ATL’s Most Inspiring Stories

The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we’ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below. Check out our favorite stories from across the Voyage family.

Gip C

My mother introduced me to thrift stores when I was very young. She worked two jobs to support our family, so shopping secondhand was a necessity. For me, however, it quickly became an obsession. While everyone else bought the same predictable clothes from regular stores, I was searching for unusual pieces with history and character. I loved mixing things that weren’t supposed to go together and turning them into something entirely my own. Read more>>

Ryan and Zac Tate and Davis

Zac and I (Ryan) began as friends who enjoyed playing card games, opening packs, and enjoying the company of others. After a few years we decided to explore our shared passion for trading card games and started vending cards at local card shows. Read more>>

Terry Saxe

I have been in hospitality for most of my working life, restaurants, hotels, venues and catering and it was almost natural to transition to planning weddings and social events as well as non-profits that were close to my heart. Read more>>

Danielle Phillips

My professional background actually started in corporate America and the medical field. I spent years working in administrative and executive assistant roles, and some of the work I enjoyed most was with startup companies. I loved being part of something that was still being built, wearing a lot of different hats, solving problems, creating processes, and helping turn an idea into something that could grow. Read more>>

Steve Mace

Exiles started in 2020, but the funny thing is I never actually planned to start a rugby club. Rugby had already been part of my life for a long time. I started playing as a teenager in Canada in 1987 and stayed involved with the game in one way or another over the years. Read more>>

Renea Carl

Chatty Newnan began about 15 years ago with a simple idea: to create a place where women could connect, ask questions, share recommendations, and support one another. Read more>>

Janay (Blaze) Minor

My journey with art began around age four when I first discovered my love for creating. Back in pre-K, while exploring different activity stations, I was continuously drawn to block building, painting, and writing—anything that allowed me to work and express myself creatively with my hands. As I grew up, drawing became second nature. Read more>>

Will Hawthorne

I’ve always been an entrepreneur. I grew up in Paterson, NJ. My dad was a landlord to 5 houses and my mom was an educator. On Saturdays I would ride with my mom to New York. She would buy clothes wholesale and bring them back to Paterson to sell to people at church at retail price. That was my introduction to business. Read more>>

Sally Carter

My professional journey began in a call center as a Customer Service Representative. Read more>>

STEPHANIE ANDUJAR

Born and raised in Manhattan’s Chelsea-Elliot Houses, my creative journey began at age 12 in an after-school arts program, leading to a breakout role as the Scarecrow in The Wiz that caught the eye of a talent manager. Read more>>

Ashanti Andrews

I’ve always been a creative person, and for a long time, fashion was a huge part of how I saw myself. I attended SCAD for fashion design and genuinely thought that was the path my life would take. Then my husband and I eloped, life shifted pretty quickly, and I wasn’t able to finish school. Read more>>

Andriana Hudson

Since the eleventh grade, I knew I wanted a career in broadcast media. Radio was my passion. However, I would’ve been happy in film/television as well. In pursuit, I moved and attended college in Atlanta. Once I graduated with a degree in journalism/mass communication from Georgia State University, the search to find such a position was a journey. Read more>>

Junaid Alam

I’ve always been interested in why people pay attention to certain things and ignore others. During a study-abroad semester in Spain, one of my own videos ended up reaching way more people than I expected. What stood out to me was that I hadn’t really tried to make something “viral.” It came from a real moment, felt natural to share, and people connected with it. Read more>>

Haley ( Witch) Murphy ( Mama)

I am a southern witch bread and buttered, born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1988. My story started at birth. I was born a psychic medium growing up in a southern baptist home. I was raised with and by women who had abilities and encouraged animism but all in the lens of monotheistic male based religion. Read more>>

Essence McClure

First and foremost, I have to give all glory and honor to God. When I look at my life and my business today, I can see so many moments where I thought I was figuring things out on my own, only to realize later that God was ordering my steps the entire time. Read more>>

Kat Robinson

Growing up, I admired my Dad dabbling with stained glass out in the garage and I was always fascinated watching him. I still have the nativity scene he made and I keep it out year-round! Read more>>

Ric Washington

I was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and art has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I eventually studied printmaking at the Kansas City Art Institute, where I earned my BFA and began building the foundation for a creative life that has taken me in many different directions. Read more>>

Aalyiah Grant

I’m Aalyiah Simone, a mixed media collage artist from Long Island, NY, currently residing in Georgia. I’m a first-generation Jamaican American daughter, sister, cousin, and friend. My West Indian culture and upbringing are deeply important to my artistry and continue to be a huge part of what motivates me to create. Read more>>

LUNATHELOVEGOD

I started making music as L.U.N.A. back in 2016, recording my first project, *Space Jams*, out of an apartment in Brooklyn. From there, it grew through performing, creating visuals, and eventually building experiences around the music. LUNATHELOVEGOD was born from that evolution. What started as me figuring out my sound became this whole universe that combines music, visuals, community, and storytelling. Read more>>

Sedara Burson

My journey has not been a straight line, and I actually think that is one of the most valuable things about it. When I look back, I can see that there has always been a common thread: I have been drawn to understanding people, helping them grow, and finding creative ways to make a difference. Read more>>

Neta Thurman

Dance has been a part of my life since I was 8 years old. I pursued dance throughout high-school and attended the Alvin Ailey summer program after graduation. During my years at Penn State University I obtained minors in Dance and Sociology and dual degrees in Spanish and Bilingual Education. Read more>>

Marko Bajagic

My journey as an artist really began when I decided to move from Croatia to London to persue music and give myself the oppotunity to fully chase my dream. I wanted to put myself in an environment where I could be surrounded by creativity, meet new people, and challenge myself both personally and artistically. London has been a big part of my growth. Read more>>

Robert Van Liew

I grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey and that’s really where all of this started — I’ve been DJing since 1998. Back then it was mixtapes: blending Hip-Hop and R&B, passing them around the neighborhood and online before ‘going viral’ was even a phrase people used. Read more>>

Nathan Palmer

Nathan “NaPalm” Palmer is a former NFL wide receiver from Elkhart, Indiana who has transitioned into a successful R&B recording artist, brand consultant, and digital marketing professional. After competing at the highest level of professional football, including time with three Super Bowl–contending teams, he shifted his focus to music and media. Read more>>

AsiaJona Williams

My relationship with art started with my older sister. She was an artist, and growing up, we weren’t very close. I wanted something that we could have in common, something that might give us a way to connect, so I started making art too. Read more>>

Jade Webb

My story is pretty long, but keeping it straight forward I built Blue Lens from the ground up over the last 5 years! I moved to Marietta from Chicago in 2020 and became a mechanic at a few dealerships (e.g. Genesis of Kennesaw – I loved them) while diving deep into the endurance and GT racing scene at the surrounding race tracks in the Southeast. Read more>>

Heather Killingsworth

Simply Busy Bee started in a very personal way. After spending more than 20 years running a tennis academy and working in a fast-paced, team-driven environment, I found myself taking on a massive organizing project for my dad’s baseball card collection, over a million cards! What started as helping my family quickly showed me how much I loved creating order out of chaos. Read more>>

Sojournia Davis-Woodard

First Who doesn’t like to eat? I know I do. I think my story really started before I even realized it was becoming a story. Food has always been something I enjoy, but over time I became interested in more than just eating it. I would find myself watching cooking shows and, later, scrolling through social media watching people cook. Read more>>

Augustah Allen

My journey started long before I ever booked a modeling job. As a kid, I was always drawn to fashion and entertainment — styling myself in my mom’s clothes, practicing runway walks, taking photos, and imagining a future where I could build a career creatively. That dream became more tangible when I was 16. Read more>>

Sarah Berke

In 2015, before kids, I sat down to write a novel but lacked the discipline and perseverance to get beyond about fifty pages. Read more>>

Dan Shuman

I started my professional career as an accountant doing financial statement audits. After a few years, I realized that I needed to do something different so I enrolled in chiropractic school. Read more>>

Emmett Carr

Hmm. My answer to this may be a little less conventional but here we go: My story really starts long before real estate. I grew up in an underserved community where success, at least the kind of success I imagined for myself, wasn’t always something I could see around me. Read more>>

L’Mekka Edwards

I started L.S.C Top Holdings LLC, because my childhood taught me exactly what financial instability feels like, the frequent moves to different apartments, the bills in my name at 12, the struggle to get utilities as an adult because of debt I didn’t create. Those experiences shaped my mission. I decided my children would never live through that. So I learned discipline. Read more>>

Denishia Macon-Lynn

I’ve been a wrestling fan for years, and as a graphic designer, creating has always been a huge part of who I am. In 2024, my husband gave me a simple idea: why not combine two things I already love, professional wrestling and graphic design? That conversation became the beginning of Suplex GFX Studio. I started creating wrestling graphics simply because I enjoyed it. Read more>>

Hyo Kim

I came to the United States with my family when I was 16 years old as an immigrant from Korea. Starting a new life in a different country taught me the importance of hard work, adaptability, and always continuing to grow. I’ve always been passionate about making people feel good and confident about themselves, which naturally led me to the beauty industry. Read more>>

Dania

I’m an Arab American musician that blends 70s Arabic sound with modern alt-pop. I didn’t come from a super musical household, but there are videos of me singing since I was literally two years old. I grew up in an area without a lot of Arabs, and I think I really craved that cultural connection that I mostly only got with my family. Read more>>

Shaanda Moore

Art for me was something I used to admire as a child my grandfather was an artist, I never really was a fan of much but the moment I saw vibrant paintings and chalk art hanging on the walls in his house and finding out he did it! I was hooked !! Read more>>

Tina Lunalover

In 2014 I got curious about what my cats were actually eating, and once I switched them to raw food the difference I saw in them after just a few weeks was incredible. These animals were built to eat fresh, real food, not something that sat on a warehouse shelf for years. It just made sense. Read more>>

Denise Carleton

I was a PTA mom at an elementary school in Forsyth County, serving on the Environmental Education Committee. My friend Lisa and I helped with recycling and led the student Green Team. At the end of each school year, we held a Teacher Trash to Treasure event, collecting classroom materials teachers no longer wanted and making them available for others to reuse. Read more>>

Jennifer Abrefa smith

My journey to becoming a certified life coach began long before I realized it was my purpose. Growing up, I experienced emotional trauma, abandonment, humiliation, and unhealthy family dynamics that deeply affected how I saw myself and relationships. As an adult, I survived a dangerous and emotionally abusive marriage that forced me to confront the patterns I had carried since childhood. Read more>>

Queen Shanta Lana Hereford

First Choice International Solutions was really born out of a pivot. Before FCIS, I had been operating Shanta Lana LLC, a business development firm serving small and medium-sized businesses since around 2015. For years, we helped entrepreneurs and organizations with branding, marketing, business development, consulting, and the different pieces they needed to grow and strengthen their businesses. Read more>>

Sumiyyah Rasheed

My story starts back in 1999, when my mother and I started this company together. We began as retailers, selling curvy women’s outerwear and lingerie — we saw a gap in the market for women who weren’t being served well by mainstream sizing, and we wanted to change that. Read more>>

Christina Faith

My journey into filmmaking actually started when I was around five years old. My grandfather took me to Radio Shack to buy our family’s first video camera; I still remember how long that receipt was. That was Pop-Pop for you: if he was getting a new toy, he was getting every bell and whistle that came with it. Read more>>

Corey Cochran

My journey into entrepreneurship wasn’t something I had completely mapped out from the beginning. I started my career in outside sales, spending more than 15 years in merchant services and learning how to sell, build relationships, understand businesses, and most importantly, understand what people actually need. As social media started changing the way businesses and artists connected with their audiences, I saw an opportunity. Read more>>

Jalen Marlowe

My parents are photographers so cameras and photography books were a constant in the house growing up. One of my favorite photos from my childhood is of my dad ‘showing’ me (a two year old) how to take a photo on his Nikon FM2 taken by my mom. Read more>>

Allenia Marcelle

I’ve always been drawn to creating beautiful experiences and bringing people together. Event planning started as something I genuinely enjoyed — taking an idea, paying attention to the little details, and watching everything come together in a way that made people feel special. Over time, that passion grew into A & J Luxury Event Planning. Read more>>

Karen Burnette Garner

My story begins in childhood, a doodler, a paint by number kid. I was always curious and made things, plastic models from the dime store, chemistry sets, astronomy and music. I continued along those lines until I became an adult – no art classes in high school, married young and became a mom. Read more>>

April Harden

When I really think about where my story started, I have to go all the way back to childhood because creativity has always been a part of who I am. I was one of those kids who wanted to do a little bit of everything. I was in the band and choir, danced on the dance team, wrote poetry, and would freestyle just for fun. Read more>>

Kenzo Sunya Heartnette

I had no life before poetry. I was the quiet, sheltered kid who got dropped off and picked up from school every day. Then, all of a sudden, that treatment stopped. All I really knew was to bring my ass home every day, and that shit got boring. Read more>>

Tarleen Kaur

The Dulhan Diaries started as a passion that came naturally to us as sisters. We were always the ones with our cameras out at family gatherings, parties, and friends’ events, capturing all the candid moments that everyone else might not think to document. Read more>>

Maya Perez

My journey started with a love for creativity and a desire to create things that felt meaningful and uniquely mine. I started by exploring jewelry design and photography, two creative outlets that eventually grew into businesses of their own. Read more>>

Ashley Crittendon

My journey began with a love for science, health, and helping people. I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Cell Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Florida A&M University and later earned my Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Life University. Early in my career, I spent several years working in and managing high-volume chiropractic offices. Read more>>

Janae’ Madison

My journey in entertainment started when I was around nine years old. I began in pageants, which helped me build confidence, learn how to speak in front of people and become comfortable being myself in front of an audience. From there, I began exploring acting, modeling, dance and eventually hosting. One of my biggest steps was becoming a co-host of The Nick & JJ Show. Read more>>

Destiny Raymond

My journey into healthcare has been driven by a passion for helping others and making a meaningful impact in my community. I became a registered nurse in 2022 after years of dedication, hard work, and perseverance. Read more>>

Fp3 The Legend

Upcoming artist hailing from Brooklyn, NY. Grew up in far Rockaway, queens, and I have been doing music for the past 10 years now. I also expertise in photography and acting as well, just a jack of many trades looking to grow and improve in my areas. Read more>>

Alethia Cadore

My journey into mental health and wellness began long before Mindsilike was created. I have spent much of my career working with children, youth, families, and adults navigating mental health challenges, crisis, trauma, and major life transitions. Read more>>

Ghiana Gardner

The Event Cart ATL began with my love for creating beautiful, memorable experiences. I have always enjoyed bringing ideas to life and finding unique ways to make celebrations feel extra special. What started with intimate parties and small events quickly grew as more people discovered our work and began requesting customized experiences of their own. Read more>>

Harrison Bernard

I spent my 20s ping ponging between kitchens and white collar jobs trying to find where I belonged. When covid hit I was able to catch my breath as the world shut down. During that time I created a business plan for an ice cream shop, something my parents talked about doing when I was a kid. Read more>>

Kevin Crow

I have enjoyed working with cameras ever since I was a kid. I was also very inspired by the positive communities my favorite YouTubers would build. Right before the pandemic, I created a brand new page just to meet other people with the same interests, and it blew up way more than I could’ve EVER imagined. Read more>>

Duke Debonair

Since a very young age, I have always had an immense infatuation with music. I can recall my love and appreciation for music as early as my elementary school days. Music has always been more than just entertainment for me—it has been a way to connect with people, express myself, and create lasting memories. Read more>>

Denise Reese

Grace The Collection began with a simple belief: our homes should be more than beautiful spaces, hey should be places that help us exhale. I founded Grace in 2020, during a season when the world was collectively being reminded of the importance of home, rest and creating moments of peace wherever we could find them. Read more>>

Jordan Youngblood

I’ve always been a fan of Pro Wrestling for as long as I can remember. But I only started training to become a wrestler around the end of my junior year of high school. All I did was search on google for the nearest school to me and that’s how i found East Coast Pro Wrestling (ECPW). Read more>>

Andrea Lane Ainsworth

I’ve always enjoyed creating art for fun, and I even spent time creating art with students during my years as an elementary teacher before eventually becoming an art teacher. At some point, I decided to take the chance and try art full time. I took a trip to Europe that I’m still so thankful for. It was incredible. Read more>>

Sonya Buchanan

At sixteen, I entered the corporate world as a Data Processor Administrator at Fort Gillian Army Base. In 2003, I published my first book, Victorious Victor, but it was soon pulled from the market—the publisher never edited it despite costing thousands of dollars, and the grammar was disastrous. That failure was both disheartening and, in hindsight, a hidden blessing. Read more>>

Tiffany Luke

Hey y’all, I’m Tiffany! I’m a wife, mother of three boys, therapist, clinical supervisor, CEO, and someone who is constantly learning what it means to create a life and career that truly feel aligned. I was raised by an entrepreneur, so entrepreneurship has always been familiar to me, but creating my own path took time. Read more>>

Janise Johnson

I actually started out as a cheerleader, but eventually switched to dance because I realized I was not built for throwing people into the air. That’s where my love for dance really started. At the same time, I picked up musical theatre, film acting and creating YouTube videos under the name “Jan Jon,” which was basically my identity from 6th through 12th grade. Read more>>

Lauren Muratore

My love of travel actually came a little later in life. Growing up, we weren’t a family that traveled often. Our big trips were our annual summer drives to New Hampshire to visit Story Land and Santa’s Village. Read more>>

Tami Crane

I enjoyed a career as a hotel sales and marketing as a Business Travel Sales Manager for 35 years with major hotel brands including Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt . I retired and moved to Savannah to care for my mom. We bought her home on Skidaway Island and started a new chapter. Read more>>

Domenick Nati

My story has been a pretty unconventional one. I didn’t start out with a clear plan to become a celebrity interviewer or media personality. I was interested in entertainment, television, and the people behind the scenes, and I ended up taking a lot of different opportunities that eventually came together. Read more>>

Melina Cortes-Nmili

My story is really a story of following the different parts of myself and, over time, realizing that they were never really separate. I was born in the Dominican Republic and came to the United States when I was 12. I grew up with a strong creative influence—my grandmother was a seamstress—so fashion, making things, and creating were always part of my world. Read more>>

Keira Smith

What’s up, VoyageATL! My name is Keira, a born-and-raised ATLien, musician, artist, and creative. I started in the arts at nine years old, performing in school theater and eventually in local theaters as well. My artistry blossomed at 16 while I was in high school, when I became a songwriter and started releasing my original music. Read more>>

Yung Rydah

I started making music because it was something I genuinely loved and felt I was meant to do. In the beginning, I was simply trying to find my sound, develop my craft, and figure out how to turn the things I experienced in life into music that people could connect with. Read more>>

Alyssa Fitch

As a young girl, I have always been interested in films of all genres, and horror has always been my favorite! I started drama class at the Woodruff Arts Center in fifth grade, and that is where I found my love for acting. Read more>>

Alessio Lacco

I’m originally from Naples, where I trained under Gaetano Esposito — his grandfather made the original Margherita pizza for the Queen of Italy, so pizza’s been in my blood since day one. I got my AVPN certification back in 2012, which is the official body for authentic Neapolitan pizza-making. Read more>>

Crystian Hopper

I grew up in a small town in Florida, where I always enjoyed drawing as a hobby. The first time I ever picked up a pencil to draw was after seeing the movie Spider-Man when I was little. It really came out of nowhere; just a kid trying to express his joy in any way he could. Read more>>

Tanayia Harris

Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, creativity has always been a part of me. My journey with The Chic Supreme began in 2020, I picked up a camera simply out of curiosity. With no roadmap and little knowledge, I was and still am completely self taught. Read more>>

Brylee vila

I started my Instagram community just by posting things I genuinely loved and sharing little parts of my life. At first, I never expected it to turn into anything bigger than just a personal account. Read more>>

Sierra Busch

As a child, I always had my nose in a coloring book. I still remember my favorite art tool– a jumbo-size purple crayon with sparkles, which I still have. I took my first oil painting class at 11 and in high school I took as many art classes as I could. Read more>>

Alejandra Cruz

My name is Alejandra Cruz 28 living in Canton Ga. The Ellijay Farmers & Artisans Market has been around since 2014 when a wonderful group of volunteers started the market. It was once a small market along Broad street. Years later, those who ran it moved on and I joined as a vendor in 2023. Read more>>

Eric Chang

I grew up as the son of two first-generation immigrants, and I think a lot of my story starts there. My parents sacrificed an incredible amount to build a life for our family. There was always a lot of love growing up, but like a lot of immigrant families, we didn’t necessarily say everything out loud. Read more>>

Domonique Cooper

I have always been drawn to work centered on children, families, education, and public service. Throughout my career and community involvement, I have found myself in roles where I could advocate, connect people to resources, strengthen communities, and help ensure that the best interests of children remained at the center. My journey with CASA began a few years ago when I became a CASA volunteer. Read more>>

Melanie Andujar

My name is Melanie Andujar, and fashion has always been my language. What began as an obsession with putting looks together and turning sidewalks into runways became my career. Read more>>

Ryan Schwenk

I’ve always created out of instinct with whatever I could get my hands on, but drawing has always been the consistent base of my practice. Drawing is an outlet for me to create narratives and stories for my own life and thoughts. I often think of it as communication for ideas and philosophy, valuing the conceptual before considering aesthetics. Read more>>

Antares Davinci

I’ve been telling stories for as long as I can remember. I started writing when I was seven years old, and what began as a childhood love of imagination and language eventually became a lifelong creative practice. Since then, I’ve published three books: The Nikki DaVinci Code, The Gloaming, and NecromanceHer. Read more>>

Switch

I began DJing, rapping and producing music in New York in 1989, and creativity has guided nearly every part of my life since then. Over the years, I expanded into acting, live event production, cosplay, hosting and character entertainment while also building a 24-year career in carpentry. Read more>>

Carmen Michael Childers

Growing up with my mother and grandmother, Monday nights were always the highlight of the week. After seven long days of waiting, it meant that I could finally stay up late once again to watch WCW Monday Nitro. It was the height of the Monday Night Wars and the Atlanta based WCW had a young Carmen Michael in a chokehold. Read more>>

Ray Lyles

I incorporated Rose Noire Productions as a nonprofit in February 2018 and established our 501(c)(3) status from day one. Since then, I have spent years building the foundation that people do not always see. Board governance. Curriculum development. Compliance. Evaluation. Vendor registration with New York City Public Schools. Read more>>

Keith Bartell

Keith started singing at a very early age in the church. He has appeared on the popular BET program, “The Bobby Jones Go­spel Show “and the “TCT Gospel Network”.­ He has appeared in concert with such artist as Vickey Winan, Donald Lawrence and Witness. Keith was also the three time male vocalist champion at the piedmont triad area gospel talent showcase held in Greensboro NC. Read more>>

Sephyr Patriq

Beginning in Memphis, Tennessee, I was always a creative child but I felt very repressed. I started writing songs at ten years old trying to express what I could not say aloud. I sang in many choirs and found joy in Musical Theatre. I began to tune that gift and would write plays and books for musicals as well as directing. Read more>>

Deborah Brown-Pullin

My journey into home staging wasn’t something I planned overnight. It really grew out of my experiences over the years especially my more than 30 years in the retail industry, along with my education, design experience, and years of working with people. I spent a large part of my retail career in visual merchandising, so there was a natural crossover into home staging and design. Read more>>

Zone1gotti

Started doing music in 2010, we used to have a label called Connect Gang, with a few of my close partners, was lucky enough to have studio in house, so we just started creating music, but I was one of the ones who took it more serious at the time. Read more>>

Karla Bivens

My path into art has never been completely linear. I’ve always been creative, but my background is actually in psychology and behavioral work. For years, I worked closely with children, families, which shaped the way I understand people, their emotions, behavior, identity, and the ways we communicate beyond words. Eventually, I realized that many of those same questions were showing up in my artwork. Read more>>

Breonna Davis

Growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, my three biggest passions were art, fashion, and animals. My father was a dog breeder, so I was exposed to dogs from an early age and gained a deep understanding of their care, behavior, and needs. After studying fashion and art in college, I moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where I began dog-sitting as a side hustle while working for Coach. Read more>>