Meet Jamuelle Zumel | Director, Producer & Creative

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

Hi Jamuelle, what inspires you?
I think it changes through different phases of life.

Right now, I’ve been drawn into really learning more about the history of my Filipino culture and even more specifically, the history of my own family. I went into a project where I had the chance to share stories of the elders in my family and I had called my dad to make sure I had all of my facts straight.

That quickly changed as I learned so many different aspects of my family that I never even knew before. My whole life, I didn’t know that I am actually 1/4 Taiwanese and 3/4 Filipino from my Lolo (Grandfather) from my Mom’s side. I learned all about his life and how he actually had owned and operated Chinese Restaurants in Manila back in the Philippines and that my Lola (Grandma) had also owned a bakery that my Mom and Sister would help make pastries for.

I’ve found a new sense of inspiration through my own family and cultural history and I know I still have so much more to learn.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Currently, I’m a co-founder of Open Gym & Producer for Future is Color. Both of which happened naturally and organically. Everything that happened for it all to come together happened serendipitously.

OpenGym is a creative collective focused on building sustainable ecosystems of change within communities through the power of hospitality. For us, Hospitality is the foundation of community. It’s in these gathering moments that the opportunity for dialogue arise and new ideas are shared. Hospitality is more than a collection of services, it’s a lifestyle. A lifestyle that uses service, space, and food to bridge gaps and break down walls with authentic cultural stories.

Future Is Color is a playground for Erwin Hines’ creative work and collaborations, but more than anything it’s a platform for stories. F.I.C will be an ever evolving collection of artifacts ranging from garments to film that will examine tensions within the current cultural landscape from the Black lens. The goal of these artifacts are to reveal the nuanced and universally impactful stories of BIPOC communities while also creating space for healthy dialogue.

Over the past couple of years, the Open Gym team has been working hard behind the scenes to open our first concepts and we are happy to say that we’ve opened our first Brick & Mortar in Liberty Public Market called Weapon Ramen, and have more opening throughout the year. It’s definitely not easy, but when we are able to anchor ourselves in purpose, we’ve been able to push and progress throughout anything that may happen along the way. Along with that mentality, we’ve been able to create programs that tackle Food Insecurities in San Diego with our Catering Company, Craft Meals, through Fish to Families. Our partners for that program include The San Diego Foundation, The San Diego Fisherman’s Working Group, NOAA, Cal Sea Grant, Specialty Produce, Father Joe’s and local non profits.

I’ve learned that life will always have it’s Ups and Downs, and the purpose isn’t to just ride the wave whichever way it goes, but rather to stay even in the middle. The ability to stay calm through the good and the adversity has been key to finding balance along the way.

I think what I’d want the world to know about both me and my story is that it’s still being written, and that through that perspective, we’re all able to do and achieve what we really put our minds to.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’d say San Diego has grown so much throughout the years and with it has come a handful of amazing community spots to go to.

A couple of places that come to mind are the Sunday Markets at 1835 Creative Studios, Soul Sundays, Mixed Grounds Coffee in Logan Heights, Walk the Block every Saturday in Barrio Logan, getting a workout in at Stay Classy Crossfit and the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market on Saturdays.

My itinerary breakdown would go something like this –

Coffee – Mixed Grounds Coffee in Logan Heights

Workout – Stay Classy Crossfit

Breakfast / Post Workout – Tuna Harbor Dockside Market

Afternoon – 1. Walk the Block in Barrio Logan & 2. Sunday Market at 1835 Creative Studios

Dinner – Animae in downtown

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?
I’ve been very fortunate to be surrounded by such grounded, hardworking and creative friends in this community. I want to give a huge shoutout to my Open Gym / Future is Color family as I’ve learned and grown so much alongside them. To the Open Gym partners LeeJ Razalan, Phillip Esteban, Erwin Hines & Taylor Shaffer and our entire team that’s made everything possible.

There are so many amazing individuals that make up the DNA of San Diego’s community. I’d love to shout out local creative & designer Riza Clave. She’s been doing some amazing work in the Design industry & has an amazing portfolio of work that continuously inspire me to this day.

https://linktr.ee/WERIZA

And to the entire creative community down here in San Diego, thank you for always breathing new life & energy into our community.  You all know who you are.

Thank you!

Website: http://www.jamuelle.com

Instagram: instagram.com/jamuelle.z

Other: https://opengymsd.squarespace.com/ https://future-is-color.com/

Image Credits
1. Nathan Concepcion 3. Stacy Keck