‘It came to a point where I would never truly feel OK with myself if I didn’t take a chance to go all in on my music and see what could happen.’

Huntington

“I went to school at Temple University, where I studied advertising, specifically copywriting, which is basically writing headlines on billboards and scripts for TV commercials. I really felt like I found a niche in college, and I was enjoying it. I got to express myself creatively, something I always wanted to do.

“I graduated in 2020, right at the start of the pandemic, and started working full time four days later. I’ve been working remotely for the past 18 to 20 months, but over that time I did a lot of soul-searching and wondered what I wanted to do with my life. I wasn’t really getting the fulfillment that I thought I would from my day job.

“Music was something I had always created on the side, but it wasn’t something I always wanted to pursue. It seemed like one of those unattainable goals. Like, it is not really realistic; at least that is what people tell you.

I really felt like I found a niche in college, and I was enjoying it. I got to express myself creatively, something I always wanted to do.

“It came to a point where I would never truly feel OK with myself if I didn’t take a chance to go all in on my music and see what could happen. I started to take it seriously last summer and recorded a bunch of songs in my home studio.

“Somehow, one of my favorite rappers that I grew up listening to, The Game, responded to a message I sent him asking for a feature on one of my songs. He said he was looking for independent artists to work with, so I sent him some of my music. He really liked it, and was like, ‘All right. I’m gonna hop on,’ and he sent me a verse for one of my songs.

“It got a lot of traction when it first came out in December. It’s at about 250,000 streams across Spotify and Apple Music. That has been a really cool jump start for me and my career because it gives me instant credibility. People who have never heard of me were like, ‘Oh this kid, JaySix, has a song with The Game? He must be doing something.’

“It was something I always felt I had the ability to do, but there was always this mystique about being a rapper. The more I learned about it, the more I began to understand that this is a business like anything else, and there are certain steps you got to take.

“So far, I’ve gotten off to a good start, which I am really thankful for, but I’ve got whole lot more work to put in.”

‘I was enjoying a very fulfilling career and family life, but I felt there was something missing.’

Huntington

“My entire family were big animal lovers, and my mom always set an amazing example. She was a volunteer for so many not-for-profits, and we gave back any chance we could. We were always rescuing birds that fell out of nests and feeding stray kittens outside. As a child, I was highly allergic to almost everything, and pets were on the top of the list. I was one of four kids and went through years of allergy injections and medications.

“My siblings weren’t thrilled that I was unable to have a dog or a cat. When I was 14 years old, my allergist gave my parents the green light. Literally the next day, we went to a shelter and adopted Brandy, a mixed-breed dog. As an adult, I was enjoying a very fulfilling career and family life, but I felt there was something missing. I was involved in nonprofit boards and events in the lives of the voiceless — children, animals and seniors.

If there was anything good about this pandemic, it was many animals got homes.

“I knew I was too sensitive to do hands-on work and cried at the thought of an animal in distress, but I knew there was a way to make a difference. I was good at raising money, so I put together a team, and Pet Peeves was born in 2001. We’ve raised just under $2 million and distributed to so many groups – Last Hope animal shelter, Kent Animal Shelter, North Shore Horse Rescue, wildlife organizations, and the list goes on.

“I’d like our legacy to be that young people take the Pet Peeves concept of raising funds and distributing to needy populations, with compassion and kindness being the driving force. Throughout this journey, the spay and neuter of pets has become so incredibly important. It’s all about educating the public. People don’t understand what buying a pet truly stems from, and that is abuse and neglect. Riverhead Town recently banned the sale of puppy mill puppies, cats and rabbits, which is great.

“During the pandemic, one of the only things that we could do was to encourage people to adopt or foster animals. That had a lot to do with the success of the pandemic clearing the shelters. The number of people who remained working at home and kept pets was key. Had everyone gone right back to work, we would have had a higher rate of return. If there was anything good about this pandemic, it was many animals got homes.”

‘I became a phys ed teacher in Massapequa, but wanted to do something more. My business partner and I lived together in East Islip. We’d sit up at night and talk about things that interested us.’

Huntington

“Even when I was a kid, I wanted to make sure people around me were happy. If someone was at my house, I would always make sure they had enough food on their plate. That’s still me today. I like to take care of people, and I think that part of my personality connected me to the hospitality business.

“I’m from Huntington, but finished school in Islip, between 10th and 12th grades after my parents split. I was a big sports guy and played football, wrestling and lacrosse. I’m also a big foodie, and when you’re a wrestler, being a foodie is tough during the winters. I would lose 20-plus pounds just to reach a certain weight to wrestle and had to cut down how much I could put into my body. I would even eat flavored ice cubes to help control myself. I will say, after I would weigh in, my pop would always cheer me up with an egg sandwich or something.

“I went to college for phys ed. I wrestled as a freshman, but then didn’t want to anymore, and I thought about football, but when I changed schools my new school canceled their program, so I stopped sports and called it quits in my early 20s.

Sports didn’t teach me anything about owning a restaurant but did put me in a place where I didn’t want to fail at anything.

“I became a phys ed teacher in Massapequa, but wanted to do something more. My business partner and I lived together in East Islip. We’d sit up at night and talk about things that interested us. Food was always a big one.

“One day while on a lunch break, I was driving around and found a space in Massapequa Park. I fell in love and pictured it as a little burrito joint. I told my buddy, and we got the money together. He stopped what he was doing, I stopped what I was doing, and never looked back.

“One of the fun things about opening a restaurant is tasting all the food. It really unleashed fun eating for me, which is different after being so selective for sports. You’d bulk up for football, then slim down for wrestling, but now I’m just free.

“Sports didn’t teach me anything about owning a restaurant but did put me in a place where I didn’t want to fail at anything. A restaurant was a new venture, and now I have two. I do think my athletic background gave me a fighting-for-another-inch mentality that helped propel my success so far. I think that competitive nature helped get us to this point.”

Interviewed by Ian J. Stark

‘My dad used to say, ‘just remember this: From something bad, comes something good.’’

Huntington

“My high school guidance counselor told my mother there was no point in applying to good colleges because I wouldn’t get in and if I did, I’d drop out within a year. I had, in my counselor’s words, no scholastic aptitude. I heard her say that.

“After graduating from Boston College, I attended Columbia University, and currently hold five degrees. I’m proof you shouldn’t listen to anyone who doubts you. I got my first job by walking into a radio station in street clothes in 1994—I handed my resume to the receptionist, who asked me what I could do, and I said ‘Anything’ because I had loans due. I was a communications marketing major, but didn’t study journalism or work at the college radio station, so after taking my resume she basically said, ‘great, don’t call us we’ll call you.’ I still managed to get an internship, doing all sorts of jobs, worked crazy hours, and after several months they started to pay me, which to me meant I was hot [stuff].

“I moved into TV news and ended up working in journalism for 10 years, including a technology publishing company where I made friends with John, who is now my husband. After getting out of journalism, I was a corporate suit working for a financial services company in Manhattan. When my father fell ill, his health failed quickly. I always dreamt my parents would walk me down the aisle; you’re not supposed to die until you see your children have children; that’s the natural order of things. John and I were dating for about a year-and-a-half after being friends for many years, and we got married in the hospital because my dad was dying. We got married on Jan. 1. The next day my father went to hospice care and died on the Epiphany, on Jan. 6. He died around 4:30 a.m. and I wasn’t feeling well.

“Around 11 that night, I was convinced something was happening—and then, wait a minute, when’s the last time I got my period? Four pregnancy tests later, I got the same results each time. Some say God takes one, then brings another. I was like ‘Thank God this baby is coming.’ I was also fired from my job while pregnant. I was fired because I was pregnant.”

John rushed me to the hospital, they did all types of diagnostic tests and said ‘you didn’t have a stroke, but you do have Bell’s palsy.’

“There’s a photo my husband took of me when I was due any day with my first child, the night before I came down with Bell’s palsy. You can see the left side of my face starting to droop. The next morning, I took a swig from a water bottle and the water just came out of my mouth onto the floor. I’m now convinced the stress—my father dying, how we got married, my pregnancy, my mother’s now-fading health, losing my job, all happening in fast succession—was the cause, but at the time I thought ‘Oh my God I’m having a stroke.’

“John rushed me to the hospital, they did all types of diagnostic tests and said ‘you didn’t have a stroke, but you do have Bell’s palsy.’ It’s improved since, but I’m in the rare percentage of people that don’t get better. I still can’t smile 100%. The Bell’s palsy caused me so much pain that during the first six months of parenthood I really couldn’t be a mom to my daughter, my first child. My husband had to handle a lot of the responsibilities. My second child, my son, was born via C-section, and they accidentally cut my bladder during the procedure. I had to have a catheter with a urine bag on my side for weeks, while still taking care of my mom and my daughter.

“We were renovating my mom’s house when she died in 2010, and the contractor left us high and dry. I was on my hands and knees in front of my dog, with my babies sleeping in the other room, in a barren house, with wires hanging from the ceiling, no sheet rock, just dust, crying in the bare living room, and thinking of my dad’s words about good from bad, I said out loud ‘Please mom and dad, please tell me what good can come out of this?! Please give me a sign. Please.’

“The next week, we get into a car accident. I’m thinking, ‘This is the sign?’ I had already been out of work, but then my husband lost his job. I went over the edge. I stopped taking care of myself because there was always something. I had just buried my mom a month before the accident. After a hospital stay, I was still in pain from the crash, and it was then someone suggested I get acupuncture. I said three words: “no [f] way,” but ended up thinking, ‘fine, if sticking a needle in my eye will help my back, fine.’

My daughter kept bringing up me doing TikTok, and at that point I had nothing else to do but still didn’t want to, because of my Bell’s palsy. I finally told my daughter the truth, and she said ‘Mom, the only one really worried about your face is you. Nobody cares, move on.’

“I was a skeptic when I walked into the acupuncturist in 2011, about how these tiny needles are going to help me, but after an hour I get off the table, he’s like ‘Can you bend over?’ I bent over and was like ‘huh, what kind of voodoo is this? I don’t feel 100% better, but I am like 40-50% better. What the hell did you do to me?’ While leaving I saw the doctor in the parking lot. I yelled at him, ‘How long does it take to become an acupuncturist,’ he says ‘It’s medical school, that’s years.’ I was 38 years old, but he told me about the great hours and pay, so in 2012 I enrolled in Nassau Community College. At 30 I was a college student again, but now with my husband dropping me off, the kids screaming out the window ‘no don’t leave.’

“After Nassau I went to acupuncturist school, graduated, then started working right away in rented workspaces. In 2018, we purchased a rundown home in Huntington and turned it into an acupuncture facility. Around that time, I also happened to see my daughter’s friends dancing in front of a phone, and she explained they were making a TikTok. She said I should do one about acupuncture or my skin-care line, which I made with herbs I learned about during my Chinese medicine classes. Fast forward to the COVID shutdown, my business is closed and I’m in shock.

“My daughter kept bringing up me doing TikTok, and at that point I had nothing else to do but still didn’t want to, because of my Bell’s palsy. I finally told my daughter the truth, and she said ‘Mom, the only one really worried about your face is you. Nobody cares, move on,’ and so I opened an account last June. At first the videos didn’t really go anywhere, but by December I had about 50,000 followers. I think by being authentic, people liked my videos, and on TikTok, few people made fun of how I look.

“No matter how bad things got, I never gave up on other people but there were times I felt like giving up on myself. Every door was closed, but if I had never got in the accident, I would have never gotten acupuncture and wouldn’t have become an acupuncturist, or put together a skin-care line. Sometimes you have to go so low in your life to see the light, and then climb back out.”

Interviewed by Dan Offner

‘Three or four months into taking heroin, I wound up losing my job, lost my car, and had to come clean to my family.’

Huntington

“I grew up on the island and I had a normal childhood. I graduated with honors from Albany’s business school in 2012. Everything was great and then I wound up having an injury in the gym. I saw somebody at my job; he always looked a little inebriated and he said, ‘you should try this particular pill,’ which was a really popular pill back then. It was Oxycodone, 30 milligrams. That was what the doctors were overprescribing.

“Once I took the opiate, it was just game over. Once a week or once every few days led to an everyday thing. I got introduced to heroin in 2016. There were just no rules; my life turned into absolute chaos. Three or four months into taking heroin, I wound up losing my job, lost my car, and had to come clean to my family. From 2016 to late 2020, it was awful. I’ve been to double digits number of rehabs, overdosed many times, had unbelievably close calls, car accidents, a lot of situations where I should be dead.

I had a complete transformation from how I was with addiction, with my body and my health, to where I am now.

“At the beginning of last year, I overdosed twice in the same day. I got very lucky: my mom saved me, and I wound up going to rehab. Then, boom, COVID hit and everything shut down the week I got out of rehab. I wound up relapsing and had another terrible few months. I made it to the beginning of this year, and I said, alright, I’m going to die if I keep doing this. Do I really want my legacy to be, ‘Oh, he died at 30. He had all this potential’?

“I took all the suggestions from people who’ve done it themselves, such as going to meetings, joined an outpatient clinic, did therapy. What really helps me is I have a very strict routine with the gym and what I put into my body. I had a complete transformation from how I was with addiction, with my body and my health, to where I am now.

“I’m in the best shape of my life. I’m going back to school to get my certification as a nutritionist. I want to do it in the field of recovery and help people in a natural way without having to take medicine, without having to numb the pain of their feelings. I have a YouTube channel about addiction, and I am an NA sponsor. There are so many people on the island who have suffered through this and I’m trying to change the stigma of what an addict is.”

Interviewed by Hannah Fusaro

‘To create something from nothing is a gift, and why not utilize it to show the world?’

Huntington

“Since I was a little kid, I loved coloring books and drawing superheroes. I didn’t take art classes until I was at Walt Whitman High School. I would get into a lot of fights because I moved to Huntington from Queens at 10, and the places were so different; I was all about graffiti, street art and hip-hop. I always felt like an outcast, but I let that be my drive. In high school I went to Six Flags and some guy was airbrushing t-shirts. It intrigued me because it looked like a pen, but there were no paint strokes and he could blend colors.

“I saved up to get myself an airbrush and air compressor, so in my senior year I started airbrushing t-shirts. I also wanted to be a rapper, but my skill was in creating paintings. Later I went to F.I.T., I found the G-Unit offices, and I started doing custom airbrush shirts for 50 Cent and all of the rappers.

Everyone tells you art doesn’t make money. When I relied on my own thoughts and my faith in God, I realized that I can do whatever I want to get done.

“In 2010, I opened my own store in Huntington. At first it was a clothing brand, Andaluz Designs, and then it became a branding and marketing store. I was doing custom sneakers and canvasses, but I really wanted to be a street artist and do music. The first mural I did was Robin Williams at Painted Pieces. When Pokemon GO came out I saw it as an opportunity to do something huge. I painted 151 Pokemon on the side of my office building because you have to go large or go home. It went super viral. The next wall to go viral was a Kobe Bryant mural in front of Barclays Center. I just did it out of love.

“During quarantine, I created live art auctions where DJ Scram plays music and I will paint somebody in one hour. On the anniversary of Kobe’s death, I painted Shaquille O’Neal. Out of nowhere, Shaq popped up in my Instagram Live. I was buggin’ out. He ended up purchasing my painting! I just shot a music video from the album I dropped in March, “Welcome to the Quarantine.” It’s uplifting, Christian hip-hop. I’ve learned that it’s hard to be an artist. Everyone tells you art doesn’t make money. When I relied on my own thoughts and my faith in God, I realized that I can do whatever I want to get done. It’s just a matter of working hard. To create something from nothing is a gift and why not utilize it to show the world?”

‘I have always been afraid of taking a leap into something that I don’t know. My wife taught me that without change and growth, you’ll spin your wheels in life.’

Ian MacManus, Huntington

“I remember the moment I first laid eyes on her. I was in my final clinical rotation for occupational therapy school at Cerebral Palsy of Nassau County. She was walking across the parking lot as I was pulling in, and I immediately thought she was stunningly beautiful. Her blonde hair and big smile caught my eye. To my luck, I went to pick up my first student of the day to treat, and she was in the classroom as an aide for the summer.

“I found out she was an OT student in Boston while I was finishing up at Stony Brook, and, on my last day of work there, I finally mustered up enough courage to ask her out. It has been a magical ride ever since.

“She was going back to Boston, so I only had a week to date her before she was three hours away. We talked on the phone for hours every night and found that we shared so many of the same ideals. This April, we will be married for 15 years.

“Three years ago, we started our own business, MacManus Occupational Therapy. Aside from our family, that was when we really had the pleasure of growing something together. I have always been afraid of taking a leap into something that I don’t know. The business side is new to me. My wife taught me that without change and growth, you’ll spin your wheels in life. Now, we’re providing occupational therapy for neurologically impaired patients, as well as people that have upper extremity injuries.

A lot of people ask, ‘How can you work with your wife?’ I had no idea how exciting growing a business and living out our dreams would be.

“When it comes to working with people who are neurologically impaired, it is so dynamic and diverse in its practice; you’re always learning, and there are opportunities for growth with patients. It’s helping recover life skills and building on lost opportunities. It hits home deeply.

“A lot of people ask, ‘How can you work with your wife?’ Doing it together has been more fun than anything else. I had no idea how exciting growing a business and living out our dreams would be. Working with her has been an adventure and an amazing feat. I look over and see my best friend treating a patient two tables down and I’m excited.

“We continue to grow as a couple, as a business, and as a family. We now have four little ones at home. I knew from the day I met her she was the girl I was going to marry.”

‘I learned early on what racism was because I was bullied for being Chinese in elementary school.’

Long Island

“I learned early on what racism was because I was bullied for being Chinese in elementary school. It was very difficult, because I would tell the lunch lady and she would say, ‘Ignore it or just tell the boys to stop.’ But of course, they didn’t. It was difficult learning at a young age that I was being bullied because of something I was born as. And that kind of takes away some of your innocence, to realize that at such a young age. I kind of learned that it wasn’t great to be different and Chinese, because I would get bullied for it. I didn’t want to be Chinese. But obviously you can’t change that. It wasn’t until I got to college that I learned to embrace my heritage. I went to the University of Michigan and there were a lot of Asians there, a lot of Asians who were proud and happy to be who they were. I started taking Asian studies classes, I joined Asian student groups and really connected in a way I hadn’t growing up because of the lack of diversity. I have a blog and I also started writing picture books, which have Asian American themes to it. I really wanted to do that not only because of my interest in writing, but to share with other children the Chinese culture in a way I never saw.

I never knew when I was younger, I would end up writing. I didn’t see it was a possibility because I didn’t see anyone who looked like me in the writing world.

“I never saw books that had Asian characters or talked about Chinese culture. I want to be able to show a new generation, whether they’re Asian or not, about different cultures. You don’t have to be Chinese to read a book about Chinese New Year—it’s interesting whatever your background is. I’m thrilled to see this journey of self-acceptance and I’m trying to pass it on to my kids. I never knew when I was younger, I would end up writing. I didn’t see it was a possibility because I didn’t see anyone who looked like me in the writing world. Sometimes life finds a way to bring you to where you’re supposed to be.”

‘Till this day, people know Ma. My grandmother’s ice cream and fudge.’

Huntington

“I grew up in Trinidad and my grandma was this strong woman who would put you in your place in two seconds. We’d go hunting, and it was so much fun. On our little hunts we’d go up in the trails, the cane fields, the cashew trees. She’d pick cashews, ‘cause when we’d go home, she’d roast them. And the smell and the taste of cashews you pick from a tree is incredible.

She’d stop and talk and then go to the next house. It was a really close-knit community.

“I grew up with her and coconut oil. She’d get the coconut and drink the water, grate the coconut, have the milk. And then the flakes, you’d roast them over the fire, and you get the oil. The most intoxicating smell of fresh coconut oil. She’d use it for everything — your hair, your skin. You had an earache? She’d put it in your ear. My grandmother would make ice cream, different Trinidadian desserts. And on Sunday she’d make fudge, everything fresh with her coconut milk. She had a cart and she’d go around the block. And by the time she came back home, everything was gone. We’d go with her and everybody called her Ma. “Ma give me ten of that!” And I mean she made money. And everybody waited for Sunday ‘cause Ma was coming. So, she had us and my cousins and we’d go with her, and I remember just watching. She’d stop and talk and then go to the next house. It was a really close-knit community.

“Till this day, people know Ma. My grandmother’s ice cream and fudge. She was such a character. My aunt was pregnant and wanted a coconut. My grandma said, ‘You want it? Hold on,’ and she climbed the tree at sixty-something years old. I swear to you, got the coconut for her! She used to tell us stories. She had these old folk stories that she told my mom, so passed down. And she’d sing and she would change her voice and be every character. Living in Trinidad, the electricity would go out a lot. So, when that went out, that was our cue. She’d light the candle and we’d sit around the candle and she’d tell us these stories. I remember when I was pregnant, I called her in Trinidad. I’m like ‘Ma, you have to tell me these stories’ and I recorded them. I have some that I started writing down ‘because I’d love to pass them on to my daughter.’”

Interviewed by Betsy Abraham