We recently connected with Francisco Martinez and have shared our conversation below.
Francisco, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?
My hero is my mom. She taught me that I can achieve anything I set my mind to and emphasized the importance of pursuing a career aligned with my passions, so work never feels like a burden. As a single mother, she worked tirelessly to ensure I had everything I needed, and through her unwavering dedication, she showed me what true work ethic looks like. Her example has been a major influence on who I am today and has played a significant role in getting me to where I am.
Francisco, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Hey, I’m Frankie, also known as StayLifted on Instagram. I’m from Brooklyn, love Scooby-Doo, play a lot of COD, and am a big basketball fan (Steve Nash is my favorite player). Also, cannabis has been apart of my life for 20 years.
I got into the cannabis industry through social media and in person events. I spent 7 years in the fast-casual restaurant business, eventually managing and training hundreds of people. In 2018, I decided to start sharing my cannabis journey on Instagram. That led me to the world of seshes and eventually to RAW, where I became a marketing consultant in NYC. My cannabis career took off from there, including my first trip to Vegas for the Champs Trade Show and working closely with Josh, even getting to teach him a thing or two about rolling a joint haha.
After 5 years with RAW, I joined a legal cannabis cultivation in NYS as a Brand Manager and Sales Rep, selling over half a million dollars in legal cannabis and traveling across the state. Watching the cannabis industry grow has been amazing, especially because I believed in it for so long.
I also had the opportunity to collaborate with Snail Papers on a rolling paper line called The Players Pack, which I was honored to be apart of & meant a lot to me as a joint smoker (I also won a rolling competition done by Housing Works which was a super dope moment for me – we used Snail Papers for the event). The support from my community has been unreal, and I truly appreciate everyone who has smoked a pack! Through this collaboration, I got to visit Spain, an experience I’m incredibly grateful for.
Through all the highs and lows, I’ve stayed true to myself and manifested the life I wanted. Most importantly, I’ve made my mom proud. I’m proud of myself and feel great to be a role model to the younger generations to chase what you want and it’s possible to make that thought in your mind become a reality, Now I’ve opened my own consulting LLC and can’t wait to see where this new road takes me!
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I built my audience by creating content that reflected my lifestyle, marketing brands and products, and educating others on the latest items hitting the shelves. Along the way, I found a community of like-minded individuals in places like High Garden, MetroBud, and Work-N-Roll. These spaces gave me a sense of comfort and freedom, but most importantly, they inspired me to keep pushing forward.
My advice: Be true to yourself. People respect authenticity more than anything.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I wasn’t afraid to step out of my comfort zone, try new things, and meet new people. Everything was new to me—I didn’t go to school for any of this. I learned it all by being boots on the ground and getting hands-on experience!
Also, at the same time everything I was learning I would try to share to my peers – as humans we never stop learning so every chance I can I’ll educate the people who want to be educated!
Doing this helped me establish some of the most awesome friendships and business moves that the little Frankie only thought was dream.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/staylifted.nhighc/
- Twitter: https://x.com/stayliftednyc10
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@liftmeupnyc
- Other: https://www.twitch.tv/stayliftednyc
Image Credits
Image of me holding the Housing Works Rolling Championship was taken by : Prince Homme (IG; https://www.instagram.com/princehomme/)