3333Aspire to InspireINSPIRATIONAL

For the past twenty-� ve years, I’ve been blessed to share this beautifully imperfect life with some incredibly inspirational people. � eir stories have moved me, changed me, and are a part of who I am today. I’m eager to hear about how they in-� uence you.

I was blessed to meet the Romero family while living in Austin. I met Raina, a native New Yorker, while work-ing at Bebe at Barton Creek Mall. Li� le did I know that my supervisor would eventually become one of my very best friends. I began babysi� ing her and her husband, Sco� ’s (a native Louisianian) son, Zander, in 2007…and the rest is history. � e Romero family has breathed life into me. I could write a book about how they’ve in-spired me to grow mentally, physically, spiritually, and creatively over the years. � ey’ve been by my side dur-ing some of the greatest AND weakest moments of my life, and for that I am forever thankful and consider them my second family. As if I wasn’t blessed enough with my incredible biological family!

For the sake of keeping Raina and I’s friendship spe-cial, I’ll keep details about it private, and will focus on the in� uence that Papa Chop, as he’s called by those who are blessed enough to know him, has had on me. From the second that I met Sco� , he’s always been a source of light to me. It doesn’t take more than a minute in his pres-ence for you to realize that his appreciation of the arts, love for his family, ambition, work ethic, spirit, sense of style, passion for an active and healthy lifestyle, humility, faith in God, and love of life are infectious. At 33, he is an amazing husband, proud father of two boys, the C.E.O. and founder of Soul of the Boot Productions, and is very involved in his family’s successful business, located in his hometown of New Iberia, Louisiana.

Sco� and Raina would still be residing in Louisiana today, had it not been for a forced evacuation on account of Hurricane Katrina. � ey took a leap of faith, at the time, and relocated to the exquisite city of Austin, Texas, to start from scratch. � ey’ve since made a life in Austin, and are making a di� erence in the city, and everywhere they travel, like only the Romeros could. It’s evident that their backgrounds, cultures, souls, and love are incorpo-rated into everything that they do. People feel them.

What inspires me the most about Sco� is that he � nds beauty in almost everything and everyone. Too many people only � nd beauty in those ideas, aspects, and peo-ple that they understand, bene� t from, or encounter on a daily basis. Yet, Papa Chop strongly believes that people’s inability to see beauty in everyone and everything hin-ders them from living life to their greatest potential. He encourages people to make a conscious e� ort to travel outside of the cultural divides in their city in order to gain perspective. “If you can’t taste every single culture in your city, you’re missing out,” he reveals. Are you missing out? He admits that he won’t be ful� lled until there is ultimate equality and respect for all of God’s children. “Where the colors mix is where the � avors exist,” is just one of the countless insightful quotes that Sco� has shared with me

that has stuck with me. Soul of the Boot Productions was founded on the

idea of bringing people of all ages, cultures, beliefs, etc. together to celebrate the arts and encourage expres-sion. “True expression is special, euphoric, and hard to de� ne,” discloses Sco� . In an industry where sex sells, and most people are involved in projects for super� cial and/or sel� sh reasons, he has stayed true to himself and his endeavors are tastefully executed. “True people keep the industry alive. Music is the substance,” he shares. � e results are phenomenal. Collaborations with his part-ner, Je� Strange, include a Night Fever Series in Austin that features incredibly talented and diverse artists and dj’s from all over the world once a month, including my personal favorite, Chico Mann, a self-proclaimed “Afro-Freestyle” Cuban-in� uenced band from New Jersey. Hundreds of people come out to “celebrate love” at these magical events, which feature a di� erent theme every month. Most events also feature an artist creating a live painting on stage, as he or she derives inspiration from the live music that is being created just feet away from them. Here, guests can vibe with, teach, and learn from Papa Chop, who is usually found tearing up the dance � oor with his lovely wife to jams that are worlds away from overplayed mainstream songs on the radio. To learn more about Soul of the Boot Entertainment, LLC, search for the o� cial Facebook page.

Sco� a� ributes his success, thus far, to his Creator, his family, and the ultimate optimism that he’s been blessed with. He draws inspiration from the Native American culture on account of the fact that they are completely connected with Earth, and � nd beauty in everything that it o� ers. He advises others to utilize the time that they have on Earth to make a di� erence, and stresses the sig-ni� cance of humbling themselves to do so. “Anything can become a reality if you want it enough, but you can’t forget to slow down and enjoy the moment to get more out of life,” he suggests. So, go climb a tree, get lost on purpose, make a mistake, laugh until you cry, show love to everyone, and, most importantly, � nd beauty in it all…

by Vanessa Marie Alaniz