Meet your ‘Boyle Heights bestie,’ the runner uplifting her neighborhood online

This story was produced under The LA Local’s Youth Journalism Program. To learn more or to get involved, click here.

On social media, Metztli Garcia is known as “your Boyle Heights bestie,” a nickname that underscores her close ties to the neighborhood.

She takes her 32,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram on runs through Boyle Heights, often stopping at local restaurants she frequents.

While running, the 25-year-old gives background on the businesses she visits. She also documents trips to the gym, her work in her garden, and highlights local events.  

Growing up in foster care, Garcia said running and therapy helped inspire the work she does. She said she always admired street vendors and small businesses, as well as the nonprofits that support them, which influenced how she promotes local businesses.   

After teaching herself financial literacy and buying her first home, Garcia said she was inspired to share ways to save money and build wealth. 

High school student reporter Randy Morales spoke with Garcia about growing up in Boyle Heights, what shaped her interests and following and how the influencer focuses on “move more, build wealth and uplift your hood.”  

This interview has been edited for space and clarity. 

What was your life like growing up in Boyle Heights and how did being in foster care affect you?

“I feel really fortunate that Boyle Heights has a long history of perseverance and hard work and love. I feel like I grew up knowing those types of people around me and that kind of instilled the values that I had. I was really lucky that I had a really loving community. I also understand that there are also challenges that come with growing up low-income, but that’s kind of what also formed who I am today.

As I’ve worked through [my youth] and understood it more, it’s helped inspire a lot of the work that I want to do. A lot of the people who are foster youth are kids of color, are low-income, are kids who grew up with either parents that were not present or unable to care for the kids. And so I think it affected my mental health in a negative way growing up. But I also have found a lot of purpose because of it.”  

How did you get into running, and what does it do for you?  

“My dad was essentially the reason I was taken away to foster care. Running is what brought us back close together. He’s the one who first exposed me to running for the first time in fifth grade. 

It’s a special thing because it’s what I’ve done with people that I love. It’s also a great time to think and be by yourself. When I’m feeling stressed, running helps me relieve that anxiety. It’s a big part of my life because it gives [me] a place to be alone.”

Who’s a friend or a person who uplifted you or helped you during a time of need? 

“My mom is just so creative. And I get a lot of my ideation, my mindset, because I have a ton of ideas, and I want to bring them to life. I get it from her. She’s that person. She’s a really good sounding board and also a really good person to give advice. Miss Grijalva, who’s super involved with the school and the community, is also who I go to for advice. I think it’s always best to ask people who’ve already lived some life and know things from experience and also grew up here.”

What is your motivation and idea behind supporting small local businesses?

“I’ve always, as many of us do, have a special place for street vendors and small businesses. I grew up with a lot of family members who have small businesses. My parents have their own side hustles, and I’ve always just admired our hard-working community. And so I’ve always wanted to find a way to support them. I just didn’t know how I was going to do it. And then when I started creating videos, people were, actually trusting my recommendations.  I was like, ‘Wait, this is the way that I can promote small businesses.’ And people did trust my recs. And so it helped them gain traction, too.”

How do you find businesses to promote? 

“At this point, people are reaching out to me. And what’s really beautiful is sometimes it’s random people who don’t even own the business, who don’t get anything out of it. They are literally like, ‘Hey I know this guy who created this business, and he’s struggling right now. If you have the time, can you go support him?’ So now it’s a lot of people reaching out to me and advocating for other small businesses, which is really nice.  Before it was just ones that I knew, like the coffee shops I was running to, or the food spots I was running to, or just spots that I know.”

I noticed that you like to share budgeting tips online. How did this become an interest of yours?   

“Once I bought a home, I realized that there weren’t that many people buying a home in their early 20s, and that also gained a lot of traction. People wanted to talk about how I did it. What was interesting was people who were in their 40s, their 30s or 50s, were asking me questions.  So it was clear that there was a gap and a need [for] understanding and learning about finances. A lot of people have the desire to buy a home, have the desire to understand financial literacy, but clearly don’t have the resources or the knowledge to do it. And so I thought, okay, let’s start talking about it more too, because a lot of people clearly benefited.”

Is there any specific advice you would give to someone about managing their finances?  

“Something that really helped me is being a resourceful person, like dedicating the time to learn about finances. There are so many resources now. We have access to YouTube and all these free resources that can teach us a lot about things. A year before I bought [my home], I spent an hour every day watching, listening and learning about a financial topic that was interesting to me. And so I think, a big thing that I would recommend to people is finding a day out of the week that works for you and dedicating an hour or two to investing and learning about that. If you’re interested in investments, take an hour to watch a video about it. If you’re interested in budgeting, listen to a podcast or watch someone who is a financial expert.”

What inspired you to start a community garden? 

“I went to an indigenous Elementary School in El Sereno and we had a lot of practice connecting to our roots, connecting to our indigenous side. I grew up learning different native languages and having a special place for the natural elements of the world, like fire, wind, and water, and appreciating those things for giving us the basic necessities and the things that we need in life. I’ve always felt a special connection to nature and the outdoors. But then when I was looking to buy the home that I live in now, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this would be a perfect place to actually convert it into community space.’ Because I thought, what better way to create a community space than one that’s actually in a neighborhood.”

You recently launched a podcast, “Healing in Spanglish.” Can you tell me more about that?

“I asked [my friend from high school] if she was interested in starting a podcast, and it was kind of like a joke, just like playing around and she was actually serious, and I was down too. And so we just thought it would be a great way to talk more about how to heal from a lot of the things that we experience. And I think the best way that I’ve learned to heal from some of my own trauma or challenges or struggles is by talking with others about it, because we actually connect a lot more on similar experiences than we do in our heads. There are never enough spaces to create with one another for the community. And so we want to also bring it to life in person, so that we can talk about these things with each other.” 

What changes would you like to see around Boyle Heights and in your neighborhood?

“I would like to see us find ways to make it more accessible, to support each other and understand how we can support each other financially and find a better balance of convenience with things like Amazon or bigger stores. I think I would like to see some change in the sense of maybe just more awareness and more access to helping each other understand how big of a difference it can make for our community if we buy from one another rather than bigger corporations or businesses.”