CIVILIAN - v2 i3 - Paul Rabil Cover by CIVILIAN

LINDSEY STIRLING PAUL RABIL DAVID HEINEMEIER HANSSON KAREN FUKUHARA ANGELICA ROSS

A WA KE N IN G P EO P L E TO TH E P O S SIBILIT IE S O F R EG ENE R ATI O N

Our vision comes from our heart. Earth is thriving because humanity is in balance with all living systems. Reverence and interconnection are the foundation of our relationship with nature. Our participation in ecosystem regeneration is restoring the health of soil, water, the atmosphere, and communities. Humans have embraced their role as caretakers of the planet and each other. Order the Movie for $1 at www.KissTheGroundMovie.com and text “SOIL” to 323-622-1644 to join the the movement now.

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Cover shot by KAT (Lindsey Stirling) and Daniel Lennox (Paul Rabil)

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INSIDE

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Editor-in-Chief

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Eiko Watanabe

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Thomas Wilmer

Matt Anthes

Ron Contarsy

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Staff Writers

Grace Callahan, Gavy Contreras, Savannah Dial, Hazel Mekkattukulam, Sophia Mazurowski, and Summer Myatt

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NOTE FROM THE

EDITORIN-CHIEF During the April 20 press conference, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of New York said: “The question should be, let’s use this situation, this crisis, this time, to actually learn the lessons, value from the reflection, and let’s reimagine what we want society to be.” (His daily briefings drew almost 60 million online viewers, or three times the population of New York, and garnered him this year’s International Emmy Founders Award.) After quite a year defined by political divisiveness, racial strife, climate change, diverging economic fortunes, and pandemic paranoia, we must reconnect with others, repair damage, and rebuild community – together. As we are looking toward the post-COVID future and embarking on the long road to recovery, here is one thing that we can all have total confidence and faith in: the immense potential of the youth and their ability to build back better – and stronger. On another note, while many of them stayed home 4 years ago, this year’s voter turnout surpassed the 2016 presidential election, showing the increase in voters, those 18 to 29 years old. Despite being in the middle of a pandemic, youth voter turnout hit record-high numbers.

As I introduce this issue, I would like to thank the young people of America, filled with passion and energy, for leading lives of great mission and achievement. Sure, it will be a long, bumpy ride, but shouldering the future and constructing a century of peace and creative coexistence, they aim to unite in solidarity and resolve the challenges confronting our civil society. That itself is the most encouraging and brilliant period in the history of the new century.

Thank you and please wear a mask,

Eiko Watanabe Editor-in-Chief

DAVID HEINEMEIER HANSSON

OFFICE NOT REQUIRED Sophia Mazurowski

Known to the Ruby programming-language and automobile-racing communities as DHH, talented Danish programmer David Heinemeier Hansson is the CTO and co-founder of Basecamp (“the saner, organized way to manage projects and communicate company-wide”) and creator of Ruby on Rails (“an open-source web framework that’s optimized for programmer happiness and beautiful code”). He is also a best-selling author, professional race-car driver, and photographer.

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DAVID HEINEMEIER HANSSON

aving received his first computer at six years old, Hansson originally dreamed of making video games before he realized that that would involve “a whole lot of math” and that he “wasn’t actually that into that.” Later on, in high school, he ended up running a website out of his bedroom in Copenhagen. It was “through the process of writing for the web, developing a website” that led him to programming. “I found it awesomely interesting,” says Hansson, who then “got into web design” after graduating high school and “worked at a small company that was designed for Danish foreigners,” while doing “gaming journalism and organizing gaming websites,” but he was convinced that “perhaps being an employee was not the best fit” for him. In 2001, Hansson decided to attend the Copenhagen Business School to study computer science and business administration. He thought that he should have been “making some money on the side,” which was what led him to work with Jason Fried, his business partner at Basecamp, doing “contract work” that he could do alongside his schooling. In 2003, they began to work on Basecamp launching the software in 2004 – and that was when his “dream of running a real business together took off.” Hansson has been fortunate in his ability to apply his focus and meticulousness to his hobbies, particularly race-car driving and photography, as well as programming. “I found a lot of comparisons between learning how to become a good photographer and learning how to become a good programmer,” he shares. “It was made of the fundamental concepts of how you learn something, how you develop an A.I.” According to Hansson, recognizing whether a “piece of code is good or bad” is “quite similar” to knowing whether “a photographer or a photograph is good or bad.”

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Yet while his success may continue into the post-coronavirus future due to the global shift towards remote work, Hansson believes that that is a “very myopic view of the world.” He then adds, thoughtfully, “I think we are in an incredibly dangerous and precarious time right now.” In the context of a “broad societal crisis, everything from fracking to environmental protection,” we may remain “very pessimistic,” but Hansson hopes to “work for that pessimism not to come through,” while being “realistic about where we are in the world right now.” However, he thinks that “it’s great that people are realizing that they don’t have to be in the office and that remote work is on the rise,” which is why he has launched HEY, a brand-new e-mail service. “This is how we talk to people, and we just weren’t superthrilled with the options,” he says. “I’ve been using Gmail for about sixteen years, and it seems like ten years ago, Google just stopped caring.” Seeing the “opportunity in the market,” Hansson did not hesitate to “take on a challenge as broad as e-mail.” He laughs, “When was the last time someone got an e-mail account they were actually excited about?” Offering some advice to future programmers and computer scientists, Hansson notes that “the best way to become a great programmer is to program both with and on something you like. You have to like it to a point where how you do it matters.” He says that he could have become a “mediocre programmer” if he had chosen to make video games, but it wouldn’t have been “nearly as much fun as becoming really good at something I really liked.” Photographer & Videographer: Daniel Lennox Editor: Eiko Watanabe Special thanks to EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)

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ANGELICA ROSS

M O D E R N - D AY

WONDER WOMAN Grace Callahan

You may know her as Candy Johnson-Ferocity on FX’s Pose, or as “Nurse Rita”/Donna Chambers on American Horror Story: 1984, but Angelica Ross is so much more. At the forefront of the movement for transgender and racial equality, she is leading the way.

In 2014, Ross founded TransTech Social Enterprises – to provide education, support, and jobs for trans people facing high levels of discrimination – which has not only helped support many LGBTQ individuals, but it has also been a pivotal point for her personal development. “They always say, ‘The teacher learns as much, if not more, than the students,’” she says. “So for me, it has been quite the education in being a better leader, a more intersectional leader, and learning that I can never be too inclusive.” TransTech Social Enterprises has been able to leverage technology to continue supporting its members during the COVID-19 pandemic through their G.R.O.W. with TransTech meetings via Zoom.

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n 2019, Ross concluded the role of Candy on Pose, a television series that explores life for gay, trans, and gender non-conforming individuals in New York City’s ballroom community in the mid-1980s, as Candy, a transgender woman, met a heartbreaking end when she was killed by a client in a motel room. The scene shed light on the dangers trans women of color have faced for decades. “It took a huge emotional toll on me playing Candy’s final moments. The best way I could describe my state of mind is, I was in a constant state of prayer,” she shares. “I prayed and prayed and prayed, ‘Please let this show, let this episode, let this performance change hearts and change minds to put a stop to killings against Black trans women.’”

lthough Ross has facilitated imperative progress for equality, the fight still continues. “As a country, we are broken. It is going to take ‘we the people’ to fix it, all of us,” she adds. “And yes, we’ve made some progress, but we still have more people to reach.” According to her, listening with an open mind is one of the first steps for change. “Listen to Black trans women, and listen to Black trans men, and listen to Black non-binary people because these are the folks who, within the Black experience, have been pushed to the sidelines,” she says. “They’re not considered mainstream identities within the Black community, and those are the identities you need to hear from.”

Ross will continue her tremendous work as an activist while working on American Horror Story and even recording some new music. “I’m just continually keeping myself in a creative space so that when it’s time to sort of show your work to the world, when it’s ready, folks will know that I’ve been in the background preparing for this moment,” she affirms. Photographer & Videographer: Katie Coon Editor: Eiko Watanabe Special thanks to EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)

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SCOTTY CUNHA

ROSÉ

RESCUED Grace Callahan

Scotty Cunha, known for working wonders and having more than 15 years of experience in the world of celebrity beauty, has made a name for himself, touring with Miley Cyrus and working with the likes of Nicole Richie, Lucy Hale, and the Kardashians. However, all of this came to an abrupt halt when COVID-19 swept the nation.

unha was hesitant to begin working with clients again, but eventually started with a beloved client who was strictly quarantining at home with her children. “I felt really safe because I knew that my clients were very safe, and I knew they were taking everything really seriously,” he recalls.

SCOTTY CUNHA

hile a lot of his clients actually prefer house calls, they have been just coming to him at this time, and he would be ready with plenty of protective gear. “I wasn’t even nervous about the hair looking good,” Cunha says of his first day back at work, giving a haircut to a client. “I was more nervous about having a panic attack from wearing goggles, a mask, and gloves.” Earlier this year, Cunha launched his own product line, Rosé Rescue, with a silk-infused, sulfate- and paraben-free treatment that doubles as a leavein conditioner. “I was so excited,” he says. “I was like, ‘2020 is my year, I’m launching a brand, and it’s going to be everything. Everyone’s going to be obsessed.’” After working on this project for two years, Cunha could never have predicted that it would be launched right before a worldwide pandemic; it’s been a struggle for him to promote

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his line while leaving space for the critical issues we’re facing. “I want to be authentic, but I also want people to have their voice and really be able to support everyone,” he shares. As his parents were born in Portugal and moved to the U.S. when they were 18 and 19, Cunha has learned to support these crucial causes – including the Black Lives Matter movement and the gay pride movement – through voting. “I’m really passionate about voting. I’ve voted since I was 18. My parents were really strict about it because they’re immigrants,” says Cunha. “Just keep going, eyes forward, head forward – we need to go towards a better place.” Photographer: Luciana Pampalone Editor: Eiko Watanabe Special thanks to EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)

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World-renowned violinist Lindsey Stirling has been working on her craft since she was 6 years old. After begging her parents for lessons “over and over again,” she fell in love with the string instrument. “It’s a really challenging instrument that requires constant maintenance. I’ve been playing it for 28 years, and it feels like I’m constantly learning about it,” says the former Ameri-

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LINDSEY STIRLING

tirling has toured the world, released chart-topping albums (she has new music coming in January), and was named in Forbes’ “30 Under 30 in Music: Class of 2015.” However, she never thought she would make a career out of playing the violin. “I thought the only thing a violinist could do was to be a soloist in an orchestra, the best of the best,” she says, adding that she eventually learned and accepted the fact that playing the violin “wasn’t about being perfect.” She realized that she could be more creative with the instrument, and there were no limits to what she could do: Her sound is a fusion of classical, pop, rock, and electronic dance music. “I was never going to be the best violinist, but I can be different and could use it in a way to do what I love, which is telling stories, making people smile, and being creative,” she says. While striving to be innovative, Stirling creates strong and powerful messages in her music with themes of acceptance and personal freedom: “Every day, you experience new things, and you need to accept yourself for who you are in order to be free. It’s a theme I like to live and learn over and over again,” she affirms. Stirling is a perfectionist and understands firsthand how easy it is to be hard on yourself. In college, she struggled with her own mental health and developed an eating disorder. Her anorexia took a toll on her body and mind, and created an unhealthy obsession with having control over her eating habits. After being in denial over her disorder and depression, she finally opened up to her mother and decided to seek professional help. “Eating disorders can make you feel so alone and isolated. When I went to group therapy, I remember feeling so understood. Suddenly, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I’m not alone,’” says Stirling, who still acknowledges the concept of her mental well-being as an ongoing journey and encourages

others to try out therapy, as well. Unfortunately, for Stirling, that wasn’t the only time she would fall into a deep depression. In 2015, her bandmate and close friend Jason “Gavi” Gaviati passed away, and in 2017, she lost her father. “After they died, I was depressed for 2 years. The hardest thing I’ve ever been through was losing both of them,” she candidly shares. “I went on tour and cried a lot, and never stopped reaching out [to friends and family]. I have a belief that our loved ones are never gone fully. That spirituality also helped pull me through what was a dark time.” Her 2019 album Artemis showcased the way she looks at her own mental health now. “Artemis is the goddess of the moon, and the moon goes through shadows. Sometimes, she’s bright and glorious, and fills the night with light, and sometimes, the moon is so covered that if you didn’t know better, you’d think it was gone, but you always know the moon will come back and be filled with light,” she describes. “I realized when I’m feeling down or depressed, it’s not that I’m gone, it’s that I’m covered up with shadow. If I keep working on myself and keep striving to do better, I will come back to my full light – just like the moon.” Stirling also recently created The Upside Fund, a charity outreach program named after her single “The Upside,” to help families with dire economic needs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Photographer & Videographer: KAT Photographer Assistant: Jeff Bynum Stylist: Neal St Onge Hair: Ryan Richman Makeup: Teresa Ammons Editor: Eiko Watanabe Special thanks to Pizzanista! (@pizzanista www.pizzanista.com) & EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)

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Artemis is the goddess of the moon, and the moon goes through shadows. Sometimes, she’s bright and glorious, and fills the night with light, and sometimes, the moon is so covered that if you didn’t know better, you’d think it was gone, but you always know the Yellow three-piece set, DROME. Shoes, MANHATTAN BEACH FOOTWEAR (FROM ASHLEY MICHAELSEN PR). Rings, LULU DHARMA & TALENT’S OWN. Earrings, JENNY BIRD.

moon will come back and be filled with light.

ARIANA GREENBLATT

AWAKE IN LOVE AND MONSTERS Hannah Fitzpatrick

This past year, many people across the world have been using Zoom to attend classes, work remotely, and catch up with family and friends. However, Ariana Greenblatt has utilized the popular video-conferencing platform for a different reason: promoting her movies and their at-home releases. “Of course, we wanted it released worldwide in theaters, to have a premiere, do the junket together, and celebrate with one another,” the 13-year-old actress says of one of her latest films, Love and Monsters. “Having to do press from home on Zoom, not having a chance to regroup and see one another to celebrate what we all made kind of sucked, but what can you do? It just seemed responsible and the right thing to do to just get it out there, and let the people enjoy something new and fresh from the safety of their homes, so in that way, I’m very pleased.”

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ARIANA GREENBLATT

lthough 2020 has presented an unprecedented set of challenges to the world, that has not stopped Greenblatt from doing what she loves. In 2020 alone, she has starred in multiple movies, in addition to Love and Monsters, which tells the story of Joel Dawson, played by actor Dylan O’Brien, who ventures out into a postapocalyptic world to find his girlfriend, Aimee, who is played by Jessica Henwick. Greenblatt’s character, Minnow, plays a crucial role in the movie by rescuing Joel from a pack of monsters and helping him learn critical survival skills. “She refused to be a victim, to ever give up,” she explains of Minnow. “She’s a fighter, a survivor who has lost her family at a very young age and could be bitter and angry, but still has the heart to look for the good in all creatures. She hasn’t lost herself or her child-wonder.” As Greenblatt is known for going for roles that challenge her creatively or represent someone inspiring to her, her upcoming role in The Boss Baby: Family Business – the highly-anticipated Boss Baby sequel that is set to release in March – is no exception. Greenblatt plays the voice of Tabitha Templeton, a 7-year-old girl at the top of her class at a prestigious school. “This was a much bigger opportunity in terms of character and scope,” she notes. “Not only is she supersmart, but her family’s story is so wonderful, and I get to sing, which nobody really knows. The incredible Hans Zimmer wrote an original song for Tabitha that I have the honor to sing, so it’s just incredible.”

While Greenblatt has a number of projects lined up for 2021 and beyond (including 65, to co-star alongside Adam Driver in, Awake, and In the Heights), she has worked on her YouTube channel since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to give her fans a glimpse of her personal life. She is half-Jewish and half-Puerto Rican, and the events of this past year have also allowed Greenblatt to reflect on her identity. Though she says that there is still a long way to go until the Latinx community is fairly and equally represented in popular media, she hopes to be a positive influence on “the audience. The writer always has something to say or that they are trying to convey. I stay away from negativestereotype roles, even if they have some huge director or studio behind them. I’m hyper-aware of my audience and my fan base, which are predominantly other girls just like me, so I always try to remember that.” Driven by a sense of kindness and compassion, Greenblatt wants to make sure that we are all kind to one another. “It’s very easy these days to be hard and angry, but simple gestures that come from a place of understanding and love make all the difference in the world,” she asserts. Photographer & Videographer: Haldane Morris Editor: Eiko Watanabe Special thanks to imPRint (@imprintpr) & EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)

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IT’S VERY EASY THESE DAYS TO BE HARD AND ANGRY, BUT SIMPLE GESTURES THAT COME FROM A PLACE OF UNDERSTANDING AND LOVE MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD.

G R E B U I L D I N

NEW YORK

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PHOTOGRAPHER: ADAM BRETT SCHNEE

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A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN Summer Myatt

PAUL RABIL

aul Rabil, 34-year-old professional lacrosse player and co-founder of the Premier Lacrosse League, is the truest physical embodiment of the idea that if you want something done right, do it yourself. His athletic career was running before it even hit the ground. In 2008, he was selected first overall by the Boston Cannons in the Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft; just four years later, he had already been named the league’s MVP twice and had won Offensive Player of the Year three times. Many considered Rabil, an already highlydecorated and accomplished athlete, to be the best lacrosse player in the world – but he was just getting started. After over ten boundary-breaking years on the field, Rabil was intimately familiar with all the challenges and obstacles lacrosse players had to face, and in them, he saw a unique opportunity both for himself and for his beloved sport. “I felt, towards the second half of my career as a veteran, that not only was it possible for the sport to grow at an expedited rate, but I also took on this sense of duty to the sport – given where it was, and where it had been, over the last ten years in particular – for myself and some of my colleagues,” he says. Unlivable starting wages in other leagues were detrimentally stifling the potential of so many players, but Rabil envisioned a new future for lacrosse. Thus, the Premier Lacrosse League was born, boasting completely game-changing innovations for both its fans and its players, including muchneeded wage increases, healthcare benefits, stock options, and the freedom to be true to themselves. In the era of Colin Kaepernick, speaking out as

an athlete is widely considered taboo – too far outside of what a sports player should do. But through the PLL, Rabil believes in changing that. “What we’ve done in lacrosse stands for the movement we see more athletes doing across all different walks of life, which is taking power into their own hands and doing what they believe in,” he adds. Led by the ever-pioneering Paul Rabil and his brother, Mike Rabil, it’s no surprise that the PLL has made such historic strides since its conception. When sports leagues across the board suffered from COVID-19 threats, restrictions, and cancellations, Rabil quickly adapted. “We take a lot of pride in being the first team-sports league in North America to announce a plan back in May, and to build what’s being commonly coined as the ‘bubble,’” he shares. “We were meticulous around it, and as a result, we had zero COVID-positive tests over the course of our 3-week tournament.” Recently, the PLL was even named Sports Business Journal ’s Sports Breakthrough of the Year. However, being an ingenious new organization under the media spotlight comes with huge responsibilities. Lacrosse, though garnering a reputation in the early 2000’s of being a sport primarily for affluent white men, is the oldest sport native to North America and has deep historical and cultural roots. And Rabil aims to “tell a better, more transparent history of the sport. This sport is rooted in the Native-American culture, and it was created by specifically the Haudenosaunee people, which is part of the Iroquois Confederacy now. I think our sport is due to revisit its origin story, and we’re lucky to be able to tell that story through the PLL.”

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WHAT WE’VE DONE IN LACROSSE STANDS FOR THE MOVEMENT WE SEE MORE ATHLETES DOING ACROSS ALL DIFFERENT WALKS OF LIFE, WHICH IS TAKING POWER INTO THEIR OWN HANDS AND DOING WHAT THEY BELIEVE IN.

In the increasingly lonely world of social distancing and political divisiveness, Rabil also thinks that sport just might be what can bring us all back together again. “Sport has the ability to inspire the entire family at the dinner table,” he affirms. “We can have a conversation about a championship game with our grandparents, our parents, our friends – and that lives across generation, gender, race, and creed.”

Photographer: Daniel Lennox Editor: Eiko Watanabe Special thanks to EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)

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LAUREN WASSER

GOLDEN TROPHIES Hazel Mekkattukulam

Life throws you a curveball. It becomes the end of the world, and you see your life collapse right in front of you. However, once you discover a newfound purpose in life, you can get back up again, and you’re stronger. Lauren Wasser, who lost her legs from complications related to toxic shock syndrome (TSS) and now wears gold prosthetic legs after having both amputated, is one such person. In the face of all the odds, she has found a valid purpose: fighting for women’s health and safety, and for all the sisters, daughters, mothers who have been lost, and their families forever changed, due to TSS, a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection, sometimes caused by the use of tampons.

asser grew up surrounded by beauty; glamour, fame, and the art of modeling weren’t foreign to her. “Growing up with model parents and seeing my mother always looking perfect, I only grew up seeing that one side of beauty,” recalls Wasser, who appeared in the pages of Italian Vogue, alongside her mother, as a baby, and has been modeling in some form ever since. Perfection was all she had known when it came to the industry, and after battling for her life with TSS in 2012, perfection was the last thing she thought of when she saw herself. “I would never have thought in a million years I would be loved, or accepted back into an industry that had never given people that look like me space to exist in fashion,” she says. At a moment when everything seemed lost, Wasser regained her “strength and fire for life after learning that TSS had been killing and injuring women before I was even born.” This revelation fueled her new purpose to make the best of her situation – and make a difference to create “society highlighting those who stand out for not just being unique but using whatever separates them as their strength.” In particular, she is a strong advocate for holding corporations accountable “because women must have safe feminine-hygiene products,” and she has worked with Representative Carolyn B. Maloney of New York on the Robin Danielson Feminine Hygiene Product Safety Act, named after a woman who died of TSS in 1998, that enforces corporate companies to disclose exactly what is going into these products and what their long-term health effects are.

THE WAY WE LOOK IS JUST THE VESSEL, WHAT MATTERS IS YOUR HEART AND THE GOOD THINGS THAT ARE LEFT WHEN YOU’RE NO LONGER ON THIS PLANET.

o raise more awareness of the dangers of TSS, Wasser has started working on a documentary that’s “going to be shocking but also powerful having the audience see the physical and emotional effects that I endured because of TSS. No one will ever want to lose someone that they love to this. To lose a life over a tampon is unbelievable, but that’s how toxic and dangerous they are.” Last but not least, Wasser has created her own lane in the fashion industry. She’s grateful for “the designers, photographers, and models that believe in me, my message, and have rocked with me on this journey. Their love is sincerely and deeply felt.” She has used her gold legs as a fashion statement and as trophies symbolizing her journey. Especially now, she hopes that people understand the importance of loving yourself and transforming your flaws into the greatest strengths, your very own trophies. “The way we look is just the vessel, what matters is your heart and the good things that are left when you’re no longer on this planet,” she adds.

Photographer: Ron Contarsy (for Highmark Studios) Hair: Brandi Voorhees Makeup: Ruth Fernandez Editor: Eiko Watanabe

Special thanks to Walker Hotel Greenwich Village (@walkerhotels - www.walkerhotels.com/walker-hotel-greenwich-village) & EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)

FA S H I O N F O R WA R D

GET THE LATEST CIVILIAN APPAREL ONLY AT CIVILIANMAG.COM/COLLECTIONS/MERCH

All other jewelry, TALENT’S OWN. Socks, TALENT’S OWN.

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BRENNEN TAYLOR

UR SCARE AT T H E S T A R T O F A N E W E R A Hannah Fitzpatrick

As a content creator, Brennen Taylor spends a lot of his time coming up with ideas for videos and filming them. Whenever he’s not filming, however, he likes to enjoy one of the simpler pleasures: eating. “Growing up, I remember going to restaurants and ordering two cheeseburgers, or going to Burger King and ordering six packs of four-piece chicken nuggets and going crazy,” he says. “Honestly, I am one of those people that just loves to eat. Like, I can’t stop eating.”

BRENNEN TAYLOR

hen the novel coronavirus first started to make waves in the United States, Taylor used his love for food as inspiration to start a new video series on his YouTube channel of him finding viral TikTok cooking hacks and testing them to see if they are “real” or “fake” – from STARBURST-coated popcorn to homemade Chick-fil-A pizza. Starting the series during the pandemic, he says, was a step in the right direction, allowing him to continue to provide content for his fans while also giving him the opportunity to pursue his personal passions. “I was fortunate enough to be able to kind of get by all of these months, because I had already built a fan base that enjoys watching me cook food,” he shares. “I feel like COVID has impacted things in a way, but at the same time, I try to look for the best in everything. We have a lot of free time now. And since we’re at home, we should use that time wisely.” Putting his time to good use in the COVID era, in September, together with his brother, Jake Taylor, he launched a weekly podcast, SUS: Share Ur Scare. Each episode dives deep into what he describes as all things “thrilling, chilling, and paranormal.” They have had guests, such as Kevin Yagher, who designed and executed the original Chucky doll from the Child’s Play franchise, and Jason Hawes, who is best known for TV shows like Ghost Nation and Ghost Hunters. One of his scariest experiences was featured on an earlier

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episode of the podcast, where he and Corey Scherer, who is a dancer and social-media star, discussed a near-fatal incident that occurred while on a trip to Hawaii in 2016. “During our trip, we got into a really bad jet-ski accident, and he ended up breaking nine of his ribs, having his spleen twisted, and getting his lung punctured, and basically almost got paralyzed from the crash,” he says of Scherer’s near-death experience. “I think that was the scariest story that we had to talk about, because it was the first time we ever talked about it. I feel like that one was pretty scary in its own way – because I lived through it.” Although this past year has proved to be anything but ordinary in the middle of the worst global pandemic in a century, Taylor says that he has used this time to reflect on himself and has become a better person because of it. “I think what I’ve learned from this is that this is all about spending time with yourself, getting to know yourself, and loving yourself,” he affirms. “And I think it’s good for everyone to have this time, because after this is all over, people are going to say, ‘I wish I had more time for this,’ or ‘I wish I had more time for that.’ That’s all we have right now, so we’ve got to enjoy it while we can.”

Photographer & Videographer: Haldane Morris Stylist: Jake Taylor Editor: Eiko Watanabe Special thanks to EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)

Shirt, PALM ANGELS (TALENT’S OWN). Jeans, JOE’S JEANS (TALENT’S OWN). Shoes, VANS (TALENT’S OWN). Rings, THE GREAT FROG (TALENT’S OWN). Necklace, THE GREAT FROG (TALENT’S OWN). Earrings, TALENT’S OWN. All other jewelry, TALENT’S OWN. Socks, TALENT’S OWN. Watch, ROLEX (TALENT’S OWN).

I THINK IT’S GOOD FOR EVERYONE TO HAVE THIS TIME, BECAUSE AFTER THIS IS ALL OVER, PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SAY, ‘I WISH I HAD MORE TIME FOR THIS,’ OR ‘I WISH I HAD MORE TIME FOR THAT.’ THAT’S ALL WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, SO WE’VE GOT TO ENJOY IT WHILE WE CAN.

DANA BROOKE (ASHLEY MAE SEBERA)

VER PLAYTIME IS

Savannah Dial

“I’ve always been inspired to follow my dreams and my goals,” says Ashley Mae Sebera (a.k.a. Dana Brooke). This WWE star does not let anything,

including this pandemic, deter her from achieving her goals. While she has supported UNICEF and the WWE’s Be a STAR anti-bullying campaign,

Sebera and boxer Ulysses Diaz have used this time to help feed low-income and homeless families throughout Florida. “The whole world has stopped, and we have no excuse to dig deep down and know every single individual’s passion and something with myself and also Ulysses Diaz,” she says. “Our passion is fighting hunger, our passion is giving back to the community.”

DANA BROOKE (ASHLEY MAE SEBERA)

ot only has Sebera used her platform to give back to the community, but she also utilizes it to inspire women all across the world. “Wrestling has been my passion and life, and it’s definitely taken over everything, but it’s giving me an additional platform to gain a momentum of fans,” she explains. “This is me, this is who I am. Who I am on TV is who I am in real life, which has been an advantage to me. I’m vulnerable. What you see is what you get.” Her makeup line, PlayTime is Over, revolves around not covering up an individual’s looks but enhancing their features. This line holds a special place in Sebera’s heart. “I would say a weakness for myself is that I have had freckles on my face my entire life, and something that I’ve always wanted to do was cover up my freckles,” she shares. “Over this last year, and as I launched my makeup line, [it was about] letting your natural beauty show through, because that’s how you were made – whatever higher power that we all believe in, whether it’s God or not, a higher energy, they gave you that, and you should be proud of it. With this makeup line, I don’t want to cover those up. It took a very long time and a strong part of me to let that show and be proud of it.” She even had plans to give away bags of products from her makeup line at her seminars that are “based on women getting together in different

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communities and sharing common interests and also common struggles that we women face on a day-to-day basis.” However, due to the pandemic, Sebera may have to move them to a digital platform until it’s safe to travel again and she can be on the road, touring from city to city. In addition to her dedication to women’s empowerment, Diaz and Sebera want to expand their effort to help distribute these free meals to those in need, as well as visit different juveniledetention centers to spread their message (“It’s never too late”). “This is what drives me, this is what really motivates me, I don’t want anything in return, I don’t want a pat on my back. I just want other people to jump on board and know that life is truly way too short,” she adds. While Sebera has her sights set on becoming a WWE women’s champion, nothing seems to be able to stop her: “My hats are constantly changing from a wrestler to training, to helping the community, to empowering women, to helping children, but that’s what makes me happy, deep down inside,” she affirms. Photographer: Tolga Kavut Makeup: Aryana Diaz Editor: Eiko Watanabe Special thanks to EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)

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PHOTOGRAPHER: LUCIANA PAMPALONE MODELS: MONTGOMERY FRAZIER, DENISE PEREAU, KAI METZGER, CHEYENNE METZGER, TRACY ANNE BRANK (FOR MMG - MODEL MANAGEMENT GROUP), MONICA HUGHES MURPHY, BEN MINDICH & ROLISE RACHEL STYLIST: MONTGOMERY FRAZIER “THEIMAGEGURU” (WWW.SOHOMUSE.COM) HAIR & MAKEUP: DENISE PEREAU

Luscious green tulle gown, DUR DOUX. Headpiece, ROLISE RACHEL (AVAILABLE AT @ROLISERACHEL). Earrings, ROLISE RACHEL (AVAILABLE AT @ROLISERACHEL). Bee hairpins, ROLISE RACHEL (AVAILABLE AT @ROLISERACHEL). Rings, ROLISE RACHEL (AVAILABLE AT @ROLISERACHEL). Bracelets, ROLISE RACHEL (AVAILABLE AT @ROLISERACHEL). Heels, GIVENCHY.

Faux-leather sweetheart top, DUETTE NYC. Faux-leather embossed snakeskin skirt, DUETTE NYC. Obi wrap-belt, DUETTE NYC. Boots, VANESSA NOEL. Digi-print head scarf, CONTROCORRENTE (AVAILABLE AT SOHOMUSE). Gloves, CONTROCORRENTE. Wool cape coat, DUR DOUX.

Sunglasses, PRIVADO EYEWEAR. Digi-print hoodie, CONTROCORRENTE (AVAILABLE AT SOHOMUSE). Shorts, CONTROCORRENTE (AVAILABLE AT SOHOHOUSE). Gloves, CONTROCORRENTE (AVAILABLE AT SOHOHOUSE). Leggings, ZARA (TALENT’S OWN). Turtleneck, ZARA (TALENT’S OWN). Boots, ZARA (TALENT’S OWN).

Digi-print kimono, CONTROCORRENTE (AVAILABLE AT SOHOMUSE). Hoodie, CONTROCORRENTE (AVAILABLE AT SOHOMUSE). Leggings, CONTROCORRENTE (AVAILABLE AT SOHOHOUSE). Boots, (TALENT’S OWN). TArtisanal wrap-scarf, VINTAGE.

Architectural kimono-sleeve cream top, CELESTINO COUTURE. High-waisted lace sailor pants, CELESTINO COUTURE. Embroidered sash, CELESTINO COUTURE. Shoes, VIA SPIGA.

On Ben: Bucket hat, CONTROCORRENTE (AVAILABLE AT SOHOMUSE). Long-sleeve T-shirt, CONTROCORRENTE (AVAILABLE AT SOHOMUSE). Leggings, CONTROCORRENTE (AVAILABLE AT SOHOMUSE). Gloves, CONTROCORRENTE (AVAILABLE AT SOHOMUSE). Sneakers, ADIDAS. Sunglasses, PRIVADO EYEWEAR. On Montgomery: Digi-print hoodie, CONTROCORRENTE (AVAILABLE AT SOHOMUSE). Gloves, CONTROCORRENTE (AVAILABLE AT SOHOMUSE). Mirrored sunglasses, LPLR - LA PETITE LUNETTE ROUGE. Bow tie, PETER ELLIOT BLUE. Shirt, BONOBOS. Slacks, VIGANÒ. Socks, TOMMY HILFIGER. Silver sneakers, POLO RALPH LAUREN.

Wool cap, SEIFTER ASSOCIATES BY FRAMAR. Jacket, KITON (TALENT’S OWN). Digi-print hoodie, CONTROCORRENTE (AVAILABLE AT SOHOMUSE). Gloves, CONTROCORRENTE (AVAILABLE AT SOHOMUSE). Mirrored sunglasses, LPLR - LA PETITE LUNETTE ROUGE. Bow tie, PETER ELLIOT BLUE. Shirt, BONOBOS. Slacks, VIGANÒ. Socks, TOMMY HILFIGER. Silver sneakers, POLO RALPH LAUREN.

Digi-print dress, CONTROCORRENTE (AVAILABLE AT SOHOMUSE). Teal faux-fur-appliquéd coat, PELUSH. Faux-fur gloves, PELUSH. Boots, VANESSA NOEL. Sunglasses, LUXOTTICA.

DON BENJAMIN

READY TO SPEAK HIS

TRUTH Summer Myatt

The slings and arrows of life in the public eye are also the very things that make everything so enticing: the attention. With his sizable fan base and a new book published this year, Don Benjamin certainly gets his fair share of the spotlight, but his journey hasn’t necessarily been a walk in the park. Model, actor, rapper, and now author, the 33-year-old influencer is no stranger to hardship and tragedy. 3 years ago, he had to face and overcome the death of his father, and just earlier this year, his engagement dissolved. But if anyone can turn lemons into lemonade, it’s Don Benjamin. Choosing to view his setbacks as opportunities for growth, he took a journey inward to reflect on what he learned, resulting in his boldly vulnerable, noholds-barred autobiography, My Truth. He’s ready for a new chapter, and he hopes to inspire other men like him to turn the page in their own lives, too.

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DON BENJAMIN

hances are you first heard about Benjamin when he came onto the modeling scene with his signature icy smolder and magnetic personality on Cycle 20 of America’s Next Top Model. Successfully relocating from the frigid Midwest, where he grew up, to sunny Los Angeles to chase his dreams took a bit more than just his good looks, though. “When I first moved to L.A., I thought I was going to take off in a year or two, and then it took a good seven years to hit my first break,” he says. “Then after getting my first break, I realized it’s still a journey uphill.” Resilient by nature, he’s familiar with the inherent hustle that comes with fame, and his perseverance is exactly what has kept his career growing to this day. It’s the in-between moments, though – when the cameras turn off and Benjamin is alone with his inner self – that keep him grounded. His spiritual “awakening” of sorts came as a blessing-indisguise element from the fallout of his breakup this year. “I think the biggest thing I learned about myself was that I had been dealing with some trauma from my childhood that I had been bottling up, and I was letting some unhealthy things fill that void,” he admits. “So once I was able to really

sit down and look at that, and talk to some life coaches and therapists, I was able to tackle those things and work on them.” There’s an unfortunate, detrimental stereotype for modern men to be unemotional and out of touch with their inner spirituality, leading many to turn to destructive habits in order to meet their basic psychological needs. “I think as men, we let our pride get the best of us – our egos. We don’t want to be vulnerable and open,” he shares. “I feel like that’s become kind of my purpose, to help men break through that as well.” When you take steps towards your own self-improvement, it undeniably helps you to be a better person not only for yourself, but for everyone around you. Benjamin has hope for the future – hope for us to come together and rebuild after the unprecedented year we’ve had. “We’re all the same, and once people can start moving more in love, rather than in judgment or hate, I feel like that’s going to be the key to progressing,” he affirms.

Photographer: Daniel Lennox Editor: Eiko Watanabe Special thanks to EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)

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WE’RE ALL THE SAME, AND ONCE PEOPLE CAN START MOVING MORE IN LOVE, RATHER THAN IN JUDGMENT OR HATE, I FEEL LIKE THAT’S GOING TO BE THE KEY TO PROGRESSING.

HUNTER MCGRADY

In the age of social media, the word “perfect” holds more significance than you might think: the perfect face, the perfect body, the perfect vacation, the perfect job, the perfect outfit, the perfect life – you name it, social media got it. Being oversaturated by clicks, swipes, likes, and tweets can become suffocating and take a toll on one’s mental well-being. However, the glossy social-media feeds have found a breath of fresh air: Hunter McGrady, who puts forth the power of self-confidence and the importance of taking care of your mental health.

WE ARE ALL

WORTHY Hazel Mekkattukulam

McGrady is a 6-foot, size-18 model, who has captured the attention of many for her unfiltered posts on Instagram, promoting body appreciation and shedding light on natural body features, such as cellulite, stretch marks, and even butt pimples. This confidence isn’t something she stumbled upon one day; she reflects on her own insecurities – and accepts and appreciates them. “Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was confidence,” she adds.

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HUNTER MCGRADY

ot only is McGrady paving the way for brighter, more realistic social-media connections, but she’s also moving mountains for inclusivity through her knowledge in the fashion sphere. Her partnership with QVC has culminated in a game-changing fashion line – All Worthy Hunter McGrady. It was important for her to not only be size-inclusive, but acknowledge the role one’s height also plays when trying to find the right outfit. Designed with a plus-size perspective, the entire collection is available in sizes XXS through 5X, and the products come in petite, regular, and tall lengths (“Everything we design truly looks fabulous on everybody”). She wants to shatter the social stigma on the plus-size community – what they should or shouldn’t be able to wear. Even within the fashion industry, while she acknowledges all the progress that’s been accomplished thus far, they are “not even near where we need to be.” Her own experience of not being able to walk into a store in New York City and find something that fits her body type shows how lots of brands and designers are “excluding a huge customer base.” The push to make the influencer market more diverse is an ongoing effort, as well. “If I ever have a brand that I work with, I always bring up some of my plus-size friends, friends who are women of color – because they deserve a platform just as much as anybody else,” she says.

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In the midst of this pandemic, McGrady has turned to meditation to center herself and take care of her own mental health. As someone who has always struggled with depression and anxiety, she uses her platform to “highlight things that are important to me and normalize these things because the more we talk about it, the more people won’t feel so alone.” She has worked closely with The Jed Foundation (JED), a nonprofit that educates young people and lets them know that it’s “OK to not be OK.” With the rising mental-health concerns brought on by COVID-19, so many things may seem to be out of our control. However, even the darkest of clouds have silver linings, and she has learned “the value of spending time with people,” while acknowledging that all essential workers are “the ones who are making sure that our lives are still running seamlessly.” Looking towards 2021 and beyond, McGrady hopes to further establish her brand, All Worthy, as a lifestyle, ultimately creating “a community of people just really empowering one another.”

Photographer & Videographer: Sarah Lenoir Hair & Makeup: Vassilis Kokkinidis (vassiliskokkinidis.com for The Distinct Artist Agency - using Oribe, T3 Micro, Mario Badescu Skin Care & Elizabeth Arden) Editor: Eiko Watanabe Special thanks to EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)

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AVA I L A B L E E XC LU S I V E LY AT QVC.CO M

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TALIA JACKSON

PIECE OF HER: BREAKING THROUGH

Summer Myatt

Talia Jackson, 19-year-old actress and musician, is the epitome of perseverance. After 11 frustrating years in the industry, she’s finally made her breakthrough as the star of Netflix’s Family Reunion, and she’s not looking back.

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TALIA JACKSON

t just 7 years old, she moved to California with her mother and brother, fellow actor Armani Jackson, to pursue a career in entertainment. However, it was challenging for the mixedrace Jackson to find her place in the industry. “Back then, it was only ever the white lead or the Black lead, you didn’t really see any mixedrace leads or diversity,” she says. Because of her lighter complexion, she found herself boxed into primarily auditioning for roles of side characters or those without familial storylines. “I obviously couldn’t play Caucasian roles, and they just didn’t think I looked dark enough, or ethnic enough to play African-American roles, so I just kind of sat and waited,” she recalls. Waiting for the right role took a huge toll on her bright spirit, and she even came close to saying goodbye to acting for good. When she was ready to throw in the towel, her family stepped in to help reinvigorate her passion and remind her of her dreams. “My mom was always very supportive, and she really wouldn’t allow me to drop out of it,” she adds. “I have her and really my whole family to thank for that.” Luckily for Jackson, when it rains, it pours. Her audition drought ended

with nabbing roles in Family Reunion and ABC’s Station 19 in the same month. Her rapid ascent didn’t come without a new set of obstacles, though. As Jade McKellan in Family Reunion, Jackson plays the role of a teenage girl trying to find her place in the world – not far off from the role she plays in her own life. She then received swift backlash from audiences for being “too white” to play Jade, the daughter of a Black family. “It was hard for me because I was having to defend myself and who I am, and people were still not having it,” she says. “In reality, this is how biracial people look.” While facing a wave of criticism, fortunately, an outpouring of love and support came from fans, co-stars, and family alike. Jackson boldly transformed the social-media debate into a learning opportunity for Family Reunion viewers. Standing up for herself, she realized she had a unique passion: to be a role model for kids and fans just like her. “All I wanted as a kid was to see someone who represented me on television, and I’m so glad that I now get to be that for the next generation,” she shares. “I hope that they see me and feel less alone.”

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n addition to being a strong exemplar for the younger generation, she also uses her social-media platform to advocate for social justice and equality. Sharing her own stories of racism and commenting on the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd earlier this year, Jackson urges the youth to stand up for what they believe in. And she knows they can do it. Moreover, after a global health crisis, environmental disasters, nationwide social unrest, and rampant misinformation on subjects like the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, the road to recovery for our world and our nation will be a long one; radical reforms are required for us to forge ahead. “I think my generation can have all the power. We have, together, a very strong voice. I think as long as we continue to stand together, we are capable of everything,” she affirms.

Photographer & Videographer: Haldane Morris Editor: Eiko Watanabe Special thanks to EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)

MARC E. BASSY

HE MAKES PLANS Savannah Dial

MARC E. BASSY

he pandemic has put many lives on hold, but that has not stopped singer-songwriter Marc E. Bassy (born Marc Griffin). He was on tour when the lockdown began in March; the transition was a shock. “That was an extreme change to go from being on a hundred all the time to just being stuck in the house,” he says. “When my new music comes out, my first instinct is, ‘I can’t wait till they play this in the club, or at a bar, or a party or a gathering,’ and that’s not really happening and it’s an interesting change, because now it’s like someone’s going to listen to this in their room by themselves. So that changes music for me a lot.” However, he says that he “will have an album out” soon, describing it as a joyful one (“We just wanted to be happy”), while his last one, PMD, was about the modern culture of depression and anxiety. The upbeat album is going to feature a large selection of musical talent, such as Cory Henry, Omar Edwards, and Kyla Moscovich, just to name a few. Bassy doesn’t just stop at making music. He started his own independent label, New Gold Medal, last year after breaking away from his major-label deal with Republic Records. While making way for his own creative endeavor, he still wants to stay true to himself. “I’m trying not to be too much of a businessman, I’m trying to remain as Marc E. Bassy the artist, but I’m also very excited at the prospect of helping other people accomplish their dreams, too,” he shares. “We need to redistribute this wealth somehow, so that’s

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gonna be a part of New Gold Medal’s platform, no matter what. Let’s be honest, all this music that I’ve made, a lot of stuff that inspired me when growing up, came from people that were not as fortunate as I am, so if I don’t give anything back to them, what am I doing?” Not only does the label have a goal of signing more artists, but it also aims to help out the community. “I want to be the first music company to do that. A portion of our revenue, whatever it is, will go into helping feed families in Los Angeles and maybe outside of that,” says Bassy, who has already started doing this by hosting a pop-up food pantry. Back in August, together with his friends, he began “raising money to go to Costco to buy a few thousand dollars’ worth of food, and bring it directly to homeless people and to this place called the Downtown Women’s Center that is for abused women and children.” This year has thrown a lot at Bassy, but he’s got an idea for what the future holds: “I think that people are beautiful and adaptable, and I think people dealt with this and people will deal with it when it opens up, but I think the system is going to change a lot. That’s my prediction, that would be the best,” he affirms.

Photographer & Videographer: Haldane Morris Editor: Eiko Watanabe Special thanks to EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)

KAREN FUKUHARA

THE FEMALE, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS KAREN FUKUHARA:

INCOMPARABLE

STATURE Savannah Dial

Well known for her live-action roles in Suicide Squad and The

Boys, Karen Fukuhara is kicking butt and taking names, while breaking down stereotypes. “Growing up, I didn’t have role models in the media, because it’s rare to find many Asians portrayed as badass or cool. So for me to be that for girls, for anyone, that means the world to me,” she says.

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Brown top, ELISABETTA FRANCHI. Skirt, ELISABETTA FRANCHI. Earrings, TALENT’S OWN.

Beige coat, JACQUEMUS. Green silk dress, JACQUEMUS. Bracelets, UNCOMMON JAMES & MIKAYLAJ & PRAKSHI. Rings, PRAKSHI. Shoes, OH POLLY. Earrings, TALENT’S OWN.

ukuhara’s character Kimiko Miyashiro from The Boys was initially critiqued for conforming to the stereotype of the Asian woman being quiet, but Fukuhara feels quite the opposite. “My character, The Female, who is mainly used as a weapon in the comics, is given a real name, Kimiko, and a key backstory that catapults The Boys’ action in Season One. With the events that follow in Season Two, she shows her vulnerability and breaks the stoic Asian stereotype,” she argues. “Yet, this criticism does not factor in her communication through sign language – she is not mute, she is vocal and assertive. So Kimiko’s ability to sign has reminded viewers that she is a human being and not a weapon.”

s The Boys show-runner Eric Kripke and his team have created a diverse and stereotypebreaking character, others in the industry are incorporating more diversity in their shows and movies – and this year has certainly propelled the need for accurate representation. “There have been more conversations about representation this year than any other year, which brings hope in progress. Let’s move past the ‘token’ mentality,” Fukuhara affirms. “Our representation in the media is heavily disproportionate to the empirical data. I think we must continuously ask ourselves, ‘Is what we are creating true and authentic? Does it reflect the world we live in? If you are someone that is benefiting from privilege, are you willing to become an ally and divest your privilege to take concrete action for diversity?’” As a talented voice actress (e.g., Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Craig of the Creek, etc.), especially when it comes to children’s shows, Fukuhara understands the importance of representation and the significance of seeing yourself reflected in the art and culture. “Seeing someone that looks like you, embarking on doom-filled adventures only to emerge triumphant – that inspires children to be cognizant of their limitless potential,” she says, referring to Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, whose creator was Radford Sechrist and showrunner was Bill Wolkoff, that has come to an end in October. “Not being able to see Rad, Bill, or the DreamWorks family is sad. I’ll miss Kipo’s contagious, uplifting energy – it allowed me to be completely free in the sound booth! 2020 has taught me never to take time for granted.”

Photographer: Haldane Morris Stylist: Toye Adedipe Hair: Derek Yuen Makeup: Hinako Editor: Eiko Watanabe Special thanks to EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)

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SEEING SOMEONE THAT LOOKS LIKE YOU, EMBARKING ON DOOM-FILLED ADVENTURES ONLY TO EMERGE TRIUMPHANT – THAT INSPIRES CHILDREN TO BE COGNIZANT OF THEIR LIMITLESS POTENTIAL.

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K E E P Y O U R F A M I LY , F R I E N D S , A N D Y O U R L I B E R T Y S A F E F R O M C O V I D - 1 9 F R E E D O M T E S T K I T. C O M

MAYOR DAVID HOLT

JALAIAH HARMON

alaiah Harmon has been an Internet sensation with what is now known as the Renegade to K CAMP’s “Lottery,” but she initially failed to receive credit for the wildly successful choreography. She began to lose hope on receiving recognition for the viral dance as TikTok stars like Charli D’Amelio and celebrities, including Lizzo and Alex Rodriguez, posted their own renditions with no acknowledgement to its original creator. “I was taught that everything happens for a reason,” she says. “Of course, I wanted people to know I was the original creator, but so many people were doing the dance and posting videos of it that it was hard for people to know who to give credit to once it went viral. That’s not anyone’s fault.” Although Harmon’s humble perspective is impressive for a 15-year-old, her story tells an alltoo-familiar narrative of Black creators failing to be recognized for their content. It appeared that Harmon would become yet another Black creator to never be recognized for her work. However, in February, K CAMP invited Harmon to his studio to record a video of her performing the dance as he sat behind fist-pumping in support. “She deserves everything she’s getting right now, man,” said the rapper in his video, also honoring Black History Month. Harmon was then asked to perform the dance at the NBA All-Star Game and was invited by Ellen DeGeneres to appear on her show.

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While she has now received credit for her choreography, Harmon still hopes for equal representation of creators of color. “I believe social-media platforms can support Black and brown influencers by providing the same opportunities and recognition to us as they do to white influencers because we haven’t given a reason to anyone to feel like we don’t deserve success,” she shares. “I have used my following to spread positivity by continuing to do what I love, which is to entertain others through dance. Dancing makes people feel good, so since we’ve been stuck inside because of the coronavirus, that’s what I felt like I could do to send positive energy to the world.” Harmon plans to continue taking master classes and training to keep growing as a dancer and creator; she would like to become a famous choreographer and open her own dance studio: “As a young, Black, female influencer, my message [to fellow Black creators and hopeful influencers] would be to keep putting your talent out there, fight for what you work hard for, and never give up on something you are passionate about because people are watching you,” she affirms.

Photographer & Videographer: Katie Coon Editor: Eiko Watanabe Special thanks to EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)

I believe social-media platforms can support Black and brown influencers by providing the same opportunities and recognition to us as they do to white influencers because we haven’t given a reason to anyone to feel like we don’t deserve success.

SHAWN WASABI

SWEET WITHIN THE SOUR: MANGOTALE ISLAND HANNAH FITZPATRICK

Shawn Serrano – professionally known as Shawn Wasabi – has been on what he calls “an emotional roller coaster” during the past few years. With the 2015 hit “Marble Soda,” Wasabi rose to fame alongside his computer and Midi Fighter 64, a custom 64-button MIDI controller that gives him access to hundreds of individualized samples at the touch of a button.

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is highly-anticipated debut album, MANGOTALE, is a collection of songs that gives an inside look of the bright, colorful world inside his mind – which is wonderfully out of control and mesmerizing. Accompanied with the album is MANGOTALE Island, an online, tropical getaway where each track is associated with an original animated character. Providing a multi-faceted experience was a crucial factor when making the album. “Everyone has the idea of a perfect world inside their head that they know isn’t real, but they go to – to escape reality,” Wasabi says of his creative process. “I’ve been through so many different phases in my musical career – at least since I was four years old when I started playing keyboards, and the experiences and memories I’ve made have helped me so much into shaping who I am today.” Normally, a release like MANGOTALE would result in worldwide touring, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, concerts – as most artists and fans know – haven’t occurred since earlier this year. However, this hasn’t stopped Wasabi from performing. Not only has he uploaded multiple live performances from his living room to YouTube, but there are also various Instagram videos of him creating beats with random objects, such as a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, and on random occasions, like when washing his hands. “People have these expectations of what traditional instruments are, what’s supposed to make music and what’s not,” he shares. “I want to be inventive in the way I approach music. There’s so many different ways you can approach creativity, and there’s no right or wrong way to make music or make art.” Additionally, intersectionality is a huge aspect in Wasabi’s music. As a person of color in a predominantly white, male industry, Wasabi acknowledges that although that can have its challenges, being able to work with people from all different backgrounds and walks of life is what

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encourages him to keep creating. “You’ll never know what it’s like to be in their shoes, but you do have the ability to sympathize and take some time to imagine what it’s like to be in another community that isn’t yours and understand where they’re coming from,” adds Wasabi. “I love collaborating with people, and oftentimes, I find that the most emotionally honest, conversational, and cooler songs I have come from those stories.” Moreover, it’s worth noting that the upcoming deluxe edition of MANGOTALE has additional new and unreleased tracks, complete with new MANGOTALE Island characters. “It’s like a patch update for video games nowadays, where creators can fix minor bugs and glitches and put out downloadable content, like new levels and character skins,” he elaborates. “There are so many emotions and stories that I feel like I haven’t expressed, and I want to continue to tell that story because, like my music, I’m constantly changing and learning new things about the world.” If this year has taught people anything, it’s that the future is unpredictable. In addition to sharing his story through his music, Wasabi says he wants to inspire the next generation of creatives to pursue their passion. “I’m already seeing people on TikTok and Twitter making their own videos of hooking up wires to different objects and intercalating my style, and I think that’s really awesome,” he affirms. “Each generation is learning new things about creativity and all these art mediums, and in the current age of the Internet, it’s a lot easier to find tutorials of different techniques and knowledge being passed on. I hope that through my music, I can encourage people to find new mindsets within their mediums and think outside the box.”

Photographer & Videographer: Haldane Morris Men’s Grooming: Coma Spice Editor: Eiko Watanabe Special thanks to EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)

MAYOR DAVID HOLT

TRAVELING VIA

VIRTUAL REALITY Matt Anthes

Thomas Wilmer

Thanks to virtual reality, we can now travel around the world while lounging on the couch in our living rooms.

TRAVEL

60-degree augmented reality (AR) videos provide a panoramic vista, but the viewer remains an outsider looking in. The beauty of the virtual reality (VR) experience is that it’s literally encapsulating the visual landscape; with the aid of a headset, such as Samsung’s Gear VR, your brain thinks your body is inside it.

producer Jennifer Simonson believes. “I am super-excited about the future of VR. As headsets become more portable and affordable, more and more people will be able to experience virtualreality travel,” she says. “I hope we come to a point where the VR headsets are as ubiquitous as smartphones, so whenever anyone wants to ‘travel,’ they can just put on their headsets and go on a short adventure.”

Based in Sydney, Australia, Kain Tietzel, a pioneer VR developer for Atlas Obscura, says that even though the VR experience is mind-blowing, the technology is still in the dial-up phase. “Future

Simonson also adds that experiences drive engagement. “As a virtual-reality filmmaker, I can place the viewer into the destination. The viewer is completely immersed both visually and audibly, making them feel like they are actually there,”

headsets will be equipped with predictive technology – the ability to anticipate and respond accordingly to where your eyes are focused,” he adds. “The evolution of headsets will morph into something along the lines of contact lenses.” But until then, a more modest evolution would be along the lines of what Austin, Texas-based

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she shares. “VR eliminates the time and expense of travel, so a person can walk the ancient Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, view the great pyramids of Egypt, and watch the sunset over the Grand Canyon – all from the living room. When I made my first few videos in Mexico, I presented them to my 96-year-old grandmother, who was always a lover of travel, but is no longer able to travel due to health reasons.”

TRAVEL

Jason Lopez, a Silicon Valley technology writer, says that the upcoming release of Apple Glass will serve as a big step toward wide-scale societal and B2B adaptation of spatial technologies. The applications are already changing the landscape of gaming, real estate, healthcare, and militarytraining environments. Additionally, Tietzel mentions VR as a therapeutic modality for cancer patients’ treatments, where soothing VR exotic travel destination experiences have resulted in a reduction of pain medications. Moreover, Lopez notes that Portland, Oregonbased Object Theory creates AR environments that make it easier and cheaper for their clients to design things like bridges or hospital operating rooms. “Instead of the time and expense of shipping costly equipment to a site and staging a demo operating room, they do it virtually,” he

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says. “One thing is really clear – in the theatrical entertainment space, 360-viewing demands a brand-new language. In a flat-screen world, time is compressed with jump cuts. We don’t think a thing about it when we watch. But in 360, conventional film-editing theory doesn’t work very well. That’s partly because 360 lends itself to the experience of actually being there, not just observing through a window.” With your headset on, a weekend in Paris takes on a whole new meaning. For more details, visit Start Beyond: @start_ beyond – www.startbeyond.co & Atlas Obscura: @atlasobscura – www.atlasobscura.com Photographers: Start Beyond & Lumenbrite

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RAY ARCHULETA

THE GROUND HE STANDS ON Summer Myatt

It’s 2020, and our planet is in danger. For decades, climate change has caused spikes in global temperatures, the melting of our ice caps, and exponentially-worsening natural disasters, and scientists argue a need for more urgent attention to and action on the issue. Ray Archuleta, certified professional soil scientist and conservation agronomist, believes that we can do something about it, and the answer to recovery is, quite literally, right beneath our feet. An energetic, empathetic, and impassioned leader, he has traveled the country educating the farmers of today. After working for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), he founded the Soil Health Academy, a non-profit dedicated to equipping agriculturalists with the information they need to work smarter, not only for their own profits, but for the health of the land. Additionally, he’s taken his mission to the big screen in the Netflix documentary, Kiss

the Ground. And his work is far from finished.

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RAY ARCHULETA

rchuleta has worked intimately with soil for more than 30 years, but he hasn’t always been so attuned to its inherent power. “A lot of our life is a progressive journey,” says Archuleta, whose epiphany struck nearly a decade into his career. “It doesn’t just happen at once, it’s many instances. You start asking very critical questions, and you become cognizant that there’s something wrong.” During his tenure on the road, he started to put the smaller pieces together, finding a through-line of foundational issues in the way we’ve been farming for far too long. He adds, “I kept asking questions like, ‘Why is the water not clean?’ and ‘Why are the farmers still going broke?’” All signs pointed to faults in the foundation for all life above: soil. Archuleta knew he’d found a weakness, not only in our natural system, but also in our education systems. Coming out of college with a “fragmented, reductionist view,” he didn’t yet have the tools to step back and see the full scope of the issue until years later. Rather than perceiving the land as a means for mass crop production, as he’d been taught in school, he began to identify soil’s role, and in turn, his own role, in the ecosystem as a whole. “Soil is a very dynamic, living system, and once you see that – that it’s just as alive as your pet – it starts to change the way you interface with it, the way you have a relationship, the way you deal with it. It changes everything,” he says. At the cornerstone of Archuleta’s mission, and of his educational work, is the concept of biomimicry: the modeling of structures and systems on the Earth’s intrinsic, natural processes. “Our agriculture is extremely destructive and

intrusive the way it’s done now,” he says. And in truth, large-scale agricultural practices have actively worked against how nature operates for almost a century. Perhaps, the most devastating ecological collapse in American history, the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, was caused in large part by inexperienced, miseducated farmers introducing harmful, mechanized farming techniques to an ecosystem they didn’t fully understand. “The biggest problem is the human mind, it’s the way we think,” he affirms. “We think we’re doing the right thing, but we’re not. It’s a form of arrogance. What have we learned? Our food system is very fragile, our ignorance and fear lead to more [arrogance], and we don’t research on our own.” But if there’s anything to take away from this, it’s that hope is far from lost. “I think we can fix a majority of our health issues, our resource issues, and our climate issues with the soil,” Archuleta elaborates. “If we would all farm like nature does, it would change the whole planet.” We, the citizens of the world, still hold an incredible amount of power to change our future; we just have to collectively step into the higher consciousness of a mission and harness it. Archuleta does it every day, and he aims to inspire everyone he meets to do the same: “I just have a passion for people and for healing the land, and it’s not about me. It’s every day, it’s when we open the door for somebody. You might think it’s so small, but it’s the small things that really count,” he shares.

Photographer & Videographer: Eric Jacobson Editor: Eiko Watanabe Special thanks to EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)

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T H E F IRS T V I AB L E S O L U TI O N T O O UR C L I M ATE C R I S I S We live in a world on the cusp that might be past the point of redemption: climate change progressing, our fragile food system under strain, and our planet becoming uninhabitable for our future generations. Luckily, Kiss the Ground, a champion for regenerative living and the restoration of soil worldwide, has taken up the torch, stirring our collective conscience to action – and quite simply but extremely firmly, our lives depend on it. The Los Angeles-based non-profit organization aims to raise awareness of “humanity’s greatest challenges” and their almost-too-simple solution: the very ground beneath our feet.

KISS THE GROUND

he non-profit has inspired filmmaker and author Josh Tickell to produce both a book and a documentary of the same name (the documentary was directed by Josh and Rebecca Tickell), and the organization’s website boasts an even more expansive array of tools with which to accomplish their mission, including free educational resources and a podcast. With their farmland and stewardship programs, advocate training, and community collaboration, the regenerative agriculture movement has been gaining momentum. Above all, Kiss the Ground is a way of life. It’s a pathway towards a fervent community dedicated to healing our planet. Seven years in the making, their star-studded, eponymous documentary, narrated by Woody Harrelson, hit Netflix in September, and it’s already generated quite a buzz. The optimistic climate documentary, with a diverse team of activists, educators, celebrities, and community leaders, has motivated viewers to take matters into their own hands and get involved in the growing global movement. Although the film tackles the ominous subject of global warming and illustrates the harmful dangers of destructive farming practices, Kiss the Ground possesses the rare ability to inspire hope, communicating its message with a sense of positivity and a glimmer of possibility. For more details, visit Kiss the Ground: @ kisstheground – kisstheground.com & Kiss the Ground Movie: @kissthegroundmovie – kissthegroundmovie.com

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