Meet Maria Zakhar | Comedian & Wardrobe Stylist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maria Zakhar and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maria, how do you think about risk?
Risk taking is something I am naturally drawn to. Whether it be while I’m solo traveling and decide to jump off a dangerous 35 foot cliff in Bali or quit my job to pursue a career in something I have always envisioned myself doing. That being said, risk taking is never an automatic “no” for me, even if it’s terrifying. Although it lights a fear inside of me, it also sparks a fire that I cannot fully explain (my fellow risk takers will understand). My dad always said that if it isn’t scary, it may not be worth it. Something I never truly understood until recently. My entire adult career and life in Los Angeles, I have been a wardrobe stylist for film and tv. At 20, this was my dream. I remember my first ever wardrobe assistant job was on the set of Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” music video. I had ZERO idea what I was doing, but I knew I had to fake it like I did. It was like being a tourist in a foreign country and I had no other choice but to sink or swim in the culture. I was so grateful for my boss, Johnny Wujek, for taking that chance on me as an eager college kid commuting to school while living in La. Working with him was such a launch pad for my styling career and I went on to assist so many great stylists to continue learning and honing my craft. A few years later I began taking jobs as the lead wardrobe stylist and there were so many thoughts of “Am I in over my head?” I did not think I was ready, but I wouldn’t know until I jumped to the next step. So I did. I learned to trust myself in this light, from locking in style decisions to directing my own assistants. With each job comes a different outlandish request and an entire new team / talent to work with. Therefore, it’s only natural to wonder from job to job if you crushed it until it’s over and you deliver 100%. As time went on, I realized wardrobe styling didn’t feed my soul like it once did and there was something seriously missing in my life.
As a result, in 2019 I bought a 1-way ticket to Southeast Asia and didn’t come back for nearly 6 months. I took what I had in my savings and solo traveled to Thailand, Vietnam, Bali, and back to Thailand to earn my yoga teacher training certification. I didn’t know what I was going to do after this trip was over, but I knew that I needed to discover things about myself and love who I was to my core to be able to get ready for what was to come in my life. I remember my parents were so worried that I was running away from my problems and that I would come back to La even more confused on where I was going and what I wanted to do. It wasn’t long after I came back that the pandemic hit and we were all at a stand still. I was now this confused hippie girl who no longer wanted to do wardrobe that was stuck in a global pandemic with the rest of the world.
In January 2021, I was offered an opportunity to start a fresh dog food company or be an assistant to someone who I could really learn from in the fashion industry. As an avid animal lover, I chose the dog food company. I had no idea what to expect, but I did know I was about to seriously sink my teeth into a startup company and all that came with it. In 14 months, I had built an entire line of fresh dog food that was incomparable to anything else on the market, produced and hosted events, ran the social, marketing, and created an entire brand with a clear voice behind it. I brought the products to market and we are now in all the Erewhon locations in Los Angeles and recently signed a deal with Healthy Spot to be in all 26 of their stores. Though this was accomplishing and a huge step for the pet industry in the right direction, it was not fully “mine.” I realized that if I put in a ¼ of the effort into myself that I put in to run this company, I would be successful in anything I did. (Finally!)
I decided to leave the company and pursue a career in something I had always wanted to explore. Comedy. This decision takes the cake on one of the scariest things I have ever done, and is by far, the best decision I have ever made for myself. Since I was a little girl, my dream was to be on Saturday Night Live. I grew up in a huge family of 8 kids and entertainment was our life. We communicated through show tunes, impersonations, and movie quotes. It drove our parents crazy, but they encouraged it and were always entertained. I had so much energy that I didn’t know what to do with it all. At school people would laugh with me, but also tell me I was weird because I was always speaking in funny voices or doing crazy shit. I never saw it as weird, I saw it as creative and didn’t understand why more people weren’t on my level haha. I love to laugh and make people laugh and I think the world could use laughter right now more than ever. When I first made this decision and started my comedy journey, I couldn’t help but wonder why it had taken me so long to get here if it felt so right. I found it crazy that I’ve always had this burning desire to do it and I FINALLY did it. The truth is, I wasn’t ready before. Owning and understanding that was huge for me. I am grateful for all that life is putting on my path to reassure me that my decisions are moving in the right direction. The universe indeed does have my back.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As a small town broadway – fashion diva from the midwest, coming to Los Angeles was a culture shock. However, after a year or two of living here I knew I would find my tribe. To me, La is truly a place where anyone can let their freak flag fly and I love it so much. I initially got into wardrobe styling because I was obsessed with getting crafty in my own closet growing up. I would plan out my outfits for weeks in advance and I can proudly say I never repeated an “outfit” in high school. I earned “Best Dressed” senior superlative, nbd. I was also a theater kid and a dancer growing up, but when I came to LA, it wasn’t my point of focus. It honestly scared me. I just wanted to finish earning my business degree so I could mail it to my parents and become a wardrobe stylist. Though I was set on styling…I dabbled in acting and comedy classes for years on the side because I couldn’t let it go. After years in this styling industry, the glitz and the glam of it all started to fade away and I no longer had the passion for it that I once did. I knew this was natural with anything in life, so I kept trying to reinvent ways to make it better. For example, I love to travel, so I would accept jobs in other states. Even still, it became just a job. The one thing I loved and still do love about it is that I do make people feel beautiful. However, that wasn’t enough for me knowing I had other desires that needed to be fulfilled.

I am so grateful for all the jobs I have had along the way because they have lead me to where I am in this moment. They have prepared me for where I am going right now and I have acquired the confidence to know I can handle anything that comes my way. For me, 2021-2022 was all about stepping into my power and hot damn does it feel good to be here.

I am so thrilled in my decision to pursue stand up comedy and sketch writing for my own characters on social media. It is what I have always dreamt of doing and the best part about it is that it’s my vision for my weird little world, no one else’s. I have a loud voice and am FINALLY not afraid for it to be heard. I would say the best thing about my comedy and personality is that I don’t take myself too seriously and I always keep it real. My stand up has a lot of funny personal stories with family comedic relief that a lot of people can relate to. My goal is for people to find the friend in me and my characters. I have been working hard and banking my character content, which drops on social media June 15th! I have two characters, Geri Bluechip and Tiffany Milano, that I have created and take out in public. They’re wild and completely opposite, but everyone knows a person like them, which is the fun part!

Though all of this is rather new, I know I am right where I am supposed to be. It feels like I am finally home. However, this type of work can feel like a very lonely road and some days I wake up and I feel like I don’t know what direction I am going in. That being said, I have realized how important it is to have people in my corner. I am grateful for my classmates and teachers because I would probably lose my mind without them. We are there for each other.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Though I’m a midwest girl at heart, I am a California girl now…which means I mainly stay close to the water at all times. This doesn’t come as a challenge living in Venice!

Naturally we’d want to be active and catch some rays, so I’d take my bestie up PCH and hit up Tuna Canyon for a locals only Malibu hike. This hike has the most gorgeous views of the Santa Monica Mountains. Then head down the road to Lechuza Beach. This is mine and my mini schnauzer’s favorite beach and it’s also an incredible sunset spot.

We’d made our way back down the coast and pop into one of my favorite places to chill on PCH, Calamigos Beach Club. Definitely the spot for an afternoon paddle board sesh and a killer burger! Otherwise you’ll find us at Broad St. Oyster Co. for a lobstah roll.

I love ending the evenings with either an 80s themed roof top cinema (Dirty Dancing is preferred) with a silent disco after OR you’ll hands down find us at a comedy show. I love Thursday evenings at Mama Shelter in Hollywood.

Favorite Weekend Spots

My favorite Sunday Farmers Market is the one in Mar Vista. It’s dog friendly and huge…the items do NOT disappoint! I also love to hit up the Santa Monica Flea Market when its going on. Gjusta or Huckleberry for brunch and Felix on Abbot Kinney for dinner. Beware, the kumquat cocktails and focaccia bread will make your life complete.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to dedicate this Shoutout to the rocks in my life, there are a lot. My brother, Taylor Zakhar Perez, who has been the most patient with me. He has been counting down the years for me to make the decision to pursue comedy, but he knew I had to be the one to decide. He has watched any and all content I have ever made, is forced to give notes, and throughout the pandemic was forced to film my ridiculous characters. I’d also like to thank my parents and family for trusting me on my journey and whole heartedly believing I would wind up exactly where I was meant to be. AND my best friends who have never ever ever allowed me to let the comedy idea or dream die. Even with all my other careers, their main questions were “When are we getting comedy content? Are you in class yet?” Thanks for the never ending pushes @ginamariekim and @danielsepulveda

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