Alessandra Z grew up in Barranquilla, Colombia —

Shakira's city, home of the second biggest carnival

in the world, a place where rhythm lives in

everything and everybody knows everybody.

She built a swimwear brand, a fashion label, a gym

line, and a restaurant. Multiple times. By herself.

When COVID hit, she had 5 days.

This is one of the most honest entrepreneurship

stories we've had on Hero World — not because it's

a success story, but because it shows every layer

underneath one. The bank account that hit zero.

The baby she was raising alone. The business

partners she had to fight every single day to get

what was owed. The restaurant she painted herself,

named herself, and built letter by letter because

she couldn't afford a new sign.

Delight wasn't born from a business plan.

It was born from having no other option.

In this conversation Alessandra also opens up about

what 18 years of being the sole provider — mom,

dad, and entrepreneur all at once — costs a woman

on the inside. About the feminine energy she fights

to protect every single day. About the three circles

she uses to guard what matters most. And about the

one insight she carries from everything she's been

through: people come into your life for a reason,

but only when you're ready to receive what they

bring.

This is a full Hero's Journey — from Barranquilla

to Miami, from zero to Delight, from survival

to wisdom.

Hero World drops new episodes every week.

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Maria grew up in Medellín with Spanish blood, became

a lawyer, moved to Miami for a man she met on

Instagram, lost a pregnancy, walked away from drugs

and the party life — and built everything that

followed on a foundation of faith so solid it

shapes every decision she makes.

She talks about God not as a concept but as a

presence. One she's felt since she was four years

old, kneeling in prayer. One that protected her

through every city, every loss, every reinvention.

In this episode she shares the framework she uses

to live by: a question she asks before every

decision — does this take me closer to the woman

I want to be, or further away? If you can answer

that honestly, she says, you can never go wrong.

She also breaks down the three circles she uses

to protect her energy, why she believes your words

are seeds that grow into your reality, why the

Ferrari only has two seats as you grow, and what

it means to trust the GPS when you can't see

the whole road ahead.

This is a conversation about faith, growth,

boundaries, and what it actually looks like to

build a life that belongs to you.

Hero World drops new episodes every week.

Find us on YouTube, Instagram, and Substack.

Thiago Izabel grew up in Rio de Janeiro — 26-building complex, beach runs, soccer in the streets, acting as an extra on Brazilian soap operas. Life was full. Life was fast. And then it got dark.

By his teens he was kicked out of three schools, running with the wrong crowd, using drugs that he says "destroy one's life." His dad — a Navy man who traveled the world and brought back gifts — passed away in 2012. A year later, Thiago moved to America on a tourist visa with $4,000 and a 1991 Honda Civic he bought delivering pizzas in California.

What followed was years of rebuilding — through therapy, NA meetings, a spiritual awakening, and one of the most intentional decisions I've ever heard someone make: a covenant of celibacy until he found the right person.

He found her. They dated for 8 months with no sex before getting engaged. His wife knows every flaw, every shadow, every chapter he doesn't talk about publicly. That's not luck. That's what happens when you build affinity before intimacy.

In this episode, Thiago breaks down why modern relationships keep collapsing — and it's not because love is broken. It's because we skipped a step.

He also talks about what it took to get clean, how changing people, places, and habits saved his life, and why he wakes up every morning fired up to be a personal trainer.

This one goes deep. From Rio to recovery to real love — this is Thiago's Hero's Journey.

Hero World is a podcast about the humans who are doing the inner work. New episodes every week.

Follow Hero World on YouTube, Instagram, and Substack → linktr.ee/theheroworld_

Leidy grew up in Cali, Colombia before moving to Las Vegas at 15. She learned English in one year, went from straight-A student to go-go dancer at The Palms, and survived an abusive relationship that ended when a truck rolled over her entire body at 21 — breaking her pelvis, collapsing her lungs, and leaving her in a coma for 21 days. The doctors said she'd never walk again. Her mom prayed alone at every church until the bones healed. At 17, Floyd Mayweather hit her in the head with a bottle — 20 stitches and a near-death experience she still carries. She converted to Judaism, discovered art, built a career selling sculptures for $25,000 a piece, and survived a dissected artery that cut blood flow to her brain for 5 days. Through all of it — she never stopped moving.

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Charlotte is a Swedish-Australian artist who grew up between Sweden and Sydney before spending nine years in Paris and eventually landing in Miami. In this episode she names the cultural force that punishes people for standing out — Tall Poppy Syndrome — and what it taught her about authenticity and courage.

She also opens up about following your joy over what makes sense, why she doesn't believe in bad people, and how mending a broken heart became the greatest thing she ever did for herself.

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Johanna grew up in Nice, France — raised between Moroccan roots, Italian heritage, and a deeply open-minded family. She spent 20 years living across New York, Sydney, Los Angeles, and Bali before landing in Miami. In this episode she shares the clairvoyant message she received in Bali in October 2019 — a warning about a coming global event that sent her searching for a house in France and pulling money from the bank. Months later, the world shut down. She also opens up about epigenetics, ancestral trauma, family constellation therapy, 88 hours of intense healing work, and what it means to trust your intuition when nothing around you makes sense.

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In this deep and grounded conversation, I sit down with Sanu, a man whose story bridges Watts, California, architecture, spirituality, and self-mastery.We explore how environment shapes identity, why comfort breeds weakness, and what it means to keep reinventing yourself through every season of life. From gang culture to higher purpose, from creative resistance to divine design, Sanu shares wisdom born from lived experience — reminding us that the Hero’s Journey is never linear, but a continuous act of ever-becoming.Topics we dive into:Growing up in Watts during a cultural renaissanceHow environment breeds behavior and cultureEscaping limiting narratives and finding your own identityWhy resistance is a necessary teacherThe danger of comfort and the power of purposeFaith, love, and the universal human search for meaning

In this episode of The Hero World Podcast, I sit down with Didi — a dancer, teacher, and storyteller originally from Turkey.

We talk about her upbringing in Istanbul, the challenges of growing up in a different culture, and how she found her identity through movement and teaching.

Didi shares how her students gave her the name “Miss Didi,” how she transformed her struggles into strengths, and what it means to embrace your authentic self on your own Hero’s Journey.

This conversation dives deep into:

Growing up in Turkey and navigating cultural identity

The power of names and personal reinvention

Finding your voice through teaching and creativity

Lessons from the stage that apply to life’s challenges

If you’re on a path of self-discovery, or searching for meaning in your own struggles, this episode will resonate with you.

📺 Full episode on YouTube: [link]

Follow me for more stories:

Instagram → @_heropod

TikTok → @mattscaletti

Newsletter → https://substack.com/@theheroblog

You can find out more about DIDI here on IG at: @flowithdidi

In this episode of The Hero Project, I sit down with Analys Falchuk to explore the hidden dynamics behind how we think, feel, and talk about money.

From green flags and red flags, to money in relationships, to the simple but powerful act of asking your friends “what does money mean to you?” — Analys breaks down how financial conversations can open doors to self-awareness, intimacy, and freedom.

We dive into:

How men and women approach money differently

Why waiting until the end of the month to save is a red flag

The money conversations we avoid with friends (and why we should start having them)

Green flags in financial habits

Why money is always personal — shaped by mindset, family, and culture

How setting clear financial intentions can transform your results

This is more than a conversation about money — it’s about rewriting inherited beliefs, building healthier habits, and embracing money as a tool for freedom, not stress.

Follow Analys:Instagram: @analysfalchuk

Finance Page: @felipafinance

Subscribe for more Hero’s Journey conversations: stories of healing, growth, and transformation.

In this episode of The Hero Project, John Acosta and I explore the hidden patterns that shape our lives.

From Family Constellations to the righteous victim, we dive into how unhealed wounds—personal, familial, and cultural—keep us stuck in cycles of pain.

We discuss why we carry burdens that aren’t ours, how victims can become perpetrators, and why entire nations hold “collective trauma scores.”

A powerful conversation about belonging, breaking cycles, and choosing to realign.

TO find out more about John visit:

https://www.zuluone.org/