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lighting, right?' So, I just kinda started on a whim really. And it kinda, honestly, grew from there. I think it's because: 1. I was really hardworking and I would always do my best to upload as much as I could. But also, there was not a lot of men in makeup doing it at the time. I feel like times were a little bit different, five years ago." But fans weren't the only ones interested in Manny. He was one of the biggest influencers in the beauty space and the mainstream beauty world had him on their radar. In 2017, Maybelline secured Manny for their Big Shot Mascara by Colossal ad campaign. This marked two firsts for Maybelline: The first time partnering with a beauty influencer, and their first campaign with a man as their star. "I was so excited because I was the first-ever male ambassador for Maybelline for a product, so I really, really was like, 'Dude, hell yeah! I want to do it!' I just didn't know it was going to be as big as it was. I'm not thinking, 'Oh, well, I'm a guy doing it, this is so cool. I'm about to break boundaries.' That's not what I was thinking, I was thinking, 'Oh, this is great. Me, as a beauty blogger, Manny MUA, I wanted to do this. In my mind, I try not to compare myself to other girls. I just want to think we're all in it together… But afterwards, I was like, 'This is a big moment in beauty history!' I was like, 'What!?'" Is there a pivotal moment when things started to really change for you? That's a really good question. You know, you're just going through life, working really hard, you don't stop to smell the roses, you're just doing your thing. But I remember, like, the moment I quit working a normal job [at MAC] was when I was like, 'Oh shit, I'm really doing this.' This is when I had hit 100,000 subscribers on YouTube and that's when I knew I could pay for the shit that I wanted because I can survive now off of just YouTube. I quit my job and was like, 'I'm really going to go into this full-time.' I just kinda dove right in after that. And from there, it's just been a whirlwind, honestly. It feels like it was just yesterday, but it was like 5 years ago. It's amazing how people just blow up like that! It's literally crazy. I don't even know. I feel like nowadays people don't blow up as easily. There's an oversaturation now, that it's like, you have to really be able to be different and do your own thing and not try to be in anyone else's lane because that lane is that person. You're not trying to be like anyone else. What do you think sets you apart? That garnered you this substantial following? I think, with me, I was so like, 'Yo, this is me. It is what it is.' I don't like to sugarcoat things. I like to be super honest on the channel. I curse right away. It wasn't like I was trying to be this prim and proper beauty blogger and that's what there was. I didn't see a lot of people that were being like, a friend. And that's what I wanted. I was like, 'I just wanna be like the homie next door with you, doing makeup, and teaching you how to do things.' But it's super hard [laughs]. Last year, you landed on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list, which is major. Congratulations on that! Thank you so much. How did you receive the news? I'm trying to remember if my manager called me and she was like, 'You got on the…' I was like, 'What!?' I was so shook, because that's like such a big list to be part of and it's like, 'Oh my God. It's insane.' I was like, 'How does this even happen?' Basically, it's just showing influential people that are under 30. I feel like those kind of things are very validating for you. As a creator, there's no rule book, there's no anything, so when you get things like this, you're like, 'Oh my God, I worked so hard.' It makes it so worth it when you have things like that happen. You're like, 'Dude, my hard is being noticed and it's paying off.' I got to go to the PEOPLE party for it and all that stuff with all these stars and I'm like, 'What the heck am I doing here? I'm not a star or celebrity.' So, it was crazy. I saw that you moved into a new place in Los Angeles. I just got a new place. I lived in Hollywood before and I was there for three years and I was like, 'I am so over Hollywood.' It's just a hard place to live in and it's just so much hustle and bustle. I wanted a place that was my sanctuary, so I moved about 30 minutes away. Now, I live in this cute, little community; you go there and you're like, 'I feel like I'm at peace.' Manny orders tacos and a Sprite. What has surprised you most in your career? The support that people show. It's so baffling because they don't actually know me in-person, so it's getting to see this kind of support, getting to see the people at meet-and- greets, things like that. People feel so connected to me and it's amazing. I don't know them but they know me... I always want to ask questions, like, 'Tell me about yourself.' To see how I affected their lives in a positive way, that's always shocking. I'm just me, living my authentic self and by me living my authentic self, it helps everyone else be themselves, too. It's really cool. I love that. That is awesome. And you are working with St. Jude. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes! That was so amazing. Last year, last August, I went to St. Jude and I got a girl named Hannah. She's 12. I'm like, 'Girl, we're not doing the full glam on you. We're doing some concealer and highlight.' And it was so fun. I'm doing a fundraiser with them and I wanted to raise $20,000 for them and luckily, we already passed that goal by a lot. It's been amazing. I've been wanting to work with St. Jude for awhile and going to the facility really is just so eye-opening. Dude,