We recently connected with Celli Rivera and have shared our conversation below.

Celli, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

My day to day, pay the bills job, has zero connection to my education or my podcast. But, it allows me a comfortable life that I needed to mature into. Like most Americans, I was trying to stay sane during the pandemic so it began as a “time passer” with facetiming my friends and family. We would have such wonderful conversations with so many laughs that I thought other people affected by the solitary confinement of lock down would also enjoy these conversations and I began airing my conversations LIVE on Instagram. I would ask different people in my life if they would have conversations with me. From my cousin who was a former Sheriff’s officer speaking on her experience in the “boys club”, to a celebrity fashion stylist in NYC, to a local beloved blogger in Bucks County PA. Would I have started earlier in my life if I could? Hell yeah. Would I have been as successful? I don’t know; so I am grateful that I was able to really find out who I am as a woman and as a human being first. I am sure that a large factor in the genuine interaction between my guests and me, is my knowing who I am which definitely includes the cognizance that I am evolving everyday.

Celli, 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?

As I said earlier, I was just trying to have some semblance of normalcy during the lock-down of the Pandemic hosting Live Instagram chats. But the chat, the one that changed the whole trajectory – I remember asking my friend, Richie Escquiche – a brilliant artist – to join one of my lives, at the time I called it “Sofa Social”. We spoke about his artwork being chosen for the Flag Project at Rockafeller Center in 2020. His appearance was so well received that one of his actor friends, Vinny Cuevas, then also wanted to be on a live with me. Vinny loved our interaction so much that he introduced me to the owner of a streaming radio station called Mixvibes Radio out of Queens, NY. From my original conversation with Mike, who is now my engineer and a trusted friend, The Mindminx Show was born, a weekly live streaming podcast where everyone has a story to tell, so they tell it with me. Together we have created a distinguishable brand logo that I absolutely love. Aside from that, I do have my MBA in Marketing and at long last I feel I am able to use my creativity in the promotions I create for my guests. These set me apart because I am able to create a buzz for my guests that is unique and exemplify their personality. The other most notable difference is that I do not lead my show as a question and answer segment. I tell all my guests that we are having a conversation to get to know them and any questions asked will arise organically from that conversation. An hour breezes by with information, laughs, and a natural connection. My proudest compliment is when a fan tells me I speak with my guests as if we’ve known each other our entire lives. In most cases, most guests and I met the morning of the taping.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

In my opinion, the best thing we can do is continuing to have and offer a safe platform for these artists to tell their stories, to reach new potential supporters, introducing them to a whole new audience they may, otherwise, never would have had the opportunity to meet.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect is being able to meet so many creative people. It never dawned on me that I would meet so many respected artists, actors, producers, etc. never mind sit with them, get to know them, and now be able to call them my friend. I would never been able to see how down-to-earth, humble, and supportive they are. I’ve gotten to sit with grammy nominated Jimmy Greco, broke bread with celebrity chef Ricardo Cardona, laughed with Grammy nominated singer Frankie Negron, and have gotten the opportunity to listen to exclusive music not yet released. It’s been a wonderful ride.

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John Altreche Madmaxshotyou