Hailing from Chi-town Terrence and Brandon dove immediately into the DC night scene when meeting at Howard University. Brandon found a knack with throwing parties and actually went on to hire his now business partner, Terrence to help him out. When both were finished with school, Brandon worked in hospitality and Terrence was going door to door as point of sales salesman but the discomfort of code switching got to be too much. What started off as a curiosity in wine ultimately led to an...

Going to a predominantly white college, Sandro quickly learned that other peoples worlds weren't as colorful as where he grew up. The lack of representation combined with his Filipino upbringing made Sandro competitive and he initially jumped into traditional career fields. None, however, felt quite right until he fell into the world of entrepreneurship...more specifically Sandro started noticing the seltzer water boom. At the same time, the Asian food scene was bumping and he knew he wanted...

A naturally curious person, Sonja has held many different careers before arriving to where she is today. From writing as an editor in tech to becoming an interior design expert on TLC's show Trading Spaces. When she found herself suddenly unemployed, Sonja used the unexpected break to dive headfirst into politics to help register voters during Obama's first run for president. While campaigning in Los Angeles, she discovered different local businesses and makers that could use some help. A...

Growing up art wasn't just art, it was a way of life in the home Maggi grew up in. She loved to make things from candles to her own pants. Looking to escape Portland, Maggi enrolled in college in LA but dropped out shortly after. She started to work for a woman who had her own jewelry line. It was an eye opening experience for Maggi. Both good and bad. She was immediately promoted to designer, but maintained the same pay. And while she was still struggling financially, her designs would end...

Feeling profoundly misunderstood during her adolescent years, Heather realized early in her career she had a knack for building community for the misfits. A job at Karmaloop brought Heather into the streetwear world, where she learned that work culture could be fun, but understanding work politics was just as important. She eventually moved on to working in marketing for brands like Puma and New Balance. Being in the sneaker industry, Heather regularly attended fitness classics but often left...

A self proclaimed, “underground designer” Dan’s journey began in 1980, when he started making bootleg versions of high-end designers for the streets. He’d even buy left behind equipment at auctions supplied by fashion manufacturers that moved overseas. Although Dan felt like he was fashion’s best kept secret, more affluent Black communities didn’t connect with what he was doing. But that didn’t stop the gangsters, rappers, and athletes from coming through for Dan’s styling services. He's been...

Sick of the stale fluorescent lights of the corporate world, Brittany started to Uber and used that money to travel to Nicaragua and Guatemala where she gained a whole new perspective and love for her culture. When she returned to LA, targeted immigration policies were running rampant, her pride turned to anger and Brittany put her boots to the ground protesting. Wanting to do more, she started promoting Latinx businesses online and that was the beginning of her journey to create Shop Latinx....

Originally drawn to baking, Alex's journey to becoming a Home Chef and Food Blogger started in her mom's kitchen where she felt most comfortable expressing both sides of her Black and Puerto Rican heritage. While she loved baking, her dslexia proved to make the precise measurements very difficult. Alex made the pivot to focus on savory cuisine and never looked back. With a career in PR and marketing, Alex took the leap to go full-time into the food content creator world during the pandemic...

From making t-shirts in his granny's kitchen to opening up the first black-owned streetwear shop on Fairfax in LA, Gavin knew early on that his connection to being creative ran deep. While that first shop, YOUth, eventually closed...Gavin started making hats and giving them out to people not worried about making money. The more hats Gavin gave out, the more they would end up in the most unlikely places, including on Chad Hugo of the Neptunes and Aleali May. This ultimately led to the creation...

A job delivering groceries at the first Whole Foods location in NYC ignited Peter's curiosity in food. He eventually started to look into enrolling at culinary school which came with a hefty price tag. Heeding a friend's advice to skip school and learn on the job, Peter walked into The Spotted Pig and asked for just that. He started at the bottom and for 10 years, Peter worked on the craft of cooking. As Peter ascended in his professional life, he met his wife, Sun, who opened his eyes to...

On this week's episode, we sat down with Cristina Martinez (@sew_trill), a contemporary visual artist based in Seattle. Being an artist was something Cristina gravitated towards from early childhood - from watching Bob Ross on PBS to getting resourceful with art supplies (like using lasagna noodles as a canvas). It was during her young adult life that art went beyond her passion and became her focus; she is now living her truth creating in new ways every day. Inspired by her Black and Mexican...

A serial entrepreneur, Sevetri Wilson started her first business while attending Louisiana State University, a newsletter, using her community as a resource to help her get things going. After college, at the age of 22, she founded Solid Ground Innovations, a full service strategic communications and management firm. As a self-proclaimed bootstrapper, she decided to take the next step in her journey to turn SGI into a scaleable platform by setting her sights on transforming the nonprofit...

After moving around the world as a kid, IB quickly fell in love with hip hop and basketball when his family ultimately settled in Queens, NY. It was that love of basketball that would lead him to meet his best friend and business partner J.Cole. Hooping with Cole at St.John’s University, led to them building a bond that would lead to IB encouraging the young rapper to pursue music, so they put together a mixtape. That mixtape was The Come Up. As the music started to catch fire amongst the...

With dreams of being a rockstar, Cheetie realized at a young age she didn’t quite fit in. Moving from India to the Bronx as a kid, Cheetie struggled to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. As she got older, two things really came into focus: Music and Food. While on the road touring as a guitarist Cheetie fell in love with Raleigh, and saw that the city was an opportunity to bring her love of those two things together. Today, Cheetie is the Head Chef/Owner of Garland and nominated...

In searching for the thing he could truly call his own, Julian aka JuWorkingOnProjects, found that art was his calling. While working as a brand ambassador for Jordan Brand’s store in Chicago, Ju noticed an opportunity to create custom pieces of apparel that ultimately led to impressing artists like Teyana Taylor with his work. In a lot of Ju’s paintings, he offers his perspective on the experience of Black folks in America. Some experiences are great and others not so good. Inspired by his...

Inspired by the need to fight the racial disparity in the healthcare system after losing her father to a heart disease he wasn't aware of, Cydnie started educating herself on ways to boost immune systems and how to use food as part of preventative healthcare. With no true business motivations in mind, she started making juices for herself at home and then sharing the process on instagram. To her surprise, people wanted to purchase what she was making and Cydnie realized she had something...

Hailing from an immigrant family, Trinidad realized early on that he was a hustler, selling everything from Pokemon cards to pictures of Super Sayains as a kid. But it was fashion and his unique personal style that would take him on a journey of owning his own store and eventually building a name for himself. Today, Trinidad James is the founder of streetwear brand Hommework and novel sock brand DAD Socks, where he focuses on selling his community confidence not clothes. Co-Founder of Claima...

José shares a story about creating meaningful, high quality dishes that are accessible to his community, all with a refreshing new look.  That was José Leon, Owner of Kiss Pollos based in Phoenix, AZ. The Claima Stories with Bimma: Community Stories series is presented by 99designs by Vistaprint, as part of the 99 Days of Design initiative. Learn more at 99designs.com/99daysofdesign

On today’s show, recorded at ComplexCon in Long Beach, California,we speak with former Nike designer, lecturer, and youth advocate Jason Mayden. Born on the Southside of Chicago, he  almost died At the age of 7 due to a blood condition. While in the hospital he was inspired by comic book inventor and Batfamily member Lucius Fox, then deciding he wanted to get into engineering. By the second grade, he faced more challenges being misdiagnosed with ADHD/ADD but was actually on the...

On today’s show, recorded live at ComplexCon in Long Beach, California, we speak with Woodie White, Founder of Oyster Holdings - a brand for everyday enthusiasts based in Los Angeles, CA. Woodie cut his teeth as a promoter, throwing parties and doing his fair share of street team activations. Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging BIPOC creatives about how they were able to break into the notoriously guarded creative and sneaker industries. From these stories,...

On today's show, recorded live at ComplexCon in Long Beach, California, I speak with emerging designer John Okevu Ojo II of apparel brand Little Africa. Growing up in South Central, John grew up splitting time between his Black American mother and Nigerian father, oftentimes feeling as if he sat between two worlds.  Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging BIPOC creatives about how they were able to break into the notoriously guarded creative and sneaker...

John Okevu Ojo II shares story about researching the architecture behind some of his favorite brands Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging BIPOC creatives about how they were able to break into the notoriously guarded creative and sneaker industries. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, and James Whitner.  Subscribe:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claimastories/

Woodie White shares story about relating to the everyday enthusiast with Oyster Holdings Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging BIPOC creatives about how they were able to break into the notoriously guarded creative and sneaker industries. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, and James Whitner. Listen and Subscribe now. Subscribe:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claimastories/

Jason Mayden  shares story about how growing up in Chicago strengthened his work ethic Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging BIPOC creatives about how they were able to break into the notoriously guarded creative and sneaker industries. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, and James Whitner. Listen and Subscribe now. Subscribe:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claimastories/

On today's show, recorded live at Claima Stories: Feast Portland edition, we speak with chef and entrepreneur Jewan Manuel, also known as Plant Based Papi. Growing up in Flint, Michigan Jewan witnessed black entrepreneurship first hand as his grandparents owned a grocery store that supported their community.  Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging BIPOC creatives about how they were able to break into the notoriously guarded creative and sneaker industries. From...