My SGV Podcast
Welcome to the My SGV Podcast. A show where you will hear personal stories of triumph over failures, and how others successfully navigated the unique landscape that is the San Gabriel Valley. What makes us different? Well, just like you, we have chosen the San Gabriel Valley for our home or businesses, or both. We believe it is the people and small businesses that make this community great and we love to share their stories with you. We always encourage your questions and feedback and you can find all of our contact information at sgvmasterkey.com.
Episodes
Live from the 626 Night Market at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, we wrap up the weekend with our Sunday compilation of interviews featuring local attendees, food creators, and San Gabriel Valley community members.
This compilation gives viewers and festivalgoers an inside look at the people, small businesses, and shared experiences that bring the SGV to life.
Subscribe to the MySGV Podcast and share th...
Live from the 626 Night Market at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, this special Saturday edition brings you more conversations with local residents. Captured right from the heart of the festival, these interviews highlight the vibrant energy, diverse voices, and unique stories that define the San Gabriel Valley.
Whether you are a local resident, a regular 626 Night Market attendee, or someone interested...
Live from the 626 Night Market at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, this special compilation features interviews with local residents, students, food entrepreneurs, and community members. Featured conversations include local entrepreneur Andrew Lee, founder of Zindrew Chili and Zindrew Wonton Shop, alongside local students, festival attendees, and an educator from the Garvey School District.
The episode explor...
OGK Joshua is a San Gabriel Valley native and independent recording artist raised in Covina, California. He played football at Charter Oak High School and the University of La Verne before serving in the United States Army as an 11 Bravo infantryman stationed at Fort Hood and deployed to Europe. Releasing music as an independent artist under the 626 Syndicate label, his discography includes tracks such as "Big God,"...
Justin Tran is a San Gabriel native and first-generation Chinese Vietnamese American born and raised in the San Gabriel Valley. Raised by his grandmother, mother, and older sister, he attended Gabrielino High School, where he participated in speech and debate, FBLA, and student clubs. He began working in corporate executive assistant roles at age 18 and earned his bachelor's degree in May 2025. In addition to his co...
Eric "Manny" Padilla is a film and television location manager born in Monterey Park, California, and raised in the San Gabriel Valley. Growing up in an apartment above a laundromat on New Avenue, he attended local schools including Emerson Elementary, Garvey Intermediate, and Mark Keppel High School. After moving to Burbank to pursue work in the entertainment industry, he built a career on major film and television...
Dr. Keith L. Marshall, PsyD, M.H.D., is the Founder, CEO, and Clinical Supervisor of Dedicato Treatment Center, a California Department of Health Care Services–certified substance use disorder treatment program specializing in co-occurring mental health conditions. Under his leadership, Dedicato earned The Joint Commission’s highest level of accreditation, placing it among approximately twenty-three perc...
Albert Wan is a San Gabriel Valley native, raised in Arcadia, and a second-generation business owner leading his family’s enterprise software company. After studying at UC Berkeley and working as a software engineer at Apple Inc., where he contributed to software projects including Chinese keyboards and CarPlay, he returned home in 2018. Today, he focuses on modernizing his family's business, which has provide...
Sandy Velasco is an LA-based artist born in the Philippines who earned a degree in Mathematics from UCLA and worked as an accountant before entering the entertainment industry. She has called the San Gabriel Valley home for over 15 years and has performed standup comedy on stage and film across California, Las Vegas, and internationally at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. In addition to her work with Los A...
Willington Liu is an actor featured in the Creation of the Gods trilogy (封神三部曲) and the founder of Creation Talent Academy (CTA), a performing arts institute based in Arcadia, California. Raised in the San Gabriel Valley, he built a background in competitive Latin dance before earning his BFA in acting from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). Through CTA, he offers youth instruction across acting, singin...
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, tou...
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 C...
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 scienc...
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...
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 ov...
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 ...
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.
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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...
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 ...
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...
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