Kindred Spirits

The Marayags share many passions, but Playa Vista is their one true love

By Robyn Paris

When Playa Vista couple Myra and Ryan Marayag aren’t chasing snow, they’re spending most of their time at home, throwing parties for “almost every occasion” and taking their two young children, Brooklyn (4) and Ethan (1 ½), and two dogs (bulldog Buboy and bullmastiff Zoey) to local events.

Myra and Ryan moved to Playa Vista back in 2011, making them some of the pioneering residents of the area. Myra notes that although they’ve been told the smart financial move might be to sell their home because they have so much equity in the property, she doesn’t see how they could part with it.

“We love it here so much. It’s so unique in terms of the neighborhood, stuff for the kids,” she says. “It’s hard to replicate. There’s really no other place we could move that we would like as much as Playa Vista.”

As the VP of Sales at Defy Media, Myra works with movie studios, gaming companies and the automotive industry, offering them advertising on Defy’s digital properties, branded content and digital video distribution. Ryan is a financial services consultant and wealth advisor who over 20 years has built a practice helping the “mass affluent” (those with assets ranging from the $200,000 to $1 million) achieve personal financial goals.

Myra adds that being in Silicon Beach means her entire industry is nearby. With many of her digital media clients living in Playa Vista, she can take morning meetings locally before heading to her Beverly Hills office. As a marathon runner, Myra also loves the Playa running group that meets every Wednesday.

“I force the family to do 10Ks — we do it with the kids,” she says.

“My knees don’t love it,” Ryan adds with a grin.

But when Myra mentions that Whole Foods sponsors pizza and beer at the end of the running club’s weekly three- to five-mile run, I think I should probably take up running myself.

Myra says that when friends visit, they call her the mayor of Playa Vista because the Marayags know so many of their neighbors. What they don’t understand, she says, is “it’s like that for everyone here!”

“Coming from New York, we liked that this was a unique neighborhood where we can walk everywhere. It’s similar to New York, but it has the L.A. feel,” Myra explains.

The Marayags’ Capri Courts II home is filled with pieces that remind of them of Brooklyn, where they spent the early years of their relationship. Although both Myra and Ryan are L.A. natives, Myra moved to New York when she was getting started in her career and Ryan would frequently visit. Sure enough, they named their first child Brooklyn.

Also featured prominently are snow- and skiing-themed art. The couple spends most of their free weekends skiing — this season alone they went to Mammoth, Deer Valley, Squaw, Lake Tahoe, Snowbird, Banff, and Alta. The couple jokes that they are training Brooklyn to be the next Chloe Kim or Michaela Shiffrin.

And when they are home, they really do love to throw parties. Their annual Halloween gathering usually tops 80 or even 100 people.

“Ryan does an elaborate maze in the garage. It’s like Knott’s Berry Farm,” says Myra.

“It’s the only time I’m handy,” jokes Ryan.

“I’ll ask him to change a light bulb and he won’t do it, but he’ll spend two weeks building a maze,” Myra concurs.

They both laugh, and then the conversation turns to a party for a boxing match and how their bulldog, Buboy, was named after Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao’s trainer Buboy Fernandez.

The Marayags’ Filipino origins play a strong role in their home’s décor. In their bedroom hang several large photos of different places in the Philippines. There’s one of bread from Ryan’s father’s bakery, Silang Bakery, which has been around for more than 100 years, and another of farmland in Agdangan owned by Myra’s grandparents.

The photos remind the Marayags of their family’s humble roots and “how we owe a lot of our blessings due to the hard work our parents did to come to the U.S.,” Myra says.

Throw in a supportive local Facebook group, the Playa Vista Moms Club and neighbors dropping off dinners during maternity leave, and the Marayags are completely sold on the Playa Vista lifestyle.

“Some people call it Pleasantville,” says Myra, “but we love it. Having the community and knowing the neighbors is so nice.”