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

Hi Leo, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
I have continued to explore different opportunities when certain doors closed or when there was a lot going on in my personal life. I didn’t want to stop working, or stop trying to see if something else would work– even if I didn’t see something blossom immediately, I felt that it was adding to the overall picture, or the overall experience. I just have always kept walking.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I started creating TikTok videos around May of 2020 just to try to figure out how the app worked. Once I saw some traction in one of my videos, I thought about some other ideas I had for potential videos and as I saw more traction, I just kept going to see where it would take me. I’m proud of my work ethic. I saw an opportunity to create something that would bring me closer to my first dream I ever had and kept writing and producing the content. I have struggled with co-dependency for so much of my life but some of this journey made me have to do a lot of things alone. I learned I was able to do that.

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?
I would take my friend to some cool eateries that I’ve saved from TikTok, we’d check out some pop-up shops, museums and go to the beach. Ever since moving to Los Angeles, I’ve realized that it is just a huge playground. There are so many musical things to see, and artistic things to do. It’s amazing. I wouldn’t know where to start!

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?
So many people, growing up, made me feel valid. People like Mr. Mike Mendoza from the Hanford Elementary School District, my 5th grade teacher Mrs. Erin Crose and mentors like Joe Ybarra and David Ibarra.

Instagram: LeoGonzall

Twitter: LeoGonzall

Youtube: Leo Gonzall

Image Credits
Junior Hernandez (pictures wearing black sweater) Robert Sanchez took picture wearing grey sweatshirt.

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