The Loud Whisper Takeover
Featuring interviews with actors, stunts, dancers, filmmakers, action movie directors, athletes, Krav Maga teachers, acting coaches, and more.
Epic tales of changemakers, authentic personal stories, and top tips about the industry, the podcast is a treasure of knowledge helping storytellers of all kinds on their own journeys, and inspiring people to take action upon their own dreams.
Ever heard your inner voice getting louder and louder, urging you towards a new path? When our inner guidance starts to become so loud, we can no longer ignore it, and we MUST take action... This is often a time when life changes direction drastically. We are literally being called to take that leap of faith, make that phone call, write that script, make that film in other words, time to embrace our wildest dreams, shift gear, and grow exponentially.
Let's dive into the art of listening courageously to our inner compass. Because every one of us is destined to live a grand story and adventure while walking on planet Earth!
Headphones on, notebooks out, and buckle up!
Hosted by Cindy Claes.
The Loud Whisper Takeover
1: Navigating the Emotional Landscape of a Creative Career: Mindset Shifts and the Triumph of Freedom
Ever found yourself wondering if a change in mindset could really chart a new course in your artistic life?
Simon Maestre's journey is a testament to this transformative power. He grew up carrying the weight of a family “secret”. Born in Caracas Venezuela, growing up in the US in Oklahoma, his love for acting guided him and helped him to stay centered. A few years after breaking the shackles of the chains and finally feeling “free”, Simon fully dived into his purpose: pursuing a professional acting career in Barcelona.
The path to creative fulfilment, as Simon reveals, is paved with daily rituals and a commitment to self-belief. Meditation, affirmations, and a steadfast routine that primes his day for success. We delve into how these practices have helped not only to weather the storms of doubt but also to manifest the reality we desire.
This episode peels back the curtain on the dedication needed to forge a path in the arts, the power of maintaining physical and spiritual discipline, and the importance of nurturing a sense of freedom through every challenge. Join us for a conversation that's as rich in heart as it is in actionable insights for anyone on a quest to harness their inner strength and realise their creative ambitions.
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Welcome to the Loud Whisper Takeover podcast, where we talk about intuition and about our paths as creatives and as entrepreneurs. Today, I have an awesome guest who's going to be talking about acting and mindset. Welcome to Simon Maestri, really excited about this. We're super excited to have a chat with you today. So, simon, can you tell us a little bit more about who you are and what you do as an actor?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I was originally born in Venezuela. I basically grew up in Venezuela from the time that I was born to about five to seven years. My dad moved us to Oklahoma in the states when I was about six. So we were in the process of moving and everything got finalized at seven and I lived in Norman Oklahoma, so it's like a very conservative town. It was there that I kind of fell in love with acting. I did a like a very conservative town. It was there that I kind of fell in love with acting. I did a lot of theater back in the day in high school and stuff like that. I eventually went on to get my degree in film and video production in this prestigious program with Gray Fredrickson, who's one of the producers of the Godfather movie. So that was really cool. And then I ended up moving to Venezuela for a year after I graduated just to kind of see, get back in touch with my roots, and I didn't keep like going on with acting when I was traveling. So that was kind of in the back of my mind. I always knew it was there, but it wasn't something that I was in the moment doing. And then I ended up here in Barcelona because I had a job opportunity and I decided to stay because there's like this really cool international acting scene here that really attracted me. That's when I finally got back into touch with acting.
Speaker 2:I do a lot of sports and basically I've been doing CrossFit. That's like my main focus. I do try to like integrate running and yoga, a little bit of everything, but yeah, so as an actor, I'm trying to penetrate the international scene. I do speak Spanish fluently, I also have English, so for me, that's something like that's an outlet to be able to tackle both of these, both of these worlds that I think are probably like the biggest productions in the world because they're either Spanish speaking or English speaking. So, yeah, I've just been here for about eight years now. So just doing that and then really focusing on my everyday spiritual practices, getting my CrossFit in every day. I'm super passionate about CrossFit and just mastering my craft Like that's what I love. I love practicing acting every day. I love doing self-tapes.
Speaker 1:So that's a little bit about me. I love the conversations that we have in between us as actors and as creatives. I think one of the things that I admire the most about you as a person and as an artist is how positive and solution-orientated and productive you remain, despite all the ups and downs we have as actors. So were you always that kind of positive guy, or has it been a process of implementing practices to remain on track and positive and productive?
Speaker 2:yeah, I'm drawn to people who are kind of on the same frequency as me. We both kind of have that mindset. We're not really letting anything stop us from living our dream, whether that be right now or two months from now or whenever a project comes running our way. I think I've always had this positive spirit inside of me. You know, being like even when I was little, growing up. It was kind of unstable for me and I think I kind of just developed that sense of security within myself to really just believe in yourself and your dreams. And I just remember being like a little kid and watching TV. Even then, like I always was, like you know what one day I am going to be that character in that show, television, was a huge impact on me. So really for me it's been a process, it's been a journey, because, especially when you get older, society will instill these beliefs in you that may not be necessarily true to who you are and you kind of hold on to those beliefs and then they kind of get in the way of you being able to accomplish what you want to accomplish or manifest what spiritually you're trying to do, you know. So for me it's a day to day. I have seasons where I'm really down, where it's hard to get up, where I don't look forward to things, and I have also had seasons where it's like the complete opposite of that, where I'm like really ecstatic. I'm really just all like posited. But lately I think I've been trying to maintain more disciplined practice so that I am able to level out those highs and lows and be able to maintain that positive prep. And I mean me. I don't know if it's like the universe trying to teach me something, but a lot of times like I feel like I do so many auditions and you just don't get chosen a lot of times. And that's okay, that's still.
Speaker 2:For me now it's not about booking every audition, because when you first start out you get really excited about your auditions. You're like, oh my God, I got this audition for this commercial, it's huge. Like, oh my god, I got this audition for this commercial. It's huge, I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do the best that I can, and you put like all of this energy behind it, but at the same time it's you're also like you have this needy kind of vibe to it as well. So I think for me it's been about shifting that into just being more neutral about things like yes, this is an audition, I'm gonna do the best that I can.
Speaker 2:This is a one time I have to play this character and I want to play it in the way that I want to play it, but at the same time, I'm not putting so much pressure on myself where I'm like I have to book this because in an audition room or self tape or whatever, you can smell that like the casting directors can immediately see that, and I think that's something that blocks a lot of actors from being able to like achieve that. And the discipline, of course, to be able to maintain your spiritual practices every day, which is what I do Like. I've been working on myself for a really long time and I've gotten to a really good point where now I feel like I'm finally starting to come into my power as a person. So, yeah, it's a journey. It's a step byby-step process. There is no like quick solution. It's just something you have to work on every day.
Speaker 1:So you're talking about having some regular practices that keeps you, I guess, on a positive wavelength or at least stable in your emotions, and that you're very consistent with those practices wavelength or at least stable in your emotions and that you're very consistent with those practices. Can you give us a few examples of practices that you do or that you use so that you strengthen your?
Speaker 2:mindset, yeah so, oh my gosh, it's just. There's so much to it. I think it's all about balance. You have to learn how to balance yourself as a human being, because I think different people have different needs, but for me, the one thing I always try to do every day, regardless of whatever is going on around me, is to connect to something higher than myself, to connect to source, god, universe, whatever you want to call it, and I think for everyone it's different. I have found my outlet in many ways. I'll give you some examples, but, like I said, this doesn't necessarily apply to everyone, because I think everyone can get in touch with that higher part of themselves through different things.
Speaker 2:One of my consistent practices is obviously meditation. If anything, I always recommend meditation above anything, because that's like your quiet time to just shut your mind down from, like all this busyness that we have every day. Like every day you're going through so many experiences and I believe so many of us are like we're stressed out, we're anxious, and it's because we're in this constant flight or fight mode. You know everything that happens around us. We just react to immediately Meditation. What that does for me is it helps me to stop reacting and start consciously becoming a creator of my own reality, because I don't have the power to choose what happens to me right now, but I do have the power to choose how I react to it and what I make of what's happening in front of me at that moment. And meditation helps me to center myself. It really helps me to connect to something higher. That shifts my focus on things, because really essentially it's all about the power you give things. I think that the more power you give to something, the more it's going to become apparent in your life, and meditation for me, will just quiet that and help me to refocus and give power to what I want to give power to in my life, not what I don't want.
Speaker 2:Aside from that, I obviously I journal every day, I do affirmations. Affirmations for me is like oh, it's been a game changer, because I wasn't doing affirmations a couple of months ago back last year, probably November's, when I was kind of stuck in a rut and then I started applying a little bit more of the affirmations into my life. And it's been a game changer because now I just I feel like I can do so much more than I used to and I look at things differently and essentially you're just wanting to reprogram your subconscious, and the language that your subconscious will speak to you in is in patterns, so to really get stuff ingrained into your subconscious, I think affirmations are great. And then also journaling for me is one of the biggest outlets Every night before I go to bed.
Speaker 2:If I can't because I'm too tired, I won't, but I try to every night just write at least three things that I'm thankful for and kind of reflect on that, because even if I've had like a really shitty day or something, I know that there's something that was good about today and I try to focus on that out today and I try to focus on that, and that really just puts yourself into a state of grace, which I think is great, because then you're just attracting more of those things into your life. So those are just a couple of practices. Obviously, yoga, I think, also helps. Anything that helps you regulate your nervous system and keeps you going and keeps you in a good state of mind. I think that's what you should focus on every day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, same here. Meditation has a very important place in my life and journaling both journaling on what my nervous system needs to get rid of as much as journaling about what I want to manifest. And you talked about affirmations. Are there any affirmations that you could share with our listeners that you specifically use and feel really helps?
Speaker 2:oh gosh, affirmation. I do feel like everyone has certain affirmations that they should use for themselves in their journey, uh, but for me, doing it right before bed, because I always have like the state of like sleep where I'm almost asleep but not really asleep, and that's like when it's, you know, your subconscious is like full-on open, like very receptive. So I will tend to like find affirmations like even on YouTube you can find them and then, depending on what I'm feeling, I'm needing in my life at that moment, like for me right now, one of those affirmations is and I do this one in the morning when I first wake up is I don't chase, I attract. And that to me, is like such an amazing affirmation because I'm such a chaser, I'm just, I'm like, when I want something, I'm like nope, I'm going to just go out there, put some action into it and do it. You know, whereas now I'm kind of shifting my vibrations to let things come to me.
Speaker 2:You know, I don't have to do all the work, the universe is right there wanting to assist me. I just gotta really like tune in to that flow. And once I find that flow, man, it's like magic. It's like magic every day. So for me, that one's been really a good one to have every day. I don't chase, I attract, and, like I said, you can find so many different ones in different outlets like YouTube, spotify has some and really just cater to your needs or you can make your own. I read this book where he basically kind of teaches you how to create your own meditations with affirmations in there, and I thought about doing that. I just haven't really had the time to dedicate to that. So that's also something that you could do, like cater to what you're specifically working on in that moment and start putting those affirmations in there every day.
Speaker 1:Can you share with us the title of the?
Speaker 2:book. Oh, I have it on my phone. Let me see if I can find it for you. It was a really cool book. I really liked it because it was not so new, it's not so recent, but it's one of those things where I've read a lot of modern books on manifestation and the law of attraction. All this stuff. It really this book. Just it's basically along the same things, just on a very personal. Really, this book it's basically along the same things, just on a very personal level, because it's the author basically describing his experience with the process of manifestations and he was at an all-time low when he was doing this process and he meets this old man and the old man basically kind of is telling him like the steps on how to make the affirmations and then at the end he kind of just summarizes it for you. It was an audio book that I listened to.
Speaker 1:Simon texted me the name of the book, which is the Creation Frequency by Mike Murphy. This affirmation I don't chase, I attract for me is such a powerful sentence Like it really hits me in my soul Because I feel it's not just as an actress that wants to be casted in roles. It's also when you have your own short film that you want to make and attracting the right team and not chasing for the right collaborators. It's when you want to be casted in a role. It's not chasing any role, it's really attracting the role that's perfect for you and where the universe really wants to use you and you to be the channel to tell a particular story.
Speaker 2:I think it's like such a powerful affirmation, super exhausting, like and I think as a society we're so used to chasing because you have a goal, you literally write down your steps on how you're going to achieve that goal and you go after that goal and you have this plan and if something goes out of plan you're like no, I have to stick to this plan. But sometimes that's just the universe trying to change you in the right direction and it's because you're so stuck in this plan that you have in your mind that you're not letting outside forces help you to get to where you want to be.
Speaker 1:You shared earlier on that, while we are growing up like we are starting to create more and more limiting beliefs that are stopping us to achieve. You know what we would like to do as artists or as actors. What was one of your limiting beliefs that you've been able to catch and transform, and shift.
Speaker 2:Not only that, but like it's a work in progress. I'm definitely not where I want to be yet and I probably will never, because once you get somewhere, you're like I want to shift into this now and it's an evolution process. One of, I would say, my biggest ones is have like a weird relationship with money for a really long time and I know this may not have to do with acting directly, this is, but it sometimes did, because sometimes I'd look at jobs and I'd be like, oh my gosh, this job pays this much. When I'm like I really need the money, I should get booked because I really need the money, I just focused on meeting the money, which was where my limiting belief is coming from, and I think it stems from childhood, because even though during the first formative years of my life I was very well off and stuff like that, as I started growing older, my parents started having less and less money and I was always taught from a very young age that a lot of like your value is how much you have in terms of money. And it's just interesting because not too long ago I went through a really especially in COVID, I went through a financial struggle that was like the biggest financial struggle that I've ever had in my entire life, and it was all me. There was no parents that I could blame because you guys don't work hard enough for us, or anything like that. It was literally me creating this reality for myself, and I just remember feeling so low about it.
Speaker 2:I had to pick myself back up and I think that's where a small shift started to change. I knew I had to change my relationship with money. Now I'm to a point where, when I used to never look at my bank account, I was always afraid. The feeling that would get inside of me is like this fear, and it was a fear of not having enough, and that's where I was putting all my focus into, and that was something that you know my mom, even as a little kid, would be like. You know you have to grow up to be rich. Like that's the goal. You want to be rich, you want to have all the money in the world, and if you're not rich, you're not anybody.
Speaker 2:And I just I stopped thinking like that. I started thinking I have enough, like I have more than enough. I am an abundant person and whenever I would look at my bank account, instead of seeing what I was lacking, look I have this month. I have enough to feed me this month. I have enough to have a roof over my head. I started putting myself in a state of gratefulness as opposed to lack when I looked at my bank account, to putting myself in a state of gratefulness as opposed to lack when I looked at my bank account. And now it's still a work in progress because I'm not like wanting to look at my bank account, I'm not like jumping for joy yet, but in my head and spiritually I'm getting to that point where I'm.
Speaker 2:You know, you and I we bless money all the time. I've told you before oh, we're going to buy some empanadas or something out in Barcelona. I bless my money as I'm buying my empanada. Thank you, universe, for giving me the abundance to be able to buy this empanada. It's a step-by-step thing but it's definitely getting better. I've manifested a lot of different jobs that have been paying jobs. You know for acting, since I started shifting my perception on money and my relationship with money. Since I started shifting my perception on money and my relationship with money and I think that's what's interesting to me is that, once you start tackling what is deeply rooted in you, then everything else starts aligning with it as well.
Speaker 1:It's so important what you're talking about, our relationship with money, because every single artist, every single actor, dancer has to look at his or her relationship with money, because it always comes up on our journey. Another example I wanted to give is oh my god, we did our headshots together a few months ago which was a massive investment.
Speaker 1:We were talking about the money that we were gonna have to spend, and I remember it was like oh my gosh, here is this huge thing, and we both boosted each other to really look at it as an investment. That's something joyful, as a oh my god, finally we're gonna invest in a proper photo shoot that we've never done before, and this is gonna be the springboard for us to take our career to the next level, and we just celebrate.
Speaker 2:It's a joyous time, for I would say, like us, we kept trying to take the direction of oh, I don't have enough, so I'm, maybe I can't um, invest in myself because essentially we're, we were investing in ourselves. That's literally what we were doing and in our career I think, like you and I are very similar in that regard, where we were like, okay, should we do it? Should we do it? Should we do?
Speaker 2:it and sometimes we just got to take a leap of faith, and I think that's exactly what we did, so I was happy to have you on my journey for that, otherwise I might not have done it.
Speaker 1:I remember also, it is our conversations around abundance and money that shifted something in me when I did my first short film, my first short film, my first short film, long story short. I had no experience. All of a sudden, I attract 26 people that are ready to come on board for my first short film. Nobody is getting paid. It's a passion project, absolutely phenomenal, but all of a sudden I am here with a team of 26 people that I had not planned for, and then, within 10 days, we do this shoot.
Speaker 2:But I have to feed those people.
Speaker 1:I cannot let them come to a shoot and then not feed them. But obviously, feeding 26 people, it is a budget that I had absolutely not planned for and in the beginning I was freaking out oh my gosh, all of that money I had to breathe in. And I really thought about all the conversations we had and I was like, if you're in a space of freaking out, you're totally forgetting to be grateful and say thank you to the universe of having sent me 26 people and of course, the universe is not going to send you 26 people and not give you the abundance and the resources to feed them.
Speaker 1:Of course, the universe will provide, so don't freak out. Be generous, find the money and pay for it with happiness and joy. And that totally shifted my mindset in terms of how I approached this video shoot. That was a total blessing.
Speaker 2:I could have freaked out. It goes back to like our childhood and like how we're raised, because I think the biggest thing that I see people are so quick to react and the way that you're reacting is part of your pattern and it's part of why you're living the current reality that you're in, and if you keep reacting the same way, you're just going to keep getting the same results. So I think that's a perfect example of catching yourself in that moment where you're like okay, what state of being am I in right now? Because that's essentially what I'm going to keep attracting into my life. So you stopping to be like no, I'm thankful for it. That's already shifted your dynamic and it's brought you closer to that state of abundance that you want to be in, regardless of whether it's a team of 27 to 100 people. If the universe sends that to you, it's because you're able to manage it. I don't think the universe will ever send you something that you're not capable of surpassing. So anything that gets thrown your way, you just got to look at it as oh, okay, this might be like a small little test for me. Okay, let's see how I feel in this new state of being.
Speaker 2:Yesterday, for instance, I got like a flat tire on my car. I've been wanting to change those tires for so long. This is an unexpected expense that I was not thinking that was going to come to me. First I went into reaction mode. I went quickly there. Okay, now I got to spend this. And then now what if I don't have enough, or this and that? And I stopped myself. I was like you know what? I'm going to go home, I'm going to take a nap, I'm going to get in a state of being that's a great state of being, and I'm going to figure it out when I feel like I'm ready for that. And today I woke up and I'm feeling fresh. I looked at it from a whole nother perspective. It's not a big deal. It's a flat tire. Am I dying? No, so I think that's a perfect example of what you just gave. Don't react, stop yourself, see where you're coming from.
Speaker 1:Exactly thing I want to talk about is how all the challenges in our lives can be a blessing because you mentioned it earlier and how you can see something, yeah, like an opportunity for growth in it. Obviously I know your story a little bit and what brought you from the united states to barcelona. Can you tell us more about that experience and how that is feeding you now as an actor? And?
Speaker 2:as a human being. Wow, yeah, that's definitely like I feel like there's so much to this story I'm like not sure where to begin, but so I'll kind of give everyone a little lowdown of like my situation Basically. I was brought to Norman at the age of seven and from the age of seven I grew up in Oklahoma. I felt like an American. I definitely was ingrained into society to some extent. I never felt like I 100% fit in because I wasn't 100% from there, but it's definitely where I would call home. I associate home with Oklahoma and there were many challenges that were placed upon me and my family not just myself, everyone in my family has their own story to tell but for a refuge and such family and such an outlet for things that I was feeling within the acting community that it became kind of almost like an obsession for me, and not in a bad way, but in the way that's like what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. And I remember just thinking that so clearly in high school. But unfortunately, because we weren't from there, my parents had come on a visitor's visa and our visa had expired basically, and it had expired, there used to be like a law where basically after seven years of you being on an expired visa, you could apply to become a resident in the US regardless. And then September 11 happened. That rule kind of got changed. So my family had been, I think it was. We were going up on seven years right when that happened. So it was this moment we were all waiting for and it never came through. And I was 15 at the time.
Speaker 2:Most people get their driver's license at 15 and a half, like they get their permit, and that basically just means oh, you get to drive with an adult in the car and that's how you learn driving and then you take your test when you're 16. Most people did it. It was like the cool thing to do in high school. Oh, look, I got my driver's license Because I was residing in the States. With an expired visa, I couldn't apply for a driver's license. So that was something that got kind of put on the back burner and I remember just feeling very alone. I couldn't really tell anyone what was happening because I didn't think that they'd understand or that I'd get judged or my family's fear as well. Like my parents, especially my dad. I remember him saying you guys can't really talk about this. This is not something that can be told, so it was like hiding in the shadows for a really long time and I remember just loving acting and really excelling in acting when I was in high school and then when it got to be time to go to university, I wasn't sure if I could even go to the university. You know, I really wanted to do acting and I applied for this program.
Speaker 2:I remember the OU program, theater. They rejected me. Obviously I don't know if it was because I didn't qualify, but that was like my big plan. I'm going to go there and then that's it, and I'm going to graduate and I'm going to move out to LA. I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I'm going to do it. I got rejected.
Speaker 2:That kind of fell through, and my world came crashing and it was one of those seasons where I was really low. I didn't know where I was headed. And then, eventually, I took a different approach. I was like I want to work in movies, because I always knew I wanted to work in movies. So why don't I enroll in a program where it's like working behind the scenes, just so I can get familiar with that behind scenes kind of thing that people do and, as an actor, I think that also can help us, because we understand what the roles are, we know how to help people, we know what is needed from us, from each individual person, and that's how I was looking at it.
Speaker 2:So I went to OCCC's film and video production program and that was headed by the great Fredrickson. He was one of, like I said, mentioned before. He was one of the producers of the Godfather movies. This guy had worked with Marlon Brando, a bunch of famous people. He was huge and he knew what he was doing. He came from Europe and started this program to help kids make movies and that became my world for about years and I was so engrossed in it that I had forgotten to some extent about, like, my passion for acting, because I was still doing movies, but now I was behind the scenes, so it was still a creative process. So I was happy, like my cup was filled, but in the back of my mind I was still like, okay, one of these days I'm going to put myself into the movie and unfortunately my family we decided to take a trip to this was around the time when I had a spiritual awakening, so it's really interesting to me that you talk about a loud whisper, because my world had been going down for such a long time and I didn't know how to pick myself up.
Speaker 2:And then in Oklahoma there's a lot of like churches and stuff like that. It's a very religious upbringing when you are in Oklahoma. And I remember I didn't necessarily like church, I didn't like the idea of an institution telling me what to do or how to connect with God. But I do remember going to church and feeling the vibes there when they were, you know, doing the songs and stuff like that. I just remember feeling so uplifted and you could feel the spirit and the ambience there and that brought such a joy inside of myself. And I remember in one of those meetings that we had where we were going through one of the songs, I just broke down. I broke down and started just falling Because here I was complaining about my life when I still had so many possibilities in front of me and I was just looking at what was bringing me down and a shift happened in me.
Speaker 2:And that's interesting because then, like after that, I started working out like a whole lot. Like a whole lot. I remember I was. I bought this book. It was called like nine weeks to like your abs or whatever, and I just devoured that book like it talked about nutrition, talked about fitness, and I told myself I'm gonna turn my fucking life around. And I started doing that. I started hitting the gym every day. It was a very consistent program that changed my thought patterns. It made me feel more alive. It made me want to get up and go to work. It made me want to get up and go to work.
Speaker 2:It made me want to get up and go to class and it helped lift me up. And it was around that time that something energetically had shifted inside of me that my parents decided that they were going to go to Cancun, that's in Mexico, so it's like right by the border of the US and Mexico. And I remember source telling me directly because I had kind of a bit of a hard relationship with my parents at that time, I was rebelling a lot and so it was kind of like me coming back around and they hadn't initially invited me to the trip, but then they did and I had a choice to go or not go. And I remember very clearly I was feeling such high vibrations and something inside of me was like you need to go, you need to go on this trip. And I just remember, during this time as well, I kept kind of like being like okay, I need a solution to my life right now. I need something to shift so that I know where I can go and not go. I don't want to feel stuck, because I have been feeling stuck up to this point.
Speaker 2:And once we went to Cancun, I remember my dad was very hesitant to go to this one beach. Because he said no, because I think that beach, I think that's actually in Mexico and I don't think we should go there. And I was like, no, but it's not in Mexico. Because of the map Like we didn't have Google maps at that time the map it didn't show that it was part of Mexico. So it was so weird, because my dad did not want to do it, everybody else did. You know, we were all the adventurers. He was always like the more cautious one and we headed over to that beach and I remember staying at that beach, we camped out, I felt such peace. I felt such internal peace, literally. We had a tent and me and my sister stayed in my tent.
Speaker 2:It was me and my parents and the band, just the family together. I really felt really happy at that moment in my life and I remember thinking this is what eternal happiness feels like. It was such a. It was such a profound moment in my life. And then I remember driving back.
Speaker 2:We came across the country line, the border, and we, like we were immediately like what? There was a long line of cars. It was such a huge line of cars and we were like, oh God, what? We didn't know that this was going to happen. We didn't know what to do. You couldn't turn back, we had to just wait in line. It was so weird.
Speaker 2:And I could just tell my dad was kind of freaking out inside. He never showed any emotion, but I knew internally he was feeling a lot of anxiety. And I remember coming up to get our passports checked. Obviously they checked and we were all just praying. You know that somehow we were going to get out of this. Unfortunately we didn't. We actually got stopped and we got held there for about 24 hours.
Speaker 2:I would say I remember just thinking to myself you know, why is this happening? What did we do? But then something inside of me kept saying this is what needs to happen in order for you to find freedom. What needs to happen in order for you to find freedom? This is what needs to happen". And it was just such a bittersweet moment because I remember they were taking our mugshots, like the shots that you get whenever you go to jail. And then I couldn't help but smile in my picture, even though I was feeling sadness inside. I just remember also feeling this happiness because finally I knew whether I could stay in the States, whether I had to go back to Venezuela, whatever, but something was going to come out of it where I would feel that freedom that I was longing to feel as a human being. And, um, what followed was basically, they let us go, they let us go. We had temporary stay, so they're going to ship us out and that's basically the universe, kind of taking everything that I had. We stayed there for, I think, two, three months. Following. We had trials to see if we could find a way to do it, but nothing was aligning to us staying there and eventually we got. We had to leave.
Speaker 2:I remember us driving to Miami and then from Miami, we were going to have to go back to Venezuela and as I was driving off, I just remember looking at my little town and thinking how sad it was that I was leaving it. And, yeah, when we finally got to Miami, I kind of started passing that. You know, it was going to change and it was going to be different. I remember Miami feeling super fresh and everything, and once we got on the plane where we were leaving, like this beautiful, huge city, city, it was like the buildings were so modern, sky skyscrapers, you know, the beaches, you it just looked very sleek. I remember miami and I felt very sleek while I was there. And then suddenly we arrived to venezuela and all I saw were like these run down skyscrapers. Once we arrived at the airport, there was was chaos everywhere. It was like my dimensions had completely shifted and suddenly it was like going from a dream to a nightmare.
Speaker 2:And at first, when I got to Venezuela, I was like I was shocked I can't do this, I don't want to be here, I don't want to be here. And that I stayed in Venezuela for one year and I remember the whole time I didn't want to be there but, weirdly enough, after everything had been taken away from me, that's when I was the most connected to source. It was during my time in Venezuela that I was manifesting things without like even really thinking about them. I would think about things and that's how I manifested coming to Barcelona. I did absolutely nothing. I kid you not. I did nothing and I got offered to come to Barcelona. One of my uncles had a restaurant here and he was like hey, you want to come and work for me while you get settled in Barcelona? You can. And I literally did nothing for that. I got my plane ticket paid for I got. When I arrived here, I had all my paperwork done. It was literally a very smooth process.
Speaker 2:However, when I did arrive here it was also a challenge because I had to build myself up from the ground and I had no one. So that was a challenge. But, interestingly enough, when I was in Venezuela, I remember in the back of my mind I was like acting. I even took an acting course there. I remember it was like a two day thing, but it always was inside of me and I was always like, nope, I need to do acting. And then when I got to Barcelona, I kind of stayed away from that just because I got caught up in traveling and you know, that's another world on its own and I just got so caught up in it that I kind of stayed away from it. And then COVID happened and that's when I reconnected with, like, my deep love for acting.
Speaker 2:But yeah, the reason, like I guess I'm saying all of this, is because, no matter what life did present to me, I always took it as an opportunity to get to where I want to go. And yeah, I mean, things are hard. That's why we're here. We're here to learn and the beautiful thing about being a human is that you get to experience all of the emotions possible. I think that's so joyous. Even though I felt pain, there was such a beauty in that pain and I think that is also worth living for, not just the good times, because those are gonna come and go, but also during the bad times. You gotta think, wow, I'm alive to be able to experience this. Yeah, it fucking hurts, but there's a beauty, because I will get back up and that's kind of been my approach this whole time.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much, simon, for sharing this powerful story. Since our friendship started and you shared that with me I always told you there is such richness, a human, spiritual richness, behind that story. As actors, our emotions are our currency and there is no doubt that you, as an illegal child that didn't choose being illegal in the United States, you went through a huge amount of roller coasters. I just want to explain a little bit for our listeners that might not fully understand immigration in different countries, because in Europe, being illegal in Europe is very different from being illegal in the United States.
Speaker 1:In the United States, for some weird reason, I won't go in all the economical and legal stuff. Reason I won't go in all the economical and legal stuff. But somebody that has no valid visa or that is illegal, somehow is able to still work, pay taxes, kind of live undercover, as long as the secret is being kept and they don't get caught by the authorities. And obviously as a child and a young person, you were able to go to school and stuff. But there is a huge amount of secrecy around it, even though life might seem normal in comparison to europe, where, when you are in a legal situation. You can't even work and pay taxes, and it's yeah, the situation is very different.
Speaker 1:But so in the united states you have a, an illusion of having a normal life and you can be perceived as, but you're just like like sinking underneath a huge amount of secrecy and obviously, as a young person, you had to carry all of that. I want to ask you as well, because we obviously on the podcast of the loud whisper takeover. This is the first time that you're sharing this story yeah, publicly, let's say, or for people to listen to it and you told me cindy, I'm ready to talk about it, I had a loud whisper about it. Why share this story now? What?
Speaker 2:was this loud. Well, interestingly enough, I've gone to a point in my practice where I feel like I've carried a little bit of that pattern from when I was living in the states of the secrecy or like the not being able to do things because I'm under this secret that nobody knows about. And I was doing a meditation and I remember source spoke to me directly and it showed me a reflection of myself in chains and I had these chains placed around my wrist and they were locking me down to the ground and I couldn't get back up. Literally, source told me you are placing those chains on yourself. And I had such a revelation with that where I turned that vision into me, breaking those chains and then almost turning into this eagle and just spreading my wings and flying, and that's, I think that's one of my spirit. Animals is like the eagle or hawk, because I just I when I see birds, for me there's, it's almost like I'm living through them, because I see them spreading their wings and that's become like a symbol, like a secret message between me and the universe and I'm ready to fly like that's my past, that's not who I am today anymore and I think by talking about it's kind of like releasing this part of myself, this part of myself that I have let go of. I'm no longer that person today and sometimes it's hard for me to talk about, because I do remember the pain that I felt during that time. But now I can see it as a blessing, because if that would have never happened, I might have never gotten out of Oklahoma.
Speaker 2:I don't know where I'd be at today. I would hope I'd be in LA doing some sort of things with production. That was always the original plan, but I don't know that. You know, it was almost like I had to be forced out to really see the world for what it is, because in Oklahoma you get kind of stuck in your own little bubble. And I was stuck in that bubble, I didn't see outside of that bubble and I think the universe kind of gave me a kick. I was stuck in that bubble, I didn't see outside of that bubble and I think the universe kind of gave me a kick. I was like, nope, you're ready for the world and I'm ready for the world today as well. So that's why I've decided to not give that power anymore in my life, because it's not something that is holding me down anymore. I don't have those chains anymore.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're saying something very powerful. It's not to give the power anymore to anything from your past that is holding you down, and that image of the chains is so powerful. This is not the first time that you're sharing with me some sort of prayer meditation that you're doing, connecting with with source, like you say, and where you receive a very visual image. Can you give any, maybe tips about how you started?
Speaker 1:connecting with those kind of visualizations and if anybody wants to try it out, because I believe we do receive messages through intuition, through prayers, through through journaling, and for you it seems to be some sort of visualization.
Speaker 2:I go out in nature. That's like my favorite absolute thing to do when I'm meditating. I love to. My favorite place is the beach. As I'm like a beach bum, I love going to the beach. I will just sit there and meditate for hours literally when I can on my free time, just because I love.
Speaker 2:I feel like nature kind of gives us energy as well. It's like it's a very complimentary thing. You're there, you're kind of admiring its beauty and it's giving you some of that back as well. It's an interchange. Nature loves to be looked at. Like I said, what we focus on is what we give power to. So in a sense we're also giving nature power when we're surrounded by it and admiring it and really taking the time to be present in that moment with nature. But you don't have to do it at the beach. Like for me, I sometimes go to a park and parks for me I love trees, like trees for me have such wisdom, they have such energy. I love admiring plants and just listening to the birds and just really be present. And once you start that meditation you're able to maintain just being present, not thinking about anything, not focusing on your life, just letting kind of your thoughts wander by themselves. That's when source will start directly speaking to me in terms of images will start popping up and sometimes I'll ask direct questions.
Speaker 2:I need to know, give me some sort of message about this, and sometimes I'm very connected and source will speak directly, very loud, very clearly.
Speaker 2:Sometimes my connection is a little off and I don't get a direct message. Meditation helps with this. I tend to do a meditation before I get into the state of being where I'm directly connected to source. So finding a way to get you to that state of being and then being surrounded by nature, nature for me is like the ultimate speaker of source. It will tell me things, whether it be a problem that I'm struggling with or something that I need to know for my future, or even my ancestors, directly speaking to me. I find that when I'm in nature, that's when it happens.
Speaker 2:The visualizations for me. I don't tend to have visualizations as much when I'm at home, occasionally I will, but it's just really just connecting to source, like having that link be so strong that it's just directly inputting information into your brain. It's not coming from you and there's a fine line. And it's hard to tell the difference because sometimes I'll think, oh no, this is source and it's not source, and it's just me trying to create source. So I think the quieter you are and the more you're able to pick up on those subtleties, because it's not always big and loud. That's when source will directly speak to you. For me, it's visualizations. Other people have different abilities and they're able to see it in different ways, so you got to find what works for you.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for sharing that. Let's talk about your future and where we will be able to find you in the next five to 10 years. What would be one of your dream roles that you're currently not chasing?
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh this is a hard question because for me it's changed a lot. I'm obsessed with vampires. You know, I'm obsessed with vampires, like that's my dream role. My dream role is to play a vampire. I've been obsessed with vampires since I was a little kid. I remember this is kind of a weird thing, but I'm going to share it anyway. When I was little, there was a Spanish soap opera that was called Vampi or something like that, and I remember it was this girl who was a vampire and then she turned these guys into a vampire and I was obsessed with that as a little kid and that's what ingrained vampires into my head. And just remember thinking, god, she's so beautiful. And when she turns these guys into vampires, they're all like sleeker, they're cooler. There was something about the shifting from being a normal person to a vampire. You get to live forever. You can't walk around in daylight. It was something mysterious that I really liked about that. And they're all handsome. The girl is beautiful as well and you just I don't know this idea of eternal beauty as well kind of attracted me to that After I watched Interview with a Vampire.
Speaker 2:That for me was like whoa. The acting level in this movie is so good, so good. I wanted to be a vampire from that moment on for sure. I didn't know when I was a little kid. I was attracted to it. But then, interview with a vampire. After watching that movie, I was like nope, this is one of my dream roles is to play a vampire, and I'm obsessed with any type of vampire series. Right now I'm watching, oh gosh, true Blood. That's like a vampire thing as well. Really good. If you can, you should watch it. Watch it. But yeah, so vampires. And then I would say a superhero, superheroes.
Speaker 2:Once again we go back to my childhood. I was a big batman freak, but more so nowadays. I think I would want to play more the villain than the superhero, because after I watched the batman movie the dark knight with he Ledger oh my gosh, he's a legendary role After I watched that, that's what brought me into like this, like, oh, I kind of want to be a superhero movie but kind of play the bad guy, you know, I mean he's excellent in that. It's a whole nother level. But yeah, I think those two would probably be like along my dream roles. I would say would probably be like along my dream roles. I would say.
Speaker 1:If you had to give some advice, some guidance, some top tips to the actors, dancers, artists that are listening to us today, what would be for you a non-negotiable or a must in regards to anything to do with mindset and furthering our career in the creative world?
Speaker 2:Consistency. I know that sounds like pretty broad, but I feel the majority of people that are artists they don't. They lack the self-discipline and the consistency to actually make it into a full-time job or whatever that looks like for them. Their outcome, um, besides being consistent, I think that stems from, like your belief you know as well, like for me, I believe. Therefore, I am, and so my every day is looking different than what it used to be when I wasn't in acting.
Speaker 2:I am doing a self-tape every week. I never missed that. I just enrolled in this acting course. I'm constantly feeding my energy into that and I have certain things that I will do every day. It's that consistency you can't stop. Life is going to kick you sometimes, but you just got to keep going and know where you're going and I think it's that belief that will carry you through to get to where you want to go. And if you don't have that and you don't have that discipline or consistency, in that you're just, you're gonna be like the 95 of actors that don't make it. You want to be in that top five percent, that you're in it. You're a hundred percent in it and you're in it. You're 100% in it and you're one of those, because once you decide to do something, you give your 100%. It's all or nothing, sometimes to an extreme. I do think that there's some balance in that, but it's a juggling act, so it's a work in progress.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm the kind of chick once I decide to do something such as Krav Maga, for example, I won't do four hours a week. I your training. Whether you had money, no money, whether you were tight on money one month or not, you will always find opportunities to find a self-tape challenge if you can't enroll in a course. So I see you always being busy with your craft and with your spiritual practice, your physical practice, and it's just absolutely amazing thanks.
Speaker 2:I appreciate that now it's. It's good to get recognized for that as well. I really do appreciate you recognizing me for that, because I think people have this weird perception that it's easy and suddenly, magically everything is just gonna align. And it's not always 100 easy. I do try to make it easy on myself. I think that you kind of have to, otherwise you go crazy if you don to make it easy on myself. I think that you kind of have to, otherwise you go crazy if you don't make it easy on yourself. You know you got to be kind to yourself because if you put so much pressure on yourself that you're like nuts, like you're not allowing space for that kindness and I always allow that space, but it's not something that you know sometimes I do have to get up and be like no, I'm going to do it today, I'm going to do this and I'm going to do that because that is feeding my soul, that is feeding my spirit and that is helping me progress into what I want to become tomorrow.
Speaker 1:Simon, it was an absolute pleasure to talk to you today. I'm so going to keep this in mind. I don't chase, I attract.
Speaker 2:I'm going to keep it with me as a mantra. Where can people find you on social media? Instagram, they can find me at simonmaestre, which is my last name. Just follow me. I always post stuff from projects that I have going on different things, whether it's working out, acting, keeping positive. Yeah, just follow me on my journey if that's something you want to share. I like to also follow other people that are on similar journeys.
Speaker 1:Awesome. Thank you for listening to the Loud Whisper Takeover podcast. Remember to follow and subscribe and we'll see you in the next episode.
