Local Voices (Miami)

Kenlie is................helping make Pilates something for the boys. Born in Arkansas with a background in dance, she started enjoying mat workouts in her warmups before ever encountering a reformer (pilates machine). She moved her senior year of high school to Florida and went to UCF, where she studied psychology, One day she saw a poster at her gym of a true pilates class, and next thing you kn...

Samantha is...................one of the best food bloggers in the city. Half Cuban, half Chinese, and a tad bit Jamaican, she loves studying the melting pot that is Miami. Her obsession with the art of cuisine, started with her parents who would always take her and her siblings out to restaurants on the weekends, and with her grandparents who were frequent bakers. In high school she started pract...

Natalie is..............on her way to an Oscar, or at least we're all hoping. Born in Miami, growing up in Kendall, she did theatre in high school, and started acting professionally after graduating from UNC Chapel Hill with a business degree, A lover of reality and competition shows, she applied to Big Brother one year, and made a great impression, however she ultimately wasn't chosen. Fast forwa...

Oz is..................a fan of the lyric, "A job ain't a job, it's a damn good time." As a local beat writer studying the music scene, he gets to take a closer look at the heart of entertainment. Born in Dallas, his family from Mexico, he went to the University of Miami for Finance, then switched over to Journalism & Film when he accepted that he had always been a culture nerd, and that music...

Joe is..............a great example of how a weakness or personal challenge, can become a personal strength. After growing up with Tourrettes syndrome, he became especially conscious and compassionate towards others, realizing that everyone is going through something and deserves kindness. Born outside Annapolis, Maryland, he grew up playing soccer as a child, went to the state championship his se...

Drew is.............bringing masculine yoga energy to Miami. Born in Boston he used to make fun of yoga, until he tried it one day and eventually got hooked, doing yoga #everydamnday for 3 years, After getting his 200hr and 500hr RYT on international retreats in Japan & Greece, he decided to move to Miami, and knowing very few people, started offering yoga in Margaret Pace Park as way of norma...

Shay is...................Miami's latest Pilates star, bringing a level of consistency and professionalism that no one can deny. Born in Dallas, Texas, she went to Nova Southeastern briefly before deciding to join the Navy, serving as a master helmsman and fitness leader on the ships, getting sailors ready for their fitness readiness tests each year. Since meeting her husband, she now works in cli...

Troy is..................the man behind the curtain, helping create moments that transform. As Executive Director of the Washington Avenue Business Improvement District, he oversees a main avenue in South Beach, and has great insight into what makes a community thrive. Born in Seattle, Washington, he was a child prodigy on the drums, majoring in Business Administration, after some timely advice, a...

Tito is.............as energetic as it gets. Fueled off Florida orange juice, & the drive to honor his father, he carries an electric energy into every performance, and describes them even as religious, cathartic experiences. Born in New York City, son to the King of Latin Music, Tito Puente, he was exposed to the music scene early, whether that be drums in the garage, or the opportunity to go...

Aimee is................a culmination of Miami's inclusive yoga community. Someone transformed from feeling unsafe, to feeling empowered. Born in New Jersey, her parents separated when she was young, and it was quite difficult, she ended up not seeing her dad for 20 years. She became super withdrawn, and when her family moved down to Miami to stay with her grandparents, it was super chaotic, and s...

Geoff is...............the Dude, the dude for turning your brain from fear to love in 5 days. Born & raised in Miami, he grew up in an alcoholic home, and developed addiction issues, sleep, anxiety, depression issues, all the above. Around age 30 he started transforming himself, learning to cope with meditation and prayer, until at age 35, he started studying psychology, and realized the power...

Gaby is here.............teaching us about gratitude and respect. Born in Quito, Ecuador, she always loved cooking, and used to film herself making macaroni & cheese as a little child. An avid lover of travel, she credits her passion for hospitality to her days traveling the world, playing in golf tournaments for Ecuador. First having moved here about 8 years ago, she saw a need for an Asian s...

David is............A new best friend around the corner..............in with the Miami New Times and teaching us at LV about the value of A good mic check ;)................Born in Evanston, Illinois, he moved here when he was a baby to Key Biscayne, and went to FSU, where he first got paid to write. After graduating college, he moved to California and eventually made his way down to LA, where he...

Pete is..........done looking for enlightenment. He invited himself over for chili. Listen in for some great Rejuvenism talk, Are you in the 1%, or even just consider yourself blessed, Consider why you don't give more of your growing gifts to charity, The Kingdom of Heaven, peaks at around 80k, More money, more problems, Wondering how to open your heart more........... In this episode you will lea...

Geoff is.............livin in his own type of heaven. Born in New York CIty, he studied business at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, and went to work on Wall Street, before even the beginning of the internet. After 19 years, and remote work became possible, he moved down to Miami Beach, where he manages money for friends and family. Having met his star bass player, Jose de Jesus, in his younger...

Frankie is.........humbly making Miami a landmark running club city. Born in Coconut Grove, he remembers the first time his dad invited him out for a run, and the rest is history. Loving the feeling of independence and control that running provides, he did cross country in high school, and walked on to two years of track at FIU. After studying public relations as an undergrad, he ended up going fo...

Tiff is...........the Queen of Miami Yoga........spreading her Utopia, Shanti Shanti Shanti. Born in Durham, North Carolina, she moved down to Florida to work for Sprint as soon as she graduated Meredith College, going back to Duke to get a degree in MBSR, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction from their integrative medicine department. Starting her yoga path during undergrad, she realized she fully...

Frankie is...........an artist who wants to.........."nip it in the bud at the youth". What that means is, he's an eclectic crusader. Born in Miami Gardens, he attended a magnet program for acting as a youth, learning to love music from his father, a rapper, and his mother, a singer. He remembers trying to make his first guitar out of a wooden door, then slinging enough cookies and cream Hershey's...

Ron is.............THE MAN at the zoo. Born in New York City, his father a Cuban immigrant, and his mother the daughter of Colombian and German immigrants, he always loved animals, and initially wanted to be a veterinarian. After his family moved down to Florida in 1972 to live on a farm and raise horses in addition to mangos & avocados, he was truly exposed to the raw outdoors. His first job...

Millah is..........the Founder, CEO and voice of the meditation app, YouTuneIn. Born in Brazil, she remembered her calling for music at an early age, putting on Millah shows for her friends & family, eventually going into acting with her passion for psychology and consciousness. She started her own acting school in Brazil, for three years developing her own method for psychic growth, until at...

Maxxi is...........blessed. Well, Puerto Rican, so she knows IT. Born in San Juan, PR, she studied communication, and worked in TV, with Telemundo & Univision, getting transferred to Miami when NBC bought them out. Arriving here in 2008, she quickly went and got a human resources degree from Miami-Dade College, worked in hospitality at the Ritz Carlton, SLS, and Shore Club, was a manager at Bl...

Raquel is................basically the queen of South Beach, if we're talking vibes. Born in Miami, to Cuban & Puerto Rican parents, she went to UCF for undergrad, switching majors many times, before settling on business entrepreneurship. Taking advice from one great teacher, she decided to pursue what she loves, hot yoga, and make a business out of it. First experiencing Bikram when she was 1...

Sammy is...........ready for some more comedy. Born in the Bronx, New York, he moved to Puerto Rico at age 8 to live with his grandparents, after his father died, a heavy bohemian. Noticing his love of music at an early age, he decided one day that he was going to be a percussionist, and was able to attend music school in Puerto Rico. One day at age 18, he decided to go hotel hunting with some fri...

Lian is.........glad she is helping save us humans. First joining the faith-based Rescue Mission back in 2012, originally thinking it was an animal shelter, she has since become an indispensable part of the organization helping more than 15,000 people in need each year. Born in Cuba, she moved to the US at age 15 with her family, attending FIU for a degree in education, and eventually joining the...

Jeff is.........bringing bliss to South Florida. Born in Miami, and raised in the Fort Lauderdale area, he went to UF Gainesville for an undergrad degree in business, entrepreneurship, and real estate, before studying law and working at a startup in the area. When that project failed, he went out to San Francisco to work for Google, traveled the world for 9 months working remotely, and when COVID...