We welcome Alexandros & Christophoros to the show! They are the founders of To Kinima Tou Ethnous, a Greek Diaspora organization that seeks to leverage Greece's greatest natural resource, its people, to influence Greek politics and involve the diaspora in the political process of Greece.
We welcome Maria C. Miles to the show! Maria is an attorney and the founder of an entertainment law practice with offices in New York. Her practice focuses on all areas of entertainment law, including film, music, literary publishing, and new media. She is the president of the board of the Hellenic Film Society USA and previously served on the board of New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT). She is Adjunct Professor of Entertainment Law at the School of Visual Arts, the Feirstein Graduate School for Cinema and NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Entertainment Lawyer Mary Miles
We welcome Demetri Thomas to the show! Demetri Thomas grew up in beautiful sunny Los Angeles, but you won’t mistake his songs for breezy summertime fare. Demetri writes from the point of view of a hard working Country Music artist, bringing a new perspective and incisive wit to his tales of relationships gone wrong as well as the joys of being in love. With an easy listening Greek voice trained on the classics, he combines vintage sound with modern country and crossover material to thrilling effect. Kick back and join us!
Greek Country Music Singer Demetri Thomas
We catch up with the incredible Evangelia to chat about all things, especially her new US tour that is kicking off this summer!
Singer \ Artist Evangelia
We welcome Dimitra of Dimitra's Dishes to the show! Dimitra grew up in a traditional Greek family in New York. All of their meals were homemade and every happy gathering took place around a table full of delicious food that was shared with loved ones. Her summers were spent visiting family on the beautiful island of Crete and are filled with memories of getting together with grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles in a laid-back happy setting, again, sharing homemade food while creating memories and traditions that now she now gets to pass down to her children.
Dimitra of Dimitra's Dishes
We welcome Stella to the show! Stella is a proud mother of 2 boys, a wife, and a mom to her puppy Chloé! She is a banking executive, with over 30 years of experience, where her passion is to inspire the will to win & reach new heights!
Stella Tsarnas of Stellinides United
We sat down with acclaimed photographer Nick Bourdo to discuss his life, his work, and what the Hellenic culture means to him. Through his amazing artistic photographic eye, Nick is one of the great promoters of Hellenism and we were happy to discuss all things Greek with him. Join us!
Photographer Nick Bourdaniotis
We welcome the very funny Peter Kypri to the show. Peter, also known as Cypriot Smurf, has a unique background and upbringing have had a profound influence on his perspective and creative endeavors. Born in London to a Greek Cypriot father and an Italian mother, he grew up in a multicultural household that was steeped in a rich tapestry of traditions, languages, and idiosyncrasies. However, it was at the age of 11 that his life took a significant turn as he moved to Cyprus, a move that would shape his sense of humor and artistic expression.
Peter Kypri AKA Cypriot Smurf
We welcome the super cool Peter Nikkos to the show! Peter currently resides in Los Angeles with his lovely wife, RID Certified American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreter, Eva Tingley. Born in the small village of Karyes, near Sparta, Greece, he immigrated with family to Chicago and was educated in the Windy City's public school system attending Lane Technical High School and James Monroe Elementary School. The first in a family of five to graduate from college, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from North Park University while receiving professional consideration following an exemplary college soccer career. Strong theatre, improv and on-camera training brought him to the west coast, where significant onscreen work includes DESERT DAWN (Al Bravo Films), RUTHLESS (Premiere), FIRE BORN (Independent), BLACK WARRANT (Premiere), BLOWBACK (Premiere), ENCOUNTER (Amazon), AMERICAN CRIME STORY: VERSACE (FX), THE LAST SHIP (TNT) and TIME TRAVELING BONG (Comedy Central). Los Angeles stages have…
Actor / Writer / Producer Peter Nikkos
Zafirios Georgilas is a writer, musician, voiceover artist, and content creator born in Vancouver, Canada, who spent part of his childhood in his father’s northern Greek village. He later moved to London, England, but returned to Vancouver in between sojourns in New York and Montreal. Georgilas has a BA in English Literature (with additional studies in Classical Greek and Latin) from the University of British Columbia and an MA in Publishing from the University of the Arts London.
Author, Musician, & Dreamer Zafirios Georgilas
We welcome Instagram superstar Yannis Dimoulis to the podcast. Yanni was born and raised in Chicago as a first generation Greek American. He studied Mechanical Engineering and went to grad school for Product Design / Design Research. While his 54thirty profile was started as a novelty t-shirt side hustle, he started making memes as a way to advertise the novelty shirts and eventually the comedy began to overtake the merchandise. He says, "I didn't really feel like the Greek comedy scene on the internet really reflected my experience as a Greek American and so I started to try to fill that void from early on. I love 54thirty as a tool for connecting to people (both personally, and helping others connect to one another). I also love to elevate talented Greeks who don't get the shine I feel they deserve."
Instagrammer & Designer Yannis Dimoulis of 54thirty
We hung out with the wonderful & talented Arianna Papalexopoulos. A San Francisco native of Greek and Italian descent, Arianna currently resides in West Hollywood, California. Arianna trained at the American Conservatory Theater (ACT) in San Francisco and then made her move to Los Angeles where she graduated from UCLA's School of Theater, Film, and Television. After graduation, she studied with Groundlings, Lesly Kahn, and Tess Kirsch. She has performed at SF Sketchfest with San Francisco's comedy troupe, Killing My Lobster, and her latest voice over booking was for Uber Safety.
Actress, Filmmaker, & Influencer Arianna Papalexopoulos
Welcome Jenny and Eleonora of Grandpa J's Seasoning! Jenny Siormanolakis is long tenured in the food industry, with her family owned and operated one of the “longest running single family owned & operated establishments from 1973-2014. Her first job was standing on milk crates working in the dish pit. Working all through school and college, she always helped the family business. She is always to be relied on to come up with an extremely clever solution to difficult problems.
Jenny & Eleonora of Grandpa J's Seasoning
We welcome a titan of media, the incomparable George Veras. A former Chief Operating Officer, Chief of Staff & Executive Producer of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, among many other achievements. Prior to joining the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his production company Veras Commuications Inc produced and managed world-renown musician Yanni. He produced and directed the PBS record breaking television specials, “Yanni Live at the Acropolis” and then for the first and only time in history, “Yanni Live at the Taj Mahal” and “Yanni Live at the Forbidden City”, the first time ever a Western artist performed at both venues. He managed and promoted Yanni worldwide, including “Live at the Taj Mahal” and “Live at the Forbidden City”, which launched a 100-city, two-year tour “Tribute” grossing more than $150 million. He produced for NBC Sports 2 Winter Olympics and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, awarded two National Sports Emmys. VCI produced and marketed over 100…
George Veras
We welcome entrepreneur, investor, consultant, and board member Irina Kapetanakis to the show! Irina possesses a unique skill set having helped Fortune 500 businesses drive top-line sales and revenue growth. She has a keen understanding of not only the sales process but what is needed to create an environment that fosters high growth by optimizing processes to achieve results. As a fan of Simon Sinek, she believes that to be a great leader, one needs to continuously define the “why” for every single individual on the team. When people work with purpose, they feel empowered, motivated, and satisfied.
Irina Kapetanakis
Say hello to the awesome Tina Karras! It's amazing how one dream can give birth to another. Tina moved to Los Angeles with literally one guitar and two suitcases to pursue her dream of being a singer-songwriter. She paid rent by working in restaurants and eventually music venues. Little did she know that these day jobs would lead to the creation of Tina's Vodka.
Tina Karras of Tina's Planet Vodka
We chat with Modern Lusso founder Niko Kokkinos. Born in America but of Greek descent, Niko grew up in Annapolis, MD and frequently travels to Greece to visit friends and family. The Modern Lusso collections combine his love for the Greek summer lifestyle with his personal streetwear style.
Fashion Designer Niko Kokkinos
Join us for a great chat with Nick Livanos of the Livanos Restaurant Group. Nick grew up working in the family’s restaurants during the school year and spending his summers in Greece. Coming from a family of talented cooks and a long line of commercial fishermen, it didn’t take long for him to fall in love with food; the concepts of freshness and quality were the foundation of his culinary expertise. Nick graduated from Adelphi University with a bachelor’s degree in management, and his life changed when, on a whim, he decided to visit the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, and later enrolled. Today, Nick oversees the business of all Livanos restaurants.
Restaurateur Nick Livanos
What an amazing episode! We got to meet the absolutely awesome guys of KI Legal (not to mention Marathi Restaurant NYC) and took a deep dive into their collective story and how they got to where they are today. Join us as we hang out with Andreas Koutsoudakis & Michael Iakovou!
Andreas & Michael of KI Legal
We hang out with the amazing Olympia Papageorgiou! We learn more about her background history, and life. Olympia is an international singer and recording artist based in Atlanta, Georgia. Her music is a mix of multiple styles, such as R&B and International Pop. Her first single, Falling Apart, a reggeaton hit, was released in September of 2017. She then released her second single 8th Day, an R&B love song, on her 24th birthday in 2018. Releasing her biggest single, SALUD, in May 2019, she followed with her first music video for the international bop. Los Angeles-based blog, BuzzMusic, reviewed SALUD only weeks after its release, which led to Olympia being named “Top 10 Artists of 2019” by the popular blog. She has now released her single “No Titles” and it will have you dancing! Join us!
Olympia Papageorgiou
What could be better than having a glorious chat about gyro with a beautiful lady who happens to be an expert on gyro? Join us as we get to know Aussie Kelly Roditis aka the Gyros Queen! If you have access to good gyro, grab one and join us!
The Gyros Queen Kelly Roditis
We had an absolute blast hanging out with the super funny and talented Peter Kelamis! Born in Sydney, Australia and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Petr is an accomplished actor, voice actor and stand-up comedian. With over 160 credits, he is a well-recognized talent in the industry and has shared the screen with many Hollywood heavy weights. Some iconic voice-over work includes: Dragon ball-z "GOKU". Ed, Edd and Eddy as well as "Absolute Carnage" for Marvel Motion Comics. Peter has 2 comedy albums downloadable on all the major music platforms: "Best of Peter Kelamis Volume 1 & 2" and he has two recorded television comedy specials to his name.
Actor / Comedian / Voice Artist Peter Kelamis
We had a fantastic time hanging out with the amazing Anthony Skordi! Anthony is a British-American actor, known for his roles as Admiral Garrick Versio in Star Wars Battlefront II, and The Dealer in the Hand of Fate series of games. In addition to his voiceover work in video games, he has narrated audiobooks, and has worked on screen and stage as an actor, producer, and writer. He attended Drama Centre, London, and is a Royal Shakespeare Company member and a member of Vanessa Redgrave's 'Moving Theatre' company.
Anthony Skordi
We had the absolute pleasure of hanging out with one of the most amazing humans to walk (or should we say run?) the earth! Ultramarathon runner, author, amazing human, and awesome Greek Dean Karnazes! Just describing Dean doesn't do him justice, so watch/listen to our podcast, watch some of the multiple docuseries on him, and and then read his super interesting books to get a better idea of who this "superhuman" truly is! OPA!!