Sk*pster stories: Milan Lombardo

What do a Rob Riccardo concert, environmentalism, and the song “Juice” by Lizzo all have in common? Together they prompted 19-year-old Milan Lombardo to start a podcast, called What’s Your Juice.

Through the What’s Your Juicepodcast, Milan interviews activists, entrepreneurs, musicians, and many more in hopes of inspiring people to find their passion and use it to help our planet. In high school, Milan says, he lacked direction and struggled to find his passion, but a conversation with his uncle—Michael Stewart, co-founder of Sustainable Surf and SeaTrees—sparked his inspiration. Stewart spoke to Milan about the importance of sustainability and how the widespread use of unsustainable goods means that nothing is ever thrown away.

Milan interviews activists, entrepreneurs, musicians and more.

This was the lightbulb moment. Milan realized that everything from our clothes, furniture, even packaging has a footprint that stays and hurts our planet by never fully disappearing. Through the rest of high school, this passion and calling would stay with Milan and continue to inspire him yet he still felt a void. How can this passion be used to bring about change and inspire others to change?

Fast-forward to 2020. Milan had made plans to see Rob Riccardo in concert and asked him if he could interview him after the show. Unfortunately, the concert coincided with the beginning of the pandemic and was cancelled, but this was the impetus for his next move. Still wanting to interview Rob Riccardo, and wanting to interview others that inspire him, he decided to create a platform to do this. At 2am, while listening to Lizzo, Milan developed the idea of starting a podcast where he could interview guests and inspire others to figure out how to use their passion to make the world a better place.

Since starting his podcast in April of 2020, Milan and his entire team have continued to learn and seek out opportunities to expand and grow. Through Milan’s personal partnership with Guayaki Yerba Mate, a mission and community focused yerba mate brand, they were able to create their climate change mini series where they interviewed environmental activists such as Xiye Bastida, Hannah Testa, and Kevin Patel.

Looking forward, the What’s Your Juice podcast is continuing to expand further. Beginning this summer they will be working in LA shooting content and working with Sustainable Surf. On a larger scale, Milan hopes to develop what it means to live the What’s Your Juice lifestyle, where sustainability reigns supreme and everyone is able to harness their interests to help the world around them.

Through this creative outlet both Milan and his listeners are learning more about environmentalism and how to develop and use their passions to spark change. According to Milan, one of the biggest takeaways from his podcasts is that having a great idea happens all the time. However, those who are able to bring them to fruition will be the leaders and those that lead us into the future; and looking at all that Milan has been able to accomplish he is leading and inspiring many into the future.