RESIST: AN INTERVIEW WITH ARTIST MARIA PIÑERES
Camo crush! We sat down with artist and RESIST mural creator Maria Piñeres for a recap of the radical art she created for our space.
RESIST by artist Maria Piñeres (2017)
If you’ve ever visited EVERYBODY Gym in Cypress Park, chances are you’ve caught a glimpse of the gorgeous mural on our outside patio. Maybe you’ve seen it from the street as you drove down San Fernando Road or during your daily workout. Maybe you’ve wondered who created this beautiful mural, what is the meaning behind it, and why do I love it so much?
We sat down with artist and creator of the RESIST mural Maria Piñeres for a radical recap…
Artist Maria Piñeres at EVERYBODY Gym in Los Angeles
V: Ok, tell me your name and your big three. I’ll go first. My name is V and I’m a Leo sun, Sag rising and Menopause Moon.
(pause for laughter)
MP: Maria Piñeres: Sun in Libra, Cancer rising and moon in Aries.
V: You’ve been an artist for a long time…
MP: A really long time. I went to high school for art and studied art and design in Manhattan, so since I was 14. I came out to LA in 2005.
V: It’s such a crazy time right now, and it's so nice to see this mural still persisting almost unscathed, maybe a little sun lifted. But to me, it still seems like as vibrant as it was in the first few months that you painted it. I have a few photos in front of it from 2017 when Sam held an artist reception. I know there's elements of camouflage and kind of different interpretations of it, like colorful adaptations of camouflage almost…
MP: Yeah, I had done a really deep dive into different types of camouflage, and I just got really into it for a while. I've always liked to play with colors, and it also alludes to militant-ness. I think it has a lot to do with landscapes. It's like when I go to the desert, I'm just looking at the colors or the patterns that stand out and why certain camouflage became what they are. It's like shadows and colors, so a lot of this was sort of landscapes juxtaposed with each other, and they could signify bodies, or they can signify elements of nature or pushing back against each other…
“I had done a really deep dive into different types of camouflage, and I just got really into it for a while. I’ve always liked to play with colors, and it also alludes to militant-ness.”
V: But also flowing with each other…
MP: Yeah, it was all that. That's what I found, so much fun to play with.
V: Yeah. When you hear an artist talk about their work, you kind of look at it a little differently…with more insight. But I also like having my own opinion first and then maybe knowing what the artist said as opposed to the other way around.
MP: What was your opinion, I’m curious…
V: Instantly my head went into ‘queering camouflage’. It went into taking something and, like queers do, make it colorful, make it political, because it just already is. Make it mean more than what it traditionally means, but with a twist of camp, a little bit of joy, a little bit of fun, a little bit of resistance.
MP: Totally….
V: Mix it all up and voila! And it looks better than traditional camo, but yet, it has these elements which, for me, like maybe as an old school dyke from the 90s, I really related to. We still wear the camo, but even more back then…
MP: Oh I’m so drawn to it to this day…
V: Yes…We wore the camo because I feel like we didn't have much of a wardrobe selection as gender fluid people back then. It was either men's clothes or women's clothes. So for me the camo was like oh, there's women in the military or this makes me feel powerful. I'm kind of making a statement against gender norms and femininity, but also being ready to fight. And the irony is, I guess camo makes you blend in, but when you're in a cityscape, you stand out. Right?
MP: Yeah, and the colors are more joyful, but it's also kind of like they're saying, as queer what kind of clothing and patterns do you gravitate to?
V: Yeah, and the camouflage shapes are specifically non-uniform and contrasting.
MP: Right.
“Instantly my head went into ‘queering camouflage’. It went into taking something and, like queers do, make it colorful, make it political, because it just already is.”
V: And then for the inside of the gym, what was your inspiration for that?
MP: I talked to Sam and we talked about making a different approach, but at the same time relating to it. I thought it would be nice to have A LOT of white space, so that it's sort of like creeping into the space.
V: Yeah, it feels almost like when you go to an old apartment and the bricks are sticking out from behind the paint.
MP: Yeah, like tearing down walls and finding a little piece of wallpaper that existed before, it's something like that.
V: I like how at certain places where cracks might be, or underneath every boring white wall is…
MP: …Some history…
V: Yeah, especially here, like a cool queer history or artsy one.
MP: Right. And then I also played with the edges, like one side is really organic and the other side is really rigid, and at some point they come together where both sides are rigid. But it's really, really subtle, but that was just something that I kind of planned that way when it was on paper. And I was just like oh, the sides facing each other are both soft, and then these two sides facing each other are going to be like so, just for fun. It also does feel to me a little bit graffiti. I never call myself a graffiti artist, but my approach was a little bit to be, not just because it's on a wall, but a certain kind of line…
V: Yeah, they have distinct outlines, like someone doing a piece would definitely do a thicker outline with the colors inside and the solid on the outside. It reminded me of that, too because growing up in LA, I would study the graffiti art.
“‘...I also played with the edges, like one side is really organic and the other side is really rigid, and...the sides facing each other are both soft...”
V: So when you do this, you draw it out first and then kind of like a mapping situation?
MP: I do a mapping, but, you know, once it goes on the wall, it takes on its own thing.
V: And how long did the RESIST mural take to to do?
MP: Actually this one took a month, but it was like that weird time of year where the day I started it, it rained and then it didn't stop raining for like a month and a half. We would have one clear day and I'd jump in and every time I would come set everything up, out of nowhere the sky would just like turn gray.
V: That’s so rare for LA. It was like trying to resist your RESIST mural! Ok wow, but usually it would take probably like two weeks or a week?
MP: I thought it was going to take like a week and a half.
V: And how do you feel when you see people take pictures in front of it?
MP: Oh, I loved it. Especially early on, I remember I scrolling through Instagram and sometimes you're not paying attention, and then I'd be like, there's my background. Yeah, it's pretty awesome.
V: I honestly love when people do that or are just filming or selfie-ing out here. The mural just makes everything pop: makes the astroturf pop, the equipment pop, it just makes everybody look great.
MP: Because it's outdoors, the lighting is always great. Even when there's shadows, it looks really fresh. The inside doesn't have that same look.
V: Yeah, the inside seems more poppy because the white and then the color are like bam, bam, whereas the outside blends in more… The medicine balls are blending in, the boxing bags, and even the orange fan. It's almost like Sam consciously works the equipment around your mural.
“We pulled a lot of colors from the EVERYBODY typeface. But obviously there are some browns and deep oranges that needed to go in there just to help it pop a little bit.”
V: And what do you think about it now years later?
MP: I'm so happy it's still there and sometimes when I drive down San Fernando, you see the top of it, and obviously the first thing I notice is how much it's faded, although it's still pretty bright on the bottom. But it does kind of make me chuckle that it's there and where my mind was at the time... and if I had any doubts at the time like oh, that should have been a different color... We pulled a lot of colors from the EVERYBODY typeface. But obviously there are some browns and deep oranges that needed to go in there just to help it pop a little bit. At the time some of the colors just weren't me, like I would never use that color, but now those colors ARE me.
V: Totally! So when you were painting it, what was your mind frame at the time?
MP: I mean aside from the political thing, it did feel like a big time of change, and I think I was either just starting a new relationship and had just ended a long one. I had just moved… So, some personal, some just more environmental.
“V: And the RESIST title, did you come up with that?
MP: Yes...that name didn’t strike me until it was finished. It was just kind of like, oh, it’s RESIST, that it can’t be anything else.”
V: And the RESIST title, did you come up with that?
MP: Yes, and I didn't name it or that name didn't strike me until it was finished. It was just kind of like, oh, it's RESIST, that it can't be anything else. It just felt whether or not it pertained to the image and what was depicted, it was just at the time how I felt, and especially because it was for this particular place at that particular time.
V: Kind of like the juxtaposition of Trump in office, and this new gym forming right at this time. The two coming together, like what a perfect time.
MP: It was a perfect time, and it just reinforced the idea of community and identity, and sort of having our little fortress of safety. I’ve been in a queer bubble for so long that I forget about the other side, and then everything is so normal until (and I don't mean to otherness people), but we're clearly in a bubble. But it's so safe and it's so nice, and I’d do anything to maintain and preserve that safe space. It would be ideal if we didn't have to, but if we have to, then we must! Ha!
V: Yes, we must! Now more than ever. The sh*t is just accelerating exponentially. Yeah, this place has always been that root, or that space for a lot of people. So it's good to see some things still standing the test of time, your mural, the space, the mission…everything.
MP: Yeah, and growing and you know… just being so positive.
“...the juxtaposition of Trump in office, and this new gym forming. The two coming together, like what a perfect time. ”
V. in front of Maria’s mural setting up for the artist’s reception. (2017)
“...it just reinforced the idea of community and identity, and sort of having our little fortress of safety...it’s so safe and it’s so nice, and I’d do anything to maintain and preserve that safe space. It would be ideal if we didn’t have to, but if we have to, then we must!”
You may see Maria at the gym, your local art gallery, or about town, but you can always catch her vibes in our space or at www.mariapineres.com.
‘Levity Floats’ by Maria Piñeres (2020) Walter Maciel Gallery
Maria is currently represented by Walter Maciel Gallery in Culver City. Please contact for commissions.
Needlepoint work by Maria Piñeres.
homebodies & heroines
This month we are welcoming Fall Feels™ and celebrating the vibrant roots of some of our Latine / Latinx members and crew! Dive in deeper for spotlights on Mexican Women's Curling Team member Veronica Huerta, Red Carpet Reporter turned Trainer Marcela Isaza, Tamarindo Podcast producer Brenda Gonzalez, and Latinx Fire Sign Stoneware Founder Dee Clement!
As the Autumn Equinox approaches, we’re FALLing hard for flannel season, warm colors and cool, crisp nights. September is ripe for harvesting the achievements we have worked so hard all year for. Hello abundance, is that YOU?
Fall Feels
September 15th also marks the beginning of LatinX Heritage Month, so we are celebrating the vibrant roots of some of our Latiné and Latinx members and crew! Dive in deeper for spotlights on Mexican Women’s Curling Team member Veronica Huerta, Red Carpet reporter turned Trainer Marcela Isaza, Tamarindo Podcast producer Brenda Gonzalez, and Latinx Fire Sign Stoneware Founder Dee Clement!
Veronica Huerta, Marcela Isaza, Brenda Gonzalez, and Dee Clement
CURL JAM - VERONICA HUERTA
Shout out to our member and Mexican Women’s Curling Team Member, Veronica Huerta! Huerta represents her home nation of Mexico as a member of the National Women’s Curling Team and along with her crew, won the silver medal in Women’s Curling at the 2022 PanContinental Curling Championship. You may have also seen Veronica on our patio Monday nights at Sonny's Good Damage class at EVERYBODY, a perfect prep for Curling season!
When not at the Gym or training with the team, Veronica is a healthcare Infection Preventionist for Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center and is the Chair of the Homelessness and Housing Committee on the Glassell Park Neighborhood Council board. She also helped launch Northeast Neighborhood Outreach (NENO), a nonprofit that provides shelter, clothing, food, and other necessities to the homeless communities of Los Angeles.
Veronica Huerta (left) w/ Coach + Mexican Olympic Curling Team
“I want to thank @amarennotakaren, also a member of the gym, for introducing me to the sport of Curling, she changed my life.”
EVERYBODY is a proud supporter of Veronica on her way to the 2026 Winter Olympics! You can also join in supporting by donating to the Mexican Women’s Olympic Curling Team or check out their super cute store with Lotería inspired Curling shirts and more!
FROM BTS TO FEATURED GUEST - MARCELA ISAZA
Marcela recently made the leap from red carpet reporter to Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer. Rubbing elbows with top entertainers such as J. Balvin, Bad Bunny, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Pitbull, Lizzo, Calle 13, and Ice Cube was a dream come true, but Marcela felt she was missing something.
So she left behind a successful 20-year career as one of Hollywood’s top entertainment bilingual reporters to embark on new adventures in the health and wellness world. Swapping out glamourous red-carpet gowns for leopard jumpsuits, Marcela is now bringing her unique Colombian joie de vivre to unlock the swagger for her private clients and spin class participants. Born in Colombia and raised in Latino Los Angeles, she has learned how to convert mental strength into tools of physical movement that have empowered her body and lifted her soul. She is excited to share those gifts with others on their own journeys of self-empowerment.
She has been an avid fitness practitioner for 30 years and as a previously single, working mother, completely undersands the constant struggle of “I don’t have time.” Her life’s mission is to empower clients to be their best selves through the power of movement.
Marcela Isaza's amazing journey...
“The career switch from journalist to personal trainer was the most challenging part. I loved exercise myself, but would I enjoy teaching it? It was scary to walk away from a successful career as an entertainment journalist to start something so different...”
Marcela has a bachelor’s degree from USC (University of Southern California) and is a NASM-certified personal trainer and group fitness instructor and a Les Mills RPM-trained spin instructor specializing in women’s fitness. She is also a featured guest instructor on EVERYBODY’s HOMEBODY VOD catalog!
Marcela Isaza on HOMEBODY VOD (photo by Slow Blink)
Catch Marcela IRL Wednesdays for her SPINDARELLA’S Spin class 6p at SIBLING, Fridays for HIP HOP TO THE CORE 9am at EVERYBODY, and 24/7 on HOMEBODY VOD!
Book Marcela Isaza for Personal Training sessions @ EVERYBODY here!
TAMARINDO PODCAST - BRENDA GONZALEZ
Founder & Co-Host of Tamarindo Podcast, Brenda Gonazalez is a self-proclaimed political nerd, a fitness instructor at EVERYBODY Gym, and nonprofit capacity-builder focusing on social justice nonprofits.
Born in Puebla, Mexico, Brenda lives in Los Angeles. Brenda’s experience as a formerly undocumented student shaped her interest in politics and she taught American Government at Cal State Fullerton before she was even eligible to vote. In response to negative rhetoric about the Latine community in political discourse, Brenda founded Tamarindo in 2016 with the mission to use comedy and laughter to illuminate important issues impacting the community.
At the intersection of advocacy and self-care, Tamarindo is a lighthearted podcast where hosts Brenda and co-host Delsy Sandoval discuss politics, culture, and self-development. Each week on the podcast, you can expect insightful conversations on race, gender, representation and life.
Brenda Gonzalez, Delsy Sandoval & Tamarindo Podcast Guests
“We’re here to uplift our community through powerful conversations with changemakers, creatives, and healers. More than a podcast, Tamarindo builds community through virtual and in-person events, workshops, and creative retreats. ”
Tamarindo Podcast is now featured on Apple Podcasts Latine Creators! Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and be sure to check out the feature on Marcela Isaza!
You can always catch Brenda teaching Full Body Bootcamp Mondays @ 6p at EVERYBODY and 24/7 on HOMEBODY VOD!
Brenda Gonzalez on HOMEBODY VOD (photo by Slow Blink)
CERAMICS SIDE HUSTLE - DEE CLEMENT
EVERYBODY Personal Trainer Dee has her hands in many pots…
Dee Clement (she/her/ella) is a non-binary, latinx, NASM certified Personal Trainer at EVERYBODY whose focus combines strength building, improving self-confidence and mindfulness. Dee aims to help people reframe the way they think of exercise and societal expectations so that they can enjoy physical activity that connects their minds to their bodies.
As an athlete who has been participating in competitive and outdoor sports her entire life, she hopes to teach people how to meet their goals, but also prioritize rest, recovery, and listening to their bodies. Compassion is the key!
When not training folks at EVERYBODY Gym, Dee is busy hand crafting ceramics for her passion project Fire Sign Stoneware.
I am a born and raised socal native. I have an affinity for all things natural, handmade and aesthetically beautiful. I love the idea of turning basic household items into something more. Building these pieces by hand, so that everything in your home is a little piece of art.
I am inspired by west coast scenery and spirituality. I am also very influenced by my Mexican and Japanese heritage and pay homage to both cultures in my pieces. I hope you find inspiration in my pieces the way I did making them.
Trainer Dee & Doobie 🐾
“Being a Sagittarius, I have to constantly keep myself active with my hands and my imagination. For me, pottery is my form of art and therapy. It eases my mind and brings me so much joy.”
Book Dee for an IRL Personal Training session at EVERYBODY or catch her 24/7 on HOMEBODY VOD!
Shop Fire Sign Stoneware here!
Dee Clement on HOMEBODY VOD (photo by Slow Blink)
Thank you for reading our Journal! Would you like to share your thoughts or be featured on our IG? Send us a DM @everybodylosangeles.
For more resources on Latinx history, please visit: