- My next guest is a YouTube superstar,
with nearly five million subscribers so people like him.
(Manny laughs)
Manny Gutierrez also known as Manny MUA is a trailblazer
in the world of cosmetics, y'all.
He's the first male ambassador for Maybelline,
and his makeup tutorials
have literally been viewed nearly 500 million times.
(crowd cheers)
So he even has a cosmetics brand
called Lunar Beauty,
but before Manny was accepted in the world of cosmetics,
he struggled to be accepted in his own family.
Here to share their story of love and forgiveness
is Manny Gutierrez and his father, Manny senior.
Y'all give it up for them.
(crowd cheers)
So this is my favorite story y'all,
because this happens a lot in families where people,
they don't, especially I'm from the south,
and people don't grow up around the gay culture,
so they're kind of thrown by it,
they don't know how to handle it at first.
- Absolutely.
- And I love y'all so much for sharing this story.
It's gonna inspire so many people
but were you always into makeup?
(crowd claps)
- I was actually always into makeup.
I loved it.
I love seeing my mom transform in the morning.
I loved seeing her turn into Superwoman, ya know?
Like I could see the transformation in her.
She felt more confident, she loved it,
and I was like, "Oh my god mom, this is like amazing."
And I loved it.
- I love that.
Alright, did you struggle with Manny's interest at first?
- I definitely did.
Growing up in a latino household,
the LGBT community discussions never happened.
It was something new to me,
so I had a real hard time understanding it,
and accepting it.
- Cause you didn't grow up around it.
- No I did not.
- You grew up in a completely different world.
- Exactly. So it was very rough.
- So Eva, beauty acceptance is a big part of your brand.
Do you relate to this?
- Oh completely.
Especially what you were talking about,
like my mother is my biggest beauty inspiration.
And those memories of watching her like,
transform is a perfect word.
She used to work at the Hollywood Chinese Theatre,
and back in the 80's I had to go to work with her,
and she had to wear like the very Chinese,
I don't know what the proper word--
- [Kelly] The ensemble that they wear, yeah yeah yeah
- Is that gown, you know, with the high collar and the red,
and I would watch her.
We'd be on the bus.
It would be super like not elegant,
except she would be this like, you know.
- [Kelly] Beacon, yeah.
- This thing and so that inspired me,
and continues to inspire me.
That image of my mother being this goddess, ya know.
- I hope my daughter thinks I'm a goddess.
(everyone laughs)
That's all I got from this.
So I understand this got worse
as you got older though, right?
- Right.
So as I got older, I started to come into my own.
And I was like you know, I love this,
but I was scared that my parents would not accept
who I was.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- So I hid it from them.
I hid it from them as I got older,
and actually went to counseling when I was little,
like a little counselor moment just to be like,
are you gay or not?
Let's make you not gay.
And I'm like, "You got the wrong queen.
It's not gonna happen."
(crowd giggles)
- You got the wrong queen!
- Wrong one, you got the wrong girl!
But it was very hard.
It was a struggle for sure, but as I--
- Well for someone to tell you, especially as a kid
no this isn't right.
And you're like, wait well this is me,
why are you saying like I'm not right?
What is, how do you change that?
- You can't.
You can't change it.
And so instead of changing, I just like recluded.
I was like, okay I'm gonna live my whole world,
my whole fantasy offline.
I worked at Sephora inside JCPenny,
so I had my little JCPenny outfit.
- Yes
- I would get glammed for work, so I would do this at work,
but I didn't want my parents to see
cause I was so embarrassed.
I was scared that they were going to say something about it.
I would glam at work, jump out my window,
go to work, come back and drive home,
take off all my makeup before I got in,
and like walk in like, "Hey, wassup."
- Alright, well how did you finally come to terms,
Manny senior, with your son?
How did that finally evolve?
- I think it was a big turning point in my life
was when one day, it was more of an argument,
more than a discussion with my wife.
We had an argument, because I was having a hard time,
she wasn't.
She was a momma bear and that's what she does.
She was protecting her son.
And she told me, and I remember these words to this day,
is that, "If you don't find a way to accept your son,
you're gonna lose him forever."
- Whew.
- (choking up) And it still, it still affects me.
- You know why you're crying, though, is because it matters,
and it's important.
- It is.
It definitely is.
But there's still a lot of guilt there.
- [Kelly] Yeah, you gotta forgive that.
- Yeah.
- Have you forgiven him?
- [Manny] Absolutely.
- He's forgiven you.
Forget it.
(crowd claps)
Yeah!
- Everyday, everyday.
- You wanna know what, you wanna know what?
There are plenty of dads out there that don't.
And that's why I find this story so important.
Especially for this day and time,
right now what's happening in society.
It's so important for you to say like,
"Look, I didn't grow up around this, and this is okay."
We have to change.
We have to evolve, because not everybody is the same.
- [Manny Sr.] Absolutely
- And it is very bold for a grown man to get up,
that didn't grow up in that culture,
to get up and wave that flag,
and say, "No, this is alright."
(crowd claps and cheers)
- And I'd like to also share that it took me a long time
to get to where I'm at.
It took me years and years.
I went to counseling, and I recommend that for anybody
that's struggling with what I went through.
- Yeah.
- It's crucial that you get the help.
- And because just at the same time
as you're going, "I can't change me,
I don't know how to change me."
He's going, "I can't change me.
This is how I was built, this is what I was taught."
- And the thing is, it's totally okay to not understand.
What's not okay is not to try.
You know, I think that's a
really really big important message
is that it takes two to tango.
I didn't try with him because I was struggling.
He didn't try with me because he was struggling.
And so we both just were clashing,
and it took some time for us to get to the point
where it's like, I want to have a relationship with my dad.
He wanted to have a relationship with me.
- Yeah, this is an incredible cool story.
- [Manny] Thank you. Thank you so much.
(crowd claps)
- Oh my gosh, like I love it.
There is a happy ending to this.
- Yeah there's a happy ending
- There's a happy ending as well
because now you're all business partners, right?
- Yes.
- And mom, right?
- It's Grecka, right?
- Yes, Grecka.
_ Okay, you're hiding. I was like you're hiding.
(all laugh)
- And my mom's actually here
- [Kelly] Yes, your mom Grecka is here with us.
(crowd cheers)
So y'all are all a part of the family business now, right?
So what does that entail, what does everybody do?
- I mean honestly, oh my gosh.
So my mom I would say helps me with the creative,
like creating product and helping with the labs,
and like you know I test on her
and I'm like, "Mom I need your help."
She does everything.
My dad also does everything.
They run the business side of it.
- We're like good cop bad cop.
- (laughs) Yeah.
I'm the creative.
- Don't have yes people, have the no people.
(laughs)
- They say no often.
(All laugh)
- That's cause they love you.
- Exactly, exactly.
- Those are the friends and family you want.
But this is my favorite,
you even did your dad's makeup, right?
- Yes, I did do his makeup
(crowd laughs)
- I have a picture of this
because I really want to see this picture,
cause I love it.
I love that you were open to doing it.
(crowd awes)
Oh my gosh, it's a whole clip.
He's laughing.
Okay, here's my thing, how hot did you look?
- [Manny] He was everything.
- [Kelly] Exactly.
- [Manny] He looked so good.
- [Manny Sr.] I had the wrong lip color, but--
(all laugh)
- You looked sickening, he's lying, he looked sick.
Every time he's like, "That lip just did not work."
- I had the wrong lip color!
I think you're tuning in man, you're comfortable.
(all laugh)
I love it.
Why is it so important for y'all to share your story?
Because I know you love doing makeup,
but this story is a big part of it.
Like I think that's really important.
- I think for me the most important part is,
I have a platform.
You know, I have millions of followers that watch me,
and I want people to understand that
I didn't just get here overnight, you know?
It was a struggle, it was hard,
but you can get to the other side.
It does become easier as time progresses,
and I know I feel like when you're in high school,
it feels like, oh my god, this is how it's gonna be forever.
You know, and it's not the case.
And I went through hard times.
Me and my dad both went through
really really hard times together,
and now on the other end,
it's like my dad works with me.
I'm a CEO, I own Lunar Beauty,
and he works with me, ya know.
And my mom works with me, and it's like so awesome,
and I want people to know that
it is going to get better for you,
if you try.
- Why is it so important to you, Manny?
- For me, I think I just wanna show kids
that are struggling right now with parents,
that there's hope.
That people can change, if given the opportunity.
Because there are so many kids out there
that are struggling, and going through dark times,
that don't have that love and support
that they need at home.
So for all the parents out there that are struggling,
your kids need you.
- Yeah, they need you to love them.
- [Manny Sr.] Yeah, they do.
- How they are.
(crowd claps)
Not who you want them to be.
Well Manny's story has inspired countless families
including one from his home town of San Diego.
A 13 year old, Ernesto, says Manny's videos
have made a huge impact on his life.
He's here with his mother, Amber,
y'all come on out!
(crowd cheers)
Hello, I'm Kelly!
Nice to see you, come on out here.
Ernesto, you look so handsome.
My gosh, look at you in that mustard.
- Hi! Oh my god it's so good to see you too!
- You look so handsome.
Do y'all mind if we shift down a bit,
and they can sit here.
Here, Amber, Ernesto y'all sit here.
We're shifting, it's like musical chairs.
So you have something you want to say to Manny?
- Yeah, I just wanted to say
that you're a really huge inspiration,
and I saw you at a meet and greet,
and sadly I didn't have enough time to tell you
how much you meant to me.
But when I came out at 12,
I always knew I was a little different,
because I was into makeup and girly things.
And I watched your videos to help me feel better in my skin,
because I felt like you made me feel better
that I could be a boy in makeup.
Thank you.
- Oh my god.
(crowd claps)
- I'm so, this is like why I do what I do, ya know.
It's getting to hear these stories,
and you know for me, I'm just being myself online,
and I would have never thought in a million years
I would have helped people.
And hearing this it just makes me feel so amazing
and that's why I do it.
And I'm so proud of you.
And your brows are snatched.
How is this happening?
You look so good, I'm so proud of you.
And for you to be out when you're 12,
it took me til, I wasn't comfortable with myself
til I was 21.
So it's just it's so awesome to see.
I'm so proud of you.
- I think what that means though, as well Manny,
is we're progressing.
We're progressing as a society
to where he feels comfortable.
Just like yeah, I'm 12 years old and I'm gay.
That's a really cool thing that our society,
you feel comfortable and you feel confident.
Especially with this momma bear right here
who loves you either way.
What does this story mean to you?
- It was hard being a single mom,
and when I first had two boys, you know,
his older brother is rough and tumble,
when Junior came along it was different.
We were always close and buddy buddy
so I thought maybe it's just a phase.
Maybe it's because he's always with me.
And then I kind of realized, okay, this is here to stay.
And I wasn't sure, do I embrace it?
What do I do?
I was, I wasn't scared that he was gay,
but I was scared how people were gonna treat my baby.
So Junior and I started watching makeup videos together,
and he would help us.
And he's like, "Hey mom, here's Manny, look."
Manny is just Manny.
Cause some people in makeup, they are different,
or they're very feminine.
But Manny is very Manny.
(Manny laughs)
Junior loved it
and it was fun to watch somebody that was like my baby.
And it was okay.
He's happy.
He's successful.
His family loves him.
So and then when Junior showed me the video of Manny's dad
it helped me kind of release a little stress,
because you feel kind of guilty, you know.
What did I do, is this my fault, did I do something wrong?
And seeing Manny's dad
helped me just kind of let some of that go,
because you're not sure how people are gonna think or act
or what they're gonna do.
And I felt maybe like I'm not such a bad person.
I'm not a bad mom.
Because I can instantly go, "Oh my god, this is great."
I mean I was happy that he was happy being him,
but I was still terrified.
And seeing Manny's dad love him through it,
struggle through it, and get through it,
made me feel like, okay, maybe I did the right thing.
I can do this.
(crowd claps)
And be here for my baby
- This is an amazing thing.
I love it, I love it.
- Can I just say, hats off to you.
You have all my respect as a single mother.
That is the hardest thing ever.
(crowd claps)
- It's already hard enough as kids
and like who they're gonna be,
ya know what I'm saying?
It's hard to do all on your own.
My momma did that as well for awhile,
so I applaud you as well.