Chevere Means Cool

Welcome to Chevere Means Cool— a podcast where I get to talk to some of my favorite independent designers, brands, and creators and share their stories. Chevere Means Cool was born from my love for unique style and the relationship we have with clothes, but most importantly, it’s a way to celebrate and support people’s dreams.

To give you a bit of a back story, in a way I've had this idea for quite some time, I just never knew exactly how I wanted to move forward with bringing it to life. It wasn't until my birthday a couple of months back when I started to think about what I was doing to stay inspired and continue to grow and evolve as a person. Reflecting on this was the little push I needed to finally decide to go ahead and just do it. I've always felt happiest when I'm wearing clothes that truly make me feel like me—and if you know me, you'll know that that usually means a lot of colors and an eclectic mix of prints and patterns, but more importantly, ethically sourced clothes by independent designers. So with that, I decided to start a podcast where I get to chat with the founders of these brands and share some more about what makes them so special with anyone who listens.

Chevere

Chevere is a word in colloquial Spanish that means cool, literally. Growing up in Peru, I used this word, and still do, in almost every sentence I say. In a way, this is the first word that comes to mind when I think about home so it felt very natural to use this as the name for my podcast. This is also what I say to my sister every time I DM her a new brand I come across on Instagram, "mira que chevere!"

Chevere Means Cool was my way of bringing together both of my worlds, Peru, and a mix between LA and NYC.

Episode 1— Intro to the Podcast

Okay, so what can you expect! I'll be talking to small designers and founders about their stories, how they decided to take the leap and follow their dreams, and why their missions are so important. I tried really hard to focus on brands that are being mindful about their production processes and sustainability so hopefully, you'll leave with a couple of new favorite clothing options that aren't contributing to fast fashion.

Here is a little intro episode where you can learn more about me and the idea behind this podcast:

In this intro episode, I also talk to my friend Bianca, who is a creator and entrepreneur herself. We'll talk a bit more about how she went from having what she thought was her dream job, to getting laid off with the rest of her team, all the way to enrolling in nutrition school and opening her own practice where she helps others with their relationships with food—oh and did I mention she's also an artist? Listen to the episode to learn all about her!

A few months back I also talked to her and shared some more of her story here on Vocal so you can also read that story below:

Episode 2— Chevere Means: Secondhand with @theconsistencyproject

Since moving to New York, I quickly become a fan of vintage, secondhand, and reworked clothing. The Consistency Project was a favorite since day one—so you can imagine how excited I was to get to speak with Natasha and learn more about how this all came to be.

TCP is all about breaking the stigma that is sometimes associated with secondhand so in this episode we explore why these ideas exist in the first place and why it's important to have conversations that change the narrative around secondhand clothing. We also talk about how Natasha got started with this passion project, what has changed since then, and what's to come in the next couple of months.

You can listen to my conversation with Natasha here:

Gracias Totales

If you listened to Chevere Means Cool, thank you, truly! I hope to continue to spark important conversations around fashion and sustainability, so be sure to subscribe so you can be notified of any new episodes. You can also follow me on Instagram @dani.bao for updates there! Hope you enjoy CMC—it's chevere :)