The Birth of Ambi'ance Magazine LA/ATL

n December 2011, a concept was born, and a platform implemented in a one-bedroom flat off La Brea

Avenue and Pico Blvd. in

Los Angeles. After working in community services for over twenty-five years, it was time to develop an aggregate of all the various entities experienced around the country. It had to be something 18 that would not only entertain but inform and eventually inspire.

This avant-garde cocktail would blend print social media, fashion, Hollywood entertainment, public service, standup comedy, and music into something totally different than Ebony, Jet, Essence, Sister2Sister or People magazines. The thing that set this vehicle apart from the other more established tabloids was that this would be a “People’s Magazine”. In other words, we would edify and illuminate the efforts of those creative individuals who were

trying to get to the top of the food chain. Our mission was to provide a platform for the actors, singers, writers, directors, producers, models, innovators, and visionaries both established or up and coming!

In the beginning we rarely highlighted the A-Listers or Hollywood’s elite (they found us). Originally, we centered around one of the more interesting and unsung professions in the country, Stand-Up Comedy! This eventually led to stints at the Comedy Store, Laugh Factory, Hollywood Improv, The J Spot, ACME Comedy, Flappers Comedy Club, Jon Lovitz Theater and the Comedy Union (which was just two blocks from my apartment).

Inevitably, the doors opened to some of Hollywood’s hottest stars. It wasn’t long before the likes of Steve Harvey, Marc Howard, Luenell, Earthquake, Kym Whitley, Cedric the Entertainer, Marla Gibbs, Red Grant, Queen Latifah, Snoop Dogg, Mike Epps, Hope Flood, Kevin Hart, A.J. Johnson, Myra J, Omar Gooding, T.C. Carson, Kim Coles, Schatar ‘Hottie’ Taylor, Doug Christie, Lamar Odom, and Tiffany ‘New York’ Pollard started extending invites to some of their most exciting events. Soon, Ambi’ance Magazine started gracing the celebrity red carpets of the People's Choice Awards, The Nokia Center, The H.O.M.E., The Beverly Hills Hotel, The Gracie Awards, The Crenshaw Christian Center, The American Heritage Awards, Academy Awards, Emmys, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Maver- 19

ick Flats, The Staples Center, The

St. Bonaventure Hotel, The Hilton

Bayfront, The California African

American Museum, Club Hola, The

Intercontinental Hotel, and The

Infusion Lounge at Universal City 20 just to name a few. Eventually because of the quality of work and the good reputation we garnered, invites began coming in from outside of SoCal (Southern California). Promoters from New York, Atlanta, Miami, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Houston, Chi-Town, and Columbia, South Carolina started calling. The “Peoples Magazine” had truly arrived! We were affordable, genuine, relatable, and accessible (online & hard copy purchases were available).

However, the true testimony of how far we came was revealed the night of our Ambi’ance Release Party & Fundraiser (held at the Hollywood Celebrity Center). Due to scheduling constraints we only had one weekend that would work for all the venders, silent auction participants, performers and MC. On top of that the Celebrity Center was booked solid for the next three months!

Ambi’ance was hot and we needed to strike while the iron was hot, so an executive decision was made to proceed with that weekend. Now, what was the problem with that weekend you ask? Well February 28th is the weekend of the Academy Awards show (one of the most 21

prestigious and popular events in the world). So, if you want to profit from an event that requires ticket sales revenue in a public arena, never schedule during weekends that conflict with The Academy Awards, 22 The Superbowl, NCAA March Madness, NBA Finals, The Emmys, The BET Awards, The ESPYS, or any MLB or NBA All-Star game (especially in Southern California). Despite this, Ambi’ance Magazine opened its doors at 2:00 pm to a generous crowd! Although we did not have standing room only, our audience was more than formidable. Several celebrities dropped by to congratulate and pay their respects. The silent auction was a success as was our celebrity after party (at Maverick Flats).

Our launch party not only defied the odds but it inspired us to raise the bar and create a more diverse stream of income (i.e. expand our celebrity red carpet services, implement collaborations with plus-size modeling agencies, create our own production and promotional service, and develop our own management and referral service.

Our most recent project was the inception of X’treme Nailz International, LLC and X-Nailz Magazine which dropped September 2020.

Next on tap is The Road Dogs Show (a Live Podcast starring Ronda “Mz. Kitty” Robinson & Mr. SwagNificent) 23