Paula Temian (Founder Sneakers & Stilettos/Writer, Storyteller, and Event Leader) was recently interviewed by TheCelebrity.Online Magazine and below is the Q&A session we had with Paula.

Paula Temian As Cover Story Interview – December 2025 Magazine Edition

How do you introduce yourself?

My name is Paula Temian. Professionally, I’m the creator of Sneakers & Stilettos, a writer, storyteller, and event leader who helps bring people together through powerful narratives and meaningful experiences. But outside of the brand, I’m simply a woman who has lived many lives in one — Romanian-born, Chicago-raised, and now California-rooted, with a love for sunshine, fast cars, deep conversations, and rebuilding myself as many times as life requires.

I’m the friend who will make you laugh at the darkest moments, the woman who believes in second chances, and the soul who survived more surgeries than birthdays in my twenties — and still found a way to rise with softness and strength. At my core, I’m driven by connection, resilience, curiosity, and a desire to create a life that feels as good as it looks.

That mix of grit, femininity, humor, and heart is who I am — both inside and outside of my work.

Struggle – What hardships have you gone through in life?

I’ve been through more in a decade than most people experience in a lifetime. I survived a life-changing injury that led to 18 surgeries, months of not walking, chronic pain, and a long, emotional recovery that forced me to reinvent who I was and how I moved through the world.

I also navigated the emotional impact of losing my old identity, rebuilding my confidence, learning to date again, adapting to a new body, and starting over — alone — in a new state, far from home.

All of that became the foundation of my voice, my writing, and my brand: the place where pain meets power.

What do people usually not know about you?

People often see the heels, the confidence, and the strength — but they don’t see the years it took to rebuild myself.

Most people don’t know:

• I had to relearn basic things after surgeries.
• I battled insecurities about my body and my worth.
• I rebuilt my life twice — once emotionally, once physically.
• I’m actually extremely soft, observant, and intuitive beneath the armor.
• My dogs, Orion and Oliver, played a massive role in bringing me back to life.

There’s a whole world inside me that most people never see — and that’s where my real story lives.

What sets you apart from others?

What sets me apart is my ability to turn trauma into art, pain into power, and setbacks into strategy.

• I don’t just talk about resilience — I embody it.
• I don’t just overcome things — I transform them.
• And I don’t just tell my story — I alchemize it into something that helps women see themselves in their own healing and becoming.

I bring together corporate leadership, creative storytelling, lived experience, and emotional intelligence in a way that’s real, raw, and relatable.

What are your upcoming major events?

Professionally, my major upcoming events include:

• Relaunching my Permanent Makeup studio 
• Launching the full “Sneakers & Stilettos” website and brand platform.
• Releasing my book, The Making of Sneakers & Stilettos, which combines memoir, essays, and personal transformation.
• Expanding my blog and digital content series, including resilience essays, lifestyle pieces, and healing-centered storytelling.
• Speaking opportunities and brand partnerships related to women’s empowerment, healing, and reinvention

What expert advice would you like to give?

My advice is simple:

Don’t wait for life to go back to what it was — build the life that fits who you’re becoming.

Healing is not linear. Reinvention isn’t glamorous. And confidence is not something you suddenly wake up with — it’s something you earn, every day, through the promises you keep to yourself.

Also:

• Rest is productive.
• Boundaries are a love language to yourself.
• Reinvention requires honesty, courage, and discomfort.
• And your story doesn’t end where the pain begins — that’s just the first page.

My social media handles and website links?

Here are my current brand-aligned links:

• Instagram: @sneakersnstilettos
• TikTok: @sneakersnstilettos
• Website: www.sneakersnstilettos.com