9PLAYLIST | FERRY CORSTEN
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9DRIP | YVES V
THE ART OF THE SNACK | SUSHI AMANE
Last year, we covered MIFUNE in our feature, Athleisure List. Now, we're sharing another restaurant located in the lower level of this restaurant, known as Sushi AMANE. We took a moment to talk to Executive Chef Tomoyuki Hayashi who creates an omakase menu at his Michelin starred restaurant with two seatings. He talks about how he stays inspired to create the menus, dishes he suggests and how you can enjoy your next meal there.
ATHLEISURE MAG: Executive Chef Tomoyuki Hayashi, tell me about where you trained and your culinary journey that brought you to Sushi AMANE?
EXECUTIVE CHEF TOMOYUKI HAYASHI: After graduating college, I apprenticed under top sushi masters in Tokyo for many years. The president of the company I was working for at the time offered me an opportunity to work in New York. I jumped at the opportunity to work and live overseas. At the time, very few sushi restaurants offered omakase, most of them were serving set menus and a la carte menus. Before helming Sushi AMANE, I was the Executive Chef at Sushi Azabu for many years. Back then, Sushi Azabu was one of the first Japanese restaurants that introduced the omakase concept to New Yorkers. With omakase now mainstream and Sushi AMANE being an omakase-only concept restaurant, I have taken on the role of Executive Chef at Sushi AMANE to offer my own rendition of omakase.
AM: Tell me about your 8 seat omakase counter that is located inside MIFUNE. What can guests expect in terms of the ambiance and how they can get there?
EXECUTIVE CHEF TH: Although Sushi AMANE and MIFUNE share the same entrance, we are two separate restaurants and operate independently of each other. Once you enter MIFUNE, guests will be guided by our staff to Sushi AMANE. In a way, Sushi AMANE has a speakeasy vibe as it’s hidden away on a separate level. Most MIFUNE customers are unaware and surprised to learn that there is another restaurant on the lower level and I think Sushi AMANE customers will pleasantly enjoy the short journey from MIFUNE to our intimate space below at Sushi AMANE.
AM: Tell me about your omakase menu.
EXECUTIVE CHEF TH: Every omakase is different but my omakase course flow is as follows.
The omakase starts with a light white fish, a meatier full-bodied fish, then shellfish that’s different on the nose and in texture, followed by a warm dish, a palate cleanser course and finally the nigiri courses. With this course flow in mind, I plan and order my fish from Toyosu Fish Market and the fish market in the Kyushu region of Japan.
AM: How do you go about planning what will be on the menu and is it based on seasonality?
EXECUTIVE CHEF TH: I create my omakase with the best ingredients the market has to offer, so I do not rigidly stick to seasonality. It just happens that most of the times the best ingredients are at its peak during a particular season, so the seasons are reflected naturally throughout my omakase.
AM: Where do you get inspiration from when you are planning the service?
EXECUTIVE CHEF TH: I get a lot of information and ideas for my omakase and learn about the trends of the Japanese market by talking to my fish vendors, fellow sushi chefs, and industry insiders. Lately, YouTube and Instagram have been a great source of inspiration and creativity. It’s a great way to follow the latest trends in Japan as well.
AM: What are 3 dishes that you like to include in your rotation of omakase menus?
EXECUTIVE CHEF TH: For the small dishes served before the nigiri courses, the inclusion of my grilled sea perch over uni rice is a must. In the nigiri courses, I always include baby red snapper and bluefin tuna. All wild caught and I always source them from Japan for their superior flavor.
AM: For those that have never enjoyed omakase, is it just one menu offered each night or do you offer an option of omakase menus that you can select from?
EXECUTIVE CHEF TH: At Sushi AMANE, I offer an omakase course that can be enjoyed by customers who have never experienced omakase and experienced omakase diners alike. If someone has a dietary restriction to certain fish and seafoods, I am happy to adjust the menu for them as well with advance notice.
AM: What are 3 sakes that we can enjoy with our meals?
EXECUTIVE CHEF TH: At Sushi AMANE, we have a wide range of sakes that changes frequently, but my favorite is Kikuhime B.Y. Library Release 2005, Daiginjo. As the name suggests, it is a rare sake that has been carefully aged for over a decade before being released and it pairs beautifully with sushi omakase. Daiginjo sakes are typically aromatic and pair well with sushi, but I am particularly fond of Kikuhime’s dry and crisp style that compliments my sushi well.
AM: With only 8 seats available, how many seatings do you have and what is the reservation process? Can a party book all 8 tables for a private dinner?
EXECUTIVE CHEF TH: There are two seatings each night Tuesday-Saturday at 6pm and 8:30pm. Reservations can be made through Resy. A party can buy out all of the seats for a private dinner by emailing us at sushiamane@gmail.com.
IG @sushiamane
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDIT | Sushi AMANE
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ROCK THIS WHEN ENJOYING YOUR NEXT EPIC VACATION
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63MIX ROUTIN3S | BRIAN MICHAEL SMITH
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9LOOKS | DEMOBAZA
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9LIST
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THE PICK ME UP
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#TRIBEGOALS
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IN OUR BAG | FOR AN INDOOR PICNIC
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LEMON BEAUTY
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ATHLEISURE BEAUTY
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HOW TO DRESS | WITH FRIENDS DINING OUTSIDE
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ATHLEISURE MAG | #76 APR 2022
In this month’s issue, our cover story is with 3X MTV VMA nominated Creative Director, Choreographer, Performance Coach and dancer Tanisha Scott. We talk about her love for dancing, her career, her work in Sean Paul's Give Me the Light, Drake's Hotline Bling and a number of major moments, we talk about her work as a Creative Director for H.E.R., Lizzo and Cardi B as well as how she goes about her work. You can see her up the upcoming season of HBO MAX's Legendary as well as Prime Video's Watch Out for the Big Girrrls with Lizzo.
We also talk with Titus Welliver who has helmed the title character of Harry Bosch in Prime Video's Bosch. On May 6th he will continue the journey on Amazon's FreeVee with Bosch: Legacy. We talk with Titus about how he fell in love with acting, how he approaches his projects and what's in store for this series.
We also talk with award winning Executive Producer and screenwriter of HBO's Winning Time! He has been a screenwriter for a number of programs from Everybody Hates Chris, STARZ Heels, American Gods and so much more. He's also a writer for graphic novels and comic books. We talk about how he got into the industry, the various positions that he has held on set, how Winning Time came to be and his upcoming projects that are coming out with Marvel, DC Comics, Star Wars and more!
This month's 9PLAYLIST comes from EDM DJ/producer Ferry Corsten. Our 63MIX ROUTIN3S comes from FOX's 9-1-1: Lonestar Brian Michael Smith as he shares with us what he does Morning, Afternoon and Night. Our 9LIST STORI3S comes from Gorjana Reidel Co-founder of jewelry brand, gorjana and from our cover star, Tanisha Scott whow share their must-haves in beauty, style and fitness (3-page spread). Our 9LOOKS comes from DEMOBAZA.
Our monthly feature, The Art of the Snack focuses on Sushi AMANE in NY. This month's Athleisure List comes from Ramen Misoya here in NY as well as [solidcore]'s LA studio. As always, we have our monthly roundups of some of our favorite finds.
Please note that you may have a number of brands within the issue so make sure to check out all the pages! If you have an issue accessing the links - do let me know!
Read the APR ISSUE #76 of Athleisure Mag.
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9LIST STORI3S | CANDIACE DILLARD-BASSETT
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63MIX ROUTIN3S | BEAR GRYLLS
THE ARTIST | TYRON WOODLEY
This month's cover is 5X UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley. With an impressive career, we delve into this athlete and artist who got his start wrestling and went on to continue in this sport at the University of Missouri and are a 2x All-American and Big 12 Conference Champion. In addition to the impact that he has created in MMA, he is also an analyst. When he is not in or talking about the Octagon, Tyron has acted in a number of films and movies including Straight Outta Compton, Kickboxer: Vengence and Hawaii Five-0. He has also been involved in stunts in Olympus Has Fallen, Once Upon a Time in Venice and has trained actors such as Denzel Washington in The Equalizer 2.
We talk with him about he got into MMA, his passion for it, his creativity in entertainment, the music industry and more.
ATHLEISURE MAG: My favorite sport is boxing and through that it brought me to enjoying MMA as well. I’ve been a fan of yours for a number of years. What was the moment when you realized that you wanted to be an athlete as I know that in highschool you played football as well as wrestled. What initially drew you to wrestling as you were NCAA Division I collegiate wrestler at the University of Missouri and are a 2X All-American and Big 12 Conference Champion.
TYRON WOODLEY: I mean, just as a kid, I started off just being outside and in a regular neighborhood to play. We didn’t have a ton of funds to go on a billion vacations and trips and all those extracurricular activities and things. So it came down to racing people in the streets first, who was the fastest and who could do the most push-ups. Naturally, when it came to wrestling, I kind of gravitated towards sports that were more economical. For wrestling, you don’t need a lot of stuff for that. It’s very affordable, so I kind of started to do that and I didn’t even notice that I was doing that. I also just enjoy the difficulty of doing stuff and I don’t even know why. Especially growing up as a kid, if there was something that was difficult that I could do, it made me feel a certain kind of way and I liked it.
That’s kind of the journey that I have been towards - I don’t want to say the impossible because other people have done it, but the things that seem to be very difficult and people veer away from it, I go straight to it.
AM: So how did being a wrestler eventually merge to you focusing on being a Mixed Martial Artist?
TW: I mean when I was wrestling, I was doing that and I was also trying to out amateur MMA just to see if I liked it. I’ve always wanted to box, but I felt as if at 23 years old, which was the age that I graduated from college, I felt that I was too old to start boxing. At that age, most people that are successful have started since they were 18 or 19 years old. I felt that with Mixed Martial Arts, I could punch, wrestle and do a couple of other things too. I was giving it a try but what really crossed me over the edge was that I was the #1 wrestling coach for the top fighters. Everybody that had a big fight against wrestlers – The Ultimate Fighter show 1, 2 and 3 and really it brought a shit load of Division 1 level wrestlers into MMA Rashad Evans, Gray Maynard, Josh Koscheck – all of these different guys you’ve seen from that show. The mindset of a wrestler amongst any other martial arts was just so different – it was really kind of meat head and really a bar that was set that nobody had really done to get there. With that mindset, they became really good MMA fighters because of drilling – we drill so many moves thousands of times. We’ll do the same leg and then we’ll do a variation of it and based on his defense we do this and if he does that then we’ll do this. It made it easier because it was a mindset that we use anyway. It’s one of the few sports where we had to cut weight year around which got us ready for MMA and it was natural as I was already doing those things.
AM: When you say MMA, what disciplines are involved in that when you’re fighting and what are you looking to add to your skillset in your journey?
TW: For MMA, Mixed Martial Arts, it’s really any form of martial art excluding fish hooks, head butts, striking of the groin, kicking someone when they’re down. Outside of that, karate, judo, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, boxing, Muay Thai, kickboxing – every form of striking, every form of grappling, Sambo – all these different things, there are different places where you can use them in the Octagon. There’s a lot of Greco-Roman wrestling in judo when you’re against the cage in the area that we call “the clinch” – striking out in the open and now you don’t have to just punch – you can punch, kick, slip, roll, knee, elbow – you can pretty much use your entire body minus your forehead to fight.
You have to be up to date on what’s the new techniques, what the new training camps are learning so you know how to prepare, who you’re going against and what they bring to the table. So I just looked at my wrestling background and said, “hey, I’m going to be able to take most of these guys down,” because I’m the head coach of most of the guys that are trying to stop from being taken down. If I spend 85% of my time on striking and you can’t out strike me and you’re supposed to be a striker and you can’t out wrestle me and I can get up and be in good shape, you’re going to have a hard time defeating me. That was my formula for many, many years and it was proven, because I didn’t lose a round and I hardly lost any minutes in any round. It’s basically a game plan that I ended up using and it worked out.
AM: For those that are not familiar, what are the rules of the sport and how is someone designated the winner?
TW: The rule of the sport is that you start to fight on your feet and usually both of the fighters are in their corner and from that position, the referee will tell them that they are ready to fight. Basically, they’ll say, “let’s get it cracking, you guys get it on,” or whatever they say. These referees ref so many fights that they start having a familiar face and people are starting to associate them with their ad lib to start the fight.
You start on your feet and what you see first is mostly striking because that’s what people do when they’re on their feet - punching, kicking, knee and elbow. But anytime people get close enough, it’s allowed to grab the person, slam them down, grapple them, cement a few arm locks, chokes, pressure points or utilize your elbows. You can put somebody in a move that causes someone to submit which means that they don’t want to do that move anymore and they can’t get out of it and they submit to you or give up.
Then there’s scoring. The judges are looking throughout the rounds because sometimes it’s not finished by submission, a knockout or disqualification – they’re looking at who is the aggressor, who’s landing power; who’s persistent, who’s pressing the pace – from there, they will deem who they have seen from that round. Who won that round and then who won the next round – they look at all the rounds and add it up to decide who actually won the fight. It’s kind of confusing because the sport hit by storm and many people were not ready for it. You have to remember that there isn’t a MMA judge! It’s really a boxing commission that are judging these fights. When you look at it that way, some boxing commissioners aren’t even familiar with what they are even looking at because they are not familiar with martial arts. They don’t understand that if I’m a D1 wrestler and I’m All American and a striker and you hook me down, I would weight that more as a bigger deal than if I have to take him down. So that’s the way how I feel that it should be judged, but I’m not trying to be the judge and the fighter at the same time. I just have to let it go as it goes.
AM: That’s an interesting point that you made as I wasn’t thinking about that. Is it difficult for you knowing that as you’re going in that there are judges that aren’t into the details of your sport, but they are literally judging what you’re doing?
TW: Yeah I mean, it’s difficult, but like I told you before, I have been blessed to have some good friends. Lin Oeding (Reacher, Cobra Kai, Warrior), a fighting/stunt coordinator/performer and who is a director now, he kind of gave me his mindset because he’s good at analyzing issues that come up with good solutions. He said, “Tyron, if you train this way (in the formula that I told you), you’re going to be hard to beat.” Luckily for me, even though my background was grappling, wrestling, jiu-jitsu and the last thing that I started to do was striking, I was one of the best strikers and one of the most explosive strikers. I would use the fact that people were so scared of my ability to take them down - that it actually made them tense up a little bit. Then I would be able to sneak in and make it look like I was going to be able to take a shot when they responded to do that by lowering their hands or getting intimidated, then I would just come up and punch them in the face.
AM: You began your career in Strikeforce and you’re a 5 X UFC Welterweight Champion, can you talk about what it means to have such an amazing career of 19 wins you only have 7 losses and a draw – it’s great stats.
TW: For me, it was always to try to be the best. Everybody else wanted to participate or to just get to the UFC or to win a title. Because, when you win a title, no one can ever say that you’re not a champion – you’re a champion. But my goal wasn’t just to win 1 title, it was to be the best. By definition, the best is somebody that gets a title and defends it multiple times and makes it very difficult to be beaten and that was my motivation. I accomplished that and obviously, life has highs and lows sometimes you don’t understand how things go, but it’s not really for us to understand. I just use it as a learning curve to keep getting better and to create my legacy.
AM: What is a normal week like for you when you’re in the gym training. You must be doing the most insane workouts and spending many hours to be where you’re at!
TW: You know, I used to do that when I was younger by spending many, many hours. You need to know if you can do it. You need to see if you’re built for it because what you don’t want to do is to waste their time or to waste your time.
This ain’t a sport where you do all of this hard work and you don’t know if it’s right for you. It’s too hard and there are great chances where you can get hurt. If you find out early in your career that you strike on somebody and they hit you in the face and you didn’t like it, shit maybe it ain’t up for you. If you don’t deal with pressure well, if you’re learning curve isn’t up to par with the growth of the sport, you have to look at yourself and say, “hey, you know what – maybe I should be a coach or I should be alongside it or I should do it for leisure but not put all my ducks in a row.” Some fighters think that just because they decided that they were going to give up the rest of their life towards this that they should be a pro fighter. That’s not how it works.
AM: Can we expect to see you in an upcoming MMA fight and who would you like to fight?
TW: I want to fight big fights. I don’t want to fight any small fights. Right now I feel like, if I beat 5 - 10 super high level guys and get a world title again that don’t mean shit. That’s not going to make me anymore of a great. I had to talk to God about this. I wanted to do that. I wanted to go back and get my belt back - it's the ego. Because, that's not my belt. That’s the current person’s belt, they earned their belt and I lost my belt. They didn’t take my belt, they earned theirs. Once people start thinking about it that way, his blessings are not mine and mine is not his. So, me going back and trying to chase that down – something that I have already done is kind of ego. So I had to check myself and now I just want to fight to make myself happy, to make a lot of money and to make a big fuss and a lot of exposure and a lot of media and buildup and marketing and big endorsements – big exposure and everything is leading me towards another area of martial arts.
AM: How much influence do you have when it comes to setting up matches. Are you able to select or at least propose who you want to go against? How does that process work?
TW: In the UFC, I didn’t really get much of a say so. If I did a couple of favors and I particularly wanted to fight somebody and they felt that it made sense and they could see how that looked good marketing-wise, then it became a yes. It was always if this person that I wanted to fight, made sense for them as well, then we’d do it. If it didn’t, then there was no chance. There were many times when it didn’t make sense for me to fight in my career, that they didn’t care and they wanted that fight to happen. Right now, I’m in a different position. Today, I was offered a fight, my first question was what’s the weight, where’s it at and are we at 7 figures and up?
AM: Ok now.
TW: Yeah why wouldn’t I?
AM: It’s interesting as I’ve always been interested in how these matches come together and it’s great that you’re able to have the ability to set those standards and parameters.
Why were you interested in boxing as you have had 2 fights against Jake Paul and will you continue to box?
TW: Yeah I’m going to continue to box and I was interested in boxing before the Jake Paul fight. I told my manager that I just really wanted to focus on doing all forms of combat and becoming an actual real free agent. Not having to conform to an organization that says that I have to fight at a certain time and I’m not saying that that didn’t benefit me and I don’t have no smoke with UFC. I’m not trying to get time back. I did what I was supposed to do in the time that I was given and I created some mystery so now I’m in a position where I want big fights that excite me and makes me want to walk out there! Because, for the longest, I was doing it to prove people wrong. I felt like at certain points, I was doing it to prove naysayers wrong, the organization wrong, the fighters wrong and the haters wrong. That’s too many people to be doing that with. I’d rather focus on just proving my people right and my coaches right versus all that other stuff.
AM: You’re also an analyst and it’s always good to watch a sport and see someone who comes from it who does it being able to tell you what’s going on. What do you enjoy about being in this role?
TW: I think it’s that people get to see me in a different light. They don’t get to see the quiet or the outspoken because I’m never in between! I feel like when I needed to, I was quiet because people didn’t deserve to really get to know me for who I was because everything was just so fake to me. It was like everything was such a façade and I wasn’t used to that. In St. Louis, it’s all about respect, all about being real and I’m just not used to people doing things that everybody else is doing because it looks cool. That was really corny to me and so at times, I didn’t feel like I fit in. So the analyst desk gave me a way to express myself, to say how I see the sport, make it realistic for someone that has never watched it and just make it fun and make it where it’s a moment that they will remember and tie them into our sport. We need more fans and more supporters and the way to do that, is to tell more people about it. Sometimes, as an analyst, you’re teaching people about MMA and they don’t know about it until you tell them.
AM: Exactly, I live in NY, but am originally from Indiana so I definitely understand the sensibilities of growing up in the Midwest and then when you go outside of it, it’s a different cadence that you have to get used to.
TW: Very interesting, very interesting. If you came from Indiana to NY, you understand exactly what I’m saying. It’s fast paced, no one is really caring about anything you’re saying as they’re focused on what they need to do and in the back of their mind, they’re trying to position themselves and posture. I’m not trying to do that. If you’re cool with me, you’re cool with me – if not, you can slide.
AM: In addition to everything that you’re doing, you’re also an actor and a stuntman. I remember watching you in Straight Outta Compton and I was like, “wait, he’s acting?” I know you’ve done other roles as well, why have you embraced this portion of the entertainment industry in your body of work?
TW: I’m just an artist. I’ve said it to a lot of people and they don’t even realize it. I’m just an artist. I’m not a boxer, I’m not a fighter, I’m not a rapper, I’m not an analyst – I’m an artist. Whatever canvas I have to paint on for that day, I have to do what I have to do. So that’s why I think of it and I separate it. My filter when I had my own TMZ show was different than when I do FOX, is different then when I act. Again in acting, there are a whole lot of different roles – so I do that differently. Music is a different look and it’s just different filters that you use and sensors. Sometimes there’s no filters and it’s very encouraging for you to be 100% yourself. But they all exist because you're an artist.
So, I feel like that we as humans try to box people in because we’re afraid that someone else will want us to be something more. If you’re comfortable being a 5th grade high school teacher, you don’t want somebody out there over doing it making you feel like you need to get down and get into crypto, to build some real estate developments and to look into these areas. There are people that don’t want to do that. So that’s why they allow the 1% to tell them what to do and to tell them what’s cool.
AM: As someone who is an artist, what are some things that you have coming up that you can share as you have your hands in various pots.
TW: I have an EP that I’m working on musically, I have a TV show that I’m writing, executive producing and starring in which is my main focus. I will fight 2 more times this year one time will be boxing and the other will be MMA. I haven’t confirmed it, but if I can get this last fight of the year on NYE, then it will literally turn a lot of heads. I’m just in to doing stuff that’s ground breaking, trailblazing and when people try to tell you that you can’t do something, I’m trying to be a living vessel to show you that you can and to tell everyone else that they can shut up!
AM: How do you take time for yourself when you’re not in the midst of doing all of these projects?
TW: I just started doing that! So I took up golf and I’m just about to go play golf in Hawaii right now! The first time golfing, I was in Hawaii, my second time golfing – I was in Hawaii and now today, I’m taking my son out in the jungle where they filmed parts of Jurassic Park – we’re going to go out there. I like shooting guns and getting a haircut. Like, I’m really into getting a haircut and I don’t know why.
AM: How do you give back to your community and how important is that?
TW: I give back to my community and I would go to schools and talk to them and encourage them and showing them somebody that came up from a similar background or similar complexion could make it. A lot of kids used to message me and said they were from the same area that I grew up in and they wanted to know how I made it out of there. One in particular told me how he was getting bullied to join a gang and he didn’t want to. I was real with him and told him that I joined – it wasn’t because I was scared, but I didn’t want to have to deal with people asking me questions every day like which gang I was in. So, I did it because of that and I told this kid that he shouldn’t do it. He was a freshman in high school when he reached out and now he is a Senior, a kid named Cameron a D1 athlete with a scholarship and he made it out. So, I can do that and inspire others – obviously me going out there and doing well and winning is the best thing that I can do. Unfortunately, people don’t understand that the real life is not about whether you got the most points in regulation or what the judges are saying – it’s about how you live. You’re a champion because of the way that you live not because of the title or the belt, you know what I mean? That’s my thing to go out there and show you better and to tell you.
IG @therealest
PHOTO CREDIT | FRONT COVER + PG 50 9DRIP Jeff Bottari/Getty Images | PG 16, 20, 24 UFC/Getty Images | PG 18 + BACK COVER Josh Hedges/UFC/Getty Images | PG 23 Eric Lars Bakke/ESPN Images | PG 27 Art Streiber/NBC | PG 28 - 33 Byron Cohen/ABC |
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9LIST STORI3S | BRIAN MICHAEL SMITH
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INSPIRING WOMEN | GORJANA REIDEL
International Women's Day, International Women's Week and Women's Month are moments to celebrate and empower women who continue to push the envelope by being present and taking charge in the areas that they reside in around the world. It's also a time to reflect and assist those should also lend their voice to this effort. We caught up with the co-founder of gorjana, Gorjana Reidel who is known for her accessible and fine jewelry line that oozes SoCal cool girl style and has been worn by a number of celebrities and those in the know. We wanted to find out about how she created this brand, pieces we should have in our collections and the capsule collection that she has with her sister, Iva Pawling, co-founder of Richer Poorer.
ATHLEISURE MAG: I have been a fan of your brand for a number of years. As a celebrity fashion stylist and accessory expert, I like the aesthetic that you have brought into the jewelry industry. What led you to want to launch this jewelry brand?
GORJANA REIDEL: My childhood home in Serbia was extremely creative and that “DIY” attitude had a lasting impact on me. When I went to college, I knew I wanted to continue to channel that creativity in fashion. Although I studied marketing in college, I landed an internship in cosmetics at Neiman Marcus. After I graduated, I worked as an assistant manager in the jewelry department and that’s where I discovered my passion for jewelry design. I fell in love with jewelry because it’s intimate and timeless. You can wear a piece of jewelry every day and it eventually becomes a part of you.
AM: You and your husband created and are co-founders of this brand, and you are the Chief Creative Officer, what is your day-to-day like?
GR: Every day is different - which keeps it fun and exciting. From design ideation to product meetings….
AM: How do you go about getting inspiration for your jewelry line?
GR: I am really influenced by the Southern California lifestyle and the more relaxed vibe. I get inspired from different things all the time. It could be a cool shape I see, or I will look at something I want to wear and come up with the perfect jewelry piece to complete the look.
AM: Who is the gorjana woman?
GR: There really isn’t one type of woman - we see women from their 20s to late 50s or 60s wearing our jewelry. Our collections are timeless and so versatile - from chains to charms and daintier styles in our fine collection there truly is something for everyone.
AM: What is your process in terms of designing and creating new collections?
GR: This is always a fun process and never really the same. Sometimes we get inspired by a certain gemstone, sometimes it's a fun outfit we want to accessorize or a cool pattern we see and want to incorporate into a design. The process is never the same but that's what keeps us motivated and creative.
AM: How much does Laguna Beach play into your designs?
GR: I am always inspired but the beauty around me and Laguna is certainly one of the most beautiful places in the world. It’s so eclectic and so authentic. There’s a sense of community. I obviously love the beach and the whole topography of Laguna. We live up on a hill. I see the water every day. It’s just one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to.
AM: I’ve always loved the fact that your pieces are meant for layering – for those that may not do this, what should they keep in mind when doing this?
GR: Honestly, the more the merrier when it comes to layering…but I do feel like you should wear the jewelry, the jewelry shouldn’t wear you! Start with a couple of simple, classic pieces like our Parker or Venice Necklace and build your layered look to make it your own. We have some beautiful, daintier styles in our Fine Collection - including cool diamonds and 14k solid gold. I love to mix and match all of our styles to create the perfect neck mess!
AM: What are 3 pieces that you’re excited about in the line right now that we should consider including into our personal collections?
GR: We just launched our first fine signet ring with pavé diamonds - I love adding it to my everyday stack, it adds serious shine. I also love layering our Diamond Evil Eye Necklace and Parker Mini Layering Set.
AM: We know that the Tuscon Gem Show just took place a few weeks back, are there gemstones or other materials that you have yet to include in the line that you’re thinking about for future collections?
GR: We only source large gemstones for our stores at the Tucson Gem Show. They have such a wonderful grouping of vendors and some really unique items. In terms of future collections, we are really into exploring precious gemstone options for our fine collection.
AM: We’ve visited your stores here in NY and in DC. With nearly 30 stores, what is the ambiance that you bring into your locations and are there additional locations/cities that you will launch this year?
GR: Each store has a cool, quintessentially Californian vibe and a clean backdrop to highlight the jewelry. Guests are meant to feel as if they’re walking into a welcoming, coastal bungalow in our hometown of Laguna Beach, California. We are excited to open stores in Portland Oregon, and Nashville next month with Carlsbad, Houston, Philadelphia, and Studio City to follow in Q2.
AM: You and your sister created a capsule collaboration for International Women’s Day between gorjana and Richer Poorer. Can you tell me more about what is in the capsule and why you came together to create this?
GR: As female entrepreneurs, we know first-hand that entering the business world can be difficult. In doing this collaboration we are determined to provide support for those who are just starting out. In true collaborative nature, I worked with Iva to create a tank top with the perfect necklace neckline, and Iva pushed me to create a necklace to symbolize our individuality and showcase our bond. The capsule includes the necklace, tank top and then an option to purchase as a bundle with both pieces.
AM: Being a co-founder of Athleisure Mag, we love sharing stories of those that are empowered who make their mark in the world. How important is it for women to be inspired and encouraged to start their own businesses?
GR: I could name a thousand reasons why women should be inspired to start their own businesses. One reason that sticks out is to ensure diversity and balance across businesses. Genders from all different backgrounds bring their own unique perspective to the table and having a healthy mixture is highly effective - we’ve found - at continuing to have a well-rounded outlook on where the business goes next. Jason and I run the company together, and being a male/female team, we truly balance each other out with our differing opinions and viewpoints. All perspectives have value and when you truly listen to incorporate each other into decision making, it can only help to better capture your target customer and grow your business.
AM: 100% of the sales from this capsule collection will be donated to Dress for Success. Why did you want funds to go there?
GR: We always try to inspire others to follow their dreams, and hope that by donating 100% of proceeds, we can help those dreams go a little further. Giving back has always been of major interest to us personally, and both gorjana and Richer Poorer. We are proud and honored to support charitable organizations and communities large and small, nationwide.
AM: Will there be future collaborations of this nature between you and your sister?
GR: I hope so! We had so much fun working together on this.
AM: How do you take time for yourself when you want to make sure that you have the reset that you need?
GR: I love spending time with my family - going on hikes, going to the beach or being out on our boat.
IG @gorjana
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Gorjana Reidel
Read the APR ISSUE #76 of Athleisure Mag and see INSPIRING WOMEN | Gorjana Reidel in mag.
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