About Me

marisa hochberg, new york city, floral dress
 
Born and Bred on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Marisa grew up exposed to the luxury market. From a young age, she would love to host dinner parties, explore different brand campaigns in the city on a Sunday and share in her parents’ fruitful network of social contacts. Marisa also loved spending summers out East in Montauk, New York where she grew up going since she was born. Montauk served as a balance between her chaotic City life and ultimately the transformation for her life and career. 
While attending the prestigious Ramaz School, Marisa was bullied for being overweight. Unlike her peers, she could not shop after school at the neighboring stores on Madison Avenue because she did not fit into any of the sizes. Marisa had no date to her high school Senior prom. After four difficult years, Marisa headed off to the University of Michigan where her weight problem got even worse and she also developed a severe case of Panic Disorder. After two years at the University of Michigan, Marisa transferred to New York University College of Arts and Sciences and decided to change her life. On her own, she overcame her panic disorder and not being able to leave the house followed by losing 75 pounds on her own through a healthy diet and exercise. Much of this weight loss was accomplished in Montauk, New York where Marisa would spend much time visiting local farm stands, learning to cook healthy, exercising outdoors and enjoying the bucolic settings of the East End that ultimately led to her incredible wellness journey and career. 
Upon overcoming her anxiety and completing her weight loss journey, Marisa began a new life. She suddenly had the confidence to attend social events, networking events, fly across the Country and world to meet with CEOs and company leaders and inspire others to make the healthy changes she did with her life which is what is most meaningful for her. Through social media, Marisa gained followers from across the world who would reach out to her and say that because of Marisa’s story, they committed to losing weight and a healthy lifestyle and now have a boyfriend or overcame depression. It is Marisa’s followers that allow her to continue to be inspired daily to maintain her healthy lifestyle and work. 
Marisa’s weight loss coincided with the boom of the wellness industry. Boutique fitness and healthy snacks were emerging. Marisa began her career doing marketing and branding for many wellness companies including Equinox, WTRLMN WTR, Lifeway Foods and more. Marisa’s knowledge of The Hamptons and Montauk coupled with it’s growing popularity especially with the emergence of Instagram made her the perfect candidate to fuse her knowledge of the wellness industry and create her own marketing firm representing wellness brands across the Hamptons and Montauk. 
Interestingly, Marisa noticed that the trending Montauk was slowly being left out of the wellness scene and most boutique fitness studios stopped in East Hampton. Marisa approached the owner of Montauk’s hotspot the Surf Lodge and founded their wellness program which ultimately brought in celebrity trainers, world famous wellness speakers including Esther Perel, Bobbi Brown, Gwyneth Paltrow, Dave Asprey and more! The wellness program also was home to many famous wellness brand activations and partnerships with several brands often launching their new wellness products at The Surf Lodge under Marisa’s guidance and curated leadership. 
As Marisa continued to thrive as the Wellness Director at The Surf Lodge, she got promoted to their VP of Brand Partnerships where she oversaw all brand partnerships ranging from wellness, concert series sponsors, hotel partners, alcohol sponsors, car partners, lifestyle partnerships, events and more. Marisa was then responsible for opening The Snow Lodge Aspen (The sister property of The Surf Lodge) overseeing all brand partnerships, decor, press, events and marketing. Some of Marisa’s work includes partnerships with world famous chef Jean Georges at The Surf Lodge as well as partnerships with Volvo, Polestar Cars, Casamigos, Bumble, Serena and Lily, Dante, Redbull, Samsung, Free People, Blade, Sakara Life, Supergoop!, Nespresso, OGX, PAX, AMEX and many more! In 2018, Marisa flew to LA and designed an exclusive clothing line with the co-founder and CEO of Monrow Clothing for The Surf Lodge. Marisa then was able to get this line sold in retailers including Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, Revolve, Shopbop, Monrow.com, Nordstroms and more! 
During Covid, Marisa was responsible for bringing the Surf Lodge’s world famous concert series to a digital platform through a partnership with Bumble and Governor’s Ball that was streamed and viewed worldwide. Marisa also ran The Surf Lodge Art Basel events for many years. 
In 2019, Marisa was asked by the owner of The Surf Lodge to become her partner in an outpost in Montauk called “The Sanctuary”. The Sanctuary was a storefront and fitness studio in Montauk that became home to some of the hottest boutique fitness workouts and curated beauty and fitness products. Marisa was the co-owner of The Sanctuary and responsible for curating the programming and getting Free People Movement to fund the project. 
Marisa was also asked by Cristina Cuomo, founder and editor of The Purist Magazine to join The Purist sales team at which she currently drives ad sales to their New York, Hamptons, Palm Beach, Miami, Aspen and Los Angeles markets. 
Currently, Marisa runs her own branding and marketing firm where she represents clients ranging from wellness, lifestyle and hospitality brands to public companies. Marisa focuses on the Hamptons, Aspen and Miami markets. While Marisa’s roster of clients ranges from Public companies to boutique brands, Marisa’s unique ability to cater partnerships and programming to each brand no matter what their size is truly her unique talent. Recently Marisa took on a main client called New Tradition in which she has helmed launching their experimental division. New Tradition Experiential has the rights to brand partnerships with One Times Square as well as Union Station in DC, Faneuil Hall in Boston, Bayside Marketplace in Miami, The Plaza Hotel and more. Marisa is working on bringing some of the hottest brand experiences to life at these most highly and trafficked and unique properties in the Country. 
Marisa strongly believes in giving back to the community. In 2020, Marisa was asked to speak about her role as the VP of Brand Partnerships for the Surf Lodge Montauk and the Snow Lodge Aspen by the UJA Young Leaders Collective. Additionally, Marisa serves on the board of Lung Force NYC and is an advocate for lung cancer research after losing her mom to the disease in 2017. Marisa also serves on the board of the Parrish Art Museum’s Next Council  Committee. Marisa has served on the board of Shalva, JNF and Park East Synagogue’s Young Professional Committee. 
Marisa is proud everyday to remember how far she has come; from the girl who was bullied for her weight and at one point unable to get off of her couch due to overwhelming anxiety to now traveling the world as a size zero meeting with fortune 500 ceos of wellness and lifestyle brands. Hoping everyday she is able to show anyone suffering anything challenging that if you put one foot in front of the other you can truly accomplish anything you want to. 
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