HOMAGE: Crisis Magazine

Hello. How are you doing? I hope everything is moving at a decent pace and in your favor so far. I guess I'll start off first by introducing myself, my name is July and I am a photographer, head writer, and H.P.I interviewer under Crisis Magazine . Second, I am no professional by any means, but we can all agree that everyone has got to start somewhere, and for me my start is in a small town in Central California called Fresno. Early on in 2020 I began my first steps into the media space with my platform Homage Podcast alongside my close friend Seth. We first started off recording audio in my bedroom around a small coffee table with a 100$ microphone.Where most of our early episodes were of us covering various topics that we found interesting and relevant to us. Yet over time and various episodes we began to expand our show to allow artists, musicians, designers, and creative individuals alike. To join us to talk about their careers, interests, and endeavors. The goal I sought to accomplish through Homage was to provide a platform that allowed underground creatives in my hometown to have a moment to preach and talk their shit. While also documenting my life through the podcast and have it be this vault of stories that I can look back on and listen to when I get old and wrinkly. I look back fondly on those times in the sense that the knowledge and skills I gained passively in my podcast career allowed me to test the boundaries and abilities of what I could achieve. And I would have to say that one particular interview that I was blessed enough to acquire that ended up turning into a long lasting friendship was my early interview in 2021 with the lead admins of Golf Wang Reporters. The love I have for the team at G.W.R will forever be present due to the fact that those foo’s granted me opportunities that opened my eyes wide to the opportunities in the world around me. One opportunity specifically allowed me to have the chance to travel down to Malibu CA and attend the 2021 Golf Le Fleur pop-up hosted by Tyler, The Creator. It’s insane to think back on that day, in the sense that this core memory of getting to meet one of my favorite artists and experiencing something that not many supporters get to see, culminated to it just being some post on my instagram feed at the end of the day.

      I know it sounds kinda sad and for a while that was the reality of the situation. Yet eventually my posts from that day eventually caught the eyes of Tate Canyon, the editor in chief of Crisis Magazine. At that time Tate was in the early stages of putting together the second Issue of  Crisis Magazine and had  reached out to me to see if I was interested in having my photos from the Le Fleur pop-up featured in his upcoming issue of Crisis #2. After some conversation and deliberation  I agreed to help Tate out with the Crisis project wherever I could, and I remember this moment of Tate telling me nonchalantly, that if I wanted to write a small review about the event that it would go hard in the mag. At first I figured yeah, a small review of my experience would be a nice addition to my photos, but then I began to realize that this opportunity can be more than just a simple review with some photos. I felt that I had to do more, with the fact that I had the ability to provide the reader with an in depth perspective of the event from the eyes of a long time supporter rather than a paid publicist from some apex company. And luckily my decision to write about my complete experience at the Le Fleur event led me to writing two other articles that were featured in Crisis #2 as well. Both articles being detailed accounts paying homage to the art work of artists’ Father Steve and Asspizza. Now of course these articles were not done overnight, in all honesty I had to push back my deadlines several times just to get everything right. In my defense I was more accustomed to running podcast talk shows and interviews covering topic after topic, so writing about an experience was a slight challenge for me. Yet I would say that those passive skills from running those kinds of podcasts over the past year or two allowed me to explain and provide immense detail within my writing.  It's hard for me to say that the first round of articles I did through Crisis were even good in all honesty. I mean they were quite literally my first articles ever done for a magazine , all of them done with this motive of telling a story to share an experience and broaden perspectives. And I will say that the support and feedback that I received was more than I expected. People from other states and countries were messaging me about my writing. Saying they loved reading about Le Fleur and how they wished pop-ups like it happened in places like Austria. My work was even noticed by both Father Steve and Asspizza and has opened many new doors creatively that have allowed me to attack bigger projects. It’s safe to say that the aftermath of the work I put in at the end of the day not only cemented my drive to become a better writer but it also gained me a spot among the Crisis Team as a head writer.

  I would say after a month or two the buzz from the work I did on Crisis #2 began to turn to a slight hum in my eyes. It was one thing to get props for putting together some good writing, but I felt that I had to do more. With my experience of having conducted various interviews in the past through my podcast I felt that I had the ability to become a valuable asset for Crisis in regards to the interview landscape. I knew that I set a standard for myself through my writing, but I wanted to show both Tate and those familiar with my work that I wasn't a one trick pony. So one night I gave a call to Tate and spoke my piece. Explaining to him that I had been conducting interviews for some time now, and that I wanted to prove my abilities by assuring that if he ever needed someone to conduct an interview with a high value individual, I would have it on lock. It's honestly a bit hard for me to recollect exactly what I said to him, possibly due to the fact I may have had a drink or two. But what I do remember is Tate giving me  stern yet confirmative “ Lets Run It”.  I honestly couldn't tell how serious Tate took me at that time, and I didn't really know if he would ever situate an interview for me to conduct in the first place. 

Eventually the energy began to pick up again as we began the process of putting together Crisis #3. This time it was different in the sense that we had a solid group of artists, writers , and designers already situated for the magazine this time around. In a sense I would say Crisis #2 was the magazine that brought the team together, and now Crisis #3 is us doubling down on our strengths and pushing the envelope as a team. With the end goal of putting out a dope product, reaching a new level of mastery, all while pissing off the haters and doubters. As I began working on my own contributions to Crisis #3, Tate had reached out to me one afternoon and presented me with the opportunity to interview the CEO of Market, Mike Cherman. It was at this point that I knew Tate  had taken me and my word very seriously, and pretty much put me up on deck to see what I could do. And believe me , my plan was not to disappoint. Thinking back on it now it's been kind of insane how things seemed to transpire from one opportunity to the next. 

    Opportunity in some regards is like karma. I'd say that generally you get out what you put in, but when shit happens , well... shit happens. Ever since I began working with Crisis, most of this past year has generally been filled with a whole lot of “shit happens” moments. In the sense that there's been some really good shit happening at the end of the day. I'm grateful to have the chance to be a part of a great team of like minded artists and individuals that come together and work in a selfless act to produce Crisis.  I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to make some great friendships, meet some of my personal idols, have the ability to grow as an artist, and share my stories and perspectives to those who even care to fuck with em.  And I’ll be real, that's one of those hurdles that I continuously dread with every project I do, including this one. The hurdle of getting over the fear of going out of your way and doing something regardless if no one fucks with it at the end of the day.  As I said before I'm no professional by any means and you have every right to take everything I say with a grain of salt. But if there is one thing that I have learned in my short time working in the magazine landscape is that if you have an idea and you don't execute it , someone else will,  and that being open minded to every opportunity around you will only benefit you and lead to more opportunities as long as you allow them to flourish.  I mean if I turned down Tate’s initial offer to have my photos in Crisis #2 all of my work up until this point may have never come to fruition. Or he would have inevitably resorted to working with someone else to fill the role. I'm a big believer in the idea that energy is always being reciprocated, and that every idea we have within ourselves, also lives in the world around us. I feel our job as creatives and artists is to know when to seize the moment. To not just take advantage of a single opportunity for only what you believe it’s worth, but to maximize that given opportunity to the best of your ability and allow it to nurture, attract, and surround yourself with  new opportunities. For me , I was just a kid fresh out of high school with an appreciation for the arts , stuck in limbo taking classes at my community college,  just trying to figure it out . I wanted to do something new so I utilized my appreciation for art , music, fashion , and the cultures related to begin my journey and from that point on like I said. It’s been just a ton of “shit happens” moments . All stemming from little actions like deciding to photograph an event , making the decision to travel somewhere last minute to cover a story. Offering creative direction on how a page looks , fuck even just being in the room and soaking up the energy from those around you. Opportunity is always present , stay open minded , seize the moment , know your strengths to push your boundaries, and make the most out of every moment. 

   I feel I have spoken well enough, and I would like to wrap this up with a big thank you to Beans Magazine for featuring Crisis in this issue and allowing me to have the chance to talk my shit . On behalf of the Crisis team we would like to tip our hats and spark our blunts to the motivation, positive energy, and creative wisdom that Beans has bestowed upon us throughout the early stages of Crisis Magazine. We appreciate this opportunity to contribute to a body of work that has been a constant motivation for us to trust our visions, push the envelope, and complete our mission by any means necessary. Cheers to more success and new oppurtunity