Saul
Random tidbits:
My mom is a chef and was always teaching me to understand flavors. I spent a very long part of my life not drinking. About a month after I started drinking beer, I read about a maple bacon coffee porter that was done by Funky Buddha in Fort Lauderdale. And literally the night that I read about it, I drove there and naively walked inside and said I wanted to try it. They looked at me and said, you must be new to craft beer because we only release that once a year, and it was released a month ago and we don't have any more. And from there I was like, what else do you have? Like the way I approach food, I want to try as many varieties as I can. That's how you develop a stronger palette.
Ariel
Random tidbits:
Yes. It's always very different. We're doing commercial real estate and the market's been really, really good. We're more concerned about what's going to happen in five years than what happened in the last five years. Last five years were actually pretty easy to make money. The next five years is what we are concerned about. What's going to happen with interest rates and the economy? Rental prices have increased 15% year over year for the last five years. That's unsustainable especially with everything that's happening currently right now.
Kate
Random tidbits:
I would say the easiest way to picture it is you're learning from a holistic standpoint where you're not just using your mind but using your heart and your body as well. Learning in ways that use movement or use songs or a lot of artwork. Instead of using a textbook, we'll make our own textbook, we'll draw the pictures. It's very, hands-on. And, we're very connected with nature.
Luis and Natalia
Random tidbits:
The mother’s circle is a free monthly event in partnership with Miami Childhood Nature Project. They are a non-profit that advocates children spending more time in nature. We started the circle for mothers in the community and its has grown into a monthly event. It was born out of Hurricane Irma. Some of the moms felt like they wanted to get together and talk about everything that happened during the storm. We continued to do it, and it has become something beautiful. It’s a place for moms to get together and decompress. The main event at the circle is a meditation. I’ll teach some breathing techniques and visualizations and mantras – different things for people to take home and use when they need to check out from being moms. This month’s event will be held at the Magnolia Birth House on Saturday at 7pm.
Jacob
Random tidbits:
Around 2011 we started to see a change. There was a push, in 2013, towards local craft beer with the opening of Daddy Brews, followed by Wynwood brewing and MIA. Then, we started seeing local chefs communicating with the brewers. We started sharing sources and discovering so many local fruits. Now, there is a whole movement towards eating and supporting local and there is a real community around it.
Ryan
Random tidbits:
Some by trading, some off eBay. There are some hidden spots in Miami. Mikey, over at Technique Records on 79th street is amazing and he can usually find really cool stuff. Yesterday and Today on Bird Road. The most hidden record spot for new stuff is the Museo Del Disco. It is a true record store that's been there for a long time.
Patricio
Random tidbits:
It's a tough journey, but consistency is key. Just like in life, you go through a lot of up and downs, but people who stay consistent will eventually make it through.
Thaddeus
Random tidbits:
I think one of the primary issues when people are facing a challenge, whether it's a potentially positive challenge - like paddling across the Florida Strait, or something difficult - like a home situation or substance abuse - whatever it might be, you're not alone and there are other people who have similar experiences or desires and thoughts. If somebody is considering a challenge, no matter what it might be, talk about it and find people who share the enthusiasm and with that, by definition, it becomes bigger than an individual. To me that is spirituality and in that comes strength and the momentum to make things happen. It's beautiful.
Laurie
Random tidbits:
My husband and I started the Miami Runners Club, 40 years ago, in our living room. It evolved into our nonprofit organization called Team FootWorks. We’re able to donate about $160,000 a year to charity.
Nina
Random tidbits:
My grandfather, Jerry Greenberg, passed during the summer of 2020. He was a photographer for National Geographic and many other magazines. He helped establish Pennekamp park as a Marine sanctuary and was a totally inspiring character. He started his own publishing company, teaching people to use his underwater housings for cameras that he manufactured himself. There were no suitable underwater cameras for him at the time. He was diving until he was 94 years old, lived down in the Keys, and really loved interacting with people interested in the water. His wife, my grandmother, was the artist and she did true to life drawings of fish, marine invertebrates, and birds all over the world. She used the drawings to make plastic identification cards so that you can bring them under water. It has been a hard summer losing my grandfather, but I think that he would be very happy if he knew that people were continuing to enjoy the places that he enjoyed himself. And, he taught my daughters really to enjoy and be adventurous in the water.