JAYDEN PERMAUL
Building Heatcheck:The Journey of Trust, Dedication, and a Team That Has Your Back The moment my life changed was when I learned that having a strong team around you—people you can treat like family—will take you further than you could ever go alone. I started selling shoes online in 2020, primarily over Instagram during COVID, and met a lot of people, both customers and fellow sneaker resellers, who were in the same business as me. One of these people, Jacob, who I’m now happy to call my business partner, approached me about forming a team to take
ANTHONY NUSCA
What Changed Me? My name is Anthony Nusca. I’m a Toronto-based photographer whose work is shaped by my global upbringing between Canada and Sweden, offering a unique cross-cultural perspective rooted in authentic moments. I strive to explore the intricate relationship between pivotal life experiences and their profound impact on identity, creating deeply personal narratives that resonate with diverse audiences. My work captures how life's defining moments shape our perceptions of ourselves and the world, inviting viewers to engage with visual stories that explore the intersection of life, culture, and memory—wherever they may be found. Seven years ago, I
HANNA PATRICIA PARAS
Patco Cafe: A Story of Resilience and Reinvention There have been many moments in my life that have changed me. One moment in particular was in August 2020: Patco Cafe was launched as an attempt to reconnect with community members who were lost during the pandemic. About two months before that, I was in a car accident that gave me a concussion. Everything hurt—turning my head, bright lights, loud sounds, and even thinking. I had lapses in my memory, often forgetting conversations or entire events. It took a toll on my studies—I dropped a mandatory course that would
JANE HUANG
What Changed Me? My name is Jane Huang (@janejane.zip). I’m a Toronto-based interdisciplinary artist and lawyer who enjoys story-telling through dance, fashion, and visual arts. Art has been a catalyst for change throughout many periods in my life. Growing up, I branched between arts disciplines - first by training in gymnastics and ballet for a short period, then by immersing myself in fantasy worlds as an avid bookworm and writer, and later by leaning into visual arts through photography, modelling, and fashion. My creative pursuits have recently led me back to the world of movement arts, which
AMY WAY
What Changed Me? My name is Amy, and I grew up moving between China and Canada. Although I’ve always had a passion for traditional mediums like oils, watercolors, and gouache, I only fully committed to art in the last year and a half. My love for creating started at a young age when I asked my mom to draw Bambi for me, which sparked my realization that I, too, could create something with my hands. The moment I decided to drop out of school, just three courses away from graduating was a significant turning point. I realized I didn’t
MYRANDA PIERSON
What Changed Me? Falling in love is one of those experiences that people say changes you forever, but I never truly understood how much it would change my life until it happened to me. It was like one day I was just living my life, doing my thing, and the next, everything felt different—in the best way possible. Healing Through Love Before I fell in love, I didn’t even realize how much healing I needed. I had wounds and trauma that were so deep that they became part of my everyday life. We all have our fair share
LINH NGUYEN
Reconnecting Through Art: My Path to Nail Artistry My name is Linh, and I’m a press-on nail artist based in Toronto. I was born and raised in Hanoi, Vietnam, and moved to Canada in 2019. Before moving to Canada, art was my life. I would spend hours making illustrations wherever I could, and I knew early on that I was the happiest when I sat down and created something. After moving here, the stress of living on my own in a foreign country changed me. Like many of us, I was just trying to find my place
TYLER QUINCY YAN
Breaking the Rhythm: Rediscovering Myself Beyond Dance Dance changed me, but having to stop dancing changed me the most. I didn’t grow up dancing—except for maybe a couple of K-pop covers in my basement, but that’s it, I swear. I was always interested in dance because it looked cool, but there weren’t many accessible opportunities in my hometown. So, I stuck to video games. At university, I joined a street dance crew, mostly because my friends were there. This one decision sparked my love for dance, which would become my defining trait for years to come. Dance felt like
LINA NGUYEN
From Pragmatic Choice to Passionate Pursuit: My Journey into Nursing My name is Lina Nguyen, and I’m currently 23 years old (I just turned 23 in July). Born in Toronto, Canada, I grew up in an immigrant Vietnamese household as the eldest daughter. Outside the hospital, you’ll find me reading, doing yoga or weightlifting, hanging out with friends, or exploring different countries. Since graduating and having more financial independence, I’ve developed a passion for travel. My top five next destinations, in no particular order, are Taiwan, Hawaii, Thailand, Peru, and Australia. I’m also interested in travel
ZUMON
What Changed Me? The moment that changed my life was the day I decided to embrace the unpredictable journey of entrepreneurship. It's a choice that carries a heavy load, one that requires balancing creativity with practicality, passion with strategy, and art with commerce. This is a path that is both daunting and exhilarating, filled with moments of doubt, sleepless nights, and the relentless pursuit of a vision that is constantly evolving. Yet, it was in this decision that I found clarity, purpose, and a new level of self-awareness. In the dead of winter, 2023, I registered ZUMONSTUDIO.
