@missy and @rambo have made this month's blogTop 5s. And since I could never pick my 5 favorite hopefuls or my favorite 5 photographers, I decided to do the Top 5 Reasons to be a part of SuicideGirls. However since my 10 year SG anniversary is in a few days I will save some of my SG love for my next blog too. ;)
1. Blackheart Burlesque -
Whether you are a man or a woman, single or part of a couple, love dance or usually don't enjoy musicals, gay or straight, wild or quiet....I'm pretty sure I can guarantee you will love going to this show and that you'll likely make some awesome new friends. It's basically an hour an a half of geeky, sexy, pop culture referencing, half naked fun put on by some of the most beautiful, unique, talented women I've ever met.
Aside from the awesome performance of the Blackheart Burlesque dancers, attending the show is a pretty great social event in itself. All of the local SuicideGirls and SGhopefuls attend the VIP hour/meet and greet and the show. Lots of members attend and the crowd vibe somehow captures the communal spirit of the website.
I've been lucky enough to be one of the tour managers for this amazing group of SGs and it has been one of the most awesome experiences of my life. I can't wait to head out on the USA 2017 tour this spring. :) (or you can catch the girls on a Germany tour this November)
Tickets are on sale now with more USA cities added daily. www.blackheartburlesque.com
2. Photography: I LOOOOOVE being a staff photographer for SuicideGirls!
I actually just had a new set go into member review an hour ago which might be one of my best works yet :)
Go check out @8bit and
See all of the sets that I've ever shot for SG here :)
including this one of @saturn @annasthesia
and this brand new one of @bully
ok, so maybe you're not a photographer like I am, but if you aren't creating the photos then you are enjoying them. :) Regardless, SuicideGirls is a beautiful celebration of nudity, art, freedom, and liberation through beautiful, professional photography. Aside from the stunning and interesting models, SuicideGirls showcases some of the most talented alt photographers in the world. I am so grateful to be a part of this talented team of staff photographers.
@brooklyn shooting @tristand at the LV shootfest 2013 <3
@milloux shooting @ackley
@sawa
3. Friendships:
me @sawa @luscious
me @bully
I've made some of my best friends through SG. In a few days it will be my 10 year SG anniversary which means a lot of these women have been my friends for a decade <3
@prussia me @paprika @boomie
Just a few of the Florida loves from our last shootfest
The friendships aren't just with SuicideGirls, and hopefuls...I've made some great friends with members of the site as well as I've attended a ton of site sponsored events (tattoo conventions, burlesque shows, parties). It has been such a great way for me to connect to other alternative people, like tattoo artists, photography collectors, glass artists, marijuana growers, and just cool people in general who have alternative beliefs.
at Hell City a few years back
4. Travel:
I've always been a traveler. My parents had me camping at a week old and I had been to Germany and England by the time I was three. After college, I backpacked Europe with a few of my girlfriends for 6 weeks straight. In my 20s, I was always was adventuring in my Jeep and going on off road travels all over the US before I found SG. I am sure I would have been a traveler had I never found SG.... but since I joined SuicideGirls my opportunities for travel have been unbelievable. I now have a friend in every city in the world- whether they offer their home, or a shower, or just some tips on where to stay or what to do. Even if you aren't a SuicideGirl with 2500 other SGs opening up their homes to you, there is still an SG Couch Surfers group that you can join and connect with other people who travel and support travelers. SG has opened up the world to me in a way I never thought it could be.
Australia 2013 with SG Blackheart Burlesque
NY
DC
Florida
Denver
and so many more places :)
ANNNND last but not least.... The 5th top reason to be a part of SuicideGirls.
5. www.suicidegirls.com The website itself. The photosets, the groups and discussions, the people, friendships and support, the community........ a place to be me.
In 2005 I went to the SG Blackheart Burlesque show in Columbus OH... and I discovered a place called SuicideGirls. I joined and found a place where I could be me, where people were like me (or at least wouldn't judge me), a place where people celebrated differences and "flaws", a place where nudity was celebrated and not shamed as it had been my whole life, and where treating girls with respect was not only expected but demanded by the community as a whole.
I started out here in 2005 as a hopeful
and in 2006 I took the plunge and became an SG. :)
I have grown as a woman and learned so much about the world and people and life over my 11 years on this website. It and it's members (my online family) has been here for me through a divorce and a career change and lots of other big events and I am so grateful to have found it and be a part of it.
I look forward to putting together a big 10 year anniversary blog next week with even more memories when I hit my 10 year SG anniversary on Aug 19th 2016! :) Until then, don't forget to be grateful <3
And if you'd like to shoot with me, for SG or private boudoir here is my upcoming travels:
xoxoxo
Wild and Free
SunnieSunshine
