We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Victoria Rios. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Victoria below.
Victoria, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”- Winston Churchill. One of the biggest lies that our society tries oh-so-hard to ingrain into our brains from a small age is that success and prosperity is available to anyone who works hard. This isn’t true. I’ve learned this both through anecdotal experiences as well as from studying others. See, the thing about life it proves itself unforgiving time and time again. Life has no empathy, and it doesn’t slow down for you.
I reject this narrative intensely. There are fathers who work 70 hour work weeks, nurses who put their own lives on pause for the benefit of strangers, and entrepreneurs who devote sleepless nights to wishful projects, only to still come up short on rent or unappreciated/unknown to the world. Hard work is absolutely necessary to attain success, but unfortunately, it is not a surefire key to success. I do not say this with a negative attitude or to discourage you, but quite the opposite. I say this as a warning, a guide even. Ultimately what I’m getting at, is life is hard, and sometimes it sucks. But perseverance breeds heroes.
The past six months of my life, it feels as though God has sent me every test in the book. I know many of you probably know the feeling. Sometimes the sky seems to get so dark that you can’t seem to remember the last time you saw the sun, but nonetheless, it will rise come morning. I guess in the simplest of terms what I’m getting at is don’t give up. Do not let pity or self doubt consume you in times of hardship, especially as an artist. I think creatives are faced with a book of challenges the average person may never experience, on top of the struggles of being human in modern day society. In a field where you are quite literally judged on pieces of yourself, it is easy to succumb to feelings of doubt or wanting to give up when times get hard. But oftentimes, the best art comes out of dark times. Art is expression, art is feeling, art is love, and art is pain. Short on cash? Figure it out. The only solution is to work harder. Going through heartbreak? So was Drake when he made “Take Care”, the timeless album that generated him 2.3 million dollars alone. I have had my entire portfolio permanently wiped from my harddrive, parted ways with equipment, I’ve made bad art, I’ve been heartbroken, rejected, overlooked. I have quite literally looked death right in the eyes, and continued to breathe. “Still I rise,” and so will you. There isn’t a single problem any one person is going through that hasn’t both been felt and solved before. “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” That loss you felt might just be making room for something even more profound, you just don’t know it yet. Every “Great” has a great story.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Introductions are hard when your sense of self encompasses an endless amount of different versions of you. I am quite the eclectic spirit. I have several names, dozens of faces, and an unlimited supply of passion. I think many people view the term “creative” as kind of watered down nowadays and over used, but it seems to be the best label that comes to mind. Hi, my name is Victoria Rios. Most people call me Tori, my artist name as a musician is IMYTORI), I am Torianna to my friends, Victoria to family, and even a made up name I use when I’m in the mood to be someone else. I always considered myself a “creative”. For as long as I can remember I’ve been consumed by the arts. By the age of 2, I could perform a perfect manicure. By the second grade, I had a painting hung in my hometown’s biggest public art museum. In elementary school my grandmother gifted me a sewing machine and books on how to draw mocks and models. I dreamed of designing elaborate gowns and yearned to live a life ruled by romance in some foreign country abroad. By middle school I had learned how to play two instruments, draw the eiffel tower in minutes, and had a music library that ranged from jazz, to modern day rap, to hole in the wall indie bands. There wasn’t a minute I walked through the hall of my freshman campus without headphones in and I spent every part-time check on clothes, concerts, and travel. High school was probably the most pivotal point in my life thus far. On the second day of junior year I was in a life-threatening car accident that left me essentially bed ridden for three months. Because of this, I ended up transferring to online classes and finished my remaining credits within a matter of months. I walked with my high school diploma December of my junior year. I enrolled in college immediately, and obtained my associates shortly after my 19th birthday. After about a year of juggling being a full time student, working a full time job, and the financial as well as mental cost of living on my own, I felt a void. I did all the things you’re supposed to do, but didn’t know what I wanted to be doing. This led to travel, networking, and overall just diving into the world, indulging in everything it had to offer me in hopes to find out what parts I wanted to consume myself with. Then I stumbled into a camera.
I’ve been shooting digital photography and the occasional video work since 2020. The camera taught me a lot. It allowed me to not only have an outlet to channel parts of my brain into tangible art, but to be praised by others and rewarded for it. It taught me consistency, how to cope with rejection, how to stay constantly eager to learn, and to treasure ‘simple’ moments in life. Although camera work is still and will continue to be a passion of mine, it wasn’t enough, call me greedy.
I started making music in October of 2022. I never liked the sound of my voice growing up. I have vivid memories of being in the first grade and telling my classmate I wanted to be a singer when I grew up. She asked me to sing for her, I did, she laughed, and I immediately abandoned the idea. But as time went on and I developed over the years, by the time I reached adulthood, many of my friends and peers were musicians. One day, I just decided to try it, and I made my most played song, “Love You Back”. I was already in love with music, but that day opened up a whole new relationship with it for me. I’ve laughed, cried, sang, and yelled while pouring it my own sound. There is no better feeling for me than someone telling me my music resonates with them. I’m still experimenting and finding my voice, and with that being said, my music is very personal to me. Music is the one place I can be praised rather than criticized for being vulnerable. For that I am grateful. All my music is available on all platforms under the name “IMYTORI”.
Keep following to see what future artistic endeavors and creative projects I come up with next.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
I believe in universal timing, always have. There is no such thing as a coincidence, and nothing is without reason. I’ve always trusted my intuition to lead me down my path, even if others may think differently, it has never led me astray. To some, I think some of my life choices may seem chaotic, premature, or impulsive even, but I differ. I’ve crossed the country with a few hundred dollars, left the state with a couple hours notice, and never said no to a road trip. I can command a room with my presence. I kiss hard, and laugh harder. I say what’s on my mind without hesitation and I stick my feet out the window on the highway. It’s the beauty of it. “In the midst of chaos, lies creativity.” I have that tattooed on my inner arm. I think art and romance go hand in hand. If I didn’t romanticize everything in my life I might just die. Life is a cinematic experience, and I am my own main character. I’ll be damned if I don’t make the movie a great one, there is no sequel.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I think being in a traumatic accident led me to have this existential feeling of pressure to seek purpose. The whole, “you should’ve died, but didn’t, why?” thing. That was for sure the most pivotal point in my life and ever since then I think I’ve been on a mission at discovering myself to every inch of my core. Both self-discovery and curiosity are at play. I want everything this world has to offer me, for me and for the people in my family who never got the luxury of doing so. I think as you age, your wonder for the world and eagerness to explore it gets dulled down. Life only gets harder, the key is to stay hungry. I want more. For me and those I love.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: instagram.com/imytori
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC89rq0eiZGPqT-OXot0JQuQ
- Apple Music: IMYTORI
- Spotify: IMYTORI
- Soundcloud: IMYTORI