Baltimore’s Most Inspiring Stories

The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we’ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below. Check out our favorite stories from across the Voyage family.

London LeGrand

Fashion has always been a passion of mine, ever since I was a little boy. LOL! My mother was THAT GIRL! She had SO many clothes—OMG! From here to there… bags, shoes, accessories… EVERYTHING! 😂 She was also a BIG thrift-store shopper back in the day, and I used to HATE it. Read more>>

Dymand Azanii

Growing up as an only child to a single mother who migrated from St. Lucia around the same age I am now 21, I’ve always been inspired by her independence and determination. She came here to build a life for herself and has accomplished so much. Every Sunday, we had our routine where she would sit me down and do my hair for school. Read more>>

IAN MATTHEWS

It’s been an incredibly unexpected fulfilling journey. So far its 15 years of elevated experiences and I’m still climbing to reach greatness, It all started with the question, ‘Who cuts your hair?’ From then on, its just been steady progression of a great career. Read more>>

Fletcher Cleaves

Absolutely. Since this asks for your story, I’d make it personal and inspirational without making it sound like a résumé: In 2009, I was a college football player with dreams of continuing my athletic career when my life changed in an instant. A distracted driver caused a car crash that left me paralyzed from the chest down. Read more>>

Kai’Lee Fleming

My creative journey really started in middle school, when I began dropshipping jewelry through my first small business, Accessories by Lee. Even then, I knew I wanted to do more than simply sell products. I wanted to create pieces that felt personal and carried my own essence. That eventually led me to teaching myself how to make things by hand. Read more>>

Hadiyah Adrianne

My journey to becoming a podcast host wasn’t something I planned. It was something I had to grow into. I’ve always been passionate about fashion, self-expression, and encouraging women to love who they are. That passion became the foundation for my personal brand, F.A.B., which stands for ‘Faithful, Authentic, and Bold’. Read more>>

Matt Long

My name is Matt Long and I’m a graphic designer and multimedia artist from Frederick, MD. I hold a BFA degree in graphic design from Shepherd University and a number of years of experience in the creative world of art and design in the Mid-Atlantic region. Read more>>

Dani Wilson

My story has never followed a straight line. I’m a self taught abstract artist and songwriter from Baltimore, and I came to both of those things through a life that has had some incredibly beautiful chapters and some very difficult ones. I lost my father when I was 12 years old, and that loss affected me deeply. Read more>>

Domonique Cooper

I was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, and Baltimore will always be an important part of my story. It is where I developed many of the values that continue to guide me today, including resilience, determination, service, and the importance of community. In 2011, I relocated to Georgia and began building a new chapter of my life. Read more>>

Andrew Benson

Our story really started with a simple idea: take the skills and work ethic I had developed over the years and see if I could build something of my own. Bear Creek Shrink Wrapping started as a side business while I was still working full-time as a shipwright at the U.S. Coast Guard Yard. Read more>>

blk.kamii

around when i was 13, i started paying attention to the music my parents had been playing around me. i began listening to artists like Q-Tip, Raheem DeVaughn, The Pharcyde, and Dilla. At the time, the instrumentals spoke to me the most, and eventually that fascination led me to learn to make my own music, sampling pieces of songs i love. Read more>>

Jordan Murray

So I started writing music as soon as I learned how to read and write. Not official songs yet but just little lines I thought were cool. I’ve always had a natural love for music. My first gifts I can remember getting for Christmas were like fisher price drum sets and pianos. Read more>>

A’shonte Jones

It has been somewhat of a journey to get to where I am now. Do you have that much time? Okay, where to start? When I was in middle school, I got an idea of selling candy, Airheads to be exact. Read more>>

Underlined Passages

Underlined Passages is a Baltimore indie rock duo on Mint 400 Records making layered, guitar driven indie rock that sits somewhere between shoegaze, bedroom rock, and the college radio bands we grew up with. Over the last few years, we have been writing, recording, and playing steadily, with ‘Landfill Indie’ arriving in 2024 and ‘The Accelerationists’ in 2025. Read more>>

Michael Fadel

I’m a mechanical sculptor that loves being on the water–conceptually, fluids in my practice reference transience. I’m half Lebanese and half American, I don’t feel ‘home’ as being a single location so being on a boat allows me to be transient. Read more>>

Gary Lawrence

I was born in New York and moved to Philly when I was 10. I got the music bug from my pop. He use to DJ for Leaders of the New School. I was able to go to Howard University on a Basketball Scholarship and that’s where I started harnessing my musical talents. Started off making beats. Read more>>

Devin Bass

I started out as an audio engineer and videographer for guys I grew up with in my neighborhood, and we were all getting started with music seriously. Read more>>

Brittany Arnett

I started The Dappled Wood in 2022 during a season of enormous personal change. I was becoming a mother, navigating a layoff, and trying to imagine what a more creative and self-directed future could look like. Polymer clay began as a medium that gave me room to experiment with color, texture, and form, but I quickly realized the jewelry could do something more. Read more>>

Senon Davis

My story started way back when I was in high school- I had a mentor who recruited me to film for a theater production company and learn the ins and outs of documentary filmmaking. I carried that into college where I learned both just how hard the life I signed up for was and how adventurous it could be. Read more>>

Moira Sedgwick

I founded A Chalet Collective after years working across hospitality, events, and design, where I learned that the spaces people remember most are the ones that make them feel something. I saw an opportunity in short-term rentals: there were beautiful homes and there were well-run rentals, and rarely were the two truly integrated. So I built A Chalet Collective to bring design and hospitality together. Read more>>

Lily Tse

My name is Lily. I am the Founder and CEO of Think Dirty. Think Dirty is an app that helps ingredient-conscious beauty lovers to shop better for their health and the environment. Think Dirty was an app that started as a personal project to learn about cosmetic ingredient safety due to my mom’s cancer diagnosis when I was 11. Read more>>

Taimyra Jones

Wow, what a question! Where do I begin? I got married very young, and by the age of 28, I was the mother of four amazing children and going through a divorce. At the time, I worked full-time for the federal government while pursuing a master’s degree in Legal and Ethical Studies. Read more>>

Maggie Driskill

I went into cosmetology school in 2010 and graduated in the spring of 2011. I started with Haircuttery in July 2011 as a receptionist and then became a stylist in August once I got my state board license. Throughout my 11 years at Haircuttery, I was a Senior Designer Stylist, an Assistant Salon Leader, Salon Leader, and a Regional Training Artist on the education team. Read more>>

Melody Lewis

After completing Esthetician school and passing my state board exam I was so excited. I had an idea of having a ‘one stop shop’ beauty salon. I remember when I leased my first suite. The feeling was so empowering! Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. I was trying to navigate building clientele, advancing my career, and moving back home to Baltimore. Read more>>

Tiera Nicole

Whew, my story is really one of losing myself and finding my way back to me. I became a single mom during one of the hardest seasons of my life. I was abandoned during my pregnancy, experienced relationship trauma at the hands of someone I loved, and for a long time, I was just surviving. Read more>>

Jordan Scruggs

Growing up, music and streaming weren’t just hobbies for me that have been my entire escape. For a long time, I was dealing with severe anxiety, depression, and ADD that I didn’t even get diagnosed with until I was an adult. When you’re living with that kind of internal chaos, you have to find something that grounds you. Read more>>

Kelly Walker

I often feel I’ve lived several lives in my 50 years. I arrived in Baltimore at 18 while hitchhiking away from North Carolina. Though I faced early struggles with addiction, getting clean and sober became the first true success of my life. I have now been in recovery for nearly 32 years, which unlocked my dedication, drive, and creative potential. Read more>>

Nadira France

I’ve enjoyed singing for as long as I can remember. When I got to middle school, I learned how to read music, started writing my own songs and gained my first experience in a recording studio. I went on to attend a performing arts high school in for a vocal music program at Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts. Read more>>

Brian Anderson

BNB Services started with me taking on different odd jobs and handyman work. I’ve always been good with my hands and comfortable figuring things out, so in the beginning I was doing a little bit of everything. Over time, though, I realized how unpredictable some handyman jobs could be. Read more>>

Sana Chunara

My journey to becoming a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner has been shaped by both my passion for healthcare and my desire to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. I started my career as a nurse, where I quickly realized that mental health was deeply connected to every aspect of a person’s overall well-being. Read more>>

Kristin Weaver

My story has definitely taken a few unexpected turns. For more than 20 years, our family’s life has been connected to the NFL. My husband, Anthony, played in the league before transitioning into coaching. Along the way, we have experienced moves and challenging seasons, but also the incredible relationships and opportunities that come with that life. Read more>>

Myron Owens

Ok well I go by Bari. My Muslim name is jabbari. On social media everybody know me as DancingBari. I been dancing all my life since I can remember. As I got older it wasn’t a spot I wouldn’t dance at bus stop, on break from work, subway station, etc.. Read more>>

Blima Ehrentreu

I started The Designers Group with one belief that has never changed: **the spaces people spend their lives in should make those lives better.** When I started the firm, that idea was more of a philosophy than a business strategy. I built TDG project by project, often taking on projects that other designers overlooked. Read more>>

TeVaun Ferris

My first hoodie wasn’t even made by me, my sister made it for me around 2018-2019. That hoodie that was made was posted for Christmas and once it was posted everyone wanted to know where they can get one so i started selling them. It went from one hoodie to shirts to hoodies and joggers. Read more>>

Anitra Green

I was a social worker for over 20 years and had thought about being an entrepreneur at some point. I spent most of my career providing counseling to children and supporting families. I decided in Covid to take a leap of faith seeing the need for mental health when the world was collectively mourning and launched Taylormade Behavioral Health Solutions. Read more>>

Brandon De’Sean

I got started by being in 2 groups with a different name and then changing my name to what is today and getting affiliated with another, those gave me my start officially. Growing up in my house hold I was exposed to different genres of music so that helped me a lot. Read more>>

Tokunbo Ashorobi

I worked for a company that had this awesome wellness program and I redeemed my points for an Amazon gift card and I just thought to myself that I should buy some baking supplies because I was bored and that was all she wrote. This was in 2017 Read more>>

Yevheniia Storozhuk

All my life, I was told I was more of a math person than a creative mind. But ever since middle school, I loved dressing up, doing makeup with my girlfriends, and taking the most creative pictures ever after. I didn’t see it as creativity back then. But now I think that little creative spark was probably the first sign of my interest in makeup. Read more>>

Trinice Fabunmi Osuntoyin McNally-Hair

My name is Trinice Ìyá Fábùnmí McNally, and I am a multidisciplinary artist, educator, social impact strategist, spiritual leader, coach, and Ph.D.student whose work centers healing, culture, and collective liberation. Born in London to Jamaican parents and raised in Miami, I have spent much of my life exploring how communities heal, build power, and sustain themselves in the face of systemic inequity. Read more>>

Chris Bingham

My story with Tambo really began long before either of us knew how much we would end up needing each other. I spent much of my career in law enforcement and K9 operations, eventually serving as a K9 commander and later moving into leadership roles. Over the years, I worked with several incredible dogs and saw firsthand what these animals are capable of. Read more>>

Shena (Sam) McEachern-Smith

My story has always been rooted in style, even before I had the language to understand what it meant to me. Growing up, fashion became a way for me to feel seen, confident and in control of how I showed up in the world. I experienced bullying in high school, and getting dressed became more than putting on clothes. It was armor. It was expression. Read more>>

Fatimah Christian

I started doing hair when I was just 10 years old. As a young girl, I began teaching myself how to braid by practicing on my own hair. My mom had the challenging task of keeping my hair and my sisters’ hair done, so I decided to start learning for myself. It wasn’t easy at first, but the more I practiced, the better I became. Read more>>

Jazman Fendall

All things beauty just seemed to come naturally to me from a very young age. I remember using a curling iron to curl my Bratz doll’s hair, and looking back, I think that was one of the first things that sparked my interest in the beauty industry. I guess you could say it runs in my blood. Read more>>

Jenay Scribner-Brown

My journey started at the intersection of high-stakes execution, community leadership, and personal restoration. I first stepped into the public space as a blogger, speaker, and content creator under MindfullJae – working as a natural hair influencer and brand ambassador. I led and contributed to conversations on self-acceptance and navigating corporate spaces authentically—all while building a demanding career in enterprise project management. Read more>>