What up beautiful people?
It is your homegirl Shameless
all up in her shameless castle!
I'm in a shameless castle with palm trees.
Remember when I used to say that guys
and I wasn't living in a shameless castle,
but like the power of words and actions? Huh, hello?
Speaking of which, words,
this video is inspired by a comment that was left on my video
on my new life in sunny California.
And I gave you guys a tour of my new loft,
and this is legit insane, sometimes I'm just like, "What?"
But anyways, back to the comment,
it was basically about, I'm going to find it,
entered it here,
but this young woman was like,
"How is this even possible?
How do you YouTubers have these fabulous lives
were you get to travel and live in these amazing homes?
And I just don't get it. How is this even possible?"
That comment really resonated with me,
and it's because I had those same questions before starting YouTube.
I could never wrap my head around,
how could these people have these awesome, amazing lives?
Like what the heck are they doing?
I used to think they were just born rich,
they married rich, or were drug dealers.
That comment took me back, so I just wanted to answer that.
And today we live in a social media craze.
And it's just things to keep you entertained
and to laugh, you know?
All of those heartache and pain happen off-camera,
and they even happy before social media existed.
I encourage each and every one of you to
read or watch biographies on people you admire,
people that have these amazing, epic, great lives
because they all have a common through line,
and they've all been through the trenches and back again,
but they didn't allow that to discourage them from moving forward.
So, I'm going to answer this video with
my personal back story on my work
because anyone that knows me,
knows I am a worker, I am a hustler.
But those of you that don't know me,
you don't even know what I've been through.
So my work history of hustle
began at the age 8 years old.
And I got my first job, very young, yes.
My mom was a single mother raising two kids,
and she, FYI guys my mom never put me to work,
this is just something that was in me,
that I've always wanted to do.
So, we were delivering newspapers,
OK that was my first job,
you get the newspapers,
you open them up, you put in the flyers, the brochures,
the samples, fold it, roll it, put it in the bag.
You do that all night, and then you deliver it the next day.
Simple enough as it sounds,
but when you are born and raised in Toronto, Canada
the winters are brutal, snow up to your knees,
and it did not make the news.
We would put it on a sled,
and then go door to door dropping newspapers off.
That was a hustle, .30 cents per newspaper bundle, OK.
[laughs] That's hard work. Ten, $3 dollars, a lot of work.
OK, anyways, my second job was
doing background, I did background,
which is extra work as they call it.
And basically that is,
you know any show and movie that you watch
there's people walking around in the background,
that's an actual job that you can get paid to do.
So I got that through my dad,
my dad had brought my brother and I one day to work with him,
and my dad is an artist, he's a photographer, an actor.
And we were doing background,
and that was my first kind of exposure
to the entertainment world.
And I was so fascinated, like wow,
and then director calls "Action," and then I walk,
and it's like, "Reset," and then you go back to your spot,
and you walk again, and you can get paid to do this.
So, me and my brother did that,
but we only did that once
because it's during the school week and we had class.
So it was a good experience to have as a kid.
But I think that was part of like the seedling
of what has manifested today.
Then my next job was at the age of 12 years old,
illegal [laughs] to work,
but I managed to do it.
I volunteered at a pet store,
because I wanted to be a veterinary when I grew up.
So I worked at PJ's Pet Center in Scarborough Town Center,
every Saturday for free,
and I would work an eight hour shift
just so I could play with puppies for 10 minutes.
I know I'm crazy. Jackie, Jackie!
I have wanted a dog ever since I was a baby.
Well ever since I can remember.
I've always wanted a dog.
Did you know Jackie that I would used to
work at a pet store for free
and scrape shit off of crates with a smile
just so I could play with the puppies for 10 minutes?
Did you know that? No you didn't know that.
And my manager saw how happy I was to be there,
and how dedicated I was to do my job with a smile,
even though it was literally shitty.
So they started giving me money,
so $12 to $20 dollars for the day,
and I would use the money and go get a lunch, come back.
That was my illegal job at 12 years old.
My next job, my first official legal job
was at a grocery store at No Frills.
I was so happy because I didn't have to lie,
I didn't have to like beat around the bush,
and I got to work like 3 days a week and make money,
and what did I do with my money? I got acrylics with French tips,
and I blew my hair out straight.
Then after that I went into the world of retail,
my cousin got me a job at a hat store,
then I got a job at Foot Locker,
I worked there 30 plus hours a week,
at that time I was in grade 10,
and my schoolwork started to suffer so bad
that I had to get fired. [laughs]
I didn't even quit, they fired me for some reason I forget.
Where did I work next? I applied at Gap
for a seasonal position during the holidays as a customer service rep,
then I wanted to move up because I told myself,
"What do you want to do with your life?"
Be an accountant or get into marketing? One of the two,
because my mom was an accountant.
So I got a job at Roots Canada as a cashier,
I did that for about 4 years.
Then I was like, "You know what? I'm too big for this small pond,
I'm going to go to somewhere in the U.S. because I'm amazing."
So I came to sunny Los Angeles, ta-da, at the age of 18.
Now I had my license at 16,
but I didn't have a car, and I couldn't rent a car,
I was too young, I couldn't afford to buy one.
So I was like, "What am I going to do?
Oh, I know I got it. I'm going to work at a rental place,
or a car dealership.
And one of them will give me a car." [laughs]
So I applied everywhere,
and I ended up getting a job at Lexus Santa Monica,
shout-outs to Lexus Santa Monica.
I got a job there, and I would commute from Crenshaw,
which is where I was staying for half of my stay,
and then the other half was at UCLA.
And I would commute taking the bus,
but I like walking, that's what I do on the East Coast,
I walk everywhere.
So after work I was walking,
and it must have been, I must have been walking for over an hour,
and at this point my manager had already picked his kids up
and was heading home,
and he saw me walking, oh my god I was so embarrassed,
and he's like, "Maya what are you doing?!"
And I'm like, "I'm just walking, what's wrong with walking?
Sunny California."
He's like, "Get in the car!"
So I was in the back of the car with his two sons,
and he's like, "You can't do that."
And I'm like, "Why not? I don't have a car.
And I don't want to take the bus right now, I just want to walk."
So, anyways, he got me a car,
he gave me a used car from the lot
that I could use every weekend.
So I had that on the weekends,
and I would just drive along the coast,
can you believe? 18, 19, I turned 19 at that point,
driving, I was like, "This is gorgeous.
I need a camera to take photos."
So I went to a camera store and bought a camera.
Then I went back to Canada,
and I was just like, "I don't know what to do with my life."
Like I really, as a kid I really wanted to act,
and that was inspiring, and I did some extra work,
and I even, you know what, if I really want to act
I have to go to theater school.
So I applied to theater school, I got in,
but that was in September, and it was like June.
So, I couldn't get a job,
and I was taking photos all the time.
I was like, "Ugh, until I get a job,
let me just drop off this film every week."
And the manager over there saw me coming in every week,
and I kept dropping off film,
and he started to give me like feedback,
some constructive criticism,
all of which I absorbed like a sponge.
Finally he asked me if I was looking for a job,
uh, yeah I'm looking for a job, can you get me a job?
Thank you, yeah.
So then I learned as much as I could from Blacks,
and I was like "Maybe I could do this for a living,
be a photographer."
I would have to find out more,
because I love fashion, and I love beauty,
and I love looking at all of these magazines,
and maybe I can find out the name of this photographer in this magazine.
Oh, it's that person, how can I find them?
So I would go to their website online and email them.
And I was able to intern for one,
and photo assist for another,
and I, again learned so much, had a light,
because I never went to school for photography.
This is my whole rationale,
work, get a job that pays, or get a job that doesn't pay,
because it is better to not be in debt, or pay for school.
And then theater school,
oh, theater school I was doing headshots for my friends,
so I got to do that,
and then I also photographed agency models.
Their agents would set them up with me
because I was a young female photographer,
and these girls were very young.
So I was doing photography and acting in tandem.
Then I moved to Vancouver, Canada for 3 years.
And when I was out there I got a job doing extra work,
that was the first thing I did when I got out there,
I'm like, "You know what? I need money and I need it now."
I ended up getting a job as a stand-in for a Tyler Perry movie,
and I was the stand-in because my proportions to Janet Jackson.
When you're a stand-in you're not seen,
so this is just when the cameras are not rolling,
and the actors are in their trailers getting their makeup done,
and I just stand in their spot, and the camera people light,
do all the lighting, and then they're like, "Thank you Maya,
please step out. Janet Jackson please step in."
[laughs] So that's what I did.
Then I was like, "Man, this blow." [laughs]
Because I'm just, you know I've gone to theater school,
and now I'm doing background work, which is awesome.
I moved to New York,
and I was able to get a job as a cocktail waitress.
Now I hustled that system, oh I hustled it so good,
working as a cocktail waitress you meet so many people.
Any time you work in customer service just ask questions and be friendly, OK.
That's what I did, that's my MO in life.
So I did that at my job,
and New York City everyone can be someone.
And that happened to be the case with me,
I was working, very bored.
There was a photographer working,
oh, what kind of camera are you using?
And what kind of lens is that?
And how did you get this job here photographing this event?
Oh, OK cool.
And I kept asking so many questions,
and finally he's like,
"Here's my card. If you have any more questions email or call."
Hi Pete! That's his name Pete.
So I emailed him and I'm like, "Hi Pete, it's Maya
the crazy cocktail waitress girl.
I would love to pick your brain or assist, or intern,
or anything, I just want to learn, I am a sponge."
So, Pete brought me on photo shoots as an assistant.
So I assisted on photo shoots,
and I was like, "You know what?
Maybe I want something more intimate."
So I applied as an intern at this photo studio,
and it was a photographer I really admired his work,
it was so breathtaking and beautiful.
So I applied as an intern, got the job, no pay,
but within a week I proved myself,
and they were like, "You know what? Let's give her something,
she clearly is awesome."
[laughs] Yeah.
So, I was paid intern rate,
which was like $10 bucks an hour,
possibly less, but to file, I was filing receipts,
and do not ever sleep on a job.
When I was filing I was just like,
"Oh what is? What are these receipts?
And what are you spending your money on?"
So I would really study this man that I looked up to
because he had his own business,
and I'm like, "Man, if he can do it, what can I do?"
So, I just saw where he was spending his money,
and he was reinvesting it into his business,
he was taking workshops, he was continually learning his craft.
New York really opened my eyes,
and working with people like this photographer,
and Pete, and doing cocktailing,
like I just saw so much,
and I'm like, "Anything is possible.
If they can do it, why can't I?"
So New York I did cocktailing, bartending,
photography, not that much,
I did mainly assisting,
I didn't really take photos for other clients
that much at this point,
because I was just like, "Man, y'all in New York,
the hustle is so real."
And I'm like, "I don't want to start all over again at the bottom of the barrel."
But I did have a voiceover agent, so that was my job,
was an actual job that I would go to.
I booked a job with a production company,
and I did their audio descriptive voice
for the visually impaired.
So people that are visually impaired
do listen to cartoons or shows,
and I did audio description for children's shows.
So Nickelodeon shows, I would do the voice for that.
And I also did the voice for audio books,
a lot of New York Times Bestsellers,
"Jazz Aged Josephine," what else did I do?
I'll put in the description box if I can remember.
But I had somewhere in the ballpark of 30 and 50 jobs.
Set goals, work towards them, have faith, and repeat.
Day-in and day-out, day-in and day-out.
I would love to know,
because it's that moment of truth,
you know when I get nosey
and I want to find out what the heck your story is,
because that's not fair,
I would love to know where do you guys work?
What kind of job do you have?
Do you have an interesting story?
And why are you there?
Is it to pay bills?
Is it because you want to learn something
about the industry there?
This video could be a tag,
so I tagged every YouTuber that you guys love.
So just tweet them, or comment on their thing, and say,
"Oh Maya, Shameless Maya tagged you,
and I want to know about your back story boo,
what did you do before YouTube?"
I know you guys might have a lot of questions.
I encourage you to write the questions that you have in the comments,
you can do it there,
but you could copy and paste your question
and put it into Google, growing up I did not have Google.
Y'all are lucky, you have so many advantages, use them,
be an opportunist, seize the moment, hustle hard,
or die trying.
Da!
Make sure you guys like, subscribe,
remember to do you, do the work boo.
Be you, just be yourself, and stay true,
because nothing beats honesty.
The truth comes out, so stay true.
OK, be shameless!
[♪]