From Modeling to Entrepreneurship
Gabriel M Padilla dreamed of a successful modeling career in Los Angeles after graduating high school at 17 years old. At 18, he was determined to turn his dream into a reality and made his brave move from rural Southern Oregon to LA in 2015. At that point, Gabriel had no solid plan or financial safety net in case things went south for him, but he knew he had to work hard to make something of himself or otherwise risk living a mediocre life.
Today, Gabriel M Padilla is a renowned social media influencer and marketing consultant, with over 300,000 followers on his Instagram handles @GabrielMPadilla, and @WithRoxy, an account about his gorgeous Husky-German Shepherd dog that he co-manages with his Finnish girlfriend, Monica Landén.
Gabriel’s initial experience after his bold move to LA was typical of many starving models or actors who try to make it to Hollywood. He initially tried to work stereotypical jobs for aspiring models such as bartending or waiting tables, which was the trend back then. However, after two years of being signed to 3 different agencies in three different markets, Gabriel knew that something much bigger than modeling was on the rise. With the upsurge of social media, Gabriel was driven to make it work, and he wanted to keep up.
Before meeting his girlfriend Monica, Gabriel used to live with four roommates in a cramped 2-bedroom apartment right in the center of Hollywood. Since Monica shared the same passion for traveling as Gabriel, the couple had turned to traveling all over the world together and became successful travel influencers.
It wasn’t long after that, Gabriel and Monica found their dog, Roxy, who became the ultimate definition of a millennial baby to the couple and to their hundreds of thousands of fans today! Roxy became part of the couple’s travel adventures, which is how @WithRoxy came about.
Gabriel’s evident success as an influencer didn’t stop there. Whenever he reaches a new milestone in his life, he always asks himself, “Is this how far I can take this?”. That single question drove his success as an entrepreneur after he co-founded Model Citizen, a company that aims to provide PPE to as many people as possible! As a subscription box service company, it also applies a 1-to-1 donation model where a mask is donated to frontline workers and communities in need of every single mask included in the boxes that the company sells.
Flexing his Entrepreneurship Muscles for the First Time
Gabriel M Padilla’s talent in entrepreneurship did not just pop out of the blue. He’s had it in him from a young age. He was only 8 years old when he decided to set up a lemonade stand to pay for the Pokémon cards that he really wanted while on a family vacation. For our younger readers, Pokémon cards were all the rage in the early 2000’s.
Gabriel’s father effectively taught him the value of financial responsibility, buying the Pokémon cards for Gabriel and his brother on the condition that they could only open it once they had the money to pay him for it. The brothers were given two choices – take a few hours clean to their family minivan (which was super messy from the family vacation) or figure it out on their own.
While Gabriel’s brother went with the first choice, Gabriel spent the afternoon to come up with another way – resulting in his lemonade stand idea. In just 30 minutes, Gabriel was able to come up with double the amount he needed to pay for the cards! His brother was still cleaning even long after.
The key moment opened Gabriel’s eyes to the unlimited possibilities of being responsible for your own success or failure in life. This early experience had directed him to work for himself his entire life and chase his wildest dreams!
To follow Gabriel and his family, check their Instagram: