In Search Of Excellence

Welcome to another episode of In Search of Excellence! My guest today is an incredible young man, Ian Boggs. Ian is one of the most successful influencers of all time. He has more than 30 million followers on YouTube, TikTok, Snap, and Instagram. His videos have been viewed more than 30 billion times.

Tune in to hear Ian talking about his childhood, education, and his journey from dreaming about being a doctor to becoming one of the most successful influencers online. Find out how he started doing what he loved, how his videos went viral, and how he gained millions of followers on social media. He also shares how he dealt with hateful comments and how he earns money as a social media creator.

Time stamps:

00:27 Ian’s background

• An American father who grew up in Kenya and a Japanese mother
• That helped him build his audience all around the world

01:55 Creating his first content

• His mother loved photography and had a camera
• Ian created content with Legos

04:06 What was Ian like as a kid?

• Introverted and super creative
• Learned that nothing comes for free
• Made money mowing lawns

07:22 The education and the shift in mindset

• AP classes in Italy
• Cheating on test
• Studying to be a doctor at UCI
• Decide to go a different route
• Switched to Media Studies

14:44 Cutting his own hair for a video

• Making fun of alpha males
• Started doing haircuts for $15
• Passionate about photography and videography
• Started earning money

19:32 Becoming a social media creator

• A dream of becoming a social media creator
• A video went viral
• Did live of himself sleeping
• Parents supported his dream

26:16 Hitting a million followers

• A million followers on Tik Tok
• Had a lot of anxiety
• Wasn’t happy about the content he was posting

28:49 Making the content he loved

• Going to California, starving, and working hard
• His father cut him off financially
• He decided to make the content he was happy about

31:31 Hateful comments

• He made some cringy content
• Bad comments gave him anxiety
• Learned to deal with it
• Engaging with comments on social media

35:10 Buying followers

• Bought followers are usually bots
• Fake followers are harmful
• Buying followers is a scammy business

38:57 How to make money on social media?

• Merch – selling different products
• Earning with AdSense on YouTube explained
• Brand deals - Marvel, Netflix, and Old Spice
• Affiliate marketing

Sponsors:
Sandee | Bliss: Beaches

Want to Connect? Reach out to us online!
Website | Instagram | LinkedIn

Welcome to part 2 of In Search of Excellence episode with a good friend of mine, Luc Robitaille! Luke is an NHL Hall of Famer and the highest-scoring left winger in NHL history, with 668 goals over his 19-season career.

In his first year in the league, Luc won the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year and then went on to become the only left wing in NHL history to record 8 consecutive 40-goal seasons.

Luc played 8 all-star games, won a Stanley Cup as a player with the awesome Detroit Red Wings in 2002, and 2 more Stanley Cups as an executive with the Los Angeles Kings.

He is giving back to his community through his Echoes of Hope Foundation.

Time stamps:

11:29 Becoming a Stanley Cup Champion

• A hard trophy to win
• As a free agent, went to the Detroit Red Wings
• Luc’s feelings during the game and after winning the cup

18:39 Giving away his best memorabilia

• A great party after winning the cup
• A poker night theme with giveaways
• Gave away the stuff he collected during his career

22:42 The NHL Hall of Fame

• It was very emotional
• Luc’s inspiring speech
• The reaction of his parents

26:28 The fear of failing makes you great

• If you're willing to push yourself, you're going to have success
• What do you do when no one's looking?

28:25 The importance of extreme preparation

• Luc was very disciplined
• Had to be sure he was prepared for every game
• He likes having a plan and sticking to it
• Picking the right marketing agency

34:10 How important is passion to our success?

• Passion is the most important thing
• Very few lucky people do a job that they're passionate about

36:34 Is luck an important ingredient of our success?

• You bring your luck through preparation
• Someone can open the door for you, but you have to prove yourself
• Work ethic and constant improvement

41:51 Being humble and kind

• Luke grew up in a humble family
• The lesson from his uncle
• How important is being kind and humble for our success?
• Very successful people are usually extremely humble
• Never forget where you came from

47:13 How important are coaches in hockey?

• Coaches in hockey are very important
• A coach has to make sure every player is involved

49:52 Giving back to the community

• It’s important to give back – money or time
• Helped numerous foundations
• Started a charity with his wife
• Started working with foster kids
• Helping them to stand on their feet

56:20 Fill in the blanks for excellence

• The biggest lesson I've learned in my life
  • Never give up
• My biggest regret is
  • Not spending enough time with family
• And more

Sponsors:
Sandee | Bliss: Beaches

Want to Connect? Reach out to us online!
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Welcome to another episode of In Search for Excellence! My guest today is my good friend Luc Robitaille! Luc is an NHL Hall of Famer who as a 19-year-old teenager went from being drafted in the 9th round (171st overall) to becoming the highest-scoring left winger in NHL history, with 668 goals over his 19-season career.

In his first year in the league, Luc won the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year and then went on to become the only left wing in NHL history to record 8 consecutive 40-goal seasons. Luc played 8 all-star games, won a Stanley Cup as a player with the awesome Detroit Red Wings in 2002, and two more Stanley Cups as an executive with the Los Angeles Kings. He is giving back to his community through his Echoes of Hope Foundation.

Time stamps:

01:23 Luc Robitaille’s family and background

• He had a great life but not a lot of money
• Worked at his dad’s scrap yard
• The value of manual labor

07:44 Earliest memories playing hockey

• A tennis ball was gold
• Made their own equipment for hockey
• His first memory holding a stick

11:13 The difference from other kids

• Practicing all the time to be better
• His mentality was all about hard work
• Sense of a game is hard to teach

14:57 Goals, dreams, and hard work

• Wanted to play Junior Major
  • That was what they could afford to watch
• He was up at 4:30 am to go to practice
• No one needed to ever push him for the next practice

19:50 Getting into the World Junior Championship

• Only 40 players were invited to make the team
  • He wasn’t called
• One of the players got injured and he got in
• That changed his life permanently

22:35 Getting drafted by the LA Kings

• NHL draft
• Projected to be a late-round draft pick
• The scouts said he was too small, didn't skate well, lacked hand-eye coordination
• He became the 171st pick
• The story about the draft and the pin

29:38 Moving to LA

• He wanted to focus on playing hockey only
• Stayed in the boarding house with Marcel Dionne
• Did nothing except training
• The nickname Lucky

35:18 The first game

• Wanted to be a part of making the LA Kings great
• Recalling the first game experience
• The excitement of his first score

39:17 The Rookie of the Year

• How did it feel to receive the award?
• Didn’t think he was going to win
• He was overwhelmed but moved on

41:18 A special bond with Jimmy Carson

• Jimmy came from a different background
• They had a special bond and practiced all the time
• The secret signal helped them score 15-20 goals
• Staying in the middle of the bench

45:30 Playing with Wayne Gretzky

• As a kid, he admired Wayne Gretzky
• Wanted to impress him more than to win
• When he came to the Kings, it was hard because he was his hero
• The coach took him from Wayne’s line because he was distracted

Sponsors:
Sandee | Bliss: Beaches

Want to Connect? Reach out to us online!
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Welcome to part 2 of our amazing conversation with Amberly Lago. Amberly is a peak performance coach, TEDx speaker, top 1% podcast host, motivational speaker, and a leading expert in the field of resilience, transformation, and health and wellness. She is also the bestselling author of the book True Grit and Grace, and the founder of Unstoppable Life Mastermind.

Amberly has an incredible life story and she is sharing pure gold advice on how to overcome life challenges, how to deal with trauma, and become resilient and successful.

Time stamps:

00:54 Randall’s emotional story about his heart attack

• Life-threatening situation and a traumatic experience
• Finding he had myocarditis
• Death of a close friend
• Asked by doctors if he was taking cocaine
• Grateful for being alive
• The power of endorphins

10:30 Hitting a rock bottom and suicidal thoughts

• Amberly was always a high achiever
• The pain became unbearable
• Alcohol numbed the pain
• It worked until it didn’t
• Became addicted to alcohol and went to rehab
• Didn’t want to live but had to endure because of her daughters

15:15 The importance of resilience

• We have to decide to take action and thrive
• Shifting perspective to gratitude
• Focusing on what you can do, not what you can’t
• Acceptance and being aware of who you are
• Connecting to a community – Success is built on relationships
• Resting is essential for resilience

21:08 The power of writing down our goals

• There is power in writing things down
• The story of Amberly’s book
• Randall’s thoughts on writing things down

24:36 Put yourself on the to-do list

• Amberly likes helping people and meeting their needs first
• It’s important to take care of yourself as well

28:33 Surround yourself with the right people

• Get rid of the doggie downers and stick with the puppy uppers
• Surround yourself with people who are passionate and go-getters
• Avoid energy vampires

21:28 We are all superheroes

• We all have superpowers and resilience in us
• It’s hard to become aware of that
• Focus on what brings you joy
• Gratitude practice and Amberly’s gratitude group
• A sense of purpose and giving service
• Ask people what your superpower is

37:25 Sexual abuse and its consequences

• Amberly was sexually abused by her stepfather
• Takes a lot of courage to tell someone
• Told her dad but he didn’t do anything
• At 23, she told that to her abusive husband
• Dealing with triggering situation
• Writing about the sexual abuse was very cathartic
• The importance of therapy

1:01:28 The importance of extreme preparation

• She was an athlete and a dancer
• Always worked very hard
• Preparing for a TEDx talk
• Preparation gives you confidence

51:16 What are the key ingredients for success?

• Know your Why
• Have a strong community
• Seek council not opinion
• Stick to your non-negotiables

54:28 Why do motorcyclists take so much risk?

• There’s nothing like a feeling of freedom while riding
• You are fully in the present
• Amberly’s husband stopped

Sponsors:
Sandee | Bliss: Beaches

Want to Connect? Reach out to us online!
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Welcome to another episode of In Search of Excellence! My guest today is the incredible Amberly Lago. When Amber was 38 years old, she was hit by an SUV while riding her Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

When she woke up from a coma, she learned that she had a 1% chance of saving her leg from being amputated. After the accident, she was diagnosed with an incurable nerve disease, lost her business, fell into a deep depression, and became an alcoholic.

Today Amberly is a peak performance coach, TEDx speaker, top 1% podcast host, motivational speaker, and a leading expert in the field of resilience, transformation, and health and wellness. She is also the bestselling author of the book True Grit and Grace, and the founder of Unstoppable Life Mastermind.

Time stamps:

02:05 Amberly Lago’s background

• A strict Texas mom and dancing classes
• The importance of instilling resilience in our children
• It’s OK to ask for help

05:00 High school experience and Amberly’s kids

• Parents’ divorce and physical and sexual abuse
• Children need an outlet
• Dancing and drill teams
• Amberley's high school jobs

09:47 The importance of mentors in our lives

• Amberly had a mentor for everything she did in life
• The importance of doing research and finding a counsel, not an opinion
• Not having a mentor is a waste of money
• Pushing you to pass your limits
• Randall’s mentoring experience
• Unstoppable Life Mastermind for women
• Having the right mentor is life-changing

16:37 What is a mastermind according to Amberly?

• A small group of like-minded people who help brainstorm, collaborate, and guide each other
• Not expensive events with hundreds of different people
  • Very profitable gatherings where hosts over-promise but don’t deliver
• Amberly’s Unstoppable Life Mastermind
• The launch of the mastermind while the world was shutting down

25:07 How important is it to be in good shape?

• Amberly’s entire identity was in physicality
• A knee injury and self-help
• Went to school and became a certified trainer
• Started a course to help people become trainers

28:55 The horrible motorcycle accident

• Got very seriously injured
• The first thought was how to save her business
• 1% chance to save the leg
• Our health is the most important thing
• Had 34 surgeries in total
• You have a shovel in your hand, you can lean on it, pray for a hole, or you can start digging

37:09 The Story of a Good Samaritan

• An unknown person saved Amberly’s life
• She doesn’t remember him but would like to know who he was

39:31 Chronic regional pain syndrome

• After the accident, suffered from chronic pain
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome – CRPS
• Predicted to be in pain and paralyzed forever
• Decided to work hard to recover
• Tried every kind of medical treatment
• Had to change everything in her life
• Only when she is teaching, she feels no pain
• Working on a healthy sleeping pattern and other healthy stuff

Resources Mentioned:
TrueGritAndGrace.com
AmberlyLago.com

Sponsors:
Sandee | Bliss: Beaches

Want to Connect? Reach out to us online!
Website | Instagram | LinkedIn

Welcome to In Search of Excellence! This is part 2 of our fascinating conversation with Mat Ishbia!

Mat is the Chairman and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, the largest wholesale mortgage lender in the United States, which had a $931.9 million net income in 2022. Mat owns 71% of the company shares that are worth $5.9 billion, which places Mat at 156 on the Forbes 400 in early 2023.

Mat and his brother Justin bought a majority stake in the NBA, Phoenix Suns and WNBA, Phoenix Mercury. Mat was a member of the Michigan State Spartans basketball team that went to three Final Fours and won the NCAA championship in 2000. He is the author of the book “Running the corporate office: Lessons in Effective Leadership from the Bench to the Boardroom”, and is a very generous philanthropist who has given away more than $50 million.

1:10 What does Mat look for in a new hire at UWM?

• Mat doesn’t care about the diploma
• He looks for someone with a heart, work ethic, attitude, and drive to be great
• Knowledge is a commodity
• Be a human being, be engaged and energetic

4:56 The Importance of little things for success

• Mat is looking for difference-makers
• Intangibles are much more important than the tangibles

10:23 Advice to people who have dreams

• Randall’s meeting with Bill Davidson
• Think crazy big and then work towards it
• Put the work in and be the best

14:05 No meeting Thursdays

• Mat responds to every email
• No meetings on Thursday – talking and checking with people
• You have to be in the weeds of your business to be successful

15:55 Advice to people who are not working as hard as they should

• Work ethic and attitude are the biggest determinators of success
• Go to places that provide opportunity
• You have to sacrifice to be the best
• Mat is sacrificing for his kids and his business

19:14 The importance of extreme preparation

• Game plan and role play
• Preparation leads to success
• Everything is about preparation

21:40 Owning an NBA basketball team

• Managing a team is much fun in all areas
• Making a positive impact on team members, fans, and the community
• Coaching his children
• Teaching life, skills, personality, the importance of supporting your teammates

24:35 How important is giving back to our success?

• Giving money is only one part of giving back
• You can give your time and care

25:30 Fill in the blanks to excellence

• The biggest lesson I've learned in my life is
  • Work ethic and attitude always win
• My number one professional goal is
  • To get better every single day
• And more

Sponsors:
Sandee | Bliss: Beaches

Want to Connect? Reach out to us online!
Website | Instagram | LinkedIn

Welcome to In Search of Excellence! We are happy to have Mat Ishbia as our guest today!

Mat is the Chairman and CEO of the United Wholesale Mortgage, the largest wholesale mortgage lender in the United States, which had a $931.9 million net income in 2022. Mat owns 71% of the company shares that are worth $5.9 billion, which places Mat at 156 on the Forbes 400 in early 2023.

Mat and his brother Justin bought a majority stake in the NBA, Phoenix Suns, and WNBA, Phoenix Mercury. Mat was a member of the Michigan State Spartans basketball team that went to three Final Fours and won the NCAA championship in 2000.

He is the author of the book “Running the Corporate Office: Lessons in Effective Leadership from the Bench to the Boardroom”. Mat is also a very generous philanthropist who has given away more than $50 million.


01:26 Mat’s background

- Born in Birmingham, Michigan, in a Jewish family
- His mom was a schoolteacher and his dad lawyer and serial entrepreneur
- From mom learned structure and accountability
- From dad learned good work ethics and taking care of people


04:07 Mat’s life as a kid

- Always competitive
- Didn’t like to lose
- Pretty good at school, loved sports


05:03 Sacrifices are essential for success

- You can’t be good at everything
- Focus and dominate one thing
- Life’s goal should be happiness


09:58 Figuring out what to do as a student

- Expose yourself to as many different internships, people, and networks as possible
- Find what you are passionate about
- Mat has a passion for competing and winning


14:01 How important is having a great personality and sense of humor for success?

- Matt’s basketball career in the Michigan State team
- The most popular guy on the team
- It’s important to be who you are, genuine, kind, and caring
- Every team needs camaraderie, leadership, culture, family atmosphere
- The team is bigger than the person
- A good team needs a balance of talent and chemistry (fit)
- Different roles in Phoenix Suns


19:35 Deciding to choose his future career at 23

- Wanted to be a basketball coach
- Decided to join his dad’s mortgage company
- Applied his basketball experience to the mortgage business


21:57 Is money the number onbe factor when choosing your career?

- Opportunity to grow should be the no.1 factor
- Also your dreams and aspirations
- People focus too much on the money
- Be great and successful in what you do and money will follow


24:27 What's cool or sexy about mortgages?

- Became the CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage in 2013
- Two years later, UWM was the no.1 wholesale mortgage lender in the country
- Mat loves competing, improving, winning
- Be great today and build on that tomorrow

Sponsors:
Sandee | Bliss: Beaches

Want to Connect? Reach out to us online!
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You're listening to part 2 of the incredible conversation with Ben Johns, the number one pickleball player in the world and the greatest player of all time.

On the business side, Ben is a co-founder of Pickleball Getaways, a vacation travel company, and the co-founder of Pickleball 360, an online instructional video subscription service.

If you haven't yet listened to part one, be sure to check that one out first.

Time stamps:

00:58 Winning his first US Open

• Ben wasn’t expecting to win
• Incredible feeling, felt like a dream
• Professional high and low in Ben’s career

04:01 Being the lead in the beginning and today

• Pickleball is a new sport and requires a lot of learning
• More competition leads to being a better player
• Winning 108 matches in a row

08:04 Is tennis background an advantage?

• Tennis definitely lends a ton of advantages
• Doesn’t automatically guarantee success

10:00 How long can Ben be so good?

• No concrete plan as to how long he will be in pickleball
• The ideal age to play

12:47 Making money in pickleball

• The potential of making at least seven figures
• Sponsors have a huge role

17:39 Ben’s mixed doubles partner Anna Leigh Waters

• 10 years younger
• Very tough and extremely talented

20:22 Ben’s diet and training routine

• 2-3 hours every day on court
• 5 days a week working out in the gym
• Standard healthy diet

21:49 A flow state in sports

• A state where your body knows what to do without you thinking about it
• It’s the perfect feeling that all athletes pursue

22:59 The importance of extreme preparation

• Preparation is crucial
• The more prepared I am, the luckier I seem to be

24:39 The importance of humility

• You don’t need to talk yourself out
• People will admire you for your accomplishments
• How do people approach him?

27:02 All-inclusive pickleball vacations

• Pickleball instructions from a pro player
• The cost of training with a pro
• How to contact Ben?

30:40 Elon Musk and Ben’s role models

• His greatest role models are his parents and brother
• Admires Elon Musk very much

33:06 The importance of giving back to the community

• Being a good example
• Contributing to the events with good cause

34:18 Fill in the blanks to excellence

• Biggest lesson I learned
  • You are most fulfilled by working hard
• My number 1 professional goal
  • To be number one as long as I can
• My number 1 personal goal
  • Learn new things frequently
• And more

Sponsors:
Sandee | Bliss: Beaches

Want to Connect? Reach out to us online!
Website | Instagram | LinkedIn

Welcome to another episode of In Search of Excellence! Our amazing guest is Ben Johns, the greatest pickleball player of all time. He has been the No.1 player in the world in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles for most of the last 3 years.

On the business side, Ben is a co-founder of Pickleball Getaways, a vacation travel company that arranges pickleball vacations to Mexico, Portugal, Croatia, and other sunny locations. He is also the co-founder of Pickleball 360, an online instructional video subscription service that gives lessons on how to become a better pickleball player.

00:00 Introduction

• Who is Ben Johns?

01:59 Ben’s background

• Supportive, inspiring parents and 6 siblings
• Encouraged to follow their own passion

04:15 Homeschooling of 7 kids

• Mom used online resources and textbooks
• Kids worked at their own pace
• Personal responsibility
• Social aspects of homeschooling
• They pursued their interests, and social stuff happened naturally

08:59 Sports Ben played as a kid

• Played baseball, tennis, table tennis, golf
• Very eye-hand oriented sports

10:32 Ben's college experience

• Switched majors from Business to Material Science and Engineering
• How Innovators Think course by Professor Mark Wellman
• Advice to people who don’t know what they want to do
• Expose yourself to different things, experiment, research

17:24 Developing and innovating a new pickleball racket

• Genuinely interested in how to make paddles better
• Being genuine creates an opportunity in almost any area

19:27 Optimism and fear of failure

• Optimism is important, but also confidence and work ethics
• Do your utmost and put 100% of your effort
• If you fail, learn from it

22:56 Ben’s first business venture

• Pickleball had the stigma of an old person's sport
• Wanted to make it more exciting

24:04 What is pickleball?

• A combination of tennis and ping-pong on a badminton-sized court
• Very easy to learn and very easy to play

27:19 The professional pickleball

• The history of pickleball associations
• The TPA and APP
• The merging of 2 leagues

32:25 The ownership and worth of pickleball teams

• The worth of major pickleball teams
• Teams are part of venture capital groups
• Who are the owners?

35:44 How do teams make money?

• A revenue model
• The vision is to make it like an NBA NFL type of league
• No major TV contract but a rapidly growing fan base
• Pickleball has fanatically engaged fans - a golden nugget for any investor

40:39 Pickleball statistics

• Its popularity is growing among different groups
• It has a great social component

45:43 The start of Ben’s professional career

• First professional tournament – US Open in 2016
• Won the US Open in 2017
• Making money and covering expenses

Sponsors:
Sandee | Bliss: Beaches

Want to Connect? Reach out to us online!
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Welcome to Part 2 of my amazing episode of In Search of Excellence with Brandi Love!

Brandi has starred in more than 800 movies and her videos have been streamed more than a billion times. She has been nominated for and won 12 adult industry awards and is the author of the book Getting Wild Sex from Your Conservative Woman. She is also the owner of Traffic Stop Media and a real estate business together with her husband that renovates distressed properties.

We discuss her strategies for success, making money and investing, the future of porn, and so much more.

02:53 Brandi’s great-grandfather Jesse Livermore

• Brandi's savant great grandfather who was trading stocks at 14 years old
  
  

04:27 Finding a niche

• Howard Stern show
• Too old, too athletic, with a long face
• The American Pie and the term MILF
  
  

08:49 The impact of Brandi’s job on her daughter

• Brandi’s college fan base
• Great relationship with her daughter

11:12 The reaction of their parents

• It was a decision for her and her husband to make
• Their parents tried to stop them and take away their child

17:15 The fallout from friends

• A unique obstacle for adult entertainers
• People don’t want the stigma
• There are consequences to our choices

19:50 How much do people make in the porn industry?

• Brandi is 50 and never earned more
• 7 major revenue streams

24:57 Earnings on online porn websites

• For women, It’s possible to earn around $50.000/month
• For men, around $20.000/month
  

27:02 How has Only Fans changed the games for porn actresses?

• Only Fans is financially life-changing
• A lot of talent left the industry for Only Fans
  

32:16 Money management

• Delayed gratification and investing money
• Buying a Ferrari
  
  

37:54 Thoughts on porn VR

• Not her favorite because of the lack of interaction
• Can see the advantages of VR
  
  

39:51 How is AI changing the porn industry?

• Forever Voices
• AI is always available to hang out with fans
• Brandi trained her AI and the results were impressive
  

45:35 Mental health issues

• Suicides in the porn industry
• You have to be tough because of societal backlash
  

47:17 What are the elements of success?

• Love what you do, be passionate, be authentic

47:39 The value of Extreme Preparation

• Brandi’s husband is an exceptionally prepared human being
• She extremely prepared for a contract with BMG
  
  

49:37 Faking in the porn industry

• Faking means you chose the wrong career
• Brandi can find something attractive in every man
  
  

52:21 Issues with sexually transmitted diseases

• The industry standard is 14-day test
• Never had a bad test in 20 years
  

54:18 Sex trafficking and Porn Hub

• Harming a child is the most disgusting crime
• Porn Hub is protected by the law (Netflix movie – Money Shot: The Porn Hub Story)
  
  

56:54 The importance of giving back

• You can donate time or money

58:17 Fill in the blanks for excellence

Sponsors:
Sandee | Bliss: Beaches

Want to Connect? Reach out to us online!
Website | Instagram | LinkedIn