Inspiring South Bay Stories

Ivana Darmawan

I grew up in Indonesia and Singapore and moved to Los Angeles for college at UCLA. Growing up, my mom was always an entrepreneur and started her own business successfully. I saw the challenges she went through to start her own business as a female and that inspired me to have my own business supporting other women. In Indonesia, I also grew up appreciating handmade products because many artisans have learned this art of creating for centuries, so I appreciate our handmade, hand-dyed batik fabric, handwoven ikat fabric and wooden home goods that our Indonesian artisans made. Now that I live in Manhattan Beach with my family and call Los Angeles home, I long to bring these handmade artisan products that I grew up with and share with people who appreciate handmade and unique items with stories behind them. Read more>>

Sara Wong

After 15 years in content marketing including virtual reality, I followed my passion of energy healing and opened up Energy Haus in 2018 with my husband in Long Beach. For almost two years, we served thousands of clients with unique products, services, and healing events. Once the pandemic hit in 2020, we had to make a hard decision to close our physical store location and shift our business online. It was a wild ride to say the least, we were fortunate to have clients but we needed to make major changes as our business wasn’t seeing the same results. In 2021, we introduced new services and evolved our product offerings. My husband started supporting people with building their crypto portfolio. I started creating online classes and content to support people with their energy healing needs and personal meditation practice. I even had my own radio show for four months airing over 22 episodes on the NBC/CNBC KCAA radio network. Read more>>

Jessica Haley-Clark

I have always had a passion for teaching and dance which is why I majored in both (Elementary Education and Dance Studies) as an undergrad student at Humboldt State University. For my capstone project in my dance major, I interviewed different dance studio owners and instructors in the community and created a business plan in 2011; not knowing that in 2015 I would fulfill that plan by starting the Haley Clark Dance Company. After graduating, I knew I wanted to go back to my hometown of San Pedro, CA to open up a dance studio that would serve both children and adults in the community. I started out small, renting studio space from a local dance studio in the city. I then leased a building of my own which I converted to a one-room dance studio. Unfortunately, I had to downsize due to low finances and once again rented studio space from a wellness center. In December 2019, I signed a lease for another building of my own and converted it to a three-room dance studio with a reception, office, and kitchenette; this is where my business currently resides. Read more>>

Reese Free

My heart has been broken so many times. I lost count of years ago. But I kept the saying “My heart gets broken everyday B” It’s a playoff of a Paid in Full line. When I say heartbreak it’s not just relationships. My heart has been broken in so many ways. From dreams, ambitions, goals, love, visions, the list will go on. I got my heartbroken because of ambition. I have learned over the years that this isn’t a bad thing. It’s rather a gift than a curse. I really wanted to create a line of letterman jackets for people to wear that said The HeartBreak Club…Don’t be afraid. That had been done and I really wanted people to think about this concept. I coined Happy Heartbreaks. Because once you get over the pain of heartbreak, you learn a valuable lesson that you won’t ever forget. You grow and heal and eventually, you are happy again. When you look back at your past, you can maybe laugh or give others advice. You see that you made it. It was a Happy Heartbreak in the end. Read more>>

Garrick Psick

Chaos is my fire. Mastering chaos is my specialty. It’s all I’ve ever really known. Born homeless and addicted, there aren’t too many other directions to go other than up. I grew up in poverty with parents preoccupied by addiction and mental health issues so I’ve been on my own from a young age. Despite my circumstances, I’ve always known I was different—this innate feeling that I was going to be somebody, and not just some kid from the streets of Reno, Nevada. Sports became my outlet growing up, a way to temporarily escape the chaos at home in a 24-hour town. As soon as one sport ended, I was already signing myself up for the next one. It’s where I discovered my passion, my competitive spirit, and my drive to be more. I learned work ethic, consistency, commitment, and believing in the process even when you can’t see the finish line. I became addicted to growing, addicted to success. All in. No fear. Never quit. Finding a way because there is no other option. Read more>>

Myles Johnson

I originally started in the business of training while finishing my last year of college in the year of 2015. However, I finally discovered my purpose in life in 2019. I wanted to leave a legacy in which I was remembered as someone who helped others in all aspects of life. I started off small and fed the homeless around my community and was fortunate enough to get connected with a food bank which allowed me to expand my giving to surrounding areas. Doing this aside from my physical training with individuals really allowed me to discover a different meaning in life, and that’s uplifting others in anyway possible. Read more>>

Rick Frausto

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t creating, and my profession has always been that of an Artist. I began as a ceramicist in my late teens/early 20s and, soon after that, transitioned to multimedia sculpture, which became my primary practice for 20+ years. The subject matter was rooted in a deep desire to shift consciousness towards a more balanced, harmonious, and awakened world. Then back in January 2017, my wife and I decided to sell it all to travel full-time and find more freedom. It was a perfect opportunity to hone my illustration skills, as it’s an entirely portable art form. From there, it blossomed into what I’ve become best known for; social and climate justice art. Read more>>

Jennifer Cole

After graduating from college, I took a summer trip to Europe and fell so deeply in love with traveling that I knew that I wanted my life and career to revolve around seeing the world. I came home, took some travel classes, landed an internship and I’ve been working as a travel advisor ever since. I started blogging and posting on Instagram back in 2012 to share about my adventures and to inspire other people to travel as a way to open their minds to new cultures, people and places. I truly believe that travel is the one thing that really brings us together. When the pandemic hit and we were all forced to stay closer to home, I took the opportunity to explore places around me and fell even more in love with my city of Los Angeles. There are so many things to see and do right around us and I’m so happy to be able to share my love for those things and hopefully inspire others to get out there and explore. Read more>>

Jennifer Cole

After graduating from college, I took a summer trip to Europe and fell so deeply in love with traveling that I knew that I wanted my life and career to revolve around seeing the world. I came home, took some travel classes, landed an internship and I’ve been working as a travel advisor ever since. I started blogging and posting on Instagram back in 2012 to share about my adventures and to inspire other people to travel as a way to open their minds to new cultures, people and places. I truly believe that travel is the one thing that really brings us together. When the pandemic hit and we were all forced to stay closer to home, I took the opportunity to explore places around me and fell even more in love with my city of Los Angeles. There are so many things to see and do right around us and I’m so happy to be able to share my love for those things and hopefully inspire others to get out there and explore. Read more>>

Michelle Soto

At the age of 20, I decided to start my small business called Poderosa Boutique that focuses on selling clothing as well as accessories. With only a thousand dollars and dream to start with I decided to start my own boutique not for the money but for the feeling that a good outfit can do for your self-esteem. Whenever I feel insecure about my looks or just in a funk, I know a good outfit would always be there to uplift me it’s a great outlet and wanted other women to feel even more beautiful than they already are with great clothing. On December 22nd of 2020 I decided to launch the first couple of pieces on our Instagram page which included a three piece sweat suit, two bags, three tops and our best-selling bucket hats. Within two hours of launching, I had sold out all of the bucket hats and gained 200 followers before I knew it, I had sold more than half of my inventory. Once I completely sold out of our first drop, I brought in more inventory and gained more exposure, started creating bonds with my customers and figured out what my consumers liked the best. Read more>>

Diamond Vines

The concept and idea for The Juice Boxx rooted from the Love of Public Health dealing with women from every walk of life. Not only loving the ends and out of Public Health, For years, I suffered from constant yeast infections and recurrent Bacterial Vaginosis. These infections were caused by soaps and other non-organic feminine products. Using towels while bathing and my diet. As a young girl before furthering my education, I had little to no direction on proper feminine care or at least what I thought proper feminine was. From that point of learning so much and being more in tuned with my health, I thought long and hard for years that I wanted to help women like me but didn’t know how. I had two degrees in Public Health and wanted to put them to personal use outside of my government work, after praying and waiting for God’s calling for me there branched The Juice Boxx. Read more>>

Jennifer Esteen

I’m a nurse, a mom, an organizer, and an active member of my community. My specialty is community service, first at the bedside and now in roles that allow me to have an impact on more than just one person at a time. My service on the Eden Municipal Advisory Council, the Alameda Health System Board of Trustees, and as Vice President of Organizing for SEIU 1021 has given me a whole new perspective for the service I offer my community. I’ve had to learn to count votes, mobilize community members to come and give public comments regularly and offer my thoughts and opinions in public settings more than ever in my life. I love working with my clients and I’ve really enjoyed getting a chance to stand alongside working people as we fight for worker’s rights and the rights of the people we serve. Being a vessel for my community and acting as a voice for our needs has been a true privilege. My service on the Alameda Health System has been the biggest test of my mettle. SEIU 1021 represents almost 3,500 members that work in the system so my service straddles a fine line. Read more>>

Jessica Holzman

Over the past several holiday seasons, my sister in-law and I often talked about gifting and baby products as our family has grown in the recent years. Welcoming my two nephews into our family, I couldn’t help but tap my own background in production and start dreaming up a thoughtful, organic baby apparel line. We wanted the entire process of our company to be transparent to our community. From our decision to manufacture locally in LA, to the organic fabric we chose, down to the details of our eco-friendly packaging, we pledged to make these values integral to our brand and to continue to look for ways to improve our product and process that reflect these core values. Two years later, we are thrilled to have launched our baby apparel line. We look forward to curating this unique brand as we learn and grow along with our community’s needs. Read more>>

Stronger Together

Stronger Together was a Covid-Business Start Up. The two Founders, Geselle & Gabi were personal trainers based in Los Angeles. When Covid hit and their gyms closed, they took their training online and hosted a six weeks training program that could be done from home. In the height of the pandemic, our goal was simply to provide support, community and daily movement to individuals who took our classes. As time went on, we developed strong, personal relationships with our members, who we now consider family. Even as the pandemic restrictions eased up and gyms reopened, it was clear that there was still demand for at-home workouts! We design our workouts to be efficient so that 45 minutes is all you need! We love hosting our live daily workouts as it provides us and members accountability. Waking up to workout is never easy, but the feeling you get once it’s done is incredible! We know live classes don’t suit all schedules, so we’ve invested in a platform that allows us to upload our videos for on demand playback. We’re always looking for ways to get stronger as a community, keep our workouts exciting while staying consistent year round. Read more>>

Shelley Williams

My love for movement arts began with competitive gymnastics and dance as a teen, which led to professional dance performance, and then the world of academic study of movement arts and culture at UCLA within the World Arts and Cultures Department with an emphasis in Dance. Many of my dance colleagues practiced Pilates and Yoga as a way to maintain balance in their body and mind and also rehabilitate injuries. As I began to experience the realities, rigors, and challenges of training, performance, and adult life in general, it felt like a natural path to lean into Yoga, especially, I worked and paid for college and living expenses myself, so was already experiencing “householder life” and questioning my mind while dealing with anxiety and uncertainty. What was I doing? Where was my life going? Did I even like who I was at the time or who my friends were? What was the point of everything? What is my path? When I started practicing yoga, things started to make sense and feel “right” more often… as yoga is a science of the mind, I began to learn that many of us work with these universal questions but never learned the universal tools in which to deal with the “mind stuff.” Read more>>