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.

Benine Mbuyamba

While getting my Masters in Social Work, I still wasn’t very sure what I wanted to do once I obtained my degree. It wasn’t until I started my own personal therapy that I realized my passion was to help people find healing and that’s when I decided I wanted to become a therapist. Read more>>

María Fernanda Lairet

My story has always been guided by two great purposes: art and the desire to help others. For more than thirty years, I have worked as a visual artist and photographer, using images as a form of expression, connection, and transformation. After experiencing significant changes in my own life, I realized that art could also become a powerful path toward healing. Read more>>

Brittney Jenkins

My passion for beauty and fashion began at a very young age. What started as a natural love for creating and expressing myself through different looks soon evolved into a passion for enhancing the beauty of others. I began experimenting with looks on myself, then sharing my creativity with friends and those around me. Read more>>

Johan Gutierrez

My journey in accounting began 17 years ago, but from the start, I realized that business owners needed much more than someone to prepare financial statements or file tax returns. They needed a trusted advisor who understood their business, could explain what the numbers actually meant, and would be present when difficult decisions had to be made. Read more>>

Liz Vasquez

My Story: The Water Was Always Part of Me My story with the water started long before Miami Aqua Experience existed. I grew up in Taganga, an ancestral Indigenous fishing village on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and the mountains of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Read more>>

AZUKITA BY LUZON

My story with fashion began long before I understood that it could become a profession. I loved creating from a very young age. I made my first dress when I was eight years old, and although I later studied Systems and Computer Engineering, that creative side of me never disappeared. Read more>>

Breanda Wiggins

My journey into entrepreneurship started through social media and a genuine love for understanding what makes people connect with a brand. I began working in the industry in early 2020, gaining experience across agencies, freelance projects, and a wide range of industries-from personal brands and lifestyle creators to luxury service providers and consumer brands. Read more>>

Katrina Karyofyllis

I started DJing at 17 in my hometown of Ottawa. I was completely self-taught and honestly just obsessed with it. I wasn’t thinking about building some huge career at the time. I loved music, I loved DJing, and I wanted to get really good at it. Read more>>

Elizabeth Brennan

Gymnastics has truly been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I started out simply as a young gymnast who loved the sport, but by the age of nine, I was competing in the Junior Olympics and traveling internationally for competitions. Read more>>

Cesar Sierra

My journey in the culinary world started with a genuine passion for food, creativity, and the experience of bringing people together through something as simple and powerful as a meal. Over the years, I’ve developed my career through hands-on experience in professional kitchens, working across different areas of food service and gradually taking on more responsibility. Read more>>

Scott Moon

As a marketing major in University, my dream was to open an advertising agency one day with my friend. We said we’d both start in the corporate world to gain experience and then revisit the idea. I ended up working with L’Oreal and immersing myself in the beauty industry for 14 years. Read more>>

Jô Jean

I began singing at the tender age of 6 in my elementary schools choir. This sparked my love for music and was the beginning of my journey. I then started playing alto sax and contra bass clarinet in middle school for three years in jazz and symphonic band. During my time in jazz band I also became one of the lead singers. Read more>>

Rejohan Perkins

I started 8:Twenty8 on December 9, 2019, from a genuine love for candles, fragrance, creativity, and creating spaces that feel intentional. At the time, I didn’t have every detail of what the business would eventually become figured out. I simply knew I wanted to create something of my own that felt meaningful and reflected what I loved. Read more>>

Jackie Cohen

My path to jewelry was definitely not a straight line. I graduated from college and went into finance, where I spent 12 years. I loved a lot about it, I was successful, and it was certainly financially rewarding—but by 35, I was completely burnt out. I always joke that I felt tired, unhappy, fat and puffy from the grind of that life. Read more>>

CHUCHO ROJAS

I was born in Tucupita, in Venezuela’s Orinoco Delta, a place where food, nature and culture are deeply connected. Looking back, I think that environment planted in me an early curiosity about ingredients, traditions and the way food can tell the story of a place and its people. That curiosity eventually took me far from home. Read more>>

Wendy Fortune

For much of my professional career, I worked in technology, including more than two decades in the public school system. While technology was my profession, creativity, design, hospitality, and creating memorable experiences were always a significant part of who I was. Over the years, I found myself increasingly drawn to projects that allowed me to bring people together and transform ideas into experiences. Read more>>

Marc Dennis

I was born in Danvers, Massachusetts in 1974 and raised in and around Boston, including a short time in upstate New York, Puerto Rico and New Jersey. I’ve always been creative, drawing and painting since a young age. I went to art school, got my BFA, went on to get my MFA in order to teach college level. Read more>>

Craig Whitfield

My story is really one of survival, reinvention, and finally giving myself permission to be seen. I grew up experiencing things that forced me to become resilient very early, and for a long time I was focused more on surviving than creating. Read more>>

Becca Cooperman

Custom Gifts by Design began in 2009 when I opened a children’s consignment shop and boutique. As part of that business, I started creating unique, personalized gift items, including custom vinyl-designed wine glasses, “Mommy Sippy” and “Daddy Sippy” cups, personalized tumblers, and rhinestone-designed shirts. What started as a creative hobby quickly grew into a small business of its own. Read more>>

Glory “La Muñeca” Quiñonez

When I was a child I would come home from school and watch America’s Next Top Model the show was created by Tyra Banks. When I was watching the show I felt unloved with the fashion and the girls waking. I said to myself I can do this too. Read more>>

Maria Reva

That’s the sensibility I brought with me when we moved to the United States. Miami was a shock, in the best sense. The light here is enormous — bright, direct, unapologetic. At first I fought it. Then I stopped fighting and started building for it — though staying on film was never up for discussion. Read more>>

Indira Andrewin

I grew up off-grid in the lush jungles of Belize, surrounded by the sea, plants, and an extraordinary richness of nature. Nature wasn’t something I visited—it was simply part of my everyday life. From a young age, I was drawn to both health and beauty. Read more>>

Tom Lawrence-Levy

I grew up in the North Miami/ Aventura area, where I also attended college and later law school. From the end of college through part of law school, I worked at an interior design studio in Miami Beach. That experience completely opened my eyes to the creative and business sides of interior design and gave me my first real understanding of the industry. Read more>>

Phillip Thierman

My journey in music and events began back in New Jersey, where I started a seven-piece ska band around 2007. We came up in the DIY trenches—relying on early MySpace, Facebook, and pure word-of-mouth hustle to pack out local VFWs, fire halls, coffee shops, and eventually iconic stages like The Stone Pony in Asbury Park. Read more>>

Susan Hargreaves

When I was a child my Irish grandfather would recount magical tales of fairies dancing with rabbits on a midsummer’s eve, He cared for injured and orphaned wildlife. His stories and sense of compassion for all creatures sparked my empathy and I realized at three years old other animals were individuals just like us with their own personality and needs. Read more>>

Jenny Gamardo

My journey started with a deep passion for digital communication and visual storytelling. I’ve always believed that the right message, presented with empathy and clarity, can make a meaningful difference in someone’s life especially during challenging moments. ​As I developed my skills in content creation, I noticed a significant gap in how legal support and information were being communicated to the Hispanic community. Read more>>

Laura Hedges

I’ve always been drawn to movement and wellness, but my deeper journey into holistic health began in college when I became very sick with Epstein-Barr virus. I was essentially told to go home, rest, and take antibiotics and steroids, but I knew there had to be an alternative way to truly support my body and heal on a deeper level, mentally, physically, and emotionally. Read more>>

Jazmine Flores

I grew up in Brooklyn, and looking back, I realize the fashion and beauty industry had been quietly shaping me long before I ever knew it would become my career. My grandmother was a seamstress, so as a child, I spent countless hours around her sewing, designing dresses, and dreaming up ideas. Read more>>

Vitto Von Don

I was born in Peru and eventually made Miami home, and music has been one of the biggest constants throughout my journey. What started as a passion for DJing grew into a career as an artist and producer, performing, releasing music, traveling, and building relationships with people from all different backgrounds through music. Like most creative careers, though, the path hasn’t been linear. Read more>>

Ana Prada

I think my story really starts long before I ever thought about having a business. Growing up, I spent many of my summers in Puerto Rico with my grandmother, and some of my favorite memories are of her baking. She was originally from New Mexico, so she would make all different kinds of cookies, including recipes and flavors influenced by where she grew up. Read more>>

Helida Dodd

Marbella Perfumes started as a need for a beautiful fragrance that didn’t seem like an assault to my senses. I stopped wearing perfumes with my first pregnancy when morning sickness played around with my sense of smell. Read more>>

Sabrina “Bri” Williams

My story has never been linear. I’ve had to pivot, rebuild, start over, and figure things out more times than I can count. But somehow, every version of me prepared me for the next one. I’ve spent most of my life doing community work. Read more>>

Qualice Ellington

Popo’s LLC is a Miami-based mobile food and catering company specializing in fresh seafood, chicken, and flavorful comfort food with a Bahamian-inspired taste and a Miami twist. Read more>>

Marina Larina

I started creating UGC in 2025 because, as a mom of two, I wanted work that could fit around my kids instead of forcing my family life to fit around a traditional job. I wanted to build something of my own, stay financially independent, and still be available for school pickups, activities, appointments, and all the everyday things that come with being a parent. Read more>>

Evgeniya Antonyan

Music has been part of my life since I was a child. I started playing violin when I was 6 years old. Later, I graduated from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory. After moving to the United States, I built a new life and career here. Today, I perform and teach in South Florida. I feel very lucky to do what I love every day. Read more>>

Shanika Trenchfield

I’m Shanika, the owner of The Cupcake Lounge, a place where love takes the form of delicious treats. My story begins long before the business existed — back in my childhood kitchen, watching my mom bake everything from scratch with a kind of care that felt almost sacred. Read more>>

Nerlaine Richard

My name is Nerlaine Thomas Richard, and I am of Haitian descent. Growing up, one of the most important things I learned was the value of family. Family was, and still is, at the heart of so much of who I am. Some of my fondest memories are Saturdays spent with my aunts and cousins. Read more>>

Rossana Castro

My story has always been about reinvention, resilience, and believing that every chapter of life can lead you somewhere you never expected. I’m originally from Venezuela, and music was the beginning of my professional journey. I trained as a professional flutist, and for many years, music was not only my career but also a huge part of my identity. Read more>>

Paul Weaver

I started the way a lot of photographers do: shooting portraits of friends, then senior sessions, then weddings. That led me into shooting concerts and work in the music industry, and the music industry is what eventually opened the door to commercial work. I never went to school for photography. I studied economics and taught myself the camera. Read more>>

Andi Soli

I’ve always been curious. Curious about people, places, stories, how things are made, and why they matter. Growing up in Miami, that curiosity often came out through art. I was constantly drawing, making things, collecting little pieces of inspiration, listening to music, and finding creative ways to express myself. Art became one of the first languages I really understood. Read more>>

Amanda Walling

I was actually scared of horror movies for a while growing up, but the holiday of Halloween was always a favorite. You can dress up and such. I was always drawing and doodling. And even more funny is that i really never even liked makeup. Lol. My dream was to become a tattoo artist. Read more>>

Ines Sheero

My story has never been a straight line; it has been a series of reinventions. I was born and raised in Valencia, Venezuela. My grandmother was a seamstress, so I grew up surrounded by patterns, fabrics, and beautiful silks. Without realizing it at the time, those early years created a connection to fashion that would stay with me throughout my life. Read more>>

Tanya Coleman

I was born and raised in Russia. Before becoming a DJ, I worked as a music video director for many years, so music was always a big part of my life. I’ve always loved house music. Even before moving to Miami, I would sometimes travel for parties — Defected in Ibiza, events in Amsterdam, things like that. But those were special trips. Read more>>

Daniel Fiorda

Hi, I am Daniel Fiorda, a multidisciplinary artist working primarily in sculpture, music, and sound design. Born in Argentina, I have lived and worked in Miami, Florida, since the 1990s. My first professional art exhibition took place at a gallery in Buenos Aires when I was 18 years old. From that moment on, I never stopped creating. Read more>>

Lemar Scott

I have been connected to the fine jewelry industry for several years and along the way, I’ve found myself correcting misinformation for both consumers and sales teams. There is a tremendous amount of online education regarding gemstones, but it can be confusing, biased, or generally of no interest to the average shopper. Read more>>