This was not something I set out to do in life, IT IS in fact something that just HAPPENED. Some would say by mistake but others including me know it MUST be for a reason. This 1st edition of November we are celebrating National Entrepreneur month and we want to dedicate it to the entrepreneurial spirit.
My name is Rosi R. Rodriguez editor of CALLE OCHO NEWS and this is part of my entrepreneurial story. When my step-father the co-founder of Calle Ocho News passed away in 2015 my responsibilities in the family business increased and I was scared. Before that, I was just a salesperson for the family business but now I had so much more to think about and address that it can be classified by many as overwhelming. I consider myself an entrepreneur for many reasons. Because I face challenges daily and I get past them one at a time, I can tell you first hand that there is no handbook on how to succeed or on how to make anything easier if you want to be your own boss. So, I am both inspired and fascinated when I see determination in anyone else. Being an entrepreneur involves risk and passion and I admire those qualities.
The reason I bring this up is very much the same reason I am choosing to write to you The Story of Alexander Arias (#MisterRedOfficial). I do not normally write anything to be published. I do not consider myself a writer or a journalist. What I am is a very passionate person so when I feel the community can benefit from knowing something or someone I do my part. Plus, we want to make sure we foster the entrepreneurial spirit in our community not just this November but year-round because we believe that Entrepreneurs can change the way we live and work. If successful, our innovations may improve our standard of living, and in addition to creating wealth with our entrepreneurial ventures, we also create jobs and the conditions for a prosperous society.
The Story behind Mr. Red. Alexander Arias is 29 years old, he was born from Cuban parents, in Miami at Mercy Hospital on December 5th, 1988. He graduated in 2012 from FIU with a bachelor’s in health management. He has always been very health conscious so for some time, he worked at Baptist Hospital but that wasn’t his true calling. Alexander Arias has now made a name for himself just by being, well just like about 20 different versions of “HIMSELF “and so far he has 119k followers on Instagram because of his ability to make people laugh.
If you do not know who Mr. Red is then should really go to Instagram and search @misterredofficial HIT FOLLOW and come back to read this article. You will want to know more about him once were done. I had the pleasure of meeting and asking Mr. Red some questions and the first thing I observed was his healthy breakfast even though we met at Sergio’s. You would think this CUBANASO would be having a big Cuban breakfast but no… He ordered chicken breast, egg whites, fruit, wheat bread, and of course Café con Leche…
We asked Mr. Red how this all started for him because we wanted to know how he managed to gain such a huge following on social media and his answer was both amazing and simple. Mr.Red told us his role models growing up were always funny guys like Will Smith, Jamie Fox, or Mark Wahlberg. He says this all started by “accident” but after seeing his talent and personally looking forward to his next post, or almost choking on anything I am eating while watching one of his videos I know that this was no ACCIDENT. This is the pure entrepreneurial spirit that everyone has in them. Mr. Red says that he owes this all to THE MORINGA VIDEO. The Moringa Video was first created when a friend of Mr. Red was not very successful in getting a girl to sleep with him, so Mr. Red suggested he drink some Moringa to get some Moringa and it went viral. That is when he realized his creativity and humor could really generate some smiles and reactions, so he tried again, and every video proved to do the same.
When I first heard of Mr. Red I immediately became a fan. I am and have always been a fan of anyone that can put a smile on my face. Lucky for me and many of us his ability to make people laugh is what has made him so popular. I observed in him a drive that not many people have. Alexander Arias is a regular guy from Miami that was able to recognize an opportunity in himself. There are many kids and adults now a days that feel stuck with a job they do not like and so if we can do anything with this article we want to inspire. We want to insure all of you to think outside the box and not settle because life is too short not to dream and do what makes you happy. He has recognized and allowed his creativity and entrepreneurial spirit to flourish. He has been able to discover gifts he may have not known he had otherwise.
I asked Mr. Red what he like the most about his job? He replied, “I like making the world a better place to live in by making people laugh”. He then went on to explain that when he gets a message from a parent or a phone call from a mother that has a child that is let’s say battling Leukemia just to tell him that he makes a difference in the life of her child he considers himself beyond blessed.
Not only is Mr. Red happy with what he does every day, but he is also helping people by making them laugh. The benefits of laughter are many. It can stimulate many organs, enhance your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulate your heart, lungs and muscles, and increase the endorphins that are released by your brain.
We learned a lot about Mr. Red in our brief encounter. He says he learned a lot by building relationships. He learned the importance of budgets, the importance of influencers in today’s markets, and finally how to make room in said budgets and so on and so forth for talents such as his own. By providing the analytics he can demonstrate the effectiveness of his influence. He has become a true leader in his circle.
The best part is that Mr. Red is turning his hobby into a career by working with sponsors and possibly even his own series on Netflix. We want to highlight Mr. Red because we feel he is an inspiration to so many people. It has not been easy and there must have been many hurdles along the way that needed to be overcome and are still being overcome. We wanted to know some of the struggles and challenges he had gone through so far. He says he can relate a lot to the feelings of depression. He encountered many opportunities that seemed lucrative at first. These proved later to be him working for free. This caused a great deal of depression in him because he felt like no one valued his talent or efforts. In today's world if no one is willing to pay you for your gift then you are pretty much left as a volunteer and volunteering does not pay the bills. He got sick and developed pneumonia. It was during this time he remembered his moms’ wise words “Your best gift is your persistence”. He never gave up and I will never give up!
Rosi R. Rodriguez
Editor
