We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mia Cristerna. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mia below.

Mia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your creative career?

Money doesn’t matter, would you do the job without the paycheck?

I worked my hardest, challenged myself the most and felt the most accomplished.. clocked out. On the farm I worked with no promise of pay, just knowledge offered in that experience.

Being best in the world was really $15/hr and inspired zero happiness. Your passion will lead you towards purpose and that is priceless.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I never knew what my “dream job” was, if anything it was a big stressor. I started working at 14, graduated high school at 16, and dropped out of college at 17. The list of jobs under my belt is a bit comical. Without a college degree and being abnormally young, the restaurant life claimed me. Like every underage kid, I started in a small family-owned restaurant and worked up to fine dining. Literally from the bottom every time; busser, cashier, server-assistant, catering, food runner, polisher, expo, dishwasher, prep cook, line cook, commis chef, chef de partie. Blood sweat and tears, a lot of it.
At the height of my hospitality career, I worked at a 3 Michelin-starred restaurant, ranked #9 best in the world, and excelled in that environment. I truly felt the fire of passion everywhere. A world of ingenious perfection, detail of uniqueness, absolute best not just better. Being among the best in the world was truly grueling, especially when I knew it wasn’t MY culinary passion but a witty skill that landed me there. After big life shifts, I realized that much of my time had been spent prioritizing everyone’s happiness but my own. Through all the jobs, after every long shift, I’d always find peace with cannabis. While everyone else drank after shift, I smoked.
My cannabis career started with an “all or nothing” decision to follow my unwavering love of the plant. At first, I waited, for a long time, followed promises of potential jobs, and even moved cross country to wait. I understood much of the cannabis industry was based on trust and connections, so, I did my best to be first in line. Then I got a phone call, the opportunity I’d been waiting for, to be a farmhand and learn the basics from the bottom, my favorite. A week later I quit my job, drained my 401k, cashed out investments, and moved cross country again. All or nothing for an opportunity to learn.
I started growing organically outdoors in Oregon. I felt my passion grow as the plants did, every day from sunrise until I couldn’t sit anymore at night. Plant work to trim jail every day between harvests for months along with trimming, curing, and burping the fruits of my hard labor. I started rolling A LOT of joints on the farm, for myself, then the crew, and soon everyone who knew I could roll. Oregon’s market instability brought me to Arizona. I learned firsthand what working in the free market felt like from the farmer’s perspective. I walked away from the farm with a burning passion to never stop growing and extra solid rolling skills.
This industry is wildly lucrative, and I was all in.
I started in Arizona as a budtender and learned quickly that much of the new recreational market was incredibly uneducated and there was much room for improvement. Being an avid learner I acquired a Business of Cannabis certificate (Green Flower/University of Arizona), attended every networking opportunity possible, and most recently became a Certified product specialist (Ganjier). Over the years my job title changed similarly to my restaurant roles. Budtender, cultivation team, IPM technician, lead IPM, cultivation lead, Veg/mom team, edible production, packaging, delivery team, brand ambassador, and currently Brand manager.
Through the whirlwind of surviving the cannabis industry, my rolling skills only got better. Joints became doinks and pearls, hash-holes, and hash wraps. Unique terp combinations and rolling competitions began catching my attention. I started with speed-based competitions, then smoke-ability. I quickly realized I was the only female competing and winning, this is how MotaVated Academy was born. My question to myself was, If we (female-bodied people) are not here, is it because of lack of skill or the overwhelming male-dominated space that cannabis is?
In every room I’ve walked into, I’ve been the outlier, the youngest, only female, extra gay, with real industry experience. Anyone with hands can roll a joint, male or female, knowledgeable or not. It became a personal goal to bridge the gap and create a safe space where people could develop their skills with the best tools and products possible. In that same motion, MotaVated Academy also began building a female-centered rolling community.
She Can Roll; Rolling Queen
Week 1: Just the tip, entry exam
Week 2: Joint anatomy, with acrylics
Week 3: Size Matters, consistency
Week 4: Try them all
Week 5: Roll off, Rookie awards
Laughing together and at ourselves, this 5-week course was more impactful than I anticipated. Each week we had someone’s first-ever successful roll, we were featured in our local news, and the community interest became evident. I plan on running another course in early 2025, basic and advanced levels to further build rolling communities. I’m proud to say I sell cannabis for a living and teach joint rolling classes in my free time. Just like growing a plant, it takes practice and patience to roll a perfect joint. Professional rollers exist, rolling companies exist, and rolling is an art and science just like growing a plant or cooking a meal.
Teach a man to fish? How about teach a woman how to roll?

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I want to build a rolling community, normalize taking the time to craft and slowly enjoy the consumption process.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

As cliche as it may sound, be yourself. Show your real life situations, create entertaining content but don’t simply entertain. I started doing product reviews and got lots of views because of my honesty. I shared knowledge along with criticism and flexed my rolling skills as often as possible. Learn the rules and algorithms, it’s a real challenge with cannabis topics. Avoid flags.. like the word cannabis and don’t worry about who’s watching, just share your perspective, that’s why followers follow.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mota__vated?igsh=ODF6eTM3cWE3YWZv&utm_source=qr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mia-cristerna-265335121?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

Image Credits

Hcortez Media