We were lucky to catch up with Lulu Mason recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lulu, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

I believe that to be human, is to be open to all of lives experiences, to be comfortable with change and to be willing to try new things. These are beliefs that have been instilled in me since I was a child, and I am grateful that my home had ample opportunities for creative expression and exploration. It is because my family was open minded, flexible, and accepting, that I’ve had access to more experiences, including hosting a TV show called Veganish.

I grew up in a household with three sisters and the four of us have very different personalities. My older sister is the typical eldest, relatively traditional, and reinforces rules. She is the one best qualified to plan our of all of us, and seems happy to take on that roll. I’m the second born, and for five years I was the youngest child. I grew up fairly secure in my identity, and felt safe to connect the world around me. I’m more social than my sisters, and like to keep an active calendar with lots of friends and shared experiences. My younger sister is the most indecisive out of all of us. She’s the one who will rebel against tradition, all attempts to figure out what she likes best, rather than just following the crowd. My youngest sister is the most outspoken out of all the sisters. She’s opinionated and an independent thinker but takes the best lessons from all of her older sisters.

My mom has always treated each of my sisters as individuals. We’ve grown up to see each other as allies instead of enemies and that forged a close bond that can never be broken. I’m grateful that I felt safe in my home to explore my own individuality and to become the best version of myself, rather than to live for anyone else. I think it’s such an important trait to have when going into an entrepreneurial al role, like we have with our vegan lipgloss brand.

I remember hearing a quote before that you have to be odd to be number one, and I’m grateful my mom embraced my oddity, rather than suppress it. My individuality is my favorite trait, and I owe it all to her.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve been working as a model and TV host since 2017 after I won the Miss Compton Pageant. I did a few hosting gigs during my tenure as Miss Compton 2017 and had so much fun introducing a different perspective of my city. I’m proud of the city I’m from and was eager to serve as a representative of Comptons grace, talent and potential. It was also fun to collaborate with different organizations like the House of Blues and Black Violin to bring instruments to the kids in the city.

After my time ended my manager and I found more opportunities to expand my skills by working with larger companies like Sonic and Hersheys, and through features on HBO, and modeling for brands like Deanzign by Angela Dean. It was so much fun to meet new people and expand my skillset, to push myself out of my comfort zone with so many new opportunities. Not long after, I met Jay Garren, the producer and director of Veganish in 2023 and became the host of the show!

Veganish a show that helps promote healthy lifestyles, embraces food equity in predominately food desert areas, and encourages our viewers to push out of their comfort zone to try something new and delicious. We feature lots of smaller known brands located primarily in the greater Los Angeles area, and have gone to vegan food fairs, food trucks and restaurant staples from decades past. Something our team is doing that’s different than everyone else is we’re going to food venders that may not be 100% vegan, and showcasing their vegan options to our viewers. They can watch Veganish on our website melaninflicks.com and can see some of the delicious and accessible foods we’ve tried and suggest new places for us to check out on our instagram @theveganishshow or at @melaninflicks!

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

Yes! I would always choose to be an advocate for health and wellness through our TV show Veganish, and to help facilitate connections between our audience and the amazing restaurants we’ve tried over the last few months. I would also continue to pursue entrepreneurship through our vegan lipgloss brand and to challenge ourselves to expand our business model. The lessons I’ve learned over the years are invaluable and the friends I’ve made along the way make the journey worth it. I never regret a single choice I’ve made that led me to Veganish, my personal brand and the countless opportunities that await me in the future.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think some of the skills that helped our reputation as a food review site is our authenticity. We make sure that everyone knows we’re not 100% vegan, but that we encourage our audience to step outside their comfort zones and tries new things. Another thing is our professionalism. We make sure that we leave a better impression behind at every food vender we’ve gone to and we encourage our audience to try these food places for themselves. And lastly it’s our passion. We want to encourage our community to expand their world through food, to try different cultural versions of vegan foods and to take care of their health while simultaneously supporting their communities.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://melaninflicks.com/programs/veganish-with-lulu-mason?category_id=135937
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theveganishshow/

Image Credits
Maliyah Mason