Portraits of Hollywood

It’s more important to understand someone than to judge them. We think the first step to understanding someone is asking them the fundamental questions about who they are and how they became the person they are today. Understanding and empathy are essential building blocks for a better, more compassionate world. We’re incredibly fortunate to be able to ask these questions each week through our interview series. Below you’ll find inspiring interviews from in and around Hollywood.

Jay (Jaehun) Sung

At one point, I also pursued an MBA to better understand the business side of the industry, which gave me tools to combine creativity with entrepreneurship and opened new ways of looking at my career. Right now, I’m focused on continuing to grow as a mixing engineer while exploring opportunities that connect creativity and business. Read more>>

Carlo Lupercio

As a kid I loved television, movies, and pop culture. I loved the creativity, passion, excitement, and beauty that came from watching TV shows and movies, and as a child my aspiration was to be an actor – in which I actually auditioned for a Welch’s grapefruit juice commercial. The film that ignited this passion of mine was Charlie’s Angeles (2000) with Lucy Lui, Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz, I think I watched it so much that I know every line, word for word. But that was the passion of this film, 3 badass women from different backgrounds, in a career that they loved and prioritized, while also managing full exciting lives outside of their career. Read more>>

Morgan Grose

I later learned Logic and spent much of my time at UCLA making beats in the statue garden and mixing in the library while listening to a ton of Jessy Lanza and Stereolab. Around that time, I released my 2nd EP and visited Paramount Recording in Hollywood for the first time to attend a Flower Boy session my then-partner was involved in. I remember discussing the energy in the building with someone there and saying I wanted to work in a studio like that. Read more>>

Lisa Butala

My story starts as a small-town country girl with big dreams and ambitions. I always knew I wanted to make movies ever since being in awe of films like “Indiana Jones,” “Jurassic Park,” and “Mission Impossible.” Bringing characters like that to life was a dream that whispered constantly. Read more>>

Daniele Carretta

I studied at the Conservatory and I graduated in Organ and Harpsichord, but I also studied Composition during the organ courses. So, I can say that I have a ‘classical’ music background. Nevertheless, I always wanted to find another way to reach, musically speaking, as much people as possible, because music is emotion. And if I share the emotion with others, the emotion itself grows. Read more>>

Mike Harris

I moved to LA in 2018 from Oregon and am originally from Atlanta living there for over 30 years. When I moved to Los Angeles, I started a photography business focusing on real estate and fashion. Over the years I’ve been able to make real estate photography my primary occupation. I also do product, fashion, event and runway photography. Read more>>

Bow Wow Wow

Bow Wow Wow are an English new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980 who also formed the Sex Pistols. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band. They released their debut single ‘C30 C60 C90 Go!’ in 1980, followed by the first ever cassette EP ‘Your Cassette Pet’ later that year. Read more>>

Rachel Maeng

As a former collegiate student-athlete, I’ve always been extremely driven and vision-focused. Beyond competing in Divison I I wanted to attend a school where sports had a large presence and opportunity. Early on in college I realized I wanted to start a company that sat between social media and monetization. Read more>>

Joey Beni

I moved to LA in 2008 and just hit my 17 year mark. I always wanted to be an actor/performer as a kid. I just wanted to make people laugh. I had a few months in 2006 where I felt lost and didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. Read more>>

Catherine Castillo

From a young age, I’ve always been driven to challenge myself and grow beyond my comfort zone. I grew up on the west side of San Antonio, in a small neighborhood next to a local uniform school that had been around for generations—even my ma attended it as a child. Read more>>

SonicFluxx

My name is SonicFluxx and I am a professional recording artist and songwriter. My love of music started very early as a child, but was repressed by a strict religious upbringing. I was not allowed to listen to ‘secular’ music for much of my childhood – finding solace at places like FYE and other music stores once I was of age to drive myself places. Read more>>

Meghan St Thomas

I’m a New Yorker. Really I’m an upstate New Yorker who fantasized about the city and moved there right after collage. I always dreamed and pictured myself only in NYC. The smell of the streets, the subway, Broadway. It was all my brain could ever conceptualized and all I believed I was worthy of achieving. But, there’s a saying in NYC. Read more>>

Niharika Pushkarna

I’ve always wanted to create something of my own and grow in life. In December 2022, I came to the U.S. full of dreams. At first, it felt like a shock, the way of living, the values, even the meaning of friendship were all so different. I felt like I didn’t fit in. But over time, I met people who became like family to me. Read more>>

Jesse Owens

How We Started I began my bartending journey at the Ritz-Carlton / JW Marriott in Downtown Los Angeles, working across all departments from: WP24 and the pool bar to the lobby lounge and the hotel’s 100,000 square feet of event space. During my three years there, I also worked for over ten catering and event staffing companies similar to Platinum Bartenders. Read more>>

Mauricio Garza

As a Music Producer with over 11 Grammy nominations under my belt I used to always find myself booking recording studios to record mostly vocals and often paying expensive fees to use only one mic one mic preamp eq and compressor. That’s how I came with the idea of opening a studio that would offer same expensive recording gear for a fraction of the price. Read more>>

Eliza Christie

Nine years ago, I left a career in corporate advertising to chase a feeling I couldn’t ignore. I packed my things and moved to Greece, in search of what truly set my soul on fire—and I found it in music. Since then, I’ve immersed myself in every corner of the industry, determined to understand not just how it works, but where I belong within it. Read more>>

Brian mcgrory

It actually all started in Scotland where I was born, my life in whole has taken me on many geographical moves and re-incarnations, so to speak. But ultimately design, creating environments and experiences, whether that be for a client or one of our own homes has always been the true cells of my DNA. Read more>>

Adam Miller

Hi! Nice to meet you! My name is Adam! I currently run a spiritual coaching business and a Youtube channel. Read more>>

Clara Chayantee Songsakhon

I first started doing makeup when I was 14, during a photography class. But as the course went on, my teacher told me, ‘I don’t think you actually like photography.’ I was surprised and asked, ‘What do you mean?’ And she said, ‘You’re a makeup artist. I believe you’ll go far in this.’ That moment became the turning point for me. Read more>>

Charlotte Kay

I’ve always been intrigued by animals, so I studied biology in college since it was the closest program to zoology my university offered. Toward the end of school, I realized I was especially drawn to forensics and animal behavior, though I never pictured myself following Jane Goodall or Dian Fossey to Africa. Read more>>

Brittany Bacinski

I started out as a stay-at-home mom with a dream and a vision board. Writing was my lifeline — a way to make sense of love, loss, motherhood, and the quiet courage it takes to rebuild your life from scratch. Over time, my stories and lived experiences were shaped into art that became my books, and those books opened doors I never imagined possible. Read more>>

Jason Willington

We started as a small, hands-on crew who knew dirt, machines, and the Los Angeles neighborhood grid—just a couple of experienced operators doing residential digs and site prep. Over the years we focused on doing every job right: foundation excavation, grading and trenching, utility trenching, erosion control and demolition. Read more>>

Stacy Lauren-Kon

Then I moved to Los Angeles, to audition for Friends (we all know how that went) and fell madly in love with the city and a wonderful man! However, I hated the disingenuousness of the business here and once again made a shift in careers. After further schooling, I opened an entertainment advertising agency where my esteemed clients included Paramount, Sony, Universal Studios and Disney. But something was STILL missing! Read more>> 

Keith Kurlander

And I could be clinically insane but I really like my own music, it lights up the endorphins in my brain so I think it’s good and occasionally somebody else will let me know they like it. Also as of this year I’ve been making protest art which I describe as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein on LSD. I’m just starting to have some sales and shows at this moment. They’re all 24″ x 36″ digital print on canvas and they can be seen here. Read more>>