Woody

Woody

Pug lover, Face sculptures, Inked

“The city has made me more compassionate. And a lot more forgiving towards people who embrace their flaws. New York allows you to live your truth. It is not for me to judge. I’m here to support you in any way I can.”

“ I came to New York and moved in with a guy who was working as a male prostitute. I wasn’t exposed to anything like that in Baltimore, so it kind of threw me for a loop. Living with him made me understand things. Many people hide certain parts of themselves, but in New York you don’t need to. Not everything is black and white. And not everything in the grey area is wrong. The more you are you, the more people respond to you in a positive way.”

“I wanted to get a second pug. A friend told me ‘When a guy has two pugs, he is moving into crazy cat-lady-territory.’ I came home, thought about it and decided ‘You know whatthat’s the way it’s going to be then.”

“To do something and be completely open and unashamed about it. That’s New York.”

“Pugs are little clowns that love you and require you love them back. Clyde is my first and is almost 15 years old. I’m single, so the pugs cure loneliness. They give you some purpose. No matter what, I have to take care of them. It gives me something to do other than just take care of myself. And New York can make you very self centered.” “I have a circle of elderly people that I look after. One of them is on a fifth floor walk up and she won’t leave her apartment. She stays there while the world spins around on the outside. I do everything I can to make sure they have everything they need. Growing old in New York is hard. That loneliness. New York is a place where it is easy to forget the elderly, but don’t. Reach out and check in on them.”

“I was watching a documentary on the filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles. He was the founder of Blaxploitation cinema back in the 70’s. In this documentary, he said ‘I was looking for films that I wanted to see, and I wasn’t finding them, so I made them.’ I was like ‘God, that totally makes sense.’ It took me six years to put out my first pair of glasses.”

“I want to make sculptures for your face. When I was a kid, I got very excited when I got to put on glasses because I felt like that was a different identity. You can be creative, smart, sexy, powerful. Whatever you want to be.”

“ When I am driving back from Baltimore the GPS will always tell you to cut through Staten Island and Brooklyn, but I don’t. It may be faster, but I always drive through the city. It is a different experience. When I see the skyline… She always welcomes you. New York is like the mother that is always happy to see you, you’re always allowed to come back, she is here for you. I always feel that way and it’s magical. Do people feel that way when they’re heading to Evergreen? What other place makes you feel that way!?”

Q&A

What neighborhood do you live in? Sunnyside, Queens.

Best thing about living there? It feels like a real New York neighborhood. It’s incredibly diverse and everyone knows everybody.

Favorite neighborhood in New York? Sunnyside!

Favorite street to stroll? I have a favorite path to take. I often walk from Columbus Circle, Down Broadway, Cross to Sixth avenue at 33rd Street, down to Bleecker and across to Bowery, Up to Saint Marks and over to Tompkins Square Park.

Why? This path lets me visit many places that have been important to me during my time in New York.

Favorite restaurant? Gyu-Kaku. Japanese BBQ. It’s a great place on a cold night with lots of friends!

Favorite bar? Angel’s Share, a hidden bar at Village Yokocho. It’s quiet and a great place to talk to someone who is special in your life.

Hidden gem? Abracadabra on 19 West 21st Street. Great place for costumes, makeups and magic tricks. It’s pretty amazing!

How to be(come) a New Yorker? I once committed a non-violent felony with my best friend at Gray’s Papaya on Sixth Avenue and 10th street. He has passed into the infinite due to diabetes but every time I walk “my path” I think about him. I once fornicated in the dressing rooms at Macy’s on 34th street. As we were leaving, a few tourist slipped and fell on the escalator falling into my girlfriend at the time and fracturing her cervical vertebrae. Years later she won an incredible settlement. I think of her when I walk ‘my path.’ She’s married now, has two kids and lives in Oklahoma. I once went to a job interview where the owners of the company smoked pot during the interview. We became instant life-long friends. When you have three stories like that you’re a New Yorker.

Your New York soundtrack? Ambitious Outsiders by Morrissey.

5 THINGS THAT TELL A STORY ABOUT WOODY

PUGS “Loneliness is the feeling that I hate the most, and also the feeling I feel the most. My pugs alleviate that for me.”

TATTOOS “When I was 30 I decided to change direction of my life. A part of that was getting tattooed. I had followed a tattoo artist named Chichi Corsa Cura. I wanted to get tattooed by him. I had to wait for like a year and a half. He has done all of it. As I got more tattoos, I revealed more of myself.”

BIBLE “This is my dads bible from 1966. I grew up in the South in southern baptist tradition. I am an atheist, but I do believe in the direction and guideline of this.”

SKETCHBOOK “This page was drawn by my high school art teacher who recently passed away. I don’t think the people at my school thought I would do anything with my life to be honest, but he thought I had talent.”

ALBUM COVER “I’m really proud of this. It’s f*ing cool. It pulls a lot of the things I do together. You see things going on inside of it, beyond what it actually is.”