Connecting Greeks Podcast

Say hello to the awesome Tina Karras! It's amazing how one dream can give birth to another.  Tina moved to Los Angeles with literally one guitar and two suitcases to pursue her dream of being a singer-songwriter.  She paid rent by working in restaurants and eventually music venues.  Little did she know that these day jobs would lead to the creation of Tina's Vodka.

Tina has worked as a waitress, bartender, cook, hostess, manager, and buyer while growing up, attending UNC-Chapel Hill, and living in Los Angeles while writing music in her free time.  After countless liquor & wine tastings and classes, she realized there wasn’t a vodka that had all of these traits:  made from organic corn, non-GMO, American made, fantastically smooth, delicious, and at a good price.  

Tina started Tina's Vodka with her credit cards and an SBA loan and just finished her album that was also self-funded. She spent two years recording her record in-between jobs and went to mastering in March 2020. 

Tina was preparing to launch both her vodka and her record during the music festival season of 2020...then the pandemic lockdowns hit!  She was suddenly unemployed, going further into debt, and fighting off a billion-dollar corporation opposing her trademark.  

It's been a crazy, winding road and thankfully, her trademark is registered, she's blessed to have Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits as her distributor, and her record is now out on all digital platforms.

We are excited to share her vodka and music with you!

It's never too late to realize your dreams, they can be bigger than you ever thought. The person you become along the way is the true creation.

Learn more about Tina: tinasvodka.com

Buy this amazing vodka!

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We chat with Modern Lusso founder Niko Kokkinos. Born in America but of Greek descent, Niko grew up in Annapolis, MD and frequently travels to Greece to visit friends and family. The Modern Lusso collections combine his love for the Greek summer lifestyle with his personal streetwear style. 

“Lusso” is Greek for “luxury.” Thus, Modern Lusso translates directly to “Modern Luxury” - the perfect description for the look and feel of our curated collections. 

shopmodernlusso.com

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Join us for a great chat with Nick Livanos of the Livanos Restaurant Group. Nick grew up working in the family’s restaurants during the school year and spending his summers in Greece. Coming from a family of talented cooks and a long line of commercial fishermen, it didn’t take long for him to fall in love with food; the concepts of freshness and quality were the foundation of his culinary expertise. Nick graduated from Adelphi University with a bachelor’s degree in management, and his life changed when, on a whim, he decided to visit the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, and later enrolled. Today, Nick oversees the business of all Livanos restaurants.  

livanosrestaurantgroup.com

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What an amazing episode! We got to meet the absolutely awesome guys of KI Legal (not to mention Marathi Restaurant NYC) and took a deep dive into their collective story and how they got to where they are today. Join us as we hang out with Andreas Koutsoudakis & Michael Iakovou!

kilegal.com

marathinyc.com

We check in with up-and-coming Greek rappers out of Toronto, Dimitris Kardaris and Spiros Stathas. We get to know them and their group from New Wave Productions. Check them out!

What could be better than having a glorious chat about gyro with a beautiful lady who happens to be an expert on gyro? Join us as we get to know Aussie Kelly Roditis aka the Gyros Queen! If you have access to good gyro, grab one and join us!

Follow her: https://www.instagram.com/thegyrosqueen/

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We had an absolute blast hanging out with the super funny and talented Peter Kelamis! Born in Sydney, Australia and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Petr is an accomplished actor, voice actor and stand-up comedian. With over 160 credits, he is a well-recognized talent in the industry and has shared the screen with many Hollywood heavy weights. Some of his iconic voice-over work includes: Dragon ball-z "GOKU". Ed, Edd and Eddy as well as "Absolute Carnage" for Marvel Motion Comics. Peter has 2 comedy albums downloadable on all the major music platforms: "Best of Peter Kelamis Volume 1 & 2" and he has two recorded television comedy specials to his name.

Support Ukraine kids & families caught in the crosshairs of war with this amazing event: https://1nightstand.org/

Check out Peter's IMDb page >

We had a fantastic time hanging out with the amazing Anthony Skordi! Anthony is a British-American actor, known for his roles as Admiral Garrick Versio in Star Wars Battlefront II, and The Dealer in the Hand of Fate series of games. In addition to his voiceover work in video games, he has narrated audiobooks, and has worked on screen and stage as an actor, producer, and writer. He attended Drama Centre, London, and is a Royal Shakespeare Company member and a member of Vanessa Redgrave's 'Moving Theatre' company.

Anthony is currently touring and showcasing his one-man play Onassis. See more details on this wonderful play here.

You can also watch or listen on the free Connecting Greeks app!

We had the absolute pleasure of hanging out with one of the most amazing humans to walk (or should we say run?) the earth! Ultramarathon runner, author, amazing human, and awesome Greek Dean Karnazes! Just describing Dean doesn't do him justice, so watch/listen to our podcast, watch some of the multiple docuseries on him, and then read his super interesting books to get a better idea of who this "superhuman" truly is! OPA!!

Website: https://ultramarathonman.com/

Road to Sparta book: https://amzn.to/32COO6O

You can also watch or listen on the free Connecting Greeks app!

George Diakomichalis is a fourth-generation pastry chef in Adelaide, Australia. His deep passion and infectious energy for his Greek culture has led him to open and run his award-winning patisserie for over 25 years. George recently created his own show that can be seen on YouTube called It's All Greek To Me. Join us as we get to know more about this really great and proud Greek!

youtube.com/user/ItsAllGreekToMeTV

Watch & listen on the free Connecting Greeks app!