Local Voices (Chicago)

10 Episodes
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By: LV TEAM - Simeon Dubois

A new weekly series on local characters in Chicago. Follow @localvoices_Chicago on Instagram & Twitter.

Kerl LaJeune - Running President
#19
09/22/2021

Kerl is........very humble, he helped us face our new mic the wrong way. Born in Haiti, he lived with aunts and uncles as his parents earned US citizenship and finally moved to Chicago around age 10, growing up in the Englewood neighborhood. He was basically a prodigy, attending UIC at age 15 and finishing with a double degree in architecture & structural mechanics. Now the president of CARA, Chicago Area Runners Association, he is focused on expanding the sport of running to places like the South Side and suburbs of Chicago where it is less mainstream. Himself having loved running only...


Chris Hastings - Sports President
#18
09/15/2021

Chris is...........kind of a pro..........we might need a new mic. Born in the Chicago suburbs, he played baseball, basketball, and football in high school, went to Wesleyan undergrad, and ISU for grad school for a degree in sports management. After interning for the Buffalo Bills, he decided to take his first job running the biggest market here in Chicago of the Sports & Social Association back in 1997. Fast forward more than 20 years, and Chris has helped turn Chicago into a mecca of volleyball and full team sport utilization of every inch of sportive real estate. Running events and...


Abi Sanchez - Latino Comedian
#17
09/02/2021

Abi is..........kinda smart. He's figured out the #thing. Born in Puerto Rico, he moved here to Chicago as a baby and grew up mostly near Albany Park. After high school, he found himself working factory jobs and got into IT work for 10 years, before a comedy workshop opened his eyes to the possibility of standup. He hit the mic, and the rest is history. Well, it took a few years, but after cashing out his 401k savings, and leveraging COVID payouts, he eventually quit his job and won the 2020 HBO Latino Comedy Contest, also selling out shows at...


Herschel DePratto - Lyft Driver
#16
09/01/2021

Herschel is...........definitely not fucking my couch. The Lyft Driver does sound like Dave Chappelle tho. Born in North Side, Lincoln Park area of Chicago, he broke his neck playing wide receiver in high school, and found that it didn't hurt his dating game. Fast forward to today, he now invests in paper. Day trading the Asian Markets at night, Herschel learnt some secrets working at the Chicago Board & Trade, and now lives a fire life, driving Lyft, trading stocks, and appreciating the great characters of this universe, like New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, and Kanye West. If...


Chirine Njeim - Olympic Marathoner
#15
08/27/2021

Chirine is........someone who falls into things. like multiple Olympics. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, she left home when she was 13 years old, to go train as an alpine skiier in France with her coach for 2 years, before moving to the US, to go to school and train in Salt Lake City, Utah, on the exact same slopes as the 2002 Winter Olympics. She went on to carry the flag for Lebanon, in the 2002, 2006, and 2010 games, and was still in her last year at the University of Utah, when she met her husband on a plane after both were standbys and...


AC Chandler - Community Barber
#14
08/25/2021

AC is.........A blessed soul. Born and raised in Chicago, he lived all over the South Side in his youth, and first started cutting hair at 16, when a friend needed his help for an upcoming job interview. He then starting working at a local salon and after graduating high school, pursued his passion at a barber college in Chicago. After working at a few salons, he answered the call from Ishmael & Zariff, Obama's barber, when the Hyde Park Hair Salon was changing locations back in 2007, and needed new young barbers. Still working there 'til this day, AC is an...


Duncan Biddulph - Executive Chef
#13
08/20/2021

Duncan is mellow........pleasantly smooth. As executive chef of Rootstock Wine Bar near Humboldt Park, he has an appreciation for cuisine one can only gain from travel. Born & raised in the Chicago area, he got his first experience in hospitality at a Country Club, before heading to Honolulu to work at a Chili's and experience something different. After attending culinary school, he got a job at Lula Cafe in Logan Square, and his mentor Jason Hammel eventually pushed him to go travel Europe and acquire some real respect for the art of food. After working at an Agriturismo in...


David Dallison - Pleinair Painter
#12
08/11/2021

David is............a man who doesn't stop until he finds.........incredible. Born in Long Island, his father wanted his kids to experience challenges and the raw outdoors, so they bought a farm in Canada. After heading down to Illinois for a soccer scholarship, he transferred back to the Ontario College of Art to fully accept his passion for painting, which his dad inspired in him at an early age. A world traveler, who has always supported himself with the arts, and nothing else, David has a lot of lessons for young artists out there perhaps still chasing the Wow...


Kayla Jane McLaughlin - HIIT Trainer
#11
08/06/2021

KJ is......goin places. An HIIT instructor at places like Eat the Frog Fitness and XSport, a loved co-admin of Lakeview Run Club, and an astute Nutrition Coach, she also holds a fulltime job in Operations. After studying Martial Arts in high school, she got a degree in Supply Chain Management, Accounting, and Communications at the University of Dayton, and freshman year got her first true runners high. A 5 mile 40+ minute run with a friend, the experience opened KJ to a love of running that has continued to this day, many marathons and half-marathons later. Just recently moved out...


Sarah Thompson - Hot Yogi
#10
08/04/2021

Sarah is.......so cool through the fire. A hot yogi momma. After swimming in high school, and studying vocal performance in college, she taught music and had kids, before discovering hot yoga one day with a Groupon at 105F in Wicker Park. Growing in kindness, patience, and compassion, she eventually took a job at a studio in admin management, and took the plunge 8 months ago into a 1 month intensive bikram yoga teacher training with Be Yoga Andersonville. Now thriving and teaching at both Be Yoga and 105F six days a week, she is bringing her vocal training to a...