Balboa Park-Hillcrest

Sergey Gornushkin

My public art career spans a decade during which I have worked for various municipal and private institutions and clients to provide large-scale sculptures, murals, landscape designs and bas reliefs. I am extremely proud of my work to benefit the younger generation as I have installed large-scale sculptures on school campuses across San Diego County and Baja California, Mexico. In San Diego County, I have been working with the San Diego Unified School District and San Dieguito School District to design, fabricate and install large-scale campus sculptures at Roosevelt Middle School, Jefferson Elementary, Walter J. Porter Elementary, Bird Rock Elementary, and Canyon Crest Academy. Roosevelt Middle School has three large-scale sculptures including the Jr.Seau memorial bench and monument which is an interactive fiberglass structure covered in mosaics which is utilized by thousands of children on a daily basis. Read more>>

Del Mar, Encinitas & Carlsbad

Michael Marckx

As a child, I grew up the oldest of four kids with very active parents. All of six of us were marathoners, bike riders and athletes in various sports. I ran my first marathon the same year I did my first bike race when I was 12 years old… That’s not saying much when my brothers ran their first marathons at age eight and nine. From age 11 on, we spent our summer vacations in San Diego, in Leucadia, and we all fell in love with everything about the place. So much so, my brothers and I moved here and set up our various businesses. We loved the laidback lifestyle, the wide selection of surf breaks, running in the lagoons and along the beach, and the general vibe of being around people who cherished the same wonderful characteristics of this special place. Read more>>

Mary Reaston and Heather MacKay

Our story started in 2018 when we met at Floating Yogis. Heather had been practicing yoga for 18 years and I was new to yoga. We shared a love of water and were taking a SUP (Stand Up Paddle Board) Yoga class. One of the poses in the class was crow, an intricate arm balance. I wanted to do the pose without a face plant and Heather suggested practicing on land first. She offered to guide me into crow and that is the beginning of our beautiful partnership and journey. Heather is and will always be my inspiration. She taught me to not be afraid; to always believe ins myself and age is a simply state of mind. Together we have completed our Sup Yoga Teacher Training (TT),200 and 300 hour TT, and Gravity Yoga TT and are currently enrolled in our Yoga Trapeze TT. Read more>>

Steven Porter

I’ve always been a highly creative person. My parents introduced me to music at a young age with piano lessons, and my uncle is a music teacher. My brother and I began learning lots of other instruments (electric guitar, drums, bass, and keyboards) and I ultimately found my calling behind the audio mixer, recording and producing both original songs and other local musicians. I had developed an interest in photography around that time as well, and thought it would be fun to combine my hobbies. A few low-budget music videos and short films later, and I found myself neck deep in the world of video production and filmmaking. By the end of high school, I had interned for and worked professionally with multiple local brands as a videographer and editor. Read more>>

Alina Janes

Took me a solid year to work up the courage to bake a sourdough loaf. I was super intimidated by the whole process, starting with the starter. In late 2019, I finally made my own starter and first week of January, I made my first loaf. I have been obsessed ever since… What started as making loaves for friends turned into a business out of my house. I have a cottage food license so that I may sell directly. My focus is on premium, local (if possible) organic flours. I like to also mill my own flours as well, to preserve the vitamins and minerals. When I started to connect with other bakers and with the CA Wheat Association, I realized that California has some of the most nutritious and diverse wheat varieties, however it is incredibly expensive or sold for livestock feed…. Read more>>

Downtown & Little Italy

Jocelyn Toliver

“Just like the sun causes you to sweat without thinking about it, crystals cause you to heal without thinking about it” – Jocelyn Toliver, CEO Lovely Life Jewelry Company Founded in October 2018 in Encinitas, California, and has recently made its way home to San Diego, California. This company was inspired by a trip around the world. I walked into a bead and crystal shop in Encinitas and had one goal in mind. To make a necklace that would travel with me to Thailand, Indonesia, and the Maldives. It was suggested that to ease my nerves, I should incorporate crystals. This all happened in May 2018. Fast forward to October 2018, and I decided that the necklace I created helped me so much that I had to share the love and joy. Read  more>>

Samantha Razoky

I fondly remember my mother having a beautiful mink coat (I wouldn’t buy real fur!) that I would steal out of her closet at the age of three, so I could walk around the house with it dragging behind me because I was imaging I was a princess. I always had a penchant for luxury, at even such a young age. As I grew that taste evolved, I would buy Vogue just to admire advertisements from large fashion houses. I always was intrigued by the clothes, the models, and the photoshoots. Growing up in a city allowed me to explore this fascination. Style was my passion. Art was my creativity. But I found that the two blended quite easily. My outfits were truly an expression of art, and I took pride in whatever I wore. Read more>>

Spencer Plante

I’ve been playing music since I was a little kid growing up in Minnesota (there’s pics of me crawling over pianos/keyboards/guitars/etc. as an infant). When I was 16, my family moved to California, and around that time, I started internalizing depression and not realizing the impact it would have on me. HOWEVER, fast forward ten years, two failed relationships spanning seven of those years, and an ungodly amount of depressing music consumed, I found myself with a project that I’m really excited about. Inspired heavily by the likes of Phoebe Bridgers, Sufjan Stevens, Death Cab for Cutie, Bon Iver, and others, I was able to put out a record that is one thing above all else: honest. Read more>>

Dr. Felice Carlton

I was raised in rural North Carolina (in a one-stoplight town) with humble beginnings and family values which encouraged a strong work ethic. My very supportive parents always pushed me to do my best in everything I attempted to put myself in situations that would help me grow and to help others along the way. At a young age, I was really interested in healthcare and I always had a passion for helping people, so it was a natural transition for me to pursue nursing as my undergraduate degree. Going to college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill showed me a high standard of healthcare. During this time, I noticed how clinicians actually took time to teach patients about prevention while in their presence. For the first time in my life, I saw how a focus in preventative healthcare enabled others to live long healthy lives. Read more>>

Melissa Padilla

Melissa is a multidisciplinary artist originally from Tijuana, Baja California. Her artistic development includes: graphic design, photography, drawing, theater, ballet, jazz and contemporary dance. Melissa graduated with honorable mention from the Professional Dance School of Mazatlan, directed by the Delfos Dance Company. She is currently a registered teacher of the CONTINUUM training system founded by scenic artist Omar Carrum; with this system Melissa has taught various workshops throughout Mexico and abroad. Melissa also is the Co-founder and co-director of the contemporary theater collective Teatro de León alongside Colombian artist José Luis Sánchez. They have received grants for artistic support such as International Circulation Mincultura 2017 and Apromac 2017 to present their work RITA in various festivals throughout Mexico, Colombia, and France. Read more>>

Alonso Moreno

I would like to talk about my musical journey as a road of passion and fortunate events. Why this way? Because there has been a total passion and love for music since I started my journey, that has been pushing me always to keep moving forward. If I sum up my life as a child/teenager, I could describe it in three words: school and soccer. There was just a little time for anything else like music. However, I always had a strong connection with music since I can remember, I partly get it from my dad who’s a great non-professional guitar player and singer. Long story short, I was afraid of singing in front of people and it was until I was 18 yrs old that I took the courage to sing in front of a little audience of 10 in a karaoke place in Tijuana and that’s when the fun began. That same night I was fortunate to come across professional singer and well-known radio host. Read more>>

East San Diego

Taylor Mishler and Marlon Porter

OnPoint Window and Solar Panel Cleaning was created by two friends, Marlon Porter and Taylor Mishler from the idea “We could do it better”. Growing up together in east San Diego, they played on the same little league and high school teams, fished, surfed and rode motorcycles. Constantly pushing each other with their competitive personalities in whatever they were doing growing up. Both attended San Diego State University while working and gaining experience in the window cleaning industry. Marlon graduated with a degree in economics and Taylor graduated with a degree in civil engineering. They then both got to work in their specific industries building successful careers. No matter what they were doing, they both strived to be the best they could be. In 2019, Marlon and Taylor decided to create a cleaning service together that would compete with the rest of the industry. Read more>>

Giselle Kongdara

Growing up, my parents have always had their small business. I’ve been helping my parents since I was four in anything they needed. My parents taught me life isn’t easy and you have to work your way up in life. I become a mom at 16 and always put my son before anything else. My oldest has Autism so working a 9-5 isn’t my best choice and my husband is in the navy and he is always gone. So I decided to kick start my own business from him from the knowledge I have gained from my parents. Read more>>

La Jolla & UTC

Michael Delacruz

I guess the story starts back in high school and picking classes your friends were in. I decided I wanted to give photography a try as I have already taken all the other ones that were offered at the time. This was in the early 2000’s so digital photography was nowhere near where it is today. I learned how to use a Pentax K1000 film camera, how to process film negatives, and develop black and white images in the darkroom. After high school, I joined the US Navy and photography took a back seat for about 13 years. I never really stopped, I continued to create here and there but I mostly did it for fun and to share on social media. Read more>>

Michelle Miller

For me personally, my working career began right out of high school. My first adult job was working for the telephone company that is now known as Verizon. I started as an operator and when I left the company seven years later, I was a supervisor of operator services. Looking back, my jobs have always lead me to a management/supervisory position and I believe it’s simply because it has always been about the customer experience for me, not so much the service or product that I was promoting. That philosophy still rings true today for me at Miller’s. We strive daily to provide an experience to each guest that won’t soon be forgotten. Memories ranging from a summer day wake surfing with friends or anchored in a cove on a pontoon boat BBQ’ing while the kids jump off and swim. Read more>>

Nathaniel Haering

I was born in the state of Kentucky in 1994, and I’m a composer of experimental music. As a kid who filled hours by coaxing every timbre and bizarre sound he could out of a frying pan and who was equally excited to stare at a computer screen for just as long, I am overjoyed to have found a profession that so thoroughly combines both interests. I loved banging on pots and pans, household items, toys, furniture, making sound with anything I could find (with the usual support and occasional chagrin of the family) and actively clamored to touch, explore, and play with any instrument I could get my hands and/or mouth on. Read more>>

Vikita Poindexter

I started my business 21 years ago out of a crisis. My youngest child wasn’t expected to live to be ten years old. I had just gone through a horrific divorce, working in corporate America and trying to take care of my two children while my youngest was in and out of the hospital. I was advised that I needed to be in the office as teleworking wasn’t afforded to the female executives as it was for my male counterparts. I had a conversation with a trusted advisor and was encouraged to start my own business. Something that I had wanted to do, but due to fear and LIFE, it didn’t happen. I’m a mom first however I needed to provide for my family. I left corporate America doing what I knew, which was human resources and started my own company. That is how PCG was born. Read more>>

North Park, South Park, Kensington & Normal Heights

Cathy Nguyen

As a child growing up in a small family in San Diego, I turned to books at a young age to help me understand myself and the world around me. My family and I moved several times within the city and my widowed father and older siblings were often occupied with work, so I learned to find solitary amusement in small details and quiet moments. I quickly became a bookworm and was always found immersed in a work of fiction, exploring alternative realities, compelling characters, and imaginary worlds. Middle school was instrumental in introducing me to film photography, my first visual form of creative expression. I loved learning how film worked in and out of a dark room, and soon after acquired my own first camera. Read more>>

Tyler Adibi

I create under the name TAFARI. I’ve been an artist my whole life but was always under the impression that it isn’t realistic to pursue art as a profession. It wasn’t until my best friend Patrick and I spent years focusing on our art that we began to believe it is possible. We wanted to share that belief with other artists. That is when we came up with our message; To inspire people to create and represent the idea that you can pursue a career in the arts. With the message in mind, I began to focus on ways to expand my art. I began live painting at clubs, entering gallery shows, and making prints to sell at the beach. During this time, it became clear to me that I needed a vehicle that could spread this message to the world. Read more>>

Heather Sweeney

As a teenager in a small town in Michigan, I spent many late hours drawing and writing poems in my bedroom. I was inspired by new wave music, Andy Warhol and MTV. At the time, I thought I’d become a famous artist and live in California someday. Well, part of that did come true. I feel at home in San Diego and I have been manifesting this life for many years. In between then and now, I taught English at high schools, community colleges and universities in Michigan, Arizona, and California. I had abandoned myself and was settling for something that loosely related to my dreams. Read more>>

Burcu Onaranel

In my journey, as many people do, I did follow the society rules for many years. I did what I supposed to do; finished the university, got a job, was burnt out and was lost in my life… In 2015, I decided to change personally and professionally where I can be inspired as well as inspiring others. I went through several self-improvement trainings and then became a Professional and Motivational Life Coach, NLP Master Practitioner. I found my way and quit my corporate job in Turkey. Three months later, moved to California without knowing anyone, the language and having a job. I was so blind with my dreams and creating the life I wanted. Read more>>

Azhane Peters

Oh boy 😅 this is so difficult because I just feel like I’m braiding hair simple right but to my clients, it’s more than that. It’s a confident booster ego developer complement catcher everything they’ve been looking for in San Diego. Starting was actually the easiest part, I’ve always known I wanted to do hair since I was little like six, everyone in my family braids my mom my aunts, my grandma so it came natural and I was good even tho I never thought so. It wasn’t until high school (2013) when I had my first client that wasn’t related to me. That gave me the biggest high, I just knew I had to do it forever. I did hair for my senior project and convinced a lot of my classmates to let me practice on them, shoutout to them. Read more>>

Monique Hernandez

After my Aunt gave me a bartending book, I took an interest in spirits and cocktails. I got hired as a barback at a hotel Downtown for about three months and then I asked the Manager to give me a shot at bartending and from there, that’s where my passion for spirits and cocktails grew even more. From there, I bounced around from hotels, restaurants and pubs. I have always wanted to create my own business and since Covid-19 started, I knew it was my time to step out and try to build something for myself and my family. Read more>>

Old Town-Mission Valley

Sarah Lewis

Becoming a therapist is actually a second career for me. I first thought I wanted to be a pharmacist and so I spent the end of my senior year of high school and my undergrad years working in a pharmacy. I learned pretty quickly that pharmacists don’t always get to spend the one-on-one time with patients that I had originally thought. So I ended up finishing my BA degree from DePaul University in Chicago pursuing communications and psychology still not sure what my passion was. Shortly before graduation, I was offered a retail management position. I was the first in my family to go to college and with the fear of paying for college loans weighing on me, I decided to give retail management a try. Well, it was definitely quite the experience and I am glad I will never work another Black Friday. Read more>>

Pacific, Mission & Ocean Beach

Jenn Malecha

From the outside, I looked like your typical healthy person. I ate “healthy”, meaning I ate lean meat such as boneless, skinless chicken breast and vegetables. I worked out every day of the week and had a muscular build. I was a personal trainer after all, and from the outside I definitely looked the part. Even on paper, I looked perfect: normal cholesterol, heart rate and blood pressure levels. My doctor commented at every annual physical how I was the “picture of perfect health” but I didn’t feel that way on the inside. Over time I began to feel more uncomfortable in my body. I questioned my health as my allergies grew increasingly worse every year and I struggled to keep my eyes open in the afternoon while training my clients. My skin cancer diagnosis was the BIG red flag I needed to understand something deeper was wrong. Read more>>

Cameron Callicutt

I came to Southern California after leaving Dallas, Texas with my mother and brother at a young age. I spent the majority of my years playing football and following my dreams of making it to the NFL. In college, I decided to leave football behind and begin what is now Point Loma Paws L.L.C. With my years of experience as a dog trainer, I was able to identify pain points that lead me to develop a range of organizations in the pet industry. I aim to serve as many dogs across the world as possible. Read more>>

Point Loma & Shelter Island

Jen Fisher

I was born in Los Angeles but raised by a single mother in San Diego. I attended undergrad at the University of Arizona with a major in Family Studies + Human Development. I spent some time traveling abroad in Guadalajara, Mexico and Segovia, Spain. After graduation, I returned home to San Diego and started a career gaining a background in education and non-profit management with Junior Achievement, an international organization dedicated to serving K-12 students through hands-on experiences that demonstrate financial literacy, work-readiness, and entrepreneurship. As a program manager, I spent years in developing curriculum, leading training, and stewarding corporate volunteers and donations. Read more>>

Christina Rounds

I started in Property Management in 2009 when my husband told me he wanted a divorce. I had just lost two siblings within one year and then he hit me with the divorce talk. I had three kids and had no idea how I was going to provide for them. So I scoped Craigslist and sure enough, answered an ad for an assistant making $10 an hour working 10-15 hours a week. It allowed me to work, pick up my kids from school and still make sure I was home to make dinner. After a few months of working for my then broker, he asked me if I wanted a property to manage myself. Then another. Then another. After a few years, I was managing 60-80 properties. The job allowed me to grow and grow because I had to really toughen my skin. Read more>>

Matthew Collins

I was born to help people become the best version of themselves possible. From a young age, I idolized classic bodybuilders like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Platz. I remember when I was 6 or 7, I created a barbell with some crates and a broomstick. One way or another, I was going to be big and strong just like them. More than two decades later, health and fitness is still my main passion and I spend my life teaching others what I do best – Live a healthy and active lifestyle and look damn good doing it. Read more>>

South San Diego

Shelley Baca

My mom pushed me to become a teacher when I started college. I didn’t think it was for me and I made the decision to pursue a legal career. After a couple of years at community college and time at a trade school, I became a paralegal. The plan was to get some experience in the field and then work my way towards law school What I learned from that experience is that I loved helping people, but I didn’t love the technical side of the job; the long hours sitting in front of a computer. I needed to move, interact, and specifically wanted to help children. I realized my mom may have been right. Teaching maybe for me. Back to university, I went where I graduated with my Liberal Studies degree and worked towards my credential. Read more>>

Keoni Bedania

My roots when I started DJing are quite different compared to other DJs. It was around 2012 to 2013 when I first got into the idea of DJing, except I didn’t own any sort of equipment. I was only in middle school after all. I didn’t do any research on DJ equipment and I didn’t have any type of knowledge about DJ equipment in general. All I had was the “DJay” mixing app on the iPhone and I just claimed I was a DJ… at least at the time. Initially, I would be asked to tag along with Uncle Jun and Grandpa Mar (who are both DJ’s) in their events, which were mainly weddings, and just learn the ropes of how they set up and learn the fundamentals of doing gigs. But being in middle school at the time, I just wasn’t all in yet. So, I put DJing on hold for the next 4-5 years later. Read more>>

Edgar Alvarez

I am the founder of KTYP (Keep The Youth Pushing). KTYP is a non-profit, where we focus on bringing positive, great vibes and try and give good outreach to the youth around my City of San Diego and my community of Logan heights. What we do is we give skateboards away at skateparks randomly. Though it sounds crazy. A small gesture like that has changed my life, and who knows, maybe some of the lives of kids who get them. We say “If the energy is right…” we ask them if we could bless them with a skateboard, 99 percent of the time they are super happy and grateful that one other percent is usually honest and says “I am OK give it to someone who really needs it…”, which is amazing! But, I guess we can start on what led to all of this. Read more>>