Inspiring Stories from the OC

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 Orange County’s finest artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with our city’s incredibly deep talent pool.  Check out the Orange County’s rising stars below.

Andrew Irwin

Honestly I wouldn’t know where to begin my story. I know without a doubt that everything that happens. Happens for a reason. I am 31 years old. Have been diagnosed with HIV for now 6 almost 7 years. I’ve lost many family members and close friends. Rather it be from death or differences. I grew up in a conservative republican area. Both of which I’m not. Was amongst the few openly gay kids in my area at the time. Read More>>

Mao Tseng

Over the years, I successfully closed over 110 properties, steadily building a reputation for reliability and expertise. As my career progressed, I transitioned into commercial real estate, focusing on single-tenant net lease properties for brands like Starbucks and Chipotle, warehouses, medical office leases, and even hotel sales. In addition to client services, I also manage a portfolio of over 45 investment properties, handling everything from tenant screening to maintenance. In 2022 alone, I successfully collected over $1.13 million in rent while maintaining a 97% client retention rate. Read More>>

Trenton Miller

Belacartes’s growing popularity soon attracted the attention of stylists and artists, including YEAT, TEMS, and YG. Their patronage provided valuable validation for the brand and further fueled its momentum. To capitalize on this positive trajectory, I strategically shifted Belacartes’s focus from casual product presentations to a more comprehensive brand experience, emphasizing collection rollouts, high-quality visuals, and a distinct aesthetic. Read More>>

Footprints’n More Sarah Martin

By 2000, life took another turn—Personal tragedy left me solely dependent on my business to support my son. Within four years, I had outgrown running the business from home and opened my first retail store. Three years later, I incorporated my business, and two years after that, I opened a second location. By then, I had six employees. Within two more years, I had a third location and a team of 11. Through it all, I maintained a work-life balance, ensuring I was always available for my son. I was his class room-mom, the PTA treasurer, and present for all the important moments in his life. Read More>>

Jeimy Cruz

Mind you I know I’m not the only account who does this. I believe there is always room for anyone who wants to make hello kitty content. My aesthetic might not be for everyone so yours might be. I loved hello kitty since I was little I never had the means to spoil myself and now as an adult I still love her she makes me happy. I’m where I’m at today because of my followers and friends they are my biggest supporters and I’m truly happy that they believe in me. Read More>>

Michele Paddleford

It was a no brainer for me – having worked in the industry since 2012, I understood where she was coming from and her frustrations. Hence Gals on the Green was born. Last year (2024) we acquired ForeGals Golf which allowed us to grow our operations into Los Angeles and San Diego counties. This merger more than doubled our membership, positioning us as one of the largest ladies’ social golf clubs in Southern California, with over 500 members. To pay homage to ForeGals while still maintaining our brand identify, we decided to merge club names to officially become ForeGals on the Green. Read More>>

Geronimo Tzikin

Once I was done with this project i began to shop around for distributors in the process I got to meet Randy Greenberg EP of cowboys & aliens Meg 1 and 2, Mike Sherman tv producer amount other people. While shopping around for distribution deals I had to start working in restaurants and hospitality like any other immigrant but I was determined to change that and work with film, so I open my LLC and began “cold calling” people but instead of calling I was sending DM’s to brands, business in LA & Orange County and so I started picking up clients to a point where I had the opportunity to work with real state agents form the opphenheim group, developers, social medial influences and also achieving a publicación of my work in vogue magazine. Read More>>

Kelvin Peggins Ii

I started off just one of the guys in the studio hanging out. All my friends made music or had somthing to do with the music industry. One day my big homie Poe was Like “you just want to be the homie forever or do want your own lane”. Read More>>

Cydney Martinez

I loved cosmetology school, I encourage anyone to go if it’s your passion. I moved around a to few salons as the years passed, then with the pandemic, things got a little grim. With a little patience and diligence, I am proud to now be the owner of Kindred Beauty bar salon suites. Specializing is skincare. I also own a hair extension line named Kindred Luxury extensions, where you can purchase here at Kindredluxuryextentions.com. It has been a long journey, and Im so excited to continue servicing my community. I want to Thank my loving husband John Martinez for being an amazing support as well as my parents. I wouldn’t be here without them. I encourage all to follow your passion, with patience and diligence you will surprise yourself what you can accomplish. Read More>>

Vincenzo Lomio

But then, I lost touch with creation for a while, and even taking photos of my friends. During the pandemic in 2020, I started reading for fun again, reading upwards of 60-80 books annually and I realized I wanted to do something with that knowledge, so I started making YouTube videos in 2023, got more diligent with it in 2024. My content is about self-development but an intersection of ambition and emotional intelligence, as that feels most genuine to me. Read More>>

Luke Duo Art

Growing up in Orange County, California, my earliest memories are of carrying a well-worn drawing folder everywhere I went. Whether it was doodling in the margins of my notebooks during Physics class or sketching my favorite comic and anime characters, art was my sanctuary and my passion. But as much as I loved it, the road to becoming an artist was anything but easy. My family was initially hesitant about me pursuing a creative career, and like many artists, I wrestled with my share of anxiety and self-doubt. Still, I couldn’t let go of the dream. Through determination, countless hours of practice, and an unwavering hope for the future, I turned my childhood doodles into a thriving career—and I’m still growing. Read More>>

Jordan-maeve Eusebio

When I first put out my Silly Shrimphony drawings, the good folks at Bitty Bao—a Chinese-English bilingual children’s book publisher I was doing work for—told me, “this would make for a great children’s book!” At the time, I didn’t think they were being serious. A year later, they approached me with a very real offer to bring a Silly Shrimphony book to reality! Paired with author Katherine Chow, I will be bringing Silly Shrimphony to the book world through Bitty Bao. I couldn’t be more excited! Read More>>

Jacqueline Plante

I love all of the things I do, and wouldn’t want to give any of them up, but the biggest struggle has been making space to also be a person with my own individual needs, and to not let the weight of other responsibility keep me from that. One thing I’ve learned is that the more I’m able to carve out self-care (which might be a barre class, might be getting my nails done, or might just be bingeing Bravo), the better I can be at everything else. Read More>>

Drew

Tango isn’t just a dance—it’s a test of patience, resilience, and passion. One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced as a dancer is accepting that progress isn’t linear. There have been times when I felt stuck, moments when my feet wouldn’t cooperate or when the connection with my partner just wasn’t clicking. But those struggles taught me to embrace the process and trust that growth happens in the moments when you push through. Read More>>

Alysia Saquilabon

In 2016, after stepping away from dance, I found a new passion in makeup artistry. I loved how makeup allowed me to boost confidence without the pressures and competition that came with dance. The flexibility of makeup artistry provided a refreshing change, allowing me to work at my own pace and enjoy the creative process fully. I enjoyed being a small content creator posting makeup looks and tutorials on my instagram and youtube. While attending California State University, Fullerton full-time and working part-time as a server, I pursued freelance makeup gigs. My clients particularly loved my ability to enhance their brows, which soon became my signature touch. Read More>>

Arasha Alcaraz

Right after graduation, I dove straight into my master’s studies, enrolling in a Clinical Psychology program with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from 2013 to 2016. During my third year, I had the privilege of interning at the Orange County Department of Education, a role that shaped much of my career. Over the following years, I worked as an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist, accumulating clinical hours while serving at-risk youth. I also worked with incarcerated youth, which gave me invaluable insights into resilience and the systemic factors impacting mental health. Read More>>

Tony Smith

As a primarily independent photographer, the opportunities were somewhat limited in the beginning. Hard work and perseverance eventually paid off as performing artists began to recognize my work and started to open the doors of opportunity. Gratitude goes a long way in this field. I feel very fortunate to have been able to photograph some of the biggest names in the industry as well as up and coming bands. Rejection has certainly been part of this photography journey too. It’s important to remember when one door closes, another one opens. The key is to try your best not to take rejection personally. Work for the people that appreciate your talents and do the best job possible for those individuals. Read More>>

Pele Martinez

At the event my cooked her favorite food ” Rice and Beans with Bbq chicken and coleslaw” we prayed for all the kids and my mom gave , some words of advice to the kid’s as tear run down her eyes seeing that we had an opportunity to impact the next generation of young man and women in our community. In her speech she stated “You guys are the future of tommarow and you guys have to believe that , you have a talent so use it to the best of your ability. Keep school as a priority at all times too because if for some reason soccer don’t work out you have something to fall back on. Read More>>

Marc Rivera

I love the excitement that’s in the air as the talent comes in, I love using way too many mics and trying out a million ideas with the artist(s) while recording, and I love the feeling of accomplishment everyone has when that first session is done and we can listen back to a great rough mix. Brand wise I’m most proud of how the community of artists has really welcomed me and how we get to work with larger acts as well as kids just starting out. It’s crucial to me that we’re always available to creatives at every level of their journey! Read More>>

Sam Kohli

From the beginning, my goal has been simple: to help people capture the moments that matter most to them. Over the years, I’ve had the honor of photographing everything from family milestones to the quiet, meaningful connections between loved ones. Every session feels like a chance to create something special—something that will be treasured for years to come. Read More>>

Kassie Marks

My name is Kassie and I am the owner and creator of Hank and Jean Jewelry. To be totally honest, it’s really a family business. It’s all hands on deck! My husband Blayne and two kids Hadley and Nash have been apart of Hank and Jean since the beginning. They help me run my booth at pop ups, prep for shows, be the cashier, and mentally get me through long days and nights. It’s really because of them it started in the first place. Read More>>

Claudia Otis

We filed for our non-profit number and officially opened our foster based rescue in May of 2016. I was working full time as a marriage and family therapist at that time and my daughter Jessica managed the rescue most of the time. We made our focus on neonatal kittens at our local shelter because this population was the highest number of euthanasia’s across our nation. The first year we helped just over 130 kittens. Read More>>

Hayley Mackanin

It has been quite a ride I will say. Being that my passion and expertise is in cutting, I wanted to dive head first into the barbering world. Starting first as a cosmetologist, almost every barbershop I worked in, I was constantly put down. I even remember people literally making bets of how long I’d last. Jokes on them because boy did I last. So much that I was able to start my own barbering brand. I can’t tell you how many times someone would walk in and just on what I look like, they assumed I couldn’t give them a good haircut or straight razor shave.  Read More>>

Joshua Bolen

Fast forward to today, I’ve been able to turn those struggles into successes. I’m signed with Exposure Model & Talent Agency and have been part of Kansas City’s fashion and acting industries for years. It’s been an incredible ride—I’ve appeared in commercials for brands like Sprint, Community America, Mazuma, and Capital Federal, and I’ve had the chance to model for Nike, TipTop Tux, Kansas City Fashion Week, and the 18th Street Fashion Show, just to name a few. Read More>>

Sri Divel

Drawing from my expertise as an operator with a marketer’s vision, I launched The Culinary CMO to provide comprehensive, results-driven marketing strategies for restaurants and hospitality brands. The agency takes a hands-on approach, offering services like branding, social media management, menu design, photography, influencer programs, and more. My mission is to amplify the unique stories and passions behind each restaurant, helping them thrive in a competitive market. Read More>>

Ted Rigoni

I was born in the late 1950s, the third child and first-born son of an airplane mechanic and a stay-at-home mom. We lived at the end of a cul-de-sac in a small home in the Lake View Terrace area of Sun Valley, California. In one of my earliest memories, I remember jumping off a tall retaining wall and skinning my knees when I landed. Doing the nostalgia route in my adult years, I visited the house again and noticed that the retaining wall was less than two feet high—such is the world view of a toddler. Read More>>