So during my time in college, I’ve always had high aspirations for myself in the music and fashion industry, but I just didn’t really know the correct way to execute, or in what way I would intertwine the two. So I put out some hats first, and from there was the start of all things I have humbly accomplished through All Hail..
I’ve been into fashion and style since I was about seven years old, but didn’t quite realize how strong my love for style was until my sophomore year of high school. My senior year of high school, I got a job in the fashion department at a local Kmart. And more often than not, it consisted of folding and unfolding clothes, which I wasn’t a huge fan of, but it also consisted of customers asking me how they would look in certain pieces and I fell in love. I knew from then on I wanted to be a stylist, I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.
Growing up I would always watch YouTube, this is something that I really enjoyed as a kid, and even to this day. When I would watch these YouTuber’s I never really thought that I would try to start a YouTube channel. At a time I started to talk with all of my brother’s about possibly starting a YouTube channel myself, they loved the idea and really pushed me to do it and have been there every step of the way. My mom, April has also been a person who has been by my side this whole time and helps me in anyway possible and supports me all the way. I could not have a better family by my side when trying to start something. When we got the idea together, I thought it would be amazing to start a channel where I went “One on One” with athletes, celebrities, media personalities, influencers and more. When I talk about being “One on One”, it can mean just an interview, on the basketball court, or just something that the interviewee likes to do.
From there I started to put things into reality, I started by filming my whole YouTube preview in Miami, and started to record a couple of my first videos. With one of my brothers David “Mookie” Mariotti being an athlete business manager, it really had helped me a lot, and is still helping to this day. The first two videos that I filmed was a video with Kobi Simmons, and Derrick Jones Jr., and I started to really enjoy this immediately.
From there I have been continuing to build my brand and put out videos on YouTube. This is something that I truly love to do, I love to learn about peoples lives and how they got to the spot they are, and how they do it. Although I love the interviewing, I also like to do vlogs of my life, because sometimes it can be very interesting.
During my Senior year of college I decided that I wanted to graduate with more than just a degree. I wanted to create something that was totally mine, and so my journey into becoming my own boss began.
One day while hanging out with my best friend, I was expressing to her how frustrating it was to find a particular lounge wear outfit that fit my body type. Half jokingly, she encouraged me to create my own company, so I did. Some Sugar Some Spice, LLC was birthed. Once celebrating my graduation from college was over, I jumped into my business head first. However, as life would have it, not only was I birthing my business, I would also be giving birth to a handsome son, as I would soon find out. Although I was excited, the reality of being a recent graduate with high dreams and goals almost immediately set in. I thought, “how am I gonna run a business while juggling being a mother?”. My hunger for entrepreneurship and the consistent encouragement from my support system would not let me get down about it. I decided to blog my way through it and Melanin Mom Boss was born.
Melanin Mom Boss was created as an outlet for me to be able to share my experiences as business owner, mother, and woman. This endeavor has also allowed me to connect with a community of mom bosses who encourage and support each other.
Our team story started several years ago, when our founder, Sam Conkin, was traveling on business in his truck with his trusted sidekick spaniel, Missy. Whenever he had to make a stop for a meeting or an errand, he was frustrated with how challenging it was to keep Missy comfortable and safe, given the many premises where no dogs were allowed. He then noticed that often many other dog owners would hit this same roadblock: what to do with pet dogs when you have to leave the car, but you can’t bring them where you have to go? As pet parents, we want to maximize the time we spend with our dogs as a family, which means bringing them along when we go driving. However, we worry about leaving them alone in the vehicle where they may quickly suffer from and even die from heat exhaustion in as few as 6 minutes. We felt there must be a better way.
The options to leave dogs in vehicles for a short period of time were very inadequate. Rolling down windows may compromise the dogs’ and the vehicle’s safety. Marketplace products for keeping dogs at a safe temperature in cars, like cooling mats, scarves, and beer coolers with fans were not effective enough for us. Taking dogs out of the car and tying them outside stores felt insecure. And following some groups’ well-intentioned advice to always leave dogs at home would mean losing out on the feelings of adventure, of togetherness that traveling with our dogs offers us—and what if our dogs have separation anxiety? Our research revealed that this issue also affects working dogs that simply must be transported in cars, like therapy dogs, police canine units, sports dogs, and more.
So, we set out to invent something more practical, more sustainable, more dog- and dog family-friendly—a product that can at once monitor and cool dogs in unattended cars. To date, we have assembled a world-class startup team of professionals representing diverse fields: product design, engineering, software development, marketing, and management. Experts from pet sectors and major market leaders like P&G, Petco, and Kraft Foods, have found it personally meaningful to join our team. As a growing company of change-makers tethered to one another by our love of dogs, we are all contributing our expertise to our positive social impact venture: our soon-to-be-launched product—the k9kooler.
My story in a nutshell: when I was six months old, my father tried to kill me; he broke my leg and my arm and I was taken away from my family. I was put in traction for six months, and, during the most vulnerable part of my childhood–when I needed human warmth and comfort the most–I received none.
I was adopted by wonderful people who provided all the love I needed. However, the psychological damage to myself (and to my self esteem) had devastating consequences for the following twenty years of my life.
And, although I was never in trouble with the law, and miraculously never got involved in drugs, I did end up abusing alcohol and grew into an angry, defiant, and rebellious young man. I hated school, I was filled with rage and emotions I didn’t understand, and, of course, I was a loner.
My salvation was delivered through my love for animals. As a ranch hand, I got to work with all types of animals that taught me about trust and patience. Later on, I became a dog groomer, learning a new skill for calm. I was finally ready to recognize and accept opportunities,
Most people can only guess at the moment when their life path changed. I, however, know the exact day my life completely turned around. It was my 30th birthday, January 17th, 2019. On that pivotal day, a friend had invited me to come along to a live taping of a well-known local podcast. Among the other guests enjoying this show were the hosts of Orlando’s celebrated web series KISS MY ART, the artist Marla E and gallerist Boris Douglas Garbe. At one point during the program, questions were fielded from the audience, and, when I got my chance to speak, not only did I feel comfortable and happy, I discovered that I was actually funny and got some laughs from the audience.
Marla E and Boris approached me after the show, convinced that I would be a successful podcast host. Those two worked to make a start for me–Marla, my great advocate, having convinced Boris to produce a podcast for me that would be tailored to my unique talents and that would catapult me into the Orlando arts scene. That’s how THE EXPERIENCE WITH CHRIS FIO was born!
Hannibal Buress -Animal Furnace – Full SpecialHannibal Amir Buress is an American comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He started performing comedy in 2002 while attending Southern Illinois University. He has co-starred on Adult Swim’s The Eric Andre Show since 2012 and was featured on Comedy Central’s Broad City from 2014 to 2019
I started the idea of becoming an entrepreneur in the fall of 2017. At the time, my model was more so going after government contracts because that was my background experience; however, I knew that wasn’t ultimately what I wanted to do.
I grew up in Philadelphia and stayed in the Northeast until I graduated from St. Joseph’s university. Shortly after, I was able to travel to Europe for months at a time. I spent most of my days in the art museums and galleries storing ideas and absorbing the creativity. At the age of 26 I had the opportunity to moved to Seattle where I began painting and sculpting in a small studio. I spent three years in the Northwest working various jobs and searching for my art form. I decided to move to Tainan Taiwan to travel, teach ESL and study art specifically Chinese landscape painting and calligraphy. Since Tainan was the old cultural center of Taiwan there was a thriving art community that I became involved in. My wife was studying ink and brush and we realized that we would need someone to mount her paintings when we returned to the United States. I apprenticed under master Huang for 5 years in the traditional method of stretching shoji screens, scrolls and works on paper. It was in the studio that I found an art form that truly appealed to my creative side. With this skill I was able to stretch and manipulate paper in ways very few people can. Almost instantly I began creating my own art using these techniques. I had finally found my art form and the discoveries I made in Tainan during those years made all my future work possible. I returned to Seattle in 2005 and immediately opened Nha Vuu Studio and Design with my wife. Our studio also restored works of art on paper for galleries, Asian antique dealers and collectors from all over the country. I was one of the few people in the US able to do this kind of work. During this time I repaired and rebuilt dozens of shoji screens some 200-300 years old. I also began producing and selling Shoji screens of my own. Today I live in the Fort Colins, Colorado and run two art studios, Nha Vuu Studio and Design and Pergamena Fine Art. My wife and I split our time between Fort Collins and Seattle. I still make time to restore art while producing new works year round.
On April 9,2011 my wife was watching our 3 year old son (Bladyn) and our daughter (Raven) while I was at work. After playing all morning in the yard, my wife went to put our son down for a nap (It’s important to point out that my wife was suffering from pneumonia at this time). Bladyn did not want to take a nap so he began to run around our property (3 acres) in protest.
