The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we’ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below.
Karen Oberhill
My journey to where I am today has been a profound process of returning to myself. I grew up very sensitive in a chaotic and high-control environment. I learned that being myself was not okay – that I needed to stuff my emotions down and defer my intuition and wisdom to external forces. Read more>>
Brittany Stout
We started our farm back in 2018 with just a small flock of chickens. We have had chickens, geese, ducks and goats between 2018 & 2020. Our plan was to use our Nigerian dwarf goats for 4H for our sons, but then 2020 changed our plans. Read more>>
Cheyenne Franks (Gonzalez)
I founded Kids and Kreatures Clothing Company in 2021 after discovering that alternative clothes for children were hard to come by. I was a new mom with an alternative fashion sense, and every ‘alternative’ brand available at the time, just wasn’t able to fit my needs. Read more>>
Troy Moss
So I started my media career by attending a film award show in Vegas. I decided I enjoyed film and applied to Full Sail University and graduated with my degree in Digital Cinematography in November 2024. While in school I spent time doing videos for the anime community and local businesses in the Detroit metro. Read more>>
Derek Voigt
What started as a hobby in 2008 has grown into a passion for creating heirloom-quality pieces that are meant to be used, admired, and passed down for generations. Every item I make is handcrafted in my Michigan workshop from carefully selected hardwoods, with a focus on timeless design, durability, and attention to detail. Read more>>
Bam Woods
Rauheem al-Shakur, professionally known as Bam Woods, is a multi-faceted creative from Beecher, Michigan whose artistic expression spans photography, writing, filmmaking, and imaginative storytelling. As a photographer, author, screenwriter, playwright, and emerging filmmaker, I use my work to explore identity, culture, and the limitless possibilities of creative expression. Read more>>
Kithma Niyangoda
Photography has been a part of my life for a while. It started back in the 5th grade with my little iPod. I loved taking photos of anything that caught my eye and experimenting with different filters and edits, trying to be ‘artsy’. At the time, it was just something I enjoyed doing for fun. Read more>>
Eddie ‘Wolvarine Solid X’ Johnson
I am a underground hip-hop artist and filmaker from Detroit Michigan. I graduated from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor back in 2004. My current film ‘The Ride To Heaven’ on Amazon Prime and Tubi has won 11 film festivals thus far. My new film ‘Justice’ will be on the streaming services in the next few months. Read more>>
Lexi Dixon
I started my journey in fitness back in 2020. I graduated college during the peak of covid with a degree in business and a diagnoses of 3 auto immune disorders. Read more>>
Christian Dudley
I’m a young man from Detroit, Michigan. I was an athlete majority of my life and when I attended Michigan State, I was confused on what type of person I wanted to be. I found myself through the arts and being unapologetically me. My roommates and I were supposed to start a podcast during the pandemic and never started. Read more>>
Andrea (AJ) Jeffries
I have been in the bass/dubstep scene since going to my first show in 2019. I saw NERO play at The Intersection, and 2 weeks later I went to Breakaway, and then followed that up with Lost Lands just a month later. I dove head first in to the music and community, and truly never looked back! Read more>>
Lauren Coltri
Vibes Café and Wellness Club is a unique Café and Energy Spa located in downtown LaGrange, Illinois. Its recessed location on the main street, lined with restaurants and shops, provides a sense of peace and tranquility as soon as one walks through the door of Suite 110. This space holds an energy all its own. Read more>>
Troy Depanicis
Paul Cicchini arrived in Detroit, MI on the last ship to sail out of the Abruzzi region of Italy in 1940, just before World War II. He immediately began working for his father in a tailor shop, where he would began to master his craft. Read more>>
Jazzmin Pitts
My story began with my relationship with my mother. I loved her deeply, but there were emotional needs within that relationship that were not always met in the ways I needed. As a child, I learned how to adapt, protect myself, and emotionally survive. Those survival strategies followed me into adulthood and shaped my relationships, decisions, and sense of self before I even realized it. Read more>>
Josi Viana
Born and raised in the countryside of Brazil, I came to the United States with little more than determination, hope, and a dream of creating a meaningful life. Like many immigrants, my journey was filled with challenges, uncertainty, and moments that forced me to reinvent myself. Those experiences became the foundation of my greatest lesson: true healing begins within. Read more>>
Lucy Ardanowski
In May of 2020, I started working with Tim (my now-boyfriend and father of our two children), mowing lawns and as a secretary at his small engine repair shop. I mowed until I found out I was pregnant with our first son, Maverick. Then I found out I was pregnant with our second son, Mason. Read more>>
Bridget McNew
I’ve loved photography since I was a little girl. Whether it’s taking pictures of family, friends, scenery or wildlife, it’s always been a passion of mine. I started out just taking pictures for myself or family, then I upgraded my camera, made a photography page on Facebook, started selling my prints, and doing craft sales. Read more>>
Rolisia Siebert
I didn’t set out to create a healing movement. I simply wanted to understand why so many people, despite years of talking about their pain, still felt trapped by it. As a therapist, I listened to countless stories of anxiety, perfectionism, people-pleasing, relationship struggles, and emotional exhaustion. Read more>>
Chase Thomas
My story is rooted in creativity, connection, and a lifelong belief that style has the power to change the way people see themselves. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to fashion and personal style, not simply because of trends, but because of what style represents. To me, style is one of the most authentic forms of self expression. Read more>>
McCayla RJeane
My walk is really a testimony to the bible verse that states “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 29:11 This walk didn’t start off in 6 inch heels. It actually started off in my regular tennis shoes, dodging the “Do you play basketball?” questions. Read more>>
Buzz Pumpkins
We started in 2019 after Creature and myself met Vlad through our local Kroger. He said he moved up from Florida where he did the Vlad act solo, and asked if we wanted to jam with him. Me and Adam both being musicians, but never really playing in real bands, of course said yes. Read more>>
David Warners
I was born in SE Grand Rapids, grew up near King Park, went to GR Christian HS and Calvin University. Confused about my major and not doing too well academically, I dropped out of college for a year and hiked the Appalachian Trail, which gave me clarity to study biology. Read more>>
Darren Paltrowitz
I started out as a teenager on Long Island, writing for local newspapers and independent zines. That grassroots hustle gave me the chance to do pre-fame interviews with future heavy-hitters like Taking Back Sunday and producer Dan Nigro, and it ultimately led to me becoming the editor of Long Island Entertainment before my 21st birthday. Read more>>
Amrit Kohli
My story is complex. I began my journey as a musician in 1997 when I founded my record label, Queer Folk®, Inc. That was also the time that I began playing guitar for the first time. Three months after I started playing the guitar, I went to my first open mic in San Francisco, where I was living at the time. Read more>>
kendall murray
I was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and grew up with a love for sports, especially volleyball. That passion led me to attend the University of Michigan, where I earned my bachelor’s degree while continuing to play the sport I loved. Like a lot of people in their early twenties, I didn’t have everything figured out after college. Read more>>
Maverick Salazar
I started Outside the Ring in 2022 with my very first interview being published on Feb 18, 2022. I started watching wrestling in 2016/17 when I went to local promotions near me, before finding out about WWE in 2020. Through out this journey, I have been grateful enough to meet so many amazing individuals from former WWE superstars, many indy legends/vets and current TNA superstars. Read more>>
Andrew Tamlyn
This journey really began about ten years ago when I dropped out of college to pursue music full-time with a psychedelic rock band called Heaters. We spent the next few years touring relentlessly, first across the U.S., then throughout Europe. It was exciting, chaotic, and completely consuming. Like a lot of DIY bands, we had to do everything ourselves. Read more>>
Alexandria Zhanae
My business has blossomed from a photography business into a full blown experiential agency! I’ve always loved photography, there’s something about freezing a moment in time and being able to look back at when you want. Photos hold all of the memory, and as time went on it’s something I cherished. Read more>>
Jessica James
My journey as a hairstylist began when I worked as a hair assistant for about a year and a half. During that time, I learned the industry while dreaming of one day building a business of my own. Read more>>
Stephany Ross
So, it all started due to a mental health crisis! LOL True Royal Universe originally started as a way to heal from the inside out. After going through a divorce, loosing close family, and needing to find my way out of the rock I was under, I found myself yearning for more. Read more>>
Jamie Lewis
I learned to knit over 20 years ago. That evolved into starting my own hand dyed yarn business, that has allowed me to travel around the country, vending at various yarn and fiber festivals. At these festivals, I’ve met so many fellow makers who enjoy the fiber arts (knit, crochet, weaving, spinning, etc.). Read more>>
Marco Yaquinto
I started my YouTube channel The Scratch Golf Show in April of 2024 because I wanted to have an outlet to talk about golf. My wife famously told me to STFU and start it arleady because I was always talking about starting it. Learning YouTube is very difficult but very rewarding. Read more>>
Stacey Brown
My journey has been anything but traditional. I became a teenage mother and left high school, but I was determined to create a different future for myself and my family. I earned my GED, became a registered nurse, and spent more than 35 years in healthcare, eventually serving in leadership for one of the nation’s largest healthcare organizations. Read more>>
