeted for a lot of hate. It reinforced for me how it triggers people to see an Asian woman be loud and vocal because it’s rooted in a lot of people the stereotype that we’re supposed to be quiet and submissive. It made me grow thicker skin even though I thought I already had it. People are bold to spew vitriol when they can hide behind a keyboard but I will stand tall knowing who I am.

Ellen, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I think if people do know me, it’s usually through my TikToks. Half million followers that I grew organically sharing my life at a time when the world felt shut down. I never set out trying to make a platform for myself. I just needed an outlet when I no longer had a stage. Sometimes other content creators tell me they run out of ideas or have nothing left to say but that’s never been the case for me. I’m just genuinely speaking about whatever I have going on in my head and ultimately it’s for me been about connecting with people. That pours out of me, so it never feels like work but something I truly enjoy

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

People often ask me how I got started in standup comedy. I actually had no intention to start there. I on a whim entered myself on contest to be a local radio show host. Out of 500 people or so, I made it to the final 5. I almost got the job but on the last round I was cut after people heard me on the radio and basically wrote a lot of hate mail. Lot of people wrote in that they found me annoying and that my laugh made them want to punch a wall. Not gonna lie, it hurt me at first because I thought I killed it. I even cried but then after couple days of moping. I thought, maybe I don’t have a radio voice but it doesn’t take away from the fact that I’m funny. I know I make people laugh. So I thought I should get on a stage. I’m a presence that needs to be felt as a whole. I signed up for an open mic and bombed. But that didn’t stop me, I knew I could do better and I’ve been at it 10 years. When Covid happened, I took it to social media. I can’t be stopped lol

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Doing something that doesn’t feel like work. I used to be a photographer and had my own photo business. But it became routine once I started prioritizing how much money I needed to make. I lost the balance of being creative and got burnt out. I definitely make less money as a stand up and content creator. But there’s no routine in what I do now. For me protecting my creative is the most important and whatever money comes my way with it is what I can live with. Having experienced burnout, I don’t want to lose my creativity

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ellenacuario.com
• Instagram: @ellenacuario
• Linkedin: @ellenacuario
• Youtube: @replyyc
• Other: All @ellenacuario