INDIEblush September 2014

September 2014

Robbie Jeffers Photographer of Musicians, Skateboarding Legends, and Streets.

A Date with “Dateless”.

Behind The Scenes with Oscar Benjamin

INSIDE: Shannon McCabe: Vamptress with a Heart of Gold From Marine to Model: Melissa LaRue

Oh, Susanna!

From India: The Bell Ringers of Bollywood Techno-Fashion: What’s Next?

Cover Story:

In photo above: Jesse Cale, Ohio Shot by Robbie Jeffers

20 Questions with Robbie Jeffers, Photographer GUEST FEATURE: The Bell Ringers of Bollywood

70

10

OH SUSANNA!

An interview with Susana Shkrabak

by David Alvarez

74

Shannon McCabe: Vamptress with a Heart of Gold

103

Profile: 82 Melissa LaRoue From Marine to Model

by Christina Marie

Features 62 From Guest Writer Oscar Benjamin: A Date with the “Dateless� Crew

In every issue: Fashion: Techno-Fashion

by Adrielyn Christi

100

Travel: Regional Wine Maps 104

www.INDIEblush.com for more INDIE!

Thank you for your readership! All stories and reprints used with permission. All rights reserved. Some advertising content used for sample purposes only. Please direct any questions or comments to our website above.

Editor: Christina Marie; Contributing Staff: Shane Maus; Staff photography: Quroscuro, Shane Maus; Proofing: Kimberly Lucero

Coming to a gallery near you

A CMmedia/Quroscuro Collaboration Fall 2014

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R o b b i e Je f f e r s

& 20

Questions

~Christina Marie When speaking on the phone with Robbie Jeffers, one would think he’s just another Huntington Beach kid at heart. His easy demeanor and understated way commands attention, as it should. Within this humble man lies an immense talent. He has shot the biggest names, been published in Rolling Stone Magazine, and has wowed Japan with snapshots of his son. Everything in this photo essay was shot on film except 3 images where noted.

With images of Bono, Clapton, and other mega-stars in his repetoire, I asked him why he selected these particular photos to be shared with INDIEblush. He responded with,

“I just picked the pictures that I liked...the ones that made me excited.” ....and now 20 questions:

1.

What kind of photographer are you-do you specialize?

I don’t specialize in any particular kind of shooting. I prefer portraits and street photography.

Narita International Airport, Japan

Richard Mulder, Shot for Stussy Ad.

Mikey Dread, Record Producer

2.

Who is your inspiration when shooting?

The biggest inspiration is usually my ipod. Music inspires me more than anything or anyone.

3.

What is your favorite format to work in? I prefer Medium format. It’s fun not knowing right away if you got the shot until it is processed.

4.

Favorite photo editing software and why?

5.

Favorite camera gear for stills/motion pictures and why?

The standard photoshop is great. It is very powerful when shooting digital.

I have many “favorite� cameras: Right now it is my Contax 645, last month it was my Hasselblad, and the month before that it was my Leica M6. I love the Fm2 and other analog cameras. But the three I mentioned are so good.

Stephen Kenn, Furnature Designer

Seal Beach, CA

6.

What is a day like with Robbie Jeffers?

A day with me is all over the place. I get up and get my kids ready for school, then go to the photo lab. Usually it ends with me sitting at my computer or light box editing photos (not real exciting to be honest).

7.

What is your “Dream Gig”?

8.

What do you love best about shooting?

A dream gig for me is to be able to shoot interesting things and get paid for it. Most of the good paying gigs lately have been extremely boring. Last week was a great gig. I was in Colorado for two weeks, shooting my son for a Japanese clothing line. It was supposed to be four days… but it turned into two weeks. Tons of complications, but that is what makes it fun.

I love getting lost in the moment. Not letting the technical rubbish get in the way and just capturing whatever comes out. I don’t like pre-production shoots. Many times that gets in the way of being creative and the flow of things. Maybe that’s why I was horrible in school.

Silas Jeffers

This page and next: Airport Graveyard, Lancaster

9.

When editing photos what do you focus on?

Creating a work of art or keeping it natural?

I learned on film, so I prefer to keep things as natural as possible. Photoshop is great, but it can get in the way at times. I’m not as well versed as I should be with it.

Otherwise I might go too crazy with it, I’m sure.

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot at The Wiltern, Los Angeles

10. Who is the most famous person you have ever shot?

Christian Hosoi, Pro Skateboarder, Huntington Beach (Digital Image)

Steve Olson, Pro Skateboarder (Digital image)

Sean Cimino, Foster The People, Downtown Los Angeles

The most famous person(s) I have shot are mostly musicians: Bono, James Hetfield, Mark Foster‌ etc. The guys in U2 where surprisingly down to earth.

Very polite and easy to work with.

Tyler The Creator, Odd Future

The streets of Tokyo, Japan these two pages.

11. What is the biggest show you have participated in?

I would have to say the show in Japan last February. It went over very well and it travelled to many different locations in Japan. Really fun to be a part of.

12.

Do you have any regrets with your career?

No regrets on my end.

13.

Tell us about Japan?

Shibuya Stadium, Tokyo, Japan

Japan is one of my favorite places. The people are incredible and Tokyo is such a great city to walk with a camera and shoot. Colors are incredible and so much history there. They keep it so clean I really enjoy Japan.

Delivery Man, Tokyo, Japan

Guard, Century Towers, Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo, Japan

Narita, Japan

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo, Japan Shibuya Stadium, Tokyo, Japan

14. Tell us about the brands you shoot?

Silas Jeffers for Stussy this page and next.

I have shot for: Nike, Stussy, Oliver Peoples, XLarge, RVCA, and many other skate brands and clothing companies.

Eric Dressen, Pro Skateboarder, for Stussy Ad.

Lance Mountain, Pro Skateboarder, for Stussy Ad.

15.

Do you have a favorite model to shoot?

Silas Jeffers for Stussy Ads this page and next.

My favorite model...

by far, is my son.

School House 1888, Aspen, CO

Silas at the School House 1888, Aspen, CO

Sunset Beach, CA

16.

De La Soul, Costa Mesa, CA

What are you working on now that you can divulge?

Currently, I am working on a Stussy Japan shoot as we speak.

I have a project with De La Soul that I have been working on.

Talking with a very cool eye wear company called SALT and a future project.

De La Soul, Pack Bay, CA (As seen in Rolling Stone Magazine 2013)

Richard Mulder, Pro Skateboarder

17.

What’s more fun for you: stills or video?

Video is fun, but stills, I prefer. I get more satisfaction out of it for some reason.

Crystal Mill, Boulder, CO

18.

Where do you see your self in five years?

50 years old.

13 Panel 1953 Airstream Trailer, Aspen, CO

Nick, shot in Columbus, Ohio

19. Have you ever experienced a limitation in your art?

Steve Olson (Digital Image)

Lance Moountain, Pro Skateboarder/ Artist

I don’t believe I have hit any major limitations or road blocks.

Merry-Go-Round, Aspen, CO

Lance Mountain for Stussy Ad Campaign

Keith Hufnagel, Owner of Huf, with Lance Mountain

20.

What kind of photographer do you want to become? A

good one.

Jesse Cale, Ohio

A Date with the Dateless Crew Oscar Benjamin

Kickstarter has an amazing track record of projects that have successfully come to fruition, that range from high profile films such as Veronica Mars, to little known ventures such as the Ouya video game console. A proposed television series entitled Dateless may just be another in a long line of ventures that capture the imagination and love of the public. It was successfully funded and production began in the beginning of 2014. I was invited to spend a day on the set of the pilot for the television series by Line Producer, Arlene Barshinger in a secret office location within the city of Fairfield, California.

Dateless started as an idea that originated with series creator, Laura Bendixsen, based solely on her own experiences as a professional

matchmaker. I talked to Laura about her idea for further clarification. Bendixsen comments; “It was a great job and a great career. I was a matchmaker for fourteen years. I put together hundreds of couples and have many, many children born to couples that I matched, which was great! It was a really fulfilling career.” Laura adds, “but the craziness that would happen now and then was just so funny so I filed it in the back of my head. I was great at matching people, but I was never great at picking for myself. That is part of the humor in the T.V. show because we have incorporated the way I personally was into this whole show.”

When Laura Bendixsen was a matchmaker, she was also an actress living in Los Angeles.

Around the year 2008, she received inspirational advice from a rather well known friend. Bendixsen recalls, “I had a very good friend named Mickey Dolenz whom many may remember from the group, The Monkees.

He and I used to go out to dinner about once a week and I would just get some information from him, and it was great. One day he told me that ‘you have to do your own thing’. I kind of had everything in my head, but he said that I needed to put it down on paper.”

Laura continues, “I wrote down all of the character and all of the explanations, definitions and personalities, and brought it to Mickey the next week. He told me it was genius and he said I had something and I needed to do it!” One could essentially say that Mickey Dolenz is the godfather of Dateless which prompted Laura to chuckle. Bendixsen smiles and states, “Mickey Dolenz

is the godfather and that is hysterical! Sadly we haven’t stayed in touch, but I would love for him to know that I am doing this!”

Funding a project through Kickstarter can be an emotional rollercoaster, as Laura Bendixsen was quick to discover for herself. Laura states, “It was crazy! Obviously I didn’t have the funds to put together a project of this magnitude. I put together a video for Kickstarter, but getting out the word and asking people for money is so horrible! I have so many good friends and some of my family pitched in and we got two of our executive producers, Tony and Carlos who helped quite a bit! Whether it was a dollar or three thousand dollars we were so grateful to everyone because everything got us one step closer to doing this.”

“I had a very good friend named Mickey Dolenz whom many may remember from the group, The Monkees...”

Line Producer, Arlene Barshinger proved to be a pivotal and important force that was credited by the crew and Laura for keeping the production running smoothly. During my visit to the set, it was plainly evident that her ability was on par to put together a team of professionals with one goal in mind; that of delivering a polished product that could lead to a television series. One of the most accomplished professionals that she drafted for the Dateless pilot was director Josh Hodgins. Hodgins is a well-known and celebrated independent producer, director, actor and writer whose business base is located in the state of Washington. Josh Hodgins took a break from directing to talk to me about his contribution to Dateless.

Hodgins speaks, “I am friends with Arlene Barshinger, and I have worked with her a couple of times also.

She knew Laura, so originally I was going to come to direct it, but as we got to know each other I began to do a little bit more.”

Josh clarifies, “we took over some of the writing and restructured this a little. Laurelle Martin and her partners did the heavy lifting in terms of writing, but we have guided them a little. We took over the primary production and then we are also going to run the distribution.” What is Josh Hodgins vision for Dateless? Hodgins responds, “It is a dramedy. It has a lot of heart and comedy, but to me, the message that we are trying to send is that we have all been in the same situation as our main character Amanda, where we are always the bridesmaid and never the bride. There is a lot of heartbreak in the fact that she is a wonderful person who can’t find happiness.” Josh Hodgins has brought his time tested talent as a professional director to Dateless, and he also delivers his knowledge and insights of the entertainment business. The pilot for Dateless is meant to attract the attention of a network for a possible television show at a national level. Josh comments, “I think the first step is to go see if you

can get the big boys to bite, because the infrastructure is there and it is just easier. We have actually gone the route in the past of doing independent television distribution and we have had a lot of success that way, so we are not shy about doing that as well.” Josh Hodgins concludes our discussion with a touching and wonderfully beautiful statement. Hodgins speaks, “Dateless is for the bridesmaids, and it’s for all these women that are amazing and that sit at home that men don’t realize what qualities they have. I think that the women will identify with the characters and the men will identify with the jokes.”

As I was observing the filming of Dateless, I was immediately impressed by what a welloiled machine the crew turned out to be considering that many of them had not worked with each other on any other production.

The funds raised to film Dateless were stretched to capacity as The funds raised for Dateless were stretched to capacity as Line Producer, Arlene Barshinger made sure to cover necessities on the set that ranged from having security present, in the form of the very professional services provided by Ronald Nakamoto, to the excellent meals that were available to the crew. The enthusiasm and the raw excitement were quite palpable and quite infectious, also as the cast and crew was evidently aware that they might have ‘lightning in a bottle’ with Dateless.

Dateless stars Lindsay Witter, Aaron Bennett, Pamela Kahele, Pamela Finney, Veronica Bruno, Dennis Harris, Jacquelyn Howard and David Peters. It is a story set in an office environment about a matchmaking business run by a woman who has problems finding a perfect individual for herself. The story revolves around the characters that populate the office, and the situations that are created from matching people for love and happiness.

It is a premise that is ripe for potential humor and heartbreaking pathos. It is a premise

“...the message that we are trying to send is that we have all been in the same situation as our main character, Amanda, where we are always the bridesmaid and never the bride.”

that might intimidate many writers because the potential for false levity and rather seemingly unrealistic interactions between characters does exist. As I continued to observe the filming, I was impressed by the authentic delivery

by Lindsay Witter and David Peters in a scene being filmed that also will give the viewing public subtle insight into their respective characters. It should be noted that even the best actors will be unable to convince an audience of their authenticity if the dialogue that was written for them has a hollow ring to it. I was led to the main writer of the pilot whose name is Laurelle Martin and the conversation we had proved to be wonderfully irreverent and sometimes-provocative.

How does a stand-up comedian become a

writer on Dateless? Laurelle Martin was quick and pleased to respond. Martin speaks, “I am a stand-up comedian, and I was approached by Laura Bendixsen to write for her show, Dateless. We worked on a project that was called ‘Is it Normal or Not?’ I was the brunette on the stairs!” It was obvious that Laurelle loves to be playful, so after much laughter she continued. Laurelle speaks, “she asked me to write and she told me to find other writers also, so I found Leo Zuniga and Derek Bishop and we wrote the series, Dateless. We were there from the beginning to now.” Laurelle details the differences between writing stand-up material and material for a show that combines drama and comedy. Martin clarifies, “writing for comedy on stage is completely different from

comedy writing for a sitcom. Writing for a show is more about the story than less about the jokes so Josh Hodgins and Karyn Lamb helped bring that in.” Laurelle provides further story details about Dateless. Martin speaks, “we are writing from a perspective of an adult single woman who has been through a lot of stuff. We can also bring in characters that are sometimes ridiculous but there is a lot of realness to them as well.” Writers often have a particular audience in mind and advertisers that sometimes finance productions will make suggestions to fashion a show towards a certain demographic. I wondered if Laurelle and her team were writing with any group in mind. She smiled and responded, “we are trying to reach a broader audience than just women, but our target audience is pretty much people in their 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. It is written to be funny enough for anyone to enjoy. We do not have a specific demographic we are shooting for, but women in their 30’s who are single will be able to relate to it quite a bit.”

Laurelle humorously adds, “as well as other single people who are struggling to navigate the disgusting and horrific world of dating.”

Dateless wrapped in early 2014 and was immediately placed in post-production. Although there is no concrete date set on either a crew screening or a public premiere, I was assured by creator, Laura Bendixsen that a screening would happen soon. There is a trailer that is available for viewing on the Facebook page for Dateless at https://www. facebook.com/datelesstheseries.

The trailer is polished, funny and rather touching at different points throughout and there is high confidence based on the material and the cast and crew involved that this pilot might be the beginning of an actual television series, and that it will be a hit with viewers. Whatever the outcome may be the individuals behind the pilot can be justifiably proud of what they have created and how truth in life is many times stranger than fiction.

~Oscar Benjamin

“Writing for comedy on stage is completely different from comedy writing for a sitcom.�

Johnny Baweja & Reeth Mazumder

The Bell Ringers of Bollywood

All photos this page & next courtesy of Johnny Baweja & Reeth Mazumder

Let’s Ring The Bell Productions was formed in the year 2011 in Mumbai, India. It was established by young and enterprising entrepreneurs Reeth Mazumder and Johnny Baweja. They wanted to take the concept of Independent film making to a different level by building a reputation of excellence, innovation and creativity. They did this by bringing together technicians and talents from all over the world on a common platform.

Reeth and Johnny gets extremely nostalgic when you ask them how it all started.

Every journey comes with many stories.

Behind the bricks of, Let’s Ring The Bell, it started with the journey of two individuals and soon turned into a house of many story tellers.

On the other hand, Johnny was growing up in a perfect business family of pharmaceuticals and film makers. Being born in the state of Punjab, his imagination and love for cinema had always been colourful, romantic and eccentrically commercial.

Reeth was born in the land of literature, in a family of novelists, lawyers and film-editors in West Bengal, India. Being born in a Bengali family, her childhood was an outcome of literature, dance dramas, music, poetry by Rabindranath Tagore, and films by Satyajit Ray.

All photos this page and next courtesy of Johnny Baweja & Reeth Mazumder

Two individuals from two different corners of the nation with just one thing in common: their love for “CINEMA”.

In 2011, Johnny and Reeth teamed up together and started, “Let’s Ring The Bell Productions”. By the end the same year, they started shooting for their first English feature film “SWEN”. The film garnered a very good name in the International Festival Circuit in 2012.

After producing their first feature film, they realized their potential strength in “Line Production”, so they ventured into line producing National and International projects.

In 2014, they produced their second feature film titled “Nainital Diaries”. This was their

fist step into the Bollywood film fraternity.

Let’s Ring The Bell is branching out with a growing team based from different countries from around the world. The team provides the experience and required expertise to deliver as the Creative Lead of a particular project or simply execute production as required.

They now offer nationwide production support for International Production Companies shooting in India.

The production house is concentrating on their services on International projects. From pre-production to post-production, from concept development to casting requirements, from line-production, to execution, from National to International talent promotion.

They are ready to put things in action.

To learn more of how they, “Ring The Bell....” you can see:

www.LetsRingTheBell.com

Article Courtesy of Johnny Baweja

Oh, Susanna!

An interview with Susanna Shkrabak

By David Alvarez - All photos by David Alvarez unless noted otherwise

Sacramento has been experiencing a large growth in the fashion industry during the past few years. Designers, hair stylists, makeup artists, photographers and others in the industry have been showcasing their talent and now, I believe, The Sacramento Region can compete with other cities including Los Angeles.

life make for a great human interest story. The interview that follows gives an inside look at what drives model Susanna Shkrabak.

Q: Where are you from Susanna?

A: I’m originally from Ukraine, Vinnitsa. I came to the United States when I was four years old.

A large influx of Russians into Sacramento has also helped the fashion industry grow as designers and models showcase their talents on the runway and print.

Q: Since you were such a young child do you remember anything about where you came from?

Recently I spoke to one of these beautiful and talented models who can be seen in many fashion shows (such as SAC Fashion Week and others). Susanna Shkrabak, besides being a model, has been involved in acting, beauty pageants and is also a Registered Nurse.

Q: Have you gone back there?

Songwriter, musician, singer and guitarist Juliana Hatfield once said, “If you want to achieve things in life, you’ve just got to do them, and if you’re talented and smart, you’ll succeed.”

Susanna is not only a beautiful person, inside and out, but is very goal oriented and once she’s achieved a goal she’s immediately ready for the next challenge. Several of her goals she has set for herself deal with helping others and I’m sure she will succeed in whatever she wants to tackle.

Susanna’s outgoing personality and positive outlook in

A: Specifically the last memory I have is of my grandma’s house.

A: I haven’t been back yet and with the whole commotion going on right now I’m not sure. Actually I’m desperate to go back there and see my home town just in case things do change or if it gets renovated in any way.

Q: So do you consider yourself Russian or Ukrainian?

A: I consider myself both, actually a Russian, Ukrainian and American. My mom is full Russian and my dad is full Ukrainian and I was born in Ukraine.

Q: When you came to the United States did your family come directly to Sacramento?

A: We actually first came to San Diego. However my other family members that had already come to the United States were already in Sacramento. We ended up traveling up the coast to northern California and finally located in Sacramento.

Q: Let’s switch subject and let me ask you about modeling. How long have you been modeling?

A: I have been modeling since I was 16 years old. Back in high school I thought that it was a really good hobby for me. I enjoyed doing it. When I went to college I kind of left modeling for a while. When I was graduating I started modeling again.

Q: Where did you go to school?

A: I went to Encina Preparatory High School here in Sacramento. I went to Sacramento State University for college.

Q: When you are modeling do you prefer fashion shows, runway or shoots?

A: I am very neutral I enjoy it all. I don’t want to classify myself as just a model or just a runway model. I enjoy them all and I’ve had good feedback.

Q: What runway shows have you done?

A: I’ve done a lot with Sacramento Fashion Week. I’ve done Sacramento Fashion several years already. I was introduced to that show by a friend who had already done it Susan Romanishin and also Miss Russian California 2013 Liliya Karavan. I’ve been involved in Sacramento Fashion Week ever since.

Q: Who are some of the designers you’ve walked for?

A: I’ve walked for Felix Rodionov, Vasily Vein, I have a list of so many but besides designers I’ve also walked for several local boutiques that I really love because I’m all about supporting local Sacramento businesses.

I’ve walked for Heart Boutique, Denim Spot and many

others.

Q: What does modeling do for you, and do you remember how you got started?

A: I think my love for electronics might have led me into the whole modeling industry. As a child I grew up always loving to take pictures. I had a portable Polaroid camera and my mom would always be mad at me because I always wasted the Polaroids and they were expensive back then. I loved taking pictures and after taking pictures of everything else I wanted to be in front of the camera. So when I got a little bit older I felt good being in front of the camera. People gave me good feedback saying I was photogenic and that’s how it all got started.

Q: Do you yourself have a camera?

A: I do. I got a present from a really dear friend it’s a Nikon D3200. I like taking landscape or scenic pictures and also of people. I do have my toys as well.

Q: How far would you like to pursue a modeling career? Would you give up nursing if there was an opportunity?

A: That’s such a hard question. I love nursing. Nursing is definitely a calling for me it’s not a hobby, it’s a career. I don’t think just anybody can be a nurse. I cannot give up that career because that’s my passion but I love modeling because it’s fun and if it takes me far I think I can do both. I’m a good multitasker and I feel like I’ve been doing it for a while. I think I can balance work and fun. To me modeling is a hobby and it’s fun.

Q: Are you currently with an agency or are you freelance?

A: I’m actually a freelancer, independent right now.

I’ve thought about being with an agency. I’ve had people approach me about it but right now I don’t have problems finding people to shoot with. Right now I

don’t see the necessity to be with an agency. Maybe down the line if I wanted to be a model in L.A. or New York, something bigger maybe I will contract with an agency. I don’t have a problem being with an agency.

Right now I like being independent and choosing who I want to shoot with and what I want to shoot.

Q: Let’s go to acting, you just did a Fashion on Film short film called Freakquency. How did you get involved with that?

A: It was such a random connection. I walked and modeled for Nelli Rosh and her designs were used in the movie Freakquency. They wanted to use some of her dresses for the movie and she randomly calls me the day before they were filming and she asked me ‘can you be one of the models’? I said why not?

I would love to act. I’ve previously done a lot of plays in high school and a little bit in college and I had drifted away from that. This gave me the opportunity to get back into acting. I went to the filming of the Freakquency film and it fit my schedule perfectly. It all went great everything fit perfectly and it was fun.

Q: Did you have a speaking part?

A: Kind of, I had a screaming part.

I was one of the models that died on the runway show. It was ironic that I was in a runway on the show and ended up dying in it.

Q: What do you think was the best part of doing that film?

A: I think it was getting to know a lot of people. Matt Salvo, the director of Freakquency, is amazing. He’s so passionate so energetic, he’s going to go far I’m pretty sure. Meeting the crew, meeting all the actors and just getting involved. They opened up a different pathway for me. I’ve been in modeling and runway but here I am acting now so I thoroughly loved it.

Q: Was Freakquency the first and only time you’ve

done film?

A: In Sacramento yes. Oh yes, I also had a part in another Fashion on Film. I was in Igor Kondrya’s ‘Breathe Out’ film as well.

Q: Okay let’s talk about nursing. I think that’s probably the most fascinating thing I find about you. A lot of people have a passion for fashion. Do you have a passion for nursing? Can you tell me more about what brought you to the nursing field?

A: I do have a passion for fashion and I have a bigger passion for nursing. Definitely helping people I think is the major reason. As I mentioned previously it’s a calling. I don’t think anybody can just go to school become a nurse and stick with nursing. It’s definitely a calling and it’s stressful at times and it takes a lot of energy.

My choice to become a nurse was concrete in high school but I’ve always wanted to pursue medicine. I’ve always been fascinated by medicine. I remember being five and playing doctor or nurse with all my neighborhood friends and treating the smaller kids. I remember a funny story, I actually gave one of the kids, a toddler, a really bad rash. I mixed a bunch of lotions together pretending it was medication I just remember treating my little patients. So I put this lotion that I put together with a bunch of my mom’s hand creams and other lotions that I put on this little kid. I remember his mom was really upset because she came to my mother and complained about the really bad rash. It ended up being okay but it was fun making all those medications.

I’ve always had a passion for medicine and in high school I knew I wanted to be a nurse. I was in a doctor’s preparatory program in high school. An overachiever, I’m a big perfectionist. I was also given the opportunity to intern at a local general hospital in the emergency room and I fell in love with it. I volunteered there for two years and I fell in love with the nursing staff there. I loved seeing the doctors’ aspect of

their careers and what they did but I really loved that the nurses were at the patients bedside. They were the ones that were pretty much the bridge between everyone. They were the bridge between patients, therapists, doctors, psychiatrists and pretty much everybody went through the nurses. Nurses were the ones who were there with the patients the whole time when they were emotionally broken down by their health issues and when they just needed someone to sit with them.

The nurses were always the ones who were there. Doctors were just prescribing orders and treating some of these processes but the nurses are there to deliver the care.

Straight out of high school I went to college where my mind was set on nursing. So here I am.

Q: What type of training do you need to become a nurse. Tell me about how you went about it.

A: Nursing is a two year program. My approach, which is the typical approach to a nursing program, is that you go to a university or college and you’ll do your general education. You then apply to the program once you’ve completed the required courses and preferably after you’ve completed your general education. Once that’s done you can apply to the program which is a two year program at Sac State. Other programs can be accelerated programs which take about 18 months or something like that. After the 2-year program you graduate.

Q: After you graduated where and when did you start your Register Nurse program?

A: I graduated from Sac State but I was actually hired before I graduated. I was hired at the UC Davis Center because my last rotation there, which was my clinical experience, helped me get noticed. I fell in love with that particular department floor. I’m in surgical specialties right now. It has an amazing view as well and it’s very therapeutic for the patients as well. I fell in love with the unit and here I am they hired me.

Q: Anybody else in your family in the medical field A: Not directly, my older sister is a nutritionist. She graduated with me at Sac State in nutrition. She does want to pursue nursing. She sees how rewarding the career has been for me and she’s actually thinking about it.

Q: What degree did you acquire at Sac State?

A: It was Nursing but I had a minor in Russian and a minor in Psychology. So as you can tell everything is medically related. I’ve been passionate about Psychology. I recently saw a movie about the fact that we only use 10% of our brain. What’s wrong with us? How can we use the other 90%? Who knows maybe down the road I might go back to school and get a Psychology Degree.

Q: You’re involved in pageants as well. You participated in Miss Russia California last year. Can you tell me how that went?

A: It was an amazing experience. I came about it unexpectedly.

Pageantry had never come to my mind before. A lot of things come unexpectedly and I’m very spontaneous. I like to try new things I like to get involved. So Susan Romanishin encouraged me to compete and I did. It was an amazing experience. I made a lot of great friends. The girls were amazing, I learned so much about myself and what else I want to do in life.

Q: So that was in 2013. In 2014 are you going to be involved in the Miss Sacramento County Pageant?

A: Yes I am! I’m actually an official contestant for the Miss Sacramento County Pageant that will be held on September 28. Eight days after my birthday so I’m excited and I have big hopes that I can make a difference and make a big change.

Q: What are the similarities between modeling and

pageantry?

A: I see similarities. When doing photo shoots you’re expected to be pampered, you have your hair curled, big hair, fake eyelashes, crazy makeup and so that’s what you do in pageantry as well. You’re out there performing in a beautiful gown and having hair and makeup artists working on you. Modeling is also like acting I think, it’s a way of expressing yourself.

It doesn’t necessarily need to be beauty, something creative even like Gothic and dark. It can be different and that’s what I love about modeling it’s acting in its own way.

Q: Going back to Miss Russia California did you win an award?

A: I won the Miss Congeniality title and I was voted as Youth Ambassador 2014. It’s an honor for me specially because the other contestants voted for me.

Q: I know you probably don’t have much free time, but if you do, what is it that you like to do?

A: Believe it or not I do have free time. I like to occupy my time with different things like volunteering, having fun with my girlfriends and I do compete in volleyball tournaments I really love that a lot.

I’ve been playing volleyball since high school. I’ve played since I was little but competitively since high school. Those are some of the things I do enjoy doing.

Q: What about music? What type of music do you like?

A: I’m a traditionalist. I listen to a lot of Russian music, a lot of Russian Pop. I’m big on keeping updated in what’s going on in the Russian/Ukrainian world of music. I love different music. Sometimes I find myself stuck in the 80s. I wasn’t even born in the 80s but I absolutely love that kind of music, it touches my soul.

I don’t know I probably should have been born in the 80s. I have Pandora and I love it I can just put in an age era and enjoy that.

Q: What projects do you have coming up next?

A: You know I really want to get more involved with Blue Heart International, a non-profit organization that supports trying to stop human trafficking.

They pretty much aim to help victims or those that have been rescued. A lot of the time many who are rescued they have been hurt more than physically.

Their mental health also suffers so they might find themselves becoming homeless, drug addicts or other things. Even though they’re rescued their pathway of life doesn’t necessarily change from when they were captured. This organization helps people find jobs, a home and tries to help them get back on their feet where they are more functional in the world.

I think it’s an amazing organization that helps citizens become aware of human trafficking here in Sacramento. When I was doing my internship for public health I interned there when I was still in nursing school. There I came across this research that showed that Sacramento is a hub for human trafficking and we’re not aware of it. As I researched I found that there is a big gap when rescuing these individuals and providing them with a normal life, or as much as possible to have a normal life after being rescued.

Q: How did you learn about that?

A: I actually met Missy McCall who is a co-founder and Executive Director of the organization here in Sacramento at a Capitol reception that I helped host with the Russian Times. After meeting her I was stoked and wanted to be involved in the organization.

I think that would help me achieve the biggest goal I have now which is to become more involved with them.

Q: I think I saw you riding a motorcycle once. Do you ride? What kind of bike do you have? How long have you been riding?

A: Yes, you’ll probably see me riding around Sacramento a lot. I’ve been riding since college. As you can imagine parking in college sucks. It’s bad parking at Sac State specially around the beginning and end of each semester. When you have a motorcycle you don’t stay in traffic long. I love it. It brings out the adrenaline junkie side of me. I love the craziness. I’m traumatized of bicycles too so I find myself very cautious on them. I also see a lot of many sad and unfortunate situations at work that remind me every time to be extra careful when I’m riding.

Actually I don’t own my own bike right now. I’m in the process of buying one and I’m researching. I’d really like to get a Harley Davidson.

I really, really want one and one of my co-workers has one and she’s been pushing me and I always go riding with her. Since I don’t own my own bike I borrow one from my friend or my brother.

Q: Is there anything you are looking forward to accomplishing that you haven’t done yet?

A: Yes, I have so many goals but I’m still young and I can still accomplish other things.

I always wanted to start an organization. One of my long lingering goals is to start an orphanage. It’s something that I’ve been thinking about since I was in high school. It’s a drive in me and it’s something I want to achieve. It’s a passion I think.

I believe this started when I was in church when we went on a mission trip to Ukraine. They dealt with a lot of orphanages there with many homeless children and helping them. I can’t always travel to Ukraine unfortunately but I found they did an amazing thing over there. They built a church in Ukraine that helped orphan children. The children were provided food and shelter and most importantly brought them to God. I thought that was amazing and I asked myself why

can we not do that here? I know there’s homeless people here including children.

That’s been a lingering passion of mine. I always wanted to start an organization that helped them or provide shelter for them. It’s a big goal and that’s something that I really want to achieve. With time I think I can achieve this and we have to remember that kids are our future.

Q: What’s a typical day for Susanna?

A: It varies, it’s different and I partially like that it’s so different. When I’m working I prefer to work three days in a row. I only work three days a week leaving me with four days to do whatever I want.

A typical work day will consists of three consecutive work days where I go to work at night. Typically I leave my house at six in the evening and I work until seven in the morning. I then come home and I sleep. I sleep during the day and work at night.

I’ll wake up around one or two in the afternoon do a few things and go back to sleep for about an hour before I go to work again.

During my days off, I say that I live a double life because I refuse to sleep sometimes and I’m so active during the day. So I do different things sometimes I go out and play volleyball, get together with my girlfriends and sometimes I go volunteer.

Sometimes I’ll go meet up with people like you and have a photo shoot like we did recently at the lake.

That’s always fun to do or schedule something in advance. I like to keep my schedule busy.

I want to do more acting now. I really loved it Q: Who inspires you?

A: A lot of people inspire me in different ways. For the longest time, growing up, it was Oprah Winfrey. She inspired me because of her background. She grew up in poverty and she became somebody. She’s making

a difference in her life. I remember watching Oprah when I was a little kid and thought of her as my role model.

I want to make a change just like she does. She inspired me through high school and through college.

I’ve also been inspired by the founder of modern nursing Florence Nightingale. She inspired me because she challenged the odds. Back in her day nursing was considered a dirty job and nobody would do it. She challenged the odds becoming a nurse and made a big difference in nursing and here we are now. Without nurses we would be dire straits in today’s world. The medical industry relies on teamwork and without a nurse it would be missing a big key ingredient.

Q: What advice would you give young people looking into modeling or acting.

A: Definitely follow your passion. If you are passionate about modeling pursue it and get involved. Sacramento is great for a little town that outsiders consider us. We are very active specially in the modeling and acting industry.

There’s ways to get involved and it’s not as costly. I’ve never taken modeling or acting courses and there’s ways of getting involved without doing that. Sacramento makes that possible. I think that in bigger cities like L.A. and New York you’d have to. There’s people here in Sacramento who are willing to work with you if they see potential and they’ll get connected with photographers who all have their own style of shooting.

What I’ve learned is that you will take something away from every photographer and that will benefit you and will make you a better model or a better actress. So pursue your passion and get involved that’s kind of my motto step and think outside the box. It doesn’t hurt to meet people.

Q: Readers will want to know; are you single?

A: Oh my gosh, no I’m not single I’ve had a boyfriend for the past six years.

Q: If you could describe your love life in three words what would they be?

A: Exciting, spontaneous and teamwork. It’s been definite teamwork the past six years with my boyfriend. He’s my high school sweetheart and I don’t think I would have gotten past nursing without him.

He’s been there to help build who I am he’s been very supportive.

Q: What are your goals for the next five years?

A: I definitely want to improve my modeling and I want to take it to the next step. Maybe contract with an agency. I do want to take it further, I’m always learning things in modeling. That’s just the way it is.

If you’re static in anything, I believe, you’ve given up.

There are always ways to improve yourself.

I want to get better, I want to work with a lot of local photographers that I’ve heard great things about.

That’s my goal for modeling for the next five years.

For my career, I want to go back to school I want to obtain a master’s degree. That will happen in the next five years.

As far as acting it would be great to be the next person like in the Pretty Little Liars show. I watch Pretty Little Liars, I love that show but I’m kind of embarrassed about that because it’s a kiddie show. I love their outfits, whoever puts their outfits together I love them, they’re very cute and fashionable and they’re cute girls who would make great models.

That’s my goal. I want to end up on one of their shows.

I’ll be home here in Sacramento watching the show and I would be ‘yeah that’s me.’

Q: Have you ever thought about designing?

A: Designing? I love designing. I love putting things together. You know you’ve brought up a great idea.

I’m going to be working with local designers to show off their line but I’d like to consider your suggestion.

It’s a wonderful thought. Who knows I might start a new fashion design line. Five years is a long time you can do a lot in five years.

Q: When do you feel the happiest?

A: I feel the happiest being around people. I think I’m extroverted. It’s funny because when I studied this in college, as a freshman in college, I took a speech course. They talked about introverts and extroverts and I discovered I’m extroverted driven. I get my energy from people.

I love being around people. Meeting new people, I enjoy getting to know people. I believe every person out there has a story to tell. Sometimes we just look down the street and whether they’re homeless people or business owners wearing whatever they have, no matter what they look like they all have a story to tell. That drives me I like to know about them.

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

A: I’m not sure but they should all come to the Miss Sacramento County Pageant. That’s one thing that I’d really recommend and hope that people do come because it’s sort of new. This pageant just restarted I know that it was discontinued for a few years but now it has been restarted. This will be the second year since restarting and I would suggest people come out and support. I think it’s a great way for young females to get involved and they provide great training. It’s a good way to just get involved, get mentoring and grow as a person.

Susanna’s enthusiasm, lovely smile, demeanor and charisma are contagious and make her a very likable person.

However her beauty is much deeper than the obvious and as you talk to her you realize how committed she is to helping others as a nurse and the humanitarian projects she wants to embark on.

Who knows maybe we’ll be seeing Susanna on an episode of Pretty Little Liars one of these days. The goals she sets for herself are never out of reach.

Melissa Laroue: Interview with an Enigma.

All photos provided by Melissa Wortman All Rights Reserved, Credits listed where provided.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Melissa Laroue at one of my favorite coffee shops, “The naked Lounge,” in Downtown Sacramento while Shane Maus rolled camera for INDIEfunTV. While the beginning sounds like the middle, it’s not. She lives in the now. Melissa is not about her tattoos, her hot pink hair, or her modeling work. Only her words can define her insightfulness and strength as a Combat Veteran, Book Nerd, Chef, and-dare I say it? Feminist. I try to start with the conversational, but we got instantly into the “the deep end of the pool” with a woman who continues to impress me.

CM Tell me about your tattoos.

ML This was about two and a half hours worth of work (Keith of Sideshow Studios in Sacramento). I don’t know if you know who Michael Hussar is, but he does really weird, creepy artwork and they did a live show. I saw Keith’s work and that was exactly what I wanted. Starting on “With a gun-barrel between your teeth you only speak in vowels.” [Chuck Palahnuik, Fight Club] On the same side of my body (my right side) I have, “This is the arms race of sound, drop the melody line and shout the lyrics”, from [Chuck Palahnuik’s] book, “Lullaby”. I read all his books “Doom”, “Damned”, all the fantastic…

BOOK NERD! Yeah, I read a LOT. CM He’s your favorite author?

ML Most of them are from when I was in. I started my sleeves when I was out.

SM This one is all military but they are all toys… It’s rad!

ML My right sleeve is a military war scene, all in toys. I got army soldiers, Legos, the wind up tank, the paratroopers...

SM Old school, even this is old school. [Shane indicates toy paratroopers] ML The paratroopers you used to throw up in the air, that didn’t really work. I got help with the old school G.I. Joe ones, but I put bows on them because I am girly. This is the shark bullet, you know, the old school shark bullet… and then this is my favorite gun which is a 249 Saw, but I turned it pink.

CM A Hello Kitty Saw! ML My pirate Hello Kitty Saw, yeah….. So that’s my military theme one, and then I have a lot of creepy other items on me. Marie Antoinette, dead little girl, evil cupcake and I have an evil chef.

CM Evil chef…. I love it! Is that arsenic that she’s pouring in there?

ML Yesss... he just writes creepy, twisted novels.

Have you seen the movie “Choke” with Sam Rockwell?

ML Yeah… poison.

CM Not yet....

ML Oh, my mom use to call me Kitty Laroue, so that’s how I got Laroue for my stage name Melissa Laroue….. Kitty Laroue. Kitty Laroue just sounded too much like a porn star, so I didn’t use that.

ML It’s a really weird movie that they came out with but it was one of his books which is just, yeah… it’s weird… I like it.

CM Creepy?

ML I literally have the word, “creepy” tattooed on me. I just like weird stuff, I mean I have Marie Antoinette already beheaded, I have a dead little girl on my side.

SM How old are your tattoos? Are they all post military?

SM What’s kitty?

CM I like Melissa Laroue.

ML Sometimes I use that. Sometimes I don’t. Big WOW uses my actual last name, Wortman. Toy Con uses my faux last name. I really integrate them.

CM Multiple personalities. (Laughing) ML Not really.

“Until you serve, don’t say anything.”

CM Not that we know of! (Laughing) ML When I first started professional modeling you needed a name, and Wortman, wort man…. man wort….. not really appealing compared to fake French name Laroue……. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter, I’m the same person. The only reason I use Melissa Laroue is if there are photos that are too risqué, I will go with my modeling name just to keep that under its own brand.

CM I’m the same way. I’ve had people comment before if you want people to take you more seriously, maybe don’t post the implied topless photo on Facebook, and I’m like… Really?

CM The British celebrate the body, humorously. The French celebrate the natural earthiness of the body.

ML There’s such a stigma that we have to be so clothed in the U.S! Wear this, wear that. Women should be “proper”. When someone shows a little skin... it goes back to when you could only show your ankle.

CM Yeah, watch out (because ankles are ‘hawt’).

ML It’s still the same now.

Everybody is so afraid of the body that they don’t want to see it.

CM I would take it a step further and say just the feminine body because there’s men that workout in their shorts with their shirts off and it’s perfectly acceptable.

But if a woman would take her shirt off and be shoveling it’s, it’s....

ML You can still take someone seriously with that, it’s just people have got to understand that you want to push that envelope. It’s not good to be safe anymore. When I started modeling, I only did pinup and then realized, yeah that’s not really going to go anywhere. It can if you are just constantly on it and from the start become a famous pinup model, but you know... there’s only so many cheerful faces you can make.

CM Right! Only so many 1950’s Stepford-y faces you can do.

ML Point your toes, point your toes, point your toes. You can only do so much and then...you get tired of it and want to try something else.

CM Well, I agree with that… it’s just interesting, the notion a woman takes off her clothes, even a little bit of clothing, and all of a suddenly you can’t take her seriously. What the hell is that in society? I think it only exists in the United States, honestly.

ML Yeah, in Europe they welcome [nudity].

SM I think the problem is that it’s over-sexualized CM It IS hyper-sexualized!

But what lies in the very root of that problem is that Hyper sexualization is a sexist device really directed at girls.

ML We’re taught so young that we cannot, you know... you’re supposed to be a certain way and... you’re not allowed to see that stuff.

CM Yes. ML ...and it’s all social.

CM People don’t like to admit in America, but we live in a rape culture. Parents are terrified that their daughters will become a target of a wandering rapist’s eye. So, they cover it up, put it away, don’t attract anything, and then it becomes like this main stream…

thing...the beginnings of victim-blaming.

ML You won’t date till you’re 30! Well, that’s human nature too, though.

CM I agree.

ML But even Mama D (I consider her my surrogate mom), Her sons were my friends since elementary school- I’ve known her for 22 years. I came home from leave, or something and I was having chest pains and she said, “Did they pop?” And I said, “Even you? I didn’t get a boob job, Mama!”

ML Desensitize your children slowly like, “Heyit’s ok”, you know? I had a teacher in college, his name is Krishna, and he openly talks about sex with his young, young kids and he’s like, “If you get rid of that stigma, they’ll be healthy sexual adults and not have to worry about... ‘can’t see that!’”

CM Wow!

CM Boobies aren’t the Devil.

ML Especially in the industry of what I do. A lot of women get breast implants, just because, if you have bigger boobs, your stomach looks smaller.

ML Ooh porn... What’s so fancy about porn?

CM Take away the stigma and the taboo.

ML There’s no filter.

CM It would be nice if we were more like the BBC, where we could have naked comedy on TV. I would like to see more of that. It’s just hilarious-not sexual at all. In the U.S. we have so much cleavage in ads, but we’re not supposed see breastfeeding in public?

ML I recently ran into a friend from elementary school and one of the first things he said to me was ….. so, did you get a boob job?

CM Uh...what?

ML Everybody thinks I got breast implants.

CM Wow! The nerve.

ML I just gained weight. I’m a late bloomer.

CM I bloomed late too. I still was doing gymnastics all through my 20’s, but I did get more boob, and people were asking me too. What’s going on?

You pregnant? I’m like…. what?!? It’s crazy how people see your exterior and try to guess what’s inside instead of starting with what’s inside and not give a crap about the external.

ML She said, “I could have sworn you did”. I said, “You’re an ass……” She said, “I’m so sorry, I’ve known you all your life and you didn’t have those 5 years ago.”

CM Yeah…… you never know.

CM That’s why I stuff my bra when I wear certain outfits these days.

ML Oh we double bra it! Tricks of the trade…. we double bra it for photo shoots. (laughing) CM At 16 or 17 years old I was told crazy things by those working the bikini circuit. Bikini judges would say, “You’ve got a 9.5 ass, but no tits… go get some implants.” This was back when it was all silicone.

ML But you’re supposed to have no boobs at that physical fitness state.

CM I had a rock hard gymnast body. Of course my ass is going to go, “bang!”, but they were saying if you want to be a bikini model, you’ve got to have tits. I remember duct taping myself together, putting a stuffed bra under my bikini and literally trying to glue my bikini to the bra so you couldn’t see it. All this monstrosity of craziness and I’m looking in the mirror thinking, “I think they’ll by it.” Then you get down there, and you always have that snarky somebody who sees a little edge of tape or something and they call you out. Let’s get back on track. There are so many facets that are “you”. I just got a peek the other day (literally) when we did a shoot for #Dysphoria.

Maybe we should start there.

[For those reading, #Dysphoria is a nude photo project that is serving as a mission of awareness of all body types opening in galleries this Fall. The Dysphoria Project aims to end Body Image Dysphoria before it becomes Body Dysmorphic Disorder. For more information, and what’s trending search #Dysphoria on social media sites.]

CM First of all, how did you hear of #Dysphoria and second of all, why did you choose to participate?

ML I heard about it, obviously through social media. On FB, Instagram, and Twitter you have an outlet to connect with different people in the community and I’m a jack of all trades. But one of the things I do is model and I have been modeling for seven years (“professionally” for four) I’m actually getting hired and traveling and actually getting paid for it (instead of just Instagram… “Hi, I have a selfie”)! Well, when I started modeling, I was in the marines and that alone just... some of them were ok with it and [some were] like I don’t understand what you are doing, but...I’m still working on it now. I’m bigger. I am 160 lbs, 5’6”. Everything about me is real. I don’t have any adjustments. Nothing except tattoo’s and I have pink hair, but I am physically me. I workout, I eat healthy.

I’m just a different breed of women and I don’t get hired a lot, because of it.

C You’re saying because you’re not a size 0.

M I’m not a size 0.

C I’m looking at you right now and you look fantastic.

M I have to physically work on it. Selling myself to clothing lines, to commercialize myself. I have to actually work on it, I’m not just a pretty face. I was in a modeling group, I will not speak of, and a few times the big girls get scooted away, the thicker girls, but we’re not that thick. I’m a healthy size, whatever… ?

C To me you look like a Mesomorph, you’re right in the middle. You look like you do very well. You have a muscular tone to you.

M I’m built sturdy. My body changed, I was a size 0 when I graduated in high school and…. I was basically force fed to gain weight on a weight waiver because I was too small for [the Marines].

C Military has a size minimum?.

M I weighed 98 lbs 5’6” I’m a Marine Corps Combat Veteran and I suffer from PTSD. We are stigmatized to be, “crazy”, “messed up”, “can’t get back in society”, which is really hard because half the time, it’s work for us. It is work for us to get away from… “Hey, I’m military 24/7”. You’ve got to think a certain way, look a certain way and [some] don’t have a job. “I’m out of school... what do I do? How do I get myself a purpose again?”

I just graduated, I did my bachelors in 3 years, I work full time as a chef, I model, I’m on a TV show, I work comic book conventions. If I don’t keep myself busy, I’m afraid of what will happen.

CM So #Dysphoria is just another platform for you to raise awareness about body types and acceptance. Let’s talk about the PTSD: for veterans that come home with PTSD as well as fire fighters, police officers, emergency workers… there’s a peer pressure there. If you admit to having PTSD or any kind of mental health issue, all of a sudden, you’re the weird one, the crazy one, the outcast.

SM Or weak.

CM/ML Yeah weak.

ML Talking about it [is difficult] and having to seek help for it [can be a challenge].

CM How does the VA handle that?

ML Not very well.

CM Do you only get so many visits a counselor or…?

ML No, if you need it…I’m sorry…I’m still working on talking about it.

CM Just let me know if I’m going too far.

ML If you are hospitalized, they’ll help, but… you have to be basically, on your last straw... before they do anything.

CM Do you think it’s because they would rather sweep it under the rug and say, “No, we don’t have this issue” ?

ML They say that they don’t have the money for it, they don’t have the resources… I used to go but then I got so busy. I am hoping to start treatment again. It’s like a two month waiting period. I hurt my back not that long ago and I was supposed to see a back specialist about a chip being out in my back and they’re like, “Oh, that’ll take two months.”

CM The total healthcare… it’s not that great?

ML There is the backlog too, when you get your VA benefits it’s a year to two years [wait].

CM Wow!!

SM When I first heard about this, they had a 3 year backlog.

ML And it’s literally an act of Congress to even get that going. I got out a few months after I got back from Afghanistan and I used all my savings to move home. I was living couch to couch for a year, because I didn’t have money to get my own place. I had to wait for the VA to even start getting some benefits. They just don’t care.

Then they classify you with a certain group of people. I went in for something else and then they tried to change the reason why I have PTSD to something else… they want to push the blame on someone else.

CM It’s a liability thing. The U.S. government, I think, has invested in looking the other way when they think there is something wrong with their practices.

ML Uh-huh.

SM That’s not just a government thing, it’s an insurance thing. Anybody wants to try and push the liability to somewhere else, because they don’t want to have to pay for it themselves.

ML The professionals they hire don’t understand what we go through. A friend of mine started a program called “Combat to Clinic”. It basically bridges the gap of the waiting list to go to medical school, because we need people who served, in our VA system. Not just volunteers, but actual people who have gone through school, and they have been through it. That way they can help diagnose correctly. Every day we get false diagnoses dropped.

Unfortunately, that wrong diagnosis could result in loss of life. There’s still a lot that needs to be done.

CM You’ve also got pharmaceutical companies telling them what to do.

ML Another stigma [I deal with]… they don’t like to give me any medication, because I look like I do drugs.

CM I wouldn’t say you look like you do drugs at all you look very healthy.

ML I am very straight laced and have never done any. I have extreme panic attacks [and] they won’t give me anything for them.

CM Wow... no Valium?

ML They want to give me anti-depressants, but they won’t give me anxiety medicine. I can’t take anti-depressants. It makes it worse.

CM That’s not treating the patient. You’re going to get a really negative result.

ML I went in [to the ER] once, my jaw popped out of place... and I could barely talk. The doctor says “Oh, you’re the girl with the tooth ache” and I said, “No, did you not look at my chart?” and he says, “No, so what do you want… Drugs?” This is exactly what the Doctor said to me, because I’m heavily tattooed, have bright pink hair, and piercings.

CM Wow! Awesome…how about an x-ray?

ML I don’t take any medication for [PTSD] because I don’t like pills.

CM And there’s other therapies.

ML Yes, there’s others and then, like I said, unless you are on your last straw, they don’t really want to do anything for you. I can’t talk for other veterans, but that’s my personal experience.

CM We as a society are still discovering what “mental health illness” means. It’s interesting that we as human beings, fear what we don’t know.

ML Well, speaking from personal experience, you can be on your last straw and three months goes by. They are calling you every day, they are making sure you are OK, they’re e-mailing you… and then, no one. There’re gone.

CM Suddenly their support system just goes, “poof ”!?

ML Bam. I haven’t heard from anybody.

CM Cross that T dot that I, we’re done.

ML They did their minimum requirements.

CM Whatever happened to like, stepping down?

ML Nope, they just disappear. They go from, “You have to make your appointments or we’ll send the cops to your house”, to, “ I haven’t heard from the person… I don’t even remember your name”.

CM Wow! To me, that sounds more like damage control than therapy.

ML I switched therapists once… well, I say “therapist” because I don’t know what else to call them. They ask you, “What are your struggles?” and at the time, I didn’t have financial stability, so I told them I am stressed because there’s a chance I could lose my apartment. I don’t know where I’m going to be in the next six months… and he made me feel bad. He said, “at least you’re not homeless like these other patients”.

CM And you’re thinking, “But, I’m gonna be if things don’t go well”.

ML Then I requested to have a different person and they said they didn’t understand why I felt offended. He basically made me feel bad for being in a better situation than other people. Then I was thinking, “I guess maybe I don’t go anymore because why would I want to be made to feel worse?”

CM Where’s the accountability in that? They should be set up to have feedback from patients and really ferret that out.

ML The majority of veterans you can ask and they do everything they possibly can to avoid going to the VA. Our generation hasn’t [found reliable benefits yet]… from Afghanistan and Iraq.

ML I tried last year, I was like, just let me know when you are going to light one.

CM Well, we’re at critical mass right now with your generation. That’s another issue, right?

ML Having to explain every single time to people I meet. Don’t touch me, don’t scare me, don’t sneak up on me, obviously you can see where I sit, I have to sit where I’m facing doors and see everything around me. My friends now know where I have to sit. They just automatically do it. That’s nice. I don’t have to ask to switch seats. It’s still hard with people I don’t really know and relationships. When I get into a relationship it’s really hard to talk about it.

ML We haven’t reached that point in society where we’re supposed to need help. We’re still young. We need to help ourselves before we ask for help.

CM That’s probably their philosophy. I started following along with this problem a few years ago, when I started noticing this huge influx of soldiers coming home and this kind of, “sweeping it under the rug”; “they’ll just assimilate into society”.

ML We don’t.

CM No, it doesn’t happen that way. I remember the same thing after Vietnam when they had so many soldiers become homeless and just so shunned, because of mental health issues, drug issues, just the stress of trying to fit back in, just the day to day of waking up and, “I don’t have my strict regimen every day. I don’t have to polish my shoes every day, I don’t have to be afraid for my life every day from Viet Cong.”

ML Yeah, my position in the military… I did admin and then I did intel in Afghanistan and no, I didn’t shoot anybody and no, I wasn’t “front lines” but I got to see some crazy shit. Things I do not want to see.

Things I hope I never see again in my life, but we still have nightmares. I was scared last night because I heard a popping noise and thought I was being shot at and I don’t want that anymore. Fourth of July…… nope, I can’t do that.

CM That would be a rough one.

CM The first one and you’re like… Artillery.

CM I can appreciate not wanting to medicate too.

ML I’d like acupuncture, or hypnosis… something, just don’t give me pills.

CM Counseling is amazing.

What about, “self-medicating”.

ML I drink coffee and I am really happy with that. I don’t have time to waste on being zonked out of my mind, because then I wouldn’t want to do anything. I tried to see if there was something to make me happier [when I got out]. I had the mental capacity and attention span of a 5 year old [from the prescription]. I could not articulate and I was taking 16 units in college, while working. I would see the words on the board and I wouldn’t be able to write them. That went on for five months until my friend Alex said, “something’s wrong with you. What’s going on?” I went from having straight A’s to failing.

CM Which causes more issues.

ML I had to pay for the class, and I did’t really have money. It’s just a bad cycle.

CM It puts your anxiety levels off the charts.

ML I got off the medication and slowly told my teachers what was going on and asked if I could make it up.

I would have graduated with a 3.5 GPA, but I didn’t because of that one quarter. There were so many units, it brought it down to a 3.2 GPA. I could have gotten honors again.

CM So you are a beauty with brains! We talked about being in the military and being a model. How there’s a bit of shaming that goes on for female military folks?

ML Yes. I had a magazine approach me, Pinup America. Like I said, when I first started I only did pinup.

They contacted me to shoot in a WW II military style for a magazine spread, and I did. It was done in my dress blue uniform top.

Per regulations regarding military and the entertainment business I took the appropriate steps. I took off the medals and the insignias -down to just a plain blues jacket. A very, very classy photo. Websites on social media found it and blasted it on their women military bashing pages. Because I have pink hair and tattoos, they were posing questions like, “Why is she wearing this uniform, she didn’t earn it”. Then they found my private page, which is blocked.

Twenty messages came in that day about how I’m a disgrace and I should kill myself.

CM That, to me, is insanity: when you think it’s ok to tell someone they should kill themselves.

ML That’s what I would get over and over from military men: that I earned my title, Marine, a decade ago and I went through the same boot camp as them and put in my time, put in my combat tour, yet I’m a disgrace because I like to show my pride in a different way.

CM And you took a photo.

ML And I took a photo.

CM It wasn’t even slut shaming, it was just feminine

shaming.

ML It’s always been that way. It sucks but female Marines are looked down on. You’re instantly a whore, slut… women make up 6.8% the Marine Corps. Honestly, you can’t get away from that. It’s not like we put scholars in the military. I love it to death, but you put the most fucked up people in one spot, give them a gun, let them go through boot camp and guess what?

You got military.

CM There are a lot of people that don’t have an opportunity for education and therefore are easily indoctrinated.

ML Instantly. I started training when I was 15 for the Marines, but I knew there was no college. I didn’t have any money.

CM That was your best opportunity at the time?

ML I didn’t want to be stuck in Stockton! In 2003, everybody was on drugs and I was the only one not. I knew the better option would be military. I researched it enough. I always wanted to be a Marine. I’m the only girl in my family. I’m the only Marine. I’m the first of my generation. My brother was in the National Guard and my poor brother got so much crap for it because I was a Marine and he’s my older brother.

CM Which again, is unfair and sexist.

ML I got time off to fly to his graduation. That was the most exciting thing for me, I did it so many years before, then I get to see my big brother graduate boot camp. Yay!! But, it’s weird, it’s such a subculture just being mean to each other when you don’t have to be.

CM That’s what I wanted to get to… Do they have a website like, “we hate girl Marines.com”?

ML Well, apparently there’s a term. They call female Marines, “Wookies”, and when I found out about

that… dude... like a Wookie as in Star Wars? (laughing) I’m OK with that.

CM What’s the deal?

ML Like I’m Chubacca? That’s cool! I didn’t realize it’s a negative term. Why are they using Chubacca as a negative term? (laughing) I don’t get it!

CM How is it defined though? What is a Wookie?

ML Honestly, I’m still trying to figure that out. I tried looking it up on Urban Dictionary. I guess it’s because in the field, you don’t really get the chance to shave and we don’t really get the chance to shower. You can, but I got yelled at one time because I was pouring water over my head (fully in uniform) and some guys were watching me and I got yelled at for it.

CM Wow. ML I said, “I’m dirty. This is not sexy”.

CM You’re not supposed to be sexy in the military.

ML No. CM You’re a soldier.

ML Yeah! With the modeling and stuff now, it’s really funny because I got such negative feedback from this one site and I commented on it. I said, “You know what? What you guys are saying might be horrible and it never crossed my mind that people would be writing stuff about me, but thank you. Because that’s 10,000 people that didn’t know my name that do now.”

CM Exactly, thanks for the free publicity, Jackass!

ML Thank you so much. You guys know who I am, and by the way, here’s my modeling page and fan page… go!

CM Try to hate me to my face!

ML Then I would get stuff like, “go make a sammich”, and I said… I’m a chef! I can make more than that!

CM (laughing) “Go make a sandwich”... to a chef. That’s funny.

ML I can make you a 5 course meal and look beautiful doing it… Shut the fuck up!

CM And there was another term used?

ML “Pouge” is a derogatory term, it’s personnel other than “Grunt”, so people were asking, “Why are we giving this Pouge benefit of the doubt?” and stuff like that. What else would I be? I can’t be a grunt … I’m a girl, I have lady parts, I have a vagina… what else could I have been? But a lot of my old marine counter parts, during that whole period were talking about me. I had an ex-boyfriend commenting, “They’re being really rude”, but then… yeah it was interesting. I would have my command people and people I was still stationed with in Afghanistan (people I’m still friends with today) back me up. Until you serve, don’t say anything. A lot of my following and supporters now are military. I ship photos and gift baskets and supplies overseas to military. I give the option to

buy pictures. If someone buys a picture from me, I use part of that money to send stuff. So it’s not like I’m really making anything from it.

CM Actually, you are supporting and giving back in your own expression. Maybe that adds to what is “offensive”?

ML Honestly, it’s just the groups and the pages that bash on certain groups. They hide behind the computer and think they can voice something because it’s a cool thing to do.

CM And they are probably empty shells inside, honestly.

ML For months it hurt my feelings and I was really upset about it but then...I know what I do in my life and how hard I work; and I know what they are saying isn’t true so there is no point in me even [considering them], and then….. yeah.

CM Just hearing the stuff that you have been through, I know you work really hard and you said you got your degree in three years, it was a bachelor’s in...?

ML Culinary Management.

CM And you are now a chef?

ML I am CM Where do you chef at?

ML At Evens Kitchen. I am also a personal chef. I help with dinner parties. I teach. Part of being military is learning nutrition. Hopefully that’s what I will get my Masters Degree in when I can afford it. People ask me tips on exercising and stuff and menu management. I can create personal menus based on what they don’t like or can’t eat for health reasons.

CM What else is on your resume?

ML I am an Executive Administrator by trade. I ran a non-profit organization in 2007, raising over $73,000 in cash and almost $200,000 in toy donations, all while organizing events, multimedia and IT work. I got out [of the military] and I couldn’t get a job at Staples. This is obviously before I had my bright pink hair and more or less how I want to be. I go to these Executive Administrative [interviews] and I’m over-qualified or I didn’t have a degree.

CM People will use excuses to get rid of you when they are intimidated by you. I’ve found it to be the same in the workplace. It’s how they discriminate. Some people still ask me directly, “How old are you?” You know… you really can’t ask that.

ML Legally you are not supposed to ask, but it still happens.

CM All they have to do is ask what year you graduated High School.

ML You’re not supposed to. That’s why I go to job interviews wearing a wig. They can’t legally ask me why I am wearing a wig. Because I can hide my tattoos, I can hide my pink hair, I can look like I fit into square bear society and you can’t ask me why. For chef jobs I always let how I look show and they will usually ask, “Is your hair usually this color?” And I’ll say, “Yeah, just look at it this way, if there is a hair in the food, you will know if it’s mine or not.” They will usually admit they didn’t think about it that way.

CM That’s a smart answer. You said you have a TV Show as well?

ML Yes! I am on a cable TV Show in the Bay Area called, “Creepy Coffee Movie Time”. We’re called “Cave Girls”. We are like the sex appeal, but we do skits… it’s a variety show. They show B and C horror films. It’s all Public Access and it’s absolutely fantastic! I just came back from an event this weekend showing our Season 10 Finale at Balboa Theater and over 300 fans showed up instead of staying at home and watching, because it’s on TV. They physically came to see it live, to meet us and interact with us. It’s crazy! We have burlesque, we have comedians, we have comic book people come in, antique places, and a lot of businesses from S.F., and we give them free publicity. Then they promote us. We’ve had Jane Wiedlin from The Go-Go’s, Broken Lizard, and Danny Trejo just did a spot for us. We’re so small, but we’ve been on for 10 seasons! We took over for Creature Feature from the 70’s. John Stanley’s show basically, we have the sub-genre of horror-comedy … “Elvira” meets “Vampira” meets “modern day”.

CM Can you find it online?

ML Yes. Most of the seasons are uploaded. Yeah, they got better the last 2 seasons they’ve been at it. The movies aren’t great, but... (laughing) The backdrop is a demon cave. We have “Balrok the Demon”, and “No Name”, from the Bay Area, (he’s like the most known radio DJ in San Francisco). They are in costume, us girls are um…. well actually I’m the most heavily dressed one there. We have burlesque dancers and we have a segment called “60 Seconds of Horniness” where girls dance. I asked to do “60 Seconds of Awkwardness” ….. they said, “No.” CM That would be fantastic!

ML Just me um…. being a nerd.

CM Like a nerd off! (laughing) ML We do promotion for Bay Area comic book conventions and toy conventions.

CM And recently you had something big come up?

ML We had “Big WOW Comic Fest” which was the 17th and 18th of June in San Jose Convention Center. Very large! We had a lot of famous people. We had a guy from Godzilla, Ultraman, our whole cast was there. We signed autographs and just talked with fans. I also promote Toy Con a lot in the Bay area and in Sacramento. I get to go and I sign autographs, sell pictures, and just mingle. I don’t know how to explain it. I guess technically, I’m a local celebrity in the Bay Area, so people actually come out to meet me (which is still really weird for me).

I’m also a cosplay judge, but overall I get to go and hang out and I get paid to play with toys.

CM And read comic books...

ML …. and just be around amazing people! I usually dress up as Tank Girl, because the military thing.

CM Tank Girl, of course Tank Girl, yeah!

ML Yeah, I do that, but I don’t really cosplay. [However] I’m was Pixie from X-Men because she has pink hair...We just got approved for an 11th season, we just found out the other day and that’s really great because every season we are told we’re getting canceled because they are not good movies, but everyone stays home Saturday nights at 11 and watches our show.

We film in front of a live audience, and it’s usually invite only….. but weirdo’s can sneak in. We understand that can happen, but it’s really nice because we are a huge family. Like the event we just did, people that are not even on the show I’ve known them for like 3 years now. Anything I need……. they got it.

CM They’re your homies.

ML And they’re weird and creepy.

CM Is there anything else, that you want to talk about?

ML I don’t know. Everything is so exciting. I’m just constantly busy. I started late in the game with the modeling, so I’m still trying to push that. I would like to make a career out of it... but I always have my hand in something: comic books, TV Show, the horror scene and that just keeps me busy and I love it. Not necessarily because I want to make money from it. It’s partially creating art in one way or another. I would just rather do that.

CM Well it’s obvious you are an artist.

ML In one way or another. I can’t draw worth shit, I can’t make a beautiful painting, I can’t sing if my life depended on it, but when people ask me why I started modeling, when I’ve seen the most horrific things in the world, I just want to create something that is beautiful, in one way or another.

I got an e-mail from Ink Magazine Australia wanting to feature me... Oh my god!!

Tattoo magazine from Argentina, Uruguay, and Costa Rica, my cover is supposed to come out soon.

CM Awesome!!

one!

ML So I’m really excited about that. I mean that’s like your goal for modeling is to land a cover for an international magazine... let alone a famous

CM I will be sure to look for that! In the meantime we will just have to settle for your websites and Facebook pages. Thank you for taking the time to sit with us.

To see more of Melissa Laroue: https://www.facebook.com/MelissaLaroue www.veteranempire.com/melissa-laroue/ https://twitter.com/melissawortman

Techno-Fashion

by Adrielyn Christi

We’ve all seen them, the futuristic movies such as I Robot, Robo Cop, The Fifth Element and other scientific movies that have pieces of technology tailored into the articles of clothing the actors are wearing. But have we ever thought about when, if and could this happen for real? Hollywood can sometimes be a bit farfetched when it comes to the plots, but have they been on to something that we are unaware of? Over the past few years, both fashion and technology have come a very long way and are now merging together to create a very different market.

Just recently designer Diane Von Furstenberg collaborated with Google to create a pair of fashion eyeglasses for both men and women called ‘DVF Made for glass’.

What it does: it can share photos, make calls, shoots videos, scrolls news feeds and updates your social media accounts and are all voice-activated by starting with a simple phrase ‘OK, Glass’. These are available for purchase right now only at net-a-porter.com at a hefty price tag of $1800. Is this really a sign of what is to come for the future? Tech creators can argue that this is just a minuscule start of what is to come for the world; meshing fashionable accessories with technology companies such as Google.

Okay, so now we see that wearing designer eyeglasses are a part of our culture, what’s next? Talking t shirts?

Not so far as talking t shirts, but, we may someday be able to charge our smart phones with our clothes.

Designers have been inspired to come up with clothes and accessories that can power our electronics from Flexible solar panels. A new start-up company called Wearable Solar is using technology to make lightweight wired garments that if worn in the sun for a full hour can charge a smart phone up to 50 percent.

And New York-based Voltaic Systems makes a collection of handbags that can charge a variety of devices.

These are just a number of technological contraptions that will someday change the way we view and wear clothing.

Another possible trend we could be seeing in the near future is wearable trackers in our clothing. Fashion designer Asher Levine, who has created looks for Lady GaGa and will.i.am, included tracking chips that lets items be located by the owner by using a customized

TrackR app. Levine, partnered with Bluetooth Solutions company Phone Halo on this questionable chip.

If you’re prone to losing one of a kind items such as your Lanvin coat or that oh so perfect Chanel Jacket, then this would be an awesome solution for you.

If you haven’t heard of handbag designer Rebecca Minkoff, you will soon. Just like Diane Von Furstenberg, merging technology with high-end accessories is a trend on the rise. Minkoff has collaborated with Stellé Audio Couture to make four clutches that encase speakers. These can be purchased at rebeccaminkoff. com for $399.00. I guess, if you love your music so much, you can take it with you wherever you go and share it, right?

Here is the pièce de résistance, we’ve probably all seen the movie ‘Clueless’ with Alicia Silverstone. In the introduction of the movie, we see the character played

by Silverstone creating an outfit by clicking through her program on her PC. Now, here is the amazing part, thanks to modern technology this dream software has finally come true. According Telegraph U.K., MeModel with Metail it lets you create your own avatar to dress yourself in any outfit. Because metail.com is British, you enter your height and weight, and measurements in stones (not pounds). Then start dressing yourself in wardrobe choices that are unfortunately limited to at the moment with British high-street label, Warehouse.

The software will be available for other shippable pieces from other retailers in the near future. This is probably the best invention for any fashion lover. Who wouldn’t want to see how clothing looks on before they buy it? It would definitely save that trip to UPS for returning an item that we didn’t like.

These are just a few ways fashion and technology are coming together and the possibilities are endless.

Could it combine with Haute Couture? This section of fashion along with Fast Fashion and Ready To Wear could be the latest additions to merge with technology.

The futuristic clothing and technological ideas we’ve seen in television shows, which were well before their time, such as Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica and The Jetsons could really be coming to materialization.

We have to think, does Hollywood know something we don’t?

Images courtesy of Metail.com Editorial use

Images courtesy of stelleaudio.com Editorial use

Images courtesy of Chipchick.com and Diane von Furstenberg Editorial use

Wearable Solar-www.WearableSolar.nl Photography: Mike Nicolaassen Hair & Make-up: Angelique Stapelbroek Model: Julia J. at Fresh Model Management Photo used as Editorial only

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Diane Von Furstenberg - Runway - Spring 2013 Edititorial use only To purchase this image see: www.gettyimages.com

See Our Online Calendar of Events!

Shannon McCabe: Vamptress with a Heart of Gold

On October 25th at 8pm, Shannon McCabe and her associates & sponsors will deliver the Vampire Ball for the sixth time, annually, in The Placer County Fairgrounds in Roseville, CA. It’s about 17,000 square feet of Vampire entertainment and vendors.

This year’s Ball benefits the charity, The Spirit of Children, at the UCD Children’s Hospital. The Vamp Pageant, also held annually, will benefit the Albie Aware Breast Cancer Awareness Charity.

INDIEfunTV got a brief glance at what is to come: IFTV: We love the whole Vampire thing. What’s the theme this year?

SM: True Blood, but you can come dressed as any kind of vampire (or in regular clothes).

IFTV: When did you start Shannon McCabe productions?

SM: in 2000. It went from events involving floral & wedding to Horror events- because I love Vampires.

IFTV: What’s it like being you?

SM: Not a lot of women do what I do. It’s really fun.

IFTV: Have you had any roadblocks or difficulties in your career?

SM: (Laughing) No! I actually think it’s been easy!

IFTV: Why the Sacramento Region?

SM: I love it here! It’s a major metropolitan area, and it’s nice growing a business in this atmosphere. The housing is very affordable and it’s a great place to raise a family.

IFTV: How do we get more information on the Vampire Ball and Vamp Pageant?

SM: To see more on involvement and sponsors, please visit:

www.shannonmccabe.com

Enjoy Northern C Sierra Starr Tasting Room

Double Oak

Avanguardia Tasting Room Grass Valley Wine Company Sierra Starr

Smith Tasting Room

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Szabo Tasting Room

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Indian Springs Nevada City

Coufos Bent Metal Smith Pilot Peak

Solune Lucchesi Montoliva

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