Spoken Dreams

Paul Beahan is an entrepreneur, producer, and the founder of Manimal Records. He was born in San Diego, and was always interested in the music business as a child. He even started his own imaginary record labels as a kid. Eventually he started playing music, and joined up with a few bands around the San Diego area. As his friends and bandmates went on to do well as musicians, Paul realized he didn’t feel like he was cut out to make a careerplaying music. He needed a change, so he headed up the coast for Los Angeles and ended up going back to school. He ended up working in the world of fashion in New York, but that path would eventually draw him back into the music business that he had once been so eager to leave. He found success after starting his own record record label, and eventually began putting on live festivals. Now, Paul is excited to bring something big to Malibu Canyon.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Angela Martini is a former model and Miss Universe pageant title holder turned Life coach, film producer, and author. She was born in Albania after the fall of communism and had an fairytale childhood, but after civil war broke out in Albania and danger grew, the fairytale ended. Angela was forced to leave her mother behind and move to Switzerland to be with her father and step-mother. Suddenly, Angela’s childhood became less idyllic and she dove further into her own dream world. After visiting family in New York City, Angela fell in love with the United States. Upon returning to Switzerland, her new fairy tale dream became moving to New York City to work as a model. Of course, as in all storybooks, Angela wouldn’t get there without a journey full of trials and struggles. Eventually, Angela did make it to New York City, and she lived happily ever after...or did she?

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Binx is a pop artist originally from South Africa. She grew up in small towns without a lot of venues for entertainment, so people became the entertainment, and Binx found out early on that she loved being in the spotlight. She loved performing for friends and family, and after seeing Britney Spears on television, Binx suddenly knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life. With the love and support of her family, Binx grinded away at pursuing her dreams of being a famous pop star and was eventually able to make her way to New York City. She was dubbed "The African Bee" because of her South African roots and the elaborate bee costumes she wears during performances. Binx was gaining a lot of traction in New York City, but when L.A. began offering opportunities, she would have to decide whether to leave everything she’d built in New York to start all over on the West Coast. Making things harder yet, Binx experienced an unexpected tragedy that made her question whether she would continue with music at all.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Manny Garcia is an educator, creative, and clothing designer. He was born in Texas and raised primarily in Michigan. He grew up surrounded by music, which ignited his creativity, but despite that passion, Manny pursued teaching. Later, his ambitions outgrew Michigan, and the desire to give music a shot was too strong to ignore—so he moved to Nashville. But as a Mexican-American wanting to explore his cultural identity, Nashville proved to not be the right fit, and when music wasn’t working out, he pulled up stakes and headed for Los Angeles. He fell in love with the city, but in order to make ends meet, Manny would again have to put his creative ambitions on hold. But after a humanitarian trip to Ecuador, Manny learned lessons about the world, and about himself, that would change his life forever.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Asha Dahya is a journalist, a Ted X speaker, host, and author. She was born in England, but spent most of her childhood in Australia. Since a young age, Asha has always been talkative and loved performing. She had aspirations to be an actress, but later found that path was not a good fit. Asha began working as a television host, and suddenly found herself working for some major networks. Once she felt established, she wanted to explore new challenges and opportunities outside Australia, which brought her to Hollywood. The move proved to be difficult, and Asha may have underestimated the challenges she would face in Los Angeles. Down on her luck, Asha longed for a supportive community that she didn’t have here in the U.S. She started the blog Girl Talk HQ as a place for like-minded women to share their stories. Little did Asha know, her media savvy and desire to speak her truth would lead Asha down a new path that would open doors she never expected.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Zara Alexandrova is a stylist and fashion consultant. She was born in Armenia and grew up in Russia. Since childhood, Zara always had an eye for fashion. She loved putting together outfits for school, and was even known to alter her mother’s wardrobe. Zara saw fashion as a means to be “the woman that she wanted to be.” Growing up in Russia, however, pursuing a career in fashion was out of the question, so Zara went to school to be a lawyer. When her family decided to move to Los Angeles, a place that embraces big dreams, Zara jumped at the opportunity to explore the fashion world professionally. She began working at boutiques on Rodeo Drive, and it wasn't long before her sense of style got her noticed. It wasn't long before Zara was welcomed with open arms into the world she knew she was always meant to be a part of.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Heather Daughtry is an actress and host from Los Angeles. Heather grew up with a love for the performing arts, and was always seeking ways to be creative. She enjoyed dancing, music, and is even a violinist. But when college came around, Heather decided, like many others, to take a more "practica"l path, and became a communications major. Still, she took every chance she could get to perform. After college, Heather’s new dream was to work in a corporate role, but still close to the TV & film industry. It was a long road, but eventually she did secure a corporate gig. But after some time, Heather had a strange realization: She still wasn’t happy. Now, Heather knows the one thing that will make her happy, and she won’t let anything stop her from getting there.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Vida Ghaffari is an actress originally from the Washington, D.C. area. Her father was a scientist and her mother, an artist and art teacher. Vida is of Iranian descent and grew up during a time where anti-Iranian sentiment was prevalent in the United States. She was bullied in school, and therefore felt most comfortable on the stage exploring different characters. As an adult, Vida would land in the journalism field, and that would ultimately take her from D.C. to Los Angeles working in Persian TV. Those opportunities led to some voice over work, but Vida was still drawn to performing. As she sought more acting opportunities, she began to notice the types of roles she was booking: Hijab Woman #1...Muslim Lady #3. Those roles were often diminutive, silent, and racist. Vida would be challenged, not as an artist, but as an Iranian-American wishing to explore characters with more depth in an industry notorious for perpetuating stereotypes. Fortunately, Vida would eventually find what she’s been looking for in a way that has brought everything full-circle.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Greg Maness is an actor and aspiring writer. His father was in the military, so while he was born in the Netherlands, his family moved around every couple of years. Because of this, Greg found it difficult to put down roots and make friends. His family finally settled in South Carolina, where Greg would attend college and first discover acting. Initially seeing it as a way to avoid academics, he slowly began to take it more seriously. Immediately after graduating, Greg let out for Los Angeles to pursue a career as an actor. With no real experience prior to arriving in L.A., Greg started from scratch. Eventually, his journey would send him on the move again, taking him to Atlanta, New Orleans, and New York City. Now, Greg is back in Los Angeles with more insight and a clear purpose, and he’s ready to use his art to make a difference.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

AyseDeniz Gokcin is a concert pianist and composer. She is originally from the city of Ankara, Turkey. AyseDeniz was almost quite literally born into music. Much of her childhood was spent seated at a piano, and by 5-years-old she was already taking formal lessons. By age 6, she was considered a child prodigy in Turkey, and was accepted to Julliard by age 11. Instead of heading to New York City for her studies, she went to Spain to study under the tutelage of iconic pianist Rosalyn Tureck. However AyseDeniz found she didn’t quite fit in with the other students there, and the mounting stress and homesickness lead her to move back to Turkey. Without an instructor during a critical point in her development as a musician, AyseDeniz made the choice to attend a University in the United States. It was there where AyseDeniz finally met "her people." Later, while working on her Masters at the Royal Academy of Music in London, AyseDeniz began working on a project that would ultimately catapult her to worldwide recognition, and help continue her mission to unite audiences across the globe.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.