PRODUCT Toronto Issue 12

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

08. EDITOR’S LETTER

22. IN MOTION 26. SERVING UP REALNESS

43. PUSHING FORWARD

45. COMBINATIONS & CONTROL

58. OUR FUTURE IS BRIGHT

12. TIPPING THE SCALES

19. SO FRESH & SO CLEAN

30. BEEF CAKES & DREAM GIRLS

48. DEFINING MOMENTS

41. HEROES OF THE WORLD

53. STARTING SOMEWHERE

55. LIGHTS CAMERA CARLO

62. PICKING & CHOOSING

64. GROOVE IS IN THE HEART

ILLUSTRATION: ROSIE PEA

ISABELLE SAVARD

EDITOR’S LETTER KYLE KOFSKY

M

y world is on fire. Everything You will begin to despise the forgetful, lazy, around me is ablaze. I must be late, and inconsiderate. You will want to show humble in order to survive. I will them the light that you have found - pay it thrive. It would be very easy to forward, so to speak. I actually think it’s more allow myself to get burned. Too many lives of “settling your balance” than “paying it blinded by the bright. They attempt to mask forward”. internal struggle, parading in the spotlight of Balance in life is one of the most difficult vanity and greed, attempting to claim that things to achieve. Most people live in the they are untouchable by reality. black or the bright exclusively. I visit each Reality is inevitable; it catches up to us, like equally in my life. I used to only seek out the flame or smoke. Human experience is inclu- bright and do my best to avoid the black. Back sive and necessary for growth. Regrets are con- then, when I would find myself in either. It ceived in the belly of the bright. The absence would become completely overwhelming and of reflection or balance often, debilitating. In the results in the tragedy of “The absence of re- black, I would avoid all regret. Not everything I interaction and flection or balance human do will be successful. If for about a week I would I don’t allow my failures results in the tragedy be undeniably depressed to define me, they will and retreat my everyof regret.” most certainly refine thing into darkness. In me. Every try is a badge of honour repre- the bright, I would do the opposite. I would senting my everyday in every way. surround myself with people and excitement.

It is the balance of black and bright that Partying it up and going all the way hard. will give me identity. Unique and beautiful, Neither was healthy and often one would just as intended. I inhale just enough smoke force the other on me. I was helpless. I was to understand my own fragility. Everywhere I going through the motions. Blinded by both turn, I see a towering inferno, flames so white, the black and the bright. so opaque they seem to mirror my image. It is More recently, I have been fortunate lonely in the black beneath the fog. It is even enough to live in balance. My black lasts only lonelier in the bright, as I cut through the haze for moments, a day at the most. My bright is of it all. also found in moments or a day. I live each Be accountable. If you are forgetful, make one separately, never combining more than notes. If you are consistently late, set your 24 hours into a single emotion. This doesn’t clocks back and live by your own time zone. mean I am depressed every other day. It means If you are selfish and inconsiderate, make I allow myself to validate each moment, each the next five things you do benefit someone day, individually. Never assuming I will be in other than yourself. For every trouble, there the black or the bright until I am consciously is a method. You will begin to see the world reacting to a single situation. This is why my more clearly. You will see the world for what world is on fire. Energy is transferred, never it should be. Most importantly, you will see created and never destroyed. Simply, I am others making the same mistakes you did, compelled to adapt because of the black and and you will realize how detrimental they are. the bright.

WORDS: KYLE KOFSKY PHOTOS: TARA NOELLE

Kyle Kofsky Editor In Chief, Creative Director & Lead Designer Isabelle Savard Deputy Editor & Art Director Ana Opulencia Lead Copy Editor Brian Sweigman Managing Director Melissa Allen Lead Writer & Assistant Copy Editor Jonathan Broderick Lead Writer & Assistant Copy Editor PRODUCT STAFF

HAIR & MAKEUP ARTISTS

Adam Hendrik Senior Writer

Emily O’Quinn

Andrija Dimitrijevic Senior Photographer

Natalie Shemuel

Brad Silverberg Cinematographer

Mike Fresh

Eirini Moschaki Business Architect

Trisha Florentin

Eli Thomson Senior Writer

CONTRIBUTORS

Hayley Campbell Health & Sports

Elsa Mack Contributing Writer

Joe Swallow Assistant Director

Tim Luther Contributing Writer

John Huss Business Architect

Zach Hertzman Guest Photographer

Juan Mendez Assistant Director Kate Koler Senior Photographer

THANK YOU

519 Church Street Community Center

Kertney Lynn Russell Senior Writer

Cambria Canada

Michael Kahn Senior Photographer

Linda Leatherdale

Nick Wons Senior Photographer

Paula Whitmore

Ronit Rubinstein Senior Writer

Suzanne Tink

Rosie Pea Illustrator Tal Shalmon Web Manager Tara Noelle Senior Photographer

PRODUCTTORONTO.COM @PRODUCTTORONTO PRINTED SIX TIMES ANNUALLY ISSUE NO. 12 (2014) Printed & Published in Toronto by PRODUCT Toronto INC. 416 . 364 . 5753 info@producttoronto.com

ON THE COVER:

PHOTOS: TARA NOELLE HAIR & MUA: TRISHA FLORENTIN & SHELDON MCINTOSH CLOTHING: TYNOMI BANKS (LEFT) IS WEARING MODEL NO. 017 LONG TANK

BY BODYPARTCLOTHING.COM

TIPPING THE SCALES

JOHNNY NGHIEM

J

ohnny Nghiem sees the world differently. In fact, maybe he lives in a different world from the rest of us. His favourite animal is the sperm whale.

He was once on the brink of becoming a Jr. Grandmaster in Chess. He won various Street Fighter 2 tournaments. He holds the record at his high school for most times tardy at a staggering 122 times (there are approximately 188 days in a school year.) Almost unbelievably, he works as an art director, but can only draw selected animals and the front of an ‘82 Cutlass Supreme. Yet, he has been building with Mega Bloks, K-nex, and whatever he could get his hands on since childhood. Now, as an artist, set designer, builder, and creative idealist, he has learned to perceive objects in this world as they are, as they could be, and as what they once were.

The key is deconstruction. For his first job, without any formal carpentry or design background, Johnny worked on a project with Damian Zuch, who taught him how to make

a simple fire hydrant look old. Visualize an old fire hydrant, then deconstruct it, take it apart layer by layer, year over year, until you are left with a new fire hydrant. Then rebuild it, carefully adding back each layer, each year, each scuff, until the fire hydrant is aged perfectly.

Johnny took this simple lesson and applied it to the world. He sees people, objects, and projects and deconstructs them. He sees passed the history to inauguration and rebuilds.

He’s always learned his most important lessons outside of the classroom. He’s been enrolled in three different post-secondary degrees, but was drawn away before completion each time. In his last year of film school at Humber College, Johnny took his first job and never went back. He was on set, working with a sewing machine from the 1900s, when the band on the machine broke. Summoning his inner Macgyver, Johnny took a bungee cord, clips, and some spray paint and got the machine humming again. It was a small victory, but it taught him how to think on his feet

and to use the tools that are available to him.

Another lesson that has stuck with him to this day.

At his first major commercial, Johnny heard the words “Rube Goldberg” and eagerly accepted the job, not knowing who or what Rube Goldberg was. After researching the intricate machines Rube Goldberg became famous for, Johnny created the “FedEx Dominoes” commercial, an incredibly detailed maze of FedEx boxes that won various ad awards and earned Johnny recognition as an art director.

The lesson learned was to work hard to learn what you don’t know. You’re going to make mistakes, but can you learn from them and understand how to avoid making them again?

And can you keep making progress?

Lessons such as these have guided Johnny’s development. He hasn’t stayed in one place for very long, as his constant thirst to learn by experience has kept him on the move. Experiences in California and New York opened Johnny’s eyes to other cultures, other ideas, and

other forms of creativity. Through experience, Johnny has continuously evolved his expectations and aspirations for the world around him.

Johnny’s travels abroad help remind us how far Toronto still has to go to develop great design. In order to take advantage of creativity, we need to take advantage of the resources we have at hand and keep pushing the bar a little higher. Johnny’s experience provides valuable insight about being able to see potential, feel inspired, and chart a new course Currently, Johnny is settling into a new role as the Art Director at a major marketing agency in Toronto, where he can focus on one idea thoroughly and focus on one campaign without distraction. But his desire to grow may take him into a career as a marine biologist or a shoe cobbler, or wherever the next challenge may present itself. To be inspired check out isthisjohnny.com WORDS: BRIAN SWEIGMAN PHOTOS: ZACH HERTZMAN

17

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SO FRESH & SO CLEAN KYLE KAMINSKY

S

ome people chase their dreams, chalBather Trunk Company is based on quality, lenge themselves and strive for some- comfort, and design. All of their products are thing greater in their everyday lives. made in Canada and Kyle oversees the proKyle Kaminsky is one of these people. duction of every single pair. Kyle says it comes Yes he has a day job, yes he has responsibilities down to the fact that, “If I personally wouldn’t and commitments, and wear them, I don’t think yes he was impossible anyone should.” Bather’s “Hard work and time trunks are made for everyto get together with to do the interview for this management are also day wear, in and out of the feature. But all of that is water. Kyle explains, “The necessary...” ok, all of that is actually last thing you want is to amazing. It shows us be wet and stuck in somejust how occupied you can make your life; it thing you aren’t happy wearing. No one wants shows us that you can have it all. Strength and an amazing memory hampered by a piece of determination are what you need to go after clothing.” Kyle employs the best graphic artist something more in your life. Hard work and around, in his opinion, and you can see that time management are also necessary when you in the fresh and ever-evolving designs Bather want to follow your dreams. puts out. The design, comfort, and quality of After graduating from Ryerson University Bather helps Kyle achieve his goal of creating a and working in mostly sales jobs, Kyle found swimwear line that bridges the gap and creates that he was inspired by a gap in the market for something that exemplifies “street wear-inspired a quality Canadian-made swimwear line for beachwear.” This helps Bather reach their goal men like him. Enter Bather Trunk Company, of a product that can be worn in any circuma men’s swimsuit line Founded by Kyle in 2013. stance, not necessarily just by the pool.

“It was just an idea that seemed like an exciting With loads of love for our city and taking the challenge. I wanted to create something I could passion we Torontonians have for our summer personally wear. Swimwear has forever been weather, Bather was created as an international designed for two types of people: surfers and brand not necessarily about the Canadian people with very well tanned thighs. I love to lifestyle, as much as it about the standard of surf but I also care about the way I dress. I think quality associated with Canadian textiles and Bather is the perfect balance between lengthy manufacturing. board shorts and offensively short swimwear.”

Kaminsky wanted you to know about some I, as one of those people with very well tanned of his favourite places in the city and what he thighs that can often be seen wearing offen- thinks are the three things that make Toronto sively short swimwear, didn’t take offence to awesome. “I really enjoy the french fry trucks this statement. In fact, when I put on my Bather at City Hall, the bathrooms in the Shangri-La Trunks, I realized that they still showed off my lobby (which he believes are open to the public), lovely legs and in fact allowed me to keep my and drinks on Dundas West & High Park trunks on after I left the beach and off to my because they have emus”. Awesome = Ashnext adventure. No more would I have to do bridges Bay, Kensington Pedestrian Sundays, a quick change and carry a plastic bag to keep and The Cheese Boutique. Awesome = Bather my wet swimwear. I saw a saviour in Bather, Trunk Company and Kyle Kaminsky.

WORDS: KYLE KOFSKY allowing me to show off my best feature (legs) PHOTOS: KATE KOLER and keep the day going.

IN MOTION

DANIEL LANOIS

T

oday, Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie is one of Toronto’s premier dance companies. Yet co-Artistic Directors Bill Coleman and Laurence Lemieux, both accomplished dancers and choreographers, founded the company in Montreal in 2000.

At the time, Montreal simply made the most sense. The Mike Harris years had meant substantial cuts in arts funding across Ontario, and grant money—as well as subsidized childcare for the couple’s two kids—would be readily available in Quebec. By 2007, however, Lemieux and Coleman were ready to return to Toronto. While their dance company was doing well in Montreal, there was an appeal to bringing it to the city where the pair had met. Lemieux says, “My professional life was developed here… Artistically, I didn’t feel as connected to the dance community there as I felt here. I didn’t feel I was as important a piece of the puzzle.”

When they found a building for sale that could serve as both their family’s home and a home base for their company, the decision was made. The Citadel, formerly a Salvation Army building, was located in the heart of Toronto’s Regent Park, one of Canada’s oldest social housing projects. Coleman and Lemieux were unaware of the planned neighbourhood redevelopment when they bid on the space and were pleasantly surprised to find themselves welcomed as the first artists to move into the evolving area.

The building’s former life is never far from its current occupants’ minds, and they strive to integrate their dance company into the surrounding community. Lemieux says, “it was a Salvation Army, so it took care of people, of the homeless. And now we’re taking care of artists and dancers.” In addition to volunteering their time to teach dance at the local public high school, Coleman and Lemieux make free

classes at their centre available to youth from Regent Park, all of which is a crucial part of the company’s mandate. “If art is just for the elite, to me—it makes no sense,” continues Lemieux. “The arts are a vital ingredient for any change in society.”

In their choreography, the two Artistic Directors—while both drawing on ballet and modern dance training—produce very different work. Coleman is known for creating large-scale productions, many of them site-specific. An early example of this work was Grasslands, performed in Saskatchewan’s Grassland National Park. This collaborative piece told stories of the changes and challenges faced by the local rural population. Coleman says, “What began as a fairly straightforward performance on the natural grasslands ignited into a poignant community portrait, with townsfolk, park people, and ranchers all working together to create a pretty unforgettable celebration.”

Where Coleman’s work conjures images and landscapes using many performers, Lemieux describes her own choreography as “Well, smaller. I’m interested in human emotion, detail, in looking at people through a loop.” One such piece was Interiors, a meditation on family life performed by Lemieux, Coleman, and their two National Ballet School-trained children, and hailed by NOW as one of the 10 best dance productions of the year in Toronto. Lemieux says of their work, “I think our mandate is really to foster creativity, but we both have a sense of community that is expressed differently. We both care about where we live and how art can affect people in meaningful ways.”

WORDS: RONIT RUBINSTEIN PHOTOS: TARA NOELLE LOCATION: THE CITADEL

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LAURENCE LEMIEUX

BILL COLEMAN

SERVING UP REALNESS TOM BIELECKI

I

n a city that has to issue restaurant bans on Ossington due to the overload of new restaurants, what would possibly inspire someone to face the competition and open a restaurant? Tom Bielecki, who recently opened Cafe Bar Pasta alongside his wife, Christine, at Dundas at Brock, just west of Dufferin, decided to follow their talents. They are born hosts who are dedicated to welcoming every person into the restaurant.

Beyond hosting, Tom and Christine designed this restaurant to push the envelope and develop themes that no other restaurant has combined. The front of the restaurant is the café, which serves out-of-this-world coffee and baked goods under an incredible light fixture, the Hungary, which my girlfriend wanted to take home with us, but grimaced when she heard the difficulty in acquiring it from the Museum of Modern Art. Moving to the bar area, a wall full of corks (all from wine drunk by Tom and associates and now, guests) faces the bar, where the bartender makes everything in house; even the cola for the cocktail was homemade. The cafe and the bar, both located in the front of the restaurant are unique and designed to make an impression on anyone who walks through the door.

Moving to the back, the focus is on the food - in this case, pasta. The chef, Jay Scaife, from venues such as Taboo in Muskoka works in a small and quick-moving open kitchen.

You can sit at the two Dine on the Line seats and watch the intensity and magic of a kitchen happen, while chef prepares your own personal tasting menu. The menu changes about every 60 days to make sure it stays new and exciting. All pastas, breads, and pastries are made fresh daily in-house. The pastas are made by a pasta-making machine, the Italia-Dominioni, which is the only one of its kind in North America. It can make up to 30 pounds of pasta in 30 minutes (which is a lot).

Sitting down to eat is like eating at your parents’ house. It’s the “non-Italian, Italian place” Tom says. It’s a modern and classic interpretation of what we have come to know as an Italian restaurant, but with a Canadian approach. As if you haven’t felt like you were at home yet, you can even sit in Tom’s father-in-law’s chair, “Mr. V’s chair”, which is an homage to the building’s former life as an insurance office; the chair sits in the exact spot that Mr. V used to keep it. Mr. V just moved his office down the street. You might even catch him eating dinner in his chair, the odd night.

It won’t take long for neighbours in the Dundas West area to accommodate to the place. The service is remarkable. It’s impossible to feel as though you don’t own the place. When I went for a birthday dinner, the birthday girl met Tom and Jay beforehand to set the menu. When we arrived, Tom as host and Jay the chef embodied the friendliness incorporated in their restaurant design and culture.

Cafe Bar Pasta is the first of its kind.

This restaurant features pasta, but the plan for the brand “Cafe Bar…” is to expand it into Cafe Bar…..Seafood, Steak and other interpretations.

Family and home embody Cafe Bar Pasta – a new addition to the community, yet integrating and helping evolve the neighbourhood. Tom and Christine know you have to walk before you run and that it takes time to build a reputation, but the lessons learned from Tom’s own family are being passed onto anyone who walks into Cafe Bar Pasta. You just have to listen.

WORDS: BRIAN SWEIGMAN PHOTOS: ANDRIJA DIMITRIJEVIC

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SUITED FOR YOU

BEEF CAKES & DREAM GIRLS

RJ SKINNER & TYNOMI BANKS

T

he first time I saw Tynomi Banks perform was at Cabaret Mado, a drag club in Montreal. The other drag queens who had lip synced earlier in the night had put on a great show—elaborate costumes and wigs, engaging performances—but when Tynomi took the stage, the energy in the room became electric. Dressed in tiny shorts and surrounded by a coterie of handsome backup dancers, she brought the house down with a fully choreographed dance routine to Rihanna.

Sheldon McIntosh had never planned for this particular career track. After studying Public Relations and Event Planning, he moved to Toronto and began working a string of office jobs. But he found corporate culture stifling and sedentary, and began seeking a creative outlet. Despite having no formal training, he joined a jazz funk dance troupe and started performing, learning choreography for the first time. On occasion, he would dance backup for drag queens, some of whom encouraged him to try drag himself; “The queens I danced for saw a little bit of light in me, and I didn’t see it in myself at the time.” One Halloween, he decided to dress as a female supermodel, in a tight dress and a long wig with blunt-cut bangs. Drag queen Nicolette Brown (who would become Tynomi’s “drag mother”) named the character Tynomi Banks, seeing in her an amalgam of two of the 90’s most iconic supermodels.

When choreographer Scott Fordham, a close friend, was putting together a weekly night at The Barn nightclub, he needed “dancing drag queens—not two-steppers,” and Tynomi was one of three he picked. It would turn into a three-year residency, and a brand new career path. Tynomi, true to her namesakes, is all about supermodel glam. She favours beautiful, body-conscious gowns, and lately, catsuits; “I will be wearing catsuits until I gain weight,” she promises. A tall, sinewy and leggy beauty, Tynomi prefers a natural makeup look, the kind that makes straight men do a double take.

“I’ve had my share of confessions,” she confides, coquettishly.

She can perform the hits by divas and pop stars—favourites include Beyonce and Robyn—but also loves the challenge of picking a lesser-known song to lip sync, and winning the audience over with it. She will watch and rewatch music videos just to perfect a lip quiver. For Tynomi, a great show is all about connecting with the audience. “It’s when their eyes fixate on me. They stop buying drinks, they’re not going to go out for a smoke, and I know I have them.”

Tynomi’s seven-year career has been gaining momentum lately. In 2012 she landed her first acting gig, playing a drag queen in an episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation.

And Sheldon appeared, out of drag but in high heels and vogueing, in the music video for Metric’s 2013 single “Lost Kitten.” This past year alone, Tynomi won second place in the Czarina pageant at Woody’s, performed with Jinkx Monsoon (winner of the fifth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race), and was featured in a two-page beauty spread in ELLE Quebec.

And she shows no sign of slowing down.

This summer, she will be performing with RuPauls’ Drag Race star Milk at Freedom Party Toronto, and World Pride will offer near-daily opportunities to see Tynomi in action (check www.facebook.com/tynomi.banks for details).

And as more and more Toronto clubs announce they will be closing their doors, she has set her sights on a lofty long-term goal: bringing drag to the rest of the city. “I don’t want drag to be just for the gay scene, for the gay village. I think everyone should see it.” Need an entertainer for your next corporate event? Tynomi’s game, and she’ll bring her dancing shoes.

WORDS: RONIT RUBINSTEIN PHOTOS: TARA NOELLE HAIR & MUA: TRISHA FLORENTIN LOCATION: JAM FACTORY CO.

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H

ow many professional wrestlers do you know can sing all the words to an Ethel Merman song, who are just as comfortable on camera as they are off? RJ Skinner, who blends skills and perceptions, can. One of his biggest skills is exposing and combining inappropriate actions and contrasting opinions into one entertaining act.

It began in Richmond Hill, where even at a young age, RJ had the desire to entertain.

He was the class clown, in the “teachers still like me” sense. For example, in fifth grade, his teacher gave him a weekly show. He was known as the funny kid. One day he ran into his friend’s mother who said bluntly “be funny for me.” In response, a young RJ said “no” and thought, “I’m going to be funny for me.” Since that day, his humour has only been to entertain himself, and it just so happens that other people find it entertaining as well.

Despite his inner focus, RJ couldn’t shake the desire to entertain. He went to theatre school and on weekends attended wrestling school. Wrestling has always been his passion. In wrestling school he learned holds, techniques, and strategies to make himself a skilled wrestler. Eventually, his teacher had a wrestling show and invited RJ to participate.

And so “RJ City” was born.

Becoming a good wrestler is not easy. It’s not like the WWE, and being a technically gifted wrestler is only a portion of the act.

Any good wrestler needs to be able to entertain, control the crowd, and be able to evoke strong emotions from people. RJ’s talent is to irritate. His love of inappropriate behaviour gets unleashed at a wrestling show – throwing drinks in other wrestler’s faces, mocking the crowd, and being a general irritant.

His act took time to develop, much like a stand-up comedian’s; it takes time and practice to see what works in riling up a crowd.

The audience comes to a wrestling match to be entertained, and like a good improv show or a play, they expect to leave satisfied.

Now, RJ City is a smarmy bad guy, a little bit ignorant, and a little bit irritating.

Utilizing the talents he developed as a professional wrestler, RJ signed onto a YTV show called Splatalot! As an actor, he used a lot of the performance skills he developed throughout wrestling. He got a feel for his character, as well as other characters on the show, and began understanding the free flow of conversation within a scripted show, instead of the off-the-cuff conversation among wrestlers.

The executives from Splatalot! saw RJ’s talent and asked him to write for the show.

Accepting the challenge, RJ has found that writing for him is freeing; it allows him to write jokes for other characters, including other races and sexes. And he can continue to write what he finds entertaining – whether it’s a 1980s sitcom reference or an Ethel Merman quote.

Whether as RJ Skinner, RJ City, an actor, or a writer, the man loves to entertain. RJ has proven that he is equally comfortable with a microphone or a pen in his hand. As long as he is able to perform, reach an audience, or elicit a reaction, he is happy. He just has to find it funny first.

WORDS: BRIAN SWEIGMAN PHOTOS: TARA NOELLE HAIR & MUA: TRISHA FLORENTIN LOCATION: JAM FACTORY CO.

TO DISCOVER MORE HEROES OF THE WORLD, CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE!!

PUSHING FORWARD MATTHEW WILLSON

W

e are often told that there is a secret to success, that there is a formula for living well, that all we need to do is apply it and happiness and prosperity will be waiting for us. While there might be a life success seminar or self-help CD out there that truly does hold the key to prosperity, most of us find that the only secret is to pick a goal and put everything we have towards achieving it. Matthew Willson has wholeheartedly embraced this reality. He owns and operates a thriving gravel quarry in his home town of Paris, Ontario. It’s a demanding, high volume business that would take the most out of just about anyone. Matthew balances a full-time career with his success in the entertainment industry. In addition to the gravel industry, he is recognized for his work on stage and on screen as well as in behind the scenes directing and producing. With a lot of dedication and a “never say die” attitude, Matthew has turned something he loves into something he is.

He got his acting start at his local community theatre. There, he developed skills like script analysis, working well with other actors, and maintaining consistency when doing the same show for weeks at a time. He learned much during his stint in community theatre and maintains that it is a “fabulous place for people to learn.”

Matthew’s affection for acting has only grown over the years. It stems from a love of learning about others and immersing himself in different realities, “I love doing theatre work because I get to do all the research.” Playing characters like Ernest Hemingway or Lee Harvey Oswald, Matthew researches in order to put him in the mindset of that character.

He is still a common sight on stages all around Ontario, but over the years his role in Canada’s entertainment industry has expanded. He can be found on screen in television shows, such as Murdoch Mysteries and Rookie Blue, and feature films like, Skinning the Cat, a movie that Willson both starred in and produced. He is turning more and more to the production side of entertainment. He recently produced and directed several shorts as well as financing and producing a sports documentary for TSN and The NHL Network entitled, Exceptional Status.

Matthew’s success may seem effortless, but he has put everything he has into achieving it. “I certainly do not have any hobbies,” he admits. He also praises and credits his wife. “I have a fantastic wife. She’s a thousand percent supportive, she’s very good at getting me organized, she’s a great support system, and she’s easy on the eyes.” Matthew builds a schedule six months into the future. He has abandoned the notion of a five- or ten-year plan. He is focused on being “more profitable” and “more fruitful” than the year before. “As long as that’s happening, I’m happy.”

If there is a secret to success, Matthew Willson may have found it. With a simple combination of hard work and dedication, his enthusiasm and spirit are obvious.

He has shown the drive to follow through on his passions. He has turned his passion into his career and pursued it tirelessly, a formula that we can all follow.

WORDS: TIM LUTHER PHOTOS: MICHAEL KAHN

COMBINATIONS & CONTROL MICHAEL HYSONG

A

rhythmic BANG, BANG, BAM which he calls: Boxercise, which mimics the repeats as three guys punch bags boxer workout. “Sure, you’ll maintain your in the north east corner of a target heart rate, and maybe you’ll learn to converted warehouse. A buzzer hit hard, but a bag doesn’t punch back; it’s sounds, gloves drop, and the tick, tick, of an empty offence. Without defence, it’s not jump rope slashing the ground succeeds. boxing.”

Workouts alternate, sweat falls, and they go “If the person who’s training you can’t stand on. The workouts taught in your corner they’re not at Michael Hysong’s boxing coach, they’re a “... it’s not just about apersonal gym are designed to trainer. Boxing swinging an arm make you fight ready. is about concept, it’s not “Like it or not, you will just about swinging an with a glove.” be in the best shape of arm with a glove.” said your life,” said Michael.

Michael who began The climb into the ring is optional if dodging boxing as a boy. He retired from competition gloves scares you. “I can’t make you a boxer, at twenty-five; a dozen years ago. Now he’s a but I can teach you to punch.” full time coach and wants to bring fair play “You can’t be surprised [that] somebody back to boxing. He thinks it’s wrong to hang is going to try to hit you in the face,” says a thirteen year old boy in a ring with a thirty Michael, who runs Combat Asylum, one of year old man whose punch is worth twenty Toronto’s only active boxing clubs, “It’s not years. “There are two people in there; one of for everyone.” It’s not like the workout craze them is going to lose.”

I sit with Michael on the edge of the ring and he draws a diagram which illustrates the foundation of his offensive defence. Michael calls a student into the ring. The strategy comes alive. They toss punches; they duck, dodge and jab. Michael’s theory is demonstrated: why it’s better to give up one hit to gain three than stand around with your arms up and not do anything; which is the worst thing to do. “If you don’t throw it, you’re not going to land it,” says Michael. He explains how the uppercut is effective using the same idea, how to coax your opponent by offering a jab to position your body, unknown to your opponent, for the big blow.

The three month sessions at Combat Asylum are capped at one hundred memberships. There are no contracts, and it isn’t easy. He expects you to show up three, four, times a week. Anything less is a waste of your time. He wants you to progress, and you can’t if you’re heart isn’t in it. The dropout rate is

high, but expect results if you stay. He has a dozen fighters, males and females, ranging from ten to thirty-six years of age, who will compete at the Golden Gloves tournament.

“It’s a pure test of person,” said Michael.

You’re one-on-one against another boxer whose only motive is to win. You don’t have a team to back you up when the exhaustion sets. If you get hit and your eye splits, it’s your own fault; there is nobody to blame. It’s about being the best you can be.

WORDS: ADAM HENDRIK PHOTOS: MICHAEL KAHN LOCATION: COMBAT ASYLUM BOXING CLUB

47

DEFINING MOMENTS MYLES SEXTON & VANJA VASIC

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ashion Arts Toronto. It is not the constrained conservatism of Toronto Fashion week. It doesn’t draw lines between grit and glamour, masculine and feminine, cult and culture. Rather, it blurs the lines among them all. It showcases an exciting counterculture in which passions far outweigh commercial feasibility. I sat down with some of the faces that have made Fashion Arts Toronto (“FAT”) a beautiful statement of artistic integrity, annually bringing the contributors’ passions to the spotlight and giving them a forum to share their visions.

My first conversation was with the famed Myles Sexton, who has graced the runway numerous times over the past three years.

Described as “the love child of Tilda Swinton and Grace Jones,” Myles is as comfortable in a prom dress as a tailored suit. Growing up outside Halifax, every fashion magazine showed the feminine doll woman and the uber-masculine man. Myles wanted to model, but did not know where he fit in. At 15, he joined an agency, but found it was too conservative, trying to constrain his androgyny within. At 18, Myles left Halifax but found that even in Toronto, the agencies were too conservative to suit someone androgynous. Frustratingly, people would mistake the androgyny for unprofessionalism. Then Myles showed up to FAT with a pair of heels and a pair of boots, walking for both the men’s and women’s lines.

The designers were so impressed that he was booked for six female and two male runway shows that day.

I also spoke with Mic Carter, the designer of L’uomo Strano, which has showcased at FAT in recent years. Mic began by taking night classes at George Brown to develop the technical skills to design his own fashions. In addition, he studied at Central St. Martins in London, England. His transcendent approach led to his last collection, which featured what a groom could wear to his wedding besides

a tux. This year’s collection Beyond-ce (an ode to Beyonce’s surprise album) explores elegance and function that answers the question, “What else could a man wear to the gym?”

Finally, I got a chance to chat with Mitra Ghavamian, who is partaking in FAT for the fifth year in a row. She draws upon her background in theatre to bring a dramatic layer to her presentation each year. The Mitra collection for FAT 2014 is a post-modern commentary on our multitasking addiction.

The collection is called Toggle, a word that refers to shifting back and forth between two windows on a computer using a single key.

The pieces feature bizarre formulations of unusually stretched and multiplied appendages which symbolize our constant desire to do more than our bodies were designed to do.

Mitra was born in Iran, where she completed her training in costume design. After years of working on films and theatrical productions, she emigrated to Canada in 1994 and began working as a breakdown artist on film sets such as X-men to Resident Evil and broadways shows like The Lion King, adding the natural authenticity to clothes with paint after the tailor had finished creating them. Mitra believes that fashion needn’t be a shallow art form and can convey deep meaning. FAT has given her the opportunity to create from love, nature, and music as opposed to focusing on necessity and marketability, which only redesigns what already exists.

These three amazing people exemplify what FAT represents - a great open forum for free expression, accessibility, diversity, empowerment, and creativity - in ways that differ from mainstream runways.

WORDS: ELI THOMSON PHOTOS: TARA NOELLE ON VANJA: BEETLE WING NECKLACE BY M. SEXTON JEWLERY, SHIRT BY MITRA GHAVAMIAN, LEATHER JACKET BY L’UOMO STRANO

49

MITRA GHAVAMIAN & VANJA VASIC

MIC CARTER & VANJA VASIC

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STARTING SOMEWHERE CONSTANTINE TOHME

I

sat adjacent to Constantine Tohme at a large wood table in his open concept live/work studio. As we settled in and exchanged introductions, I scanned his apartment—gazing at the various pieces of furniture, lighting, and art objects that seemed to pull me in with an unapologetic magnetism. As a diplomatic child of the age of technology, I mentally “hearted” many of his pieces. “I’ve always had an interest in aesthetics and the placement of things…That [interest] came from not really having my own space.

So, when I got one, I thought, ‘Everything has to have a place,’” Constantine said in response to my reaction. Within a relatively short period of time, Constantine has developed a brand that is uniquely his through the exploration of materials and pattern making. He has reserved a spot for himself within the design community under the name Black Flag Co., and I daresay he has already earned a spot in the modern home.

Constantine is originally from Barbados but moved to Toronto when he was just 16 years old. Since then, he has traveled the globe gathering inspiration from multiple continents in all their eccentricities. Two years ago, he returned to Toronto to attend the Institute of Traditional Medicine where he continues his studies and designs as a hobby. “Toronto is the BEST…There are a lot of opportunities if you work hard…it isn’t saturated like other cities.” Since moving back to Toronto in 2012, Constantine finally had the opportunity to imagine a home—his own home—designed to his taste. That is where it all began, “I didn’t want any IKEA,” Constantine announced with utmost sincerity.

Tohme gravitated towards wood and concrete and began questioning their properties and their use within modern and traditional furnishings, “I had these materials and I would ask myself, what can I do with this?” Upon review of his growing collection and works

in progress, one can see repetition in the use of wood pieces to create geometric patterns as table tops, fluorescent tubes arranged into prisms, and the beginnings of imprinting on concrete. Herringbone becomes a motif on many of his tables, which he refers to as “Modern Americana.”

Constantine has absorbed as much information as he can by talking to different designers, cabinet makers, and carpenters around the city to get a better understanding of materials and, of course, construction. He bought his first electric saw and sander (which he mentioned with sheer enthusiasm,) and started building in his studio before finding a shop just a few blocks from his house, where he now has access to a full workshop. Constantine notes that his work continues to become more refined as he gains familiarity with new tools. “I’ve figured out a way to essentially cut the [weight of the] material in half using secondary forms,” Tohme added, upon our discussion on his concrete slab tables. His willingness to learn is most admirable and is paving the way for an awakening in the age old form vs. function debate.

Wave your white flags and take a chance on Black Flag Co. as founder, Constantine Tohme, works in stride to help us all live more beautifully, with furniture worth “hearting.”

WORDS: JONATHAN BRODERICK PHOTOS: KYLE KOFSKY

LIGHTS CAMERA CARLO CARLO VITELLI

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he first thing you notice about Carlo Vitelli is his voice. Supremely raspy yet warm, he sounds just like a younger Harvey Fierstein.

When I mention the similarity, I’m treated to a scratchy laugh; apparently people have been telling him that since he was all of 12 years old. The second thing you notice is just how often he busts that laugh out, even when talking about a high-pressure career. “Our industry—as hard as we work, we shouldn’t take it too seriously. We’re making TV shows.”

Vitelli has managed to carve out a steady career for himself in Toronto’s increasingly competitive television industry. Like so many film school graduates, Vitelli started out working Production Assistant gigs. His first jobs were on a series of medical shows that filmed in Ontario hospitals and emergency

rooms, telling the stories of real-life doctors, patients, and medical students.

One particularly memorable show was the CBC’s Little Miracles, which followed children being treated at Toronto’s SickKids Hospital; the work was “… rewarding, but exhausting emotionally.” These early on-set experiences made Vitelli eager to try his hand at the more ‘behind the scenes’ work in the production office. He worked his way up to Production Coordinator—through shows about restaurant and retail renos. As soon as one project ended, Vitelli always had the next lined up. “As a freelancer, you never get rid of that fear and that fire.”

In 2007, Vitelli began working at Firvalley Productions, a then two-year-old production company focused on documentary, reality and lifestyle programming. There, he worked on shows for the Food Network and “As a freelancer, you eventually hired HGTV, and was never get rid of that Manager, one of as a Production only a handful of full-time core fear and that fire.” staff at Firvalley.

His latest project has been Canada’s Handyman Challenge, a HGTV competition program judged by the network’s biggest stars. Vitelli speaks with pride about the ratings and accolades the Canadian Screen Award-nominated show has garnered. But the work and the stability he’s found at Firvalley aren’t the only perks. His office, located in a beautiful Heritage building in Toronto’s east end, isn’t a shabby place to spend his days.

And it feels a long way from the hospital waiting rooms and ER’s where his career began.

“My goal was always to do a bunch of everything,” says Vitelli. So far, his responsibilities have certainly been varied: negotiating rates and contracts, dabbling in post-production, and occasionally even handling tax credits. Eventually, he sees all this experience building toward work as a producer. While open to the possibility of working elsewhere, Vitelli sees himself staying in Toronto for the long term. “This is where I started, this is where I know people…There’s a feeling of being cared after here. And for this kind of stuff, I think we do it best. Documentary TV series, reno series, all those shows are Canadian.”

For more info: firvalleyproductions.com

WORDS: RONIT RUBINSTEIN PHOTOS: KATE KOLER ASSISTED BY SAAJID MOTALA

57

OUR FUTU IS BRIGH

RE HT

SCOTT MCDONALD

O

ne can only imagine what it’s like to live inside Scott McDonald’s head. He’s inspired by watching grass grow (literally), he puts his money where his mouth is, gets involved with everything, and he’s got the charisma of a politician. Naturally, he’s a salesman by trade, but he has his hands in many different pots – as event coordinator, tech wiz, and entrepreneur, to name just a few.

His most recent project was the Canadian Technology Leaders Dinner in March 2014.

The dinner, presented by his company, InfiniteLogic brought together the top technology leaders in Canada to discuss innovative topics and pioneering developments.

It all started when he was still an undergrad at McGill. He teamed up with a friend and started SKiNNiDiP, a group that threw events at coffee shops and morphed into parties like “‘80s for the ladies” and “hizzop til you drzzop”. Upon graduating, he sold the business to younger students, so that SKiNNiDiP could keep throwing parties.

Scott came back to Toronto and started companies that didn’t really go anywhere.

Self-described as “young and arrogant,” he didn’t appreciate the work it really took to create a successful company. He would spend 12 hours designing logos, but only 12 minutes cold-calling.

So he went to Thailand. When he came back, he started getting jobs, working in print, but his passion was technology. He always had an interest in computing and the future of technology, being impressed by hackers most of all - hackers, who are always one step ahead of the internet security curve and the security trying to keep them out. The battle between hackers and security is smart people trying to prove they are smarter than you.

So, of course, Scott got into internet security. Learning about hackers, the internet, and all things computing, he developed

knowledge and interest in document management and software solutions. Currently, he is enrolled at Ryerson for his CISSP, which is like an MBA for information security. Scott is trying to hack the world of internet security.

In addition to working a full-time job and going to school, Scott started InfiniteLogic, which he used as his vessel for his creative output. Through InfiniteLogic, Scott launched websites, sold products, and created events. His big event was the Golden Game, a massive event gathering people to watch the gold medal 2010 Olympic hockey game in Vancouver. Ever since the success of that event, Scott has thrown an event a year in addition to his other activities.

Normally, his events tie together his passions – parties and technology. Most recently, the Canadian Technology Leaders Dinner gave away three awards honouring the outstanding work of Canadians in the fields of science, technology, and the media. It is the first of what will be an annual awards dinner.

In sum, Scott is an idea machine. He is a motor that doesn’t run out of gas. He believes that anything is possible and that successful people aren’t unique. Everything is random, but successful people are not determined by the outside world. They are determined by themselves. The tools are available to them to keep learning and keep developing; successful people have the motivation to use those tools to help themselves. Scott’s achievements are excellent examples of how an individual’s will and determination can lead to success.

WORDS: BRIAN SWEIGMAN PHOTOS: ANDRIJA DIMITRIJEVIC

61

C

JI-A MIN, KAYLA KOZAN, MATT SERGEANT, SHAUN RICCI, SOMEN MONDAL

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ucked away in the Annex, I met the co-founders of the revolutionary recruitment software, Ideal Candidate, Somen Mondal and Shaun Ricci, and their research analyst Ji-A Min. Holding a Master’s in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Waterloo, Ji-A Min’s practical experience in organizational behaviour analysis nicely complements Shaun’s, a University of Guelph Computer Science major, and Somen’s, who did his undergrad in engineering at University of Toronto (and eventually an MBA from Queen’s).

Shaun and Somen met at their first job, software coding at a consulting firm in Oakville. A growing company, they were packed into a tiny library-turned-office, along with two other employees. The close proximity forced the two to get to know each other and share ideas, which was the beginning of a business partnership that lasts to this day.

In fact, as I observed their animated and engaging back-and-forth, I realized how fundamentally important working in close quarters is for them. “There’s a reason we chose a nice small office. This is where you want your roots to start,” Somen says. Yes, it can lead to better collaboration, but I also detect a hint of nostalgia - an homage to the old days when the two were fresh-faced grads, stuck in the same tiny room, about to embark on an incredible entrepreneurial journey.

“I always knew that I wanted to know more about the software business in general, not just coding specifically,” said Shaun. And after leaving the consulting firm to work as a business analyst in New York, he came back and started the company Field ID with Somen. They worked relentlessly to build a great product and equally importantly, a great sales team, in order to attract customers and grow their business. “Unlike other tech companies, our strength was not on the

PICKING & CHOOSING development side, it was on the sales side,” says Somen, referring to the robust sales team that made up more than half of Field ID’s total workforce. It appears that this formula worked: in December 2012, Field ID was acquired by Master Lock LLC. It was time for Shaun and Somen’s next business adventure. Somen explains, “We’re not the type of entrepreneurs who try to dream up crazy apps that could be a big hit or not. We’re definitely the type of people who see a problem, who realizes there’s a value to solving that problem, and realize that we could sell the solution to that problem. And that’s what exactly we did in our previous business and that’s exactly what we’re doing now.”

Realizing the significant role that sales plays in organizations, especially tech startups, Ideal Candidate is an innovate software program that helps companies hire the best sales people possible using data collected from

several sources - anywhere from psychological assessments to LinkedIn profiles. It analyzes this data to look for predictors of future success and tracks performance throughout a sales person’s tenure at the company. “You’re letting the data give you that insight,” says Ji-A. I look around their small office, their walls and white boards scribbled with data and figures of their own sales targets and goals. No doubt about it, this award-winning tech pair will replicate their past successes. You don’t need any special software to predict that.

WORDS: ELSA MACK PHOTOS: MICHAEL KAHN

63

GROOVE IS IN THE HEART COURTNEY JAMES

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have to admit, I was excited to talk days,” says James when asked about the electronic music and rave culture with motivation behind the documentary. “It was Courtney James. Here’s a guy who spent that crate of nostalgia that inspired me to the better part of a decade frequenting the take a deeper look into electronic music, and biggest music festivals in the craziest party inevitably, me,” he adds. cities around the globe, interviewing the The rest of the story is very kismet-related. world’s most coveted DJs. After eight years With little more than a few dollars, a camera, of sacrifice and tenacity, his documentary, and a couple of industry connections, he travThe Global Groove Network (GGN), was eled the globe and collectively interviewed over complete.

60 professional DJs - he even attended WMC GGN is a fresh perspective on electronic as the guest of his main man on the “ones and music. Veering away from the drug culture twos,” DJ Dan. While filming GGN, he met that has become synhis wife on the dance onymous with the party “... music brings peo- floor of a DJ Dan show scene, it dissects dance in Toronto. “All of my life ple together and music in a constructevents during the filming everyone has a ive way - painting the of GGN went full circle,” hypothesis that music says James. “I started soundtrack... ” brings people together the film coming out of a and everyone has a soundtrack to their lives. relationship and ended up finding my identity According to James, music helps to shape and moving into this next phase of my life,” people’s identities - which he proved to him- he adds. self by finding himself on this venture.

James says Burning Man and his time spent In the late ‘90s, when the dance music cul- with DJ Dan were highlights, though “meetture in Toronto had risen from meager begin- ing my wife on the dance floor through the nings to one of the biggest electronic music music was by far biggest thing that has come scenes in the world, Courtney attended his out of the movie experience,” he emphasizes. first party, Connected. 14,500 people came When asked what he wants for GGN, he together that night to devour the sounds of says he hopes it finds an audience. “Even if it’s deejay forefathers, Van Helden, Cox, Sneak, [dance music] not necessarily someone’s scene, and Dan. This unforgettable experience was I hope people still can relate to music and how the beginning of James’s fascination with it helps to shape them and their experiences,” dance music. “Electronic music is very posi- says James. tive in nature – it brings people together,” says As a music aficionado, James says Hot James. “There aren’t a lot of genres out there Since 82, Pretty Lights, and the Decks by the that showcase that,” he adds.

Beach podcast are all in heavy rotation on his After a few years of partying, James moved iPod right now. on from the scene, but the music never really To learn more about GGN visit www. left his soul. It wasn’t until many years later, groovetheglobe.com or www.facebook.com/ when he had just became single and was groovetheglobe searching for his purpose, that he found his way back to electronic music. “One day, WORDS: KERTNEY LYNN RUSSELL PHOTOS: NICK WONS I came across an old crate of records that LOCATION: PLAY DE RECORD contained the title tracks from my old party

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Toronto International Film Festival Inc.

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