Hungry2Live
Hungry2Live
Hungry2Live Episode #2 - Chasing Dreams & Breaking “Social” Norms, Martine Beerman Content Creator
"How do you explain to your parents, like I plan on making a living by drawing people's faces on my face. Like how do you broach that conversation with your parents?" -Martine Beerman
This week I talk with Martine Beerman. Martine has 1.9 million followers on TikTok, 54,000 followers on Instagram and a Snapchat show that is in its third season with a quarter of a million followers. As a first generation woman, right off the bat she has a story to tell. Martine has come from a line of people who did not start out in America, with the opportunities that a lot of us have had.
She came to America in high school, and went straight from high school to college. Her parents wanted her to have the normal go to college, get a job, make sure you have benefits. Make sure you're taken care of. But ultimately be happy.
She was like, I'm creative. I want to do what I want to do. And now she's here talking to me, talking to you and explaining, sometimes, you just have to follow your dreams.
IG/YOUTUBE- @martinebeerman TikTok/Snap- @martine
Hello, and welcome to episode. Number two of hungry to live. This is Rachel Freeman, your host, or hostess with the most. If I should say, I just wanted to bring you all up to speed. If you missed the last week's first episode, my name's Rachel. I come from the lens of recovery. I had an eating disorder. I was anorexic and exercise and everything I do is seen through this idea of overcoming something that you went through to become successful and not letting it hold you back. That could be anything from being in recovery, to being somebody who's first generation, making it in whatever business it is. You wanna make it in living with a disability, having a family member in recovery, coming out of cancer, um, surviving a car accident. I mean so many things in all of our daily lives could literally set us back, but it's about moving forward and making those connections with people in your life that you come up across in order to figure out why you are here on this planet, because the universe has amazing ways of bringing people together, whether or not you believe in something greater than yourself. There's a reason why you're here. And there's a reason why certain people come into your life. So never ever take that for granted today. I would love for everybody to meet this amazing creator. Her name is Martin Bierman. She has 1.9 million followers on TikTok, 54,000 followers on Instagram and a Snapchat show that is in its third season with a quarter of a million followers. I just have to say it is amazing to have a woman on this sh show as my first guest, who has come from a story and a line of people who did not start out in America with the opportunities that a lot of us have had. She's a first generation. She came here, she went to college. Her parents wanted her to have the normal go to college, get a job, make sure you have benefits. Make sure you're taken care of. She was like, I'm creative. I wanna do what I wanna do. And now she's here talking to me, talking to all of you and explaining sometimes you just gotta follow your dreams. So hi Martin.
Speaker 2:Hi. Uh, wow. What an intro. I love it. Thank you.
Speaker 1:You are so welcome. Thank you for sharing your evening with me. Thank you for sharing your time with me, your energy, your spirit. And I knew that when I started the show, I wanted you on the show for so many reasons. Um, not only we met, we were part of a COVID pod and we didn't even know each other until COVID. And then I feel like every weekend during COVID we, we were a thing. We didn't get a thing.
Speaker 2:I don't really,
Speaker 1:I dunno what that means, but I'm glad it happens. Um, that's when you first started talking about your first season of your show, and now you're on your third season of your show. Let's talk about that for a second. Can you talk about your Snapchat show? That's coming out?
Speaker 2:Yeah, of course. Um, so I have a show on Snapchat right now. It's called two faced with Martin Biman. So if you were to search that on Snapchat or just search my name, you'd be able to find it. Uh, we are a quarter million strong and growing, and my shows, it's an unusual premise to even explain to people, but it is where I take, I take famous people and then I paint those famous people onto the area around my mouth. So if you can imagine between my nose and my chin, that is the space that I use to make somebody else's face. And then I use my own mouth and I speak as if I'm them. And then I green, I take green face paint around them and in essence, green screen my face and then using editing, I pop them out and I talk to them. So it is like a trip without being on a trip. I, I don't, you know, it's, it's magical, it's colorful. It's everything that I represent. Um, this next season is going to take that and I believe take it more, bring it more closer to the actual way of the Snapchat community, which I'm really excited for, which means I'm branching out a little bit beyond that, even so that's even a for what's to come.
Speaker 1:Well, I don't even know what to say because I'm creative, but I'm not that creative. And I just, before we get any more into the interview, I think it's important that we both say our socials, just so the listeners can listen and look us up. You can find the hungry to live podcast at Instagram at hungry dot two do live. You can also find any other information about this podcast. If you're interested in being a guest or other links to my personal LinkedIn and YouTube at Hungary, the number two live.com. Martin, what are you your socials?
Speaker 2:So I am Martin, M a R T I N E on TikTok and Snapchat. And I'm Martin Biman on YouTube and on Instagram. And then my show, which is two faced with Martin Biman and then also Martin Biman on Twitter, but I think more relevant to the content space would be the other four.
Speaker 1:Amazing, thank you for sharing that. So getting back to the interview questions and the interview just itself, we're gonna take one step back. We jumped into what you're doing and how you're creating, but being first generation. What was it like telling your parents who moved to America that you wanted to follow a non-traditional career path?
Speaker 2:I think that I, so I grew up in South Africa, born and raised in South Africa. I moved here in my teens and my parents have always known I was in theater as a kid. Um, I loved performing. I sang and I've always wanted to be in the arts. So the deal was when we moved here, um, go to college, like get your college education. And once you've gotten your college education, do whatever you'd like from there. And I actually am so beyond thankful because I loved college. I went to UC Santa Barbara and it was amazing. And while I was there, I actually found a way to get sponsored. I did a show on public access TV. So that was my I first dip into being a host, being a producer and being really creative. I had a show called the Santa Barbara stew where I made, I interviewed people with really unusual careers and in the Santa Barbara area, which was really fun. And so when I got done with that, obviously, you know, my parents have been like, why don't you pursue grad school? And you know, and there's backstory to that as well, because I think that being a creator, being in a creative space, you there's, there isn't a path that you can necessarily go to college for, to be a creator, the way that I am, or to necessarily assure yourself that when, or if you wanna be an actor or a singer or anything in, in that kind of area that you're then gonna have, you know, a retirement plan or medical benefits, you know? And so I understand from their perspective, they were like, you know, maybe you wanna pursue grad school. How do you, like, what do you wanna to do after college? And I was like, look, I don't know. I don't know what I wanna do yet. And I'm not willing to pay, to go to grad school for something, you know, it, I don't wanna put money into something and then spend that time of my life, like not pursuing what I wanna pursue. I'm really interested in entertainment. And I don't think that grads school is where I need to be for that. And they stay true to their word. And as much as like they experienced at times with me, the emotional roller coaster of, you know, where's this all going, they stayed true to that and they supported me. So, but that's been, that's been years in the making years.
Speaker 1:That's amazing. I'm sure that you've had to foster a lot of conversations and making sure they're comfortable with what you're doing, although they supported you. It was probably still, you probably felt a lot was on you while you wanted to prove for yourself. It was also making sure your parents understood how important it was for you to continue this path and you're gonna be successful at it regardless of how hard you had to try.
Speaker 2:Right. And I think, how do you explain to your parents, Hey, like I plan on making a living by drawing people's faces on my face. Like how do you broach that conversation with your parents? Exactly. You know, and, and that wasn't to be really honest with you, that wasn't the vision initially. I've really just committed to the fact that I am in entertainment. Entertainment is in my blood. I love being a creative. I love creating content. Uh, I've hosted, I love doing that. Like whatever it is that is going to be a part of my life. And I think also, you know, it, it's just really pursuing and seeking my path of greatest fulfillment and greatest joy and happiness. And with that, whatever doors open from there, kind of being open to that. And my parents are immigrants and they've provided me, which I'm beyond, beyond blessed and appreciative to have, like, they provided me with a foundation to be able to go to college and get the education and have a roof over my head. So I understand that not, you know, that's not always viable option for people to kind of just jump into entertainment. But I, I also sacrificed and like worked really hard in order to maintain my entertainment side. Meaning I had a job as a waitress for many years as a server. And I found ways to create or be creative or get to audition for different things while I was earning an income. So, and from that perspective, you know, I, I didn't go to them after college and be like, Hey guys, I need you to support me or feed me. Or, you know, I was always like on my own two feet. And from there, I don't think there's no, they might have thoughts about where they think I would be safest or more, most secure in my life, but they respect me and we have a great relationship. And so I think from there, they were like, okay, you're, you're doing, you're supporting yourself. Like you're an adult. Do what makes you happy?
Speaker 1:That's amazing. So being a creator, I can only imagine, especially as the platforms of creating have changed, especially during COVID and having all these new ways to communicate and produce content, as opposed to just being an actor or being on stage, how did you choose what content to create, especially when the first you started to create, as you said, was painting your face and becoming, um, another, another celebrity with painted on your face and you doing the voices of them. How, how does that come about?
Speaker 2:So I think that content creation, and this is like what I would suggest for anybody who is interested in it. It's, it's a lot of throwing spaghetti against a wall and just kind of seeing what sticks and really enjoying the things that you do. Because if you don't, you're not gonna wanna wake up and do it every day and trust you're doing, I mean, I'm thinking up ideas or working on content or editing or posting pretty much all day, every day, as long as while I'm awake. So you really wanna be enjoying doing what you're doing, but the ideas, as far as like one of my first videos that went viral on what was musically, not tick talk before became that, um, was a video of, uh, it was to Gasolina the song Gasolina. And it was a girl that was painted on my nose and I was nose twerking, meaning like using my finger to move my nose around. And her butt was my nose and it just, it blew up. And it was my first time I think, I think I got a million views on it and I like that's UN I mean, it's unheard of, it was at that point in my career. And I was like, what is happening right now? Um, and that was my first taste of like, oh, this thing went viral. And then I was so focused at the time I was working for another company, I was working for a company called what's trending and I was hosting and thing. And I just was like, oh, cool. That did really well. And then I just kind of stepped back from it for some reason. Um, and then by a series of just things happening opportunities being offered to me, meeting new people, I went back into content creation for myself because I was creating for another company. And I was like, what are the things that I've enjoyed doing? And so sketches were one of them. Um, my makeup was another one, like the weird, unusual makeup, the success I'd had with that PR like I considered pranks, but I didn't really move on those, but, you know, and then over time I, I met more people and I remember another type of content that I make. Sometimes my content's different on each platform. So another type of content I make is kind of illusion based content. And so I go to museums around Los Angeles and I, um, take these installations that already exist. So predominantly museum of illusions, which I've now been to three or four of them around the country tree. And I plan on going to every single one in the world, but I go there and I take the installations that exist and make content with that. And that, uh, the first two videos that I posted my TikTok was just like chilling at the time. And I posted a video. It was over my birthday and within 24 hours of two videos, one had 2 million, one had 5 million views. And I was like, oh, okay. I have so much fun doing this. And clearly I'm onto something. And so it's just, again like trial and error and kind of seeing what works and what makes you feel good. And my makeup and my illusion stuff makes me feel great. So I keep doing it
Speaker 1:Two years since I've known you. And I have sat down and thought about, well, in this era that we're living in of cancel culture and political correctness, do you ever feel like you might be offending some follow followers or that you might lose some followers based on certain content you create? For example, I know that you do have some videos that deal with like stretching your body, shrinking your body, moving parts of your body into different shapes when you create things like that. What, since it's so different, then the two faced singing facial character, right? How are you ever worried about any sort of, um, comments that might be made on your feed or any of that?
Speaker 2:I love to approach every bit of content that I do with love and with really thinking about how is this gonna be perceived by somebody else on the other side, like I said, I was really interested in doing pranks, but I wouldn't do them if I felt like they were going to be at somebody else's expense, where now you're laughing at somebody else. Like usually the pranks are the, where, like they're pulled on me. And I like, like, I'll tell my friends, you know, within a couple of days, like, Hey, here's, if you see me at any point, like do this and that's cool. And just film it and just get my reaction. Cause I don't love the idea of like anything at somebody else's expense. So with my stretching and my like body stuff, it's more me making fun of myself and being like, I wish I was curvy. I wish I had a butt. Like I wish I had a waste and fun hips, like, so it's more me being like I'm envious of those people in kind of a hopefully relatable way that can make people who do have the things that I would love to have feel good. You know? So, and I don't, I do understand that cancel culture is a, is a big thing. Um, but I don't, I, I just don't think my, like my content is the place for controversy. I'd prefer for it to just be the place where you come and you have fun, just like I would with any of my friends where like, even if we talking about a divisive subject, I'd rather sit there and listen and kind of understand both sides than stand up and like really pitch my perspective cuz I think you're gonna learn and get so much more out of just listening to one another. So in the same way, I do feel like my content kind of is more middle of the road, fun and super bright cuz yellow is my color and that's like how I do.
Speaker 1:And, and I agree. I think that everything you do is it's definitely relatable. It's energetic. You have something there's something to be said about everything you produce. And I think coming from where I come from, from my lens, having a conversation where you could put words to just something that is an image it's so important. And it's so important to clarify certain things for listeners, for viewers, because I think that it's important that we all understand each other and that's the whole point of content in general is to just find understanding within the content itself. So I really, really appreciate you taking the time to talk that through because that was something I was
Speaker 2:Curious about. Like wondering. Yeah. Yeah. And I think also like not to cut you off, but I also think like I sometimes going through your con your comments can be like brutal. It can be really brutal and have to have a very thick skin. And that's why sometimes when I think about like younger creators who haven't really had a chance to like come into their own reading their comments section, like I, I, you know, it, some of the stuff hurts me and I'm still like, you know, in a different space in my life. But I do go into my comments section specifically to read and see how people are perceiving it. If there is a confusion, if somebody is hurting from something that I've posted, because it's been misconstrued. Because again, everything that I do with my friends, with everything, I wanna come at everything from a place of love. So if it is misconstrued, I wanna be able to have open conversations in the comment section. So I'm in there. If you guys wanna talk about stuff, I promise, I
Speaker 1:Love that you are a creator who meets their followers, where they are, and you're empathetic and compassionate and take into consideration, possibly their viewpoints and what they might be thinking while they're watching your content. And you're very thoughtful in those. And you're very thoughtful in how you present yourself and your content
Speaker 2:A thousand percent. And sometimes, honestly from like innocuous stuff, people get so riled up in the comments and that's not even a bad thing. Like sometimes you do want to create content that stirs some kind of conversation, but it doesn't have to be based on like divisive topics. I mean, people are literally going off in the comment sections of one of my YouTube videos right now, because they're really frustrated at the thought that like I have a yellow line video where it comes down and then it freezes everything that it passes. And it, I draw like, it looks like things are being held in a box in the middle of the air. You kind of have to maybe go to my YouTube to check it out. But people are like, she drew those lines after the video, this isn't real. And like people just get really fired up. And it's interesting to see how, how people viewing it, connect with each other in the comments, like form little alliances. Like I just, there's just so it's so interesting and there's so many different levels to it.
Speaker 1:Oh right. Martin. So what advice do you have for any aspiring creators?
Speaker 2:I think that the number one thing that people end up doing, which kind of halts any type of progress is they wait for perfection. They wait for the perfect video or the perfect time, or, you know, you know, when I get my degree, that's when I'm gonna start making content. When I have, you know, when I move out of my house, when I leave my roommates, when I leave my relationship, when it's, there's never gonna be a right time ever to start something. And I will say some of my like imperfect content has gone viral, like stuff where I'm like, wow, this thing is, there's no way, this thing is weird. I'm just gonna post it. And then you wake up to 6 million use the next morning. And you're like, okay. So I see you. And you know, you just, you just gotta do it, whatever it is. The next thing I would say is lighting people do not necess lead, see the value in how important lighting is. And I always tell people, cuz I have given some talks about, you know, growing growth on TikTok and ways to kind of make that happen for yourself, but take a actual look at your content and say like, Hey, if I was scrolling, would I actually stop to watch this? Don't see yourself, cuz obviously you wanna like hang out with yourself off and watch yourself do something. But like visually if I looked at this is my camera lens clean, is the lighting like decent? Am I using too many lenses or filters on this that are kind of like obscuring the content to me that's like really, really important. And something that I think is pretty basic, but is overlooked a lot. So my biggest thing is just embracing imperfections because that's how you're gonna find your way and make sure that you are doing something that makes you feel good. If it doesn't make you feel good. And I'm so big on energy and manifestation and just, you know, creating the life that you really want for yourself, if it doesn't for feel good, just find a way to either look at it differently and really enjoy it. Or maybe listen to what internally your heart and your mind is telling you to do
Speaker 1:Amazing. So there's a couple things I wanna take away from this conversation. Embrace your imperfections. That's all. What hungry to live is about it's embracing those times in your life. When you think you can't get over it, when you can't be successful, when you can't do the things that you always wanted to do, embrace those moments because that's gonna be the foundation to get you where you are also. What makes you happy and listening to what's happening in your brain and in your heart because honestly your gut feelings are there for a reason and they're there to tell you something. So I just wanted to say thank you so much for this conversation, Martin. And again, you can find Martin at,
Speaker 2:At Martin on or just Martin on Snapchat and Martin on TikTok Martin Bierman on YouTube, on Twitter and on Instagram.
Speaker 1:And you can find me Rachel Freeman, your host on hungry dot the number two.live on Instagram. You can also subscribe on my website, Hungary, the number to live.com. And before we go, I wanna end this conversation with a short little poem I created about Martin Martin Bierman content extraordinaire. She can turn her face into puppets and levitate in thin air. She can jump off buildings, do the late this dance. You can find her on TikTok IG and even on her show on snap.
Speaker 2:Aww,
Speaker 1:I'll talk to you guys next week. Thanks for listening.
