All Things Croatia

Marina Jurica is a Croatian-American who worked for NASA's JPL, is a meteorologist for CBS, and a trained opera singer. In this episode of the All Things Croatia Podcast, Marina talks about her incredible career and her love for Croatia, including the viral moment where she sang the Croatian National Anthem in the midst of thousands of booing England fans. She also was the MC for the Croatian Nati...

In this episode of All Things Croatia , I sit down with Tanya Golešić, one of the most influential Croatian women in the global fashion industry. Born in Canada to Croatian parents from Zagreb, Tanya has built an extraordinary career leading some of the world's most recognized luxury brands, including Jimmy Choo, Ralph Lauren, Canada Goose, and now Mackage. We discuss her Croatian roots, the value...

CroSamurai is a Japanese-Australian with no Croatian roots who has taken an incredible liking to Croatian culture, language, and music! You may have seen his viral videos saying things like "Day 20/100 of singing Croatian songs." In this episode of the podcast, he talks about how he came in contact with Croatian culture and why it made such a big impact on his life. He also talks about some of his...

Mario Klarić is a Croatian drummer and a member of the band Thompson, who just played the largest ticketed concert of all time in Zagreb, Croatia at the Hipodrom. Mario, from Karlovac, comes on the All Things Croatia Podcast to talk about his musical background, going to music school in New York, and all the details behind drumming at the largest paid concert in history! Listen in to hear him talk...

Ante Brzović is a Croatian basketball player currently playing Division 1 basketball in the US for Charleston where he’s currently averaging 19 points and 8 rebounds. In this episode Ante talks about growing up in Zagreb and his dream to play professional basketball in the NBA. Stay tuned to hear what the biggest culture shock was when he went to Texas! Watch his buzzer beater https://www.youtube....

Kristina Kuzmič is an amazing author, comedian, social media personality, and public speaker who was born in Croatia and immigrated to the United States as a teenager. After winning Oprah's talent show in 2011, she started making videos of her own to show the real side of motherhood. She has written two books and tours the country doing standup comedy, showcasing some of the lessons and funny stor...

Marin Čilić, considered one of the greatest Croatian tennis players ever, if not THE greatest, took time to come on the All Things Croatia podcast and take some questions from our listeners. Marin talks about his childhood growing up in Medjugorje and how his dad helped support his dream to play tennis. Hear about his amazing U.S. Open win, his silver medal in the Olympics and the incredible work...

James Webb, known as J Webby is an Australian competitive eater with Croatian roots. He is ranked number 1 in Australia and number 5 in the world as you can see his food challenges on social media with almost 2 million TikTok followers and almost 100 thousand Instagram followers! He talks about how his grandparents came from Croatia and how his Baba's cooking helped lead the way to his competitive...

On the latest episode of the All Things Croatia Podcast is Doris Bačić, captain and goalie of the Croatian national soccer team. Doris talks about growing up in Neum, and her journey to playing for clubs like Arsenal, Juventus, and Napoli. She tells us what it means to be captain of the team, the challenges that come with that, as well as the pride she feels to wear the checkers and play for her c...

With her new single Gasoline, Marcela is burning up not only the Croatian music scene, but worldwide as well! Marcela is a Croatian singer songwriter who first appeared in 2011 on Croatia’s TV show, Looking for a Star, and has since wrote hit songs, including one that she performed on Dora, the Croatian national competition to select a song for Eurovision. Marcela talks about her musical influence...

On this episode of the All Things Croatia Podcast, twin sisters Ivana and Josipa Jurković join to talk about their rowing success and their bid for the upcoming Summer Olympics! Ivana was Miss Sport Croatia in 2018, and both her and Josipa are in the Croatian Army Reserves. Stay tuned to hear about their bid for the Olympics, the advantages of being twins, and their favorite Croatian food! Check o...

On this episode of the All Things Croatia podcast is guest Katica Rakuljić, a model and TV presenter from Split. Though she moved to Sweden at a young age, Katica stayed very connected to her Croatian identity through traditions like kolo dancing at the local Croatian club, cheering for the Croatian football team, and visiting her homeland often. Katica competed in Miss Universe Croatia in 2011, w...

On this episode of the All Things Croatia podcast is 17-year-old Croatian boxer and model Mariela Šteko. She recently won gold at the junior European Boxing Championships, now having twice been junior European champion. Born in Munich to Croatian parents from Tomislavgrad, Herzegovina, Mariela started in kickboxing before switching to boxing and choosing to represent Croatia. She discusses her box...

On this episode of the All Things Croatia Podcast is Steve Pavlovic, known as Pav. Pav is a Croatian-Australian music entrepreneur and from booking some of the biggest bands in the 90’s, to starting his own record label, to putting on festivals in Croatia, he’s done it all. “For a fair bit of the 1990s, Steve Pavlovic was the coolest guy in Australia. Pav had the home phone numbers of everyone on...

On this episode of the All Things Croatia podcast we have Katica Nikić and Caroline Spivak who represented Team Canada in the Croatian World Games, or Crolympics, which is an Olympics style competition for the Croatian diaspora. The goal of the Games is connecting young Croats from all over the world through sports and cultural gatherings, and to encourage them to cultivate their Croatian identity...

Our special guest in this episode of the All Things Croatia podcast is Pat ‘The Croatian Sensation’ Miletich. Pat is a decorated ex-MMA fighter who was a multiple time UFC champion often thought of as one of the first true mixed martial artists and was even inducted into the Hall of Fame. Pat tells us about his Croatian heritage including the story of how his infamous nickname came about as we div...

On this episode of the All Things Croatia podcast we have special guest Mia Dimšić, a Croatian singer/songwriter who had the honor of representing Croatia in Eurovision 2022! Mia is a very popular artist who has written songs that top the charts and is planning new releases as well as upcoming tour dates. In this episode we talk about how she got her musical start performing for the Croatian diasp...

On this episode of the All Things Croatia podcast is special guest Ivana Petrović, a mixed martial artist who just became the first Croatian woman in the UFC! From Mostar BiH, Ivana talks about why she wanted to become a fighter and how she would watch the legendary Mirko CroCop with her dad as a kid. She tells us how she felt signing a deal with the UFC as she prepares for her first fight on July...

On this week’s episode we have special guest Jessica Julian author of Ebby the Magnificent. Ebby the Magnificent is a children’s book that takes place in Croatia and Jessica talks about the influence behind it as well as why she wanted it printed in Croatia. Jessica explains her connection to Croatia where she lives half of the year with her husband who was born near Rijeka and moved with his fami...

On this episode of the All Things Croatia Podcast we have special guest Meri Abbado. Growing up in Split and eventually moving to the U.S. Meri is an accomplished body builder and the only Croatian IFBB Master Bikini in the world, as well as the Master Bikini World Champion 2022 and will be competing at the Master Olympia this summer. In this episode Meri talks about her childhood in Croatia as we...

In this episode we have special guests Alen Vukobrad and Niko Grandov to talk about the Memorial of Vukovar Defenders Tournament. The tournament aims to provide a platform for young Croatian footballers in the Diaspora to showcase their talents while also honoring the memory of those who sacrificed their lives in the war. Alen was the coach of the North American U-14 team which brought together ki...

In this episode we hear from the creators of the popular Let’s Learn Croatian Podcast, Uncle Mike, Tony D, and DJ Moe. Living in southern California, we learn about their Croatian connection what led the three friends to start helping people learn the Croatian language. Stay tuned to hear their favorite Croatian words and the story behind the Let’s Learn Croatian Podcast! https://www.letslearncroa...

Danijel Velicki is a Croatian entrepreneur who moved to the US where he created and runs a successful company to help people achieve financial wellness. He left Zagreb as a teen to chase a dream with just 40 dollars and a Walkman in his pocket. In this episode we hear some stories about life in Zagreb during the war, why he left, and how he beat the odds and started a successful business with an “...

Sara Dyson is the founder of the website Expat in Croatia which helps, you guessed it, Expats in Croatia with things like citizenship, healthcare, and daily life! In this episode we hear why she moved to Croatia from the US without any Croatian heritage, and what her experience has been like after more than a decade of living here. Sara talks about common expat problems as well as dealing with the...

On this episode we have special guest Tony Klarich. Tony is a legend and pioneer in the watersports community, having invented over 100 waterskiing tricks and winning 11 national and world titles. For his 50th birthday he accomplished the daunting task of waterskiing on 50 different objects in one day including an ice chest, and a ladder! In this episode we’re going to hear about that, his Croatia...