The Unusual

Is beauty in the eye of the beholder?  Is imitation the lowest form of flattery?  Are UM chicas entirely without self-respect?  These are the questions I spend sleepless hours pondering.  You’d think an environment so affulent would create endless creative possibilites, regarding wardrobe.  But you know what they say: “Mo’ money, mo’ problems’.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a personal crusader for preserving certain styles; I love to channel my favorite glamorous fashion icons and vintage vixens while selecting an ensemble for myself.  But seriously, the saddest day of your life is the day you show up to an important event only to realize that some other girl is ripping off the same idea that you are.  It should be illegal.  Theft is a crime. 

Take, for example, the picture-perfect sexual bombshell and silicone goddess extrordinare, Megan Fox.  In October 2009, she graced the cover of Rolling Stone wearing a curve enhancing, half-see through leotard with the chest basically cut out.  Fucking sexy.  Two years later, my poor eyes have completely OD-ed on this terrible trend.Ladies, Megan Fox is really two years ago.  And ladies, you are not Megan Fox.  To see, precisely, what I no longer wish to see.  Check out the pics after the jump.

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If you don’t know Imri, you should. First off, he’s got this amazingly crazy curly hair and secondly, he’s one of those people who is really going to make a difference in the world. His positivity is absolutely contagious. So when he told me about Jamnesty I had to go check it out.

Imri is the chair of UM’s chapter of Amnesty International. He helped organize and host UM’s first ever Jamnesty, an interactive art festival that combines entertainment with a cause.

The cause being the Santa Maria House Orphanage in Cali, Colombia. It’s an event he’s dreamt about putting together since high school.

I saw Imri’s crazy curls riding around the Rock on a UM beach cruiser. Imri told me about the 8 musicians that were performing rock, hip hop, a bit of techno, and a drum circle. 

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I’d rather have our football team being discussed for partying with some loser as opposed to assaulting little boys. What kind of person does that?! 

Let it be known: our loser is less miserable than their loser.

And so:

Nevin Shapiro > Jerry Sandusky 

Hooray!

As I met up with my friend and President of Grapefruit Goods, Lucas Espuche, to discuss his clothing brand, I notice he’s wearing one of his brand’s tanks. It’s a graphic that I’ve become attuned to noticing around campus, maybe you’ll begin to notice grapefruit graphics around campus too.

So Lucas, what made you decide to start a clothing line?

My best friend Sam, who is CEO of Grapefruit Goods, and I came up with the idea. It all started with a really cool logo and probably because I grew up living in New York City. In the city we were teenagers growing up in a financial environment and we were always trying to make a buck.

What’s up with the grapefruit? 

It really just came from us working with Photoshop and Adobe, we drew it randomly. I wanted to be creative with pop art culture and I think this graphic is catchy and appealing to a mass market, mainly focusing on college students.  Some other brands that inspired me are Kid Robot, Supreme, A Life, and other urban street wear clothing lines.

How did you first make people aware of what you were doing?

Well it all started with me being down here in Miami and by showing the clothing to all of my friends down here. The first shirt was the UM edition which completely sold out. From the beginning I wanted it to appeal to the UM college market, and people within the age range of about 18-24 years old.

That’s pretty chill, so what’s the craziest thing that has happened as you’ve been promoting your line?

I definitely thought it was crazy that I had over 200 people wearing the Ultra Edition shirt that I created.

Another crazy time was when I went to Arizona to visit a friend at school and threw a party. I brought a bunch of Grapefruit Goods accessories, like stickers, to use at the party. Tons of girls had stickers all over themselves, including on their tits, it was pretty out of control.

It must be difficult balancing schoolwork with running Grapefruit Goods, what’s a typical week look like for you?

Yeah it is. Typically I’ll wake up and spend about 8 hours a day in the library, 2-3 hours on school and 4-5 on my companies.Also, since I’m young I’ve been going to the Launch Pad. I needed the help and experience so I’ve been going there, they helped me get an investment.

So when you’re not working, what do you do in your spare time?

Get high and brainstorm (laughs), it seems like I’ve always got business on my mind.  When I’m not thinking about my company I like working out and wearing my Grapefruit Goods shirts to the gym, and I see who else has theirs on too. I like going to raves and clubs, even while I’m there I think about ways to promote my brand. It’s all continuous fun, but my passion is about my clothing line and expanding it. It is my life. Even while I’m out, my clothing brand is in my head regardless of what I’m doing.

Who’s the coolest person to wear your clothing?

Well I gave shirts to Afrojack when he performed at Pacha in New York City, he was waving it around during his performance, it was crazy. I also gave one to Benny Benassi when he was performing in Miami at Mansion. A group of about 10 friends and myself wore the shirt to the club that night and got to the front of the stage and would not stop or leave until Benny took the shirt, which he did of course.

Nearly every Friday you can find me in SoBe, and I hate it. It’s so effin boring. People stand around pretending to be awesome and soaking up each other’s awesomeness. I’d rather be partying with drag queens, trannies, and Goths instead of the homogenous (and boring) crowd that populates South Beach clubs.

            I recently saw the documentary Limelight and it seems that nothing will compare to New York City’s club life in the ‘80’s and 90’s. I love how Billy Corben’s documentary described Peter Gatien’s clubs as “incubators of culture”. Gatien’s club empire consisted of Limelight, Palladium, the Tunnel, and Club USA where revelers came to have uninhibited fun. Ecstasy played a large role in losing those inhibitions. The film’s storyline about Gatien’s legal woes didn’t captivate my attention as much as the history, culture, and drug use that emerged from the clubs and Corben’s interviews. 

Although Gatien only had sight in one of his eyes due to a hockey accident in his youth, he had the vision to create clubs that thousands frequented every night. His ingenuity led him to transform a cathedral into his nightclub Limelight, a place made for sin. There were often orgies on the second floor, people in drag and costume, and drugs to fuel the fun. It was often coined as a “drug supermarket”.

Lord Michael was one of the club’s promoters who introduced ecstasy and the 140 beats per minute techno to the New York City club scene from London. It was crazy to learn that ecstasy was legal in the United States until 1996. Ecstasy revolutionized club culture. It was a cleaner drug that was used to create a fun-loving atmosphere. The pills were mixed into a garbage pail of punch and booze and was passed into the crowd from the dj booth (pike punch’s predecessor?). Also pills were literally tossed into the crowd who had their mouth’s wide open. Yummy. Together ecstasy and techno was a recipe for fun. Even Moby claims that some of his music is inspired by spending too many nights at the Limelight.

            Techno wasn’t the only popular genre, rap had its place at the Tunnel. Artists like Snoop Dogg and Puff Daddy, which was his name at the time, would perform for free because they loved the clubs so much. Seeing the gritty film from these clubs and recognizing those artists faces, along with those of Lil Wayne and a young, chubby 50 Cent was interesting for me to watch. It showed moments in club life that I doubt could be recreated.

The enigmatic Gatien’s, “single, cool watchful eye looks over it all”. He knew how to throw a party and I still notice some of his innovations in today’s clubs. Someone in a chickensuit would dance and mingle with the crowd at Limelight, similarly to LIV’s Goofy suit or the LIV robot. History has a tendency to repeat itself and its undeniably embracing the rave scene again. It seems that glowsticks and sunglasses are everywhere; however I don’t see anybody else daring enough to play “What’s My Line?” where contestants snort lines of white powder and guess what it is. The winner is whoever is the last one standing. Regardless, we need to party like its 1989!

The film’s trippy style mixed with gritty club videos commanded my attention. I could not believe how people were able to party, and I don’t see history repeating itself on such a grand level. Now Gatien’s Palladium in an NYU dormitory and Limelight is a mini mall, is this progress?

 Before college I wanted to stay as far from my parents as possible. I didn’t want to go to the movies with them.  I didn’t want to watch Dancing With the Stars with them.  I didn’t even want to eat dinner with those people.  But now….things are WAY different. I love when family comes to visit. When they’re in Miami I get a break from my college survival mode and get to enjoy their company rather than avoiding them like I had for so many years. Hearing how much I’m  missed, and how much I’m loved beats the constant nagging to go clean my room, do my homework, or not wake up the whole house when I come home at night. 

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