The Philippe Matthews Show

Though success comes to those who wait, super-bodybuilder Lee Labrada makes sure it happened to him early through sheer hard work, determination, and passion. True enough, all his efforts are rewarded in many folds.

What a Career That Was

Born in Havana, Cuba, on March 8, 1960, Lee Labrada perhaps never had any inkling he’s going to be a certified fitness guru. When he was 16, one of the few things he wanted was to become the best football player, so he trained extremely hard to enhance strength and gain a lot of muscles.

Not long after, however, he realized that his real talent lies not on the field but on the stage, where he can proudly show off the fruits of hours of toil, burning calories, trimming fat, and toning muscles.

Benjamin Franklin was ultra-famous for many things: one of the Founding Fathers, scientist, and U.S. minister. (He’s also well-known for his kite experiment.) It was his being an inventor, especially of bifocals, that eventually made him a star for two guys, Mohsin Momin and Azman Karedia, who founded and now heads BenjFrank.com – a fast-growing glasses retailer on the Web today.

Benj Frank is, yes, named after one of the best men to have ever walked on earth; and like the historical legend, the duo ensure that all their glasses are backed by sound science. After all, that’s how one guarantees quality.

The “Super Lens”

Momin and Karedia invest on top-quality lenses for their glasses, and where else to get them than from the company who has over 60 years’ experience in the industry? Carl Zeiss.

The sun lenses are pure, clear, and sharp. They are equipped with polarization filters made of micro meshes that help reduce glare, which normally occurs when streaks of light bounces off on wet and shiny objects or surfaces such as roads.

Born in London and educated in Swindon and Bath, England, Ronald M. Allen graduated from Prior Park College, Bath, England in 1975 with Diplomas in Art and Commerce before beginning his professional career.

After moving to the USA in 1988, Ronald established his own business Design in Display - providing an Interior Design/Visual Merchandising service in New York City – which he ran for 8 years – whilst also attending the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Eventually, family matters led Ronald to change his career and he moved into the Mortgage Banking Industry. For the following 20 years, he advised clients about their options for buying, selling and positioning their real estate assets. It was during this time that Ronald really began to recognize the widespread need of individuals and organizations for something more than just financial advice.

Rosie Mercado Is Curvalicious!   In an aggressive scrutinizing world still dominated by the paper-thin models, Rosie Mercado walks in, unabashedly, proud and confident. And for these two attributes—and more—she’s going to change the modeling landscape, giving other plus-size models like her their own time to shine and their own place to strut their stuff.   Not the Easy Road to Take   Latina Rosie Mercado was born in South California, but she spent most of her life in Las Vegas. Ever since she was young, she always had the desire to make it big someday in the fashion industry. But something was keeping her from doing that: her insecurities that were primarily fueled by her weight issues.   She struggled but pushed herself to deal with it. She eventually sought herself out, and when she discovered who she really is and embraced it, with the support of her family and friends, a lot of doors opened for her.   The Breakthroughs   By 2009, she joined and bagged Miss Nevada Plus American and Miss Plus America. She also took home awards such as People Choice, CoverGirl, and Runway Model. Rosie also booked herself to her first spread: The Knot Weddings and Goddess Magazine.   It also didn’t take long before the designers took notice. Barely a year after, she already conquered the Full-Figured Fashion Week and Mitzy Fashion Show. She modeled for Eccoco Clothing and Igigi by Yuliya Raquel, one of the biggest plus-size brands in the world. Rose is also a regular of Cosmoplatina, from 2011 to the present.

Walkingspree is a specialized wellness provider whose expertise is to deliver a superior walking program for health insurers and corporate clients. Through customized online wellness portals and programs, clients receive measurable results and engage participants in a feature rich community. The company’s program – based on a USB pedometer to track validated steps, an active social media network, and interactive food and body trackers – typically delivers more than 50 percent employee participation and consistent year-over-year member retention. Results are healthier employees and a positive return on investment for clients. Walkingspree programs have been implemented in major health insurers, insurance brokers, Fortune 500 companies, small to medium businesses and non-profit organizations such as hospitals and schools. Walkingspree also provides a wellness offering for the general public.

Jay Whitehead was appointed CEO of Charity Partners by company founder and Priceline.com founding team member Jord Poster in May, 2012, Jay has owned and led 14 fast-growth investor-backed technology, media and social-enterprise businesses, and has raised nine figures' worth of investor capital. Most recently, Jay served as President of Vistance, the cloud-computing and analytics subsidiary of Rideau Recognition, Inc. Prior, Jay was President of SharedXpertise Media LLC and Outsourcing Today LLC and founder of several successful business magazines, online communities and conferences. Jay also founded Corporate Responsibility Magazine, publisher of the world-famous 100 Best Corporate Citizens List and corporate responsibility partner of the New York Stock Exchange. After publication of his co-authored book "The Post-Carbon Economy" in 2009, Jay was named to Ethisphere Magazine's coveted 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics list. He has on-air broadcast experience at KTTV, CNBC and PBS. Jay earned his BA in History from UCLA, holds a Strategic Finance Certificate from the Harvard Business School and is a dual citizen of U.S. and France.

The Pink Label for Men, Puro from the Dominican Republic

 

Sophistication, style, flavor, and tradition—it’s astonishing how pink can embody all these. But these are the exact senses you get once you get your hands on the new Pink Label for Men by Arsen Cigars.

 The Age-old Heritage

 

Arsen Cigars is a product of commitment, passion, fervor, and passed-on Dominican Republic traditions.

 

Arsen Gasparian, the founder, started to create some of the best tobacco cigars in the market sometime in 2010, but the stories behind them can be traced back as far as six generations ago. Nevertheless the state of ownership doesn’t really matter, as the process of creating every cigar remains the same.

 

It starts off with the growth and cultivation of tobacco in a vast estate, the exact same place where harvesting, curing, fermentation, and storing are being performed. The process can be painstaking, but then its’ only how Arsen can produce unparalleled tobacco quality.

 The Arrival of the Pink Dominican Republic Tobacco

 

Arsen isn’t just a local brand. It has gained worldwide fame, and with such huge demand, it’s more convenient for the conglomerate to build its own farm and facility in key locations such as America. Yet this is no ordinary tobacco brand. This is traditional, and thus Arsen remains pure Dominican Republic.

5 Star Cigarz, a cigar shop and hookah lounge located in Miramar, FL opened its doors in June 2012 and became the first shop to cater to the cigar aficionados and hookah smokers in the area. Paula Fonseca always dreamt of having her own business where she could provide a life enhancing experience to the public through her hospitality and great interpersonal skills.   A Brazilian native, Paula Fonseca, arrived in the United States at the age of 25. Paula graduated in 2006 with a degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from UNIP (Universidade Paulista), located in São Paulo. After becoming accustomed to a new setting, language and culture, Paula remained close to her culture and roots which resembles her way of life.   Paula’s tenure in the cigar industry started shortly after her arrival in 2007, has been building strong relationships ever since and thanks to those relationships 5 Star Cigarz was born. Her inspiration to be able to provide top of the line cigars and shisha from all over the world distinguishes the shop and allowed her to live out her dreams of owning a successful business in the United States.   5 Star Cigarz offers a calm, relaxing, enjoyable ambiance that cannot be found anywhere else, a resemblance of the lifestyle and perks that every cigar aficionado enjoys with every smoke.  LEARN MORE...

In 2011, I was blessed with the opportunity to partner with two of the most recognized dermatologists in their field, Dr Katie Rodan and Dr Kathy Fields. You may be more familiar with them as the creators of the top selling brand, Proactiv®. What they did for acne, they are now doing for aging skin. I started pursuing this on a part time basis, but a short while ago I left my position as a broker/manager of a small luxury real estate firm on the Jersey Shore to follow my passion. I am now living and working on my own terms as I build my dream life and help others do the same. With Rodan + Fields, we not only change skin, we change lives.  Mission   Our first objective is to provide clinically proven and guaranteed products which can be customized to simply solve your most complex and unique needs. Whether you would like to maintain a youthful appearance or turn back the clock and eliminate wrinkles, reduce pore size and firm skin, we have the solution. We also address sun-damage and age spots as well as acne and sensitive skin conditions such as rosacea and eczema.   Second, our goal is to provide a venue for the average person with above average ambition to create an extraordinary life of financial freedom. We offer a turn key business system equipped with all the tools, technology, training and support you need to establish a profitable business quickly and efficiently.  READ MORE...

Competition is fierce in the hotel business. Online review sites can kill a business’ reputation with one bad review. Staffs are untrained, surly or apathetic in a profession that lives or dies on service. So what’s a struggling hotel operator to do? Bring in Anthony Melchiorri, a hotel “fixer,” who can turn any establishment around in weeks … and he does just that in Hotel Impossible, a new one-hour series on the Travel Channel airing Monday’s at 10|9c.

  Melchiorri’s tough-love style can be hard to swallow and overhauling a business is a painful and often emotional task, but the potential reward of a fully booked hotel with excellent customer reviews makes it all worth it.