Exclusive Interviews

Growing Up: Tower Garden is changing the future of food for healthy living

Florida

Modern times require modern thinking. There has been huge environmental costs of trying to feed the seven billion people on the planet. If you look at the facts, growing in soil is no longer a sustainable way to grow food. For an in depth understanding of the crisis at hand, we recommend The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century by Dickson Despommier. Despommier is considered the father of the vertical farming movement and after reading this, you’ll envision a world where skyscrapers feed cities. Giving more people everywhere access to healthier food, the urban farming movement is improving lives by literally changing the way people eat. Using Tower Garden, growing a forward-thinking future is at hand.

Erin Coscarelli: Dealing with grief & prioritizing mental health for women

Imagine experiencing the symptoms of a panic attack right before you went live on air. You feel light-headed, your vision gets blurry and you begin to feel dizzy. That was a reality for TV host and sports broadcaster, Erin Coscarelli. The weight of her personal and professional life was compounding. Passionate about helping other women, Erin is turning her pain into purpose in order to help ease the pain of others. She now lends her voice to speaking up for other women and advocating for mental health and wellness. She is a shining example of how we are not defined by our obstacles, but how we handle them.

Dave Curl lends a positive note to societal issues through his music

Lisbon, Portugal

Music has a profound effect on humans, prompting us to call out everything from heartbreak to social injustices. It has long been a form of expression for artists to let the world know who we are, what we believe, and how to cope. In today's society, it's more than refreshing when you come across an independent artist like Dave Curl who pours his heart, soul and experiences into each verse to inspire the collective. Dave uses his music as a tool to bring social awareness to social issues. He connects with his audience deeply by basing his lyrics on personal experiences and the situations of others who need a strong ally. The music is real and raw as it relays everyday thoughts. It’s cerebral and telling, leaving the listener with a positive, unshakable message.

Edward Tapia is changing the face of fashion & traditional beauty standards

Florida

There is no conventional image of beauty. It comes in all shapes, sizes, colors and forms. Beauty is not only to be found in the eye of the beholder, it is whatever each individual decides it is for themselves. If those who act as gatekeepers for an industry in desperate need of change are still sadly deciding what constitutes beauty and what does not, Edward Tapia is here to change that. Edward was born with a cleft lip, cleft palate and teased because of these differences. Having these adversities hasn’t stopped Edward from living his life to the fullest. Ironically, it is the things that were destined to hold him back that he turned into his own unique star qualities. Storming the barricades of tradition and perception has allowed Edward to blaze a trail through the industry, shining like a beacon for diversity and inclusion.

Grow with the flow: The SWAGmodovars family vida loca

Cape Coral, Florida

Social media is often one of the many things that divides families. It might be a bit of a tired cliché to say that often, it tends to do so along ageist lines where the younger members of a family will embrace every new platform in the social media boom while the older members are still struggling to post a picture on Instagram or tag a friend in a Facebook photo. Social media can also divide families through isolation, where even though they are together, each family member is doing their own thing. The Almodovars have turned these narratives on their heads. Collectively known as the SWAGmodovars, have grown closer through their use of social media has brought them closer together and inspired other families along the way.  

RIDI’s culturally-rich anthem for self-growth “Merry Go Round” analyzes life’s circular nature

Switzerland

In “Merry Go Round” Swiss-based singer/songwriter RIDI explores the repetitive nature of life’s revolving carrousel. Through the analogy of the merry-go-round, the song examines the fact that no matter what age we are or what phase of life we are in, what we go through always comes back around, just in different forms. Once we are on the metaphorical ride, we experience the ups and downs, the round and rounds. We can’t always get what we want. We may choose to forget who we are, but in the end we will always return to the very ethos that makes us all human.

Jeresha Sherri J. White brings fempreneurs together to innovate & inspire

Atlanta, Georgia

Building a business is hard work, and many aspects must be considered before you see the light of success. Though it might begin with a simple idea, the evolution of your model has to go through several intricate phases. It involves extensive research, networking, blood, sweat and tears — full stop. Imagine all the work and sacrifice and multiply it by one hundred. Then, you'll begin to visualize the effort it takes for a single mother, or any mother, to become an entrepreneur. No success comes without hardships, that's true. However, it's much more than your average struggle to victory for mothers. "I believe being a teen parent alone is the aspect I credit most for my level of success and drive. I had to figure out a way to be successful very fast. I just could not allow my daughter to go without, or to look at me as anything other than a steady pillar she could always count on, especially in her moments of need."

Master artist Sir Daniel Winn explores the duality of life through existential surrealism

Los Angeles, California

Art is about blurring lines and intermingling theories to make a statement evoking strong emotions and big ideas. Transcendent art is about finding would-be opposites and mixing them like they’re destined to unite. That’s precisely what world-renowned, modern Renaissance artist Sir Daniel Winn is most successful at doing. He exquisitely pushes the boundaries in the realm of art by merging art and science. He blends these dichotomies flawlessly together to create stunning works all in the name of helping people understand our purpose on this planet.

Roman painter Giorgia Grassi on healing through art

Rome, Italy

People have been relying on the arts for communication, self-expression and healing for thousands of years. Born and raised in Rome, Giorgia Grassi is an abstract expressionist who began painting as a way to channel and process certain deep emotions. As a sufferer of both bouts of anxiety and sleep paralysis, it was through her art that she found a way to explore and perhaps better understand where such issues were coming from and how she could deal with them. Over the years, she has tailored her own techniques and processes to better reflect the feelings caused by such moments, a style of art to experience the intimate nature of such happenings. Anyone who feels overwhelmed or pressured by the hectic world we live in should try creating their own artworks. Creating art will give you a chance to slow down and explore any issues you may be having.