THE CITY CONFESSIONS

Welcome to Season 5 of The City Confessions! Before we get started with today's guest, this episode opens up with a quick introduction from your host Mariann Yip about what she's up to and what you can expect from this season moving forward. Instead of doing a solo episode as the introduction episode of the new season, we are joined by Reagan Petrehn, who is a a filmmaker, food and bev expert, and...

This episode is a solo one featuring yours truly. I close out season 4 of The City confessions and give a quick recap of 2020. I talk about what this year has taught me, what lessons I've learned from therapy and the importance of setting boundaries. I also reveal a confession relating to the realities of my podcast earnings as well as insight and sneak peak to what you can expect from me in 2021....

Today we are joined by olympic high jumper, Priscilla Loomis.  She is from Queens, New York, so shout out to Queens and it’s great to talk with another native New Yorker!  Priscilla Frederick Loomis is a 31-year-old Professional Track and Field High Jumper representing the country of Antigua and Barbuda. She was born in Queens, NY and moved to South Jersey with her mother at a young age....

This episode features Nicque Marina, a singer/songwriter, actress, tik tok content creator (with 625.2K Followers+) and former army veteran. Nicque Marina was born in Houston, now based in NYC. This Air Force veteran rose to notoriety by producing comedy skits based on anime, particularly My My Hero Academia. She has since branched out to several fandoms including the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ha...

Today’s episode features Emily Getz, an abstract expressionist from Bushwick, New York.  Emily’s path into the world of art was quite unexpected. As a result of Covid, Emily lost her creative job in the Fashion Industry and found painting as a way to deal with the daily stress, anxiety and worries that we as humans all face. Channeling her energy into this new creative medium, Emily’s acrylic...

Today we are joined by the awesome Judge Khanna, the co-founder and creative force behind SpiltMilk Eyewear, a luxury eyewear brand based in NYC. Upon graduating from Parsons, Khanna built a luxury womenswear collection, dressing prestigious and elite New York woman.  During his tenure as a womenswear designer, Khanna felt there was an opportunity to create a bigger splash in the luxury acces...

Today's guest is Naomi Sebu, a brand consultant and vintage stylist who has worked with the biggest fashion brands and celebrities in the industry.  While attending University, she undertook an internship at Anna Sui, that forever changed her life. She took a leap of faith, moved from Toronto Canada to NYC in order to pursue her hopes and dreams. Not knowing what the future would hold, it has cert...

In this episode, we are joined by Dayna and Brian Lee, the power couple behind Arts and Food NYC Blog and Instagram where they share their journey as millennial producers and avid foodies navigating their way through the Big Apple. They are also the founders of AF Creative Media, which is a tony award winning production company. With a focus on developing new work, their mission is to bring new au...

Today's guest is Carolyn Yachanin, the founder of Copina Co, which is a wellness company that offers drinkable collage boost blends that are vegan, delicious, and great for your body, hair and skin.  Copina Co. was born out of Carolyn's personal experience with healing cystic acne scars and gut health issues through holistic medicine. In this episode, Carolyn explains why she started her own...

This week guest is Shaynon Gramling, a licensed real estate agent in NYC. Shaynon Gramling specializes in the sale of commercial and residential real estate in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Mr. Gramling began his career at the end of 2013 after graduating from Hobart & William Smith Colleges. He has gained experience in both real estate sales, as well as property management, including at the world-i...

Today's guest is Aaron Ho, the founder of Sour Mouse NYC, which is a game hall nestled in the Lower East Side that seeks to build community for artists. Aaron is a full time professor and entrepreneur and values giving back to his community and making a positive difference.  With a humble upbringing and being raised by supportive immigrant parents, Aaron explains his work ethic and love for h...

In today's episode, we are joined by Alejandra Ortiz & Caitlin Clarke, the CoFounders of My Faros , an on demand text concierge design for your social life. Both Alejandra and Caitlin give us background on how they met and how the idea of My Faros came to be. They acknowledge that their decision to go into business as best friends was a tough and risky decision, but explain how they ultimately...

Today's guest is Haley Hoffman Smith, a professional speaker who was recently named one of today’s most influential speakers by Forbes. With a TikTok community of over 140K+ strong, she is passionate about helping others bring their ‘pipe dreams’ to reality. She is the author of Her Big Idea, a book on creativity, ideation, and women's empowerment which named a must-read by the Tory Burch Foundati...

This week's episode is an exciting one as we are joined by Imad Jbara.  He is a relationship coach who started his coaching career at NYC Wing Woman, an esteemed relationship coaching agency based in New York City. He's been featured in wikiHow, Fox, CNN, NY Weekly, LA Wire, etc. After discovering that most of his clients’ obstacles stemmed from past trauma, Imad realized that the solution to...

This episode features Michelle Lam, who is the founder of Bklynnite Media, a public relations and social media agency that caters to hospitality and lifestyle clients in NYC. Michelle started as a public relations associate in the financial services sector and after giving birth to her daughter, she decided to become a stay at home mom. With a soft spot for restaurants and hospitality due to her f...

This week's guest on The City Confessions features Kaisha Huguley, a New York based actress, entrepreneur, creative, educator, and activist. Kaisha is an example of someone who is living her dream. After working for the Department of State for 6 years, Kaisha decided to quit her job to pursue her dream of being on Broadway.  In this episode, Kaisha recounts her first audition process and how...

This week's episode features Anneliese Gartner, the CEO and Founder of Apto Media, which is a creative marketing agency based in NYC. Her main goal is to help businesses grow and succeed. In this episode, Anneliese gives suggestions for those who are interested in starting a business and the importance of building a network. She also shares that managing expectations with clients is a huge compone...

Today's guest is Dr. Jennifer Tsai, a Manhattan optometrist, entrepreneur, and influencer/model in New York City. She is the founder of Carrot Eyewear, a trendy but affordable blue-filter computer eyewear line and also recently opened LINE OF SIGHT, a modern eyecare and wellness studio in Hudson Yards. Dr. Jennifer Tsai walks us through how she her positive and personal experience with eye-care in...

This week's episode features Thomas C Knox, a Master Connection Curator, Social Entrepreneur, and Thought Leader from Brooklyn, New York. His critically acclaimed movement, Date While You Wait puts a brilliant spin on connection and communication. He has received attention from the likes of CNN and the NY Times and is currently producing a television series. Thomas is deeply committed to developin...

Today's guest features entrepreneur and boss lady, Ekaterina Bykova. As a ballroom dancer from Siberia, Ekaterina came here with the dream of becoming a business woman in NYC. After working for a big dance company for 2.5 years, she decided to open her own studio in Manhattan. With the support from her friends, Ekaterina was able to navigate through the first few years of operating her business. W...

This episode features self taught live sketch artist and illustrator Sarah Nisbett, who loves to draw people, fashions, pets and animals that she encounters “on the way” and is the creative director behind Drawn on the Way. Originally from Ann Arbor, Mich., Sarah has a B.A. in art history from the University of Michigan and an M.M. in vocal performance, from Westminster Choir College in Princeton,...

This episode features Sana Akhand, CEO and CoFounder of Jet Black Social Club,  which is an all inclusive social club whose main mission is to create a safe place for people from all different backgrounds to feel welcome. Sana talks about her relationship with New York City and how she transitioned from working for companies to traveling for a year to now starting her own business. She explai...

Season 4 of The City Confessions kicks off with our first guest featuring Gabby Shacknai, a New York-based journalist and editor who covers beauty and wellness, food and travel, and lifestyle. Her work has appeared in Fortune, ELLE, Travel + Leisure, Air Mail, Departures, and Women's Health, among other outlets. Gabby talks about how she discovered her love for storytelling and journalism at an ea...

The City Confessions is back for season 4! After taking a much needed break, your host Mariann Yip is back with a solo episode. In this episode, I spend the first portion recapping what I've been through and how I'm feeling as July was a difficult month for me. I open up about my anxiety, my friend's passing and how I have been handling and dealing with the loss and grief. I also talk about my pas...

This week’s episode closes out the third season of The City Confessions and is a solo one from yours truly, Mariann Yip. I start out the episode with my current life updates as I recap what’s going on in the world including the global pandemic/ COVID and the Black Lives Matter movement. I also open up about my experience with anxiety and recall my first encounter with it when I was a child in scho...