Marina Castellví: "I've never had to send out resumes."

Content creator Marina Castellví (2004) saw a TikTok video called Who you are according to the Barcelona nightclub you go to and decided to do it with his hometown, Lleida. No one had done it before, and he says the video was very well received. Thus, without meaning to, he began to claim Lleida: "I didn't do it with any intention; it came naturally to me. But it's true that I've always thought there's a lot of centralism, especially in the media."

Castellví made videos during quarantine: "I was 15 years old and I did it to play." Then he started getting paid: "The first income was creating content for the TikTok account ofAdolescents.cat". And, although she initially wanted to dedicate herself to theater, she opted to study journalism and audiovisual communication: "I said to myself: 'You've always liked communicating, telling stories to people, cameras, videos, and social media.'" The turning point came when she entered social media and "started posting videos" with 50,000 followers. "I've always done things related to communication; I've never had a job in any other sector," she explains.

"I'm happy because I've never had to send out resumes. And now, since people know me from my social media presence, they write to me directly to pursue projects," says the influencer. One of her jobs is promoting products and experiences: "When people started asking me about rates, I felt really guilty and terrible about asking for money. I had a hard time setting prices." Over the years, her relationship with finances has improved. "I understand that it's a job, and in the end, services must be paid for," she says.

Her parents have helped her a lot "with talking about money and making invoices": "I was completely ignorant. And at first I didn't need to be self-employed, but there came a time when I already had a lot of collaborations with brands." Although she initially refused because she had heard several times that it's a sector where you suffer a lot, she became self-employed: "I saw news reports that people were leaving for Andorra because it really hurts. And I was sick of being self-employed, especially because of the uncertainty. Maybe this month I'll have a lot of collaborations, the quota." Besides, her parents are civil servants. "They live very well and they told me: 'Not you being self-employed.' And it wasn't just them; everyone told me the same thing," she adds. She had a negative mental image of the sector: "Now I don't think it's bad. I really like my job, and if I have to be self-employed to do it, I have no problem."

In addition to sponsorships, Castellví hosts events and works in the media. "I'm a very demanding person, but I've learned that you can't be 100% focused on everything, because I'm also studying for a degree and I exercise every day. Balancing it all is difficult. I've had a lot of anxiety and headaches because I think I'm not up to it; I've learned to take it slow." In fact, she struggles to study and work at the same time. "It's frustrating and a bit complicated, especially because my degree is in person, and often I have a filming or a live show at SX3 and I have to leave."

Regarding personal finances, Castellví emphasizes how lucky she's been, because money "has never been a problem" for her family. "My parents always told me, 'Don't worry, you can ask us for whatever you need.'" Even so, she assures that she has always spent her money "responsibly." "I like to save, because I'm a person who thinks a lot about tomorrow and I'm generally quite long-suffering," she emphasizes. She continues: "Now I'm worried about the future, the day I want to become independent, because prices are sky-high." In this sense, she lives well on her current salary: "I live with my parents and I don't have too many expenses, but if I had to live off this, I'd really suffer."

However, she's clear that she wants to dedicate herself to journalism: "In the long term, I don't see myself on social media because I prefer the media." "My goal is to eventually host a live program on 3Cat," Castellví says.