We were lucky to catch up with Natalie Martinez recently and have shared our conversation below.
Natalie, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?
I very recently read that “Desire, like learning or community, is a way of opening oneself up to influence.”
That resonated with me very deeply. Theres a lot to unpack in that sentence, depending on your own unique perspective and beliefs. When we hear or look up the word *Optimism* there are other words that coincide such as *attitude*, *hope*, *belief* and those are all words that read a certain way but we sometimes forget are very inter-changeable depending on ones true morals, life experiences and more.
My personal optimism comes from FEAR. Fear is an emotion we all feel that can drive us to brink of insanity and wreck our lives or can motivate and teach us to see past the unseeable. It’s like hitting rock bottom. Once you have no where to go but UP, you go up. Hopefully. Its good to speak about the feeling of fear inspiring optimism because they are completely intertwined. You cannot see light when everything’s bright… you just know its bright… but in the dark when you cannot see and you see light.. you acknowledge it and it allows you to complete your path or task at hand.
I am optimistic about outcomes because fear taught me to see other peoples pain and struggles. It taught me to open my door to pain so that It could teach me to face that pain and that IN that pain I could survive… and if I could survive we could all talk about surviving and all tell each other that it’s okay to not be okay and be okay all over again for the rest of our lives.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I have worn many hats within the industry and have subjected myself to many insightful, wonderful, life changing situations. There have been many lessons failed and learned.
My 2 current music gigs are Radio-Active Records (vinyl record shop in Fort Lauderdale, FL) and banding it up with my besties and forever chosen family The Haunt. I play bass with The Haunt around the world and Radio-Active Records carried me through out the last 13 years elevating me professionally and creatively as a music retail manager and has given me the opportunity to build strong lasting relationships within the vinyl industry with musicians, music labels, distributors, fellow record shops and women record shop owners around the world.
I feel extremely blessed to have had the support system I’ve had to continue to build my music career. I will continue to think of innovative ways to provide music lovers with fun and unique experiences in their listening and shopping experiences through the community and lifestyle of being record collectors or just simply wanting to indulge in record shopping and physical media. I love traveling and touring with The Haunt, It is the most uniquely satisfying career a musician can have. From being in the studio and watching the growth within the band to taking those songs and sharing them with people who show up for you and understand and care about what you have to say is an incredibly humbling and invigorating feeling.
When I am not on the road with The Haunt and am not slinging records at the shop you can find me at some residencies in Broward County. MAINLY, you can catch me at FUNKY BUDDAH in OAKLAND Park, FL every Friday evening from 8pm-11pm spinning everything from funk, soul, disco to hip-hop, new wave, some popular throwback favorites & more!
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?
Looking back the 3 qualities, skills, and areas of knowledge that were most impactful for me was consistency, determination and some basic knowledge surrounding music business / law.
It’s extremely crucial for someone to be consistent and determined. Without consistency you seem unreliable and without determination you blend in. This can be said for a lot of careers but I learned very quickly that the turnover in “talent” in the music industry is extremely fast paced. Anyone and everyone could essentially be replaced or used for anything that needs something. So in my experience besides true talent the only other thing is your true character in being reliable and determined to get to the next step… with integrity of course. Thats where the music law knowledge comes in. Im not a numbers person AT ALL and I feel sometimes the word law and copyright and percentages scares people away from even allowing themselves to give it a try. I have my degree in music business and it has been a life changer. Knowing even just the basics of music copyright and how easy or difficult / realistic / unrealistic something can be for your career and your ideas is KEY.
Not having to depend and allow someone to feed you information or validate information for you might be the determining factor on a decision thats time sensitive. Its important to educate yourself as much as you can so that you are not taken advantage of. Especially as a woman in a still very much dominated industry.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
The main book that has and always will play a role in my development is “Untamed” by Glennon Doyle. All of her books really. She is mainly pitched as a self help author, queer activist and motivational speaker.
The most incredible thing about all of her books is her delivery.. her TONE. She makes you feel understand and sets a path beneath you thats a safety net surrounded by webs of encouragement and empowerment.
“Whether you are brave or not cannot be judged by people on the outside. Sometimes being brave requires letting the crowd think you’re a coward. Sometimes being brave means letting everyone down but yourself.” I cannot and will not be peer pressured to do something that I do not want to do and you should not either.”
Untamed teaches you to embrace the power within yourself and open up to new challenges, opportunities, and situations.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: nat_smallish
Image Credits
1st photo: Joe Capone 2nd photo: Michael Grabe. 3rd photo: Jenn Terell Photography
