Meet Alexa Lamantea | shoppable livestream producer

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

Hi Alexa, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk is necessary in order to reach a potential you didn’t even know you had. For me, taking the leap into the world of influencer e-commerce and livestream content was a huge risk. I was building a career in New York City as a post producer and was at a place where my career was at an amazing pace and I chose to do a 180 and dive into something completely new for me. Post was all I knew. I graduated from Fordham University and immediately starting working at a post house and that career path is laid out. You know what the next step is, the ladder hasn’t changed. The influencer universe is forever changing which is thrilling but takes the security that post gave me and turns it on its head. But if I hadn’t decided to take the risk and move away from post and accept a contractor role at Amazon Live, I feel confident in saying I wouldn’t be at TikTok now but I also wouldn’t have been able to tap into being creative the way I have been able to by working in the influencers space. Taking the risk to try something new thankfully paid off and I’m better for it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My career in the creator space is fairly new, I’ve only been doing it for a few years now but looking at the trajectory of my life, it totally makes sense that this is what I fell into, and has become such an exciting part of my life. I grew up as a competitive figure skater turned kid actor turned, just wanting desperately to be offered any job within the television and film industry because it’s always what has felt the most comfortable for me. I thought the minute I graduated because I grew up in the television industry and my dad being a successful editor that I would graduate and everything would just instantly happen for me and was humbled immediately after every single internship and PA rejection letter came my way. And thank God for that. I have learned that what you think you want is not always what will make you happy. I still would love to work in television but working with creators in a field that is so new and we’re all still learning is exhilarating because there is no copy and paste. I don’t think working in the creator space is at all easy but if from the outside perspective, it looks like we all know what we’re doing then we’ve done a dang good job. There is no clocking in and out and there is never going to be a point where you know everything and you have to be okay with that. And that takes time. I think what sets me apart from everyone else who works in the creator field is the fact that I grew up as an actor and then I worked in post production, so I look at things from a different perspective when collaborating on projects. I know how to work with talent because I’ve been in front of the camera and I know how to work with crew and speak their language because I have stood in those spots and I understand the work that goes in to what they do and how important it is in order for me to do my job well.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My heart belongs to both New York and LA. If we’re in New York, we would hit up Pizza Pete’s on the Upper West side and later a movie at the Angelica, preferably an old feature maybe featuring Cary Grant. But if we’re in LA, we would start the mornings at Fratelli’s In Marina del Rey or Cows End in Venice. Both have great coffee and are filled with some of the nicest people I’ve met. The Cara hotel in Los Feliz is very sentimental to me because it’s the first hotel I stayed in when I came out to LA and their 24 month old aged parmesan fettuccine pasta is the ultimate comfort food. American Beauty steakhouse never disappoints. The atmosphere and the food always hits the spot… I do feel like at some point we would have to hit up the Hollywood Bowl just because it’s iconic and the greats have played there.

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 wouldn’t have had a front row seat to the television and film industry without my dad. Him being a television and film editor exposed me to a whole other side to the entertainment world beyond just being an actor which is what I grew up doing. Without him I wouldn’t have gone into post and then have the opportunities that landed me where I am. I would also say that attending the Lee Strasburg Institute as a kid completely made me become fearless. Those classes really pushed me to be bold and to not overthink and also gave me the confidence to speak in front of people which has become a key part and every job I have had in my adult life.

Instagram: itsalexacamille