Category: Hearts Of Costa Mesa

“Get That Glitter In All The Cracks”

“I moved to Orange County from out-of-state about nine years ago. When I got here, I really was like, ‘Ugh. Where do I fit?’ In the beginning, we tried living in Newport and Irvine and I had a lot of moments of, ‘Oh my gosh! What are we doing here?’ Then we moved to Costa Mesa about four years ago and it was the first time that I was finally like, “This is home.” Of the three OC cities I’ve lived in, it was the only time I felt like I really connected with the community.

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“Unplug. Get Outside. Be Together and Do Fun Things.”

“I’ve lived in Costa Mesa since I was born. I grew up on Watson Avenue here in the Halecrest neighborhood. I attended Killybrooke Elementary and so did my kids. (I actually found a copy of my old yearbook in the PTA closet on campus.) I went to Davis back when Davis was a middle school. Then on to Costa Mesa High, so I bleed green through and through.”

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“Making Our City More Cycling-Friendly…”

“I grew up in Costa Mesa, been here 33 years. We lived on the Westside until I was three years old, then my family moved over to the Eastside near 17th Street and Irvine. It was an awesome place to grow up. I was within biking distance of all my schools: Mariners, Ensign and Harbor. I think that’s when I first discovered my love of biking and the sense of freedom a kid can get from biking around town.”

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“You’re Not Going To Find A Better Place”

“I was born at Hoag and went to school at Kaiser, then Ensign, then Newport Harbor – so I’m definitely a local girl. Now I’m a mom and my husband and I are raising our kids here, too. It’s a great place for families because even though we have…

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“You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been.”

“When we moved to Costa Mesa from Iowa in 1977, I decided to join the local historical society. We didn’t have the museum, yet; we didn’t have an office. All we had was a storage container. Betty Beecher and I used to work in there. It was dirty – it was hot – and the sweat would be pouring down. There was no place to use the bathroom or get a drink of water. It was pretty nasty…

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“It’s about making an impact in our backyard”

“One of my mantras in life is to be constantly improving things. I wake up each morning asking, ‘How can I be a better husband? A better father? A better business owner? A better neighbor?’ I challenge myself with these questions on a daily basis because optimizing is just my nature. I think it goes back to my childhood. When I was a kid my family struggled a lot…”

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“Think Before You Act”

“My parents moved to Costa Mesa in 1949, so I guess you could say I’m a long-term resident. I live in the downtown area, just a block and a half from Triangle Square. I’ve seen Costa Mesa change a lot throughout my lifetime…

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“Using Our Music For Good”

“Everyone in King Salamander has been playing music forever. We’ve played the bars, the nightclubs, the shows – all the regular kinds of stuff. But this weekend, we have the opportunity to partner with a charity doing some cool things. You know, using our music for good – to give back. The charity is this project called Music Heals and it was started by Dr. Chris Duma. He’s a big-time neurosurgeon over at Hoag Hospital.”

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King Salamander: “We Go ‘Full Lounge'”

“I play drums in a band called ‘King Salamander’ and it’s a really fun time. When we play a show, we go ‘full lounge.’ Everyone in the band has a ‘loungey’ alter ego. Sterling Musk is the lead singer and patriarch of the group. When I get on stage, I’m Cullen Van Stouden (because my absolute-favorite beer is Guinness Stout); Cullen even has his own Instagram. Sterling really pushes the envelope. I don’t think he can sleep at night because the guy’s got all these crazy ideas swirling around his brain.”

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“Costa Mesa Bridges The Gap”

“I love the Southern California vibe and the types of people you attract when you’re a musician in this part of the world. It doesn’t matter if I’m out performing – or teaching drums at the Music Factory – most of the people I meet through that are really creative and chill.”

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“Volunteering Just Leads To More Volunteering”

“I have three huskies. The red-and-white one is Sandy. The other red-and-white one – with one blue eye and one brown eye – is Maui. Then this is Taylor; I got her from Husky Camp, a rescue organization I work with. Taylor is a therapy dog. We’re very involved with the OCSPCA, the Orange County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. They have a program there called PAWS…”

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“Jack Of All Beers”

“I was actually hired on as Operations Manager because of the variety of tasks I undertake: Orchestrated Beer Guru, Pilot-Batch Brewer, Beer-Competition Coordinator, Bottling-Line Minion… and anything else that is required of my Jack-Of-All Beers ability.”

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“Brewery On My Bike”

“It’s great to work in Costa Mesa, live in Costa Mesa, commute on my bike throughout Costa Mesa. It’s actually not too often that I get outside the city limits because I bike everywhere. I’ve lived here for 6 years and try to commute to all the ‘new spots’ in Costa Mesa on my bike. So I was very excited when I heard news of a brand new brewery opening right here in town. Craft beer has always been a passion of mine, so I’d ride my bike by this ‘brewery-in-progress’ at least once a week.”

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“I Hate Complacency”

“I’m a person of action, so I really hate complacency. I may not agree with anything you say, but if you are putting your butt on the line for what you believe, I will still stand up and applaud you; because, hey, at least you’re passionate and doing something about it. But complacency? It’s no good. Here in Costa Mesa, we might not always agree – but to me, that doesn’t matter. The point is: Do you have that passion for your town? Because this city is a cool place and it’s worth fighting for.”

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“Costa Mesa Embraced Me”

“I grew up thinking I was poor. I mean, I always had food and stuff – but I came from nothing, literally. Born poor, no formal education, no nothing. But none of that seemed to matter when I came to Costa Mesa. From the day I got here, I feel like Costa Mesa embraced me – and I will never forget. It’s why we give back about 5% of everything we make to the city. Costa Mesa embraces me and I embrace them back.”

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“I Fell In Love The Minute I Was Here”

“I fell in love with Costa Mesa the minute I was here. To be honest, Huntington Beach was a little too flat for me. Up here we got those ocean breezes so you don’t even need air-conditioning. I loved the diversity of Costa Mesa. I really liked the eclectic vibe. When I first got here, I started driving around the area and ‘Wow!’ South Coast Plaza was so different from the Eastside which was so different from the Westside and all that. So I knew this was where I wanted to set up shop.”

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Risk Is Life

“Don’t play it safe. Take risks, have adventures, celebrate the victories. We’re not saying you have to go skydiving everyday – it’s the little adventures you choose as much as the big ones.”

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Penny

“Penny and I go lots of places together. She’s super easy, never barks and she’s...

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Jolly Roger

“I grew up in Costa Mesa, on Ogle Street. My mom, my brothers, all of my family still lives...

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Girl Friday

“Some people aren’t meant to work in an office, and I’m one of them. “In 2010, I...

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