What does it take to be the entire face of the thing you built?

Benji Haimoff walked away from the diamond business at the height of it, moved to Israel, and came back. He opened a pizza shop in Miami that failed, and at that exact location he started the first Smash House Burger in 2022. Today there are 11 locations from Los Angeles to Brooklyn to the Five Towns, and he runs all of them from his car, on his phone, with no office and no computer.

In this conversation with Miriam Pollak, Benji explains where “everybody’s a winner” comes from (a kid who never won a raffle), what he saw in the diamond business that made him leave, and why a good name is the most important thing a person has. He talks about the day he finally shut down the failing pizza shop and went all in on Smash House, and what he tells anyone sitting in a business that isn’t working.

He also opens up about growing up as a rabbi’s son in Queens with a twin brother, leaving religion at 15 and coming back in 2022, protecting his wife when business was at its lowest point, handing off control of the brand he built, being a bully as a kid and what he tells kids who are bullied now, and what he wants his own children to say about him.

Listen for: starting over after failure, walking away from a career you stopped believing in, a good name, finding your way back to faith, family expectations, marriage and money pressure, why ego ends businesses, parenting teenagers, and what it means to sell happiness.

Real Talk with Miriam is a podcast about honest conversation around mental health, identity, relationships, spirituality, healing, and the challenges people carry beneath the surface.

How do you hold onto faith when the life you prayed for looks nothing like the life you’re living?

Rebbetzin Orit Esther Riter, founder of Or Emuna, joins Miriam and Chaya for an honest conversation about faith, pain, and learning to trust Hashem through uncertainty. She shares her gradual return to Torah life, the multiple sclerosis diagnosis that challenged everything she believed, and how her most difficult moments led her toward teaching and supporting others.

Orit Esther opens up about anger, questioning Hashem, and building a relationship with Him that leaves room for real emotions. Together, they explore the daily practice of emunah, letting go of control, finding strength in vulnerability, and how faith evolves through motherhood, marriage, and every stage of a woman’s life.

A conversation about making space for both pain and hope, finding purpose when plans change, and taking one honest step toward a deeper connection with Hashem.

Episode 16 of Real Talk with Mary Maria is a conversation with DJ Nechemia Krasner about music, joy,

faith, family, fatherhood, and building a creative career without losing the values that keep you

grounded.

Krasner shares how music became part of his life from an early age, the mentors and artists who

shaped him, and how he helped bring an EDM-inspired energy into Jewish music. He opens up about a

major-label opportunity that forced him to think about the kind of artist and person he wanted to

become, the last-minute show that became a turning point in his career, and the powerful messages

he has received from listeners who connected with his music during difficult moments.

The conversation also gets practical. He explains why aspiring artists need to show their work, share

the process, get personal, and create content consistently instead of waiting to be discovered.

Through it all, the theme stays the same: be genuine, stay connected to what matters, and use your

gift to bring more energy, positivity, and meaning into the world.

Listen for: music and identity, staying grounded in entertainment, fatherhood and values, career

turning points, creative confidence, social media for artists, and the lasting impact of authentic work