Teaghan

I love shooting dance-themed photography — especially in dingy alleys. Here’s my shoot with budding singer, actor and dancer, Teaghan Young. 

Teaghan Young: The best advice someone has ever given me is: “Success is the best revenge." That’s what they said before they screwed me over and I thought, “Hmmm…good mantra. Now I’ll have to be very successful so you will not be able to avoid seeing me." [laughs]

TorontoVerve: You’ve got a list of names for those people? 

TY: Yeah. I just think it’s important to be nice to everybody even though you don’t like them because you never know where they’ll end up. Be nice to them until they give you reason not to. That’s what my mom told me.

TV: What does dancing mean to you? 

TY: I fell in love with ballet when I first started my college course. It’s peaceful and graceful, but powerful. You’re doing things that your body shouldn’t be doing, but you have to make it look beautiful. It’s almost therapeutic. I love tap and jazz dance, but ballet calms me. I’m never going to be a professional ballet dancer. I’m never going to be in a company, but I just love it. Ballet is the foundation of all dance.

TV: Who inspires you in the ballet industry? 

TY: Misty Copeland. She’s the first Black dancer to play the lead in Swan Lake. She’s so graceful and you can tell that she works so hard. Also my ballet teacher, Debbie, inspires me. She’s been with the American Ballet Theatre and the New York City Ballet and she’s done Broadway. She’s so funny and understanding. That’s how every ballet teacher should be. She gets that not everybody is built for ballet, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. She can also do any dance move in jeans.

TV: Is the ballet industry really cutthroat? 

TY: [Laughs] I don’t go to an exclusive ballet school. In general, the performing industry is very cutthroat. My program has a total of 150 kids in it. I made a family there. I know within my family it’s not cutthroat, but once I get out there, after I graduate, it’ll be a shark tank.

TV: In the movie Showgirls, the seasoned performer makes life difficult for the new kid because she feels threatened by her talent.  Have you ever encountered that kind of treatment? 

TY: Absolutely. I’ve encountered it a lot. It’s definitely hard to see a [newbie] sneaking up on your career.

TV: So what do you think of the TTC's "We Move You" ballet campaign?

TY: I think it’s awesome. I love the movement in their ads. It’s a great campaign.
 

TV: How do you feel about the controversy surrounding the campaign — specifically its promotion of unhealthy body images?

TY: I don’t agree with it. I think a lot of ballet dancers hear a lot of crap about their body. The women and men in the National Ballet of Canada are not thin because they don’t eat. They’re thin because they’re dancing 8 hours a day and they’re working out on top of that. I read an article where a woman said that it was an unattainable body type. I can understand the criticism if the TTC had skinny models in a photo-shopped ad, but those are the ballet dancers’ actual body. It’s wrong to tell plus-size people that they’re unhealthy. The same can be said about thin people. I’ve been accused of being anorexic when I was younger. Kids used to make fun of me. I know it’s not to the same extent as with plus-size people. It’s not inclusive praising one body type and shaming another. We should accept all body types.

Follow Teaghan on Twitter and Instagram.

Sean

Michael

I never forget a face from my blog so when Michael recently walked passed me, I instantly recognized him. I shot his cool street style back in summer of 2012. As it turns out, we live on the same street. Naturally, we talked about shooting again.

Cath: The Last Summer Shoot

Now that we're posting our last summer photo-shoot, summer is officially over for the blog, and to help us mark the occasion, Cath strikes several poses in this glorious black and white pictorial.

Last year, we featured Cath AKA Hourglass Cath in our Blogger Spotlight where she opened up about her struggles with body image and bullying. Since then, she married her fiancé, Christopher, and has been happier than ever, but recently, she's been conflicted about something.

"I've been conflicted about my career in advertising and modelling," she shares. 

Last year, Cath acknowledged that she would never wager her career in advertising to pursue modelling; however, her rising success as a model has led her to that proverbial crossroad.

"I truly love advertising, its fast-paced nature and the people I work with, but it can be all-consuming. It's hard for me to accommodate both careers. I don't believe in basing my livelihood on my outward appearance; however, modelling is something I love doing and I love being a part of the positive body image movement."

"Do I quit my advertising gig and get a more flexible job that will allow me to model, or pass up this amazing opportunity and wonder: what if? What I had to ask myself was: will I regret not trying to make it work, or will I just cause myself undue stress at my current job? My ultimate decision was: what do I have to lose in trying?"

"Once I was committed to my decision, my work was willing to be flexible; which, I am forever grateful for. I am blessed with an amazing boss who appreciates my passion [for modelling]." 

Recently, Cath signed with B&M Models. "I just completed my first booking modelling for Nygard Slims at the Toronto Women's Show!" 

Looks like that wager is already paying off.

Follow Hourglass Cath on Twitter and Instagram.

Street Photography: Lakeview Restaurant

Tim

"My dad once told me, 'always trust yourself.' That was his advice after I dropped out of university and was trying to figure out what the f@%k I was going to do with my life. I remember him saying, 'you made this choice, now it's time to find your own path.'"

Follow Tim on Instagram.

Supreme Being Unit's Mindbender & Conspiracy

Meet twin brothers Addi and Khari (38). Their alter-egos, Mindbender and Conspiracy, make up the cosmic hip hop band Supreme Being Unit. 

Addi AKA Mindbender (right): Our music is everything in the universe. Everyone who is touched by it is part of the Supreme Being Unit — whether you love it or hate it. We’re all one entity. It’s the core of Bob Marley’s One Love idea. Without hate, there is no love. As Conspiracy and Mindbender, we’re two of the most dynamic MCs in all of hip hop history — I would humbly suggest to say. We rap about everything in the universe: science, religion, women, art, sex, sports, comedy and cartoons. There’s no subject that will not appear in a Supreme Being Unit song. Both of our minds together pretty much span the entire universe. It’s a wild statement, but if you listen to our music, I think you would agree. 

Khari AKA Conspiracy (left): Personally, I like Mindbender’s fashion. He’s got the GQ style. He’s a gentleman and has that grown up style with a little bit of a vintage and exotic flair. I’m more the original B-Boy. I wear a lot of athletic wear like hockey jerseys. I love wearing black. I was the first born, but Addi is a bit more wiser and mature than me. We’re opposites that are the same.

Addi: I want to redefine sexual culture. Not only within hip hop, but within Canadian society by being the example of living-breathing positive sexuality that I am, and by being shameless; which is why I never hide my sexuality. When I feel sexy, I let it out. I don’t hide it. I’m not breaking any laws by walking down the street with my chest out. I don’t repress myself or my fashion or my flair for being masculine one day or feminine another. I have some asexual clothing. I feel very much a man wearing vaguely effeminate clothing like really tight shirts or a male bustier. I really don’t give a f@%k. Not every man has the balls to wear what I wear. If it’s me and my spirit, then I’m cool with it. It’s not about everybody fitting into one thing.

Khari: I support Mindbender’s pro-feminine and masculine viewpoints. I think human sexuality needs to be developed and explored to divine and cosmic levels. Negativity between the two sexes and against the gay community needs to stop. It’s all about positivity. We want peace for everybody.

We featured Addi's cool vintage street style before.

Check out Supreme Being Unit's music. 

Follow Minderbender on Instagram and Twitter. 
Follow Conspiracy on Twitter.

Street Photography: Flatiron

Street Photography: Paradise Alley

Brian aka Cowboy

Brian: "Everyone in the Market calls me Cowboy -- mainly because of the hat, boots and attitude. For 30 years, I've lived in Alberta and British Columbia. I came out here in 2000 because of an ugly divorce. But once I get my pension, I'm going back out west."

TorontoVerve: "What do you have to look forward to there?"

Brian: "Cheaper rent, nicer weather and better weed (laughs)."

TorontoVerve: "What are you most proud of?"

Brian: "My son."

TorontoVerve: "What's your biggest regret in life?"

Brian: "Geez, I don't know. There's been a lot of them, man (laughs)."

Model Audrey Ritchie Drops the Plus

Should the plus in plus-size model be dropped? 

LA-based model Audrey Ritchie says, yes.

Spearheaded by Australian model Stefania Ferrario, the #DropThePlus movement is quickly gaining traction and is asking everyone to stop labelling models as plus-size.

“There’s nothing plus-size about us,” says Ritchie. “We’re just models because that’s what we do. People don’t post a photo of a straight-size model and then add a ‘straight-size model’ hashtag. I shouldn’t be defined by my size. I’m a woman.”

Ritchie began her modelling career just this year and is already making a name for herself. She’s appeared in several fashion magazines and has just landed a new gig modelling fall fashion for Canadian retailer Penningtons. Not bad for a newbie who’s never set foot on Canadian soil before. “I’m very blessed and fortunate that this is my job.”

But Richie didn’t always feel so fortunate. The 23-year old model, who’s a mixture of Puerto Rican, Mexican and African-American, shares that growing up in Los Angeles wasn’t always easy on her self-esteem. “I always knew that I was different looking,” she explains. “All the girls in Southern California didn’t have my curly hair. They had straight hair. Growing up, I wanted to have the California girl look: blond hair, blue eyes, thin, wearing tiny bikinis. I didn’t feel normal.”

Ritchie hit an all time low when she started battling her weight issues in sixth grade. “Once I hit puberty, my body completely changed. All the other girls didn’t have boobs and hips. I remember having breakdowns and asking ‘why don’t I look like them?!’ I thought that I was so fat and no one would ever want me. Now, when I see that young girl in photos, I think she was always average-size and normal.”

Despite her new self-confidence and modelling success, Ritchie admits that her issues with body image is on-going — especially when she’s competing with thinner models. “Straight-size fashion is always going to be the most popular,” she says. “Everyone wants to be the skinniest. When I look at girls in these high-end fashion magazines, I think ‘man, I wish I could look like that.’ EVERY GIRL says that. Every girl.” But Ritchie goes on to explain that there’s an interesting flip-side to that coin. “Sometimes there are naturally thin girls who wish that they had curves. So I think that there’s a cool balance happening. The generation that’s coming up needs to understand the positive aspects of both sides and being comfortable with who you are.”

According to Ritchie, one of the biggest misconceptions that people have of plus-size models is that they’re unhealthy. “We’re not,” she insists. “We don’t sit around and eat all day. Companies prefer to hire fit models now, which is basically a proportioned, hourglass figure. That’s not unhealthy.”

After the fashion industry’s new acceptance of diversity and the success of models like Ashley Graham and Chloe Marshall, Ritchie is very optimistic about her modelling future. She’s planning on relocating to London after she signs with a new agency, but first, she’ll have to make one small concession. “I’m a size 12 and in order to sign with this agency, I’ll have to go down to a size 10,” she says. “Losing two dress sizes is easy for me. Luckily, I can lose weight fast and fit into a size 10 without having a muffin top (laughs).”

Follow Audrey Ritchie on Instagram and Twitter.

Actress Katie Boland: What Happened After 'the Summer She Lost Her Mind'

For everyone, heartbreak is a painful and unwelcomed emotion, but for actress Katie Boland (The Master, Gerontophilia, CW’s Reign), it would also be her serendipitous source of inspiration. Her web-series, Long Story, Short, boldly recounts every sad and humiliating detail of what she calls ‘the summer I lost my mind’, and has quickly gained a huge internet following.

Boland’s relationship sorrows also strongly influence her first novel, Eat Your Heart Out, a collection of dark and evocative short stories, and most recently her Huffington Post article about breaking the cycle of abuse.

Indeed, much has happened to the Toronto-native since she was recognized by Elle Canada and the Toronto International Film Festival for her impressive film work. TorontoVerve sat down with the multi-faceted artist to talk about her career success and her relationship woes.

TorontoVerve: You’re a hard working actor. You’ve worked in so many mediums: movies, television, print and digital. Have I missed anything? 

Katie Boland: No (laughs).

TV: Can you sing? 

KB: No, I can’t sing. I’m actually a terrible singer.

TV: So no future albums coming out for you. 

KB: No, no album (laughs).

TV: It’s 2015. How did you ring in the new year? 

KB: I was at a house party with my brother and my closest friends. I rang in the New Year in a wonderful way. I was really happy.

TV: What’s your New Year’s resolution? 

KB: I have a couple. First, I’d like to be more focussed on self-acceptance and less focussed on self-improvement. Also, this past year was amazing and I’ve had an abundance of experiences, but I definitely feel a little burnt out so I’d like to rest more in 2015.

TV: 2014 has certainly been good to you. Long Story, Short launched and you won a Canadian Screen Award for Best Performance in a Digital Series. The show is being compared to HBO’s “Girls.” What was your vision for the series when you began writing it?  

KB: I wrote it because I wanted to explore that period in my life, which I call “the summer I lost my mind,” but to be honest, I didn’t necessarily have a clear vision. I’ve never written anything for the screen before and I’ve never been a showrunner. I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew that I wanted to make something with my friends. So I think my vision was to work hard and try to have a collaborative space. My mom directed it. She’s an incredibly hard worker so I knew that it would look good, but I did not think that it would have the life that it’s had. It’s been a wonderful surprise. 

TV: What kind of response have you been getting from people on the street and social media? 

KB: Well, it’s been really interesting with its most recent launch on VervegirlTV. I’ve gotten so many tweets from many people who would say, “This feels like a transcript of my life” or “Wow! I really relate to this” or “These drunken mishaps are hilarious and sad.” I think I felt very alone during that time, but I shouldn’t have because I think that many people have gone through similar experiences in trying to find themselves in destructive and hilarious ways.

TV: The women in the series offer each other much advice when it comes to texting men. For those who haven’t seen the series yet, what are some of the important rules to know about texting and dating? 

KB: (Laughs) OK, I always screw it up! I always say I’m going to play it cool and then I can’t -- especially if I like the guy. So I don’t know if I should be giving this kind of advice, but I think hopefully you meet somebody and it clicks, and you don’t have to worry about all of that stuff. You can text them whenever you want to and vice-versa. I think what’s important to work on before you fall in love or start dating someone you like is to have self-esteem and know your self-worth so when you’re texting someone and they don’t text you back, it won’t be a major heartbreak. You can say, “OK, this person isn’t ready. I’m not going to take it personally and let it ruin my day.” For me, it used to be when a guy didn’t text me back, I was like, “Oh my God! Why?!” I’d be consumed by it. So my rules are: try to date someone kind because life is hard. It should be fun at the beginning.

TV: You’ve worked with your mother, director Gail Harvey, on film projects before, but what does it mean to you to collaborate with her on such a personal project? 

KB: She’s very supportive and nonjudgmental. It was really the first time we collaborated. She is more experienced than I am as far as filmmaking goes so she didn’t have to be as supportive as she was. It was amazing. I felt really grateful.

TV: Did she ever have to tell you, “Let’s dial it back a little. This is too crazy.” 

KB: Well, I directed the sex scenes, not my mom. That would be awkward for the guys (laughs). No, she never asked to dial it back. If anything, I felt like we both wanted to push it farther than we did.

TV: Long Story, Short is partly based on your own personal heartbreaks and in your book (“Eat Your Heart Out”) dedication, you credit Peter for your heartbreak, which led to writing the book. What have you learned about yourself through your heartbreaks? 

KB: I learned a library worth of knowledge. I would say that I had two really major heartbreaks: my first and last breakups. I felt almost reinvented through each experience. It sounds cheesy, but I felt like a whole new person in a way. I’ve learned that you have to love yourself and deal with whatever’s screwed up inside of you because another relationship is not going to fix it. I learnt to be strong and to be OK with being alone. I learned to make art out of bad things that happen to me. Sometimes the worst things that happen to you are actually the greatest gifts in the world.

TV: So what do your heartbreakers think of your art? 

KB: Peter is great. He told me that he was touched by the book dedication and that he really liked Long Story, Short. He and I are still very good friends. I think the response has mainly been positive. That’s the weird thing about relationships. You can be so close and then you never see each other again (laughs).

TV: That can also be a good thing. 


KB: Sometimes that has to happen (laughs).

TV: Alcoholism plays a big part in your web series and in your book. Since both draw heavily on your life, is it safe to say that you’ve been personally confronted with the hardships of alcoholism? 

KB: Yeah, definitely people close to me have struggled with alcoholism and addiction. It also runs in my family for sure, but my mom and dad both don’t drink, which is amazing. I’m reading an interesting book now called “Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol” and it’s about the drinking culture amongst young women. I think the way most young people drink today isn’t healthy. I think often times when I was binge drinking, it was to deal with something inside me.

TV: I enjoyed reading “Eat Your Heart Out.” 

KB: Thank you!

TV: I was particularly intrigued with the lead character in your short story “Monster.” Unknown to her finance, she’s a sociopath who has little regard for life. I found it very interesting that you chose her to deliver a very insightful anti- alcohol abuse message (“escaping through alcohol allows people to remain stuck in the lives they hate. I believe that if you are unhappy, you might as well know it, and know it always”). Why select her instead of one of your benevolent characters to give that message in the book? 

KB: Well, I think that that character is wired wrong. Her point of view is very black and white. She lacks empathy. I think that’s a rather harsh way of looking at alcoholism and the people who drink to escape their lives. There’s not much tenderness in her view; however, I don’t think that she’s necessarily wrong. That’s how I felt at that point in my life about drinking. If you need to get drunk every weekend to be fulfilled, maybe you need to stop drinking so you can deal with some of the bigger issues or problems in your life.

TV: Was that a personal lesson you’ve learned about drinking? 

KB: It’s definitely something that I spent much time thinking about. If I’m drinking a lot or if the people around me are drinking a lot, I always wonder why and what other motivating factors there are. Drinking is such an accepted behaviour in society and I don’t think necessarily that you’re getting any closer to knowing yourself or the people that you’re getting drunk with.

TV: So will your character, Kristen, in Long Story, Short learn that lesson? 

KB: I don’t know. I have to see where season two will go. I would hope so because you want to see a character progress. I think that alcoholism is something that you always struggle with. Kristen is in real denial about her drinking. I would like to see her hit rock bottom before she comes up.

TV: On the show, your friend Dave tells Kristen: “You will care about anyone so long as they don’t care about you.” This is also a similar theme in your novel. Is there any truth to that in your real life? 

KB: In Long Story, Short, Kristen’s self-esteem is all f@%ked up and for a long time, that’s how I really was. There were many really wonderful men who wanted to date me, but I really didn’t like myself enough to let them like me in a respectful and fulfilling way. Much of what I explore in my book and Long Story, Short are people who don’t love themselves and have low self-esteem. Thanks to my art, I’m in a different place now and I’ve learned to love myself, which is the cornerstone to every good thing in life.

TV: Is there anyone special in your life right now?

KB: No, I’m not dating anyone; however, there are MULTIPLE special people in my life: my friends and family.

TV: You’ve recently revealed in your Huffington Post column that you had a pattern of being in emotionally abusive relationships. What made you want to share something so personal with your readers? 

KB: It’s hard not to look at anything like that as a mistake or regret. I now look at everything as lessons. I hope that maybe there’s one girl in the world who would read that and feel less alone or have some sort of clarity on what is a very emotionally confusing situation. I’m really a believer in women telling their stories and men owning what’s happened to them. I felt like if I owned it and put it out there, then it wouldn’t define me. It would be something that I can finally put in the past. I was far enough along in my recovery to talk about it with clarity. Also, writing things like that helps me. It reminds me of where I don’t want to go again. And what’s the point in going through all of that and not help somebody too? It makes it less about me and more about helping someone in need.

TV: Did your abusive relationships serve as inspiration for your short story “Tragic Hero”? Rich, your lead character, had a tendency to subtly control his young female friend, Maggie. 

KB: What’s interesting is when I wrote that book, I didn’t know that I was in emotionally abusive relationships. That’s the craziest part about it. You don’t realize what’s happening is wrong or that you’re a part of a sick cycle. I think I knew subconsciously and expressed it through my art, but I didn’t have any concrete awareness about it. I find characters like Rich interesting. I like writing about people who are a bit screwed up or bent. I think I’m drawn to those types of relationships in my art, but not in my real life anymore.

TV: What would you recommend to anyone who wants to break away from that painful cycle? 

KB: It’s a difficult thing because it has to happen when they’re ready. You can talk to somebody about it until you’re blue in the face, but if they’re not ready, it’s not going to end. If you’re friends with someone who’s in a situation like that, just be there for them, listen, don’t get frustrated with them and don’t make them feel stupid because they’re already frustrated with themselves and feel stupid enough. I would also say that there is a lot of free help that you can get. Seeing a therapist can be very helpful. Trying to find people in the same situation can help too. My advice would be to get out. It’s really hard at first, but after you do, your life gets exponentially better.

TV: Both you and your mother have a production company called “Straight Shooters” and are currently developing other television projects. What can we expect from both of you next? 

KB: We have three different television projects in development. We are also working on a documentary about Rickie Lee Jones who is a very famous American singer. My mom is directing it and I’m producing it. And we’re doing some more mini- episodes of Long Story, Short, which I’m really excited about. I also have five different films coming out this year.

TV: What are you looking forward to the most in 2015? 

KB: I think all the cool projects that I’m going to get to do with my friends. That’s what I’m really looking forward to. And hopefully continuing to be happy and healthy.

TV: Care to close with a little word association? 

KB: Sure. 


TV: Toronto. 


KB: Drake.

TV: Beauty. 


KB: Mark. 


TV: Fashion. 


KB: Cabaret Vintage.

TV: Mom. 

KB: Best friend.

TV: Art. 


KB: Important.

TV: Pain. 


KB: Necessary.

TV: Love. 


KB: Nice. 


TV: Hate. 


KB: Needless.

TV: Future. 

KB: Hopeful.

TV: Happiness. 

KB: Today.

* * *

Check out Katie's website and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Watch the first episode of Long Story, Short below:

Michelle Jobin

Michelle: "Summer is when I am in my element and when I am happiest, so I think my style reflects that. Fun, optimistic and unfussy. That doesn’t mean there is no room for sophistication in the warmer months, but it’s a time to be a little relaxed and even a bit more whimsical. I also find in the past couple of years I have been a little more drawn to prints in the summer, which I used to not love as much. Style should be something that makes you happy -- especially in the summer."

TorontoVerve: "Who inspires your fashion?"

Michelle: "So many people inspire my style. I am lucky to have friends and colleagues that are not only wonderful people, but have a strong sense of individual style. Music, film and of course travel inspire me as well. I feel like street style is such a key element of learning about the destinations I visit. I bring pieces back home with me not only because they’re unique, but to serve as memories of a trip. I picked up this hat in Spain last year, and I can’t wear it without thinking about being on the beach there. Other than that, there are a few websites like WhoWhatWear that can be pretty great for inspiration. Sidewalk Hustle is a really good Toronto-based blog for fashion, music, tech and more."

Michelle Jobin is a Weather Specialist for Global News Toronto and has been featured on TorontoVerve this past winter.

Follow Michelle on Twitter and Instagram.

Hat: Oysho
Top: Topshop
Shorts: Aritzia
Shoes: Heel Boy

Scott

Scott: "There's a Steampunk Fair going on so this is my Lazy Goth Pride look. I'm all about Steampunk and Goth. I see a lot of people do them really well and I'm impressed by their efforts. I usually throw together my own ideas."

TorontoVerve: "What inspired you to put the tutu on today."

Scott: "My friends. I have a lot of queer friends who are awesome and I like being an ally for them. And I like dancing. There's going to be a lot of dancing during Pride Week. My friends will often say, 'obviously you have to wear the tutu,' and obviously I do because I'm an exuberant dancer."

TorontoVerve: "What has the reaction been so far?"

Scott: "Super awesome. It's Toronto. It's really good."

Maxine

"Today is my all black and professional look. I get a lot of my style inspiration from Beauty By JJ."

Alice

"I always like mixing something that's really fancy with something that's casual. I love the best of both worlds."

John: Indie Street Style

"My style is eclectic -- whatever I can find, wherever I can find it. I listen to a lot of indie music and I see what they're doing and I find things that are similar. The band that would most inspire me is Man Man -- if their clothes were tighter."

Asia: "Tribal Futurism"

"My style can be described as Tribal Futurism. Singer Erykah Badu inspires me. She's a powerful black woman doing whatever she wants and I respect that."

Asia Clarke is also a jewelry designer and you can check out her cool designs on her website Wild Moon Jewelry.