We had the good fortune of connecting with Shana Race and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shana, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Taking risks for me comes in many shapes and forms. Risks can look like career leaps of faith or take shape emotionally as well. Both take courage but ultimately for me I really boils down to knowing and trusting myself. I know I can fall and get back up. I have failed in so many ways, so many times but every failure is a major life lesson. Guaranteed from every failure I have and will learn how to navigate a success in the future. Failing is the best thing I have ever done but I couldn’t fail or succeed with out taking the risk in the first place. Figure out what you want and simplify it. When I look at a problem that does not have an obvious solution this is where risk comes in. Am I willing to risk solving the problem at hand? This can be across the board in experiences, if I am having a relationship problem sometimes it feels risky to let myself be fully vulnerable and feel 100%. If I take on that risk usually that outcome is successful using full on communication. When the problem comes in the form of a creative project I look at the big picture of what the risk factors are. Can I afford the project? Can I fund the project? Can I build a team? What are the reasons I can’t pull this thing off? Then once I have all of my factors laid out I can easily systematically devise a plan to execute the idea or project. The last major factor in my success at taking risks is asking for help. I know it is hard sometimes to ask for help. That falls in the emotional risk category I believe. But like I said earlier, if you know yourself and trust yourself to follow through, asking for help becomes not so risky. You build trust in people by following through, even if it is not the greatest success at the end, it is ok cause your followed through and you learned so much valuable information through the process. To sum it up, you can sit thinking about doing something you really want for a lifetime and not ever take that risk because of fear of failure. Or you can get up and try to make it happen, Realize it really doesn’t matter if you fail because you are right back to where you started before you tried but with new tools and more knowledge. It really matters if you just don’t try at all, that matters a lot. Might as well risk it and take those leaps of faith!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a bartender, for 15 years I have loved crafting cocktails for my guests. I love hearing what they like and seeing their faces when I make a drink that fits exactly what they wanted. It is very gratifying making something that make people happy. Over the years of bartending experience I have made many friends and heard amazing stories. I started the bartender storytelling podcast TalkTales 3 years ago to highlight my friends that work behind the stick night after long night. I love their stories and I love telling my stories, it is very therapeutic. Making the podcast was a no brainer once I had the idea. It was very clear to me the format and how to execute the show. I have incredible help from my co-host Adhel Martinez. She and I hit it off as friends right away working at a bar in Silverlake together. I love her like a sister and we are always side hustling together. Anytime there were tough times, Adhel and I learned to communicate better as business partners and friends. We got this thing like a well oiled machine now. It can be difficult navigating a creative project like ours. When there is no outline or money dictating how to do something you go at it half blind. The only thing leading you is passion. It can be stressful but I got Adhel and she go me and we both try to be open minded to ideas and critiques, it is crazy important. If you haven’t heard of TalkTales yet, check us out! We are on anywhere you get your podcasts. The stories are fun and we don’t take ourselves too seriously. There are a lot of laughs and jokes. We even have fun silly character come on and improv bar related characters. We are now taking these stories and filming them as reenactments. Check out our YouTube channel TalkTales Entertainment to see these stories come to life! If you want to learn how to make cocktails from home during quarantine, go to eventbright and sign up for my virtual cocktail class “Cocktails with TalkTales.” And finally… the parks and beaches have opened up again, Adhel and I are crafting Park Party Packs ready for your enjoyment at your next park party. We have offerings of cocktail pouches, fancy jello shots, sangria, sandwiches and Adhel’s famous seasonal pies! Like I said, we are ALWAYS hustling!

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?
OK my list…. here we go. wake up grab breakfast/brunch at Grand Central Market, roam around DTLA, go to the Broad, MOCA, Walk Disney concert hall, grab a french dip from Cole’s. Happy hour at a DTLA roof top bar, walk around Echo Park Lake and rent a swan boat, get dinner at Red Lion after drinks at Cha Cha lounge Pack some food for a Griffith park hike check out Hollywood sign get to the top and have late breakfast. Hit up the hollywood strip for like a millisecond for a photo and people watch from a two for one margarita joint on the boulevard. dinner at Sugarfish drinks at Bar Franca. Get on bike, ride to the metro train and take out to Santa Monica. Ride bike along the beach trail down to Manhattan Beach, grab lunch and a beer anywhere with a happy hour special and ride back stopping in Venice to check out the canals and abbot kinney st. Ride back to Santa Monica and back on the train to DTLA. Dinner at Quarters in KTown for Korean BBQ. After dinner Karaoke room. Some more Favs.. Thai town night-the holy trinity- Harvard and Stone, Jumbos and late night Thai food. Black Cat, Margarita Monday at El Condor, El Compadre, Boiling Crab, Pilot in the Hoxton Hotel, Ricky’s Fish Tacos, Mariscos Jalisco, Leo’s Tacos, Landers, KazuNori, Los Balcones, 1642 wine bar, The Varnish, Arts District Brewery, Genever, La Pergoletta, Guisados…. Dude I can list for days…..

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Gosh, I really have to thank my husband, Jonny Race. I get ideas daily about projects and business that I want to take on. He hears my ideas out and helps me filter through some of the not so great ideas. He is a computer genius and I ask his help a lot because I am a dingus when it come to computer stuff. He is, for the most part, patient and helps me create really great things but the one thing that is above and beyond is, he makes me learn how to create things on my own. It starts off very frustrating because I want him to just create things for me because he is so talented but when he can’t help if forces me to figure out how to do it myself. From his support I have learned how to use so many new computer software programs like audition, photoshop, premier and building and maintaining a website,etc. Its like the old teach a woman to fish saying.. So thank you husband, I love you and appreciate your mind, patience and creativity.

Website: https://talktalesthepodcast.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talktalesthepodcast/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shana-race-b7680417a/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/talktalesthepod
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/talktalesthepodcast/
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cocktails-with-talktales-los-angeles-4?osq=talktales
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTXvWSO-BgIUxQsRs1N-Pqg/videos?view_as=subscriber

Image Credits
Mariana Ramos Eugene Lee