Carlo came to Miami from Japan to study at the Frost School of Music, chasing his dream of becoming a singer-songwriter. To me, he’s Japan’s John Mayer. Growing up, I always wanted to step inside a music studio, to experience that raw, unfiltered creativity firsthand. For my 22nd birthday, that dream became reality, but in a way I never could have predicted. Not only did I find myself in a studio, but I was in Tokyo, at midnight, like a perfectly scripted movie moment. It felt like the universe was aligning. That night ignited something in me. It reignited my hunger to work in the music industry. I knew the path ahead would make sense only to me, unfathomable to family and friends, but I also knew one thing with absolute certainty: if I didn’t chase this, I’d regret it for the rest of my life.

A few months after that Tokyo trip, I was in Puerto Rico visiting my parents who spend the winter season in the heat of Rincon. Around this time is when i was starting to see the undeniable power of social media in shaping music careers. I realized Carlo wasn’t leveraging it, and it was holding him back. He had the talent, the music, the artistry, but in today’s world, that’s only the start of the battle. I reached out to him as a friend and straight-up told him: You have a unique brand. You need to market it.