Karega grew up one of eight children on the rough side of Sacramento, California. Much of Karega’s childhood was spent learning from the eldest male in his house, his brother Keon.
Read MoreNative of St Ann., Jamaica, Ava-joye and her family came to America in 8th grade looking for opportunities to create a better life. Her mother had to work multiple jobs to support her and her sister. She learned early the desire for more and the definition of hard work to attain it.
Read MoreNate grew up in the south side of Richmond, Virginia. As a kid, he was thrust into family adversities. He spent the majority of his childhood living with his Grandmother. Little did he know, the lack of structure on the outside was creating something within.
Read MoreBorn in Germany and native of Panama, Yvette spent the majority of her childhood in the urban neighborhoods of Newport News, Va. aka “Bad News.” Growing up with her mother and a younger sister in a single parent home, Yvette was thrust into “real life” as a teenager.
Read MoreAnthony, his twin and older brother grew up all over the east coast (NC, SC, VA). The Product of a military family. Anthony’s father was in the marines. Ant spent all of his high school years in Okinawa, Japan. After graduation, Anthony returned to Virginia to study Fine Arts at Norfolk State University.
Read MoreTyra grew up with her mom, dad, and sister in Petersburg, Virginia. As children, I spent countless hours in Tyra’s backyard, not only because she was a great friend, but she also was the only kid that had a paved basketball court in her backyard!
Read MoreRob had an interesting childhood. He spent his adolescent years with just his mom and sister in Chesapeake, Virginia. Rob confided that in his early years he was a bit of a knuckle head. “I’m just not somebody who responded to rules very well. Well rules that I didn’t see as logical.
Read MoreMelanie was born in New Jersey, but spent many of her childhood days in New York pursuing modeling. So much so that her and her family ended up moving to NYC. Right down the street from her grandmother, to be exact.
Read MoreChris grew up in Columbia, MD with his mother and sister. His mom, a single mother, would work two or three jobs to provide the best for Chris and his sister. Chris had to overcome asthma and the hurdle of his father being absent.
Read MoreAshley was born in Norfolk, Virginia. Her and her mother moved to Atlanta when she was seven. As a kid she wanted to be a pediatrician because her love for children and taking care of people. Ashley began honing her steady work ethic on the college dance team at Hampton U, “Ebony Fire.” Ashley is zealous and generally known to be candidly uncut with a clever sense of humor.
Read MoreRob grew up with his older sister and parents in Washington DC. Rob explained that one of the Gordon family traits is an innate sense of humor.“Everybody in my family is funny. My dad, my mom, my sister is first, aunts, uncles. Not stand up comedians, but funny MF’ers.
Read MoreParis was born in Richmond and grew up with her parents and younger brother in Chesterfield, Va. Growing up, Paris remembers that she’s always had an interest in entertainment. BET’s 106 & Park was one of her favorite shows. She loved this music meets hosting hybrid so much that she decided to get involved in her interests early.
Read MoreEdwin grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee with his younger brother and his mother. He told me a story from high school track. “My coach talked about effort. He said ‘Why be present every day and Bullsh*t? If you’re gonna be out here, you might as well be good at it.’ I apply that same concept to being a Consultant.
Read MoreLynetta grew up in Northern Virginia with her mother, brother, Dominique, and her younger sister, Quiana. Their mother was in the military for 20 years, so they did quite a bit of traveling throughout her childhood. Lynetta actually first started playing basketball during her time in Germany.
Read MoreRod grew up in Portsmouth, Virginia with his parents and younger sister. Always having a creative imagination, Rod’s “When I grow up” moments took on a variety of destinations. He told me, “When I was younger I wanted to do something totally different than what I’m doing right now.
Read MoreBrittney is the middle child of three sisters. Her parents separated when she was young and she spent much of her childhood with her mother and a step-father she calls Dad. She started out in the rough side of South Jersey before she was called down to the suburbs of Virginia to live with her father and grandparents.
Read MoreWill grew up on the east side of Indianapolis with four sisters. He was the only boy until his six year old brother was born. Although his parents weren’t together, both were involved in his life as much as they could be. He confided that he was mostly raised by his grandparents and had a unique way of keeping to himself.
Read MoreAshley grew up in Richmond, Va with her parents and younger sister Brittney. From our conversation it became evident that Ashley is a product of great parenting. Both parents went to college and were first generation college students. She affirmed “They were always very supportive. Always pushing my sister and I. They would never let us doubt our ability to do something, no matter what.”
Read MoreSomos was born in South East DC, but was raised all over the city. He’s an only child and attended grade school in the north side of DC. He told me about a story from junior high, “I was in the AP classes carrying on and I got in trouble. My dad said, “Oh you wanna be seen huh?’ From 8th to 9th grade he made me wear a shirt and a tie everyday.
Read MoreOriginally born and raised as an only child in Indiana, Ebony grew up with a “Do it Yourself” mentality. She told me, “It’s easy for me to revert to doing things on my own because I’ve always had to. I remember when I was younger I was that one kid with the lemonade stand.”
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