Episode Six

Introduction and Career Beginnings

Kenetia (00:01.896) Welcome to Celebrate and Chill. We are here with Edith Mendoza, who is a hybrid producer. She works on experiential as well as film production. She works in the US as well as abroad. She is a dynamo. I’ve known her for years, and I’m so excited to welcome her to the show. Edith Mendoza, thank you for coming to Celebrate and Chill. Happy New Year, by the way. 

Edith Mendoza (00:27.086) Happy New Year. Thanks for having me, Tanisha. I’m really excited to jump into this. 

Kenetia (00:32.608) I love it. Thank you, thank you, thank you. All right, so my first question. I would love for you to take us through your career as a producer, because I know you do both, right? Did you get started as a producer? Was there a series of jobs you did that led you up to being a producer? Like, take us through that journey. 

Edith Mendoza (00:47.363) Yeah. 

Edith Mendoza (00:57.038) I’m basically all of the—I don’t know who really goes into this industry saying, “I’m going to be a producer.” It’s a really interesting job to have. So I actually started my career in the world of writing. I got my degree in journalism, and then I ended up—my first big entertainment job was with Perez Hilton. If people know of him, the big blogger. So I was writing a lot of gossip. 

Kenetia (01:05.064) Okay. 

Edith Mendoza (01:26.062) And then there was always like celebrities coming in and out. We’d have shoots, we’d have this. I was like more intrigued by that rather than just sitting at my desk and writing smack about them. I’m just like, I’m kind of over this. So I ended up leaving. And then from there, I got this job at a film production company. We did a lot of fitness. I was actually doing social media. And then at that point, I started helping the producer. And I’m like, “I really enjoy production.” So it was like just the combination of being able to do marketing, but also doing the film production side, which was very intriguing for me. Actually going to stop, I’m hearing like a lot of echo. I don’t know, yeah.

Early Experiences with Perez Hilton and LA

Kenetia (02:45.545) Okay, excellent. Awesome. So thank you. Yeah, okay, so you—yeah, we were talking about your start. Ooh, I’m so intrigued. You were with Perez. Oh wow. I remember. So it’s funny because some people that are, what, born in… 

Edith Mendoza (02:48.205) I’ll have some anyway. 

Kenetia (03:04.927) I don’t know, what, 2012 or so, they don’t really know Perez for the Perez that he was, right? Exactly. So I’m really intrigued by that. So you were actually writing gossip. 

Edith Mendoza (03:09.638) No, they don’t. They do not. 

Edith Mendoza (03:20.459) Yes, that was writing that stuff. A lot of people may not know him. I think now he does a lot of like TikTok stuff. I honestly don’t even know what he’s doing at this point in time. But I interviewed for that job and I was like up against maybe, I don’t know, 50 other candidates. It was like a time where he was just very, very popular. And I’m like, “No, I really want this job.” I’m like a girl fresh out of college. I’m like this… 

Kenetia (03:22.313) Thank you. 

Edith Mendoza (03:48.366) …interesting and I moved to LA in 2011, so it was like, okay, I need to know this because I want to work in entertainment, and that’s how I got in. 

Kenetia (03:50.175) Thank you. 

Kenetia (03:57.024) That is crazy. And so I know you as this amazingly brilliant, smart, you know, woman. And so it does not surprise me that you got chosen out of even 1,500, if you would have told me that that was the case. So… 

Edith Mendoza (04:13.631) Yeah. 

Kenetia (04:14.845) Yeah, you have so much talent in your little pinky. That is—that’s perfect that that was your start and that you evolved from that. Like you’re just like, maybe not. He did, so did Perez. So there you go. You were right in line with that. So that was actually my next question for you was: how long have you been producing events and/or content for films or commercials? 

Transitioning into Production and Music Videos

Edith Mendoza (04:29.567) Right. 

Edith Mendoza (04:46.285) So I got my start in 2014 when I started working for the fitness production company. We were like producing—this was when DVDs were still the thing. I’m like, “I’m 38, baby!” We’ve been in this for a minute. So DVDs were still being produced, and we were producing things for like Kim Kardashian, Billy Blanks. I don’t know if anyone remembers when Kim started doing her fitness stuff. So I’m just like… 

Kenetia (04:56.418) What? 

Edith Mendoza (05:15.345) Right? 

Kenetia (05:15.345) No, I’ve never even seen it. I’m going to look it up now. 

Edith Mendoza (05:16.691) Yeah, she was. Denise Austin, like everyone who was big in the DVD space—like, we produced the content for them, like their DVD fitness stuff. So I was just so intrigued by it, because I’m also a fitness girl. So I’m like, I’m like right in the space of where I want to be. Like it’s creative, it’s marketing, it’s production. And from there, I just started falling in love with it. Then I jumped into doing music videos, like… 

Kenetia (05:30.152) Wow. 

Edith Mendoza (05:48.469) …shortly after, just from meeting people from that studio, and then somehow jumped into reality TV. And then—not that I was doing anything big, but it was just that part of like, “Wow, I’m actually here.” Well, I shouldn’t say nothing big because I did do a Jhené Aiko and Big Sean video as a coordinator, so that’s how I started. Let me pat myself on the back.

Kenetia (05:57.786) I’m sorry. 

Kenetia (06:11.197) That’s awesome. Yeah. That’s right, that’s right. I love that. 

Entering Experiential Marketing

Edith Mendoza (06:18.221) And then in 2018, that’s when I actually jumped into experiential. 

Kenetia (06:26.431) Thank you. 

Edith Mendoza (06:27.564) Yeah. 

Kenetia (06:27.935) So it was pre-COVID, which is awesome. Experiential, I believe that’s how we actually met each other. And that in and of itself, I will tell you, you are always my favorite person. I think—wait, so 20—let me go back, right? So 2018. I started my business in 2016, right? So it’s now almost 10 years. And so I met you two years… 

Edith Mendoza (06:31.18) Mm-hmm. 

Edith Mendoza (06:35.147) Yes. Yes. 

Kenetia (06:57.939) …into my start. So, you know, I think for me, just your personality—you know, I knew it was great. It was like, I knew you were about your business. I knew you were like—had a ton of stuff on your plate. I knew that I needed to get you answers when you needed them. You know, like there were things that I picked up on when we first started working together. I was just like, “Okay, let me make sure I got everything on board…” 

Edith Mendoza (06:58.955) Yes. 

Kenetia (07:27.809) …and what we’re doing and stuff like that. So you were part of my also start. Like, even though I started in 2016, it wasn’t until 2017 that I really started doing this. And when I was learning the language, I think that you and your personality—like you were so gracious, I think, with us as a vendor. So it was really a great experience for me. With that being said… 

Edith Mendoza (07:29.303) Thanks. 

Edith Mendoza (07:40.375) Yeah. 

Edith Mendoza (07:48.872) Thank you. 

Client Acquisition and “PermaLance” Work

Kenetia (07:57.692) …with that said, what would you say is your secret sauce of finding clients? Or the other question could be, where do you look to acquire new clients? I’m imagining, just from my experience in events, it’s such a small world. So you can answer either or both of those questions. So go for it. 

Edith Mendoza (08:23.615) Yeah. I would say it’s small yet big at the same time. So when I met you, that was my very first experiential job with the agency Game Seven. And I actually got brought in as like, kind of like a PermaLance person. 

Kenetia (08:30.719) Right? 

Kenetia (08:40.116) Yep. 

Kenetia (08:46.143) Okay, explain what that is because I’m not sure what that means. 

Edith Mendoza (08:55.018) …like as a full-time individual, which basically means you don’t get all the benefits, you don’t get like that sort of thing, but you are on as a full-time individual. I mean, yeah, it’s kind of one of those things where like, yes, you have a very long contract, but you’re pretty much still a 1099 employee and you’re working for yourself. So you’re still paying your own taxes. You’re still paying like… 

Kenetia (08:59.135) Got it. Okay. 

Kenetia (09:07.359) Got it. 

Edith Mendoza (09:24.876) …your own benefits and things like that. They like to use it as like—if you’re a person who does want to go into full-time, like that could work, right? Like you get the permanent job, you get your feet wet with that agency, and then you decide, “Do I want to work with these people or do I not?” So in that moment—I’m not going to lie—like 2018, I was like, I was 30 years old. Like, I was nowhere near the person that I am today. So I’m just like, “I need a job. I need a job. And I need to make this money.” And but it’s like, of course, working with an agency like that—like, they had huge brands behind them, like Nike after Nike, Converse, Jordan Brand. So I’m just like, “I’m winning right now. Like, I’m just going to do my thing and continue to do my best.” 

Kenetia (09:58.112) I understand completely. 

Edith Mendoza (10:19.378) Do you want me to explain what a freelancer is versus a permalance or? 

Kenetia (10:23.679) Well, you know what, actually, absolutely, because I was just going to say, it sounds like you were a freelancer, but no, you’re making a distinction. Right. So tell us, please give us the difference. 

Edith Mendoza (10:32.786) Yeah. But not really. 

Freelancing vs. Permanent Roles

Edith Mendoza (10:39.52) Yeah, so basically I was a freelancer, but then I kind of wasn’t—which now that I’m like really thinking about it, I’ll just put it out there—was kind of not fair to a degree because like, they kind of owned me then. Because I was still going to the office all the time; like I wasn’t working from home. Whereas like now, as a freelancer, I work from home, I choose the projects I want to work on. 

Kenetia (10:49.447) Okay. 

Edith Mendoza (11:05.49) No one necessarily owns me. I continue to like gain as many clients as I want to. I don’t have to say no. So like, to me, being a freelancer has so many benefits. I’m always working on so many different projects and different types of different agencies and I don’t have to just be in one bubble, if that makes sense. 

Kenetia (11:12.487) Get out of here. Thanks. 

Kenetia (11:28.051) That makes perfect sense. Yeah. And I think now as you’re telling—like going through it more—in California specifically, I think a lot of that has actually stopped because, according to California, it’s not a thing. You know, like, what you just said is like—you don’t get to pick your projects, you don’t get to, you know, you get to have—you have to come into an office and things like that. Like, in California, they consider that employment. And you know what I’m saying, as opposed to a freelancer, which is like, “No, I have no, you know, loyalty to one agency, I can work on many…” 

Edith Mendoza (11:49.624) Yeah. 

Edith Mendoza (11:58.806) Right. 

Edith Mendoza (12:11.688) Yeah. 

Kenetia (12:13.065) …different projects and you get a whole bunch of write-offs. You get all of your—you write off everything as opposed to that company taking all of your write-offs, right? So thank you for that. That is a very good distinction and something that I am just learning myself. So I’m sure our audience will be like, “Huh, okay. Now they’re—now they have better—they’re hip to, hip to that.” So thank you. 

Edith Mendoza (12:17.151) Right, right, right. 

Edith Mendoza (12:31.03) Hahaha Yeah. 

Outreach and Personal Energy in Business

Kenetia (12:41.413) So are there particular industry like magazines or—I don’t know—websites or maybe it’s LinkedIn? I don’t know that you yourself—like when you’re looking to take on something new, where do you look to find new stuff if you’re just searching? 

Edith Mendoza (12:57.035) Mm-hmm. 

Edith Mendoza (13:03.436) So if I’m on a power of outreach, I’m constantly just like cold emailing people. Not so much anymore. I think I’ve gained enough like agency connections and whatnot to where it’s like as—like last year, 2025, was the most successful year that I’ve ever had. So I’m like so proud of myself. I’m just like, “Okay.” 

Kenetia (13:13.721) Nice. 

Kenetia (13:27.135) I love it. 

Edith Mendoza (13:33.836) Financially, career growth, just inner mental health growth—it was everything. So it got to a point where I’m like, I’m not even having to reach out myself. People have come to me, but I really think that is—and this is going to be a longer answer—but that really depends on how you feel about yourself, right? Your self-confidence, your inner glow. 

Kenetia (13:33.875) Yeah. 

Kenetia (13:54.043) No, keep going. 

Edith Mendoza (14:01.868) Like, what kind of energy are you putting out? Because that really dictates if people are going to contact you or if they’re not. When you’re in survival mode, I think people feel that and they’re just like, “I don’t really want to work with that person because it’s not—it’s really not giving like good energy.” So for me, I had to pull myself out of there because I was in a really like bad mental space, I would say like a year and a half ago—actually like early 2025—and then I started shifting the way that I thought and started navigating through like these job searches in a very different way to where I’m like, I need to make myself really appealing in a way that people are going to feel like that energy is healing and safe, because it’s important. 

Branding Yourself

Edith Mendoza (14:01.868) But with that being said, I was always still like cold emailing people, sending my resume, sending my website. And this was one thing that if… people are new to this, what they need to have. Make sure you—because you are a brand in yourself—make sure everything is like branded; like your resume, your portfolio, and your website, they all match. Like, don’t send stuff that is just like loose. Because it’s like when you are dealing with these types of agencies—like imagine, let’s just say it’s Nike, for example—Nike has a brand, like everything correlates the way that it looks. 

Kenetia (15:11.903) Yeah. 

Edith Mendoza (15:26.761) And it’s like, you have to also make yourself seem that way because you’re essentially working with those types of brands and you don’t want to seem like, “I’m all over the place.” Your resume is blue and your portfolio is yellow and like—the color scheme’s not matching. It’s like—make sure everything has a very clear connection to who you are. 

Kenetia (15:39.231) Great. 

Kenetia (15:46.026) Yeah, I think that—thank you for bringing that up. That’s super duper important. And I think you also touched on another thing, like as far as your internal conversation, right? People feel that. They understand, you know. 

Edith Mendoza (15:57.823) Mm-hmm. They do? Absolutely. 

Kenetia (16:03.357) They understand whether or not like this is like dire stress. You’ve got to have it, or it’s like, this would be nice and you could do a great job. You know what I mean? Like it’s just a complete shift, which comes off to people in a very different way. 

Edith Mendoza (16:08.779) Yeah. 

Mindset Shift for 2026

Kenetia (16:20.223) Thirsty—that’s the best word, it’s thirsty. Yes, let’s get away from being thirsty, y’all. No more thirsties out there. 2026, we’re going to rev it up to being—you’re full and you’re taken care of. You have what you need and everything is provided for you. So great, that’s awesome. I love that. Okay, good. 

Edith Mendoza (16:21.771) Thirsty. 

Edith Mendoza (16:39.147) Abundance. 

Kenetia (16:49.683) Cold calling, wow, that’s hard. I would say cold emailing, less hard; cold calling, a little more like grit, right? 

Edith Mendoza (16:53.193) It’s hard. It’s hard. 

Edith Mendoza (17:03.049) Yeah. 

Kenetia (17:05.026) And sometimes, a lot of times that’s necessary. I try to tell people that in sales all the time. Like, if you’re going to work for yourself, you’ve got to get on the phone and it’s okay. You’re just talking to another person. Either they have something or they don’t. And really at the end of the day, is it personal or is it that you’re making it personal? I’m going to say 100% of the time, it’s like we are usually making it personal. 

Edith Mendoza (17:15.827) Right, right. Right. 

Kenetia (17:32.448) When really it’s just like you are one in however many calls they get every day, every week, every month or whatever. And maybe you’re calling at the right time at the right moment and you’re making that connection. So good on you. Congratulations. You’re badass. I just have to say it. Okay. 

Motivation and Future Aspirations

Kenetia (17:32.448) So, in all of your years of producing events, what excites or motivates you when you start working… 

Edith Mendoza (17:51.179) Thank you. 

Kenetia (18:02.521) …on a new event or production? 

Edith Mendoza (18:06.636) I would say the number one thing would have to be the creative pressure. I’ve worked on a lot of things where the creative is boring. So at that point—like when you get to my level—I’m like, it just—it’s just money because I don’t really care about this, like, the project. And I hate to say that, but it’s like—let’s be honest, it’s just real. So then it just becomes a paycheck. But when you’re working on something that really… 

Kenetia (18:11.1) Okay. 

Kenetia (18:28.926) Yeah. 

Edith Mendoza (18:34.483) It’s true to you and like the things that you like to do. It’s not just a paycheck. It’s like, “I really enjoy this creative. I really love the passion behind it, the depth, and like what it stands for.” So that gets me going. Exactly. 

Kenetia (18:46.911) Okay, it has meaning to you. Right, I love that. I love that. Okay, so is there a brand or client that you dream of working with? 

Edith Mendoza (19:00.482) Man, have I even really thought about that? 

Kenetia (19:03.781) That’s great, right? Like, I sometimes have to really ask myself, like, to go deeper, because I’ve done a lot of stuff. 

Edith Mendoza (19:09.311) You know, I haven’t actually thought about that, but the one thing I have not gotten into is the luxury space. So I would say like high-end luxury brands is somewhere where I’m looking to land next because that’s something that I have not done. And I’ve worked with a lot of amazing brands, but I have not hit that market. So maybe 2026 will… 

Kenetia (19:21.215) Okay. 

Kenetia (19:35.836) Okay. 

Edith Mendoza (19:37.791) Bring that to me; I’m a manifested baby. 

Kenetia (19:39.68) Yay! I’m sure we will look back at this and you’ll have done it. So I have no doubt about it. Awesome. Yeah, luxury brands. We’ve done some luxury brands. And I’m going to say that of all of the brands that we’ve ever worked for, luxury brands are kind of like the… 

Edith Mendoza (19:45.247) Yeah. 

Kenetia (20:08.783) …surgeons of brands. They’re like surgeons, you know, they have to be like precise. You’ve got to have your, you know, cut in the very specific place and you can’t go over/under; all this other stuff has to be so deep and not deep enough. And so the precision part… 

Edith Mendoza (20:11.934) Mmm. 

Edith Mendoza (20:17.575) Right, right. 

Edith Mendoza (20:26.375) Right, right. 

Kenetia (20:31.967) …is—makes it for me—it was—it’s just like a little bit more challenging, so I can see why that would be like, “Yeah, let’s—let’s see what that’s all about, you know,” and add that to your plethora of experience. So cool. Okay, so what is the most creative experience you’ve had working in events so far? 

Working Coachella and Handling Stress

Edith Mendoza (20:45.93) Absolutely. 

Edith Mendoza (20:56.958) The most creative experience—like the most creative activation I’ve worked on—I would say Coachella. I did Coachella back in—my God, it was like right after—like we were still in COVID, but I think it was 2023 if I’m not mistaken. So almost three years now, I did the YouTube Artist Lounge, which was backstage and it was a pretty huge activation. 

Kenetia (21:00.827) Yeah. 

Kenetia (21:17.471) Yep. 

Edith Mendoza (21:26.666) So I was the senior producer running everything on it. So everything from managing like the art, lighting, security, client, what have you—every single thing that you can imagine, like, I was managing it as long—also like celebrity appearances and like all those sorts of things. 

Edith Mendoza (21:26.666) So it was a tough job. Being out in Coachella for a month was really hard. Hard. There’s this thing that you develop called “Chella-cough.” Yeah, but riding around on the golf carts from place to place was fun. It was hard. It was a really tough job. And when you’re on those types of activations—like, even though they’re creatively so beautiful—a lot of people… 

Kenetia (21:58.304) I bet; all that dust. 

Edith Mendoza (21:26.666) Yeah. 

Edith Mendoza (22:24.01) …can’t really handle that type of stress because you’re dealing with the weather, the elements, right? So you’re dealing not only with the elements, but then you’re dealing with various personalities. You’re dealing with so many logistical things that can go wrong, and you can imagine everything that should have gone wrong on that job. 

Kenetia (22:30.451) Right. 

Kenetia (22:42.557) Right, I bet. And you kept your cool, I know you. I know you kept your cool. So, you know what, I want to touch on that just a little bit because I think that’s so important, right? The whole title of this is like “Celebrate and Chill.” We’ll get to some questions around that later. But how do you maintain a sense of maybe levity, groundedness… 

Edith Mendoza (22:48.169) I did. 

Edith Mendoza (22:53.706) Okay. 

Kenetia (23:10.373) …during those like really intense times where you know you do have several things that are going wrong or people calling out? You know, like, “Wait, this should be here; that should be there.” So give us—give us whatever you do for yourself that makes you more grounded, more—have more levity or, you know, to make things smooth out the rough spots. 

Edith Mendoza (23:20.069) Mm-hmm. 

Mental Health and Inner Peace

Edith Mendoza (23:35.464) I think that goes back to how you manage your personal mental health when you’re not at work. So for me, I study so much like—yeah, right? For real, like, I study so much like self-development. Last year, I also got into a lot of Buddhism, which has been like extremely calming. So like being in that space where you’re like… 

Kenetia (23:42.033) Okay. 

Kenetia (23:45.723) Real talk, real talk. 

Edith Mendoza (23:35.464) Best real talk. 

Kenetia (23:59.552) Thank you. 

Edith Mendoza (24:04.223) Just then—I practice a lot of yoga too. So I know with like the amount of craziness that I deal with at work, I need to have inner peace because like, when you start being that individual who was also freaking out and—like, I like to call myself like the mother of everyone because, in a sense, I am; like, I’m managing every single party that comes with a production. 

Edith Mendoza (24:04.223) So, like, for me, it’s just really important to have like… 

Kenetia (24:28.735) Thank you. 

Edith Mendoza (24:31.528) …that inner peace so whenever I’m in those stressful situations, I’m able to navigate them with grace because if I’m freaking out and they’re freaking out, like whoa—like everyone’s going to freak out and I just don’t understand how that could even work, even though I’ve seen it many times. 

Kenetia (24:46.815) You and me both. You and me both. We’ve seen it. I know. It’s something to witness, too, right? Don’t get caught in the storm of someone else who’s running things and you’re like, “Wait, wait a second.” That’s very, very cool. So is there any particular type of yoga that you do? 

Edith Mendoza (24:56.787) Yes. 

Edith Mendoza (25:00.488) Yep. 

Edith Mendoza (25:13.854) Not really. I’m just kind of like—every single night I throw something on YouTube and just make sure that before I go to bed I’m able to just throw everything out the window that I dealt with throughout my day and just go to rest, go to sleep very peacefully, because it’s important. A good night’s sleep is also very important being a producer because your days are like insane all the time. 

Kenetia (25:15.027) Yeah. 

Kenetia (25:21.183) I love it! 

Kenetia (25:33.459) Yeah. Oooo! 

Kenetia (25:40.968) Right, right. Well, that’s awesome. I used to be hardcore like Bikram. And so I’ve mellowed that out—not so Type A personality. So I could appreciate the variety that you’re speaking of. You release tension through your muscles. So yoga does a lot of that. And just the breath aspect and mindfulness—like, “Ooh, I’m probably stretching myself too much,” or what have you—is really something, like you said, to take you… 

Edith Mendoza (25:51.55) Mm-hmm. 

Edith Mendoza (25:58.728) Yes. 

Edith Mendoza (26:06.119) Absolutely. 

Edith Mendoza (26:16.539) Yeah. 

Kenetia (26:18.017) …into other parts of your life, which work is part of. Okay, so if you can—and only if you can, and we understand if you can’t—are there any projects right now that you’re working on that you can share with us that are like, exciting? 

Current and Upcoming Projects

Kenetia (26:18.017) Nope, I already know. 

Edith Mendoza (26:36.221) I wish I could, but I could not. As you can imagine. 

Edith Mendoza (26:36.221) Yeah, I am working on two really cool projects—actually three. I’m always taking on so many projects that are coming up. I’m already blessed through March, which is like such a blessing. And I just know there’s going to be like more and more things coming up. But yeah, all three—very different types of projects. But I tend to always… 

Kenetia (26:55.901) That is… 

Edith Mendoza (27:06.001) …end up in the beauty and sports marketing space, which is what I’m currently doing right now, stretched across those three projects. But I’m excited for all three. 

Kenetia (27:17.023) Sounds like fun. I can’t wait to hear, you know, post what it was. I would love to keep up with you. 

2025 Retrospective: Professionally and Personally

Kenetia (27:17.023) Okay, so given that we just wrapped up 2025, what was the highlight of last year? First, I want to say professionally, and then I want to say: what was your highlight personally for 2025? 

Edith Mendoza (27:22.075) Yes, absolutely. 

Edith Mendoza (27:40.649) Yeah, so professionally the highlight of 2025 was just the amount of projects that I was able to complete, which was pretty insane. I think in October was like my busiest year—I mean, it felt like a year. October was my biggest month. 

Kenetia (27:58.504) It felt like a whole year, right? I do understand that. I do understand that. Trust me. I feel like everyone wants to do like an event in October. Like, I don’t know what that’s about, but it’s true. 

Edith Mendoza (28:11.731) That was funny. It felt like a freaking year. October was my busiest month. I was like on six different projects, which was quite insane. And I was just like, “I need to get over this hump.” And then like the projects just kept coming like November and then December came. And this is like—I didn’t get a break at all. But when you don’t get a break, but you like what you’re doing, I think it’s totally… 

Kenetia (28:13.343) Hmm. 

Kenetia (28:23.976) Wow. 

Edith Mendoza (28:41.255) …fine. I mean, I’m not saying I don’t get rest because I was getting my rest where I could get it. But my biggest thing for 2025 was just the amount of projects that I was able to be on and—like—did them successfully as well. So thank you. 

Kenetia (28:57.251) I love it. Well, congratulations, that’s amazing. That is totally amazing. Okay, so before I get into—this has been my very last question that’s more of a long-form question, and then we’re going to get into some rapid-fire kind of stuff—is there any… no, no, no, sorry. I’ve got to go back, girl. Personally. Talk to me about personally in 2025. 

Edith Mendoza (29:09.192) Mm-hmm. 

Edith Mendoza (29:16.809) Yeah, the personally. Oh, man, we could go deep in that one. 

Kenetia (29:24.539) So we could do it. Let’s do it. Let’s do it. 

Edith Mendoza (29:16.809) So, okay, I started the year of 2025 extremely depressed. I’m not going to lie—I’ll put it out there. I don’t think too many people talk about depression. But it’s—it’s a whole thing. And it affects your entire life; like, everything that you’re doing. So in 2023, I came out of a really tough… 

Kenetia (29:48.296) Yeah. 

Edith Mendoza (29:46.44) …relationship. Like, I was in a six-year relationship and that ended, and I just—I didn’t know who I was. It was kind of like I was a brand-new puppy going into the world, like, “Who am I?” and trying to find my footing, and even though like I’ve been in the space of like production and whatnot, I almost felt like I still didn’t know myself. So it took me a while, and then even going into 20—like I know that was like—I was late 2023. 

Edith Mendoza (30:13.543) But then going into 2025, like I was still on… 

Personal Journey: Healing, Depression, and the 2025 Rebirth

Edith Mendoza (30:13.543) But then going into 2025, like I was still on this really big journey of finding who I was. And then also this healing journey, trying to get myself back to a space where I had mental clarity and also happiness. And when you don’t have happiness, that is really tough to deal with your everyday life because, you know, you’re waking every day like, “What the hell am I doing? I don’t like waking up.”

Kenetia (30:30.729) Yeah.

Edith Mendoza (30:42.345) Thinking about “What the hell am I doing?”—that’s not a good place to be. So anyway, after that—so, you know, I ran the LA Marathon in 2025, as you remember. After I ran that marathon last year, I felt like I was rebirthed. Like, almost everything in my life just significantly changed.

Kenetia (30:52.255) Do you know that? I’m so proud of you.

Edith Mendoza (31:09.961) Career-wise—oh, I didn’t even mention—I had a full-time job for two years and I lost that job in February 2025. And it was actually a blessing that I lost that job. So like when you go through tough things like that, it’s almost like, “Oh my God.” In that moment you’re rattled, like, “What am I even doing?” And not to mention during that time period, I had actually just started the remodel on my house in Phoenix.

Kenetia (31:19.379) Got it.

Edith Mendoza (31:37.481) So now I was in a whole other state trying to figure out my life with a house that needed remodeling that I already started, and then I didn’t have a job, and then I was running the marathon. I’m like, “God, what are you doing right now? What is going on?” But when you really want something, you need to come out of it. And also depression, right? At the same time. So I had all these things going on and just—bam—at the same time.

Kenetia (31:48.645) Right. You’re like, “Wait, what?” Yeah.

Edith Mendoza (32:05.159) But something just shifted after I ran that marathon. It was like my brain chemistry just was like, “No, you’re not going to be this sad little girl anymore. Like, we are changing your life around.” And I got to that finish line and it’s almost like I started at a new start line, or whatever you would call it—the fresh start. And from there it was like the jobs started coming in and I couldn’t even keep up with it. But I was planting seeds at the same time, even when I was at my full-time job. But now that my energy was different, it was like I was attracting all of these things to come in and they were like gravitating toward me. So I would say my biggest thing of 2025 was just like the personal growth that I took and everything that I created. Now my house is fully remodeled, I’m getting ready to rent it out, and just so many new things are happening.

Kenetia (33:06.559) I’m so proud of you. I am so proud of you. Congratulations on all of it. And I remember you reaching out to me regarding the marathon. I was like, “Ooh, boy, whoo, okay.” And when you finished—I think we texted each other during that time—I was telling you, because I had done a triathlon before, there is something very cathartic about doing something physically challenging that you don’t know in your head that you can do. But then when you achieve it, you’re like, “Wait, no problem. I can achieve anything else.”

Edith Mendoza (33:42.534) Right, right, right.

Kenetia (33:52.552) Yeah, so it’s that mind, body, spirit connection. And they’re not separate unless you separate them. They all kind of impact each other. When you do one thing, it really does impact everything else.

Edith Mendoza (34:05.67) Right? They all live together.

Kenetia (34:13.179) So thank you for sharing. That was very deep. I get it. Honestly, running a business, being a freelancer, driving your own economy is stressful, right? It’s stressful. And sometimes, whether you have a job or you get a job, it’s those moments that kind of redefine your whole thinking and brain. If you don’t know what to do in the work area, do something physical or do something spiritual so that that perception of whatever that area is changes, and it also changes the others.

Rapid Fire: Food, Bizarre Events, and Career Advice

Kenetia (35:01.181) So, rapid fire, rapid fire. First thing I’d like to ask: what’s your favorite event food?

Edith Mendoza (35:21.658) My favorite event food? I did just work with this really dope caterer. They’re called Blush Sweat and Butter. They create these experiences that are unique to each brand. It’s very off-kilter type of food. Any color you want, they’ll make the food and it just looks amazing. So I wouldn’t say particularly a dish, but so far they’ve been my favorite caterers just because of how unique they actually plate everything and make the experience look.

Kenetia (35:59.07) Okay, great. Wait, their name is—?

Edith Mendoza (36:03.046) Blush Sweat and Butter.

Kenetia (36:04.863) I thought you were going to say something about the butter part because I already know, coming from Chicago, that anything made with butter is just off the charts. Thank you for that. So what’s your most bizarre event experience? It could be one you’ve attended or one that you produced.

Edith Mendoza (36:52.754) So I did Fanatics Fest over the summer in New York.

Kenetia (36:57.471) Tell us what that is, because I don’t even know. What is Fanatics Fest?

Edith Mendoza (37:07.986) So it’s a lot of media, clothing, sports, that sort of thing. So I did a Nike event at Fanatics Fest and we were in the forefront of everything. When people were walking in, my booth was the first one that you saw. You would think that people aren’t doing things like this, but we had a very open-air space. People were stealing. Because it was a round circle and we had jerseys sitting out right when you enter. It was an open-air space where you can purchase things as you were supposed to, but people were “purchasing” with their fingers.

Kenetia (38:06.717) The five-finger discount, right?

Edith Mendoza (38:07.09) Yeah, the five-finger discount. But I wouldn’t say that was the weirdest thing. We also were having a lot of celebrity guests coming into the space. The biggest one was Travis Scott. And as we know, Travis Scott brings a sort of crowd to the space that is—crazy, in lack of better words. His fans broke the plexiglass on our counter. They were pushing each other so hard that when all was said and done and everyone moved out, pretty much the whole front counter was broken.

Kenetia (38:44.051) Bizarre. That’s bizarre. Okay, so next one. What is the best professional advice you’ve ever received?

Edith Mendoza (38:55.016) Man, I hate to be so cliché, but honestly: being yourself. When you’re pretending to be something that you’re not, you’re not really going to get to a space that you want to get to because you’re going to have to always pretend. How can you always pretend if it’s not who you are? Staying true to yourself and navigating in the space with your whole self is very important. And also owning exactly what you want to do. I normally navigate through the beauty and sports world and also music. When you’re good at something, staying in those lanes is good—continuing to gain that knowledge and grow in it. But we’re human, we always want to evolve. The key thing is sticking with it and actually being on purpose.

Kenetia (40:14.495) That’s a great word, “being on purpose.” So, what advice would you give to someone coming up in this profession?

Edith Mendoza (40:40.053) The biggest thing I would say is not to get offended or take things personally.

Kenetia (40:45.661) Girl, yes, absolutely! I would absolutely agree with you because you will get squashed, especially in this industry.

Edith Mendoza (40:58.467) Immediately. I’ve worked with way too many people that get offended so easily or take things personally to where now it’s dictating how they show up. If you’re going to act like that and allow someone else to ruin your energy—you’re only allowing those people to ruin your energy if you let them. You have control over who you are. In this industry, people are going to say the oddest things. People are going to be nasty to you. They’re going to be mean. It comes with the territory. Just being calm and learning how to not get offended is a major thing.

Celebrating Wins and the Art of Chilling

Kenetia (42:50.00) How do you celebrate your wins and successes?

Edith Mendoza (43:48.028) Every celebration is important. First and foremost, I like to thank myself for getting up and being able to do all the things that I do on a daily basis. I am a big foodie, so I also love to take myself out or go out with my friends to an amazing dinner because I deserve it. I splurge on food. I don’t really buy myself too many things; I take a lot of my money and I invest it. But you also have to spoil yourself. Another big thing—because we’re always tired from working these events—is a spa day. It’ll take me about a week to recover from a week-long event.

Kenetia (45:12.745) Self-care is very important.

Edith Mendoza (45:37.299) Yeah, self-care is very important. I actually go to a masseuse that is really big on energy. She’ll not only do a massage, but she’ll work with your chakras and reorganization. I’m big on healing, clearly.

Kenetia (46:10.407) So the last one: how does Edith Mendoza chill?

Edith Mendoza (46:19.814) Go and run 10 miles outside! No, but it does bring me down to life. About five days out of the week, I run between three to five miles each morning before I start work. It just gives me so much energy. But if I’m just hanging out at home, I like to read or I like to just chat it up with my girlfriends on the phone, catch up on the weekly gossip.

Kenetia (47:01.767) What kind of books? Romance, self-help?

Edith Mendoza (47:13.388) It’s an array of things. I am a big lover girl, so romance novels are my bread and butter. But also a lot of self-help books. My therapist was like, “Girl, you need to read something that’s going to allow you to escape.” So on Christmas Eve, I purchased my first romance novel in a long time. I’ve been addicted to it. It’s almost 500 pages long and I’m already through half of it since Christmas Eve.

Kenetia (48:10.015) 250 pages since Christmas? That’s crazy! Well, I just want to thank you for being here on Celebrate and Chill. Edith, you literally are one of my favorite people. I’m so proud of you. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. We so appreciate strong women doing their thing and making things happen.

Edith Mendoza (49:21.975) Absolutely, thanks, Kenetia.