Miami’s Most Inspiring Stories

Every neighborhood in South Florida has its own vibe, style, culture and history, but what consistently amazes us is not what differentiates the various neighborhoods but rather what they all have in common.  From South Beach to Boca (and everywhere in between) we’ve been blown away by how many creative and talented people call South Florida home.  Check out some of the inspiring stories we’ve discovered throughout Miami and the surrounding areas.

Gavin Walcott

How I got my start the story is I used to work at my family’s bakery being the social media content, creator, and brand manager, and we would get invited out to custom curative events regarding our brand and I were dressed very above average and through those experiences. Read more>>

Victoria Posner

I’ve always believed that fitness is about so much more than how you look—it’s about building confidence, resilience, and proving to yourself that you’re capable of hard things. I’ve been a fitness coach for over 17 years, and what started as a passion for helping people become healthier has grown into a mission of helping people become stronger—both physically and mentally. Read more>>

Nicola Bent

Cola Icee began in 2014 when my children were playing softball. While attending their games, I saw an opportunity to provide shaved ice at the ballpark. At the time, I had no experience running that type of business, so I spoke with another vendor at the event. They were kind enough to explain the steps I needed to take to get started. Read more>>

ANNIE JULES

Yes, Thank you Voyage Magazine for the incredible opportunity in being interviewed and to share my story with you all. I was born in Miami, FL. on May 18, 1988 as an American with family of Haitian descent as Haitian-American. At an early age, I began listening to many types of music like Gospel, jazz, classical, hip-hop, R&B, and Caribbean music. Read more>>

Manuel Muñoz

I’ve always been drawn to making things. As a kid, I was constantly building, drawing, painting and working with my hands. That curiosity eventually led me to study Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts in London, where I began to understand sculpture not just as an object, but as a way of shaping how people experience space. Read more>>

Gabriela Miranda

I come from a very eclectic Cuban family filled with portrait artists, abstract artists, art professors, actors, and directors. So it’s no surprise that from a young age I was always interested in art and painting. When I was in elementary school, my teachers would ask me to draw for their bulletin boards. Read more>>

Roxana Padron

My path to founding Powerhouse Expressive Arts Studio has been less of a straight line and more of a gradual unfolding. My background is in architecture, where I developed a love for creating spaces that invite beauty, flow, and meaning. Read more>>

CLAUDIA CABRERA

Nobody prepared me for this. I prepared myself. Back in 2009, with no lawyer, no mentor, and no one guiding me, I sat down and figured out how to file my own immigration paperwork: my citizenship, my husband’s, even the petition to bring his family over from Cuba. I didn’t know it then, but that was the moment everything started. Read more>>

Joan Duffoo

My journey into makeup started in high school, where I enrolled in a cosmetology program. While I learned every aspect of the beauty industry, it didn’t take long for me to realize that makeup was where my heart truly was. I loved the creativity, the artistry, and most importantly, the confidence it gave people. Read more>>

Tom Barber III

My fascination with nature and natural objects got me started with driftwood Art. As I developed my style it was apparent that there was something that people haven’t seen. Each piece is one of a kind that combines driftwood with shells, bones, rusted metal and many other repurposed material. Read more>>

Beatrice Benaros

Three countries. Three new beginnings. One lifelong passion, helping people find where they belong. I never imagined that one decision, leaving Paris for Miami in 1989, would shape the rest of my life. Five years later, I started over again in Mexico City, where I spent almost twenty years building a career, raising my family, and embracing a new culture. Read more>>

Danny Wells

Well i started my love of cooking learning from my 2 grand mothers. 1 Italian and one American, too very different styles but both very important to my growth as a Chef. I started in a BBQ restaurant Sonnys BBQ in Port Saint Lucie Florida. Me and my older sis road our bikes together 2 miles to the restaurant. Read more>>

Sheena White

Entrepreneurship has always been a part of my story. My first experience was as a Mark Kay lady. This was the introduction in defining my target market. I moved on to selling Avon and while I was successful, I wasn’t satisfied. It was here I learned of the importance of marketing, overhead and inventory. Read more>>

Lolo Seiteo

Cakes By Lolo started back in 2018, not intentionally at first. I genuinely just baked for family gathers and it used to be using the cake box mixes nothing fancy; up until i really started taking a liking to how cakes were not only baked from scratch but how to decorate them as well. Read more>>

Rob Robi

Years ago while in college i started experimenting with Airbrush Art, in Panama City Florida and ended up working on Panama City Beach painting t-shirt designs for tourists for the summer months. After a couple of years i moved to south Florida and worked in Hollywood and Aventura Florida painting clothing then some murals and paintings in the south florida area . Read more>>

Priscilla Diaz

I started my business in 2022 when my first baby was only one year old. It was during the middle of COVID, and my husband and I had only $10 to our name. At the time, my husband temporarily lost his immigration documents, making it nearly impossible for him to find stable employment. We were facing eviction and didn’t know what the future would hold. Read more>>

Starr Donatien

I started getting into tarot and spirituality in 2017 because of a recurring heartbreak I couldn’t escape in my college years. I turned down this path for guidance until I felt a calling to explore the cards myself. In 2020, my twitter took off, and I was able to make tarot reading a full time business. I haven’t looked back since. Read more>>

Carnita Amedee

Growing up I always knew I wanted to be in the film industry. My dream career was to be a model and an actress. Around the age of 5 I started modeling and dancing. I did a lot of pageants, runways, photoshoots. Read more>>

Camen Moore

I wanted to something new, refreshing, and challenging to grow with. I first started flying drones in 2021. I was a stay at home dad during covid. Before, I worked in manufacturing and customer service jobs. Me and wife just had our daughter (youngest of three children) and we wanted to be around my wife’s family. Read more>>

Olga Basanta

My name is Olga Basanta, I’m a singer songwriter, violist and pianist from Madrid ( Spain) I began studying music at the age of seven, coming from a family of musicians, and I found my path by writing songs and singing them to hearts open to receiving them—always from a place of love. Read more>>

Elizabeth Jarquín, PhD, LMFT

It’s pretty crazy to say this, but my story began twelve years ago. At the time, I had just graduated with my bachelor’s degree and was trying to figure out what came next. I considered a few different career paths, but ultimately decided on the mental health field. Read more>>

Nicolás Labarrera

Well, we started back in 2017 with our first EP, Música Frenética. Since then, after almost ten years of working together, we’ve had the chance to achieve some really exciting milestones. We’ve been featured on Spotify playlists and even appeared on Spotify cover art with some of our singles. Read more>>

Kateryna Adamkovych

If there’s one theme that’s defined my career, it’s growth—helping businesses scale, helping brands earn trust, and helping people build lasting success. Today, I run Level Up Creative Agency, work with business owners through private coaching, and help clients navigate luxury real estate. Read more>>

Jovana Ramirez

My journey has always been guided by creativity, storytelling, and bringing people together. From an early age, I was drawn to the arts and the power of creating experiences that connect people. That passion led me to pursue my creative education at Full Sail University, where I earned my degree in Film and Digital Media. Read more>>

Wise

Music is where it all started for me, real love for it, and it began with recording. That grew into A&R work, and once I was actually in it, I saw what my city was missing. We got talent everybody in the industry already watches, but the creative direction, the organization, the business side of it just wasn’t there. Read more>>

Isabela Hernandez

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that building a business has very little to do with having all the answers. It has everything to do with being willing to start before you feel ready. I didn’t build Visualisa Studio because I had the perfect business plan. Read more>>

Jenny Starr Perez

I never actually set out to work in publishing. I thought I was going into fashion. While I was in college, I landed an internship at Ocean Drive Español, the then-new Spanish-language edition of Ocean Drive. That internship changed everything. Read more>>

Cristel Morales

I was born in Venezuela, where my relationship with creativity began very naturally. From a young age, I was always drawn to color, textures, composition, fashion, painting, and the emotional power that spaces can have. All of these disciplines were part of my life from an early age, although at the time they were seen more as complementary activities than as a possible professional path. Read more>>

Arjanae H. Watts

Peach & Honey Hair Care started with me and a dream. As a hairstylist, I had the opportunity to work with so many different people, and I saw how much confidence was tied to healthy hair. I also saw the frustration people felt after trying product after product without getting the results they hoped for. That inspired me to create something different. Read more>>

Ginett Luces

My journey in the insurance industry began in 2017, handing out flyers and personally offering my services. I started with simple resources, but with a strong willingness to learn, work hard, and prove that I could provide a different kind of guidance. As I often say, this project did not begin with a large structure or an established client base. Read more>>

Gabi Lopez

My journey really started through my own healing. My own pain was what motivated all of what I have created today. There was a point in my life where I realized I had become disconnected from myself and my emotions, and I began asking a lot of questions about why that was. Eventually that curiosity led to finding yoga. Read more>>

Lloydy Michel

My journey into modeling has been one of faith, resilience, and perseverance. I’ve always had a passion for fashion and creative expression, but stepping into the industry required me to believe in myself even when the path wasn’t always clear. Along the way, I’ve balanced work, motherhood, and pursuing my dreams while also living with sickle cell disease. Read more>>

Kiko Soares

Added Color is a three-piece alternative rock band based in Brooklyn, NY. Born in the chaos and beauty of São Paulo, Brazil, brothers Daniel and Kiko Soares grew up immersed in the country’s rich musical rhythms. Read more>>

Michelle Subirana

September 2019 my little dream became a reality right before a worldwide pandemic. I lost my mom a few months prior and was truly lost and angry inside. Amongst all of the changes around me and the everlasting pain of losing my mom I always felt at peace behind the chair. Read more>>

Moira Mashayo Masumbuko

Growing up, I always believed that hard work, integrity and a willingness to keep learning could open doors. Those values have guided me throughout my personal and professional journey. I currently work as an Assistant Office Administrator in Kenya’s public sector, where I have gained valuable experience in office administration, records management, procurement support, budgeting and coordinating day-to-day operations. Read more>>

Jessica Perez

My journey into the arts began with poetry, which served as my primary creative outlet before I transitioned into the visual arts. As a non-traditional student, I spent time exploring how to bridge my diverse interests and skills until I finally discovered my passion for sculpture. Read more>>

Lady Indigo

My journey has always been driven by curiosity and a passion for storytelling. I first fell in love with photography because it allowed me to freeze a moment in time and capture emotions that words often couldn’t express. As I grew creatively, that passion naturally expanded into videography, where I discovered the power of movement, sound, and cinematic storytelling. Read more>>

Andrew Arocho

I’ve always been drawn to making things, but my work truly began long before I realized it. My grandfather was a painter, and some of my earliest memories are of him handing me a paintbrush when I was five years old and teaching me to paint still lifes of fruit and vases. Read more>>

Jennie Jara

Hello, I’m Jennie Jara. My love for cooking began at a young age. Growing up in my father’s restaurant, I learned the value of hard work and dedication. I later attended Johnson & Wales University, where I earned a Bachelor’s in Food Service Management. Read more>>

Juan Carlos Fernandez Aleman

My journey has always been driven by one simple purpose: helping people avoid the helplessness of not having the financial resources they need during life’s most difficult moments. I come from a family with more than 80 years of history in the insurance industry. Read more>>

Samantha Streator

I started making sourdough and baking more regularly for myself and my family. I would have so many extras and give them away, and my friends would gas me up and encourage me to sell them. I had been a restaurant manager for a decade, so one day I decided to go for it and I created an Instagram. Read more>>

Parsa Afsharjavan

I’ve always been drawn to creating things that make people feel something. What started as painting and photography gradually evolved into a multidisciplinary practice spanning creative direction, sculpture, film, experiential design, and brand strategy. Rather than following a traditional path, I’ve built my career by embracing curiosity and saying yes to projects that challenged me to think differently. Read more>>

Chantal & Dion Powell

My husband, Dion, and I are the owners of C&D Marquees & Event Rentals, a luxury event rental company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Like many small businesses, we started with a simple idea and a lot of faith. Read more>>

Paola Carlini

I started cooking in profesional kitchens when I was 15, in Caracas, Venezuela (where I’m from), at a trendy restaurant back then called Saigon. I had made the decision that I wanted to become a chef 2 years prior, much to the disbelief of my all-lawyers family. I finished high school and moved to Barcelona 3 years later to study culinary arts. Read more>>

Andi Perullo

I have always been a storyteller at heart. Long before I became an author, I spent years sharing stories through my award-winning travel and lifestyle blog, *My Beautiful Adventures*, where I have documented experiences from more than 70 countries. Read more>>

Zeiry Cortez Gomez

I’ve always believed this career found me long before I realized it. Before becoming a wedding planner, I spent nearly a decade working as a commercial and homeowners insurance supervisor. While it was a rewarding career, my creative heart was always drawn to celebrating life’s milestones. I found myself planning birthdays, baby showers, and intimate weddings for family and friends while raising my young children. Read more>>