With infinite pride and hunger, Raven or RavieB comes from the Bronx and she always comes to represent herself and the individuals she captures with her lens of choice. Though Raven dabbled in many different fields, when she picked up a camera, she felt at home and instantly knew photography was the career she wanted to pursue. Now, Raven, who has taken your favorite photo of Jay Z, Adele, Big Sean, Lebron, Damson Idris and countless others - didn’t take the easy route to arrive where she...

Born in Toronto to Indo-Guyanese parents, Hema was taught the value of good work ethic. Regardless of what she’s into, she’s always going to do it at 110%. Hema found herself constantly chasing fulfillment throughout her many professions, whether that was being a successful lawyer, morphing into an A-list stylist for the likes of Madonna to Andy Samberg, or interior design, Hema was going to figure it out. The biggest lesson in her journey would come from a book that empowered her to be...

We've made it to our 100th episode!! A definite milestone for the Claima Stories Family! And we're doing it with none other than whom GQ Magazine has crowned them Streetwear’s First Family. Chris Gibbs, owner of Union LA and his partner Beth Birkett Gibbs, owner of Bephie’s Beauty Supply, film director, and creative collaborator with Chris amongst many other forms of storytelling. Yes, this is streetwear’s first family and they are so much more. As we discussed the evolution of streetwear,...

Being a glass half-full type of creative and entrepreneur has allowed today's guest, Humberto Leon, to build a vibrant career. In the 70’s Humberto and his family Immigrated to LA where he would fall in love with fashion and often find himself in the aisles of thrift stores mining for just the right pieces. Fast forward to a storied career in the industry, Humberto and his friend Carol Lim decided to step out on their own launching Opening Ceremony. A place where they would bring all their...

Not many creatives have the opportunity to come out with two films in one year but with remakes of cult classics like White Men Can’t Jump and House Party but today's guest, Calmatic, did just that. Calmatic proudly grew up as your quintessential Black nerd, creating flyers, making beats, designing album covers and capturing memorable moments for LA’s finest. As he continues to create, he’s ready to tell his own stories and trust me, he could care less about the rotten tomato reviews. We're...

They say your twenties are meant for self-discovery and today's guest, Manila Mixtape, can attest to that. After a career in fashion bouncing from celebrity styling to merchandising to retail, Manila decided to walk away from it all. Knowing he needed a real break from that world, he moved back to NYC to become a truck driver. Serendipitously, his first assignment was to a fabrication studio. He’d work at the studio doing build outs for Vogue, Louis Vuitton and more. It was at the fabrication...

If you asked today's guest, Shequeita Frazier, if she would be a Co-Founder of an outdoors brand, she probably would've laughed. Though she grew up playing outside all the time, Shequeita distinctly remembers avoiding the woods. It wasn't until meeting her husband who would go on regular camping trips and moving to Portland did she fully understand the impact of the outdoors. Between the pandemic, protests and needing to find solace...a trip to Montana is what ultimately led the duo to...

A Chicago native, Autumn Merritt, has been a boss since she was a teenager, from managing a coffee shop to running a streetwear store...getting the job done with quality and intention was always her priority. In 2007, Autumn opened up a boutique with her husband originally named Solemates (now Sir & Madame). And that's just the start of her journey, in our episode ahead we chat about being a business partner with your spouse, collaborations, moving cities, her new role as the Head of...

Today’s guest, Telsha Anderson-Boone, knew pretty early on in her career that she wanted to be her own boss and that fashion would play a major factor. While figuring out what that business would be, Telsha worked just about everywhere from Hypebeast to Food and Wine, and even stopping at Atlantic Records for a stint. While she was tapped into the world culturally, all that would go into creating T.A. In 2020, Telsha had plans to open the T.A. brick-and-mortar shop, but like most plans in...

With parents that battled addiction, today’s guest Kiauna “Kee” Nelson, was always an independent kid. Her life took multiple turns from spending time in a gang to a short jail stint. Ultimately, Kee knew she wanted more than that life. At 31, Kee enrolled with college with ambitions of opening a food cart. With the help of little herbal refreshment, the #Loaded menus were born. A hustler by nature, she was selling plates out of her apartment before she got the truck. Tune in to hear a more...

A lifelong lover of museums, Kimberly Drew's entry into the working world of art started with creating a Tumblr page dedicated to Black art and culture called Black Contemporary Art. The page immediately took off and helped her land a social media manager gig at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Entering the space through her digital experience helped Kimberly fulfill her goal of bringing art to a wider audience, reinvigorating and diversifying the MET's digital presence. After leaving her post...

Growing up in a traditional Ethiopian household while living in California, Meymuna Hussein-Cattan often found herself balancing many identities. From coaching friends on what to expect when they came over to her home to compartmentalizing her worlds and finding solace through writing poetry. She eventually took all those identities and found her purpose running the Tiyya Foundation, a non-profit she founded with her mom now providing economic and educational opportunities for families of...

Our guest today picked up her first camera at the age of 14 and has worked in the world of photography ever since. Intisar Abioto, grew up in Memphis surrounded by Black art and found her path towards storytelling through taking images with Black women as the lead. Eventually making her way to Portland, she launched the Black Portlander project in 2013 and saw the impact it had on the local community. This project ultimately taught her the business of making art and using her art to celebrate...

An immigrant from Seoul, Korea who moved to California at the age of 12. Duk-Ki Yu, owner of MAJOR was and will forever be a lover, advocate, and participant in the advancement of hip-hop culture. Duk-Ki Yu is the epitome of an 80s baby and as he navigated his way through his adolescent years living between the cultural traditions of his origins and the cultural currency and influence of hip-hop, it makes total sense that Duk-ki would find his footing through sneaker culture. He would go on...

A lifelong student of hip-hop, Jabari always knew he wanted to work in the music industry specifically on the media side. While at Howard he started interviewing artists for a website including Fabolous, Nicki Minaj, and Justin Bieber, early in their careers. After working in social media at Capitol Records, the itch to create something of his own still remained. He decided to dive deep into the world of live music experiences, taking a page from the EDM world to create something for his...

Growing up on a farm in Mexico is where Jessica Monzalvo's story started. That deep connection to being on native land and watching family care for each other inspired her future. As Jessica shifted into her entrepreneurship journey, helping others with their self-care would be at the center of her work. This deep passion drove her to New York become a professional make-up artist landing the Victoria's Secret fashion show as her first gig. Fast forward to the pandemic, Jessica's thriving...

If you ask today’s guests Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl Cooper, golf has always been a great game. The two met as teammates on the Morehouse College golf team where they won a National Championship and then remained friends as their lives ran parallel in different career fields. But the game always remained in Olajuwon’s heart and as a lover of design he wanted combine the two. So, he created the infamous swingman logo and put it on a shirt initially for himself which turned into shipping 3,000...

Imagine making your childhood dreams come true - working in television, living in NYC, becoming a VP at NBC Universal…all by your 30s and then what? After all those accomplishments, Imani Ellis was still in search of something bigger and more connected. As a self-proclaimed introvert, she held a dinner party for young creatives of color that planted the seed for her next business idea. Imani’s dinner party went from 20 guests to an astonishing 300-person event in a month…creating a movement....

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Jerald has always immersed himself in the community with a focus on telling stories. From changing the subject of his college thesis to Molefi Asante and afrocentricity to opening a sneaker store. After a stint away from home, in 2019, Jerald moved back to Ohio to understand how architecture played a role in our communities, and unknowingly created a cultural preservation movement. Today, Jerald is the Founder of Hood Century Modern, a movement focused on...

Writing is something that always came naturally to Lynae, but becoming gifted storyteller is how she found her true purpose. After a full-ride at Spelman College, Lynae wasn't clear on her career path so she went on to teach high schoolers and create a Black studies curriculum. Inspiration set in during the protests of June 2020 where she wanted to make difference in her own way, with words and education, launching a viral series called Parking Lot Pimpin'. Today, Lynae owns From The Lot, a...

A diagnosis of Crohn's disease didn't derail the path to becoming a chef for Douglass. His approach to food was only heightened by having to chew each morsel 30 times, focusing on the feel, texture and taste of each bite. After working in world renowned kitchens, Douglass made building a community and creating a lasting legacy the focus of how he approaches being one of the few Black chef-owned restaurants in Boston. Today, Douglass is a two-time James Beard Award nominee as the Head Chef and...

Growing up in foster care, early childhood was anything but ordinary for Essie. Transitioning from different homes until she was the age of 6, Essie was luckily adopted by a family that poured into her and was the first successful Black family she ever saw. Essie started to step into her confidence after attending a HBCU, but that high she was riding on was short lived after she flunked out of school. Trying to find her purpose, Essie decided to move to NY where she immediately felt like she...

Since he was a youngin, Daniel has always been about community and having the back of his homies and loved ones. When he was only 18, his sister unexpectedly passed away and it sent Daniel into a very dark place of rage. He started getting in trouble a lot and was even arrested for silly things like trespassing. After making a promise to himself to never go back to jail, Daniel would shift into social work and help kids who grew up like him in Brooklyn. From there, Daniel ended up moving...

Being surrounded by Black Excellence in and outside of her home, Karleen grew up with the confidence that she could do whatever she put her mind to. Making her way to Howard and working in a myriad of jobs post-college, one thing always rang true...Karleen approached every opportunity with excitement and resourcefulness. This work ethic got her noticed and she finally received a break getting into the entertainment space working at Def Jam. From there, she went on to Bad Boy Records to...