Reppin 5.7: Ginger Zee

Ginger Zee

Photo Credit: Heidi Gutman

Ginger Zee is the Chief Meteorologist for ABC News, forecasting for and reporting on the nation's weather from Good Morning America to World News Tonight. Zee has been on the ground before, during and after almost every major weather event and dozens of historic storms including Hurricane Katrina. With every report, she never loses sight on the human toll these devastating storms has taken.

She’s highly respected and beloved by audiences across the United States. But what viewers may not have known was the amount of painful, trauma she has personally had to experience.

When Ginger opened her life to readers in Natural Disaster-her first best seller, the response was enormous. She put a very relatable if surprising face on depression and has helped lessen the stigma surrounding mental health issues. But Ginger tells us, Natural Disaster was "Ginger Lite" and only scratched the surface.

In this moving follow-up called A Little Closer To Home, Ginger shares her truest self. She spent most of her life shielding her vulnerabilities from the world all while being a professional people pleaser. Her stormy childhood, her ongoing struggles with crippling depression, being involved in dangerous relationships, sexual assault, her suicide attempts, and many other life experiences will resonate with readers who are likely to see themselves along the way. 

In spite of its serious subject matter, Ginger is not only surviving—but thriving. On Reppin, meet this unbelievably courageous, strong woman who is sharing her lessons of healing and how you can also overcome your hardships.

Ginger’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ginger_Zee

Ginger’s Instagram: @ginger_zee

Ginger’s book A Little Closer To Home: https://www.amazon.com/Little-Closer-Home-Found-After/dp/1368042007

Reppin 5.1: Karen Olivo

Karen Olivo

I sign off every episode of Reppin with “Stand Up and Represent.” My next guest truly LIVES this mantra.

Karen Olivo is a powerhouse talent. They’re an American stage and television actor, theater educator, and singer.

In 2008 Karen originated the role of Vanessa in In The Heights on Broadway. The following year, they won the 2009 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress In A Musical for their performance as Anita in a revival of West Side Story. They are the first and only actor to win a Tony award for a performance in West Side Story. From 2016 to 2017, Olivo portrayed the role of Angelica Schuler  in the Chicago production of Hamilton 2019, Olivo originated the lead role of Satine in the stage adaptation of Moulin Rouge on Broadway and was nominated for the 2020 Tony Award For Best Actress in a Musical.

With this incredible, illustrious career, Karen risked it ALL when they publicly spoke out against a very powerful and influential producer. We’ve all encountered bullies and difficult bosses-but would YOU have the courage, truth —and readiness to do what Karen did? Learn more about this talented, remarkable person and where they draw their strength from. Find out how they’re fighting to ensure civility, kindness and community is present today and for those who follow.

Karen’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/karenolivo

Karen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenolivo76/?hl=en

Reppin 4.2: Brandon Victor Dixon

Brandon Victor Dixon

Brandon Victor Dixon has an expansive list of credits that range from Broadway’s Hamilton, The Color Purple to television’s Rent Live, Jesus Christ Superstar to STARZ’s Power.

Brandon has also appeared in concert with various artists such as Burnt Sugar: The Arkestra Chamber, Jennifer Hudson, Nathan Lane, Wynton Marsalis, Chita Rivera, Liza Minnelli, David Hyde Pierce,  and Tony winners Levi Kries, Kelli O'hara, and Brian Stokes Mitchell. Other Credits include: ABC's One Life To Live, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, ABC's The Good Wife, and NETFLIX’s “She’s Gotta Have It”.

His talent doesn’t end there, h'e’s also a producer! His company WalkRunFly has produced multiple works including the Tony Award winning Hedwig and the Angry Inch starring Neil Patrick Harris, He is co-founder of The WeAre Foundation, a non-profit “Turning Art into Action.”

Millions have seen and heard his voice and talent-but here, you’ll learn what motivates this talented man and what he’s fighting for.

Brandon’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrandonVDixon

Brandon’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandonvdixon/?hl=en

We Are Foundation: https://weare.org/

Reppin 4.1: David Harewood

David Harewood

David Harewood is an incredible actor, producer and director. You’ve seen him starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Connolly in the film Blood Diamond, in Showtimes’s hit Homeland with with Claire Danes and Damian Lewis, he’s also been in The Night Manager, Man In The High Castle and most recently, he is the martian manhunter, Hank Henshaw, J'onn J'onzz in the CW fan favorite Supergirl.

He may seem like he’s lived a charmed life--but his personal journey has been filled with tremendous challenges. When he was a young actor in his twenties he faced intense racism from critics and audiences alike. The racism was so extreme that it undermined his sense of identity and ultimately triggered a psychotic break. He was hospitalized, treated and thankfully recovered.

In 2019, in an effort to help destigmatize mental illness, David and the BBC produced a powerful documentary called Psychosis and Me. In the film, David retraced his steps and learned for the first time, as the cameras rolled-what actually happened to him vs what he thought happened. He saw his medical records and how serious his mental condition really was.

Because of his personal experiences, he’s incredible advocate for countless charities, from mental health to fighting for more realistic representation in the arts for all ethnic backgrounds to encouraging minorities to vote.

David shares how facing his past and seeing his fault lines have made him a stronger, better man. And now, he’s fighting to help others. An incredible story of courage, strength and love.

A remarkably talented actor who is an even more remarkable human being. Meet him on Reppin.

David’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidHarewood

David’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidharewood/?hl=en

Reppin 3.10: Candace Wohl

Candace Wohl

My next guest has proven you should never underestimate the power of determination and hope. Meet Candace Wohl, she is a writer, public speaker and women’s health advocate. Her evolution towards becoming that advocate began when she and her husband Chris, who were in their late 20s then, were thrown onto the private and painful roller coaster of infertility.

After 6 years of enduring an assault of medical procedures and investing their entire life savings, they were still unable to conceive. As they went through devastating lows, they also began documenting their struggles and created a blog called Our Misconception. They worked to break down the stigma of infertility and provided the unique perspective of a man and a woman. They shared information and mistakes to help others navigate and approached this shrouded issue with a lighter touch.

Since then, Candace’s blog garnered national attention and has been named Best IVF blog in 2019 and they’ve been profiled in Glamour and Cosmopolitan Magazine and were featured on MTV’s Award Wining documentary series True Life.

Find out how Candace and Chris transformed their pain into power, how they harnessed their strength using humor and light and how they persisted through grief. See how she’s paying it forward and find out if she and Chris were able to have the family they desperately wanted.

Candace’s Blog Our Misconception: https://ourmisconception.com/

Candace’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/rmisconception

Candace’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ourmisconception/

Be sure to check out our instagram https://www.instagram.com/reppin_podcast/ to get an update on Candace.

Candace with husband Chris

Candace with husband Chris at one of their many doctor visits

Reppin 3.9: Kyle Maynard

Kyle Maynard

Kyle Maynard was born with a rare condition known as congenital amputation, that left him with arms that end at the elbows and legs that end near his knees-but don’t tell him he can’t do something. Kyle was the first man to bear crawl to the top of the highest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro (19,340 feet), and the summit of Argentina’s Mount Aconcagua (22,838 feet), the highest peak in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres.

He’s an entrepreneur, speaker, best selling author, award-winning extreme athlete. Kyle thrives on physical challenges and is a champion wrestler, CrossFit Certified Instructor and gym owner, competitive Mixed Martial Arts fighter, world record-setting weightlifter, and skilled mountaineer.

He lives by the motto No Excuses. He comes to Reppin sharing his perspectives, lessons and his iron will. So just TRY and keep up with him.

Kyle’s twitter: https://twitter.com/kylemaynard?lang=en

Kyle’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kylemaynard/?hl=en

Reppin 3.7: AJ Mendez

AJ Mendez

Photo Courtesy: Cathy and David Photography

AJ Mendez is a former professional wrestling champion with the WWE under the ring name AJ Lee. Don’t let her diminutive stature fool you, she was a formidable opponent. She threw people around like a short order cook threw pancakes onto a plate. With her trademark black widow submission move, she easily took out her competitors. But in real life--nothing came easily for her.

In her autobiography, which was a New York Times best seller, Crazy Is My Super Power, she details what it was like being a petite Puerto Rican girl growing up in an unstable home, struggling with poverty, homelessness and mental illness to how comics, wrestling and her fans helped change her life. 

Because of her own personal struggles, she is a mental health advocate, and is an ambassador to The Jed Foundation and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

If that’s not enough, she also partnered with actress Aimee Garcia and founded Scrappy Heart Productions. Together, as Latin X storytellers, they want to create the change they want to see in the media and to tell stories that have universal themes.

She is a warrior. Meet this incredible woman, who is breaking boundaries, who has overcome so many personal challenges and now she’s out in front working to help others.

AJ’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheAJMendez

AJ’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theajmendez/

Mental Health Resources:

National Alliance on Mental Illness: NAMI.org

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255 (TALK)

Reppin 3.5: Aydian Dowling

Aydian Dowling

Aydian Dowling is most known for being the First Transgender Man on the cover of Mens Health Magazine, and appearing on the Ellen Degeneres show, twice! Using his own personal struggles he has given voice to the trans community, documenting his personal transition and sharing it on line. Since then, Aydian has been creating content answering questions and offering insight to those who may still be struggling.

In 2016, Aydian launched PointofPride.org a non profit which helps Transgender individuals around the world through programming and funding to help Trans people live more authentically in their bodies. 

On Reppin, Aydian talks about how he went from hiding who he was, how he summoned the courage to being liberated to live his most authentic life and finding acceptance and love. His story is one about overcoming fears, other people’s expectations and labels to truly embracing who you are.

Aydian’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/AydianDowling

Aydian’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alionsfear/

Point Of Pride: https://pointofpride.org/

Aydian’s Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe5IabAzRyXqLpAib13Q2yw

Reppin 2.4: Jamie Margolin

Jamie Margolin

Jamie’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jamie_Margolin

Zero Hour: http://thisiszerohour.org/

At 15 years old, Jamie Margolin founded the youth climate action organization Zero Hour with Nadia Nazar and serves as co-executive director. Zero Hour was in response to what she saw after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and her personal experience during the Washington Wildfires.

Zero Hour has led the official "Youth Climate Marches" in Washington, DC and 25+ cities around the world during the summer of 2018. Jamie represented the organization at international leadership events like the C40 Mayors summit and the UN Youth Climate Summit. She also serves as a media spokesperson for the youth climate movement, going on national and international TV, radio, and print publications to spread the word about climate justice and the youth movement. She’s written Op-Eds for various publications such as The New York Times, Teen Vogue, TIME Magazine, and The Guardian, and has been on both American and international speaking tours for climate justice all while being in high school!!

Jamie is one of Teen Vogue’s “21 Under 21” girls changing the world in 2018, One of People Magazines 25 women changing the world in 2018, Fuse TV’s Latina Trailblazer of 2018, one of The Today Show’s 18 under 18 Groundbreakers of 2019, MTV EMA Generation Change winner of 2019,  and one of the BBC's 100 most influential women of 2019. All while being in high school!!

Find out what drives this young woman to be the unstoppable force she is and what sacrifices she’s had to make to try and save the planet.

Reppin 1.10: Mitra Memari

Mitra Memari

Meet Mitra Memari- she’s one of the very few POC who is also a woman and a partner at major US, award-winning architecture and interior design firm. Born in Iran, Mitra shares stories of her childhood where she experienced trauma, how she coped and how those obstacles shaped her. She details how she broke into a male dominated field, found her voice and how she evolved into being one of the leaders. This episode of Reppin is about being an immigrant, a woman, what it means to be a leader, it’s about shattering barriers—it’s about being a bad ass.

Reppin 1.9: Zabryna Guevara

Zabryna Guevara

Currently, she’s on ABC’s hit show Emergence as Dr. Abby Frasier, some of her other credits include Gotham, Twilight Zone, Tell Me A Story, The Get Down to New Amsterdam! The talented and lovely Zabryna Guevara comes to hang out! She gets personal and details how she went from “disappearing” in crowds to finding her voice and strength then evolving into a successful actress on some of the most popular television shows. She shares intimate stories about growing up in New York City, challenges she’s overcome and how much family means to her. Get to know this talented actress and amazing woman on this episode of Reppin.

Zabryna’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZabrynaGuevara

Zabryna’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zabrynaguevara/?hl=en