It’s more important to understand someone than to judge them. We think the first step to understanding someone is asking them the fundamental questions about who they are and how they became the person they are today. Understanding and empathy are essential building blocks for a better, more compassionate world. We’re incredibly fortunate to be able to ask these questions each week through our interview series. Below you’ll find inspiring interviews from in and around Denver.
Richard Medina 
I’m a Denver native and I’ve always been drawn to photography and capturing moments that have a certain feeling to them. I started taking photos with my phone because I liked showing Denver and everyday life from a darker, more cinematic point of view. I never really expected it to turn into anything bigger—I was just creating because I genuinely enjoyed it. Read more>>
Brent Carey
Like many people, the direction my life has taken, both professionally and privately, hasn’t been in a straight line. However, one constant in my life, since the time I was 12 has been martial arts. Read more>>
Emily Shroyer 
My journey with music really started when I was little. I started out young playing piano and viola, and I was first chair in orchestra throughout middle school and into my sophomore year of high school. I began DJing around 27 years old in Indianapolis. As I attended more music festivals and EDM shows, I fell in love with dubstep. Read more>>
Carol Loftus 
A backyard is one of the largest investments a family will ever make, and almost nobody plans it like one. That sentence is most of the reason I do what I do now, and it took me twenty years in a few completely different industry before I realized it. Read more>>
Valeriya Mushkaeva 
Art has always been part of who I am, but for a long time I never really believed it could become my career. I built a stable life working in dentistry, while painting and creating whenever I could on the side. A major turning point came during COVID. Read more>>
Eboni Boneé Coleman 
I’m a Denver, Colorado native, and when I think about my journey, so much of it has really been about following my curiosity, trusting where God is leading me, and continuing to create even when I didn’t necessarily know what the next chapter would look like. I’ve always been drawn to storytelling and documenting the world around me. Read more>>
Matthew Paradis 
The band originally formed in 2019. Our sound is really built through the process of studio experimentation combined with live execution. So finding stuff in the studio that we think sounds exciting and then finding a way to perform it live. This has really separated the group from past projects where we would write songs in a live setting. Read more>>
Sun Ramocan 
My parents passed in 2020 and 2021 and it sparked a desire in me to learn more about my ancestors and how to connect to my spirituality. I went to get a massage from a woman I came across on ClassPass and we ended up chatting and she shared a bit about an ancestral apprenticeship she runs. Read more>>
Cynthia Lee 
Growing up, I never thought I could be an artist. I didn’t draw well and was never encouraged by my art teachers. So I turned to music (vocal training and performances), poetry, and drama (acting and writing plays). I earned a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago, and worked in two state departments, an academic think tank, and three marketing firms. Read more>>
Bethany Adair 
Three words I never thought my 34-year-old healthy, organic-eating, wellness-teaching yogini body would ever hear? “You have cancer.” It was the summer of 2015 and I was feeling on top of the world. I was living in Texas and working as a Yoga Therapist. Read more>>
Rachelle Patino Heinecke 
I’m often asked if I’m a musician or a singer. I laugh, because the truth is, I do not sing! But a large chunk of my life has revolved around the stage. I’m Rachelle Patino Heinecke, and I currently serve as the Denver Chapter President of the Mountain West Country Music Association, as well as on the MWCMA’s national board of directors. Read more>>
Bobby Mikulas 
My wife Brooke and I moved back to Colorado Springs in 2010 and started digging for the things we loved about other communities — live music, local art, good outdoor recreation, great people, great food. All the things young folks look for. Read more>>
Mark Schneider
I’ve spent roughly 15 years working in private security and nearly two decades around firearms and firearms training. I started at the ground level, working security posts and learning the industry firsthand. Over the years, I moved into supervisory, management, training, and compliance roles, which gave me experience with both frontline security work and the operational side of running security programs. Read more>>
Maluna Dean 
Four years ago, at age 42, I wanted to figure out why my relationships hadn’t worked out. I had been married at 19 and divorced by 26. After that I had several long term relationships. All of them started out wonderful, then over time became riddled with conflict and eventually heartbreak. Read more>>
Connie Hong 
Hmmm… I’m not totally sure how I got started. I grew up singing along to the radio in my room and began playing piano when I was around 10. I started writing songs around the age of 13, I think. Read more>>
Meadow Hearn 
I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember. I started drawing horses when I was two years old, and creating has always been the way I make sense of the world. I tend to see beauty and possibility everywhere, and I’ve always wanted to capture that feeling and create little worlds that other people can step into. Read more>>
Rebecca Sherrow 
My story begins as a worried mom seeking answers. When my youngest child was just a toddler she had a severe allergic reaction to peanuts. There wasn’t a lot of information on food allergies at the time so I spent hours researching. Read more>>
Inaiah Lujan 
I’ve always been someone who makes things. I started with music, writing songs and playing in bands, and for a long time that was the center of my creative life. I spent about fifteen years with the Haunted Windchimes, touring, recording, and learning how to build a life around making art. A lot of everything else grew out of necessity. Read more>>
mykingsicecream@gmail.com LEDAY GRANT 
My name is Le’Day Grant, and I am the owner of MyKings IceCream, a community-focused ice cream shop in Denver. My journey into business ownership was not traditional. Before opening MyKings, I spent years working in banking and lending, helping individuals and businesses navigate their financial goals. Read more>>
Zoe Rogers 
I started doing Comedy 15 years ago and teach stand-up and produce comedy shows and festivals like Boulder comedy festival and Fempire comedy festival. I really believe in helping people connect with audiences through shared experiences and vulnerability. Boulder comedy festival focuses on women and diversity in comedy and so does Fempire Comedy Festival. Read more>>
Rachel Henderson
My art career began early by taking crayons to mom’s kitchen wall (I guess that was my first ‘mural’). I took a different route in college receiving a Double B.A. in Psychology and Sociology and had a 10 year career in forensic science as a Field Agent/Deputy Coroner Investigator. Read more>>
Andy Bush 
Maison 59 really didn’t start as a business. It grew into one. My wife, Anna, and I started buying art for our family almost forty years ago. We’ve always loved living with art, and over time, collecting has become part of how we live and travel. Anna is an artist, so she brings a trained eye to our acquisitions. Read more>>
Cara Bloch
I began my photography career in New York City, drawn to photography through my love of alternative music, art, and the culture surrounding it. Read more>>
Armani Donahue & Rondy Isaac 
BTY was created by 4 Black women in 2018. Their goal was to bring wellness to the community. Through life’s trials and tribulations each of the 4 founding members walked away to start a family, new projects, or moved away. In July of 2023 Armani and Rondy took over responsibility of BTY! Read more>>
Jessica Justice 
I have been working to serve and empower women for over 25 years. Starting with my first degree in philosophy and women’s studies, I discovered a passion for helping people regain their power with education and support through body positivity, fertility awareness, childbearing, and parenting. Read more>>
Eliza Kingsford 
As a teenager, I knew I was going to major in psychology and that passion has never changed. From a very young age, with some unfortunate trauma in my background, I was fascinated with human behavior. Why we do the things we do? How do we come who we become? Read more>>
Caroline moran 
I always thought I liked the idea of working professionally as an artist, but I have never been attracted to the financial risk it would take to depend on the kind of art that I make as a full time career and having the lifestyle I want. Read more>>
Otisa Eads 
My journey to organizational clarity started in the most unlikely place: a chaotic catering kitchen in Denver. After graduating from Murray State University with degrees in Organizational Communication and Spanish, I wasn’t sure exactly where life would take me. In 2016, I took a job at a small catering company, originally doing HR work but quickly finding myself helping wherever the biggest fires were. Read more>>
Josh Pettingill 
I began my career in autobody repair by working at a custom and restoration shop, where I gained foundational experience in vehicle restoration techniques. Over time, I progressed to a collision repair facility, honing my skills in structural and paint repair for accident-damaged vehicles. Read more>>
Brandon Davis 
I have spent a lot of my life trying to understand who I am and where I fit. Always aware that our time on this planet is a special gift, I wanted to do something amazing with my life. The thing is, there are no road maps for that, so I let my passions lead the way. I was always been a maker of things. Read more>>
Jason Whetzal 
I grew up in a small, working-class suburb outside of Chicago. My dad was a diesel mechanic and my mom was a beautician, and from a very young age I learned how to work with my hands and wasn’t afraid to get dirty. Around our house, we didn’t hire people to handle home improvements or vehicle repairs, we figured out how to do things ourselves. Read more>>
Trina Merz 
I was dead set on being a designer, and I did that. And I did the thing. I went to art school, I was on set with famous photographers and models and designing for luxury brands before I’d even graduated with my BFA. Read more>>
Christian Knipps 
When I had originally purchased my first camera, I had absolutely no idea what my goal truly was. I was really struggling at the time, and quite frankly I was at one of the lowest points of my life. I couldn’t allow myself to continue to self destruct, and I knew I had one of two options. Read more>>
Aaron Anderson 
My career in photography actually started here in Colorado. I was sitting on a bench with my wife and I was really enjoying taking pictures of people but wanted to do bigger projects, I remember asking her ‘do you think people actually make money doing this?’. Read more>>
Ha Ra Yi 
Oh man, I don’t even know where to begin, because photography is really just one piece of what I love to create. As long as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to fashion, avant-garde looks, and the ability to curate a feeling through makeup, styling, and clothing. I started taking photos around 2018 or 2019, before moving to Denver. Read more>>
Nicole Hernandez 
I began my professional career out of undergrad at what is now Aspen Words, working in marketing and PR. I’ve always loved the power of story and the written word as a form of creative expression — so it felt like a natural home. Read more>>
Scott Bilby
I got into photography young, first shooting skateboarding and then working on my high school yearbook. In college, I used my darkroom access to document the punk scene I was part of, photographing bands in our local scene in Columbia, SC including Fugazi, Antioch Arrow, Still Life, Assfactor 4, Premonition, Hoover, Slant 6 and others. Read more>>
Kacy Jonez
Just short of 10 years ago, I got a job at a well known shop in town as the shop mom. I did everything there, from setting up tattoo stations to replacing bathroom sinks and everything- I mean everything- in between. I worked there for 4 years, longer than any other shop person lasted. Read more>>
Sarah Barstad 
Set Apart Bookkeeping grew out of a desire to build a career that worked with the life I wanted for my family. I spent nearly a decade in banking, starting as a teller straight out of high school and working my way up to management. By the time I was expecting my second daughter, I was ready for a change. Read more>>
Tia Mihelarakis
I grew up with 6 siblings all over the front range of Colorado, and spent my 20’s in Denver. I moved to the Western Slope of Colorado in 2021. Ridgway is now home, and I have a shop in Ouray. The first time I ever visited the area in 2010, I envisioned my life there. Read more>>
Berenice Barreiro
I started photography after a day out in the mountains. I was fishing with my ex his band and got a glimpse of a beautiful blue bird. I grabbed my camera and played in manual settings. I ended up taking a really good picture of the bird. Read more>>
