Meet Milana Ayvazova of Starring Milana in Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Milana Ayvazova.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started my experience in the entertainment industry by hosting Project Pit Talent Showcases throughout Los Angeles. I have also covered multiple red carpet events including BET Awards, T-Boz Unplugged, LA Fashion Week, and Block Party LA.

I then created, produced & hosted a web series entitled The Spotlight LA, which was distributed on Stevie Wonder’s radio station 102.3 KJLH. After a successful three year run with KJLH, I co-hosted a weekly show on Accelerated Radio, which featured celebrity interviews and trending pop culture topics.

All this led me to creating my own podcast, Starring Milana, which is currently in Season 2.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Multiple struggles I faced along the way ranged from student debt to health issues, and a fear of failure. I graduated from Loyola Marymount University with about $80,000 worth of debt. My #1 priority was paying off that debt, so I got a full-time job. This forced me to push my passion for hosting to the side. Over the past five years, I’ve faced a few unexplainable health issues. After a possible Fibromyalgia diagnosis and a cancer scare, I turned to God for guidance. It was at this point that I redirected my focus to my hosting career. I realized I wanted to actively pursue my purpose. Having started multiple projects throughout the years through the process of trial and error, there were multiple points in my career where I felt like giving up. I struggled with the fear of failure and wondered when was I going to be successful, later realizing that every failure was a success.

Starring Milana – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Starring Milana is a podcast that is released every #MilanaMonday on all podcast apps, as well as YouTube. Each episode has three segments, BTS, Talk Worthy, and Dropping Gems. In BTS, we catch up with my past week trying to navigate life in LA. Talk Worthy is a segment where I select certain pop culture and news stories and instead of just reporting them, I offer a different perspective. In the Dropping Gems segment, I pick a topic of the week and drop a few gems based on my life experiences.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career so far is the impact I am able to have on my listeners. I receive weekly messages from my listeners telling me how they connect with my message of building understanding and practicing empathy and how thankful they are that I share my most personal moments because they feel like they have someone to relate to. I have grown an audience from about 40 states and 30 countries and I feel so blessed to be able to reach and inspire people with my platform.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/starring-milana/id1448227334
• Email: starringmilana@gmail.com

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