The VOCAL Times – Everyone is a DJ

DJ JAPANCAKES

I was told early on that NY is a playground for motivated people to do dope shit. No matter what your lane, NY offers an international platform to make shit happen. This mantra reigns supreme in the ring with any city around the world and has been the gas pedal to expediting the goals of many.

LIKES: Chicken Chick-fil-a Problem Solvers Buns Good Energy // DISLIKES: Slow drivers in the passing lane Lists Writ- ing Bad Energy BORN: Cape May // BRED: New York City

BRIGETTE

Sensual Miami roller-disco from the Paris duo Brigitte, aka the disco-charged Parisien duo Sylvie Hoarau and Aurélie Saada, seek to tap into the era of Studio 54 to find a gaze that was not filtered through male eyes only for J’sais Pas. “We wanted to show a feminine view about sex and women: something hypnotic, sen- sual, but not vulgar. We women like to see a sexy girl too. We filmed a real woman roller-skating without showing her face, focusing on her ass in little shorts, to portray everywoman. Disco is about these women: The Helmut Newton women, the Guy Bourdin women. When you say the name Brigitte in France, you think of glamorous names: Brigitte Bardot, Brigitte Lahaye, a porn star in the 70s, or Brigitte Fontaine. But Brigitte is also the name of the woman next door.” 

LENNON & MAISY

Everyone loves an overnight YouTube sensation from Can- ada, thanks to Bieber. The dynamic music duo, Lennon Ray Louise Stella and Maisy Jude Marion, best known as Lennon & Maisy are two old souls, and sisters. They are now the stars in the ABC musical drama series Nashville. Before securing an acting career, the girls aimed big in creating their own fame. To ensure they would get work- ing visas they uploaded a cover of Robyn’s “Call Your Girlfriend” and went viral overnight. They then performed on Good Morning America in NYC and the rest is history. Their YouTube channel now has over 50 million views and over 500,000 subscribers. 

NPR: TINY DESK

Tiny Desk Concert Contest: Over 7,000 musicians across the USA entered in a contest for a chance to perform at NPR Music’s Tiny Desk and at the Lagunitas CouchTrip- pin’ to Austin show. The winner this year is Fantastic Negrito — a.k.a. Xavier Dphrepaulezz, pronounced dee- FREP-ah-lez — has a remarkable backstory. For his One of 15 children, he grew up in a strict home, and later signed a contract with Interscope Records in the ‘90s. That deal fell apart, though, and soured him on music-making. Then, a near-fatal car crash put him in a coma, and eventually left him without the proper use of his hands; he struggled with physical therapy for years to get some movement from what he now calls “The Claw.” 

The VOCAL Times – Everyone is a Photographer

@BARONVONFANCY

@DARIOTHEPHOTOG 

@DAZED 

@LE21EME 

@MUSE

@RADHOURANI 

@THISISRANGE 

@WILIFRIED_ATZERT 

The VOCAL Times – TheGoodLife!

Brooklyn-based boutique lifestyle agency TheGoodLife! specializes in seamlessly blending top-tier marketing opportunities into experiences that look and feel like play more than they do work; after all their mot-to is #WeMakeItNice!

The agency’s most recent activation, The Goodlife! Hideout, brought them to Aspen, Colorado, where they applied their unique expertise along the cross section of action sports and urban culture to the Winter X Games. One of the industry’s tent-pole events, Winter X is an important activation opportunity but also one where it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle.

Avoiding the shuffle altogether has been the key to The- GoodLife! Hideout’s success. Debuting the concept two years ago, The Hideout provides A-list athletes, musicians, image makers, and industry personnel a place of respite away from the crowds and marketing mania of X Games, which then in turn creates a market- ing opportunity all its own. Within the Hideout’s cap- tive environment, TheGoodLife! carefully curates brand partners that will only enhance not distract guests. Past Hideouts featured onsite tattooing by Oliver Peck and haircuts from Frank’s Chop Shop, hospitality sponsors like Sailor Jerry and PBR and guests ranging from Olympic medalists to Santigold, Diplo, and Bun B. 

For TheGoodLife! Hideout 2015, the agency partnered with global fabrication giant Avery Dennison to create a custom apparel pop-up shop on premises. Collaborating with Avery Dennison to create a vast array of The- GoodLife! branded photo transfers from photographers Ricky Powell, Dean Blotto Gray, Cole Barash, Laura Austin, Craig Wetherby, Eddie Grams, Meg Haywood Sullivan, and Gabe L’Heureux, as well as custom patches, fonts, emojis and more, TheGoodLife! was able to promote their own brand while introducing Avery’s capabilities to the snow sports world and stoking out the who’s who of Aspen in the process. Just a handful of people who customized The GoodLife! apparel at the Hideout include X Game gold medalist snowboarders Danny Davis and Mark Mc Morris, Olympians Louie Vito and Hannah Teter, ESPN personalities Jack and Luke Mitrani, pro surfer Coco Ho, musicians Jahphet Landis aka Roofeeo (TV on the Radio), TJ Mizell (A$AP Ferg) and many more.

In addition to the Custom Shop, TheGoodLife! hosted a gifting suite onsite at the Hideout in partnership with headphone and audio component brand the House of Marley and personal vaporizer brand G-Pen. Notable guests were gifted bluetooth speakers, headphones, and vaporizers upon completion of their custom appar- el, creating a takeaway experience like no other dur- ing X Games. Finally, a partnership Pacifico ensured all guests were properly refreshed throughout their visit to the Hideout.

TheGoodLife! was founded by Craig Wetherby and Tim Brodhagen in 2009 with the goal of bring- ing brands in action sports, entertainment, fashion, and music together to create experiences with 360 reso- nance for those immersed in those lifestyles and be- yond. 

The VOCAL Times – People Footwear

From the masterminds behind Native Shoes comes the new and innovative footwear brand, People Footwear.

Headed by founders Damian Van Zyll de Jong and Matthew Penner, People Footwear will be launching this spring, backed by a mission to invent supremely comfortable high-performance shoes using leading “Dreamweave” technology. With styling done by Esme Smith and photography shot by Alana Paterson and Chris Brown, People Footwear is a vision- ary collection of vibrant colors and classic shapes re-imagined for the future.

Be one of the first people to put your feet first into the future with the official US launch this Spring. 

#peoplemeetpeople

The VOCAL Times – Gnarmads

“My name’s Bogdan, I’m 22 years old and was born in the Ukraine and raised in Brooklyn.”

“My name’s Matt Kruz. I’m 23 years old, born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and have been skateboarding with my friend Bogdan for about 13 years.”

Gnarmads really started off as a joke — we entered a scav- enger bike race and needed to come up with a name, and people always referred to us as gypsies and nomads, so call- ing ourselves Gnarmads made sense. If you’re free and you do whatever you want, you’re a Gnarmad. It’s about doing things, pushing yourself and having fun.

Last year we endured a cross-country bicycle trip, skating in every place we stopped. It was a leisurely pace and took us about nine months. We met so many great people in different skate communities that were willing to put us up, feed us or just let us take a shower. We learned a lot about ourselves, other people, the universe and this country. Upon returning to NYC we completed two more bicycle trips to Vermont and to Virginia, building DIY skate spots in cities along the way.

We continue to organize events here in NYC such as skate contests, art shows, pool tournaments and community events. 

> https://gnarmads.co/ 

The Gnarmads

Virginia, October 2013

Photo of Nick airing over Thomas at Fearcliff Skatepark. We were leaving DC after Thanksgiving and looked up skateshops on our route. We called them early telling them we were on a bike trip and to stay open and wait for us to get there. We arrived and met Thomas and Kelly, the couple 20-year- olds who run this indoor skatepark; they kept it open all night for us to skate and camp in. of Nick airing over Thomas at Fearcliff Skatepark. 

Louisiana, December 2013

After riding all day we stopped at a gas station to pick up some beer before finding a campsite. Bog- dan handed his ID to the clerk, to which he immediately said it was fake. He showed him two matching bank cards, and the clerk exclaimed “Your name is fake!” We exchanged some cursing and shouting and he called the police. We waited right outside and explained everything. They looked at us like we were crazy and just told us to get out of town. 

Santa Cruz, April 2014

DIY skatepark hidden in the cliff-side hills north of Santa Cruz on the Pacific Coast Highway. The was also a fixed rope on the cliff to rappel down to the beach / surf spot. 

California, April 2014

We crossed over into the southernmost region of California for the first time through Yuma, AZ. We cycled through seemingly endless sand dunes for days, and kept wondering if it was possible to skate down them. One late afternoon we saw a perfect dune mountain, took off our skateboard wheels and jumped into the slope, sliding down some of the hill before sinking in sand, waist deep. 

California, May 2014

It was a slow riding day because one of our rear derailleurs broke off. We had set our sights on at least making it to this small town that ap- peared to be just over the canyon, called Los Alamos. The Google Maps route took us on a windy road for a few miles, before the road suddenly turned to sand and we couldnt continue onward. 

Arizona, April 2014

After riding all day through the barren desert, it was get- ting dark and we werent seeing any safe place to camp. Just before nightfall we spotted an area on a hill above the highway and set up camp just in time for sunset. In the morning while packing up, we noticed there was a handmade heart, made out of wires, attached to the barbed wire fence near the site. Someone else in the past must have found similar refuge at this beautiful and middle-of-nowhere spot. 

The VOCAL Times – Aimé Leon Dore

Teddy Santis is the designer and founder of Aimé Leon Dore, a fashion and lifestyle brand based out of New York City.

Born and raised in Queens, Teddy Santis grew up admiring great style and architecture which he coupled with an interest in fashion, footwear and streetwear. Teddy eventually turned his passions into a fashion / lifestyle brand a little over a year ago.

Fueled by his own personal style, a creative eye and a strong work ethic, his brain child Aimé Leon Dore has made a worldwide impact since its release. With quality, comfort, and a minimal aesthetic at its core, Leon Dore has cemented itself as a brand with a uniquely refreshing take on product and presentation.

Following the release of three successful collections and concept shops in Manhattan, London and Amsterdam, Santis’ young brand heads into 2015 with a seemingly unstoppable momentum and rapidly growing intrigue.

Photos by Justin Chung shot throughout Harlem.

Justin Chung is an American photographer based in New York City. Originally from San Francisco, CA, Justin began pursuing a career in photography while finishing his graduate studies in public health. Self-taught, Justin’s approach to his photography is to keep things as natural and honest as possible, focusing on capturing a moment.

Aside from his commercial assignments, Justin began documenting creative people as a personal fulfillment. Faculty Department is a personal photography project and visual journey by Justin Chung that focuses on the lives, spaces and stories of creative individuals worldwide. 

The VOCAL Times – Women Entrepreneur Dinners

The Women Entrepreneur Dinners, hosted by Esther Garcia (founder of AQUA Studio), is an invite-only gathering of like-minded female entrepre- neurs to learn about wellness tools in order to live a more balanced lifestyle. It’s an opportunity for profes- sionals to network, share stories, and discover tips on how to overcome similar challenges on running a business over a healthy five-course dinner provided by Chef Daphne Cheng.

“Being a woman entrepreneur can sometimes be a lonely road and I find that exchanging with other fel- low entrepreneurs can be so helpful. During my four years of entrepreneurship, I have been lucky to meet many inspiring women and I have been wanting to gather them together more often; when I find myself stuck in a situation, it’s by talking to other women that my situation developls clarity. I hope to be able to give back to other female entrepreneurs.”

Esther Gauthier, a 30-year-old French citizen, found- ed the first & only aqua cycling studio in New York – AQUA Studio. Born & raised in Paris, Esther grew up watching Woody Allen movies and all the episodes of Friends, obsessing over New York City thinking that one day she would conquer the city as Melanie Griffith did in ‘Working Girl’. After attending her first aqua cycling class at La Maison Popincourt, an innovative and highly effective workout that had revolutionized the fitness industry in Europe, Esther knew she had to bring it to the US. Combining her entrepreneurial spirit and passion for personal wellness, Esther introduced the workout with her own refined sense of style to New York and opened AQUA Studio in April 2013. 

The VOCAL Times – ‘SKILLSET

Based in Sullivan County in the foothills of the Catskills, ’Skilled is a one-stop shop for photographers and creative directors, offering location, production, casting and catering services to the creative industries. For last season’s Kate Spade Saturdays campaign shot by Cass Bird, ‘Skilled supported with finding them the perfect backdrop in upstate New York to create the perfect country living experience.

‘Skilled Productions was founded in 2013 by Ellen Jong, an artist, and Hali Friehling, a photo editor, producer and art buyer. Friehling is a local whose family owns a stable and ranch in Bethel, a stone’s throw from where the 1969 Woodstock festival was held. After working for more than a decade in the city, she returned to Bethel to start a family on the shore of Kauneunga (White) Lake. Jong purchased a house in Mongaup Valley along with her marketing genius husband. She divides her time between a Chinatown apartment and her upstate home / studio.

Jong and Friehling had worked as photo shoot pro- ducers at various times, and both had spent years on one or the other side of the camera. The two also had a deep appreciation for the beauty and diversity of the Catskills. A landscape of rivers (the noble Delaware delineates one of the county’s borders) and lakes, richly wooded and with a seemingly endless skyline of hill after rolling hill, Sullivan County is paradise for a photographer or creative director looking for a ru- ral setting. Only two hours from the city, it offers a mix of settings from deep woods to open fields, wide lakes to trout streams, farmland, hunter’s shacks to sprawling lakeside homes, a dramatic hydroelectric dam and an airport straight out of Mad Men. 

BOOK: Pees On Earth (Signed, powerHouse Books/Miss Rosen Edition 2006, Hardcover, 11.25 x 7.25 inches, 112 pages)

BOOK: Getting To Know My Husband's Cock (First Edition 100, Numbered/signed, Self-Published 2010, Paperback, 6.2 x 0.4 x 9 inches, 150 pages)