NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

Spreading positivity:
HealthyLife.net Radio Network, based in Redondo Beach,
has created positive vibes over the Internet since 2002
Tuesday, December 30, 2014 1:50 pm by Michael Hixon

Redondo Beach's Linda Mackenzie founded HealthyLife.net Radio Network in 2002 to spread positive information "to help change the world." The 24/7 Internet radio station strays from sensationalism, controversy and politics, to focus only on positive talk.

Besides Mackenzie, HealthyLife.net features 40 hosts that tackle everything from health and fitness to spirituality and the paranormal. According to 2013 numbers, HealthyLife.net has more than 169,000 live listeners monthly in the South Bay, plus an additional 331,548 listeners in 1,240 cities across the country and in 128 countries. Through 60 distribution channels, they reached nearly 6.1 million live listeners in 2013, not counting on-demand listeners, podcast/MP3 downloads and smartphones and tablet users.

"We've hit over 79 million people in all these years. That means it's a domino effect-if somebody hears something really good on the network they give it to somebody else," Mackenzie said.

Linda Mackenzie, founder of HealthyLife.net,
pictured in her Redondo Beach Studio.
Photo by Michael Hixon

In 2011, Mackenzie started South Bay Saturdays, which runs from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Hosts include locals such as Redondo Beach Mayor Steve Aspel and Sharkie Zartman, a star volleyball player turned college professor in health, yoga and fitness. For the new year, HealthyLife.net will add a show focusing on music in the South Bay hosted by Jay Cruz, who is also the station's program director.

"There are always musicians that say there's no support for the scene," Cruz said. "I do want to give people the chance to have an outlet to either be interviewed or play some of their music."

Like Cruz, who has been in the radio industry since 1984, Mackenzie picks hosts, from actress Sally Kirkland to Dr. Bernie Siegel, who have TV, film or radio hosting experience to increase the quality for listeners. In October, HealthyLife.net added Larry Montz and Daena Smoller and their satellite show from Las Vegas, "Larry and Daena Do Vegas."

"We are a how-to network," Mackenzie said. "It gives you a blueprint to a positive life ... it doesn't mean we're not funny. I like to say we're 'Sex, no drugs and rock 'n' roll.'"

Mackenzie, who said she has been psychic since she was 8 years old, was a datacom engineer before she entered the world of radio in 1996, where she hosted a syndicated programthat reached 246 markets and 9 million people. She has written two books; articles for numerous publications; released two self- empowerment series called "Help Yourself Heal!" and "The Total Mind-Body-Spirit Weight Loss Program" on tape; and her documentary "The Many Faces of Psychic Ability" was released in 2009.

But it wasn't until 2002 when she decided to take the leap and form HealthyLife.net, which at the was one of the first live and entirely positive radio stations on the internet.

"At this point it was chicken before the egg," she said. "You have to have an audience to get advertisers and the advertisers to get an audience. I did five shows a day (for nearly four months) and did some beta testing and I was getting some call-ins."

As HealthyLife.net has grown substantially throughout the years, she has faced some battles to stay on the air, but she continues to work hard to keep the positivity alive. She has worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week, since 2002.

"We're helping so many people … we just stay true to our dream," she said.
For more information, visit healthylife.net.

Media Contact: Kelly Despal (310) 371-5444

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