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

Dreg, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

The very first time I realized I wanted to pursue a creative career had to have been when I discovered music. I sang from a young age at birthday parties and other family gatherings. Then I began to take lessons on the piano for about 9 years or so until I became a teenager and decided I needed to be like everyone else and learn the guitar. Playing those small shows as kid felt completely electric and I’m happy to say that feeling has never went away. When I step on stage, I feel like I’ve stepped into a whole different universe. And I’m happy I get to live there.

Dreg, 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?

Being where I am now has had a lot of twists and turns along the way. If you would have told me ten years ago that I’d be a comedian in Los Angeles is of been the one laughing at you. In my 20s I wasn’t a very good person. I ran with a hell of a crowd and got involved in a lot of things I shouldn’t have . I’m one of the few lucky people to be able to leave the organized crime world and even luckier to tell the tale within reason of course. I’d say this all truly began towards the end of my 20s and the very start of the pandemic. Me sitting in my room shut off from the world day after day trying to figure out where to go from here. I discovered the Twitch platform and started to stream videogame content. Months went by and I met a few folks from a group called datcom, a group of streamers that raised money for the lgbtq community. As more time went by I made more friends and connections in the streaming universe. Then , one cold rainy morning in September I decided to go out on my own and start my own charity group called The BlackCollar Collective. A group of creatives that span globally raising9ney for youth mental health and many other causes as the years began to go by . It was because of streaming , the BlackCollar and a music group called Tritone that would get me my first stand up gig for a toys for tots charity event. What started out initially as a joke turned into my life as I know it today. I remember stepping off that stage feeling satisfied and sick at the same time. I couldn’t believe my life had. Turned into something that could help people in multiple ways and as it turns out helped me as well . That night I learned laughter was the key I needed to open any door that stood in my way and then the forks in the road began to lift.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I guess that’d have to be when I decided to straighten my life up and become a functional member of society. Or well close enough anyway. It took years to become who I am today it wasn’t easy I had to unlearn a lot of bad things I’d picked up along the way. I’m just thankful for the folks that stuck by me.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding thing about being a creative is seeing people smile and laugh in real time . There’s no other feeling like it in the world. I love what I do .

Contact Info:

• Instagram: DregVega
• Facebook: Dreg Vega
• Youtube: Dreg Vega