Meet Santiago Marino

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

Santiago, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

My resilience stems from my faith in the process and the belief that when things don’t go as planned, they are simply learning opportunities. I either win or learn because failure is part of the journey; you often have to do it wrong before you can do it right. I embrace challenges, understanding that success requires boldness, taking risks, and stepping out of my comfort zone, all while trusting my abilities and moving forward with faith and enthusiasm. While I still find resistance and failure difficult, I remind myself that if I’m not failing, I’m not truly growing. Growth is painful, much like working out at the gym, but I accept it, embrace it, and keep pushing forward.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I specialize in both real estate and multimedia production in Miami. As a listing specialist, my focus is on making the selling process as smooth as possible—helping my clients get the best return in the least amount of time and with minimal hassle. One incredible passion that allows me to connect with buyers and sellers in the community daily, growing my network and brand, is photography. I offer professional photography services specializing in fitness, fashion, lifestyle photography, events, and professional headshots. One of our most recognized projects in Miami is Miami Fit Photos, dedicated to showcasing Miami’s growing fitness community—check us out on Instagram! @miamifitphotos.

By combining my expertise in real estate and photography, I build strong relationships within the Miami community every day. Through photoshoots and networking, I expand my circle of buyers and sellers while creating content that helps people gain a deeper understanding of what makes Miami such a unique and vibrant place to live and invest. This connection enhances my ability to market properties effectively, showcasing both the lifestyle and investment potential of this incredible city.

My photography and multimedia production play a significant role in attracting investors from around the world. By sharing images and videos of Miami’s people, neighborhoods, and culture, I offer potential buyers worldwide an inside look at what it’s like to live and work in this dynamic city. I’m not just selling real estate in Miami—I’m selling the full Miami experience. Being one of the most recognized photographers in Miami allows me to meet people one-on-one and grow my network internationally through content posted online. In other words, I can humbly say that I grow my network during the day—and while I sleep—through content shared across top social media platforms.
Are you following @MiamiFitPhotos on Instagram yet?
Also, be sure to follow my real estate account @SantiagoAmarino for the latest updates on Miami properties.
Let’s connect on both and stay in touch!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I’ll address this question separately for both my journey in real estate and my journey in multimedia production.

Real Estate
Three key qualities that have been most impactful in my real estate career are my passion for helping people, my curiosity about finance, and my ability to push through fear.

Helping people is my greatest driving force. I’m committed to negotiating fiercely on behalf of my clients and marketing their properties aggressively to get top dollar in the least amount of time and with minimal hassle. Being bilingual in English and Spanish allows me to connect with both English-speaking clients and the Spanish-speaking community, ensuring that all parties feel fully represented and protected in every transaction.

My curiosity about finance keeps me constantly learning. I stay updated on market trends, economic shifts, and how these impact my clients’ decisions, allowing me to guide them more effectively through their real estate transactions.

Lastly, my ability to move forward despite fear has been a game-changer. Fear often stands between us and our goals, but I’ve learned to face it head-on. Whether it’s making an uncomfortable call or dealing with rejection, I push through. If I see a tiger, I’ll run—but if I’m afraid of making a call, I’ll make that call. Fear is simply a signal to move forward, not an obstacle.

Advice for newcomers: tap into your natural desire to help others. When you help people achieve their goals, you’ll find that you achieve yours as well. Stay curious and keep learning about finance, law, and contracts—these foundational areas are like learning the rules of a game. The more you understand, the better you can play. And don’t shy away from fear; it’s often a sign that you’re heading in the right direction.

Multimedia Production
When it comes to multimedia production, the same three qualities have been essential: trusting my instincts, talking to people, and creating a lot of content.

Trusting my instincts has been crucial to my development. While logic can be limited by common sense, instinct feels like it comes from a deeper, divine source—whether you call it energy, God, or faith. For example, while working with Halle Berry on the movie Bruised, we were waiting in the car while the crew set up. Part of me thought it wasn’t a good idea to talk to her, but my instinct told me to. So, I did. It turned into one of the most pleasant conversations I’ve had on set, and I even made her laugh. The sound guys and producers overheard, and when I got out of the car, one of the assistant directors gave me a high five and said, “You’re hilarious.” I trusted my instinct to ask Halle if she could use me for another role, since the character I was standing in for was wrapping up that day. She didn’t respond right away, but the next day, I received an email offering me a role as a fighter in the movie.

Another time, while working with Keanu Reeves, my instinct told me not to approach him. He was fully immersed in his John Wick character, and his bodyguard was always right next to him. I respected my instincts and kept my distance.

Talking to people has also played a key role in my success. I meet many people in Miami every day through my photography, which has made me comfortable talking to strangers both in person and online. For example, I reached out on Instagram to one of Colombia’s most successful TV hosts, Hernán Orjuela, offering my multimedia services. He replied, invited me to join his networking groups, and even interviewed me on his show Trendiando on RCN Internacional. Thanks to these conversations, I’ve had the privilege of working with Miss Universe contestants from Honduras, Guatemala, USA, Peru, and Colombia. Talking to people is powerful—the more people you talk to, the more opportunities you create.

Finally, creating content is key. This advice has been echoed by many creatives. Jonah Hill once said, “Create, create, create. Don’t worry so much about making the perfect thing—just do things.” Mr. Beast also mentions that your first 100 videos won’t be great, but if you push through to video 101, you’ll likely create something amazing. Ed Sheeran echoed the same sentiment about songs—your first 100 won’t be perfect, but you need to write them to eventually create a masterpiece. This is supported by science: In a study, two groups of students were tasked with creating mugs. One group focused on making the perfect mug, while the other aimed to make as many mugs as possible in a month. At the end of the month, the group focused on quantity created much better mugs. Advice for newcomers: get started, fail, learn, adjust, and repeat!

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

Some of the books that have had a significant impact on me are The Laws of Success, The Power of Now, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Way of the Peaceful Warrior, The Alchemist, and The Four Agreements.

Contact Info:

• Website: santiagoamarino.com and miamifitphotos.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/santiagoamarino/ and https://www.instagram.com/miamifitphotos/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/santiagomarinorealtor/ and https://www.facebook.com/people/Miami-Fit-Photos/61561389423552/
• Twitter: https://x.com/santiagoamarino and https://x.com/miamifitphotos
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@santiagoamarinorealtor and https://www.youtube.com/@MiamiFitPhotos

Image Credits

All photos belong to me Santiago A Marino