Joey Gonzales

Joey Gonzales (he/him) is 19 years old. He is Chumash/Tataviam on his fathers side and Indigenous Mexican on his mothers side. Joey grew up in California his whole life surrounded around LA county. Growing up Joey always had a connection with the land and nature. Joey has a strong passion for the arts. His main career aspiration is acting and modeling , he hopes to bring indigenous representation to the film/modeling industry as a model and actor. Joey pushes the topic that indigenous stories/characters should be played by indigenous actors and written by indigenous writers. He believes that representation shapes who we become as youth, “we deserve to be seen as heroes, astronauts, fantasy characters, etc, we deserve to see ourselves in a positive light in film and media .” He is currently working on building his acting career and soon hopes to create change within the industry for his indigenous relatives. He is also passionate about mental health and creating safe environments for his indigenous relatives.