Today we’d like to introduce you to Arjay Mendiola.
Hi Arjay, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I graduated high school in 2019 with a full ride scholarship to Montana State University. Upon leaving high school I had earned 5 state championships in track and field. I had dreams to go on and compete in the Olympics and become a professional track and field athlete. When I finally got to University I realized how wildly unprepared I was. During my high school years I struggled heavily with my mental health facing deep depression and anxiety. Track was the only thing that gave me a sense of freedom. When I was at the university I was terrified of being on my own and quickly realized I wanted nothing more than to come back home even willing to give up on my dreams. I ultimately made it back home accepting that I may have to leave track behind, this forced me into a severe identity crisis. Track is where I had found my most value and without it I had no idea who I was. In the winter I accepted another track and field scholarship this time to a community college in Portland. I felt like I inly had worth when I was running track and intended to hang on to that for as long as I could. But then the entire world shut down due to the pandemic. This forced the track program I was in to close down for the season and to wait until further notice. I was faced yet again with a harsh reality of who was I without track. I spent most of the pandemic trying to fill that void but seemingly always coming up short. My depression and anxiety was at it’s worst during this time.
During the pandemic I was hired at a local Dutch Bros and this was the first time since leaving track behind that I had found a glimpse of that freedom that I would chase in track. I found somewhere where I could be myself and something that I was naturally good at, making coffee and having genuine conversations. Over my first year at Dutch Bros I was promoted within the first six months and already able to transfer to a new location. During 2021 me and my then girlfriend, now fiancé decided we were going to move out of Oregon and out to Texas seizing the opportunity to see somewhere new. I was faced yet again with the fear of being ready to leave everything I knew to a place completely new to me. The trip there and back put a lot of pressure on our relationship and in some situations forced me to grow up on the spot. This was a time a look back on that showed me just how capable I am as a person. We unfortunately faced some hard circumstances that forced us to come back home sooner than we wanted but that journey really set the premise to the hardships I would endure there after.
Upon coming home I went back to Dutch Bros. During a shift in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas my stand was held up at gunpoint and robbed. Thankfully no one was physically injured but this was the most traumatic thing I had endured thus far. Before this had happened I was already struggling heavily with depression and suicidal ideation. When the cops interviewed us after the event one of them asked me why i had been so calm during the robbery and I remember telling him it was because I was ready to end my life and was hoping that they would’ve pulled the trigger. Upon saying this I remember immediately feeling my body go numb. I had suffered from extreme PTSD following the robbery which ultimately pulled me away from work for a while. On top of all the struggling following this event and not working I slipped back into suicidal ideation and ultimately ended up trying to take my life. This attempt landed me in the hospital. During my time in the hospital there was a point where I had fallen unconscious and stopped breathing, and that was the moment I met God. When I regained consciousness I remember hearing the doctors say it was a miracle I was still alive due to how long I hadn’t been breathing. I knew it wasn’t just a miracle it was God. I vowed in that moment that I was going to live my life differently. This moment was the spark to the change in direction I took my life.
Following getting out of the hospital I became extremely devoted to following God. I knew looking ahead it was not going to be easy to build the life I wanted and that I would have to remain faithful. I felt like to rebuild my life I was truly starting from rock bottom.
I decided I didn’t want to work at Dutch Bros due to the PTSD. I sought out to get my real estate license. This process took about 6 months. Given my new lease on life I was extremely motivated to build my career. 2 months into my career I suffered a head on collision from someone running a red light. This really made me feel like every time I took a step forward I would take 2 steps back. Now not having a car and having to recover from the accident I had to take a break from real estate. I ultimately decided to go back to Dutch Bros to gain stability until I could recover and figure out what I was to do next. I stayed at Dutch Bros for the next 2.5 years working my way up into the assistant management position. I decided I was going to work towards opening my own location, looking across state lines possibly even moving back to Texas. Making this decision I felt torn because half of me knew I wanted bigger and better for my life but given the cards I had it felt like bigger and better wasn’t going to happen and I needed to be realistic. But before I could get my opportunity to manage a Dutch Bros here locally I lost in the running for the management position at my stand. I took this as my sign to actually go and chase after what my heart was longing for.
After I made up my mind I stepped down from my assistant manager position down to regular barista. Once I stepped down I started building my first business. I had started a cleaning business and began learning entrepreneurship. While this was something I had no prior experience in I learned every step of the way. I knew the cleaning business wasn’t going to be my golden goose but it was an opportunity I had to use to learn as much as I could about running a business. I was more successful than I thought I was going to be and for the first time it felt like I could see a light at the end of the tunnel. I doubled down and hired staff and scaled my business through a year of success before ultimately closing it and moving on to the next opportunity. Before I closed the cleaning business I decided to renew my real estate license and try to pursue that route again.
From the growth I had experienced this far in life my second time around with real estate I decided I wanted to pursue impact. I didn’t want to just sell houses I wanted to find a way to actually help people. When I began doing this I knew that was what I wanted to do in this life. Help people. Just as I began again with real estate I was approached by another entrepreneur to start a business that was built on chasing impact. At the time I was so on fire to help I wanted to do anything and everything I could. We had also started a entrepreneurship group that helped young entrepreneurs navigate their entrepreneurial journey by providing support and resources. I have since disbanded from that partnership but never stopped chasing impact. I spent the last 2 .5 years in real estate building resources for first time home buyers to aide in achieving the dream of buying their first home. I built an app, hosted classes, built support systems and tools that met first time home buyers where they were at, and found ways to come along side them to help navigate their home buying journey. I was creating the impact that was my soul was hungry for. But once the market shifted and we began to enter the downturn we are in and constant changes in rules it became increasingly harder to keep building a career built in real estate. I ultimately made the difficult decision to exit the industry.
Before I made an exit I took inventory of what I had skill wise and spent a lot of time looking forward to what I truly wanted out of a career. During these reflections I had realized the impact I wanted to chase could be done in any form of career. Impact wasn’t confined to one career or industry. I took a lot into consideration my skills, and interests, and goals. I came to the decision to pursue marketing. I had always been someone to support locally and other entrepreneurs I was close to as much as I could but I always knew I was just one customer with one wallet. I knew the best way you could support a business owner is to bring them new business. Pursuing marketing tied everything I have been so passionate about together in one beautiful bow. I knew I had no prior experience other than my own ventures and that I would need to seriously build report and knowledge in the marketing space. I got my google marketing certification and by the grace of God was given the opportunity to build up marketing through a friend’s business. He truly gave me the start I needed through lots of trial and error until I gained true footing in the marketing space.
It was during this time that I began my series the Area Expert. I never fully intended it to become the brand it is growing into today, I truly started it as a way to learn social media on my own accord so that I could help other business owners do the same for their own businesses. It quickly started picking up and turning into an incredible resource to the community. Through my marketing business I have helped business build strategy but through my personal brand the Area Expert I have been able to give many stories an opportunity in spot light that they hadn’t had before. There have been a few times that owners have come to me after a video highlight telling me they’ve had record months, and it’s exactly that as to why I do it. Nothing has made my heart feel fuller than seeing the impact I have been able to make in these owners lives through a video I put together. I have now found the lane I can be most successful in leaving and creating impact. I don’t think I would have ever gotten here if I hadn’t had to go through all the trials and tribulations I have faced. I am truly blessed by God to have everything I have in this life. My life has flipped a complete 180 from where it began 7 years ago and I know I have so much more impact to create, and can’t thank the community and my supporters enough to helping me get there.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been anything but smooth. I think the biggest struggle I faced was finding identity. My whole identity had been wrapped in vanity, and fame instead of my heart and character. Nothing has been harder than tearing down the old me and rebuilding in a way that I am proud of and knows will help people.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
With Your Area Expert I find local spots, hidden gems, and community builders and share their story. I tried to take the angle in my videos that is highlighting the story rather than features or coming across like an ad. From the beginning of time we have shared stories and I have found there is nothing more interesting in a place than the story behind it. You could have 100 burger joints but the story behind each one is what gives you a reason to choose one over the other. I would say through this I have become known for finding people and places who have good character and a good story. I don’t do videos for everyone, I specifically want to give the people who are chasing impact and community from a true and honest stand point rather than just the people who have money they flash around. I am most proud of the way I have been able to create genuine connection and connect others in ways they may have not been able to before. Nothing is cooler than introducing two people that can help each other reach a common goal even if I don’t get anything out of it. That’s not the point for me, the point is to truly help as many people get closer to achieving their goals as I can. What sets me apart is I stand by my values, and pursue relationship over revenue. Something that I have learned is that not all dollars are clean dollars. Knowing how short life is I want the people who really deserve it to get their opportunity to win.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
I think one of my favorite child hood memories was when my family would go camping at our cabin, and we would play on the tire swing out front. I loved adventure and exploration, camping was always one of my favorite things to do. Even after we moved out to Oregon where we had to find a new camping spot, going up to Detroit lake and camping up there has always left me with fond memories.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mendenovasmarketing.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourareaexpert_arjay/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourareaexpert_arjay
