Meet Cheryl Samson Ramirez | Co-Founder, Pilipinx in Wellness

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cheryl Samson Ramirez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cheryl, every day, we know how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
The Pilipinx in Wellness podcast has always been a collective front from its origins. The idea spawned in a UC Irvine Kaba alumni chatroom within the Clubhouse mobile app. and was birthed from discussing not only grief and loss during the Covid-19 pandemic, but also Asian hate crimes. Riann De Los Reyes of Rifill Candle Co. and Cheryl Samson Ramirez are co-founders of Pilipinx in Wellness with support from founder of SoCal Filipinos, Jason Lustina.

Pilipinx in Wellness was created to not only address grief, loss, and Asian hate crimes, but Riann and Cheryl recognized a need within our community to address the impacts of intergenerational trauma, toxicity, as we worked towards collective healing. By featuring health and wellness providers within our community and tapping into our own networks, we were able to give voice towards that vision.

For Cheryl, the work of indigenous social entreprenership, Well For Culture, co-founded by Chelsey Luger & Thosh Collins, the late Soraya Medina, Los Angeles based health practitioner and advocate, and podcasts such as “This Filipino American Life”, the “Enculturation Podcast” and “Trek Table” were additional influences on the creation of the Pilipinx in Wellness podcast.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Pilipinx in Wellness started in April 2021 with our first discussion on the Clubhouse mobile app. around Filipinos & Grief During the Pandemic. The co-founders were both Riann De Los Reyes and Cheryl Samson Ramirez with support from Jason Lustina of SoCal Filipinos. The first episode of the Pilipinx in Wellness podcast launched on February 2, 2022 via our YouTube channel.

Our Vision: Pilipinx in Wellness envisions a world where culturally-rooted wellness is accessible to all, empowering the diaspora and beyond to maintain health, connection, and collective healing.

Our Mission: Pilipinx in Wellness centers culturally-rooted health and ancestral healing within the Filipino/Pilipinx diaspora and its allies. Through accessible tools, conversations, and community partnerships, we empower individuals to reclaim health & wellness practices that honor identity, heritage, and holistic balance.

We take pride in our partnership with Therapin*y, the community support that we’ve received globally, our continual growth and reach. We can’t emphasize enough that we are a collective movement whose growth is attributed to the community organizations, past guests, advisors, fellow podcasts that we’ve acknowledged, our allies and the many health and wellness workers who continue to inspire us. We our true believers in the health and wellness of our global diaspora and beyond that we can reach.

Our growth has come from the lessons, stories, and experiences of those who have come before us, those who exist among us and is dedicated to future generations to come. We acknowledge that within the health and wellness movement, we are not running a sprint, but a marathon, and hope that the impact of our words can leave a legacy for future generations to thrive. We continue to move towards representing a global story of who we are as a diaspora, the impact and challenges we face from generations of imperialism, wars, and colonialism, while centering the ancestral, spiritual, and cultural bearers, our health and wellness workers, both traditional and modern from all walks of life.

Each step towards progress always comes with challenges, team transitions, ebbs and flows, time & capacity constraints, financial constraints and being a small team. It is not always easy to represent the diverse backgrounds, socioeconomic classes, regional differences, political ideologies, religious and spiritual backgrounds, and varying perspectives of our migratory people, globally. We acknowledge the diversity of views expressed on our podcast, but believe if we continue to dedicate ourselves to the health and wellness of our global diaspora then we will hold steadfast to our vision and mission.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Being a 20 year resident of Echo Park, Los Angeles, I have many childhood memories in Historic Filipinotown since my late Uncle Frank Villareal moved to Reno Street in 1959. I would start the week off with a morning walk around Echo Park Lake and grab an Ube Latte from Laveta on Glendale Blvd. We would drive by the Pilipino Workers Center on the way to HiFi Kitchen for breakfast. We would then walk off breakfast to Unidad Park to look at the Gintong Kasaysayn mural, drive to Search to Involve Pilipino Workers (SIPA), my late uncle’s house on Reno street, the Echo Park mural at the side of the Jersey Mike’s building on Echo Park and Montana, and a small hike towards Angels View to see the view of former Chavez Ravine and Dodgers Stadium. For lunch we would eat at The Park’s Finest and take some leftovers to enjoy a summer concert at Grand Performances.

On Day 2, we would explore Chinatown, starting first at Union Station, the original Chinatown, walking across to grab breakfast on Olvera Street, checking out the stores, carts, and museums on Olvera Street, the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument and the Chinese American Museum. We would then walk through the many specialty stores in Chinatown to enjoy a tea ceremony and lunch at Steep LA. We would grab dessert at the Phoenix Bakery and enjoy an afternoon resting, watching a concert or walking through Historic State Park. For dinner, we would walk back to Lasita for dinner and some natural wine.

On Day 3, we would explore Little Tokyo with coffee from Okayama Kobo Bakery & Cafe and fresh mochi from Fugetsu-Do. We would walk around the Buddhist temples and shops throughout Little Tokyo looking at the murals and seeing if there is an exhibit to catch at the MOCA or the Japanese American National Museum. For lunch, we would enjoy a meal at Azay, and catch my friend’s children playing in a basketball tournament at Terasaki Budokan. If we’re lucky we’ll catch a show at the Aratani Theater, an outdoor concert at the James Irvine Japanese Garden or a class through the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center. For dinner, we can enjoy shabu shabu at Kushi Shabu Restaurant, okonimiyaki at Chinchikurin Little Tokyo or udon at Marugame Monzo.

On Day 4, we would go through Boyle Heights, getting a small coffee at La Monarca Bakery & Cafe, a bean and cheese burrito from Al & Bea’s, checking out Mariachi Plaza and some shopping or browsing at Espacio Boyle Heights. We would continue with some more shopping or browsing at El Mercadito with lunch at the original Guisados. We would do a walking cemetery tour through Evergreen Cemetery and see if there are any art exhibits at Self Help Graphics. We would catch dinner at Otomisan and a drink at Eastside Luv.

On Day 5, we would start the morning off with a hike through Griffith Park and breakfast at Little Dom’s or a bagel sandwich from the Yeastie Boys food truck with coffee from Blue Bottle or Maru Coffee. From there, we would explore the current exhibit in the La Luz De Jesus Gallery inside Wacko and a rest stop at Barnsdall Art Park. For lunch, we’d eat at Sapp Coffee Shop Thai Restaurant and go to Amoeba or the Japan House Los Angeles. Ending with a dinner at Saffy’s.

On Day 6, we would explore Koreatown, starting at Document Coffee for a morning boost. I would show her RFK Community Schools, if permitted, the murals, and talk about the history of the Ambassador Hotel. We would have brunch at Escala in Chapman plaza, check out Kim’s Home Center, catch some r&r at a Korean Spa and have dinner at Holbox in Mercado La Paloma.

On Day 7, we’d go to the Venice Canals, the Santa Monica Pier, and drive down PCH to hang at one of the beaches. We’ll have breakfast at Citizen Public Market, lunch at Kazu Nori, and grab Ethiopian food for dinner at Merkato or Meals by Genet in Little Ethiopia 🙂

That could easily be a one week itinerary in Los Angeles for my best friend and me if she’s not too tired, lol.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The Pilipinx in Wellness podcast would like to thank: our founding team, Co-founder and advisor, Riann De Los Reyes of Rifill Candles Company, Jason Lustina of SoCal Filipinos, our Creative Lead, Ritchie Ramirez, our Video Editor, Harmonie Tangonan-Kwan, our Co-Hosts, Sheena Katz and MarKing of Artistry in Life, our Social Media Strategist and Development Coordinator, Kathleen Torio, our Outreach Manager, Maya Custodio, our additional advisors, Alison Dela Cruz and Sapho Teologo, our community partners, SoCal Filipinos, This Filipino American Life, Rising Filipinas, Therapin*y, Kubo Long Beach, the HiFi Coalition, the late Soraya Medina, Well for Culture, the Enculturation Podcast, our past, present, and future guests, our global diaspora and our allies.

The Pilipinx in Wellness podcast is a collective moment. We’d like to give thanks to the continual guidance from our ancestors and loved ones who came before us, the indigenous people whose land we continue to live and work on, and our future generations to come.

Website: www.pilipinxinwellness.com (Coming Soon)

Instagram: @pilipinxinwellness

Facebook: Pilipinx in Wellness

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PilipinxinWellness

Other: Pilipinx in Wellness is also on Threads, Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Image Credits
Creative Lead: Ritchie Ramirez