Where you grew up and your background can often have surprising effects on our lives and careers. We’ve asked folks from the community to tell us about how their background has affected them.

Penelope Robin | Singer-Songwriter

I was born and raised so far in Miami, FL. My dad is a music producer and my house has always been filled with musicians and amazingly talented artists. This gave me huge inspiration to pursue music and singing as an actual career and so far I think it has greatly impacted who I am today. Read more>>

Cody Patrick | Co-Founder & Owner

I was born and raised in Wyoming on a cattle ranch in the mountains. I have lived in Miami for about 15 years now. My upbringing prepared me for my life as a business owner in a service industry. Serving people is a very large part of the fitness industry and growing up in a small community was very influential for me because it taught me how to treat others. By being reliable, consistent, friendly and honest I have been able to gain the trust and patronage of my community which ultimately has led to the success of my company. In a small community you cannot hide among the crowd. Your every action is known. Your personality counts for a great deal. So that taught me at an early age that I had to be nicer, work harder, and be more honorable than the person next to me if I wanted to stand out and be successful. Read more>>

Simona Solomon | Photographer

I was born and raised in Milan Italy. I am proud of my heritage and Italy’s incredible culture and history. Every Italian is surrounded by beauty. Beauty in food, architecture, design, fashion, sight seeing, or just walking around. We talk about art, design and architecture at home and among friends, it’s part of our culture and daily activities. My eye as a photographer has been honed and refined throughout my youth, my art education, and further as a photographer and filmmaker in Italy. I have had many years of experience, travelled to many countries including Asia, and now live in the USA and try to mix the various influences into my take on photography. Read more>>