In this episode of Shady Characters, we sit down with Linda Hakim, a true connector and community builder in South Orange County. Linda is the publisher behind three hyper-local magazines with Best Version Media, serves as an ambassador for multiple Chambers of Commerce, and leads communications for the San Juan Capistrano Rotary. Few people are as deeply embedded in the fabric of South OC as Linda, and this conversation reveals how she has built an entire career around local storytelling, relationships, and trust.

Linda shares her journey from working at Vons in the 1970s and selling Yellow Pages ads with Verizon to becoming a modern digital marketer who manages more than eight social media accounts and reaches tens of thousands of local followers daily. She reflects on how social media evolved from a creative outlet for travel and family memories into a powerful professional tool that now supports her magazines, chambers, Rotary work, and business clients.

We talk about her passion for featuring real families on magazine covers, why hyper-local print still matters in a digital world, and how community recognition creates meaningful impact for businesses and residents alike. Linda also opens up about personal loss, resilience, and how work became both purpose and legacy as her children grew and life changed.

The episode explores her newest venture, SouthOrangeCounty.com, a professional interview platform that gives business owners high-quality video, podcast, and social media content from a single conversation. Along the way, Linda shares stories from decades living in South OC, including San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point, and Rancho Santa Margarita, offering insight into how the region has grown while maintaining its character.

This conversation is about tenacity, reinvention, and the power of showing up for a community every single day. Linda Hakim is proof that local storytelling, done with authenticity and consistency, can build an enduring legacy.

In this episode of Shady Characters, we sit down with Jon Colburn, owner of Realtime AV—a high-end audio/video and smart home company based in San Juan Capistrano. Jon shares how a job at 14 (thanks to his speaker-engineer dad) turned into a 25-year career, a 50/50 partnership earned through sweat equity, and ultimately full ownership through seller financing. We talk loyalty, grit, learning by screwing up, raising boys with work ethic, and where smart homes are headed as AI changes everything.

Jon’s story is a rare one: loyalty, sweat equity, and playing the long game when most people bounce every few years. He got his start at Realtime as a teenager—working in the warehouse, taking out trash, and slowly earning his way into installs and sales. But the real turning point came after the 2008 financial crisis, when the business was still clawing its way back and Jon had just gotten married. With a family depending on him, he went to the owner looking for stability—and instead got a challenge: keep grinding, stay loyal, and good things will happen.

Three years later, over a meal at a local Sizzler, Jon was offered a path: 10% ownership, with profits reinvested into the company to build equity over time. What followed was years of nights, weekends, holidays, and relentless effort—until a Christmas party announcement revealed Jon had earned 50% ownership. From there, the partners formalized a buyout plan through seller financing, setting Jon on track to take full ownership and continue the company’s growth.

Along the way, Jon shares what loyalty really means (and why it’s becoming rare), how failure becomes “installed wisdom,” and why he believes the younger generation needs more opportunities to work, earn, and learn. He also talks about raising two boys, teaching them responsibility by having them show up at the office, answer phones, and get comfortable doing hard things.

And of course, because Realtime is at the intersection of luxury and technology, the conversation goes deep on what the company actually does today: from whole-home audio/video and hidden TVs to lighting, shades, security, networking, pool control—and “anything that turns on, off, opens, or closes.” Jon also breaks down where smart homes are heading next with AI-driven automation—and why robots still make him think of Terminator.

If you like stories about grit, leadership, and building something real over decades—not quarters—this one’s for you.

In this episode of Shady Characters, Danielle Braithwaite—founder of Variant Movement—shares her journey from aspiring professional dancer to studio owner, mentor, and working mom. Danielle opens up about career-altering injury, launching a business during the pandemic while pregnant, and building a studio rooted in discipline, kindness, and community. It’s an honest look at creativity, leadership, and redefining success on your own terms.

Danielle never planned to become a studio owner. Her early dream was to dance professionally—traveling, performing, and living fully inside the art form she loved. But at just 21 years old, a serious hip injury abruptly changed her trajectory. Faced with an uncertain recovery and the loss of her professional path, Danielle found herself falling in love with teaching, choreography, and the impact she could have on others through dance.

After more than a decade of teaching and creating within other studios, Danielle took a leap—launching Variant Movement in 2021, during the tail end of the pandemic, while pregnant and navigating a high-risk pregnancy. What began as a low-risk experiment with a single studio room and a goal of 15 students quickly evolved into a thriving program of nearly 100 dancers in just four years.

Throughout the conversation, Danielle reflects on what it means to grow intentionally. Rather than chasing scale or multiple locations, she built Variant to stay small, personal, and deeply connected—ensuring every student is known, supported, and held to high standards both technically and personally. Success, for Danielle, isn’t just trophies or placements, but how students carry themselves, treat others, and grow into confident, respectful people.

The episode also explores Danielle’s experience as a working mother, balancing late nights at the studio with family life, and intentionally modeling ambition and leadership for her son. She speaks candidly about perfectionism, burnout, self-doubt, and the quiet pressure of wearing every hat as a founder.

Now entering its next chapter with the launch of Vivid, Variant’s elite performance team, Danielle reflects on the excitement—and fear—of growth, and why staying rooted in purpose matters more than ever.

This is a conversation about movement in every sense: physical, emotional, and personal. A powerful listen for creatives, founders, parents, and anyone navigating a pivot they never planned—but were meant for.