Winning comes in so many different forms that it’s hard to define, but you know it when you see it. The CanvasRebel community is filled with so many incredible folks who have overcome long odds, challenged the status quo and won. Below, you’ll find stories of these winners along with much of the accumulated wisdom on what it takes to succeed.

Kendyl Leuck

One of my favorite things to do in the morning is pick out my outfit. When COVID hit, that didn’t change—it just prompted me to start taking photos of them. Since March 2020, I’ve been documenting my weekly outfits, which ultimately sparked an idea I’d been sitting on for years: using my name as a pun for a business. Read more>>

Laura Kaiser

After working in banking for over 20 years, I moved over to the non-profit sector and started handling their social media accounts. Many of the member companies and attendees would notice the increased engagement and updated content and ask how I could help them, so I started Engage Social Media in 2018 as a side project. My first real client was an huge international company, and the first year working with them allowed me to pay off my student loans. I gained real confidence with that client, and the j0urney from bare scratch to finished project encouraged me to continue. Read more>>

Avidon M. Respes

If I were to go through my complete story we would be here for ages so let me give you the most important details.

Even though the brunt of my experience would happen in my later years, my life-long dreams had been planted well before I even knew the importance of them. Read more>>

Katie Savarise

My path has been unique, but each step has provided me with valuable experience that has shaped NOVA today. In college I studied Mechanical Engineering and thought I would land a job working for a tech company. However, after graduation I realized that I loved the project management aspects of work more than the technical pieces, so I quickly pivoted and applied to MBA programs for Project Management. I also knew that I loved the sports industry after growing up watching my dad manage venues, so my hope was to find a way to integrate that into my career. I was very lucky to discover and be a part of the Sports Management MBA Program at George Washington University, which gave me the perfect blend of traditional MBA classes and sports-specific education. Read more>>

TugsOyun Davaadorj

My journey is one of resilience, ambition, and an unwavering commitment to creating meaningful impact. Born and raised in Mongolia, she grew up with an insatiable curiosity and a passion for learning, which ultimately led her to explore the worlds of finance, business, and beauty. Her story is not just about personal success but about breaking barriers, uplifting others, and redefining the beauty industry through innovation and sustainability. Read more>>

Steve Laureti

I started playing piano at five, learning the basics through formal lessons. But by seventh grade, I was bored with Mary Had a Little Lamb and drawn to the music my uncles played—Billy Joel, Elton John, and the blues. I spent hours dissecting Billy Joel songbooks, which led me to study jazz piano with the renowned Rick Montalbano in Rome, New York. Read more>>

Jamie Torres & Tia Beliso’

We’re Tia and Jamie of The Wonder Brew – Online Business Management. We simplify client-led business systems while hyping up the women who bet on themselves in building the business they always dreamed of.

We’re real-life besties, turned business besties! We both have a background in corporate administration and project management and ended up working together building systems and managing teams in the coffee industry for several years. When the pandemic hit and it left our futures in the food industry uncertain, we noticed the demand for virtual assistance and realized we could translate our skills as a team online. So in 2021, The Wonder Brew was born! Read more>>

Lubeera

Growing up, my mother was an actress in local ghetto club in Katanga ,(Katanga is a slum). Her younger sister was a student at makerere university pursuing Music Dance and Drama and at the same time my elder sister in her vacation used to work at the theatre where I encountered many actors, actresses and musicians. That is where the seed for performing arts was imparted on me and I never missed any school drama activity. Read more>>

Gabriel Pearson

Gabriel Pearson, professionally known as MixedByGabriel, is a Billboard-charting Mixing & Mastering Engineer and music producer based in Brooklyn, New York. With over 8 years of experience shaping the East Coast sound, Gabriel has earned a reputation for his signature low-end mixing style and bouncy, catchy production, making him a sought-after name in the music industry. Read more>>

Heather Browning

I was born and raised in Sacramento, CA, but I’ve always dreamed of being a woman of the world and living a life that felt free and expansive. Yet, I found myself following the path that society laid out—one centered on college, career, and upward mobility. For 14 years, I worked in higher education, pursuing a career that looked great on paper but left me mentally, physically, and spiritually drained. Living a seemingly successful life, I realized I wasn’t finding joy, fueling my soul, nor tapping into my true purpose and potential. Following what I “should” do made me lose sight of my true desires, prompting me to stop playing by someone else’s rules. Read more>>

Kathryn Rivard

We’re two creative souls who found our true calling in the world of jewelry design. Both graduates of the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia with BFAs in Jewelry and Metalsmithing, we share a deep love for history and antique jewelry. Though we graduated five years apart, fate brought us together in 2014 when we began a nine-year collaboration in the bridal jewelry industry. Read more>>

Margeve Horgan

My journey has been anything but conventional. For most of my professional life, I worked in sales and hospitality, where I learned a lot about marketing, client relations, and the dynamics of business. While I’m grateful for those experiences, I never felt aligned with the products or services I was promoting. There was always a sense of something missing. I remember saying to myself, “I’m too comfortable. I need change.” So, I left a comfortable, financially stable career, to travel the world, hoping to find what I was passionate about. For five years, I traveled off & on, feeling professionally lost but discovering more about myself in the process. Read more>>

Celeste Croteaux

I began pursuing photography during the COVID-19 pandemic, while I was taking my university courses online. I was halfway through my degree, studying painting. I was dealing with a chronic illness and navigating that with the threat of a new virus nobody knew much about was difficult. Since I could not risk going to stores, bars, or any of the other normal things I would be doing before the pandemic hit, I went to very remote places and took photos instead. I was among the first group of the general public to get vaccinated, and once I was fully vaccinated I started traveling around New Mexico, where I live, and began visiting historic sites with my camera. I ended up taking photography more seriously after graduating and began getting selected for juried exhibitions across the country. Read more>>

Chiara Townley

I was born and raised in Italy. After graduating, I moved to London, where I met the love of my life. It was love at first sight, but the relationship was complicated, mainly because of the long distance and visa issues. We even broke up at some point. This relationship tested my mental and emotional health and my resilience, but eventually, we got our happy ending. I moved to the United States and got married in 2014. We had our first child in 2019. Motherhood was a challenging transition for me. I had a traumatic birth and postpartum depression and anxiety. I didn’t heal through traditional therapy but by deeply connecting with my body with the guidance of the chakra system. I healed using somatic practices and energy work. Read more>>

Kiran

Incloosiv Foods began as a mother’s quest to transform her children’s breakfast routine into something both nutritious and delicious. As a mom of three young kids, I wanted to provide them with a healthy start to their day before they headed off to school. For too long, our mornings relied on Eggo waffles and buttery bagels, which left me feeling like I could do better for their growing bodies. Read more>>

Lily Pierce

For as long as I can remember, I have always struggled with anxiety, and I have always felt emotions very deeply. Having deep sensitivity is a strength. However, it can also make sorting through difficult experiences all the more complicated, and it causes me a lot of panic. In high school and college, I suffered from various mental health issues that at times were debilitating. Many of my struggles manifested into an eating disorder that I used to cope with trauma and extreme emotional settings. It became the thing I was most dependent on, and in the process, became the thing that isolated me from my loved ones, and all my hopes and dreams. Read more>>

Justin Puppe

Hello my name is Justin Puppe and my journey with fungi started at the age of 17 years old. I was sitting in my room, casually listening to the Joe Rogan Experience podcast featuring Paul Stamets. Stamets went into much detail about fungi and the fascinating things that they can do. I had never really thought about mushrooms or their role in the world. Hearing about what possibilities they hold for our future sparked something deep within me. At that moment, I knew I had found a new passion that I wanted to explore. Read more>>

Jess White

I started off making music when I was in third grade– from throwing together little sound loops I found online, to eventually recording my own tracks in my bedroom. Now, I have a little, portable home studio I pack around with me.

I’ve been releasing my music under “common occurrence!” since early high school, around the middle of my Junior year. I never meant to keep the project going, but eventually I found a dreampop / indie rock sound that I really liked– and decided to keep going. The original idea of “common occurrence!” was just to make music that I liked, and I’m glad it turned into something more. Read more>>

Liz Brunner

My career journey spans multiple chapters and industries. I’m currently in what I call my “4th professional chapter” having begun my career as a high school music teacher and singing semi-professionally. When I left teaching, I worked in retail for a brief spell. My next chapter was a 28-year career as an Emmy Award winning TV main news anchor and reporter in three different markets, the last 20-years at ABC-TV, WCVB NewsCenter 5 in Boston where I conducted exclusive interviews with prominent figures: professional athletes, global political leaders, including President Barack Obama and cultural icons such as Oprah Winfrey. Read more>>

Jerry Carrillo

Last year in January, my partner Marlon and I decided to start a podcast. We sat down to brainstorm ideas and came up with the name “Wait, What Podcast?” Afterward, we began figuring out what we needed to get started. For recording, we had one good camera, one old video camera, and an iPhone. For microphones, we ordered some inexpensive wireless mics. A week later, we recorded our first episode. Read more>>

Kim Alemian

My father accepted a job with Gillette in the early 60s which required traveling overseas. My mother had the travel bug and was thrilled. Dad went on ahead and my mom packed up us four kids all under the age of 5 and headed to Hong Kong. Our first foreign adventure. I was always playing with crayons, creating pictures and making dolls out of Coke bottles. We had plenty of dolls, but somehow the challenge of creating a figure out of a Coke bottle and clothing it was intriguing. The bottles had a built in waist and a place to change hair styles at the top of it. Our next stop was Thailand. A land of exquisite beauty everywhere. Read more>>

Becky Nieves

My name is Becky, a wife, mom of 4, and a Cycle Breaking Empowerment Coach. How did I get here? I am also the eldest daughter of. narcissist and an enable. I went no contact with my parents six years ago due to them repeatedly disrespecting my boundaries, my parenting, and jeopardizing my childrens’ health. This was after many years of smaller stints of no contact and attempting to fix and renegotiate the relationship. It was one of the hardest but most freeing things that I have ever done, and I understand that it is not for everyone. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and have a significant amount of life experience as a rare disease parent, a parent of nuerodivergent children, and all through my own journey through depression and anxiety. Read more>>

Sonia Redfern

When I applied to university as an astronomy and physics major, I of course had to write an essay about why I was interested in the subjects. I almost couldn’t believe it was something I had to explain. Astronomy represented to me an unending exploration into how stars are made, how we are made, and how everything that ever was has come to be and is connected down to a subatomic level. Who wouldn’t want to know more about that? Read more>>

Barbara Kamba-Nyathi

After my cervical cancer diagnosis in 2009, I am only realising it in retrospect, I went into survival mode and my life became all about my making it to the next moment. From the time of diagnosis up to now, I have been through some of the craziest experiences, both physically and emotionally. I had 14 surgical operations (2009-2018), I was deaf for 9 months in 2012, I started running marathons to prove to the world, to myself and most importantly to my then husband that I was still ‘normal’. Of course this was self destruction of the highest order, how could I be so unkind to my already struggling body, but back then it was important that I was seen as ‘normal’. Read more>>

Julie Jamison

I got into the industry of Interior Design by accident in a sense (nothing is ever an accident though is it?).

About 15 years ago, I was feeling unfulfilled even though I had accomplished so much… I had landed my dream job of HR Director, was married, with 3 kids at the time – now 4, home owner and more, but the job that I thrived in for so many years was killing my soul slowly. Read more>>

Shauna McQueen

I was born and raised in Oakland, CA. My growing up in Oakland wasn’t the easiest. I lived in a poor, single-parent household. My mother passed when I was young. Sometimes, we would run out of food. I remember some instances of opening and closing the fridge repeatedly, hoping that food would magically appear if I wished hard enough. Read more>>

Sherry Ellingson

My story is long and it started at a young age. However when I decided the move in to having my own business was shortly after I was laid off my corporate job during the financial crisis in 2010. I wanted to help women owned service businesses as a consultant to improve their financial bottom line. Read more>>

Doug Foltz

I’ve been drawing and painting since I was kid and that’s what I do now – that’s how people know me. But more importantly I think… I’ve been exploring. Not just the amazing salty, coastal places I’ve been lucky enough to know… but the way those places – and the challenges they represent – make me feel. Read more>>

Erica Davis

Crank Queens Boise was founded in 2019 by mountain biker, wellness coach, and community builder, Erica Davis. Crank Queens exists to empower women and create community through mountain biking.

Erica launched Crank Queens with the simple goal to build more opportunities for women to ride together. A novice mountain biker herself, and new to Boise, Erica was looking for opportunities to build both her riding skills, and her community. Erica is passionate about empowering women to reach their highest potential. (Learn more about her coaching services here.) Read more>>

Felicia Howe

Felicia’s lifelong passion for plants and flowers began during her childhood on a community family farm in the lush, forested coastal range of central Oregon. From an early age, she developed a deep love for nature and felt intuitively connected to the fragrant herbs and flowers that grew around her, absorbing their essences and communing with their spirits. She was enrapt by stories of her family’s lineage and their history as farmers in the region. She felt especially drawn to tales of her third great-grandmother, who owned The Snake River Dahlia Farm in Ontario, Oregon in the 1920’s. As she pored over the farm’s old catalogs featuring colorful hand-drawn illustrations of the varieties they grew, she felt a connection to both her ancestry and to the flowers themselves. Read more>>

Darby Baham

Probably like many writers, I’ve been in love with the written word for as long as I can remember. It’s how I’ve always best expressed myself, how I’ve come to understand the world around me, how I’ve explored all the emotions that come with being an overthinker and an oldest daughter, and so much more. It wasn’t until my first job as the high school sports reporter for the daily newspaper in New Orleans, however, that I realized my passion could be used for more than just my personal expressions. Read more>>

Kendra Griffen

I have always been a huge nerd. It wasn’t until I was around the age of 13 when I saw people were building entire costumes and props from my favorite games, movies, and tv shows which was when I was finally introduced to cosplay. I watched hundreds of tutorials of helmets, armor, blasters, etc and finally decided to stop waiting and go for it. My first prop was a Lightsaber which involved visiting the plumbing section of Home Depot with my mom in tow. With a sink drain, pvc, flashlight, and electrical tape in hand I went home and built my very first prop. 8 years later now have about 14 completed costumes and each has taught me valuable lessons which I bring to each challenge I face during new builds. Read more>>

Dannis Winston

I began my journey as an emcee, singer, and dancer at bar and bat mitzvahs, where I discovered my passion for bringing events to life. From there, I quickly climbed the ranks—first to talent coordination, then event management, and eventually full-scale event producing. Every step of the way taught me the skills and grit I needed to build and run my own live entertainment, production, and event coordination agency. It’s been an incredible ride, and it all started on the dance floor! Read more>>

Tawny

My photography journey began in 2018 when my son was born. A coworker recommended newborn photos, and after experiencing that session, I started seeing seasonal photo recommendations. I didn’t want to miss a single moment. At the time, my son’s dad was in school, and while I was working as a nurse, we had to be mindful of spending. So, I picked up a camera and taught myself everything I could through YouTube. Read more>>

Star Spann

In my last interview with CanvasRebel I talked about how I first got into music, But here I’ll share about how I became a singer. I first started singing when I was 12 years old. I lacked any sort of natural vocal talent, but loved music deeply and asked my parents to put me in voice lessons. Truly, my main motivation was that I desperately wanted to sound like Cass Elliot. I began working with a wonderful voice teacher named Mariah Snow. After four months of lessons I had my first voice recital, I had such horrible stage fright and still lacked any sort of natural vocal ability, that my performance was disastrous. Read more>>

Beth Buffington

I am Beth Buffington. A creative who loves to collect and wear different artistic hats.

I’m podcaster, a creative coach, a digital illustration instructor, and a licensed artist who illustrates and designs surface patterns and products for both the home décor and gift industry. Read more>>

Roc Gray

Although I always knew I wanted to be the owner of a performance training company it wasn’t until my senior year in college that things became “real.” In 2015, my eligibility to play football ran out, as I was transferring for the second time so I began training at a sports performance gym in hopes to try out for the CFL. I needed an internship, so I communicated with the owners, and they offered me an opportunity. After watching me train on my own a couple of times during open gym hours because I couldn’t afford their programming, they immediately offered me a job. Since then, I have been in strength and conditioning learning, growing and making an impact. Read more>>