As far as Health Innovators go, Ron Robinson has cemented his place in the ever-shifting beauty landscape as a go-to-guy for all things skincare. He created BeautyStat first as a blog, and now as a successful skincare line. Along with BeautyStat, Ron has a social media following where he helps his audience navigate which ingredients work and which ones don’t. But looking back, Ron tells us his career journey wasn’t always a given to those who knew him from the beginning. Growing up, there were two options in Ron’s family: be a doctor or a lawyer. When Ron strayed from the path that had been la ..read more

We are so excited to be diving deeper into the Health Innovations theme with Dr. Jennifer Linder, board certified dermatologist, Mohs Skin Care Surgeon and founder of Linder Health. As a military kid, Dr. Linder was keenly aware that life can change in an instant, so she learned how to adapt. Science became a huge part of her life, leading her to study engineering in college which scratched a problem-solving itch. The next piece of the puzzle was helping people. Well, living people… Dr. Linder took a physiology class where she worked with-wait for it-cadavers. Did someone say spooky season? Bu ..read more

We couldn’t think of a better way to kick off our Health Innovations Series than with Alan D. Widgerow, Chief Scientific Officer at Galderma and Head of Innovation at Alastin Skincare. Alan began his career in South Africa, where he was in private practice for over 20 years. He is currently Division Chief of Research at UC Irvine Medical Center and it’s evident from speaking with him that his passion lies in the laboratory. But interestingly enough, he might have never ended up there if not for a fateful phone call… Alan was all set to go into a career in dentistry when a phone call quite lit ..read more

We know and love our latest guest Ian Michael Crumm from his podcast BeautyCurious, so we couldn’t wait to dig into the career journey of this esthetician and fellow podcaster. Ian first took an interest in skincare as a teen when, struggling with his own skincare concerns he sought out the help of a dermatologist and eventually subscribed to an online dermatologist’s journal. Ian started an “online journal” of his own in high school when he began blogging. By the time Ian was in college, his lifestyle blog had taken off: Ian was getting subscribers of his own and even seeing paid advertisers ..read more

Growing up in a family restaurant, Giovanni Vaccaro was accustomed to the hospitality industry, but at a young age he realized that he was destined for a different type of hospitality. An experience at a hair salon watching the transformation women underwent in the chairs from slouching to smiling after a beauty treatment left him feeling that this was a world he needed to be a part of.  While Gio knew where he wanted to be, how to get there was a different story. Gio tells us of a moment that changed everything: a recruiter from a top salon had come to his cosmetology school-here was an ..read more

Most kids dread going to get their first haircut. There’s usually a bribe involved, maybe some tears, definitely a worn-out stylist by the end of it all. Ian Mayer-Marszalek, Lead Colorist & National Corporate Trainer for Schwarzkopf Professional on the other hand, looks back on those childhood trips to the salon fondly. Ian remembers feeling special sitting in that chair, like he had found a place he fit right in, knowing this was something he wanted to be a part of.  Ian was a natural at beauty school-where there may or may not have been some perm rod fights-but knew for certain tha ..read more

When Kia Ragland says she has “the perfect eye”, she’s not kidding. Kia has been tested for nuances in the way her eyes detect color, and it should come as no surprise that the Director of Product Development at Kylie Cosmetics is a shade above the crowd when it comes to spotting the differences in say, Ruby Woo and Dior 999. Kia tells us she got into the beauty game early on, but it was slightly out of necessity. As a bi-racial woman in a predominantly white area, she learned how to do her own hair and makeup in the 4th grade, and from there an interest grew in learning how the products she w ..read more

When Makeup Artist and On-Air Beauty Expert Neil Scibelli says that he feels like he has already lived several lifetimes, we can understand why: from hosting a radio show in 3rd grade, auditioning for Tony Bennett in junior high school, to talking his way into a job at Fresh Skin Care- he has clearly shown persistence and a passion for the entertainment and makeup industries.  We loved chatting with Neil about his journey to becoming a well-respected on-air personality, often seen on Good Morning America- where one of his earliest gigs was doing makeup for Beyoncé’s dancers and band! But ..read more

One of the things we’re learning throughout our Influencer Journey Quarter is the focus Influencers place on education. All of the Influencers we’ve spoken with have been so passionate about educating their audiences and that brings us to none other than Monae Everett: Celebrity Hairstylist, Author, & Diversity, Equity Inclusion Consultant.  Monae’s career journey has led her from newcomer to the world of cosmetology to becoming an industry leader. Not only does Monae have over 20 years of experience, she is the founder of the Monae Life Academy; an online academy teaching how to styl ..read more

We were so thrilled to welcome skin and hair obsessed influencer Amy Chang to the podcast to discuss her career journey. As Amy’s 1.6 million TikTok followers know, Amy is refreshingly candid about everything from her skincare routine, motherhood, to her own adoption journey - she’s even an ambassador for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption! WBMB listeners at all stages of their careers will appreciate hearing Amy’s path from being in her 20’s, from not knowing what she wanted to do with her life to getting on social media, teaching herself photography, editing, lighting and slowly but sur ..read more