Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Diana O’Gilvie of Marietta

We recently had the chance to connect with Diana O’Gilvie and have shared our conversation below.

Good morning Diana, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I wake up and give thanks for another day. I pray to my ancestors and orishas. Now that my spirit is nourished, I go take care of my body and go to boot camp. After working out, I check my phone for emails, messages, and social media posts. It is important that I don’t let the digital world in until I am ready.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Diana O’Gilvie, a travel writer, filmmaker, and founder of Urban Sass, a multimedia brand that explores the richness of the African Diaspora through food, culture, and storytelling. My latest project is a YouTube series called One Ingredient, where I trace a single ingredient, like cassava, okra, or allspice, across continents, uncovering the history, movement, and culture embedded in every bite.

I’m not a chef. I’m a home cook and a curious traveler. What makes One Ingredient special is that it’s not just about food. It’s about survival, resilience, and the way recipes carry our ancestral memory. We shoot in markets, home kitchens, and with chefs and aunties who hold oral histories in their hands. It’s part food show, part cultural time capsule.

Urban Sass is rooted in authentic storytelling, especially centering Black women and voices from the Diaspora. Right now, I’m expanding our content to include heritage travel experiences between Jamaica and Ghana and developing a production studio in West Africa. My work is about connecting the dots and the flavors between who we are and where we come from.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who taught you the most about work?
The people who taught me the most about work were my grandparents, George and Ruby O’Gilvie (Mama and Papa).

Papa taught me the value of hard work, dedication, and showing up for yourself and your family no matter what. When I was in high school, we would walk together every day to Half Way Tree in Kingston, Jamaica. We would each go to our respective bus stations. That walk instilled a discipline in me that remains with me today.

Mama taught me about being innovative and independent. At home, she was the entrepreneur who sold chickens and white rum out of a makeshift bar in the backyard. She was not depending solely on her husband’s income.

When did you last change your mind about something important?
I recently changed my mind about the idea that success had to follow a traditional, linear path, climb the career ladder, stay in one city, and eventually “settle down.” I used to think that I got a late start. I looked around at my friends and colleagues who seemed to the thriving in their corporate lives and felt that I was so far behind them. I believed that years of living abroad set me back.

After years in filmmaking, writing, and design, I realized that fulfillment for me meant freedom: creative freedom, geographic freedom, and the ability to tell stories on my own terms. That shift in mindset gave birth to my broader work with Urban Sass.

Now, I’m embracing a more fluid lifestyle, splitting time between the U.S., the Caribbean, and West Africa, creating content that reflects the richness of the Diaspora. It’s not always easy, but it feels right. Changing my mind about what stability and success look like opened up a whole new world of possibilities.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
One of the biggest lies the travel and media industry tells itself is that diversity is a trend rather than a necessity. Too often, Black and Indigenous stories are treated as add-ons or themed months instead of being recognized as essential perspectives that shape the global experience. There’s also the myth that audiences only want glossy, escapist content. But the truth is, people are hungry for authenticity. They want to see real stories, real people, and cultural depth, not just drone shots over turquoise water.

Another lie is that you have to choose between being creative and being profitable. I’ve learned that when you create with purpose and integrity, the right audience and opportunities will find you. You don’t have to dilute your story to make it marketable. You just have to know who you’re speaking to.

Finally, the biggest lie is that Black women don’t travel solo and that we’re afraid, that we only move in groups, or that we don’t belong in certain spaces. That narrative is not only false, it’s harmful. Black women do travel solo. I am living proof of that. We explore, we heal, we create, and we connect. We are out here on our own terms.

Our solo journeys are not just about escape. They’re about the reclamation of joy, freedom, of self. We are the storytellers, the explorers, and the main characters. Always have been.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
Honestly, a bit of both. I was always encouraged to pursue something “practical” like writing, teaching, and communications, and I’ve done all of that. But over time, I realized that my deepest fulfillment came from telling stories that center culture, memory, and identity, especially across the African Diaspora. That’s not something I was ever told to do, I was called to do it.

Creating and building Urban Sass feels like coming home to myself. It combines everything I’ve learned, journalism, film, design, travel, with what I feel I was born to do: document, connect, and celebrate our stories. So yes, I followed the map I was handed, but I ended up making my own way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://urbansass.io/
• Instagram: @urbasasstravels
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-o-gilvie-a8705770/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@UrbanSassTravels