I'm a member of the MPHC Climbing Gym and I try to go to the gym a couple of times a week. One of the things that has kept me going there as opposed to one of the other gyms in the cities is the staff -- they are always friendly and helpful. So when I asked Bill, the director, if I could do a photo shoot there, he not only said yes, but he said he would open the gym for us a couple of hours before opening so we'd have the gym to ourselves.
So a couple of weekends ago, George, Rachel and I went to the gym to shoot some of the clothes from my surf-inspired collection. I've been seeing neons everywhere lately, and the tape and holds on the walls matched the clothes, so I thought visually it would all work together well Also, I had taken Rachel climbing several times, and she is a trained dancer, so I knew she'd be up to the task.
The photos came out really great, as you can see below. We coaxed George up on one of the ropes. Eli, the MPHC staff member who graciously came in an extra couple of hours early, belayed Rachel and I belayed George, who was perhaps appropriately terrified, especially when I shifted a bit to fix something on Rachel and he dropped a foot without warning. However, the shots he got from up there were pretty spectacular. I had sent Rachel beauty inspiration images, and she did her own hair and makeup. Rachel brought the hot pink stripper heels (she claims they're actually comfortable!) and I made the various plastic brightly colored jewelry she's wearing -- I went on a shopping spree at Michael's craft store and bought glow in the dark beads and neon lanyard.
It was only our second shoot working together, the three of us, but I'd say we make a pretty great team.
Photos: George Evan Andreadis
Model: Rachel Geiman/MC2
