Meet Vanessa Torres

We recently connected with Vanessa Torres and have shared our conversation below.

Vanessa , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I found my purpose in two distinct, yet interconnected, parts of my life that eventually merged into one. The first part was music, a gift from my family. Growing up, my grandfather and step-dad filled our home with music and were the ones who taught me how to play. Throughout my life, music became my therapy and my escape. It was so ingrained in me that I even worked as a musician in college just to make ends meet.

The second part was a deep-seated desire for storytelling, which led me to a decade-long career in journalism. I was driven by a need to tell the stories that weren’t being told, which took me to some pretty intense situations where I often put my life at risk. I’ll admit I was a bit reckless, but I had incredible mentors who taught me to never back down.

The turning point came in 2018 when I had the chance to formally merge these two passions through music journalism. It felt like coming home. That passion project became my main focus after I was laid off from my TV producer job during the pandemic. It was that challenging moment that became the catalyst for me to found my own company.

I built the company on my own, pouring that core mission of music and storytelling into its foundation. Earlier this year, we merged with a partner that shared our vision, and I now serve as COO of the new entity. It’s incredible because that original purpose remains at the heart of what we do today. From the shows we produce to the magazine we are developing, music is at the forefront. I get to live my purpose every single day—telling vital stories within the industry that has been the one constant in my life. It’s a full-circle moment that I am grateful for every morning.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m an 11-year media veteran, and my company’s story is one of organic growth. It started as a YouTube channel, grew into a blog, and then evolved as we developed our own OTT platforms. I was driven by a problem I kept seeing in the industry: in so much of the storytelling, there were always gaps, important details and entire narratives that were going under the radar. I felt that if I could contribute to bringing more of those complete stories to light, I had a responsibility to do that. That desire is what grew the company into what it is today.

Our audience has always included a strong base within the industry itself, but our focus is on a demographic spanning from young adults through Gen X. We’ve built a true multi-media collective to serve them, and what makes us so different is that our structure allows for a distinct and varied approach to storytelling. For us, it’s not just about one article or one video. It’s about creating a world where we can offer different kinds of storytelling for a single narrative, and that’s something I take immense pride in.

Honestly, what excites me every single day is the simple question of, ‘What is the next story that’s going to be told?’ It’s the thrill of planning our next documentary or seeing the next cover of our magazine come to life.

As for the future, I can’t dive too deep into the specifics, but our vision is firmly set on global expansion. We have spent a lot of time developing immersive experiences for our audience, and we’re focused on bringing those to an international stage. This year alone, we’ve had incredible opportunities to work in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia, and we are actively looking at how much more we can do to bring these stories to a worldwide audience.

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

1. A Commitment to Due Diligence & Research: In a 24-hour media cycle, the pressure is always on to be first. I learned early on that it’s infinitely more important to be right. The biggest complaint from audiences today is about misinformation, which is often born from the rush to publish. I had to train myself to resist that pressure, to do my due diligence, and to build a reputation on accuracy, not speed. – My Advice: Develop a system for yourself. Never rely on a single source, and learn to differentiate between primary information and commentary. Get in the habit of fact-checking even the small things. This isn’t just about avoiding error; it’s about building the discipline and credibility that will become your most valuable asset.

2. A Strong Ethical Compass: I was fortunate to have mentors—publishers, editors, and news directors—who drilled the journalism code of ethics into me. They taught me that while a story might get you clicks, your integrity is what builds a career. That compass, the ability to weigh the impact of your work and prioritize truth-telling, is something I carry with me into every business decision I make today. – My Advice: Actively seek out mentors you admire for their integrity, not just their success. When you face a tough decision, ask yourself: Who does this serve? Who could this potentially harm? Is this a decision I would be proud to stand by a year from now? Your ethics are a muscle; you have to exercise them consciously and consistently.

3. The Foundational Skill of Writing: My writing has had to evolve dramatically—from crafting articles for a local paper to producing tight scripts for local news and content for YouTube. I learned that no matter the medium—whether it’s a podcast, a documentary, or a business plan—everything is built on the chassis of strong writing. If you can’t articulate a story clearly on paper, you will struggle to bring it to life in any other format. – My Advice: Write every day, but more importantly, read every day. Read people who are better writers than you are. Break down why their work is effective. And to echo my first point, be brutally honest in your research and preparation. This industry isn’t always lucrative and, depending on the beat you take, it can put you in genuinely dangerous situations. I’ve been there. The best way to navigate that is to be relentlessly prepared—know your story, know the risks, and know your ‘why.'”

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

That’s a really important question. I’m hyper self-aware, so I’ve learned to recognize my own stress signals, which is a critical skill I’ve had to develop over time, especially since I can experience intense overwhelm that leads to panic attacks.

The most effective thing I can do when I feel that happening is to force a hard reset. My brain doesn’t always know when to stop on its own, so I have to deliberately pull myself away from the situation and do something that is totally immersive and unrelated to the task at hand. For me, that’s usually video games or music. Even just ten minutes is enough to shut my brain off from the stress loop and allow me to come back to the problem feeling like I can function normally again. It’s a non-negotiable part of how I manage high-stakes pressure.

My advice to others comes directly from that experience.

First, find your personal ‘circuit breaker.’ It has to be something you can do at almost any time of day that will effectively turn the world off for a few minutes. Whether it’s gaming, a specific song, a walk, or a mindfulness app, you need a reliable tool you can deploy the moment you feel yourself spiraling. If you just keep diving further and further into the hole, you’re never going to get out.

Second, don’t wait until you’re at a breaking point. Treat your downtime with the same seriousness as your work. Proactively schedule time for those ‘circuit breaker’ activities. It’s not an indulgence; it’s a fundamental part of maintaining your performance and well-being for the long haul.

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Image Credits

Photographer – Bernardo Escobedo

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