Addi aka Mindbender

I first met Addi two year ago in Kensington Market. I remember him walking confidently through the busy crowd, happily accepting strangers' requests for photos.  He had an undeniable charisma that effortlessly drew people to him.  I captured his cool 70's street style then and when we recently ran into each other on Queen Street West, we made plans to shoot again.

Addi: "Honestly, when it comes to my style, universal is the first thing that comes to mind, but that's not really defining so I'd say psychedelic. I like layers, colours and textures. I love to float through decades and genres of fashion. I also like to be delicate, feminine, masculine and I very much like to be naked sometimes."

TorontoVerve: "Who inspires your style?"

Addi: "Andre 3000 and Jimi Hendrix because of their fearlessness, colour and electricity -- very much their self-expression. Similar to them, my fashion is timeless. I don't follow trends, but I may borrow from them sometimes."

TorontoVerve: "What do people say about your style?"

Addi: "A girl once said, "So what version of Addi am I going to get today?" And I like that. I like people not knowing what to expect from me.  I have a very diverse wardrobe. Two years ago, I didn't have a halloween costume and I threw together what was in my closet and ended up with a pretty decent costume."

TorontoVerve: "What is your New Year's resolution?"

Addi: "To have new resolutions and revolutions every single day and to spread as much love and art as possible. I want my body to be a work of art that's why I love posing for pictures. I enjoy working with artists who want to push boundaries and capture images of beauty."

Addi's alter ego is Mindbender and he and his brother Conspiracy are the musical duo, Supreme Being Unit. "It's hard to describe our music. I like to say that I have a hip hop heart, but the legs and arms are rock 'n' roll, jazz, funk, techno, jungle and spoken word. I'm not afraid to jump on any rhythm or genre. There are hip hop fans who love us and hate us, and there are people who hate hip hop, but love our music.  We've even rocked a full crowd of punk rock/metal dudes and they dug us. Our music is wild and unpredictable -- just like my fashion sense."

TorontoVerve: "Does your twin brother Conspiracy share your wild fashion sense?"

Addi: "We're like parallel yin and yang. He's like me, but he's not like me. He's like the dark version of me -- the negative inverse photograph. He's more wild animal than me too."

Check out Supreme Being Unit's music on Mindbender's website and follow him on Instagram.