Meet Chrystian Marte

We recently connected with Chrystian Marte and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chrystian, great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.

I’m no stranger to how intimidating risks can be. Every day, we face decisions that fall along a spectrum of ‘scary’ to ‘not so scary.’ It’s akin to playing a video game where we might want to stay in ‘peaceful mode.’ Comfort is everyone’s best friend, often because we’re afraid of failure and the unknown.

But how do we find success in these murky waters that slow us down? Ironically, it’s these very murky waters that lie challenges that ultimately reveal a path to strength and overcoming our fears that last a lifetime.

I’m only 24, so there’s much more for me to experience and overcome. Life isn’t in ‘peaceful mode’; in fact, it’s often quite the opposite. It might sound obvious, but acknowledging this reality is crucial because the world often favors the strongest but doesn’t always define strength accurately. So, I urge you to pause and consider this question: What does being strong mean to you?

Take a moment to think about it. Don’t continue reading until you’ve truly reflected on this question. Did your answer fill you with confidence? Did you feel a sense of certainty? There!… That conviction is essential for overcoming fear and facing risks head-on. Don’t shy away from uncomfortable situations, especially if fear and anxiety of failure are holding you back. Expect challenges and understand that if not this, you will face other setbacks. However, if you push through, you will overcome your challenges.

To quote from the Bible, in Matthew 6:27, Christ when saying this is talking to his disciples and in turn to all of us. He says, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to a span of life?” This verse teaches us that fear and anxiety add nothing beneficial to our lives. It only takes away time, confidence, and conviction. Now knowing this, if you haven’t, how many of you are going to anxiety and fear get the best of you. Would it help you achieve what you’re setting out to? This verse, combined with my experiences as a voice-over artist is what has guided me in developing the ability to take risks.

I’ve been a professional voice actor for about three years now. The level of rejection expected in this field is around 85 to 90%. This means that for all the auditions we go for, there might be only two or three callbacks for a second round of auditions. Out of those, only one, or if you’re lucky, two, may offer you the role.

As someone who has faced what I call, “professional rejection” for three full years, I can attest that losing makes the victories all the sweeter and instills confidence in achieving your goals. For anyone reading this who is pursuing their dreams and finding it extremely challenging, remember the verse from above, which of you by being anxious or afraid can add a single hour to your life?

Have confidence in where you are in your journey, and know that there is more waiting for you. Just walk up to it, take it, ride it, and enjoy it!

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

My name is Chrystian Marte, and I’m a voice-over artist based in New York City. For the longest time, I surrounded myself with the creative world and the arts. As far back as I can remember, I always had a pencil in my hand, drawing characters from video games I played or TV shows I watched. I was constantly drawing something. I wasn’t particularly ambitious as a kid; it wasn’t until I pursued my dream of becoming a voice-over artist and navigated the industry that I developed the discipline and confidence to believe in myself.

There’s something incredibly fulfilling about getting behind the microphone and performing, whether for a commercial or an animated series. They say that as a voice actor, you should expect rejection and failure often, and my experiences with these challenges have shaped who I am today—both mentally and as an artist. Without these lows in my career, I wouldn’t have developed the confidence to take risks that I might have otherwise hesitated to embrace. I now approach risks with confidence, knowing that overcoming them will leave me with more knowledge and experience than when I started.

At the moment, I can’t disclose specific projects I’m working on, but I’ve been fortunate enough to lend my voice to commercials for brands such as The NHL, Nivea, and Abercrombie & Fitch, among others yet to be announced. I’ve also been involved in video game franchises with major companies like Saber, Yostar Games, and the NFL. Currently, I’m working on a potentially significant animated series for kids, which I can’t reveal much about just yet. It’s the biggest opportunity I’ve had in my career, and I’m excited to announce it when I can. For updates on my journey, you can follow me on Twitter (X) at “@ChrystianMarte.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I would say that confidence, self-awareness, and embracing failure are crucial qualities.

For those who are earlier in their careers and journeys, the best advice I can offer is to focus on embracing the last quality I mentioned: inviting failure. Don’t be afraid or anxious about the possibility of failure. As I mentioned earlier in my conversation with Voyage, and will reiterate here because it’s so important, I refer to a verse from the Book of Matthew in the Bible, chapter 6, verse 27 (6:27): “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to your span of life?” Understanding that fear and anxiety only serve to slow you down or hinder your progress can help you realize that it’s not worth dwelling on them.

My best advice is to gradually allow failure and setbacks into your life. It’s challenging, but taking small steps to accept and learn from failure will eventually diminish your fear of losing. With this newfound confidence, you’ll find yourself making leaps and bounds in your mentality and life that you once thought were unattainable.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

Being honest about this topic within the voiceover industry is something many avoid because they fear it might negatively impact their social standing or professional reputation. One of the most important topics I like to discuss with peers in this industry is the difficulty of being noticed, especially when starting out or in the early stages of your career. The voiceover and entertainment industries are highly saturated, making it extremely challenging to “break in”—in other words, to make a full-time living from it.

If you’re reading this and are also a voiceover artist, actor, or anybody currently in a situation where you know people aren’t taking you seriously, you understand the struggle. It can be incredibly hard to stand out, even when you’re putting in 110% effort. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to this problem; it depends on the individual, their situation, and their ability to handle the demands beyond just doing voice work.

What has worked for me is intentionally placing myself in situations where people have no choice but to notice me. Although I’m currently in a low phase of the ebb-and-flow typical spectrum of a voiceover career, with not much coming in, this period has allowed me to analyze my past work and strategize my next steps. It has allowed me to step back, reassess how to move forward, and sharpen my skills.

I’m also about to start an internship at a voice-over recording studio with which I’ve worked numerous times. I hope to gain more knowledge about studio etiquette and the studio lifestyle. You never know who you might meet in a studio who could offer an unexpected opportunity. Overall, it’s about learning and pushing myself out of my comfort zone, because I’ve learned that this is exactly where I need to be in order to succeed.

It’s easy to feel as though nobody will ever notice our talents, effort, or skills. However, it’s crucial to realize that we are only in front of a select group of people. There are many others out there who don’t yet know who you are. Therefore, strive to make yourself known in a unique and effective way so that people have no choice but to notice you and the effort you put in.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cmartevo.com/
• Twitter: https://x.com/ChrystianMarte
• Other: If you’re somebody with a vision and need a voice for a book, character, or commercial, feel free to contact me through my email: [email protected]