As native Angelenos, we all grew up hearing the usual Los Angeles stereotypes: sunny days, trend-setting ways, and cool, laid-back vibe. But that doesn’t mean our ladies and gents aren’t working hard to do big things, change the way people think, or make their dreams come true — they just do it all with a chill attitude. That’s why we’re excited to share Refinery29’s third-annual 30 Under 30 list, a celebration of the influential, inspiring, and seriously awesome under-30 set who are making this city great, right now.
We guarantee you’ll be inspired to start making a few big moves yourself. So, check out our epic list of game-changers. As Pretty Woman so famously puts it, “Welcome to Hollywood! What’s your dream?”
Sacha Nemcov is the Chief Executive Officer of Virgoan Capital, a cryptocurrency exchange firm that he started when he was just 24. His firm is set up to help blockchain projects with their target audience. His business has already raised over $6 million in token sales through its marketing services according to Bitcoin Ukraine.
Also read: A Crypto Conversation with Sacha Nemcov
Nemcov believes L.A. is currently experiencing bitcoin fever of sorts. With Hollywood celebrities such as Snoop Dogg and Ashton Kutcher promoting Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency boom in Socal rivals that of Silicon Valley. Currently, he is putting together blockchain events in downtown L.A. and Venice’s Silicon Beach.
It’s safe to say everyone shares the sentiment of Yael Cohen’s charity Fuck Cancer. The 26-year-old founded the movement after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. With the goal to educate people about early detection, prevention, and how to speak openly about the disease, Cohen is targeting Generation Y, the tweeting, Instagramming, Facebooking generation, that has the social-media clout to start the conversation that could change peoples’ lives.
At the age of 27, Alex Olson says he is in the midst of a quarter-life crisis. Not only is he living the dream of 10-year-old boys everywhere, but he’s at the top of his game, skateboarding at the professional level. Santa Monica born and bred, Olson was raised on a board — his father, Steve Olson, is a skateboarding legend and was instrumental in turning the sport pro. Now, he has proved he’s one to watch. Winning numerous awards, earning his name on boards, and being courted by sponsors might be considered a day’s work for the athlete, but, for us, it seems like a pretty big (and sweet) deal. Olson might be worried there’s nowhere to go from here, but we’re pretty confident there’s a whole lot of awesome in his future.
