Apr 17, 2025
Catalyst is a Creative Industries podcast, from Chapman
University. Each episode features Chapman students who have
completed a Podcasting course through the Center for Creative and
Cultural Industries at the university. Students who had no
podcasting experience or technical ability in the genre before
taking the course were able to contribute all the segments to
Catalyst this season with the goal being that they will take this
‘hands-on’ experience and carry it over to the launching of their
very own series. Each episode of Season 13 will feature one to two
different interviews conducted by CCI students, exploring different
aspects of the Creative and Cultural Industries.
On this week's first segment Brenna George gets to speak with Naomi
Alabi, the founder of SFWRUNWAY. SFWRUNWAY is an innovative job
board platform with a specialized focus, centered around the
fashion and creative industries and aims to connect job seekers
with unique, high-quality career opportunities. Naomi goes into her
backstory and the origin of SFWRUNWAY and what motivated her to
start the company. They discuss how Alabi wanted to create a space
where creators could not only connect but grow with SFWRUNWAY by
offering helpful resources along with job opportunities. She
emphasizes the challenges in this industry, and how to set herself
apart, Alabi is cultivating a community that is both unique and
diverse. The pair also discuss how Alabi perceives CCIs as she
explains that all the people she surrounds herself with are
involved with CCI, which is motivating for her. To finish the
segment, Naomi gives a little advice to those just starting out in
the creative industries.
We wrap up the episode this week with Sherwin Salehi’s interview of
fashion tiktoker Rwang. Salehi discusses with Rwang, also known as
Ricky, what it is like to run the fashion brand IONGAF. The pair
speak about Ricky’s journey on social media and what motivated him
to leverage platforms like TikTok to build a dedicated community.
Ricky opens up about the challenges he faced in the early days and
the pivotal moment that led him to transform his social media
presence into a thriving business. The conversation then shifts to
IONGAF itself, where Ricky provides insight into what it’s like to
manage and grow a brand from the ground up. They discuss the
concept of “normalizing niche” through unique designs and content
and what the daily duties look like when running a fashion brand.
They wrap up the interview talking about the current state of the
fashion industry and where it’s headed. Ricky shares his thoughts
on the future of fashion over the next decade and offers advice for
anyone looking to break into the industry.