For upcoming stories, please consider Trystanne Cunningham, black powerhouse female founder, creative director and editor-in-chief of TrooRa Magazine. Born in Haiti and currently based in CA, she launched TrooRa Magazine, stemming from Truly Rare in 2021, a digital-first publication amplifying the voices of those who often go unheard. Trystanne and team forage the corners of the earth to seek out passionate photographers, artists, chefs, designers, musicians and other talented individuals looking to gain exposure through an organic lens. This pioneer in the magazine space can comment on the following hot topics:
-How not being fluent in English challenged her to work hard, break expectations and overcome stereotypes, an experience that heavily influenced where she is today.
-Her process in choosing the best talent for the magazine, while remaining inclusive and edgy with content and visuals
-As a black, immigrant, female entrepreneur, she can speak to the obstacles of building a life in the publishing industry and creating a voice and career considering obstacles that many minorities face in the US and beyond.
-Current natural disaster and political unrest in Haiti
Cunningham does everything from putting together the issues, finding subjects, meeting with contributors, photoshoots, model castings, new events and developing partnerships, as opposed to using the usual admin, HR and legal teams.
The magazine is both print and digital and has partnered with Click a Tree, for every print subscription sold, they plant a tree, primarily working on reforestation in the Philippines, Thailand, and Ghana. For the next four issues that are published, TrooRa is hosting an event to promote the featured brands, partners, entrepreneurs, and artists for additional visibility, and opportunity to increase their sales and brand awareness.
Cunningham says, “I felt there was a lack of publications, established or not, that didn’t provide the proper platform to a certain group of people. I wanted to create a magazine that would do just that. Quality content, discovering the undiscovered, giving a voice to brands, entrepreneurs, artists, and focusing on different categories where people are doing amazing work, but are not getting the recognition for it. To create a community of creatives that are like-minded and have resources available to help them grow.”
More about:
Trystanne moved from the Caribbean to the US when she was 15 and barely spoke English as an immigrant woman of color. She did some research, went back to school, and took some graphic design classes. Throughout her schooling and early careers, Trystanne honed both her creative and project management skills, which she now brings to her latest project—TrooRa Magazine. Her vision is to provide a platform for unique talent in all industries. Her passion is to inspire and be inspired, to amplify voices filtered through every story shared in this publication.
