Meet LaShondra Hubert and Keyoshia Ray of Poppin’ After Thirty in Greater Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to LaShondra Hubert and Keyoshia Ray.

LaShondra (LaLa) and Keyosha (Key) met on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in 2005. Key was in Associated Students Inc. (Student Government) and LaLa had just crossed Zeta Phi Beta Sorority. College life was beautiful and these two women were popular, active, and ambitious. Although La La & Key knew of each other, they did not run in the same circles. Sadly, these two women did not connect until years later.

Fast Forward to 2014 when LaLa left everything she knew in Cali to start a better life in the ATL. Key followed suit and moved to the A in 2015. Don’t know if it was FATE that brought them together again or if it was a mutual college friend, but after spending some time together, they quickly realized that they should’ve been kickin’ it all along. Fast forward to an epic girl’s trip in New Orleans for LaLa’s birthday in 2019. It was joked that they should start a podcast and thus they began to record random conversations between them.

After getting drunk one night, they pulled out the recordings and proceeded to laugh like never before!!! Jokes, on jokes, on jokes…it was the funniest thing EVER!!! That’s when they realized that there was something in their friendship dynamic and similar past experiences that needed to be shared with the world…thus Poppin’ After Thirty was created. A Podcast created specifically to remind women that they are still POPPIN’ AFTER THIRTY!!!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The idea and creativity was the easy part based on the dynamic of their newfound friendship. However, the road to turning the idea into a reality was the hard part. A few things the ladies had learned thus far:

– Turning the friendship into a business: Some may think it is easy to work with your friend and have it not feel like work, but when you have 2 completely different personalities, it gets tricky. We had to learn to communicate more and work through our differences.

– We also had no clue about how to start and monetize a podcast, nor did we have any resources to help us figure it out. This process took hours of researching, late nights, and dedication. It’s a full-time job outside of our full-time jobs, but we were ready to take on the challenge to be successful.

Please tell us about Poppin’ After Thirty.
Poppin’ After Thirty is a lifestyle and culture podcast that streams on all major platforms. We discuss all social/cultural aspects of life after thirty. What sets us apart from other podcast would be our relatable topics, real and raw conversations, and the diversity of our topics in each episode. The biggest thing that sets us apart from other podcasts is the fact that we are specifically talking about what life experiences are like after thirty through the lens of two black women. We are most proud of our ability to come together based on our friendship to create a platform that gives black women a positive outlook on life after thirty, shed light on topics that some women may think they’ve experienced alone, and highlight black excellence.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
LaShondra – Favorite memory from childhood was performing Karaoke in front of family and friends. As a child, LaShondra loved to command attention from an audience and voice her opinions. This is why she is so passionate about Poppin’ After Thirty.

Keyoshia – Favorite memory from childhood would be debating on various topics with her siblings. They would pretend to be in a courtroom together and play for hours.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.poppinafterthrity.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: Instagram.com/PoppinAfterThrity
• Facebook: Facebook.com/poppinafterthirty

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