Meet Gabriel Medina | Graphic Designer, Artist & Entrepreneur

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

Hi Gabriel, what inspires you?
My biggest inspiration are my immigrant parents, who’ve sacrificed so much to give me the opportunities I have today. First and foremost without their courage and perseverance their wouldn’t be a path for me to build upon.

The inspiration behind my personal work comes from memories of my childhood, my friends and the need to fill this void that was left from childhood trauma.

Aside from those 2 things I’m inspired by everything around me. The flower in the garden blooming it’s first pedal,
The smell of fresh coffee in the morning. I’m truly grateful to be alive doing what I love every single day. Life inspires me to continue on this path.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I’m a Graphic Designer , Artist and Entrepreneur. I work at The Hundreds full time, co-own a design and print studio (Mortar Studio), run my passion project Emanon and take on freelance work on the side.

My bread and butter is designing apparel. t-shirt graphics, headwear and accessories.

If I had to share anything with the community it would be the beautiful struggle. This journey has not been easy. I’ve failed countless times. Banged my head on my desk and pulled my hair out more times than I can remember.

The crazy part of it all is that it hasn’t gotten any easier. Everyday is a new challenge, but that’s the thrill of it all.

I enjoy not knowing what to do, I really love learning. The secret to overcoming challenges is simple. You have to be in love with the process and obsessed with finding solutions. I haven’t figured it out yet, and to be honest I really hope I never do.

At the end of it all I hope to inspire the younger generation to pursue their passions and to live a fulfilling life. Take the risks, invest in yourself and most importantly have faith that it will all work out.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is easy I can tell you my ideal day in Oceanside.

We would start bright and early at The Cup off Wisconsin Ave. They have the best breakfast sandwiches in town.
We’d grab an egg and avocado sandwich, a cup of coffee and make our way down Wisconsin ave until we hit the strand. Enjoy the beach a bit until we got hungry then make our way back up to Johnny Mańanas to grab a nice cold beer and a california burrito.

After a few cold ones we’d work our way up to coast highway to visit our local skate shop Granduer.
You can’t visit oceanside and not stop by Granduer.

Later in the day we would hit up Teri Cafe to enjoy some sushi and ramen.

The night would end at Fat Joes off coast highway over some beers.

There isn’t much to do in Oceanside but thats the beauty of it. You get to relax enjoy the beach and stop and smell the roses.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Behind every step i’ve taken there is a person to thank, recognize and admire. I haven’t gotten this far into my story by myself. There has been a lot of people who have helped shape me as a person, creative and business owner.

Today I would like to focus my love and admiration to 2 people.

My Fiancé Yessenia Cruz for always trusting that i’m making the right decisions in my career, never questioning the moves I’m making and for believing in my art.

Raymond Laster my business partner. Without him this chapter of my life wouldn’t be possible.
Thank you for showing me what true grit looks, and for giving me the courage to take risks.

Website: https://www.mortarstudio.net/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/guiltygabe/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielmedina1992/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mortar-studio-vista

Other: https://www.instagram.com/themortarstudio/ https://www.instagram.com/emanon_co/ www.emanonclothing.com

Image Credits
Photography by : Seagge abella Portrait by : Brandon Moningka