Inspiring South Bay Stories

The heart of our mission at VoyageLA is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our city. In the recent weeks we’ve had the privilege to connect with some of South Bay’s finest artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rebel rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with our city’s incredibly deep talent pool.  Check out the area’s rising stars below.

 

Chi (Mars) Azinge

I’ve never been good with my words– only when you give me time to think about them. Nothing really lived in my head except for images, some pleasant, others haunting. Concepts always came to life in front of me before I could even understand them myself. Read more>>

Sarah Arvizu

Sure, my name is Sarah and I am a single mom to two amazing girls. I am the host of The Creating Sunshine Podcast, the founder of The Sunshine Era, a speaker, and a cancer survivor. My personal development journey was born out of necessity because I was losing control of my own life. Read more>>

Maritere Bellas

I write the stories that my 50% Greek, 50% Puerto Rican and 100% American children didn’t have access to when they were growing up. Books that highlight language and pay tribute to our beautiful Latino culture, especially my Puerto Rican culture. I am a Puerto Rican award-winning author, speaker, writer, podcast host and language and culture advocate. Read more>>

Sara LaTorre

The Decodable Duo began while Lindsay and I were partner teachers and also raising young readers of our own. As both educators and parents, we noticed how challenging it was to find decodable books that were not only phonics-aligned but also fun and engaging. Read more>>

Taka Kawasaki

I originally worked as a chef and also aspired to become a drummer, but when I was 28, I met a certain tattoo artist and instantly felt, “This is what I want to do with my life.” That’s when I decided to become a tattoo artist. Read more>>

Hammad Zaidi

In fact, I would wait until my family went to bed, then go to the kitchen and get a plate and a salad fork. I’d proceed to our sofa and pretend it was a Porsche 911. The dish would become my “steering wheel,” and the salad fork was my “stick shift.” I’d drive around Los Angeles with UCLA Film School Alumni license plate frames on my car until I went home to my beach house. I had that daydream for years, and always believed every aspect of it would come true. Amazingly, it all did. Read more>>

Rohan Ramgarib

After leaving my 8–4 job as a Production Supervisor, and with the unwavering support of my wife and family, I took a leap and turned my photography hobby into a full-time creative career. That path led me into cinematography, where I truly found my passion, working on short films, a feature film, and even producing a series of YouTube shows. Read more>>

Sari Sanchez

My dad came to this country as an immigrant with nothing and built an American dream from scratch. His dream was cut short as he died of cancer when I was 16. But before he left, he gave me a gift that shaped everything: he told me I could do anything I wanted. He really believed that. Read more>>