Once a pair, now a solo act, Long Island’s own Marissa Farina has emerged as one of today’s most prominent gay figures within the ever growing world of YouTube. Her videos have attracted over 64,000 subscribers to date with 6.3 million video views and she has produced over 100 videos covering every sort of queer topic imaginable. From the funny to the serious, you can no doubt expect Marissa has something to say about it!

Marissa Farina entertains and educates her YouTube audience with her witty thoughts on LGBTQ issues and exploring fun topics like . The Gayborhood caught up with Marissa to talk about her new YouTube page, and give her insight about the LGBTQ world.

GB: How did your Youtube journey start?

MF: I first wanted to create a space on YouTube that spoke to other LGBTQ people who were coming out. I wanted the channel to talk about different topics, answer questions and be a place that spoke to common issues many lesbians face. I started the channel with my ex-girlfriend, and it became a very fun thing for us as it developed and we started getting an audience. The positive messages we have received really made it all worth it. We would try to respond back to peoples’ questions and messages and connect to our audience by consistently making new videos.

GB: So when did you come out and what advice would you give someone who’s struggling with this ?

MF: I came out when I was 16.  It wasn’t always easy on everybody in my life but I have had a good amount of support. I think the best advice I could be is just saying it to yourself first and being comfortable with your own sexuality, once you’ve achieved that self-acceptance the rest will just flow.

GB: Being a Youtuber has become a “thing” now, do you have advice for people that are thinking about venturing into the LGBTQ YouTube world ?

MF: It’s like having a second job, once you build a following your audience will want you to post more often so I guess I would say to be prepared to deliver.

GB: What do you think is the key to your success on YouTube?

MF: I think everyone on YouTube has a different voice, I started with advice videos that gained a lot of momentum within the LGBTQ community . I went on to make other advice videos and eventually decided to make my love for humor a bigger part of my videos. These videos tackled subjects that lesbians often face in their everyday lives. Like the video “How Lesbians Have Sex,”  received more than 700,000 views and it was something so simple to me but a lot of people have asked that question, so I made a video about it.

GB: What do you plan for the future of your channel ?

MF: I’m in the midst of starting my new channel. Due to a legal process, I cant post any new content on my old channel because it was created with my ex-girlfriend, so it’s pretty much like going through a divorce. But I’m excited to create this channel that will solely be mine, and all the videos that I’ve created on the old channel will be available on this new one. I have many ideas and fun topics I want to cover so I want to invite everyone to subscribe to my channel. It’s the same Marissa but on a new and improved platform.