ONE ONE.CITY.ONE.VOICE.ONE.LIFESTYLE
APRIL 2010
WHATS HOT IN THE PEG THE REPUBLIC HEATS UP THE EXCHANGE ATELIER COUTURE WEDDING GOWNS MADE EXPRESSLY FOR YOU WINNIPEG’S OWN UFC FIGHTER: THE POLISH EXPERIMENT
CHAMPA BISTRO MARRIES ASIAN WITH LOCAL TO CREATE A UNIQUE MENU
WFX REINVENTS WRESTLING BIG NAME TALENT AND REALITY TV STARS MIX WITH FANS FOR NEW ‘XPERIENCE’
NEW SPRING STYLES FOR 2010
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contents
APRIL 2010
VOL. 1 / NO. 1
ONE ENTERTAINMENT 60
18
8 10 14 18 22 50 51
NEW MUSIC A deluge of live performances coming this Spring CD RELEASES 6 albums that debut in April THE REPUBLIC Winnipeg’s newest nightclub a smash hit THE BOKONONISTS A fresh name but the same scuzzy beat WINNIPEG ARTS Theatre takes centre stage next month MOVIES The 3D craze is back, thank you Avatar MOVIES 10 best romantic comedies ever?
ONE FLAVOURS 14
24 PIZZERIA GUSTO Classic Italian cuisine comes to Academy Road 26 CHAMPA BISTRO Creative fusion fare earns instant accolades
ONE STYLE 30
34
30 34 36 37 42 43 44 46
BERNES AND BLACK Spa and salon features organic products ANDREW BICKFORD Custom streetwear from Exchange designer T-SHIRT FASHION Winning show entries look like works of art ATELIER COUTURE Exclusive wedding gowns from this new shop VISUAL ARTS SCENE What’s on at Winnipeg galleries ADRIAN WILLIAMS Winnipeg artist breathes life into discards HILARY DRUXMAN DESIGN Jewelry in boutiques around the world GOWNS FOR GRADS Great program donates fashions to teens
ONE RELATIONSHIPS 58 FINDING YOUR MATCH Take the right first steps 59 DATING 15 do’s and don’ts for your first date 66
ONE SPORTS 60 ULTIMATE WARRIOR Winnipeg-based fighter making a name 66 WRESTLING FAN XPERIENCE New ‘Reality Bites’ format wows fans
26
ONE HEALTH AND FITNESS
37
ONE WHEELS
62 64 70 74 75
CKMTC Kickboxing champ runs mixed martial arts gym KEYS 4 HEALTH Restoring wellness one step at a time FITNESS EDGE FOR WOMEN Gym rewards consistent workouts TOUGH LOVE Tackling soft addictions that damage your health WORKING OUT Recovering from illness takes priority
54 WORLD OF WHEELS Show rolls out new cars and stars
ONE BUSINESS 56
76 ONE WORLD UNITED Multi-faceted firm races forward 78 7 STEP SALES STRATEGY A guide for your small business
ONE EVERY MONTH 6 56 57 82
4 | ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
ONE WAY IN THE ONE WOMAN THE ONE MAN ONE LAST WORD
COVER New Spring Style...throughout the magazine, favourite fashion trends and salon styles that will define the 2010 Spring Look.
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20 4. 8 89 . NOTT (66 88 ) 2 07 4 DE VRIES AVENU E (L AGIMODIERE AT B ONNER) O N L I N E G A L L E RY V I E W O R C U S T O M O R D E R @ N O T TA U T O C O R P. C O M
ONE WAY IN DJG K>H>DC
t’s a tall order, but we believe we’re up to the task: Capture the essence of this impossibly complex, diverse, evolving and culturally rich metropolis in one magazine. Winnipeg throbs with the energy of our young and the variety of our heritage. It’s on the streets, in our galleries, on stages, in sports arenas, in new enterprise that never ceases to amaze as it bursts originality and supports the realization of dreams. How many have made their mark here, their name, their living by following a personal vision to fruition. It’s some of these home-grown special people we want to introduce to readers in this our premier issue of ONE magazine.
restaurateurs, the musicians, the matchmaking specialists, the health gurus – this is our beat. We thank the many that have helped bring our publication to you, the writers, photographers,design and sales teams, advertis ers and corporate sponsors. And we thank you in advance, because as ever, magazines need reader feedback to stay alive, relevant and useful. Know of a good story lurking in the shadows? Give us a shout...we follow up all leads. Watch for us every month. We’re the latest addition to Winnipeg’s incredibly robust lifestyle scene. - George Mitchell
business entrepreneurs, the moviemakers, the ultimate
ONE MAGAZINE WANTS YOUR FEEDBACK <^kZ jh ndjg i]dj\]ih dc djg cZl bdci]an ejWa^XVi^dc# =dl Y^Y lZ Yd dc djg egZb^Zg ^hhjZ4 L]Vi ldjaY ndj a^`Z id hZZ XdkZgZY ^c [jijgZ ^hhjZh d[ DC:/ l]^X] eZdeaZ! ZkZcih! igZcYh dg ]VeeZc^c\h dc i]Z L^cc^eZ\ hXZcZ4 LZ lVci DC: bV\Vo^cZ id gZ[aZXi V l^YZ gVc\Z d[ a^[ZhinaZ k^Zled^cih! VcY ]Zae L^cc^eZ\\Zgh \Zi i]Z bdhi [gdb djg ZmXZei^dcVa X^in# HZcY ndjg i]dj\]ih id ZY^idg5dcZldgaYhijY^dh#XV VcY lZ»aa Yd djg WZhi id ^cXdgedgViZ ndjg XdbbZcih VcY \gZVi ^YZVh ^cid DC: bV\Vo^cZ#
6 | ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
WAY IN WA
I
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF George Mitchell PHOTOGRAPHY Mike Latschislaw LATSCHSTUDIOS CONTRIBUTORS Shawn Coates Dan Debreuil Steven Hanks Pat St. Germain Aaron W. Graham Mary Ann Masesar Sandee Moore Jessie Rempel David Schmeichel Jim Shorts Amanda Stefaniuk Jared Story Chance Taylor Lianne Tregobov DESIGN Landon McCormick Dorian Preston Doug Rempel Charlene Lannoo ADVERTISING SALES (204) 594-0144 Sean Brown Laura Oag Kerry O’Brien ADVERTISING SERVICES Wade Barkman PRINTING Winnipeg Sun Commercial Print
ONE magazine is published monthly by ONE WORLD MEDIA at 1111 Chevrier Blvd., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3T 1Y2. www.oneworldstudios.ca Contents copyright ONE WORLD MEDIA, and may not be reproduced or reprinted without written permission. All rights reserved. For customer service inquiries please call (204) 594-0155.
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ENTERTAINMENT
Spring Overflow
of musical Talent
W I N N I P E G T R E AT E D T O A T O R R E N T O F S H O W S
Age. Case in point, Amon Amarth’s most recent album is titled Twilight of the Thunder God. April 28. Keeping it Canadian, April 28 belongs to a couple of critically acclaimed Canuck crews. Montreal indie-rockers Plants and Animals will be at the West End Cultural Centre supporting its brand-spanking new album La La Land, to be released April 20. The band’s previous effort, Parc Avenue, was shortlisted for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize, an award given annually to the best full-length Canadian album according to a jury of music journalists, bloggers and broadcasters.. The Besnard Lakes
by Jared Story
Finally, a flood you don’t have to fight. This spring instead of slinging sandbags, immerse yourself in the overflow of excellent musical acts inundating Winnipeg. April 7. The torrent of top talent starts April 7 at The Royal Albert Arms with Canada’s most enthusiastically enunciated band You Say Party! We Say Die! . A dance-punk quintet from Abbotsford, B.C., YSP! WSD! is touring in support of its third studio album, XXXX, which influential indie music publication Pitchfork says “encompasses both the gothic ambiance of Siouxsie and the Banshees and the toughgirl 1980s hooks of Pat Benatar.” dian thrash metallers Annihilator.
Amon Amarth
Greg MacPherson
APRIL 10
APRIL 17
APRIL 28
April 30. If you like your rock hard but not quite Thor hard, Our Lady Peace plays the Burton Cummings Theatre April 30 and May 1. On the Friday night, the Toronto alt-rock band will play Clumsy in its entirety, its 1997 album that featured such hits as Superman’s Dead, 4 AM and Automatic Flowers, and on the Saturday, OLP will do the same with 2000’s Spiritual Machines. In addition, the band will play a greatest hits set on each night, consisting of songs from its entire career, from 1994’s Naveed to last year’s Burn Burn.
Our Lady Peace plays the Burton Cummings April 30 and May 1
drumming courtesy of Ryan Ahoff, whose other gig is touring with Canadian thrash metallers Annihilator. April 17. Speaking of headbanging, Amon Amarth brings its brand of melodic death metal to the Garrick Centre on April 17. The Swedish band, signed to Metal Blade Records, bases most of its lyrics on Norse mythology and the Viking You Say Party We Say Die
APRIL 30
There you have it, a flood of out-of-town acts and local talent to meet your musical needs. Best yet? No sandbags required.
APRIL 7
April 16. On the local front, all-female alternative country band Oh My Darling will release its first full-length album April 16 at the WECC. It’s self-titled 2009 EP earned the group a nomination for Best Roots Album at the 2009 Western Canadian Music Awards. Also at the WECC, Boats! drops Cannonballs, Cannonballs on May 1, the indie-pop band’s sophomore album, while Greg MacPhersonreleases his long-awaited Mr. Invitation on April 10. In addition to featuring his patented punk/folk blend, the local singer-songwriter’s first album for local label Smallman Records also features 8 | ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
Our Lady Peace
ONE
Plants and Animals
Oh My Darling
APRIL 16
ON E ON APRIL 28
ow Montreal Mon Also nominated for the prize? Fellow band The ock ck group ou will be at the Besnard Lakes. The psychedelic pop rock sna Lakes La are the Royal Albert Arms in support of Thee Besnard ris Music Mu Prize nomiRoaring Night, the follow-up to its Polaris es are re thee Dark Horse. nated 2007 album The Besnard Lakes
10 | ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
12 | ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
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ONE
ENTERTAINMENT
When local entrepreneur Stephen Hua opened his trendy Exchange District club in 2009, Winnipegâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nightlife scene took an evolutionary leap forward.
CLUB OWNER STEPHEN HUA (above) has made The Republic a smashing success.
Republic Nightclub by Aaron W. Graham photography by Mike Latschislaw
T
he Winnipeg club scene has long been searching for the perfect venue to showcase the best in local and international party music. Republic Nightclub, since its opening at 291 Bannatyne in March 2009, has satisfied that demand for a trendy downtown spot for the younger crowd. It’s all been due to their first-rate line-up of house DJs, special guests, and has even played host to DJ Pauly D of MTV’s hit reality series “Jersey
HUA ELABORATES ON THE VARIETY OF MUSIC, stating, “On Friday nights, there’s a majority of hip hop and house, with Saturdays being a pretty wide open format: Electro, pop and rock. It’s all over the map.” Not only is owner Hua the main promoter of this Exchange District club, he’s also behind Soundwave Entertainment and Sound Republic, the event organizers who’ve brought such noteworthy acts to Winnipeg as Armin Van Burren, Cosmic Gate, Flo Rida, Z-Trip Klaas, and MSTRKFT. “During the rave scene’s popularity, I started off doing shows with electronic music. I slowly worked my way up to
OFFERING FIRST-RATE DJs A WIDE RANGE OF HIP-HOP ARTISTS, CELEBRITIES, AND EVEN REALITY SHOW STARS Shore” this past February. According to club owner Stephen Hua, that night was “ridiculously packed and unreal.” But then again, a spike in attendance is nothing new for 2010. Both Friday and Saturday nights have been completely packed since the new year,” says Hua. Open to the public weekly every Friday and Saturday and on certain Thursdays for Special Events, Republic offers up all of the hippest beats in hip hop, house, electro, and mash-ups courtesy of DJ D-Lo on Fridays and DJs Dow Jones on Saturdays. Jones, once part of 90s hip-hop ensemble Mood Ruff, went “behind the mic” in 2003, eventually becoming the official Sunparties American Spring Break DJ in 2004. Jones later earned the title Most Versatile DJ in a Red Bull Three-Style Battle, so when you step out onto Republic’s dance floor, you know you’re in good hands.
doing bigger shows and, eventually, I had the number one DJ in the world, DJ Tiësto, come to town. That’s what really put my company in the spotlight. After that, I was able to interest a lot of sponsors: Red Bull, Heineken, and even MTS,” says Hua. “Things then kind of blew up when I opened up the club. When it comes to out-of-town electronic acts - if it’s not at the MTS Centre - 75-80% of shows are from my company. But they all don’t play Republic. I bring them in for different venues, whether it’s for Blush or Pantages or the Concert hall.” ALTHOUGH HUA’S BEEN AT THE GAME for a decade, both his initial ventures in the events business and Republic didn’t begin as instant successes. “The first eight years I wasn’t making any money, but I just kept it up because I loved doing it. I have a definite passion for the music. Through
WORLD’S BIGGEST DJ HOSTED LEGENDARY EVENT Hua can also lay claim to the fact that he’s brought in the biggest DJ in the world, as he’s most commonly referred. Hailing from North Brabant in the Netherlands, DJ Tiësto began to make major strides in worldwide popularity in both 2005 and 2006, even being called upon by Disneyland Resort Paris to host a launch of the sequel of their Space Mountain ride. In 2004, Tiësto became the first DJ to perform live at an Olympic Games when he took to the stage in Athens, Greece. For the dedicated hardcore, his Magik and In Search of Sunrise CD series are musthaves for music collections, but it’s his 2000 remix of Delerium’s “Silence” featuring Sarah McLachlan most recognizable to mainstream ears. Of course, Tiësto was also one of the unquestionable highlights for Hua and his promotional duties at Soundwave Entertainment. “Soundwave first brought him in to the Convention Centre two years ago on August 23, 2007 and, again, just recently, on November 11, 2009 at Duckworth Centre at the U of W.” Despite a bomb scare, Hua’s hard work paid off. Tiësto’s first visit in 2007 has entered Winnipeg party lore: One hell of a good time for those that attended, and a missed opportunity for those that couldn’t secure tickets. continued on page 16 ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL| 2010 | 15
continued from page 15
Republic Nightclub the process of putting on shows, things would naturally go up and down. I would make a little money one month, lose a little bit the next – and even lose a lot at times. I just kept the momentum running with events.” After putting on numerous indepen-
sure that there would be more of a high profile for the events.” Hua insists that his enthusiasm still flourishes for this kind of music. “I never did this for the money and I still don’t. I just love doing what I do.” Advertising itself as the next step in
TWO CLASSIC ROOMS, SPACIOUS DANCE FLOORS, SUPERB SOUND, THREE FULLYSTOCKED BARS, AND AN INTIMATE VIBE
“I’ve done three events with around 2500 people. Each Tiësto appearance has been unique and whole lot of wild fun.” When asked to clarify what the third legendary event was, Hua had instant recall. “It was the first event I ever did: ten years ago, in September 2000. It was a 2300-person rave out in Morris: The biggest rave in Manitoba history. That started off everything.”
dent shows, Hua soon realized that owning a venue would be the most advantageous for such concerns. “I realized that there just wasn’t much left to do - save for owning my own place. A lot of times I’d bring an act to a club and I wouldn’t make any money, but the club itself would make between $20-30 thousand. So I began co-running 291 Bannatyne when it was called the Exchange Event Centre, and
evolution for Winnipeg’s nightlife, Republic is divided by two classically designed rooms with roomy dance floors, a carefully calibrated up-to-date sound system, three fully-stocked bars, and a comfortably inclusive feeling. “The overall vibe is to make it feel like home,” says Hua. “The lighting of the club is very intimate, and comfortable with couches, curtains and chandeliers all over the place. It’s fully carpeted to
STRICT DRESS CODE policy, where, in addition to athletic wear or excessively baggy clothing being a no-no, Ed Hardy, Christian Audigier, Smet, Tap Out and Affliction are outlawed due to their promotion of violence. “We’re the only club in the city that has a violence-free dress code. No weapons, skulls, or symbols of death, and no fight wear or MMA gear. We
then decided to take over the space and renovated it into its current incarnation.” When companies began taking notice of Hua’s valiant efforts, doors really began to open up, allowing him to work his dream job fulltime. “When it came to the club, sponsorship made
make it have that extra, welcoming quality. We’ve got two dance floors, including a small room in the back called the Embassy Lounge. Then there’s the main room with two different kinds of music each night.” ALSO OF NOTE IS REPUBLIC’S
just stay away from anything that glorifies violence or might encourage it. We’re open to any brand as long as it doesn’t have these depictions.” Stephen maintains a number of responsibilities, though he does try to make an almost-nightly appearance. “I do have a
16 | ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
FIRST-RATE DJs offer hip-hop, house, electro and mash-ups that play to full-packed houses Friday and Saturday nights.
very big, reliable team to make things run smoothly, but I do try to be at all of the events as much as possible.” Is there a certain kind of performer or DJ better suited than others for Republic? Hua’s open to all, just as long as it’s hip. “Whatever’s hot. We’re a very openminded club, for all different types of people. We bring in a wide range, from celebrities - like “Jersey Shore” cast members, (actor) Jesse Metcalfe, or (reality star) Brody Jenner, to the bigger hip hop artists coming through. There’s house DJs, trance - you name it. We’re open to showcasing any kind of talent.”
KNOWING WHAT SHOWS WILL WORK IN YOUR OWN CITY-THAT’S THE TRICK Hua doesn’t necessarily think that what works for one bigger city nightclub will work for another. “Every city’s different, right? The difficult part is figuring out what your city wants. If something does well in Toronto, it may be completely different in Winnipeg and may not work. That’s kind of the trick. It’s easy to see what’s big in other cities, but knowing what works in your own is a lot more difficult. “I travel quite a bit – I just got back from Vegas - and that’s constantly bringing me new ideas for Republic, helping me figure out what to improve on. There’s always a continuously changing atmosphere, and you’re updating it to keep it fresh.” ONE
ON FACEBOOK FOLLOW REPUBLIC WWW.FACEBOOK.COM /REPUBLICNIGHTCLUB
ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010 | 17
ONE ENTERTAINMENT
WASH AWAY THE OLD Previously known as Weatherman Underground, Bokononist members include from left: Jed Desilets, Bobby Desjarlais, Rene Campbell and Johnny Calderon. 18 | ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
music With their own forceful scuzzy sound these rockers share a street-level vision by David Schmeichel photography by Mike Latschislaw
o
n paper, they sound like a recipe for roommate disaster: Prone to partying, playing booze-fuelled pranks, and keeping the neighbours in a perpetual state of pissed off. But in reality, local rockers The Bokoninists couldn’t be happier with their present living arrangements, which find three-fourths of the act’s lineup ensconced in blissful cohabitation. “Before we moved in together, everyone kept saying, ‘You guys are done – you’re going to hate each other,’” explains frontman Rene Campbell, of the recently-acquired Knappen Avenue living space he shares with bandmates Johnny Calderon and Bobby Desjarlais. (Drummer Jed Desilets, the lone holdout, has yet to join the fray.) “But I kept telling them, ‘You don’t understand.’ I’m in a band with my best friends. It’s not like we’re doing this as some kind of business thing. These are my friends: I know who they are, I understand them and I want to live with them. “Really, the only difference is I don’t have to drive 15 minutes to see these guys anymore,” adds Calderon. “Now they’re just there when I wake up.” So while the Bokononists’ next-door neighbours have surely heard of them (the band’s backyard is a popular post-gig destination for friends and fans), there’s a good chance you still haven’t. Up until recently, they’d been billing themselves as the Weatherman Underground, a nod to the counter-culture radicals (technically, the Weather Underground) whose members bombed banks and government buildings in the ‘60s and ‘70s.
knows what it means, so they feel cool,” says Desjarlais. “Like after the Obama thing, everyone was coming up to us and saying, ‘Oh, I know the Weather Underground.’ And we’re like, ‘Yeah, (the documentary’s) at Movie Village, motherf–ker.’” In any case, all the vaguely anarchistic, old-but-new-again references wind up making perfect sense once you hear the band’s sound, a NYC-inspired amalgam of lo-fi “skuzz”-rock and polished dance-punk beats. The spiky, spazzy guitar riffs are pure garage-meets-Gang of Four, while the chilly echo-chamber vocals and murky minor-key chordings make for a welcome addition to the post-punk realm. Oh, and the stop-and-start rhythms and minimalist percussion? (And speaking of which, aren’t the maracas due for a comeback soon?) They all but defy you not to start dancing – which, of course, is part of the band’s plan. “That’s our main focus, is getting girls to dance,” says Campbell. “I was thinking we should get girls to come to our jam space when we’re practicing. And if they start moving, we know we’re on to something.” “Like if you build it, they will come,” adds Desjarlais. “If you make the girls dance, the party will follow.” As guiding principles go, it’s not exactly refined. But let’s face it – the word “refined” has little value in the context of rock ’n’ roll. Besides, it’s perfectly in step with the band’s party-hardy ethos, which has seen them banned from more than one local venue in recent years. (Apparently, promoters don’t take too kindly to having their shows disrupted by a bunch of shirtless hooligans running laps around the stage. Desjarlais’ studied response? “We’ve got bigger bridges to burn.”) Even the band’s origin story is street-level: Campbell, having “broken up” with his last outfit back in December 2008, was standing outside Carlos & Murphy’s smoking a cigarette. He spotted Calderon, and – sensing a kindred musical spirit – asked him if he was interested in collaborating. “A week later, we got together to listen to some stuff I was working on and he (Calderon) said, ‘This is perfect – this is exactly what I want to do,’” recalls Campbell.
The spiky, spazzy guitar riffs are pure garagemeets-Gang of Four “if the girls start moving, we know we’re on to something”
They were forced to find a new moniker after bands in the U.S. and France staked legal claims on the same name (having likely been inspired by either a recent documentary on the organization, or the storm of controversy that erupted over Barack Obama’s past contacts with the group’s leader, William Ayres). For their new name, they settled on a literary reference – Bokononism being the religious movement (based on a shared understanding that all religion is bunk) that plays a major role in Kurt Vonnegut’s seminal arms race satire Cat’s Cradle. A little obscure, maybe, but not exactly a secret handshake. “We’ll run into the odd person who
“I heard his music and it was like, ‘Holy s—t,’” adds Calderon. “That’s music I’d actually listen to. And put my name on.” The duo enlisted Desilets (with whom Campbell had done some session work) for an inaugural gig at Ragpickers. Weeks later, they recruited Desjarlais, known locally as the ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010 | 19
music fellow local acts the Waking Eyes and Crosstown Rivals to be compatriots, but also jokingly – or maybe not so jokingly? – categorize themselves as “an island on an island.”
They’re capable of drawing jampacked crowds to neighbourhood haunts like The Standard and The Cavern That said, they stand firmly behind their product. (“We’re good, and we put on a good show,” says Desjarlais.) They’re capable of drawing jam-packed crowds to neighbourhood haunts like The Standard and The Cavern. And while they may not be 100% sure of where they’re headed just yet, they do know that once all the ingredients finally click into place, even their next-door neighbours are going to eat it up. “I’d say we’re on the cusp of what we want to do, just maybe a little unsure of the direction,” says Desjarlais. “But the more we keep doing it, the more we’re going to find it. And if we keep getting the response we’ve been getting at the shows so far, we’ll be fine. Winnipeg is a microcosm for the world. So we’ll be fine.” ONE
NE
guitarist for Alverstone, to flesh out their sound even further. So far, the band’s touring schedule has been limited to gigs around the city, though now that they’ve got that place-of-residence thing taken care of, they’re saving up their money to buy a van. They’re also toying with the idea of one day releasing an album, though they prefer the DIY approach over government grants or obligations to a label. As for their place in the local scene, they’re a little unsure. They consider
To sample The Bokononists’ sound, check http://www.myspace.com/thebokononists
ENTERTAINMENT
22 || ONE ONE MAGAZINE MAGAZINE || MARCH APRIL | |2010 20 MAY | 2010
ONE
LAVOURS
Widely Acclaimed Wildly Popular %2%%< 02772/$Ň&#x2039;6 PIZZERIA GUSTO :2:6 &5,7,&6 :,16 1(,*+%2856 by David Schmeichel photography by Mike Latschislaw
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here's an oft-repeated maxim â&#x20AC;&#x201C; dating back to the 17th century â&#x20AC;&#x201C; about how good fences make for good neighbours. Now, local restaurateur Bobby Mottola has proven the same rule applies to patio fences, too. After less than two years in business, Mottola has already achieved talk-of-the-town status with his latest Winnipeg venture, the widely acclaimed â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and wildly popular â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Pizzeria Gusto. Even more impressive? He's also managed to win over the Academy-area skeptics who'd originally mounted an opposition to his opening, fearing the restaurant's presence â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not to mention the uptick in foot traffic that would result from a rumoured patio â&#x20AC;&#x201D; would prove to be bad for the neighbourhood. "Let's face it, you don't want to be in a neighbourhood where your neighbours don't like you," says Mottola, after conceding his last place of business, the since-shuttered Corydon hotspot Dirty Laundry, attracted a somewhat rowdier clientele than the one he's now targeting. "So instead, we wake up every day with that knowledge and that responsibility of being a neighbour. Running our
Recreating the energy and intimacy of classic Italian family dinners
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business with that in mind has only helped us. It's what's made us as successful as we are." It also helps that every square inch of Pizzeria Gusto â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and in turn, every item on the menu â&#x20AC;&#x201D; has been designed and developed with customer comfort in mind. Mottola's original vision for the site, which has since been embraced by patrons and industry experts alike, was simply to recreate the energy and intimacy of the family dinners he enjoyed as a kid. "My whole life, family dinners were always just that â&#x20AC;&#x201D; they involved the whole family," says Mottola, whose grandfather once served as the Italian vice-consulate in Winnipeg "Remembering all those smells and sounds, all the other wonderful stuff, was always really indicative to me of coming home."
ITALIAN CUISINE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; OLD WORLD STYLE Given his background, it's no surprise that Mottola's eatery stands as a testament to the artistry of Italian cuisine, or that the Old World flourishes (the jars of narrow breadsticks, the backlit enlargements of ancestral photos that line the walls) meld so perfectly with the stripped-down offerings on the menu. The thin-crust, wood-fired pizzas â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which are named after everything from Mottola's father and business partner ("The Don"), to his brother's medical school ("The Harvard"), to a couple of cultural icons ("The Sophia," "The Sinatra") â&#x20AC;&#x201D; are a far cry from your usual threefor-one fare, made from only the freshest of ingredients (there isn't even a freezer on the premises) and topped with upscale fixings like prosciutto, roasted red peppers and buffalo mozzarella. Elsewhere on the menu (created in collaboration with head chef Scott Bagshaw, formerly of the ultra-swanky Sydney's at The Forks), you'll find equally
BOBBY MOTTOLA: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Like going to your familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house on a Sunday.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;
mouthwatering options like veggies drizzled with truffle oil, slow-roasted sandwich fillings, and of course, homemade meatballs in a rustic tomato sauce. “Italian food is really quite simple ... because what Italians are very good at is doing a lot with relatively little,” says Mottola. "It's just like going to your family's house on a Sunday, when your mom's been cooking all day and she doesn't mind letting you know it ... When somebody puts a lot of effort into their meals, you can really see it on the table."
named best restaurant of the year by Winnipeg Free Press food critic Marion Warhaft. "You always hope you're doing a good job, and that people are getting the vision you'd set forward from the very beginning, but there's a point where you're still holding your breath all the time," says Mottola. "Once those (the accolades) start to come in, you realize you're on the right track. And that makes you want to continue on that path, and to always do better."
BLENDING WITH THE COMMUNITY
TALENTED, LOYAL STAFF
That same attention to detail also extends to Mottola's charitable commitments (a portion of the restaurant's profits support the Manitoba HIV Hope Fund), and to the aforementioned gestures of neighbourly goodwill (the bar stocks only wine — there's no hard alcohol in sight — and as mandated by the city, the patio is closed by 11 p.m. each night). Of the patio, which received civic approval late last summer, Mottola is especially proud, citing its existence as proof that the tides of community acceptance have finally turned. "We wouldn't do something to jeopardize the fabric of the community," says Mottola, noting many of his initial critics have since softened their position to the point that they're now regular customers. "We've always wanted to be a cornerstone of the community, not to take away from it. We felt like this was a move forward, but if at any time we'd have felt it was going to have a negative impact, we'd have stopped." Mottola may have succeeded in winning over his neighbours, but it's not as if he was hard up for peer approval prior to that. A mere six months after it opened, Pizzeria Gusto had already been hailed as a national treasure, earning a spot on countless Top Ten lists (among them the prestigious travel publications Where and En Route), and being
Even Mottola’s staff members appear to be in it for the long haul. He estimates that close to 80% of his serving and kitchen staff have been with him from the very beginning, noting that level of loyalty is increasingly rare in the restaurant industry these days. Sous-chef Matt Witthoos, who’s responsible for the restaurant’s decadent selection of desserts, says the friendly dynamic tends to result in an atmosphere where everyone takes great amounts of pride in their work. “You take a lot more ownership over something when you’ve been here from the beginning,” says Witthoos. “When you’re at a company that’s been running for 20 years without you, it doesn’t matter how hard you work or how hard you try, it still never really feels like it’s yours, or like you’re a part of it. “But when something has your name attached to it, you take extra care – take those extra steps – to make sure it’s perfect.” These days, Mottola says he’s mostly concerned with preparing for his first full summer with a patio, though he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of further expansions. "The future is bright, and the team we have is top drawer," he says. "It gives you a lot of confidence moving forward, knowing you have the right people in place to even start looking at other options." ONE
Within six months of opening, declared a national culinary treasure
EVERYTHING DESIGNED with Old World comfort to match the classic Italian fare.
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CBistro B Take a love of people and locally-produced food, add a can-do attitude, and you have Koulab Phommarath, restauranteur superb.
FLAVOURS by Pat St. Germain photography by Mike Latschislaw
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oulab Phommarath doesn’t just have a full plate — it’s overflowing. Single mother to an eightyear-old son, the 30-year-old entrepreneur owns one of the city’s hottest new restaurants, Champa Bistro Asian Fusion on Osborne Street South. The day we meet, she’s arrived hours before opening time to prepare her special garden balls and summer rolls for a two-day local food conference at the University of Winnipeg — she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to network and indulge her passion for local food. The previous night, she hosted a seven-course East-meetsWest tasting event with guest chef Rob Thomas (Dish magazine) — one of many theme events in the works with Thomas and neighbourhood business owners — and the night before that, she unexpectedly found herself working as a server during a weeknight rush. Oh, and since her restaurant manager, sister Somboun Phommarath, is in Europe for a lengthy stay, Koulab has added that job to her lengthy to-do list.
Undaunted by the start-up challenge, her passion makes it work “I find it is a little hectic right now just because my sister's in Germany so I'm trying to do everything myself,” she says. “I'm just trying to focus on taking care of myself too. I have a lot of people helping me so it's not too bad.” Phommarath is used to a challenging workload. When her son was younger she held down a part-time job and handled a full course load in business administration at Red River College, where she majored in accounting. And while it’s notoriously difficult to succeed in the restaurant business, she was undaunted in launching the new venture.
Great community setting
Phommarath wanted to have her restaurant in Steinbach, and operated there temporarily, but she couldn’t secure a permanent location. She was attracted to the location at 696
Osborne St., next door to the Park Theatre, because the neighbourhood has a community spirit that reminds her of Steinbach. She sees people walking their kids to school and she’s befriended owners of neighbouring businesses. Formerly a Vesuvio pizza restaurant, Champa Bistro seats 50 people on the main floor and has an upstairs lounge that can accommodate private parties. She opened late last summer, and the restaurant quickly earned positive notice. Ciao! magazine named Champa Bistro one of its top five new restaurants of 2009. “They really liked the food. They have been really good to us,” she says. “I’ve met a lot of great people in the industry.” The restaurant hours are limited. It’s open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tues. - Sat., but even when the tables are empty, Phommarath has her hands full with catering and the business of running a business. Not that she’d have it any other way. “When people come to the restaurant they’re very KOULAB PHOMMARATH happy. I love working with brings love and soul to the table. people, I love working with food — it makes sense to do something that you love to do,” she says. “That's why I went into the restaurant business, believing that you can make it in any field, as long as you put your heart and soul and love into it.”
An affinity for fusion
Phommarath’s can-do spirit comes naturally, as does her affinity for fusion and her connection to locally produced food, such as the free-range chicken that’s prominent in many dishes on the Champa menu. Among the dishes she and chef ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010 | 27
Cozy upstairs lounge, and catering also available Party of 50?
Creative fusion dishes earned Champa a top-five ranking Steinbach — Phommarath is vague about her birthday, but specific on the day they arrived, Nov. 9, 1989. “All our sponsors were farmers and growing up in Steinbach we were so connected with all the farmers,” she says. “We always know where the cottage cheese comes from, the vegetables. It's always been part of my life, no matter where I lived, even in Laos and the refugee camp in Thailand.” At home in Steinbach, her mother, Vanhom, cooked Asian food but also incorporated Canadian and Mennonite dishes. “And we’d go to our friends’ house and we’d try everything so that’s how the Asian fusion starts. And then when I moved to Winnipeg I had friends who were Italian and I learned about French cooking and cooking from the TV and just from talking to a lot of people. So when I go to restaurants I would ask, ‘What’s in this? What’s in that.’ ” 28 | ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
Now she comes up with her own recipes for dishes like teriyaki beef tacos — she deep fries wonton to make it crispy and tops it with teriyaki beef and cusabi (cucumber and wasabi) sauce, among other ingredients. Since she likes veggie burgers and falafel, she married the two to produce what her customers call “magic” garden balls, which she serves with fresh mangoes and pineapple curry sauce.
Learning at every level
hampa Bistro Asian Fusion can squeeze you in. C Owner Koulab Phommarath hopes to make catering to private parties a major part of her business. The cozy upstairs lounge overlooking Osborne Street has a separate entrance, bar and music system from the restaurant, and can comfortably accommodate 18 up to 50 guests. “I want to focus on people coming to the top floor. People can book the space for retirement parties, special events ... that’s a perfect room for any gathering, really.” Champa also prepares food in abundance for delivery or pickup. The restaurant has catered to office and cocktail parties and other special events, with an eclectic menu that includes free range chicken or Manitoba pork skewers, Lao bratwurst — also made with Manitoba pork — pad thai, wraps and sandwiches and sushi platters. But thanks to Phammarath’s free-range cooking philosophy, choices aren’t limited to items on the menu. “With weddings and things like that it's easy for my restaurant to cater to any type of theme just because of the Asian fusion — I can make Italian food, French, it doesn't really matter what it is.” Want yam fries with that? Easily accomplished, and they come with a spicy pineapple curry sauce. And don’t worry if you’re a party of one — the restaurant also offers plain old takeout service.
Phommarath learned about the restaurant business from the ground up, working as a server, bartender and hostess in several eateries. She learned about catering at the Fort Garry Hotel and got a taste of kitchen work at Earl’s. “I did almost every position there. I learned how to prep food and how the system works at the back. That was a pretty valuable experience.” Call 415-4847, or e-mail champabistro@gmail.com or She learned how to manage visit "http://champabistro.com. people while supervising up to 30 engineers at National Cash Register and further prepared to run her own business with a condensed course on self employment and advice from the Winnipeg Women’s Enterprise Centre. “I always believed that you can make it in any business no matter how hard it is. If you believe in your product, your CHAMPA BISTRO seats 50 on service, and people can see that.” ONE the main floor, and private
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Jason Darling produce are a chicken green curry and chicken marinated in lemongrass and garlic with tomato sauce. “I want to focus on things like that just because that's how I grew up. We always know where the food's coming from and we do our own gardening,” she says. One of five children, she was born in Laos in 1979, but her parents saw no future there under a communist regime, with frequent episodes of rebel violence. They hired a boat to take the family across the Mekong River to Thailand, where they spent three years in refugee camps before moving to
parties in an upstairs lounge.
STYLE
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Salon and Spa offers all-green products in a rejuvenated Exchange District setting. CO-OWNER KITTY BERNES applies colour.
by Pat St. Germain photography by Mike Latschislaw hat’s black and white and green all over? Try Berns & Black Salon and Spa. Ornate blackframed mirrors, sinks and plush salon chairs stand out in stark contrast against the white walls and pillars in the renovated heritage building at Main Street and Bannatyne Avenue. The green is not as visible, but it permeates everything in the 10-month-old salon owned by Elynore Kendryna and Kitty Bernes. Shampoo, hair colour, even the cleaning products are eco-friendly. The salon uses and sells established natural labels such as Onesta, Kevin Murphy and Simply Organics and is in the process of developing its own organic line, Kore Cosmetics. “That was really important to me. That's what I really wanted to do,” Kendryna says. “The salon is sort of a vehicle. I hope eventually to put out a product line.
ECO-FRIENDLY ORGANIC PRODUCTS
“We chose the name so that we could create our own products around that because there are very few products out there that are paraben free and sulfate free, which are the two things that we're really interested in. But we also check all the ingredients in all our products. Actually we're going 30 | ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
to start rating them.” Kitty — who prefers to use only her first name — says she was almost forced to retire from hairstyling when she developed severe allergies to styling products, colours and perms. Switching to organics saved her career, and her skin. “This is the first year that I haven’t broken out in exzema or had my hands crack,” she says, RECYLED MAIN ST. LOCATION adding she and With a $250,000 renovation, Berns and Black applied a handsome veneer to the Kendryna are old Birt Saddlery Building. spreading the word to other stylists. “We’re actually trying to change the whole industry. It becomes supply and demand.” The organic product line is a new direction for both
FOR HIMFOR HIMFOR HIM Straight-razor shave with all the trimmings women, while the salon aspect is old hat. Kitty was a hair model at age 13 and has been a hairstylist for 11 years. And Kendryna, who often says she doesn’t “work,” since she stopped styling hair three years ago, has owned Angles Hair Design at Corydon Avenue and Lilac Street for 22 years. It will be renamed Berns & Black for the sake of continuity. Kendryna opened fashion-forward emporium Cha Cha Palace — stocked with funky boots, shoes, bags and clothing — just down the block on Lilac about three years ago, and there’s now a less expansively stocked Cha Cha satellite store adjoining Berns & Black on Main Street. The second Cha Cha store is like a giant window display, offering a taste of the original, but Kendryna says she’s open to suggestions if another retailer has designs on the space. Neither store did a booming business in the wake of the global economic meltdown. In fact Kendryna says 2009 was the worst year she’s seen in retail. “Not that I've been in business that long, but that was hideous, I'm sure it's affecting everybody.”
FULL SPA WITH FOCUS ON HAIR
The hair business, on the other hand, never seems to go out of style. “To be honest with you, in our business we weren't down at all at Angles. So hair doesn't always reflect downward turns,” Kendryna says. “It didn't affect us. We're exactly the same.” The salon offers spa treatments — facials, manicures, pedicures, makeup application and sugaring — but the focus is on hair and green products. The environmentally friendly philosophy extends to the 110-year-old building, formerly Birt Saddlery, where everything that can be recycled is recycled. Kendryna bought the three-story building and embarked on a $250,000 renovation of the main floor that included new plumbing, refinishing hardwood floors, adding a dropped ceiling with pot lights and installing an air filtration system. The two upper floors are rented to artists, and since she bought the one-story building next door at the same time, Antiques & Funk is also a tenant. The larger building originally housed an insurance company and
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n this age of manscaping and metrosexuality, there’s still one ultra-macho rite of passage on the grooming scene — the old-fashioned straight-razor shave. In classic movies, the straight-razor suggests power, and often signals impending danger. Think of impatient gangster Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson) ordering a henchman to give him a close shave during a hurricane in Key Largo. Or Clint Eastwood, fresh from the dusty trail, coolly facing down a shaky barber and a trio of bad guys in High Plains Drifter. Of course, movie shaves are often interrupted by the need to slap down a minion or dispense with a gunslinger. There’s little chance of having a shave cut short at Berns & Black Salon and Spa, where a shadow box in the lobby holds a collection of straight razors. For $25 — the inflationary two bits, if you will — men can relax on a white reclining chair in a private room and enjoy the full treatment, hot towels and warm lather included. “It's an interesting thing to give to people and guys love it, right?” says salon co-owner Elynore Kendryna. Two staff members have the expertise to wield a straight razor. Men can call 944-8454 to book an appointment. But so far, it seems few men know the service is available at the 10-month-old Main Street salon. “I think it would be great to have a whole male clientele that actually does that sort of thing, but at the moment it's not strong,” Kendryna says. “But they love it, you know?”
still contains three walk-in vaults. The vault on the main floor is now used to mix organic hair colouring — the colour is not as deep as chemical-laden products, but it’s much friendlier to scalps — and to mix batches of the first product in the Kore line, a face oil. ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010 | 31
ONE “I think it's going to be a really slow process because I'd like to “There’s two things learn as much as I can that women are when about each product as they wrinkle — they're I put it out.” dehydrated or they're So far she’s learned a oil lacking. And if you lot, about pesticides put oil on the skin it and chemicals of all goes way deeper than stripes. Parabens, creams,” Kendryna which are ubiquitous says. “Plus for our as preservatives in climate it's really good cosmetics and skin and because you shouldn't hair-care products, and put water-based sulfates, which are products on your face. added to cleansers, It tends to open up the have both been linked pore when you go to cancer in some outside and freezes it. studies. In one study So an oil-based published in 2004, product is really good.” parabens were found HAIR ARTIST SCOTT RAMOS sculpts a Kendryna developed in breast cancer fresh look for designer Andrew Bickford. the oil with a Toronto tumors. “We don’t chemist who works really know what parabens do,” Kendryna says. “It's very exclusively with natural products. She plans to package it for interesting because women slather themselves with it, and distribution, along with more products for skin men do not. You put it all over your body and your body is and hair.
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style your largest organ. It's the dumbest thing you could possibly do.” She hopes to create products that not only do no harm, but are actually helpful.
MAKING DOWNTOWN FUN & FRISKY
The women are also committed to helping boost the image of the salon’s surrounding environment, the downtown area. Kendryna says people are frightened to go downtown and while she doesn’t find the area scary, the city has to fight that perception. “You have to clean it up,” she says. “I think is just really important to a city period, no matter what city you're talking about. If you don't have a downtown I just don't think you're a city, you know. And I think that's what lacks in Winnipeg.” Since Kitty moved downtown from the suburbs, she says she’ll never go back. “I want to help make the downtown area fun and frisky. It’s kind of been my goal.” ONE $25 STRAIGHT RAZOR SHAVE pampers men with personal attentionin a classic setting. Men can book an appointment for a private room session, complete with hot towels, warm lather and expert service.
TI ER’S EYE
Custom designer Andrew Bickford covers the gamut from his Exchange District studio by Chance Taylor photography by Mike Latschislaw
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lthough I didn't mention it over the course of our conversation, Andrew Bickford and I had met before. In spring of 2008 I attended a charity fashion show in St. Boniface, ostensibly to support a female designer friend. I had noticed Bickford, who was handsome and rather young, when he and his designing partner bowed for the applause that followed their collection. After the show I was introduced to him briefly but didn't think about the meeting again until I sat down to interview him nearly two years later. Bickford first gained some press attention for his involvement with Local Shop Awesome, a basementlevel clothing store in Osborne Village that became well-known for its custom-designed hoodies. Bickford, who had just entered his 20s, co-managed the store with his business partner Christopher Gottzmann, and the two garnered some notice as a result of their age and how they fit into the clothing revitalization that Osborne Village experienced thanks largely to American Apparel.
‘I like to make something for an individual rather than for a rack.’ Bickford has since left Local Shop Awesome (and the store's brand, Lokus Signature Apparel) to focus on his own creative endeavor, Lennard Taylor. The design enterprise (also his middle ANDREW BICKFORD (top, with Scott Ramos): After an names) operates out of his attempt at professional soccer, Andrew swung to his Exchange District studio artistic side.
where he takes clients on an appointment basis. His most recent work reflects the sensibility of high-end streetwear that Bickford wants to keep unique but not "too over-the-top." He covers the gamut—a tour of his work photographed by Chelsi Price (chelsiprice.com) offers glimpses of raw denim vests, gingham hoodies, spring jackets, cotton twill tops with suede accoutrements, and even custom oil-painted jeans. Despite the labor-intensive work that goes into his custom designs he recognizes Winnipeg as a "budget city" that couldn't support a Holt Renfew. ("Even a Holt Renfrew discount store.") His prices range, but you could expect to pay $150 for the first pair of customized jeans and $100 for the following pairs after he has your personal fit. As he says, "I like to make something for an individual rather than for a rack." His interest in the arts can be traced back to his parents. He shares with his architect father a passion for oil painting (some works are on display at Steve's Bistro), while his interior decorator mother, who also excels at crochet and fine needlework, helped him get over his youthful apprehension that "boys don't sew!" After a stint attempting a professional soccer career in Scotland that resulted in an injured knee, Bickford returned to Canada determined to follow the artistic path carved out for him by his parents. He initially began screenprinting T-shirts with his friend Dan, but eventually his eye matured. "I got this sight that I hadn't noticed before, that I could just look at someone and see how I wanted to dress them." And so he began to sketch designs by teaching himself how, using a black sketch book given to him by
his father that has remained his mainstay. ("I have about 15 of these now.") The final step in his maturation was when he began to make his own patterns, which he considers an art form unto itself. "You can spend a lifetime doing patterns," he says, and references the recently-deceased Alexander McQueen and his contemporaries by elaborating, "I don't know how they do that."
‘I could just look at someone and see how I wanted to dress them.’ Despite being a designer himself, Bickford says he tries not to follow fashion; he finds it clouds his creativity. Although he works primarily in menswear, he says he loves womenswear more, but wants to solidify his strengths before he ventures further. Whereas most menswear falls within understood parameters, the freedom of womenswear offers up unique challenges for designers, challenges Bickford says he wants to meet. "If it's not quality, I don't want to sell it. I just don't feel confident with the womenswear and where it is. That will come." To set up an appointment with Andrew (don't worry, he's friendly—he even showed me his sewing machine) you can visit his website, or send personal e-mail info@lennardtaylor.com, or call 791-4527. Extended shots of his work are also available by visiting Chelsi Price's photography website (chelsiprice.com). ONE
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ENTRIES IN THE T-SHIRT RECONSTRUCTION COMPETITION sponsored by the Costume Museum of Canada in Winnipegâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Exchange District this February.
Participants were given blank t-shirts to transform into works of fashion, resulting in this collage of inspired creation.
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Exclusive gowns from Atelier Couture NEW EXCHANGE DISTRICT SHOP MAKES PLAY OF FINDING THAT PERFECT WEDDING DRESS by A Aar aron ar on W. Gr G aham phot ph otog oggraaph phyy by Mikke La Lats tsch ts chis ch isla is law w
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Located d in Suiitee 100 at 2466 Mc McDe Derm mot ot,, th this is disttin inct ctiv ive an and re rela latively ly new w bou outi tiqu quee un unde derrsttands ds tthe he wor orkk we week ek, wh whic ich h is why tthe hey’ y’re re op pen ned d on both both bo h Sat atur u days y and nd Sun unda d ys da ys. But, aass th But, thee w www w .ate ww .aate t lier lilier-c -cou outu ture re.c .cca we webs b itte bs decl de clar lares es, be ssur uree to boo ookk qu q ic ickl kly: kl y: aapp pp pooiint nt-ment me nts wi with th sta taff ff on tho hose se d day ayss un unde derrde standa dabl da blyy fil filll up ffas ast. t You may be aask You skin ingg wh what at the wait wa itin ingg pe peri riod od on an oord rder er may be, bu butt th thee an answ wer iiss -like everyth hing else se in n planning a wedding n ceremony -- yo you u can never be too prepared.. After the sampling pro roce cess ss and hammering out evver eryy fin ne detail, the actual cut and nd sewing takes anywherre from 4 to 6 months hs. Still, there’s alway ayss th t e possibility of a rus ush h order, so don’t hesitate to inqu quir iree att Atelier Coutur uree if your special day arrives a little bit soo o ne ner.r.
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Sttor S tor ore re ma mana n ge na g r an and nd ex exec xec ecut utiv ut tiv ivee buye buye bu y r fo for At Ateellier Atel ieer is is Win Wi nn nip peg eg-b -b -bor born orn Ch or C ri rist istta Pham Pham Ph m. Fo For so some ome meon onee wh who ho deesccri d ribe ibe bess he herrssel elf ass aalw l ays lw ayys be bein ng “oobs bsessse sed wi witth h wedd we ddin ngs g ”,, Ateelil err is a n naatu ura r l fit and n a dreeaam m coome m ttru ru ue. e “W We st star arrted teed oou ut in i Deccem embeer,r an nd d th hee res espo pon po nsse has beeen ha e ove verw rw whe helm lmin in ngl gly po posi siti tiive ve.. We We wer e ea liittttlee ner e vo vous u at fir us fi stt wit ith h taaking king ki n app p oiint ntme meent m nts f om fr o cu usstoom meerss – as noo on nee ellsse do does does es tha hat iin n th he cciity t – but u evveery r one’ on ne’’s be been n enj njoy joy oyin in ing ng th hem m. Itt’s jus u t us and n the fi five ve briide d sm smai aaiids ds, an and nd itt’ss very muc ve uch h like ke a par arty tyy. “B Bri ride d sde s-too-b -bee wi willll boo ookk an n aapp p oi pp oint ntme mn me ntt and nd seee us oone se ne on on one. e. Th This is eena nabl bles es us to foc ocus uss u diire r ct ctly ly on th them em.. An A d we h hav avee fu fun n sttuff plann laann nned d – lilike k hos ke osti ting ng ccha hamp mpag agne ne p par arti ties es to ceeleebr brat atee at wh hen n the bbri ride de’s’s ffou ound nd d the heir ir p rf pe rfec ectt dr dress. s “My vi “My v sion was to cr crea eate te aan n ov over eral alll ex expe peeri rence en ce,” say a s Ph ham am.. In true ‘I’m-not-o -onl nlyy-an an-o -own wner er-b -but ut-a ut -aals lsoo oa cu acust s omer’ fashio ion, n, Pha ham’ m’ss cu curr rren e tl en tlyy g ing throough th go he pr proc oces esss in h her er oown wn sttore, selectingg a Ver eraa Wa Wang ng-s -sty tyle led d dr d esss for her own up pco comi ming ng n nup upti tial als. s.
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Mode Mo del - Am A be berr So Sols lsti tice ce Dresss - Rh Dres Rhia iann nn na by Moni Mo niqu que e Lh L ui uilllie ier pr prov ovid ided ed by V Vei eill - We W nd dy by S Sar ara a G brrie Ga iell
Wh hen e it comes to brideesm maid go gown wns, s, Atel At e ier knows plentyy. Th Theeir ir goo to t boutique dress com mpa pany nyy is Ar Aria iane ia ne Goldman and Tw wob bir ird ds Bri ridesm smai aid, d, whose stated dm mot otto to iis “O One Dre ress ss,, Tw Two Size z s, 15 Colo loour urs, s, No Al A teera rati tion onss. Wear it ag a ai ain n an and d ag agai ain ai n – an and d ki killll ttwo wo bird bi rd ds with one ne dre ress ss.”” As Ate teliler featu ture tu rees in thee Buz uzzz de depa parttme ment nt oon n th thei eirr usef eful ul webs we bsitte, theey we bs w re re wor orn n by b the he bbri rida dall pa part rtyy fo forr “W “Whoo’s’s Th The Boss Bo ss?” ?” and d ““Ch C arrme Ch med” d” act d” ctre ress ss A Aly lyss ssaa Mi Millano no’s’s wed ddi d ng justt this th is pas a t su umm mmer er.. Thesee con Th onve vveert rtib ible ib le dre ressess aadv dveertise the heir ir straps’ abilility ty to be man be anip an nip ipul ulat ul ated at ed iint ed ntoo ten en nt ntirely ly diff ifferent arrang ngeements, ng alllo lowi wing wi ng for ng o a vvar arie iety t of st styl ylish and elegan ntl tlyy in i ventive ways wa ys to wear wear the dreess over the yearrs. we Atel At elie el ierr do ie d es esn’ n’tt on n’ onlyy car arry r Twobirds: there’s also Lela ry Roose se,, Mo M ni niqu q e Lhui qu Lhu llier and Vera Wang. Prices are an nyw y here here he r ffro rom m $1 $ 50 to $500. W en it co Wh come m s to well-placed accessories, Atelier f at fe a ur u es vvei eiililng & headpiece work of Sara Gabr Ga brie iel.l. B But that’s not all, as hand-crafted or vint vi n ag nt agee flo flowe w rs and other jewels can be found, all in the he nam ame of providing excellent accommodation forr th fo t e br brid idee when she walks down the aisle, all eyes on nh her e. er
Model - Amber Solstice Dress - Scarlet by Monique
ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010 | 39
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Revitalized discards Winnipeg artist Adrian Williams recycles found materials and lost styles into a collage of evocative stories. by Sandee Moore photography by Mike Latschislaw
“I
came back for a visit two and half years ago, and I haven't left yet,” founding member of the internationally-renowned drawing collective the Royal Art Lodge Adrian Williams avoids explaining his choice to be an artist in Winnipeg. A Winnipegger since the age of seven, Williams left both the city and the Royal Art Lodge behind at twenty-three to move to Montréal with his brother. There he began exhibiting his small collage works and large mixed-media paintings with commercial galleries such as Katharine Mulherin, Angell and Neubacher in Toronto, China Art Objects in Los Angeles and various galleries in New York City. Since his return to Winnipeg, he has had a solo exhibition at La Maison des Artistes Visuels Francophones. On the day that I visited him, he was preparing four large works for a March exhibition at Golden City Fine Arts (211 Pacific Avenue), conveniently located right below his studio. “When I saw On The Waterfront, Marlon Brando acting beside everyone else, he seemed collaged on. That's the way I want things to stand out.” He explains his use of collage as he moves several silver strips around his current composition, also containing a bathtub and pleated shower curtain. Williams simply sticks on what he wants to stick out. “I wish I could paint, but it's so boring and the results are so predictable.” The transformations he works in collage are far from predictable – jaggedly torn scraps of paper layered with spray paint form clouds; old shingles find new life as
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box cars; a bulging light bulb has been created from hot glue. Then there are the cut-outs – long, flowing hair, monkeys with coconut-like lips, deep red flames, athletic young men – all shellacked and piled high on a work table. “One third of the cut-outs are cast-offs from other pieces. Sometimes the best pieces come out of these discards; sometimes they sit around for years, and I hate them more and more.” The discarded is integral to Williams' method of working. “I hate a white sheet of paper!” he exclaims. His images are layered onto book covers or wood scraps he discovers on his daily walks around China town. He once carried a half-rotten board across the country by train. It's not just the junk of Winnipeg that inspires him; it's also the trains, the sky and the people. “There are so many talented folks in Winnipeg – duMontier, Farber, Lesage, Newman, Rocan, Morin…” He has also lived in Toronto and calls that city 'easy to leave.' He claims to love everything (even the winters!) about Winnipeg, except for the way it's run. The artist himself was surprised by how much his new works refer to Winnipeg: horizontal rows of box cars are adhered to a large, cracked and flaking board beneath a speckled, orange sky, or a blocky skyline of brick apartment houses and telephone poles. Through Williams' eyes, the city is decaying and dingy, reeking of drama and beauty. ONE
It's not just the junk of Winnipeg that inspires him; it's also the trains, the sky and the people.
ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010 | 43
FROM A WINNIPEG BASE, HILARY DRUXMAN DESIGN CREATES INSPIRED JEWELRY FOR CELEBRITIES AND BOUTIQUES AROUND THE WORLD.
Timeless Elegance by Aaron W. Graham photography by Mike Latschislaw
E
stablished in 1994, the Winnipeg-based and internationally renowned Hilary Druxman Design has consistently maintained a commitment to timeless elegance in their individually hand-crafted lines of sleek, trendy jewelry. In the sixteen years since, Druxman’s sophisticated wares have been recognized and commissioned for private collections at such estimable retailers as Saks Fifth Avenue, Banana Republic, and Club Monaco.
Worn by Hollywood notables like Cate Blanchett, Felicity Huffman, Sarah Jessica Parker and Diane Sawyer Her jewelry has even been featured in a unique advertising campaign for Absolut Vodka, early on in the company’s history. “That was like winning the lottery; a $50,000 full-page ad for national distribution in Flare magazine,” says Druxman. 44 | ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
In addition, Druxman’s HDstamped, signature matte-finished bracelets, earrings and necklaces have adorned the collars - and numerous other body parts - of such Hollywood notables as Cate Blanchett, Felicity Huffman, Sarah Jessica Parker and Diane Sawyer. Even Harrison Ford and Adam Sandler have been known in the past to sport their wares. But don’t let the trendy luster inherent in celebrated fashion mags and several cameos in mainstream film & television fool you – the company and its namesake have ties firmly planted to Winnipeg, the city where Druxman resides to this day. “What I love about Winnipeg is that anything goes. You’ll see a look that everyone catches onto, but being in the Exchange, there’s even more of an eclectic fashion sense. People are a bit more resourceful in putting items together. I think the climate determines some of it, but there’s a definite sensibility.
“From a fashion standpoint, that’s’s design jewelry: Wearable everyday pieces that aren’t too specific but att the same time, feel custom-made and interesting.” tail With a long-standing spacious retail rt of showroom tucked deep in the heart mott the Exchange District on McDermott Avenue, it is clear Druxman’s been he of living the dream first hatched in the a basement apartment in River n of Heights. Following the completion st a B.A. in Economics, Druxman first felt compelled to develop her own eme rubies, sapphires and emeraldencrusted jewels while wo working at family-operated Dunn Jewelers. LONG LEARNIN VE LEARNING CURVE “I learned a lo lot while er’s working retail aat my sister’s store (Coco’s B Boutique), through going on buying ng trips, how line lines were brought to m d market, and even how retail nd retailers pick and choose. There was probably 8-10 years of doing that, eventually gett getting to the point where I w was doing some minor repairs and my own custom work in my spare time. It was her 5-year tenure as an appraiser that further enr enriched Druxman, instilling a history his of the
fashion proceeds are donated to the market, and even how h w retailers ho David Moroni School S hool EndowSc w pick and choose. There was ment Fund, previously p pr eviously probably 8-10 years of doing established elsewhere as a that, eventually getting to the financial body for f r the RWB’s fo point where I was doing some Professional Division School. minor repairs and m own my Taking her inspiration from custom work in my spare time.” both the number 70 and the It was her 5-year tenure as an rrefined re fined body appraiser that further movements of enriched Druxman, dancers, the pieces instilling a history of ‘We’re devell ttypically ty pically exemplify the luxurious craft, oping more the same simplicity something that’s kept Druxman has never the various sterlingprecious been shy about silver, 18-karat or white jewelry with adopting. “They’re gold and (often) available both online geometric designs fresh a focus on and in-store,” says ever since. “I saw a lot of engagement Druxman. estate and antique pieces. It was a great rings’ study time, affording me STILL EVOLVING the ability to examine all kinds, intensely studying Today, Hilary stones and learning m intains her ma maintains how to grade and 25-staff 2 -staff operation 25 identify them.” in Winnipeg, still Earning a gemoltirelessly overseeoversee ogy certificate at the ing every issue that Gemological Institute may arise. In the back of America, Druxman w as off ff was workroom, new wasn’t and running and it wasn n’t merchandise is long before she earned a assembled by Keystone Jeweler’s Circular Keysto one dedicated craftsmen, to be (or JCK) rising star noti ification notification eventually carted off to the up-and-coming – given to up-and-comi ing more than 200 boutiques high-end jewelers – in L as Vegas, Las in North America and back in 1999. Europe that display these “We were asked to participate, parrticipate, and fashionable baubles and later had a page in the JCK CK magazine pendants pendants. for several years. That show is But where does Hilary see Druximpossible to get into, but we were man Design headed in the future? invited to exhibit in the design “We’re always evolving, with opporsection. It was through our showcase tunities presenting themselves to be h that h we got accounts lik there like i Th l creative. That part’s’ always Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth exciting.We’re developing more Avenue.” precious jewelry with a focus on In November 2009, Druxman engagement rings, hoping to unveiled a new line of 12 brand-new continue to refine that ability so we pieces – with prices ranging from become better known for our $20 to $40 - to help commemorate abilities. the 70th anniversary of the Royal “I think that in Winnipeg and Winnipeg Ballet. Fifty percent of the across Canada we’re primarily known
HAND-CRAFTED by a staff of 25 and shipped to 200 boutiques.
for reasonably priced silver jewelr jewelry, custom but when it comes down to custo design, we’re actually just as adept at store fine jewelry. I don’t think our stor will ever be filled with just fine jewelry, but the people in the city who know me personally, or even understand through word-of-mouth, underst that we have this talent here.” ON ONE NE
LMK>>M&E>O>E <NLMHF = LMK>>M&E>O>E <NLMHF =>LB@G BG MA> >Q<A:G@> =BLMKB<M BG MA> >Q<A:G@> =BL A burgeoning part of the street-level stree store at Druxman Design that isn’t widespread public knowledge is Hilary and her team’s exceptional custom-made work. “A lot of people are surprised no matter how much I try to make them aware aware.We’ve got some really talented jewelers work working on a lot of engagement rings – or even re-working older ones. “The way it works is usually a customer cu will have a stone to reset or somethin something they want to change. A lot of times I work directly d with the customer, asking them to te tell me what they want, but at the same time, I’m a practical person who’s keeping their budget in mind. “Our goal is to try to have a good goo functionality to the piece, and to try and make it so way, whether that the design comes out that w it’s b building on a ring or it’ ildi a fframe ffor a stone t necklace. “Even though some customers may say they don’t know anything about design, I’m good at drawing the specifics out of them to try to create the piece together collaboratively. It works out extremely well, and everyone’s happy.”
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(L to R) Linda Bulka, Shane Johnston, and Lianne Tregobov
Heart-warming program provides donated fashions to needy teens, giving them princess treatment
by David Schmeichel photography by Mike Latschislaw
W
hen it comes to rites of passage, high school graduation remains a real doozy – for many, representing the first real acknowledgement of the pending transition from adolescence to adulthood. But for others, it also marks the first opportunity to finally celebrate like an adult, while dressed in the requisite grown-up finery, of course. And it’s the latter element of the occasion – the post-graduation “formal,” and all its attendant sartorial costs – that for years has threatened to place this particular rite of passage out of reach for far too many grads. “When I took over the principal-ship here four years ago, I discovered there were a number of young ladies who had attended their convocation, but who weren’t attending the graduation evening because they couldn’t afford the formal wear,” says Linda Bulka, principal of St. John’s High School in Winnipeg’s North End.
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“They’ve worked so hard. Their resilience is so amazing, and the struggles they go through to get to that point is just phenomenal ... Only 28% of my (students’) parents have a Grade 12 education, so for many of my students, they’re the first ones in their family to graduate. So to not be able to celebrate that accomplishment is just heartbreaking.” Bulka’s initial solution to the problem was to canvas staff members in her division, seeking donations of gentlyused gowns that were then provided to those who couldn’t afford them. Not surprisingly, the program proved hugely successful, though Bulka quickly realized demand for such a service extended well beyond her school division. So in November 2008, Bulka partnered with local matchmaker Lianne Tregobov to launch Gowns for Grads, a charitable campaign that provides new and gently-used gowns (and footwear and accessories, and even hair and makeup tips) to graduates from across the city who lack the financial means to afford such big-ticket items. (A little background for those who’ve
been out of the Grad Night loop for a while: Formal gowns currently average for anywhere from $200 to $800, meaning the Big Event could easily cost upwards of $1,000, once shoes, salon expenses, transportation costs and dinner tickets are factored in.) During its inaugural run last year, Gowns for Grads was able to dress 400 or so deserving graduates, thanks to countless donations from individuals and corporations. This year, they’re anticipating three or four times the amount of interest, so they opted to get an early start on the procurement process via a Gown-athon held two months ago as part of Mardi Gras celebrations at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. The event served as a great awarenessraiser, and has already resulted in a steady stream of donations, many of them made anonymously. Once collected, gowns are professionally dry cleaned (and repaired or altered, if necessary) by Dollarwise Quality Cleaners, a program partner.
Some weren’t attending grad, because they couldn’t afford the formal wear
fashion
GOWNS FOR GRADS
“They’ve only been worn for maybe a few hours, and then they hang in people’s closets until they’re ready to part with them,” says Tregobov of the donated dresses, noting plus-size fashions are in particularly high demand. “These things we take for granted, they’re absolute luxuries to those who can’t afford them.” Having been screened beforehand by a school guidance counselor or administrator, the young women on the receiving end of Gowns for Grads’ goodwill gestures make their selections during a two-day Gown Boutique slated for spring. (This year’s installment runs April 28 and 29, in a conference room on the second floor of the Winnipeg Convention Centre.) Once there, they’ll receive the full princessfor-a-day treatment, which includes everything from make-up tips (courtesy of PROVICI Cosmetics and students from St. John’s High School) to an army of “personal shoppers” ready to advise the young women on which colours and styles best suit their personalities and body types. “There’s an energy you get from these girls,” explains Dollarwise general manager Shane Johnston, who found himself serving as an impromptu fashion consultant at last year’s inaugural Gown Boutique. “When they come in, they’re apprehensive, but when they leave, they’re glowing. And that’s not even their actual grad, that’s just getting their gown.”
Bulka tells of one girl – her face all but hidden by an oversized hoodie – who’d never before had the opportunity to be pampered, because she’d spent the bulk of her teenage years caring for her cancer-stricken father. “By the end of the evening, the hood was down, the pigtails were out, and she was just glowing in the gown she’d chosen,” Bulka says of the girl. “The dad had tears in his eyes – he said he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen his daughter happy or smiling like that.” “We consider our program a pay-it-forward program,” says Tregobov. “So the girls who receive their dresses from us – as soon as they’re ready – we encourage them to pay it forward and give another girl the chance to wear the dress.” Gowns for Grads accepts donations of new and gently-used gowns, shoes, handbags and jewelry for young women – as well as suits and other formal wear for young men (they’re hoping to soon launch a similar initiative for guys) – on a year-round basis. Donations can be made to St. John’s High School (401 Church Ave., Wpg., Man.), FXR Factory Ride (in St. Vital Centre), or to any of the city’s six Dollarwise Quality Cleaners locations.
They come in apprehensive, and leave glowing
For more information about the Gowns for Grads program, or to refer a graduate or request a gown, call (204) 589-4374 or see www.gownsforgrad.org. ONE
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T
op 10 Romantic M vies by Amanda Stefaniuk
What makes one person swoon might very well make another cringe, so a list of Hollywood’s most romantic movies is subjective. Here are my favourites in chronological order:
1
The Shop Around The Corner. 1940. This story of two argumentative employees who fall in love as secret pen pals worked so well it was remade twice; as the 1949 musical In The Good Old Summertime, and in 1998 as You’ve Got Mail. While director Ernst Lubitsch’s 1940 treatment is the best, credit must go to the delightful Miklós László’s play it was based on.
2
The Lady Eve. 1941 Barbara Stanwyck cons her way into a rich beer baron’s (Henry Fonda) heart in this Preston Sturges screwball comedy. The scene where she musses Fonda’s hair is so suggestive that it’s incredible it ever got past the censors.
7
6 Manhattan.1979 As great as Annie Hall is, Woody Allen’s ode to amour in New York City is the more confident work - and the score by George Gershwin doesn’t hurt either.
Peggy Sue Got Married.1986 Kathleen Turner rediscovers her feelings for her estranged husband through time travel. Francis Ford Coppola’s underrated film manages to stir up all the right emotions.
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3
Rear Window. 1954 Grace Kelly loves photographer Jimmy Stewart so much that she is willing to put her life in danger for him. Forget the master of suspense; by introducing Kelly with a gorgeous on-screen kiss, Hitchcock became the master of romance.
8 The Age of Innocence.1993 The concept of true love lost in the late 19th century is achingly brought to life by Daniel Day-Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer in Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Edith Wharton’s novel.
4
Pillow Talk.1959 Rock and Doris were the screen couple of the 1960s, and this first pairing showcases their dynamic opposite attracts relationship.
9 Groundhog Day. 1993. With all its humor, it’s easy to forget this Bill Murray comedy is the ultimate redemptive love story. Through a cosmic loop hole, Murray’s curmudgeonly weatherman is allowed to woo Andie MacDowell by reliving the same day again and again.
5
The Apartment. 1960 Billy Wilder’s cynical love story has aged so well, it may as well have been made today. Jack Lemmon risks his morality and own happiness for the adulation of elevator girl Shirley MacLaine.
10 Jackie Brown. 1997 Romance is not the first word that comes to mind with Quentin Tarantino’s crime drama, but the subplot of Robert Forster and Pam Grier’s unrequited relationship is genuinely touching. ONE
ENTERTAINMENT World of Wheels 2010 sports spectacular lineup Piston-Ring sponsored show features stunning new cars and classic stars
T
he World of Wheels 2010 edition rolls into Winnipeg March 26-28 with a spectacular lineup of cars and stars. Representing millions of dollars worth of investment and countless hours of craftsmanship and maintenance, over 150 show vehicles will grace two floors of the Winnipeg Convention Centre.
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Doc Hudsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
The one-of-a-kind works of automobile art will compete for a myriad of prizes and points, as well as attention from the thousands of appreciative visitors. Displayed vehicles are owned by Manitoba members of over a dozen Car Clubs, as well as numerous show cars from across the U.S. And over 50 booths will showcase products and services from auto-related firms.
The â&#x20AC;&#x153;Doc Hudsonâ&#x20AC;? character (voiced by Paul Newman) was based on the real Fabulous Hudson Hornet, a famous AAA stock car which won the 1951 NASCAR Grand National championship. In the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Carsâ&#x20AC;? film, it turns out that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Doc Hudsonâ&#x20AC;? was actually the Fabulous Hudson Hornet.
Among the stars making guest appearances are Henry Winker of legendary Happy Days, and Daisy Duke (Catherine Bach) of Dukes of Hazzard.
The Disney-Pixar â&#x20AC;&#x153;Carsâ&#x20AC;? movie character â&#x20AC;&#x153;Doc Hudsonâ&#x20AC;? has leapt from animation to reality in the form of a customized Hudson Hornet.
Ratical Rod One of the most talked about hot rods from an earlier show returns as a feature car to Winnipeg this year. Bruce Harveyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s zinger-like
1930 Ford, dubbed â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ratical Rod,â&#x20AC;? wows the crowds with its ready-to-race stance and towering power plant. Built at Harveyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pro Comp Custom Shop, the rod is comprised of mainly hand-fabricated components and attention-grabbing features including a polished chrome 528 Keith Black Hemi engine that rises above the chopped roof, tire-hugging rear fenders, a quick-change rear end with air ride, and a wild custom red and orange paint scheme.
â&#x20AC;&#x2122;56 Olds 324 engine, â&#x20AC;&#x2122;51 Ford truck 3-speed transmission, a narrowed â&#x20AC;&#x2122;56 Olds dash, and a grille made from â&#x20AC;&#x2122;58 Ford mesh and dresser pull knobs. As a result,â&#x20AC;&#x153;El Tikiâ&#x20AC;? looks as traditional as those traditional rods built in the 1960s.
There have been some crazy customized cars produced in the past, but none were wilder than the Zingers.
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;El Tikiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Show rodsâ&#x20AC;? were king in the 1960s, and every top builder from Barris (Ala Kart) to Roth (Beatnik Bandit) to Catallo (Silver Sapphire, a.k.a. Little Deuce Coupe) created their own special version. Tom Culbertson, of Culbertsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rod and Custom Shop in Indianapolis, IN, pays homage to those great cars with â&#x20AC;&#x153;El Tiki,â&#x20AC;? a 1929 Ford roadster. â&#x20AC;&#x153;El Tikiâ&#x20AC;? features a Model A roadster body (reworked from a sport coupe) atop a Culbertson proprietary double-tube frame. In order to keep it old skool, Culbertson used only parts built prior to 1962, including a
The Zingers combine a full size engine with a half-scale body. The inspiration for these wacky 1970s show cars was a model car contest entry, and car builders Steve Tansy and Chuck Miller took that inspiration and turned it into one-ofa-kind vehicles: The Super Vette, which features a blown 426 Hemi atop a half-scale Corvette body; and the Super Volks, a half-scale VW Beetle body with a Ford 302 engine and dual stacked blowers. ONE
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Jenna Marie, 23, is a de dedi dica di c te ca t d sttud den nt wi with th big dreaams d m . After fin nisshi hing ng her deg egre ree, e, the U of M sciencce stud den entt ha hass he herr si sigh ghts ts set on ac a in ingg th he MCAT MC CATss and d embarkkin ingg on a ccar a eer as a plastic sur urge geon on. Bu Butt JM is mode dest.. Qu Quiz izzed d aboutt he h r person onal al accom mplishments, sh shee qu quip ips: s: ““II can lilickk my el elbo bow. w” The 5'2'' mode Th dell ha hass a ta taste foor clas assi siic ch chic i , and da paass s ion for shoes,, ssho hoees,, sh shoes. s.. H Her err ffav avor orit itee ev even entt in Winnipeg? “Booxi xing ng dayy! Be Beca caus ca u e re us real ally ly who doesn't like a good d sa sale le!” ! Je Jenn nnaa Ma M ri rie allso loves about this city th that “yoou ca can n ru run n in into to a tot o al stranger and chaanc nces es are h hig igh h th that at the heyy kn know o a bunch of your fr frie iend nds. s.”” An And d wh what at ssho houl uld d local prospective su suit itor orss ke keep ep in mi mind nd iiff th hey bump p into Jenna Mar arie ie?? Sh Shee lo love ves cu urr rry, her Chihuah hua (Em Emma ma), ), aand nd gguys with wi th a sense of hu h mo m r – an and d ha hass no favooritee p phi hilosoph herr.
56 | ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
THE
MAN
Kevin Newm man,
27, divides his i tim imee between tw t o of his p ssions: helpingg pa th hosee le l sss f rtun fo natee an a d mode d ling n . “Iff I cooul uld m del un mo nti tl I'm an n old man an n I'l'lll be haapp ppy! y!”” Thi Th s U of o M Psyych hollo y gr og g ad d is an ani n ma mall rriigh ghts tss acti ac tivi vist st,, an and d wo work rkss wi with th tthe he deeaf afbl b in bl ind, d, ass s issti ting ng tthe hem to he t livve as iind nd dep e en ende deenttly as poss po ssib ible lee. Th 66'4 The '44" Le Leoo allso lov oves ess his i home ho m -ttow me o n. n “Win “W inte terp rpeg rp egg...... make ma kess us tou ke o gh h! I 'ss a cit It i y fu fullll of very ve ry fri rien endl dlyy dl p op pe plee and n man anyy fros fr ostb os tbbit i teen fin nge gers rss and an d to toes e .” Ev es E erry s mm su mmer er,, Ke K viin lo look okss ok forw fo rwar ard d to t cam mpiing in ourr pr ou p ov ovin inci in cial al parrks aand nd d attte t nd din ng Bo B mb mberr gam ames e es ( GO (“ G B BLU L E!!”)). H LU His Hiss su upp ppor o t fo or forr th thee teeaam m spea sp e kss to hi ea h s pe p rsson onal p ililos ph osop sop o hyy: “I thi hink nkk you s oou sh uld uld d lov o e yoour ov urse seelf lf u co un cond nd ndit ditio iona nallly, lly, reg egar a dl ar dles esss es of any n on ny o e el e se s 'ss exp pec ecta taatiions. on ns. Con nfid den ence cee is se s xyy.”” He als lsoo fin fi ds d a ggoo oood se sens nsse of hum umor o att ttra ract ctiv ive, and p op pe oplee who don ople on't 'tt tak ake lil fe tooo se seri rriiou ousl slyy. SSom sl omet om e hi et h ngg else el se K Kev evin ev in sav avor ors: s: ““The Th Star The tar ta Wars Wa rrss sagga, a [wh w ic ich] h] hol o ds a sp pecciaal pl plac acce in my he hear art. t.””
ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010 | 57
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SPORTS
Winnipeg-raised UFC fighter climbing the ranks at 4-1
UFC fights, Soszynski replaced an injured Matt Hamill to fight Brandon Vera. He suffered his first UFC loss, defeated in three rounds by unanimous decision. Soszynski’s loss to Vera didn’t bring any bad blood between the two fighters. For his most recent match, Soszynski actually trained with his one-time opponent.
by Jared Story| Photos courtesy UFC Pegged to win. Winnipeg-raised mixed martial arts fighter Krzysztof Soszynski is working his way up the Ultimate Fighting Championship ranks, currently listed 17th in the organization’s light heavyweight class according to www.mmasurvival.com. Experiment”, the 32- yearold was born in Stalowa Wola, Poland. At age 10, he and his family moved to Winnipeg. At 16, while attending Maples Collegiate, Soszynski took up bodybuilding and after graduation pursued professional wrestling, eventually training in Calgary with former World Wrestling Federation star Bad News Brown. According to a recent interview with www.fiveouncesofpain.com, Brown (Allen Coage), a 1976 Olympic bronze medal winner in judo, taught Soszynski a couple of moves – the arm bar and the kimura – that changed the young fighter’s career path. With martial arts on his mind, Soszynski quit pro wrestling and started training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu with Rodrigo Munduruca in Winnipeg. “I love to train and I am always in the gym trying to improve my skills whether I have a fight or not,” Soszynski’s official UFC bio says.
Alyx Hewins
Krzysztof Soszynski, aka The Polish Experiment,
“Monday, Wednesday and Friday is BJJ, striking drills and conditioning in the fight,” Soszynski said to www.fightmagazine.com. “All the wrestling and pads as well as a run in the morning. Hard sparring in the evenings.” Six months after his initial BJJ training, Soszynski had his first MMA fight in Minneapolis, a technical knockout win over Matt Lafromboise in 2003. Soszynski won seven of his first eleven bouts, before taking on Mike Kyle in the Striketechnical draw after two kicks to the groin and an eye poke disqualification that left Soszynski with corneal abrasion. Beat up but not beaten, Soszynski bounced back quickly when he joined the Los Angeles Anacondas of the worked with coaches Shawn Tompkins and Bas Rutten, who Soszynski credits as a calming influence. “It put it into perspective how the fight should be fought—you should enjoy the
part is the fight. Ever since then, it’s become easier and easier and easier for me to where now, basically all my fights in the UFC, I come out with a big smile on my face. I give my opponent a hug and stuff or a big handshake and we go at it.” After the IFL went under in 2008, Soszynski hooked up with the UFC, appearing in season eight of the MMA organization’s TV. won his first three bouts as a UFC fighter, twice winning submission of the night with the kimura lock. For his fourth
“Actually I have fought a lot of guys that I’ve trained in the past with, and Brandon Vera was one of them,” Soszynski told www.fiveouncesofpain.com. “When I first came out to California I had the chance to train with Eddie Bravo at his camp, and Brandon Vera was there so I decided to train with him for a few days. We got along great. We became friends. Every time we would see each other we would hang out and stuff. He always invited me to his camps and I always invited him to my camps. Eventually we just sat down and talked and I asked him if I could come out and train with him for this fight, and he said come on down. It was amazing. Brandon is a very talented fighter and he will be on top of the world here very soon.” versus American Stephan Bonnar. While Soszynski was credited with a win by TKO, the match has been viewed as controversial due to an undetected head butt, a technically illegal blow the Winnipeg fighter accidently delivered in the third round, with the resulting blood enough to end the fight. Albeit contentious, the win puts Sosynski’s UFC record at 4-1 and his lifetime MMA record at 20-10-1. ONE
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ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010 | 61
Giuseppe “The Godfather” DeNatale runs his MMA gym with a champion competitor’s eye. by Aaron W. Graham photography by Mike Latschislaw
W
hether you want to shape up or professionally compete, the Canadian Kickboxing and Muay Thai Centre can’t be beat. Located at 349 Wardlaw, the CKMTC is a training facility owned not just by a capable, impassioned trainer, but a famed former practitioner of the full contact sport itself: Giuseppe “The Godfather” DeNatale. With such qualifications as a black belt in Karate and advanced Muay Thay behind him, DeNatale now seeks to better the lives of others by demonstrating his ring experiences first-hand. These lessons were either picked up during his hand-to-hand combats or imparted to him by Duke Roufus, the Milwaukee-based four-time World Muay Thay Champion who remains DeNatale’s coach to this day.
Multi-titled DeNatale passes on lessons learned in handto-hand combats DeNatale now offers his members the chance to get into the best condition of their lives, learn self-defense, or even become a skilled competitor ready to tackle the mushrooming Mixed Martial Arts world. The CKMTC, now in its eighth year, does all of this and more through Kids, Intro and Beginner Kickboxing, Beginner Muay Thai, and a more advanced MMA/Fighter training sessions for those serious about the sport. In July and September of last year, DeNatale held two amateur kickboxing and submission grappling events for those that wanted to try their hand at putting into practice what they were taught in their weekly sessions.
Pinnacle of the sport
The dominating aspect in the gym, filled with a series of hanging punching bags and other training equipment, is the impressive bluematted four-post ring. It’s here where you can often find DeNatale overseeing the classes from
behind the ropes, instructing, pointing out tips, or offering encouragement when necessary. DeNatale and his training consorts consistently believe that “Integrity, Discipline, Commitment, Self-Esteem and Honour are the main principles behind the Canadian Kickboxing and Muay Thai Centre.” As the gym’s website proclaims, DeNatale, a former K-1 and International Kickboxing Heavyweight Champion, is one of only two Canadians to reach the pinnacle of the sport, earning more than nine titles over the course of his impressive career. Initially inspired to enroll in karate lessons as an eight-year-old fluent in Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris movies, DeNatale continued down the path and became the top of his form. Following the win over opponents Carter Williams and Dewey Cooper in K-1, DeNatale finally achieved the glory on April 15th, 2006 here in Winnipeg, defeating Duncan Airlie James of Glasgow, Scotland, just before the second minute mark during round two. DeNatale picked up the 2006 IKF Heavy Weight Muay Thai World Championship belt. The proud Italian-Canadian’s other fight titles and rankings include ISKA North American Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion, IKF Pro Fighter of the Year and WKA Canadian Golden Gloves Champion.
Actual competitions let students test their training But it wasn’t the ring where DeNatale earned his greatest injuries. In the wee small hours of the morning of November 13, 2007, DeNatale almost lost his life in a horrifying car crash, rolling his truck close to 50 metres. Breaking three vertebrae in his back, DeNatale, a father of two, eventually made a full recovery.
Event promoter
Now using his time to train and promote fighting events – such as November 2009’s card at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, featuring an appearance by former Ultimate Fighting Championship head referee Big John McCarthy – DeNatale also heads up the Canadian Fighting ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010 | 63
ONE
SPORTS THE ESSENTIALS OF MUAY THAI
Championship head referee Big John McCarthy – DeNatale also heads up the Canadian Fighting Championship, or the CFC.
Muay Thai – the art of striking with eight points of contact from hands, elbows, knees and feet – originates, as its name suggests, from Thailand. Or, at the very least, Thailand’s the country that popularized this brand of self-defense most consider an art-form. Dating back over 2,000 years, some maintain that Cambodia was instrumental in spreading the influence of Muay On February 26 at the CFC 4, once Thai across Indochina, and others again held at the Convention Centre, contend that it was devised by ancient DeNatale pleased long-awaiting fans by Siamese military. implementing a steel circle cage for the GIUSEPPE ‘THE GODFATHER’ DENATALE Punching techniques differ from region, but circular strikes tossed straight ahead ten main card bouts. Its main square-off and landing with the bottom portion of your opened palm was between 17-7 Winnipeg favourite Dan are the most common. Christison and Mike Wessel, a former contender The Muay Thai stance differs from Western Boxing, as on “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights” practitioners poised for action must extend and be ready reality television series. with their elbows jutted out and knees ready. Also both Despite the major commitment and time it feet for Muay Thai should be positioned for the attack, for takes to put on a major fight, DeNatale can maximum power. almost be found at the gym daily, punching the Key terms associated with Muay Thai include: Mud = Fist, bags and training his eager students to achieve Sork = Elbow, Khao = Knee, Tao = Foot, Chok = Punch, Tee their goals, even if it’s something seemingly Sork/Fun Sork = Elbow Strike, Tee Khao = Knee Kick, Tae out-of-reach like becoming a future champion. ONE = Kick, Foot-Thrust = Theeb. Consider yourself versed – albeit briefly – on some of the facts and history behind Muay Thai. Now get yourself to the CKMTC for a proper lesson.
Beginners and advanced both get hands-on attention
MMA WELCOMES WOMEN I n this day and age, you can’t expect the fairer sex to trot around the ring with round card titles anymore. A recent phenomenon over the last couple of years as MMA gains a foothold over the public is the further adoption of women fighters for professional bouts, something fighters hope will become more popular as the numbers of female competitors rise. It was only in 2007 that an Elite Extreme Combat (EliteXC) event in Southhaven, Miss. was broadcast on US-based premium channel Showtime, debuting MMA women fighters such as Gina Carano and Julie Kedzie for the first time to a national audience. Since then, even Hollywood’s begun to take notice: Carano was selected last year to top-line an actionthemed script for director Steven Soderbergh, a project still filming as of this writing.
64| ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
ONE SPORTS
A PASSION FOR THE FIGHTING ARTS
62| ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
FITNESS & HEALTH
with Stephen S. Hanks
I
was recently asked by a patient of my Advanced Therapeutic Bodywork practice what I am doing that is so special, as I certainly don’t look 46, never mind act like it? I was stumped. What is a 46-year-old male supposed to look and act like? So I started thinking and observing. Here I am on a Saturday afternoon, people watching in the mall. My patient’s right...as the patrons stroll by I see something I never realized before. The genetic make-up of this generation seems to have been MORPHED into something other than HEALTH. What has happened to the basics of our existence? So I started digging a little deeper and thought about that poor little boy passing by -- couldn’t be more than five, but already obese, and probably on the way to becoming diabetic. This is scary. When we were young, there was no such thing as Type II Diabetes. This was called Adult Onset because kids never got it. Today we live in a society where for some reason we think a “medium double/double” and a “Biggy Gulp” are the basis for hydration. The drive-thru that was originally conceived for convenience, is now a part of the family dining experience. We need to get back to the basics and listen (look) at our bodies. I took a peek into my patient histories and noticed that out of the last 28 new patients, the average amount of water intake was just 6 ounces per day. A healthy person should be drinking approximately half their body weight in ounces, meaning if you were 200 lbs, you should be consuming about 100 ounces. I then looked to see how many of those new patients were
overweight and was shocked to see that over 85% were. Next, I reviewed the list of medications they were taking and started to see a pattern: blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and stress drugs. Every single new patient had been treating at least one condition, but over HALF were taking medications for all four conditions. These conditions are virtually all attributable to lifestyle and in most cases can be treated naturally, by simply eating a nutrient dense diet consisting of good proteins, carbohydrates, fibers, proper hydration, and maintaining some kind of exercise program for about 20 minutes per day. I would also recommend a high quality vitamin and mineral supplement, as well as a few other natural goodies, but the bottom line here is, if you did just the above, and stuck with an alkaline diet as opposed to an acidic one (more on that in future columns), your body would morph -- you would naturally burn fat, have less pain and more energy. For the first time your blood sugars may normalize and your blood pressure pills may become extinct.
Daily water intake A healthy person should drink about half their body weight in ounces
WOW! What a concept. Changing the Health of a Generation isn’t easy, but we can do it together, one person at a time. ONE Steven S. Hanks, MB, RMT is a MASTER Practitioner located in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada, and can be reached by calling 204-770-4414, or on the web at www.massagegroup.com. Please feel free to e-mail your comments to xooma@mts.net
ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010 | 65
ONE SPORTS
New ‘Reality Bites’ format wows Winnipeg wrestling fans Reality TV stars tag team with big name wrestlers to create a winning up-close-and-personal Xperience
WFX athlete Kevin Chevy bellows in pain
by Jessie Rempel photography by Shawn Coates
M
ost people have identified with Professional Wrestling in some form or another at some time or another. Whether it was the 1980s "Family Friendly" cartoonish era of Hulk Hogan and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, or the 1990s Adult version which starred "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and "The Rock", wrestling has been a staple of pop culture dating way back to the 1950s. Right here in Winnipeg, a group has started up called Wrestling Fan Xperience and their goal is to be seen on the same international stage as the established big companies. And they
are doing everything they can to make WFX's operations. a big impact. WFX has managed to bring some of WFX has began producing television the biggest names in the wrestling episodes known as "OVERLOAD", business to Winnipeg for their regular and the company currently believes they can syndicate these episodes into a significant number of homes throughout North America. They've brought the biggest names in the wrestling business to perform on their events and TV Series, to establish a strong connection with the fan base. And they've also started bringing cross-over stars from Reality TV into the wrestling game to create an even bigger buzz. The first such Reality TV Celebrity was Jonny Fairplay, a controversial character from the CBS hit series SURVIVOR. Fairplay is a huge wrestling fan, who became involved in the game as a typical manager, think Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart all you 80s fans. Through his connections in Hollywood, he helped broker a deal with a man who likes to be known as "Mr. Pectacular" Jessie Godderz, who starred in two seasons of the CBS hit series Big Brother. Godderz Winnipeg based grappler Mentallo will actually be an in-ring competitor for WFX, and that has handles Japan’s Tajiri management of the company salivatevents, held every three weeks at One ing at the cross-over World Studios located at 1111 potential. Chevrier Boulevard. Free agents from "Jessie is an athleti"the show" also known as World cally gifted person Wrestling Entertainment, usually call with a gigantic Davidson with one of their first five wrestling sized ego. He will be perfect phone calls after they get the news they for our company." proclaimed Mike are free. These phone calls result in Davidson, vice president in charge of immediate negotiations with WFX,
WFX serves up spectacular entertainment every three weeks
66 | ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
“The Living Legend” Larry Zbyszko calms “The Human Massacre” Keith Walker after the match
and often guys who are very fresh on the open market come to Winnipeg before many major US cities. "That's the thing I love most about the job." says Davidson. "We get a chance to create a reaction in our fans
Jonny Fairplay heads cast of performing Reality TV celebrities that is built on excitement, surprise and down right amazement -- it's an extremely gratifying feeling." The whole concept that sets WFX apart from their global counterparts, is their dedication to the experience the fans get at their events. The fan is allowed to get up close and personal with the performers they come to idolize, an experience that seems lost in mainstream sports and entertainment. It helps that WFX is a division of One World Studios, and enjoys production 68 | ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
abilities that most independent wrestling companies can only dream of. Those abilities include two 12 foot by 9 foot jumbotron screens, state of the art lighting for television and sound that can shake the floor. Added all up it makes for an experience that is memorable and at the same time surprising. WFX has events scheduled on March 26th and 28th, April 16th, and May 7th. Check out www.wfxwrestling.com to learn more! ONE
ON E ON
sports
The Masked Camikazee inflicts trauma on Kevin Chevy
www.pitapit.com
ONE SPORTS
New ‘Reality Bites’ format wows Winnipeg wrestling fans Reality TV stars tag team with big name wrestlers to create a winning up-close-and-personal Xperience
WFX athlete Kevin Chevy bellows in pain
by Jessie Rempel photography by Shawn Coates
M
ost people have identified with Professional Wrestling in some form or another at some time or another. Whether it was the 1980s "Family Friendly" cartoonish era of Hulk Hogan and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, or the 1990s Adult version which starred "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and "The Rock", wrestling has been a staple of pop culture dating way back to the 1950s. Right here in Winnipeg, a group has started up called Wrestling Fan Xperience and their goal is to be seen on the same international stage as the established big companies. And they
are doing everything they can to make WFX's operations. a big impact. WFX has managed to bring some of WFX has began producing television the biggest names in the wrestling episodes known as "OVERLOAD", business to Winnipeg for their regular and the company currently believes they can syndicate these episodes into a significant number of homes throughout North America. They've brought the biggest names in the wrestling business to perform on their events and TV Series, to establish a strong connection with the fan base. And they've also started bringing cross-over stars from Reality TV into the wrestling game to create an even bigger buzz. The first such Reality TV Celebrity was Jonny Fairplay, a controversial character from the CBS hit series SURVIVOR. Fairplay is a huge wrestling fan, who became involved in the game as a typical manager, think Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart all you 80s fans. Through his connections in Hollywood, he helped broker a deal with a man who likes to be known as "Mr. Pectacular" Jessie Godderz, who starred in two seasons of the CBS hit series Big Brother. Godderz Winnipeg based grappler Mentallo will actually be an in-ring competitor for WFX, and that has handles Japan’s Tajiri management of the company salivatevents, held every three weeks at One ing at the cross-over World Studios located at 1111 potential. Chevrier Boulevard. Free agents from "Jessie is an athleti"the show" also known as World cally gifted person Wrestling Entertainment, usually call with a gigantic Davidson with one of their first five wrestling sized ego. He will be perfect phone calls after they get the news they for our company." proclaimed Mike are free. These phone calls result in Davidson, vice president in charge of immediate negotiations with WFX,
WFX serves up spectacular entertainment every three weeks
66 | ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
“The Living Legend” Larry Zbyszko calms “The Human Massacre” Keith Walker after the match
and often guys who are very fresh on the open market come to Winnipeg before many major US cities. "That's the thing I love most about the job." says Davidson. "We get a chance to create a reaction in our fans
Jonny Fairplay heads cast of performing Reality TV celebrities that is built on excitement, surprise and down right amazement -- it's an extremely gratifying feeling." The whole concept that sets WFX apart from their global counterparts, is their dedication to the experience the fans get at their events. The fan is allowed to get up close and personal with the performers they come to idolize, an experience that seems lost in mainstream sports and entertainment. It helps that WFX is a division of One World Studios, and enjoys production 68 | ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
abilities that most independent wrestling companies can only dream of. Those abilities include two 12 foot by 9 foot jumbotron screens, state of the art lighting for television and sound that can shake the floor. Added all up it makes for an experience that is memorable and at the same time surprising. WFX has events scheduled on March 26th and 28th, April 16th, and May 7th. Check out www.wfxwrestling.com to learn more! ONE
ON E ON
sports
The Masked Camikazee inflicts trauma on Kevin Chevy
ONE
Fitness Edge for Women
ITNESS & HEALTH Performance incentives, personalized service, latest techniques, babysitting, socializing – this gym rocks
by Pat St. Germain photography by Mike Latschislaw
B
elly up to a bar at Fitness Edge for Women, and it’s a safe bet it will be attached to a weight. But there's a good reason why owners Marci Manness and Shannon Griffith call it the Cheers of health clubs. "We know everybody's names. We're invited to members' weddings, to their 40th birthday parties," Manness says. "Most of the gyms now in Winnipeg are these bigger box stores and I think the reason we've been successful is that we actually care about people." Some of the regulars have been frequenting the club for 20 years or more and Manness says membership is steady in general. While some gyms count on a rash of New Year’s fitness resolutions to sign up new members, there’s no special push at Fitness Edge to attract clients who are likely to fall off the fitness wagon long before their membership expires. REWARDING CONSISTENCY "Most people's New Year's resolutions only last four to six weeks at the most,” she says. Instead, the club encourages its existing members to commit to working out in December, when many women sacrifice fitness because they're busy baking, shopping, attending school concerts and planning Christmas parties. December has become the club's busiest month since Manness and Griffith initiated a motivational challenge. Members who work out 16 times during the month are entered into a draw to win a one-year membership worth $540. A former member herself, Manness joined the staff after she earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education at the Univer70 | ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
FITNESS EDGE FOR WOMEN; Owners Shannon Griffith (L) and Marci Manness.
sity of Manitoba in 1993. When the former owner wanted to sell the club a year later, her husband Scott, a farmer, suggested they buy it. Manness was only 22 at the time, but she took up the challenge, and brought Griffith on board within a year. A PLACE FOR MOMS As busy moms — they each have two kids under the age of eight — Manness and Griffith have been able to take full advantage of some of the club benefits, such as babysitting services on weekday mornings. After her first daughter was born seven years ago, Manness took a month off, but with her second daughter, who is now four, she was back to work after about 10 days. “But it was great because we've always brought our babies here to the gym,” she says, adding her four-year-old still joins her every morning. As fitness buffs, Manness and Griffith understand what it takes to make the health club experience enjoyable and conve
Issuing a motivational challenge has made December the busiest month nient for other women. It might be as simple as providing shampoo and blow dryers for the private showers, or as complex as taking classes in Edmonton to become a master trainer in the Bender Ball core training system, as Griffith did recently. And Manness believes theirs was the first local club to offer Bosu balance training, as well as boot camps.
CHALLENGING BOOT CAMPS TRACK ‘TROOPERS’ PROGRESS VARIETY AND OPTIONS Along with yoga, pilates, weight training, Zumba dance classes and other services, the club has pre-natal, postnatal and mom-and-baby fitness classes. And Manness tries to change up the schedule so regulars in group classes might have weight training one day, a step or dance class the next and so on. "So each day of the week they're getting a different kind of workout, so that they're always getting variety, because that's the key to success." Women can drop in at their convenience — the St. Mary’s Road club is open 5:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. Mon. - Thu.; 5:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. Fri., and 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. on weekends. But
Owners Marci Manness and Shannon Griffith call it the Cheers of health clubs with members often following up workouts with a mini happy hour for best results, Manness suggests hiring a personal trainer or joining a group class. Both options are good motivators — women who schedule a personal or group session are less likely to skip a workout and there are other benefits. For example, a qualified instructor makes sure members stretch and target specific areas, such as abdominal muscles. But it’s not all workout and no play. Members often follow up classes with a mini happy hour. Of about 20 women taking part in a group class on a recent weekday morning, Manness estimated half would repair to the Robin's Donuts shop next door for coffee. "Half of it is social probably more than anything." In fact, friendliness has ranked high on surveys of what members most appreciate — along with cleanliness and the exclusively female clientele, although women are invited to bring their partners to an annual Valentine's sweetheart workout. EDUCATED HELPFUL STAFF “The other thing that sets us apart is we have very qualified staff,” she says. “We have educated people, we actually can help people.” The club is certified by the Manitoba Fitness Council to train instructors and Manness says even staff manning the registration desk are not just salespeople. Nobody is paid commission and there’s no sales pressure. “We just make sure we do a good job and then we people will renew, right?” An advocate for healthy eating as well as fitness, Manness has her own a vegetable garden and cooks for hired hands on her and Scott’s farm in summer. ONE
Boot camp — sounds enticing, no? Well, maybe not. But the programs are increasingly popular, and if you need a spring tune-up, Fitness Edge for Women co-owner Marci Manness makes a few good points. “It's a very high quality boot camp,” she says. Manness says a segment on Oprah inspired Fitness Edge’s first camp about six years ago and they’ve been going strong ever since, with fourweek camps in the spring and fall and two-week blitz camps during summer months. Participants sign up for five one-hour classes each week, enlisting in a morning troop at 6 a.m. or an evening troop at 6:30 p.m. The cost is $300 - $500, depending on whether troopers are club members and if they also take part in a nutritional makeover, which includes meal plans, grocery lists and recipes. Manness says the camps appeal to people who’ve never worked out, as well as long-time health-club members who want to recharge their routines. “Maybe they've been coming for 20 years and they're kind of working in their comfort zone or their box and all of a sudden they go to boot camp and it really pushes them to a limit that they maybe don’t normally push themselves,” she says. “You definitely get a wide range of people that come to boot camp. Really advanced people and really beginner people, young people, old people, — we've had people in their 60s, so there’s a real range of people at boot camps.” There is an element of the old “drop and give me 20” boot camp tradition, but Manness says everyone works at their own level. For example, in a walk-run segment, advanced troopers may run while beginners or people with knee problems will do a power walk. Two of the weekly workouts are held at the St. Mary’s Road club, and three are held outdoors at an area park. Fitness Edge supplies all the equipment, such as medicine balls and fitness ladders and each trooper gets an hour-long fitness assessment at the beginning and end of the camp. “Some boot camps might just take your measurements with a tape measure,” Manness says. “We actually do a cardio test, a flexibility test — we do a thorough assessment before and after all of our sessions. And the workouts that you have if you join boot camp are run by our personal trainers, who have degrees.” Want your marching orders? The next camp runs in May. Call 255-6600 or see www.fitnessedge.ca for details.
ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010 | 71
FITNESS & HEALTH
Do your soft addictions need some tough love? Disconnect with technology, and reconnect with a healthier you. by Mary Ann Masesar
online, playing video games, watching T.V, shopping and talking with friends aren’t harmful when there is a set purpose, goal and time limit. But when these same behaviours become daily, excessive habits that interfere with our life Tough love comes in routines, we might be suffering from what life when we start to coach Judith Wright describes as “soft addic-
examine why we overuse technology
Soft Addiction Solution: Break Free of the Seemingly
You from the Life You Want (Penguin Books, 2006), Wright explains that soft addictions are not sins, but simply a misguided attempt to take care of ourselves, or to cope with strong feelings. If not addressed, our soft addictions could lead to strained relationships, career trouble and financial disasters. to having one. To complicate the matter, the experiences we enjoy fall in the grey area of being a pleasurable activity and technology, shopping and talking with friends and family, but they become harmful to our spirits when they prevent us from experiencing our feelings more fully and evaluating what’s really going on in our lives. Zoning Out When we turn on the television to watch Entourage; when we access the Internet to get status updates; when we press play on our iPod or send on our phones, these behaviours release endorphins known as “feel good” hormones that give us the experience of pleasure. When we feel pleasure, we are likely to repeat the behaviour to experience feeling good, again and again. It becomes a soft addiction when we use technology to “zone out” or avoid intense feelings such as stress, loneliness, sadness or anger. According to the 2007 Canadian Internet Use survey, 68% of all Internet users were online every day during a typical month and 50% were online for five or more hours a week. Being busy isn’t the same as being productive so when we zone out, we often don’t remember what just happened, what we have done or what was just read. 74 | ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
Take small steps to “disconnect” from technology and “reconnect” with our self awareness and our world. Answer the question, “How much time do I spend watching television, using the Internet or other electronic devices such as the iPhone, Blackberry, or Playstation?” Tough love comes in when we start to examine why we do it and how we feel before, during and after the activity. If technology is excessively used to escape or zone out numb emotions, think, what deeper needs are you avoiding? Mind Your Mind Information sharing; coffee break conversations about which co-worker got fired, hired and moved; complaining about relationships; even daydreaming about living a stress free, traveling life can be positive motivations to help move forward in life. But when information we pass on becomes harmful to other people, or when daydreaming prevents us from changing our present circumstances, we could be suffering from a soft addiction. Lori Palatnik, psychologist and author of Gossip: Ten Pathways to Eliminate It from Your Life and Transform Your Soul (Simcha Press, 2002) states that, "speaking badly about people is a form of projection. What you don't like about yourself, you tend to point out in others. Be aware of this, and soon what you personally need to work on will become clear." Communicating with friends, family, co-workers and acquaintances is a popular and enjoyable pastime, but if we don’t mind our mind, these same behaviours can be severely destructive. Imagine being on the receiving end of gossip. Judith Wright describes minding your mind as managing the thinking that triggers gossiping, complaining and daydreaming. When we are faced with stressful situations and changing circumstances, our minds respond by using soft addictions to dull and protect our strong feelings. To live the life we want, we have to grow, take risks and shift our thoughts to experience a sense of clarity and control over our lives. It’s not easy to change, especially when we end up facing strong feelings we try so hard to avoid. Soft addictions aren't necessarily bad habits in and of themselves. But when we overdo them, they rob our time, deplete our energy and dull our consciousness. By identifying what soft addictions we have and why, we learn more about ourselves. By incorporating tough love strategies, we begin to learn and love ourselves and fill our lives with more meaning. ONE
Everyday FITNESS
with Fitness Nurse Mary Ann Masesar and Coach V
Drive thru swap cuts calories by 50% Between work, school and cold winter temperatures, Timmy’s drive-thru is a tempting breakfast meal option. Make a smarter breakfast choice and save almost half the calories and fat at Tim Horton’s by swapping the sausage, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich for a bagel BELT. This smart pick saves you 480 calories and 42g of fat! (No, this is NOT a typo) Instead of ordering this:
Get this lighter option:
Sausage, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Sandwich
Bagel BELT
= 920 calories
= 440calories
56 g fat
14g fat
67 g carbs
59g carbs
Ask Coach V Q: Am I too sick to work out? I feel like hell but I want to continue. I’ve been making great gains and don’t want to stop now. But I feel under the weather. A: of shape simply because you miss a day or two of exercise. Just as your body needs physical stimulation to stay in proper shape, it also needs rest from the impact that a bad cold could bring. That being said, you don’t have to cancel working out for the common cold or runny nose, but there are certain symptoms that you do want to be aware of: t Dizziness / loss of balance
t Feeling drained / weak
t Fever / chills
t Headache / migraine
Dizziness and loss of balance could lead to falls and potential injury if you are carrying any weights. Feeling drained and weak is likely because your body is
to a longer recovery time if you do put in a workout session. Same goes for fever and chills. Lifting when you have a bad headache or migraine increases pressure in your brain which will only cause your headaches to get worse. Sometimes, though, low-intensity exercise can clear the sinuses and congestion. As a guide, follow the neck rule:
t If your symptoms are below the neck (i.e. chest congestion, hacking cough, aching muscles, upset stomach), you are Until you are fully recovered, keep the exercise sessions short and light. Stay hydrated. By giving your body the time it needs to rest and recover, you allow your body to get rid of wastes and dispose of viruses your body may be carrying. Allow your body the time it needs to recover, take the rest it is demanding and with patience, you will return to your exercise routine again right ONE
Personal trainer, Vernis "Coach V" Blair and fitness nurse, Mary Ann Masesar own and operate Higher Level Fitness. Located in the Exchange District, Higher Level Fitness is a wellness studio that offers personal training, health and nutritional counseling and massage therapy services. For more information, visit www.higherlevelfitness.net ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010 | 75
ONE
Business
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One World United Card provides real value to consumers with 10% discount by Alan Wyatt
P
oints for toasters, points for curling irons and even points for points. But how much value are consumers actually receiving for their hardacquired points? Winnipeg based One World United has recently launched a consumer friendly loyalty program with its cashgoodpointsbad.com media campaign. While taking a light-hearted and humorous shot at existing point based loyalty programs, One World United is serious about saving its members real money. According to founder Jeff Dyck, people are tired of spending their hard earned cash at many retailers only to accumulate thousands of points that have dubious value. â&#x20AC;&#x153;How much money did you have to spend to get that free toaster and what did it really cost you? Furthermore points can take ages to add up and redemption can be a cumbersome process,â&#x20AC;? comments Dyck. INSTANT SAVINGS
program, pointed out by Dyck is its availability to a wider spectrum of merchants. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Most national points programs are restrictive and costly for a business to participate in so they are not viable for smaller, local shops and services...we are. In fact, one of our goals from the get go was to give consumers better choices on where they can save and in the process help the little guy (merchant) compete with the big box stores.â&#x20AC;? SOPHISTICATED TECHNOLOGY Developing the One World United program has not been without its difficulties, general manager Dustin Refvik explains. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Building the technology for our system has been an intensive and ongoing effort. Initially we contracted out much of our platform development but we had difficulty getting deadlines met and there were quality issues.â&#x20AC;? Since then One World United has brought most of its technology creation in house and currently employs a team of eight designers, coders and software developers at its 1111 Chevrier Blvd. location in Winnipeg. Another challenge currently being faced is how to best market and get the word out about One World United. Traditional types of advertising such as radio and print are being used in the Winnipeg market under the cashgoodpointsbad.com promotion. (The companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s web site at cashgoodpointsbad.com offers a unique â&#x20AC;&#x153;pointsâ&#x20AC;? converter for visitors to try out.) One World United is also taking a step into the world of online marketing using search engines such as Google and
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;How much money did you have to spend to get that free toaster and what did it really cost you?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;
In response to the point dilemma in the marketplace, One World United set out to develop a rewards system that was easy to understand, use and benefit from in terms of real dollar savings...not points. The result was the One World United Card, an innovative new approach to saving money using sophisticated point of sale swipe technology. Consumers simply join One World United for free and are issued a pre-paid debit card that they load up from their bank account and present for payment at participating merchants. Immediately upon â&#x20AC;&#x153;loadingâ&#x20AC;? their card, consumers are given an additional 10% bonus from One World United so they essentially save 10% on all their purchases. No points to collect, no blackout periods and no waiting for rewards. Another advantage of the One World United Card 76 | ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010
ONE WORLD UNITED head office
ONE WORLD UNITED PRESIDENT Jeff Dyck in the lobby of the firm’s attractive new Winnipeg quarters
social networking. According to marketing manger Trevor Liddell, “social networking using such vehicles as Facebook and Twitter is an exploding phenomenon connecting everyone, so your message can be sent out rapidly and cost effectively.” Furthermore Liddle adds, “this new form of marketing allows direct access to people and the ability to get your information to the right people based upon their actual needs.” One World United expects to pursue this method of marketing to rapidly grow their base of consumers and merchants using an interactive referral system. The development of specialized swipe and online technology and the ability to track transactions and manage incredible amounts of data has provided One World United with a third method of marketing. Their proprietary technology allows third parties to share in the revenue -- by bringing in new consumers and merchants, and promoting ongoing use of the card. The Affiliate program which has several participation options, allows people to create their
own personal “business” with ongoing revenue streams, based on the number of new members they refer and the dollar volume of transactions involving these members. Charitable organizations are also invited to participate as affiliates, and benefit by raising funds and awareness for their cause. Once the marketing model has been tested and tweaked in Manitoba, One World United plans to roll out the program in other cities across Canada and beyond. For further information, their main website can be found at www.oneworldunited.com. ONE
The affiliate program allows members to develop a personal revenue stream, based on a referral system
ONE E ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010 | 77
SMALL BUSINESS Why owners need this chart
INTRODUCING
In my opinion, many business owners who admittedly are not sales experts get trapped in time wasting activities by mixing up lead management activities with selling activities. I am hoping business owners will use
your home business
Many small and new business owners lack clarity on how to achieve the sales success that makes or breaks their company. The 7 Step Sales Strategy Chart (below) breaks “selling” down into basic functions or steps. The chart provides owners a strong visual of the overall process and clear distinction between the three core sales management functions namely, Lead Management, Selling Cycle and Customer Service.
7 Step Sales Strategy
by Dan Debreuil, d-Commerce Business Consulting
Goal: audience for you to focus on
2 Lead Generation
Goal: prospective customers
Detailed description of your ideal customer.
Cold Calls
3 Hot Prospect List
Tip: Separate hot leads from “warm”
do business with you.
Contact
Make A Presentation
Too many business owners implement “a customer service only” sales plan. Being great at customer service is certainly part of an excellent sales plan. However, I will point out that far too many businesses got caught in the latest economic downturn with their “customer service sales force” stagnant and their telephones silent. If this sounds familiar, then I would suggest you take a second look at steps 1-4 on this chart and begin organizing your sales plan to help you during good times and bad. In this article we will introduce the chart and elaborate
1 Customer Profiling
4 Selling Cycle
become more results oriented in less time.
Follow Up
5 New Customer
Hot prospect becomes a customer.
6 Intenification
Continue to meet with this customer on a regular basis.
Tip: hot prospects to purchase Tip: Once a hot prospect enters your sales cycle - it can take up achieve your first sale Tip: First time customer rarely purchase all their requirements
ties. In the next two articles, we will elaborate on the other sales steps and how they relate to the selling cycle and customer service.
Lead Management… The conveyor belt of hot leads
To keep this customer happy you must maintain a healthy relationship. Constant & routine communications are vital for relationship longevity.
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ships with the customers who meet your needs. *NB – for some businesses, having up to 3 ideal military strategy analogy, it is a good plan to attack on multiple narrow fronts. don’t be shy in stating some of the more obvious desirable characteristics about your ideal customer such as: a) Purchases multiple times per year; b) Purchases in volume; c) Has good credit rating & pays on time; d) Doesn’t price shop; e) Places a high value on developing loyal business relationships with their supplier; f) Good planners & communicators; h) Happy and appreciative of the products or services you sell.
The ultimate goal in lead management is to identify hot leads so you can begin selling to them. It takes a lot of your time and energy to sell to someone face-to-face.
*NB
management activities. The ideal scenario is to develop lead management processes that will create a sustainable and constant supply of hot leads. I like to call this the “conveyor belt” professionals dream of developing a sustainable conveyor belt of hot leads for face-to-face meetings.
Warning: Providing excellent products and services to a new client is not enough to earn more business from the.. You must
portfolio be a great conveyor? Or perhaps a meeting with two people a month with greater than $250,000 to
Why invest a lot of time in a relationship with a customer who buys from you once in a while? Or is right by going after a select group of people or businesses who will deliver on what you need to thrive. TIP: Ask yourself if you are selling to a business or a person? For most companies, selling to a business rather than to a person (resident) has tremendous advantages. Most noteworthy is the fact that businesses tend to purchase more volume, more frequently. As a general rule of thumb, if you can sell to a business and not a resident – do it.
Step 2 | Generate Leads Lead generation activities work to identify prospective
stay with you and purchase more
7 Top Customer
Warning: The biggest time waster for many businesses just might be the fatal mistake of developing relationships with the wrong customers. Don’t do it! Go back
2. Lead Generation
more of their business in the next 6 months
Goal: Maintain a long-term partnership
narrowest of fronts”. This military strategy made famous by ‘Alexander the Great’ is absolutely essential for
an attractive “conveyor belt” of hot leads be for your company?
Step 1 |
generate leads that I know of: a) Cold calls; b) Warm calls; c) Networking; ONE MAGAZINE | APRIL | 2010 | 79
SMALL BUSINESS Cold Calls: These are calls made to business people who
Warm Calls: These are calls made to business people
be to people who you think can refer you to your ideal customer. There are several best practices for making
because you have an “in” with them. That is, the decision maker you are calling has been referred to you by someone they know or you have been invited to call this person from a previous connection – likely a networking function.
Although cold calling is probably the least attractive selling activity to most, it still remains an extremely new people. I recommend that small and new business start-ups allocate a minimum of two hours per week for routine cold calling. TIP: Introducing yourself to your neighbors is a method of cold calling. Simply get in the car and plan to introduce yourself to five new neighbors a week. Approach this visit with the objective of introducing yourself and your business. Make sure to drop off your brochure and business card and reciprocate by taking a brochure and business card of theirs. Plan to revisit them every six months. You will be amazed at how your new network of neighbors will either buy from you or refer you to someone they know. “Get to know your neighbors before your competitor does”. Meeting your neighbors is a great strategy and starts with a cold call.
TIP: When making warm calls, take the time to explain the connection you have to the decision maker. Making this connection always works in your favor by putting the decision maker in a more positive frame of mind. Be sure to ask open more you will learn. Finish the call by asking for a complete set of contact information so you can continue to stay in touch. One more thing, regardless if the call pans out as a lead or non lead – make sure to ask this person if they know of anyone else who may require your products and services. If he or she gives you a couple of names, they will now be put on your warm call list as you can use the person’s name who referred you. Make sure your cold and warm calls generate more warm calls. Networking: Opportunities to network occur every day, numerous times per day. Keep in mind that your
customers and everyone that drops by your store or business is a potential member of your network. As a small business owner you need to be prepared to take full advantage of your new connections by adding to
b) Are they open to your approach? c) Are they interested in learning more? d) Are they willing to meet face to face with you to discuss?
leverage your network is to have it handy. Thus, you need an easy and practical way of capturing and retrieving the detailed contact information of people in your network. Most telephones synchronize full contact information with your computer which I recommend.
If your answer is yes to all the questions – then they are a hot prospect. In my experience it is the request for a face-to-face meeting that separates a hot prospect from a warm one.
business cards you collect into your contact manager. Otherwise, you will not be able to leverage your network to its fullest capacity. TIP: Networking really works when you plan to use your network to help others. Centers of Influence: These are people who positively
Selling Activities or Sales Cycle: In our next article we will visit step #4 (the selling cycle) and discuss at length the intricacies and time it takes to earn a sale. You may be techniques that work to persuade and motivate people to buy from you. ONE Dan Debreuil operates d-Commerce Business Consulting in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and can be reached at 204-223-5791, or on the web at www.d-commerce.ca
knows you or has had a positive experience from your business. They can be former customers, current customers, vendors, friends, business associates, neighbors, etc. New business from referrals is the sweetest kind of business because it means you are doing a good enough job that people will stick their neck out for you to recommend you to their network. An excellent long term sales strategy is to create “referral machines” by empowering, educating and motivating likely have a couple of people referring your business to their entire network all the time. Many sales gurus call these people “your raving fans”. TIP: Take the time to recognize your raving fans for all their referrals. Make sure they have all the latest information to be able to promote your business effectively into the future.
Step 3 | Develop your Hot Prospect List From your lead generation activities you will come across many people. All of them may be interesting and some may have tremendous potential for doing a lot of business with you some day. Unfortunately, we cannot take “tremendous potential” to the bank and cash it. To separate a hot lead from a warm one, ask yourself the following questions: a) Do they have an immediate need for your product
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LAST WORD Living a dream on ice Winnipeg skater tours continent with Disney’s Princess Classics Show
Alyx Hewins
by Jim Shorts | photography by Mike Latschislaw
Every little girl’s dream is to be a princess. Winnipeg’s own Alyx Hewins lives the dream several times a week, in cities all across North America. She performs with Disney’s Princess Classics Show and was recently back in her home town this February. Alyx 18, started skating at two years old when she got her first pair of figure skates from her mom, who became her long-time coach. She’s never looked back. Skating in her first competition at age five, Alyx has always had a love for the sport.
Alyx auditioned with Disney two years ago when the show was in Winnipeg and had the opportunity to tour last year with the Disney’s High School Musical Show. For Alyx, being a performer with Disney is the perfect combination of athleticism and acting. She toured 35 cities last year and her cast mates hailed from over 12 countries. Disney also offers opportunities to travel with the company outside of North America – to China and Southeast Asia among others. It really is a small world after all. In addition to performing, working for Disney has allowed Alyx to not only amuse and entertain children, but also to give back to the communities where she tours. Last year Alyx had the opportunity through the Wednesday’s Child Foundation to spend an afternoon with and skate with a young girl named Destiny, an orphan in the Los Angeles area. Disney performers have many touching moments with the children and Greet receptions with local girls who, dressed up in their best princess costumes, are thrilled to meet their Disney idols. beautiful….I know the (Belle) character well now, we lip sync all the songs – it’s easy, they’re songs that I’ve known since growing up.” Not all the characters are so easy. Playing one of Sleeping Beauty’s fairy godmothers involves wearing a fat suit, stepsisters give Alyx an opportunity to play a villain and really get the crowd involved. When asked for the inside story on ice spills, Alyx let me in on the male and one for the female performers: off ice falls cost them $2, on ice falls cost $1 or $5 if you get an audience reaction. At the end of the year they use the money and throw a party. So far Alyx owes $6, and one of the top scorers owes about $25 (her Disney dress is pretty bulky). While on tour, the performers usually travel Sunday night, have Monday and Tuesday off, then perform Wednesday – Sunday. In addition to hard work, the Disney cast manages to get out and sight see in the cities they travel. One of Alyx’s favourites so far has been Seattle, and Chicago also stands out – but Winnipeg will always be home. When will she retire who are 40. People do it until they can’t do it anymore. Alyx has plans to eventually attend medical school and become a pediatrician, and will enrol in university for the summer session before touring again next year. When asked to whom she credits her success, Alyx replies, “My mom, not just because she gave me the skates…but she’s been with me to share all my experiences.” ONE
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