THE CITY CONFESSIONS

This episode is a solo one from yours truly, Mariann Yip. As I close out season 6 of The City Confessions, I talk about three lessons I've learned in 2021 including:

I also talk about life updates and mention how I plan on taking The City Confessions to a new level starting 2022 as well as releasing a book about dating, self development and self discovery. I also reveal a confession about relationships, so be sure to listen to the end to hear what it is! I am grateful for each and every one of my listeners and you can show your support to rating this podcast on iTunes, sharing it with a friend and giving me and the podcast a follow on Instagram!

Feel free to direct any questions, comments or feedback to [email protected]. 

Today's last guest for Season 6 of The City Confessions is Teona Ostrov, an entrepreneur and founder of Teona Ostrov PR, which is a boutique PR agency in NYC specializing in beauty, lifestyle and wellness. In this episode Teona and I speak about how she got into PR and the journey of starting her own company. She also mentions the challenges and highlights of her career thus far. We bring it back to NYC and Teona expresses her love for the city and ends the episode with a confession involving the NYC subway that you don't want to miss! You can find more about Teona and where to find her below:

About Teona Ostrov: https://www.teonaostrovpr.com/

For the past 15 years, Teona has specialized in beauty, wellness and lifestyle PR. After working both in-house and at agencies, she left agency life in 2017 to freelance. After less than a year, she built up a roster of her own clients and decided that it was time to expand and build an agency. TOPR was born in September of 2018 in a shared WeWork office with her Maltese, Reese as the agency's VP - Vice Pup. A month later she adopted a pointer mix named Jeff who currently serves as TOPR's director of Barketing. While Teona loves nothing more than a good blowout, she is also an avid hiker and backpacker. When she's not on the trail with her dogs you can likely find her on a SoulCycle bike. Follow Teona Ostrov on Instagram!

Feel free to email any questions, comments or feedback regarding this episode to [email protected]. 

Today's guest is Rafaella Alberts, a digital marketer and Native New Yorker. Born and raised in Brooklyn NY, Rafaella loves makeup & skincare (cruelty free only), sneakers, music, and is super obsessed with animals. In her spare time, she loves doing anything creative or outdoorsy.

In this episode, Rafaella and I talk about what it's like growing up in NYC and her love/ hate relationship with the city. As a social and hyperactive individual, Rafaella explains how she has many hobbies and interests and doesn't think she or anybody else should be defined by their job titles and careers. We also touch briefly on astrology as she is a pieces. Rafaella opens up about what stresses her out and that involves both work and living costs of NYC. We close this episode by encouraging people to take care of themselves and to treat people the way you want to be treated. 

You can connect with Rafaella on Instagram. And feel free to direct any comments, feedback or questions to [email protected] regarding this podcast. 

Today's guest is Brooke Miccio, a lifestyle vlogger and youtuber and Co-Host of the Gals on the Go podcast.  In this episode, we dive deeper into Brooke's social media journey as she talks about how she started her Youtube channel 10 years ago. Since growing a strong and loyal community, Brooke opens up about the struggle with being an open book and being relatable while wanting to keep certain things in her life private. Brooke also talks about the importance of trying to live int he moment and not stress about the future or what others think of her since she is in the public eye. 

We also touch upon topics including: 

- past experiences with being bullied in school

You can connect with Brooke Miccio on the below platforms:

Website: https://www.brookemiccio.net/

Today we are joined by two entrepreneurial women, Hilla Narov and Samantha Woolf, co-founders of Official Partner, a premiere marketing and entertainment agency that connects brands with A list talent and influencers and New Yorkers. Prior to founding Official Partner, Samantha and Hilla each spent over 20 years at notable entertainment management agencies but then last year decided to pivot by starting their own agency. This was a little over one year ago during an unlikely time – the beginning of the Covid-19 global pandemic. While they faced many challenges, they have come out the other side and are even stronger. Hilla Narov and Samantha Woolf have an instinct for what’s next, what’s newsworthy and the ability to architect a winning deal that translates to success for their clients. 

In this episode, we cover the below topics: 

- Lessons from their first year as female founders and their life in NYC Challenges they faced during the Covid-19 pandemic

We also talk a lot about New York and how the city has affected their mindset, the way they approach business and what the city has given them.

About Samantha: Prior to starting Official Partner, Samantha was Head of Marketing, NY at United Talent Agency (UTA), one of the leading talent, influencer and entertainment agencies in the world. With over 20 years of experience, Samantha has worked with branding powerhouses Deutsch Inc., Grey Global Group, and PEOPLE magazine, and brands such as Covergirl, Pantene and Head & Shoulders. She has also worked closely with some of the most highly respected and sought-after talent faces across digital media, television, music, and live entertainment including Sofia Vergara, Taylor Swift, Queen Latifah, Ellen DeGeneres, Katy Perry, Selena Gomez, P!NK and James Charles.

Website: https://official-partner.com/