Blog One: Coffee & Moments
I was 17 when I had my first latte. It was at Mantra Coffee in Azusa, California (unfortunately, the coffee shop closed in the summer of 2024), and I was with an old friend. She and I ordered a “barista’s choice,” and the barista whipped up a hot caramel brûlée latte. Once we sat down in the corner booth, we both took a sip of the crisp, warm, sweet, frothy latte, and I knew instantly: this is what I want to do with my life. At the time, I thought that meant working with coffee—serving it or starting a coffee business. Don’t get me wrong, that’s still 100% going to happen, but I’ve realized it’s about more than that.
One of my biggest inspirations, Dana White, says, “I sell holy shit moments.” Whether I sell or create those moments, I’d like to believe, “I create holy shit moments.” That first sip of the latte was one of those “HSMs” (holy shit moments). Some other HSMs include being 16 and listening to “Blood on the Leaves” by Kanye West on repeat in my bedroom from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Another was listening to Flower Boy by Tyler the Creator on the subway ride to my Blue Bottle barista job at 5 a.m. and thinking, “Holy crap, am I lonely?”. Another HSM was landing my first big-budget video gig in Oregon a week after I quit a marketing agency.
So that’s my video/photo business—or honestly, just me—I want to create and put on “holy shit moments.” Not for views or to go viral, but for the personal reward of thinking, “I can’t believe I just did that,” with my clients or friends around me.
To circle back to coffee, I know it’s going to be a huge part of my life—both in business and as part of my environment. It’s funny how life works. My one and only internship was in Pasadena, California. One morning while I was working at Blue Bottle, two women came in. One of them was named Caroline, and she worked at an advertising agency. Over time, I got to know her, her order, and a little bit about her job. I needed an internship to graduate but had a terrible GPA and honestly didn’t care much about getting one. But I liked Caroline as a person, and both she and her job seemed cool, so I asked her, “What advice would you give to a college student looking for an internship?” Without hesitation, she asked, “Do you want one? We’ll make you our intern.” I quickly accepted and started interning at her advertising agency.
That was another HSM because it wasn’t school, professors, or my resume that helped me get the internship—it was my passion for coffee and being in the right place at the right time. Everything just came together.
