This Valentine’s Day we’re not going to try to define love. But CityBeat’s 2013 Love List will introduce you, in a strictly platonic way, to nine “hot” locals in various service, creative and philanthropic industries who have turned their passions into successful careers.   

Chris Sutton, owner and creative director of Noble Denim, didn’t go to school for fashion or business. In fact, he studied theology. But he always liked clothes and always liked working with his hands.  

 Currently in rehearsal for Romeo & Juliet, which opens on Valentine’s Day, Cincinnati Ballet Company corps member Sirui Liu spends most of her days — from about 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. — dancing.   

 As Rivertown Brewing Company CEO and brewmaster, Jason Roeper spends most of his time on the road in the company’s four main sales territories, but home is where his heart is.   

 Libby Hunter was used to seeing interactions between different social, economic and age groups. But after witnessing a particularly upsetting altercation where local youths began throwing rocks at a disabled client who was moving into a renovated property, Hunter took action and flipped the script.    

A twist of fate landed Hideki Harada behind the sushi table when he applied for a part-time job at a Japanese restaurant while in school at Ohio State University.   

 After spending several months cooped up inside, immobilized, recovering from a back injury sustained during a car accident, Abby Artemisia had a realization: “I realized how vital nature is to my life, how much I missed it and how precious every moment is. … I realized I’d never be happy working inside and had to do something that fulfilled me.”  

“From as early as I can remember I wanted to be a hairstylist,” says Jessie Hoffman, owner/stylist at Parlour salon. “I always had my hands on hair — cutting my dolls’ hair very early on and foiling and hacking at brave friends’ locks in high school.”