My SGV Podcast
Welcome to the My SGV Podcast. A show where you will hear personal stories of triumph over failures, and how others successfully navigated the unique landscape that is the San Gabriel Valley. What makes us different? Well, just like you, we have chosen the San Gabriel Valley for our home or businesses, or both. We believe it is the people and small businesses that make this community great and we love to share their stories with you. We always encourage your questions and feedback and you can find all of our contact information at sgvmasterkey.com.
Episodes
279 episodes
Dr. Keith Marshall - Overcoming Addiction, Trauma, and Leading Whole-Person Recovery
Dr. Keith L. Marshall, PsyD, M.H.D., is the Founder, CEO, and Clinical Supervisor of Dedicato Treatment Center, a California Department of Health Care Services–certified substance use disorder treatment program specializing in co-occurring ment...
Albert Wan - From Apple Software Engineer to Modernizing a Family ERP Business
Albert Wan is a San Gabriel Valley native, raised in Arcadia, and a second-generation business owner leading his family’s enterprise software company. After studying at UC Berkeley and working as a software engineer at Apple Inc., where he cont...
Sandy Velasco - From UCLA Math Degree to San Gabriel Valley Comedy Shows
Sandy Velasco is an LA-based artist born in the Philippines who earned a degree in Mathematics from UCLA and worked as an accountant before entering the entertainment industry. She has called the San Gabriel Valley home for over 15 years and ha...
Willington Liu - Creation of the Gods, Acting, and Creation Talent Academy
Willington Liu is an actor featured in the Creation of the Gods trilogy (封神三部曲) and the founder of Creation Talent Academy (CTA), a performing arts institute based in Arcadia, California. Raised in the San Gabriel Valley, he built a ba...
Arturo Barrios - From Audio Karate and SGV Punk to Fronting Fenix TX
Arturo Barrios is a San Gabriel Valley musician born in Monterey Park and raised between Monterey Park and Rosemead. After discovering grunge and punk rock in junior high, he formed a band with classmates at Rosemead High School that became Aud...
Melanie Sauer - Leading the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center and Community Wellness
Melanie Sauer serves as the Executive Director of the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center in Pasadena, California, assuming the position in October 2024 after serving as the organization’s Chief Financial Officer since 2021. Her career in financial and o...
Joshua Lin - Titanium Robotics, STEM Education, and FRC Team 1160
Joshua Lin represents Titanium Robotics (FIRST Robotics Competition Team 1160), a student-led high school robotics program based at San Marino High School in San Marino, California. Now entering its 23rd year as a team, Titanium Robotics design...
Vincent Chan - Building Fujiwara Tofu Cafe, Initial D Culture, and JDM Community
Vincent Chan is the founder of Fujiwara Tofu Cafe, a Japanese-themed cafe and community hub located in El Monte, California. Inspired by the iconic anime series Initial D and Japanese automotive culture, he launched the business as a passion pr...
Samuel Lopez - Overcoming Odds in Baldwin Park and Launching a Clothing Brand
Samuel Lopez is a first-generation Mexican American entrepreneur who was raised in Baldwin Park as part of a family of nine. He currently works for Los Angeles County and is the founder of Ninety-One Good Old Days Clothing, an independent appar...
Ada Gates - First Woman Farrier for Thoroughbred Racehorses in US History
Ada Gates was born into New York high society, with a family history in America dating back to the 1700s. In 1978, she became the first woman licensed as a farrier to shoe thoroughbred racehorses in the United States and Canada, launching a car...
Michelle Shimohara - Viral "SJ" Stories, Eastside Fights & Finding Her Long-Lost Brother
Michelle Shimohara is a San Gabriel Valley native raised in Monterey Park and Montebello, who attended Macy Intermediate and Schurr High School before building a career in real estate that began in 2014. She previously appeared on the MySGV Pod...
Mike Tai - 26 Years as an Auto Technician and the Legacy of SoCal Car Culture
Mike Tai was born in Boyle Heights and raised in San Gabriel as an only child to parents from Japan. Growing up, he participated in foundational Japanese American community activities, including attending Japanese school on Saturdays, playing b...
Mel Tillekeratne - How Free Mobile Showers Are Helping the Unhoused in the San Gabriel Valley
Mel Tillekeratne is the co-founder and executive director of The Shower of Hope, a Los Angeles nonprofit formally known as End Homelessness California. Born and raised in Sri Lanka, Mel moved to Los Angeles in 2003, and a chance wrong turn thro...
Oliver Wang - Japanese American Car Culture and Cruising J-Town in Los Angeles
Oliver Wang is a professor of sociology at California State University, Long Beach, who specializes in the study of popular culture. He is the author of Legions of Boom: Filipino American Mobile DJ Crews of the San Francisco Bay Area a...
Will Co - The Evolution of 3D Printing and Digital Scanning at Cokreeate
Will Co was born in Vietnam in 1981 and immigrated to the United States as a child after his grandparents, who worked with the United States during the Vietnam War, successfully relocated and completed the paperwork to bring the rest of the fam...
Keegan Fong - Scaling Woon From a 2014 Pop-Up to Pasadena
Keegan Fong is the founder and owner of Woon, a homestyle Chinese food restaurant and packaged goods line based in Los Angeles. Raised in the Pasadena area, he worked professionally in apparel marketing before transitioning full-time to the...
Ryan Ching - From Architect to Founder of Ry’s Poke Shack
Ryan Ching is a Hawaii-based entrepreneur, chef, and social media storyteller who co-founded Ry’s Poke Shack on the North Shore of Oahu in 2021 alongside his wife, Khannie. Originally trained as an architect with a doctorate in architecture fro...
Karen Cheung Lee - Continuing the Legacy of Sam Woo BBQ Restaurant
Karen Cheung Lee grew up in the San Gabriel Valley alongside her three sisters, raised in the community where her family built the local restaurant Sam Woo. In her early adulthood, she worked in the events and hospitality industry and helped la...
Paramveer Bedi - Preserving the Legacy of Bhanu’s Indian Cuisine
Paramveer Bedi is an entrepreneur in the San Gabriel Valley and one of the owners of Bhanu Indian Cuisine & Market. Located in San Gabriel, the business was originally established by his father and aunt with the goal of providing authentic ...
Thee Sawadwid - Building Fillet Sushi in Old Town Monrovia
Thee Sawadwid is the chef and owner of Fillet Sushi, located in Old Town Monrovia. Raised in Thailand, he transitioned into the culinary world through a deep respect for Japanese discipline and craftsmanship. His path into the profession was de...
George Dera - Authentic Lebanese Cuisine and Wahib’s Mediterranean Express in San Gabriel
George Dera is the owner of Wahib’s Mediterranean Express, a restaurant located in San Gabriel, California. Born in Zahle, Lebanon, Dera moved to Glendora, California, at the age of 14 and has remained a resident of the city since his arrival. ...
Armando De La Torre Jr. - Guisados Founder on Boyle Heights Tacos and LA Restaurant Growth
Armando De La Torre Jr. is a Los Angeles–born restauranteur, entrepreneur, and artist known for creating and developing Guisados, Georges Burger Stand, and Playita Mariscos. A graduate of Loyola High School and Loyola Marymount University, wher...
Aaron (Phu) Luong - From SGV Upbringing to Aloha Food Factory Owner in Alhambra
Aaron (Phu) Luong was born in Hong Kong under British rule and immigrated to the United States at a young age. He grew up in Rosemead and Monterey Park, later attending San Gabriel High School, where he balanced academics, extracurriculars, and...
Marcel Rene Michel - From Corporate Recruiting at Disney to Opening a Pasadena Restaurant
Marcel Rene Michel is a Southern California native born in Bellflower and raised in Hacienda Heights, with roots in Guadalajara and Colima, Mexico. A first-generation Mexican American, Marcel attended Don Bosco Tech Institute and later built a ...
Shelly Lin - From Medan, Indonesia to SGV Small Business Owner at Coconut & Co.
Shelly Lin is the co-founder of Coconut & Co., a San Gabriel Valley business built around natural, high-quality drinks and desserts that are inclusive, health-conscious, and made for everyone. Born and raised in Medan, Indonesia, Shelly gre...