Curating the Vibes

What I Saw on October 7th

Shye Klein survived the Nova music festival massacre on October 7th, 2023 - one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Israeli history. At the festival, he photographed 54 people - 52 who survived and 2 who were murdered. He has since dedicated himself to sharing testimony about the mass casualty event where 411 people were murdered and 55 kidnapped.

The Man in the Ram Truck

Tofunmi was trying to give his girlfriend the perfect birthday when a man in a Ram truck yelled a racial slur at him through the window in broad daylight, with his young daughter laughing in the passenger seat.  What followed was a confrontation, a near-accident, and a lesson Tofunmi's father tried to teach him the next day: that real power means not reacting, even when everything in you is screaming to.  Tofunmi reflects on the seemingly-impossible standard of having to be a leader even when someone tries to strip away your humanity. This isn't an easy story to hear. But it needs to be told.

Curating the Vibes

Stefania was lying around after hip surgery, watching YouTube DJ sets, when she started wondering: "What would it be like to be the one making people dance?"  Six months later, she was hobbling into DJ school on crutches for an intro class that left her brain buzzing, and completely exhausted.  Now she's curating vibes across Toronto, learning to read body language in real-time, all the while discovering that being a DJ means way more homework than anyone realizes.  It's never too late to start something completely new! Stefania is living proof of it.

Owning My Diagnosis

"Authenticity is freedom."  Radz is reflecting on a decade-long journey of learning to stop hiding parts of himself.  What started as panic attacks that wouldn't stop led to a bipolar diagnosis at 28, a brief stint in jail, and eventually a complete reframing of how he shows up in the world.  Radz shares his experience navigating mental health in tech sales, the difference between Western and Eastern perspectives on bipolar disorder, and why he now leads with his full story in job interviews–criminal record, mental health struggles, and all.  By refusing to compromise on authenticity, Radz teaches us how to own your narrative instead of letting it own you.

Hello My Name Is Judy

"Judy!" a McDonald's worker yelled at Dylan as he walked into Penn Station. From that day forward, it was solidified. One random pink name tag he’d worn for exactly one day turned Dylan into Judy almost everywhere he went. Judy he was, and would be, forever more. Dylan reveals how a bag of old political pins led to 100 custom name tags, a tattoo on his chest, two bowling shirts from a dead woman in Pennsylvania, and a very awkward naked skydiving experience in Austin… There’s really no other context I can give here. Judy speaks for herself.  Subscribe for stories about embracing the ridiculous side of life.