Every day we have a choice. We can support an up and coming podcaster, try a new family-run restaurant, join a boutique gym started by a local fitness champ or we could keep giving away our money to the handful of giants who already control so much of our commerce. Our daily decisions impact the kind world we live in; if we want a world where small businesses are growing and artists and creatives are thriving then we should support them with our time, money and attention. We’re proud to highlight inspiring creatives and entrepreneurs each week in Hidden Gems series. Check out some of our latest local gem features below.
Jalissa Vicente
My journey didn’t start with fitness. It started with a wake-up call. I was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis at a young age, and as I got older, my health continued to decline. As an adult, I found myself overweight and found out I was pre-diabetic. In that moment, I knew something had to change. Read more>>
Jozi Radus
My name is Jozi—short for Jo-Ann—and it’s also the nickname of my hometown, Johannesburg, South Africa, where my journey began. I earned my Master’s in Social Work in 1990, and soon after, I spent nearly a decade working in hospice care, supporting individuals and families through death and dying. Those years profoundly shaped me. Read more>>
Delmar Bailey
My journey began when I was young, I was always the one the camera was given to take family photos. So I was rarely in any photos and I guess I got use to being behind the camera. I also was big on visual arts so that contributed as well. Read more>>
Kirk Dice
I have always been involved in art in some way or another, my whole life, but in my 40s, I took up oil painting. I started by doing landscapes and then moved into a time of exploration, where I tried many different styles and expressions of art. After about ten years of work, I gravitated to the essence of what I want to express. Read more>>
Patti Nachmann
My journey into the bridal world began over a decade ago when I became co-owner of Wonderland Bridal – a bridal boutique that I’ve helped grow for the past 12 years. Being immersed in that environment gave me a deep understanding of not just gowns, but brides—their emotions, their expectations, and all the little details that matter leading up to the wedding day. Read more>>
Giulio Della Pietra
I’m Giulio, a 23-year-old Italian composer. I moved to Miami less than a year ago, and I’ve already developed a strong connection with the environment here. Since August 2025, I’ve been studying and working at the University of Miami as an instructor in Media Scoring and Production program, while continuing to develop my own artistic projects in parallel. Read more>>
María Jose Rodriguez
My name is Maria Jose Rodriguez, and I am originally from Táchira, Venezuela. I moved to the United States in 2007, and since then my journey has been shaped by growth, resilience, and a deep desire to create and give back. I have worked in many different areas over the years, but one thing has always stayed constant, my passion for creating. Read more>>
Virginia Lujan
My professional journey began over 20 years ago in the corporate world, working in multinational companies across industries such as automotive and consumer goods. I held leadership roles in Human Resources, where I was responsible for developing leaders, designing talent strategies, and supporting both operational and strategic business decisions. Read more>>
Dimitrios Kentis
My journey into real estate started with a simple goal: build something based on trust, not just transactions. I began my career at RE/MAX, one of the largest real estate companies, where I worked as a realtor and marketing director. That experience gave me a strong foundation in both sales and how to position properties effectively in the market. Read more>>
Tyler Moffatt
The Story Behind Team No Tread Team No Tread started pretty simply. It was just three of us trying to get as much seat time as possible, showing up to local tracks, learning as we went, and pushing our cars harder every time we drove. There was no big plan behind it. Read more>>
Frank CRAWFORD
When football ended, I felt like I lost a part of myself. I went from having structure, purpose, and that competitive drive every day to stepping into a career job that just didn’t fulfill me the same way. Read more>>
Steven Radowitz
My path into this work was deeply personal. Both my husband and I are physicians, and for years, he struggled with severe, persistent headaches that no one could fully explain or treat. We tried everything. Every specialist, every conventional approach, without real relief. Eventually, we came across ketamine therapy. The results were unexpected and, frankly, astounding. The headaches resolved. Read more>>
Samantha Gonzalez
I started my tanning business after years of working in salons since I was 17, where I learned the ins and outs of the industry and what clients truly value. After taking a short break to recharge, I got a spray tan for my wedding—and the confidence it gave me was incredible. I felt radiant, polished, and completely at ease. Read more>>
joseph marmor
I have been in the food business since I was 12 years old in the family business. After graduating with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant management I worked in mostly 5 star hotels both is the US and abroad. In 1986 Le Chocolatier was brought to my attention as being for sale. Read more>>
Jennie Alfonso
My journey began with a passion for serving others through beauty. In 2018, I launched Belleza by JLA LLC, offering professional hair, makeup, and permanent makeup services for special events. What started as a creative outlet quickly grew into a meaningful business where I could help women feel confident, seen, and empowered during some of the most important moments of their lives. Read more>>
Sylvia Maysonet Quinones
The Second Chance That Changed Everything From a very young age, I carried a deep passion for seeing the world. I remember watching my aunt travel and return with stories that ignited something inside me. I was curious, inspired… but also afraid. Fear of traveling alone and a limiting mindset kept me from ever taking that first step. For years, my dreams stayed exactly that—dreams. Read more>>
Angelica Merlano
Opal Oasis Integrative Wellness really started from my own experiences working within the healthcare system. As a Physician Associate (PA-C) practicing across multiple specialties, including primary care, psychiatry, neurology, aesthetics, and trauma surgery. I saw firsthand how often patients felt rushed, overlooked, or like just another number. It was frustrating, because I knew care could and should feel more personal than that. Read more>>
Jason Berndt
My name is Jason Berndt and 12 short years ago, I lost all of my hair, including eyebrows, eyelashes, head and body hair. Over a short six-month period between the winter of 2009 and summer 2010, I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease, Alopecia Universalis, which is correlated with high levels of stress. Read more>>
Natalia Canovas
I began my dance training at one of Miami’s most iconic studios at just nine years old. By eleven, I had entered the competitive dance world—and from that moment on, I never stepped away. The stage quickly became a second home, and over the years, I built a reputation not only for consistency, but for winning. But dance gave me far more than titles. Read more>>
Amanda Fatigate
Every Child Matters of America Every Child Matters (ECM) was founded 13 years ago with a simple but powerful mission: to support at-risk youth and children living at or below the poverty level in our community by pairing them with caring mentors who help guide them toward success. Read more>>
William Gardner
Serial entrepreneur building across multiple industries since 2016. I started in digital marketing, learning how to drive attention and convert it into revenue. In 2021, I expanded into the home services space, launching a contracting business and scaling operations in a hands-on, execution-driven environment. By 2024, I moved into the health and wellness sector, opening a med spa focused on performance, recovery, and aesthetics. Read more>>
Chandramukhi Ganju
The decision to create the Holding Hands Foundation and support Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ronald McDonald House Charities was deeply rooted in personal experience. Both my brother and my daughter underwent cancer treatment there, and those moments shaped our mission in profound ways. Read more>>
guimar urbina
I began my journey in design with a passion for creativity, fashion, and the way spaces can influence how people feel and live. I studied Interior Design at the Miami Art Institute and also earned an Associate degree in Fashion Merchandising, which helped shape my eye for texture, color, proportion, and detail. Read more>>
Raymond Laventure
Unlike most people who go through high school and college still trying to figure out their path, I had a pretty clear sense of direction early on. When I was in eighth grade, I was placed in a TV production class at my middle senior high school, and that experience changed everything for me. Read more>>
Shawana LaTrice
My journey with You’ve Been Baked started from a very personal place. During a difficult season in my life, I experienced loss of the love of my life. The very person I began baking for. In that time, I realized I was no longer baking for my husband. I was baking for everyone else. Read more>>
Yilena Mendoza
My first client taught me everything. Don Armando was 85 years old. His wife, 78. Their granddaughter — who depended on them completely — had special needs. They had made a decision that would change the rest of their lives: leave Miami, the only city they had ever known, to be close to their son in Texas. They wanted family around them. Read more>>
Marc Lanzar
I’ve always had a passion for travel and food. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to explore different parts of the world and experience a wide range of cultures through their cuisine. So far, I’ve visited five of the seven New Wonders of the World, with Petra and the Great Wall of China still on my list. Read more>>
Bianca Maderal
My story began as a patient before it ever became my purpose. I was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of brain cancer, facing eight tumors and given six months to live. Those years were filled with uncertainty, fear, and resilience I never knew I had to find within myself. Read more>>
Ed Zito
Since our beginning in 2019, our program provides a safe and welcoming outlet for disabled servicemen and servicewomen to connect with one another, challenge themselves and each other, and remind them that there is still nothing they can’t do. Read more>>
Todd Nepola
Todd T. Nepola began his career in the 1990s as a stockbroker, where he earned strong commissions but grew concerned about the instability of relying entirely on active income. Wanting to build wealth that didn’t depend on daily work, he turned to commercial real estate—an area he was already familiar with due to his family’s multigenerational background in property investing. Read more>>
Eliana Shnayderman
My name is Eliana, and I am the founder of Massage by Eliana, also expanding into Eliana Wellness – offering therapeutic massage and holistic facial treatments for women in South Florida. My journey with massage began in Russia, where I grew up with a 22-degree scoliosis condition. As a child, I received regular therapeutic massage to manage pain and muscle imbalance. Read more>>
Katerina
Katerina Bucciarelli | Founder of Innovatio Realty Group FL, NY, NJ Building More Than Real Estate, Building Vision, Legacy, and Trust Some careers are planned. Others are born from reinvention. My story began in New York City. Read more>>
Diana Alba
I didn’t start from certainty—I started from questioning everything I had been taught to be. My story begins, like many others, inside an inherited structure. The first architecture of my life was shaped by beliefs, emotions, expectations, and roles that were not consciously chosen. For a long time, I lived within that design without realizing it wasn’t fully mine. Read more>>
Princess Usanga
I started directing in high school at Killian Sr. High after one of my teachers, Mr. Fred Green, created a Star Wars spoof as a yearbook commercial for the morning announcements that aired on the school’s TV station. Seeing that inspired me to create my own humorous yearbook commercials, which Mr. Green let me direct when I asked him if I could. Read more>>
Mildred (Millie) Bonilla
My midwifery journey began over 10 years ago with the birth of my son at a birthing center. After enduring so much abuse through my pregnancy I obsessed over birth in a fearful way until a friend told me about out-of-hospital birth. I found a birth center in Miami, and everything changed. Read more>>
Traci Leon
I’m Traci Leon, CEO of Young At Art Museum, a nonprofit that’s been serving our community for 37 years through the power of art. My journey began in the classroom, where I spent 25 years as a Broward County Public Schools teacher, many of those in gifted education. Read more>>
Marta Salerno
Marta Mageart LLC was founded by Italian artist Marta Salerno, known professionally as Marta Make, an internationally recognized contemporary abstract artist and tattoo artist based in Miami. Born near Rome in 1990, Marta dedicated her entire life to artistic creation, developing a distinctive style driven by emotion, performance, and large-scale visual impact. Read more>>
Guadalupe Quezadas
I was born in Cuba and moved to the United States at the age of 12, a transition that shaped my resilience and determination from a young age. Shortly after arriving, I began working at just 13 years old in nickelodeon, learning early on the value of discipline, independence, and responsibility. Read more>>
Nata Felipe Silva
My name is Natã, is not easy to spell lol ,cus is a Brazilian name, that my friends here in Miami have simplified to Nate. While I’m a filmmaker by trade, I’m first and foremost a family man, married to Jeh and proud father to Kal-El, Glória, and Vitória, our very own ‘Big Three.’ They are the engine behind everything I build. . Read more>>
aileen castro
I started DJing back in 2009, but it wasn’t until around 2015 that things really began to take shape for me in a more meaningful way. That’s when I became more involved in the LGBTQ+ community here in Miami, and it honestly shifted everything. Being part of those spaces gave me a deeper sense of purpose behind what I was doing. Read more>>
Star OUIDA D.W.
I started writing plays in college, and surprisingly, they got produced and performed in the city with positive results. I decided to keep trying different genres and was a freelance journalist for various media platforms. Then I wrote a duology Sunbeam and the Curse of the Golden Key, a YA fantasy adventure series which got published as well. Read more>>
Marta Bataller Leiva
Artistic Journey My journey began at a very young age. I was an incredibly active child with an innate passion for movement and non-verbal expression; I always felt most at home either dancing or practicing gymnastics. I started ballet training early on, but being so full of energy, I found the traditional structure a bit slow at the time. Read more>>
Jackie Sierra
We’re excited about the opportunity to share our story. Our journey with Pet Limo Animal Services and Canine Country Club truly began from a deep-rooted passion for animals and a commitment to providing safe, reliable, and compassionate care. As a family-owned business, what started as a small, hands-on operation quickly grew through dedication, trust, and word-of-mouth within the community. Read more>>
Luis Cabrera
Post-pandemic, I was looking to make friends who shared my interests in film. I looked around and could not find any spaces in Miami for movie lovers to congregate and get to know each other better. Thus, truly with nothing to lose, I decided to start posting on Instagram and Meetup, asking people to go to the movies with me. Read more>>
Julian Cavazos
Long story short, I’ve had a burning passion for raves and techno music, after going to my favorite event I made a goal for myself to create that experience here in my home town. I met Bryan who is one of the DJs in the group off from a Reddit forum and he was looking to do the same thing. Read more>>
Michelle Miltenberger
My journey has been anything but linear. And honestly, I think that’s exactly what makes me the coach I am today. I spent nearly a decade in New York City working in fintech sales at Bloomberg. That chapter taught me discipline, resilience, and how to genuinely connect with people from every background. When COVID hit in 2020, I used the pause to completely rebuild. Read more>>
Eliana Oropeza
I didn’t start thinking I was going to become a Life Coach, a content creator, or even someone sharing her life publicly. I actually began my career in the culinary world, I’m a trained chef and for many years I followed paths that made sense on paper, but didn’t always feel fully aligned. Read more>>
Timothy Davis
I’ve always loved telling stories. First as an actor in the theater. That has since expanded to directing, producing, and filmmaking. In 2016 I founded New City Players with a group of friends, a professional nonprofit theatre company in Fort Lauderdale. We started out wanting to make theatre with our friends. Read more>>
Alyssa Mena
I was born and raised in Hialeah, Florida, in a Cuban family, and I’m a first-generation American. Music was always part of my life growing up. My siblings were both musicians, so I was constantly going to their concerts and recitals. My abuelo, Kiko, also played an important role in that early influence. Read more>>
