Life & Work with Dan Lizarazo of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Lizarazo.

Hi Dan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My name is Dan Lizarazo, also known creatively as Purple Karma. I’m 28 years old and I’m the host, producer and creator behind Algo Excéntrico, a Spanish-language podcast.

I’m originally from Colombia and lived there for most of my life. Ever since I was younger, I’ve always felt deeply connected to storytelling, music, visuals and the whole audiovisual world, which is what eventually led me to study Journalism and Social Communication there. Even while pursuing my degree, I realized I was naturally drawn to more creative and visual forms of storytelling beyond traditional journalism, and looking back now, I think that’s really where everything started for me.

Back in 2020 during the pandemic, I took a podcasting class, and that’s really where the idea of having my own podcast started. For that class, I created my very first podcast project entirely in English. At the time, I was already creating content for social media and slowly building a small online community, but being Latina, I realized it didn’t fully make sense for me to create only in English. I wanted to build something that felt more personal, more authentic to who I was and to the people who connected with my content.

The original idea came from that class project called “The Atypical Girl,” which reflected how I had felt for most of my life — like the weird girl in the group, the one who struggled to fully fit in or the one who somehow always experienced the most random situations. But after talking to more people, I realized I wasn’t alone in feeling that way. That’s when I started thinking about how we actually live in a world surrounded by eccentricity, and how being “different” is something a lot more people relate to than we think.

When trying to adapt “The Atypical Girl” into Spanish, I didn’t want a literal translation. After a long process of brainstorming around the word “eccentric,” I finally came up with the name “Algo Excéntrico,” which has remained in Spanish ever since. At one point, one of my best friends from Colombia joined the project and we started developing written ideas together, but life eventually took us in different directions and we never got to officially launch it as a team. Time kept passing and the podcast still wasn’t coming out. One day, I went back and reread the original document I had written, and I realized I had drifted away from the heart of the project. I think that’s why I couldn’t fully bring myself to launch it.

Eventually, I sat down and wrote the pilot episode called “Holi, soy la chica del nombre raro,” and that became the real beginning of Algo Excéntrico — a project that has continued evolving alongside me over the years.
I officially launched the podcast in mid-2021 as an audio podcast, and in 2023 I brought it back in a video podcast format. Algo Excéntrico was born from the need to share my thoughts, stories and experiences around different aspects of life in a way that could make at least one person feel less alone or less “weird.”

Honestly, moving from Colombia to Atlanta also helped me understand myself better and fully embrace that eccentric and creative side of who I am. Atlanta feels like a city for the “weird” people in the best possible way — creative minds, artists and people who aren’t afraid to show who they really are. At the end of the day, Algo Excéntrico became the project that reminded me that living is really found in the weird, unique, extravagant and deeply human parts of ourselves.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Honestly, sometimes I joke that I’ve been my own biggest enemy throughout this process. For a long time, I felt like I had opportunities to grow the podcast much more, but I let fear, impostor syndrome, my mental health and even my ADHD get in the way at times.

But at the same time, I’ve never been someone who gives up easily. At the end of the day, I don’t do this for fame, numbers or followers — I do it because I genuinely love it. Algo Excéntrico became my safe space, the project I keep coming back to no matter how difficult things get.

I’ve also always tried to be honest with my community about how hard content creation can sometimes be, especially when you’re neurodivergent or dealing with mental health struggles while trying to handle everything on your own. I literally do every role involved in the podcast myself — producing, writing, filming, editing, hosting, creative direction… everything.

For a long time, I struggled a lot with comparison. Social media can really make you feel like you’re falling behind or not doing enough. But over time, I’ve learned to focus less on comparing myself and more on genuinely enjoying what I create. I’ve become really grateful for the small community that has supported me, been patient with me and stayed since the beginning.

This might sound random, but I really love anime, and there’s one character from Black Clover named Asta who always keeps fighting for his dream no matter how impossible things seem. Honestly, sometimes I relate to that a lot. No matter how hard things get, I’m not someone who gives up easily.

At the end of the day, there may be thousands of podcasts out there with bigger productions or larger audiences, but I think what makes Algo Excéntrico special is the heart behind it. As long as I continue loving what I do and creating a space where people feel understood, then to me, the project is already meaningful and successful in its own way.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Something kind of funny about me is that whenever people ask what I do for a living, I usually joke and say I’m basically Hannah Montana. I have my “real life” job that helps pay the bills, and then I have the creative life and artistic career I’m actively building behind the scenes.

Most of my work exists within the creative and audiovisual world. I work through freelance projects connected to visual storytelling, creative production, content creation, photography, video editing, fashion and media. I also naturally became someone who connects creative people and ideas together. Sometimes that means helping bridge different creative worlds — like connecting a fashion journalist with a designer or helping bring artistic concepts to life behind the scenes.

Writing is also a huge part of what I do. I’m constantly writing scripts, concepts, research, creative ideas and texts for both myself and other people. A lot of my inspiration comes from music, fashion, internet culture, films, art and the emotional side of storytelling.

Then there’s the work I create for myself — projects like Algo Excéntrico, content creation and other creative ideas I’m currently developing that I hope people will see soon.

I think what sets me apart is probably how personal and emotionally driven everything I create tends to be. I’ve never been interested in creating things just for trends or numbers. Most of my work comes from real emotions, personal experiences, nostalgia, identity and the feeling of existing between different worlds and cultures. Even the way I approach aesthetics and storytelling feels very intentional and emotionally connected.

A while ago, someone told one of my friends that I seemed “mysterious,” like people could know a lot about me while still knowing almost nothing at the same time. Honestly, I think they were right. I’m always creating, studying, learning new things, challenging myself and quietly working on ideas behind the scenes, even during difficult moments. In my mind, I’ve always been very clear about what I want for my future, and even if it looks impossible to other people sometimes, I truly believe I’ll get there no matter how long it takes.

Right now, I’m especially focused on Purple Karma while also preparing the second season of Algo Excéntrico. One of the first steps was completely rebranding the podcast and giving it a new visual identity that feels more aligned with who I am today. I’m really grateful to the graphic designer who helped bring those ideas to life for this new era of the project. One of my favorite parts of the process was how collaborative and personal it felt — especially because she’s also one of those wonderfully chaotic creative minds from Atlanta.

I think that’s one of the beautiful things about this city. Atlanta has this energy that allows creative people to find each other, collaborate and fully embrace who they are. In many ways, Algo Excéntrico now carries a little piece of Atlanta within it too. And moving into this second season, one of the things I’m most excited about is hopefully connecting with more creative minds, artists and eccentric people from this city through the podcast.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
It’s honestly hard to choose just one memory because there are so many moments from my childhood that I deeply treasure. But one memory that has always stayed with me happened during a church camp I attended when I was around seven years old. It was kind of like a scouts-style camp, but organized through the church.

I remember someone there had a Handycam, and I became completely fascinated by it. I was always trying to stay close to the person holding the camera because I wanted to understand everything about it. Eventually, I even got the chance to use it for a few moments, and I remember feeling so excited. I had already been interested in cameras before, but videocameras felt extra special to me. There was something magical about capturing moments, recording memories and asking people questions about how they felt. Looking back now, I think that was probably my very first connection to what we now call vlogging.

That experience also made me curious about everything happening behind the scenes — how videos were edited, how productions worked and what the creative process looked like.

At home, my dad and I used to watch a lot of docuseries and documentaries together, and I would always imagine myself being part of the production team or the person behind the camera. My favorite shows were usually about archaeology, food or survival. One of my favorites was Man vs. Wild, and I remember thinking how cool it must have been to be the cameraman following the host through all those crazy adventures.

Honestly, I think a lot of those small childhood moments quietly shaped the creative person I became later in life. Even now, storytelling, visuals and documenting emotions and experiences still feel just as magical to me as they did back then.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.instagram.com/akapurplekarma/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/algoexcentrico/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@algoexcentrico
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/2aiNQMjKFKGW6brMiFOWCg?si=cf63e7e1d53a4b81