Send us Fan Mail 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 Audio Karate, performing at backyard shows and local venues in El Monte and Baldwin Park. In 2001, Audio Karate signed with Kung Fu Records, releasing two full-length albums, touring internationally, and performing on Warped Tour and Warpe...
Sep 1
1 hr 3 min
Send us Fan Mail 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 operational leadership spans the nonprofit, cultural, and higher education sectors, including senior management roles at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Pacific Oaks College & Children's School, and Southern California Public Medi...
Aug 25
1 hr 5 min
Send us Fan Mail 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 designs, builds, and programs competitive robots to participate in international challenges organized by the FIRST® Robotics Competition. Dedicated to fostering engagement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the organ...
Aug 11
55 min
Send us Fan Mail 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 project at local night markets in 2018 before establishing a physical storefront. The cafe specializes in house-made tofu pudding, soy milk drinks, and snacks while operating as a gathering place for car enthusiasts and anime fans. In thi...
Aug 4
59 min
Send us Fan Mail 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 apparel brand centered on resilience, discipline, and self-belief. Grounded in the work ethic and core values taught by his parents, he established his career and business while overcoming the socioeconomic obstacles of his environment. This...
Jul 28
52 min
Send us Fan Mail 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 career that took her far from her expected path in life. In this episode, Ada shares the story of how an unexpected trip West led to her groundbreaking career in the thoroughbred racing industry. She discusses her guest appearances on Late...
Jul 21
1 hr 2 min
Send us Fan Mail 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 Podcast in a widely viewed episode about her Japanese American identity and upbringing, and returns in this follow-up conversation to share more stories from her life in the SGV. In this episode, Michelle talks about growing up in the "SJ"...
Jul 14
1 hr 9 min
Send us Fan Mail 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 basketball for a Japanese league, and playing baseball for a Monterey Park team. His interest in automotive culture began in his youth, sparked by the mini truck cruising scene of the late 1980s. During his senior year of high school, he...
Jul 7
55 min
Send us Fan Mail 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 through Skid Row in 2011 set him on a path from volunteer to full-time advocate. He first founded Monday Night Mission, a grassroots effort that served up to 250 meals a night to people experiencing homelessness on Skid Row, before co-found...
Jun 30
1 hr 4 min
Send us Fan Mail 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 and Cruising J-Town: Japanese American Car Culture In Los Angeles. In 2025, he served as the project curator for the exhibition Cruising J-Town: Behind the Wheel of the Nikkei Community, which was produced by the Japanese American National Museum...
Jun 23
1 hr 36 min
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