Real Art in a Fake World

What happens when fashion photography, AI, dating apps, and stem cell therapy end up in the same conversation? Chaos. Insight. A little shade.

Legendary fashion photographer Ezequiel De La Rosa (Ez to his friends) joins us for a no-filter talk on art, AI, and where creativity is headed, from capturing someone's true essence through a lens to what "photographer" even means now that everyone has a phone.

We dig into AI's creep into art and acting, how phones and social media are reshaping dating and real connection, and whether love bombing is just a digital sport now. Then Ez pivots hard: a recent stem cell treatment for hip and knee pain, and whether regenerative medicine is the future of pain relief.

We close with thrifted fashion finds, vintage obsessions, and friendships born from random encounters.

Fashion. AI. Dating. Wellness. Vintage style. Thoughtful, funny, chaotic, real.

Write to us at Kiki@TheCuttingUp.com

And follow us on instagram:

@TheCuttingUp

@TheRealConnieGirl

@TheLinaBradford

@PrideHouseMedia

“The Cutting Up: A Kiki with Connie & Lina” is a Pride House Media production.

Producers: Josh Rosenzweig & Matthew Breen.

Graphic Design by Daryl Raymond.

Original Music by 808 BEACH (John “J-C” Carr & Bill Coleman), courtesy of Peace Bisquit. 

 Production Design by Darryl Dickens. 

Photography by Shane Reynolds.

Our very special thanks to Jason Kanner for all your support.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

You're gonna get it, honey. Are you ready?

SPEAKER_02 0:03

It's time for the cutting up. A Kiki with Connie and Lena.

SPEAKER_01 0:08

This is your backstage pass to all the district. And that's the truth, Ruth. Come on now. Get into it. Ew, Con Con, welcome black. Hi, Lena. How are you? You're looking mighty sophisticated.

SPEAKER_02 0:24

We're giving you the covage today, darling. Oh, sweet old darling.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

This is everything. What is going on, Fishnets? She, she, she's a fishnet and scaled. You're scaly, lady.

SPEAKER_02 0:34

I could see you scale. You need to scale back on that dress. Oh.

SPEAKER_01 0:41

Scale.

SPEAKER_02 0:42

Do you remember that song by uh what was it? Um, was it um whatchamacallit? What's his name in the time? Uh oh, um, Mars Day in the time. Fish leg, fish net, black penny holes, thick legs, show doo holes. Such a nasty song. I don't know why I thought of it. Me? Yes. Well, you know, I had to be doing more because we have a very special guest. My brother's the most legendary photographer. We finally got you here.

SPEAKER_04 1:24

Yes, I know. And you know what?

SPEAKER_02 1:26

What?

SPEAKER_04 1:26

Your closet might be bigger than mine.

SPEAKER_02 1:29

That's what he said. You know what's so funny, Kyle? Before I we we get up in. Uh, as literally, he called me yesterday and I was doing all the looks, and I just happened to be working on his look. And he FaceTimed me or whatever. I was like, what are the fucking chances? And then he would take me in his closet looking for something to wear. So we had that little moment before. We had a moment. We had a little moment.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

A moment of uh simpatica.

SPEAKER_02 1:54

Yes. Yes. And then we're all wearing black, too. I get I didn't know what she was wearing. And a fishnet, I mean, come on.

SPEAKER_00 1:59

Fishnette.

SPEAKER_02 2:00

It's the warlock in two weeks.

SPEAKER_04 2:01

You know, black is living, baby.

SPEAKER_02 2:04

You're looking good, baby. And a little bit of white for purity. Oh, thank you. Uh my teeth are white. My dentures. We have been trying to get you for the longest time. I'm so happy you're here.

SPEAKER_04 2:23

Well, I'm so excited to be here. Because you know, we got a lot to talk about. Baby. Baby. Because you know, the three of us, we're muses.

SPEAKER_02 2:33

Thank you. Thank you. Image makers.

SPEAKER_04 2:36

Yes, honey. Well, we're mu, you know, we the three of us have, you know, been immortalized.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

That's right. We've been immortalized by Elvira. Oh my god. He just got one two. Oh my god. But you haven't seen it. Yes. And he gave her when he was on, he did one of ConCon. Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:55

I saw it. Yeah. But like I said, baby. Three of us. The alumni.

SPEAKER_02 3:00

The alumni. Baby, his is amazing. And I got the when we were FaceTiming yesterday or whatever, it was in his bedroom. I mean, I'm not gonna say which room it was in, sorry. It was in the bedroom. Okay. I don't want to blow your tea. I don't want to blow your tea. Yeah. It's in the bedroom. Go to his house and look at it. It's in the bedroom.

SPEAKER_04 3:16

It's just, it's just a small, like seven by five by seven. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

You got you got the gigantic. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 3:24

Oh, it's like when I would do and it's like some people were saying, oh, you should put it in the in the studio. I go.

SPEAKER_02 3:31

No. No. This is going in the bedroom.

SPEAKER_04 3:33

It's going in the bedroom.

SPEAKER_02 3:34

It's amazing. You've got to, before you leave, you have to show Kankan your artists. I will definitely. It's I mean, I you know him. He just he captures, especially with because we all came up together. So there's that, but then also just his artistry. He's fucking amazing.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

The connection that that he infuses into the art. Yeah. That only we know.

SPEAKER_02 3:53

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

That only we can go, oh, I remember that night, that that club, that, you know, that that that person.

SPEAKER_04 4:03

Yep. Well, the funny thing is that, you know, I have it right by my bed because right now I have the front rented uh for a bit. So it's like every so it's not in the proper place, but it's gonna be, I'll be able to see it from my bed all the time. Of course. Girl, you know it's like, oh, you can't eat that. No. This is like that, that's like my diet. It's like that's right. What are you gonna eat?

SPEAKER_01 4:27

I want you to look like my poster, yeah, exactly. The picture of Dorian Grimm. That's it, yeah. That's it.

SPEAKER_02 4:32

So I'm like, no aging and no ganging weight. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 4:37

I shall stay pristine as I am on paper.

SPEAKER_04 4:40

Then a verified because he is so talented.

SPEAKER_02 4:46

Inside and out.

SPEAKER_04 4:47

And just like the way that like he captured, he put like I didn't tell him. Yeah, yeah. Like he put up. He doesn't need it. He put a camera and then he put the third uh a watch with 37. All of that.

SPEAKER_02 5:00

Yeah. It's amazing. I mean, even when I sat here and I physically saw him give him, give, give, give Kankan his. I mean, the pose, everything, it's just like, oh my god, that's my sister. I don't know why I'm gagging, but I do every time I see him do someone, especially if we know them. Yeah, real, and just any of the people that he loves and he's done, you know. He's just, we love you, Alvaro. We love you. We do. 100%. We do. Wait, where? Where? That's yours, that's mine, that's hers. Love you, baby. Love you, baby.

SPEAKER_01 5:32

So, yes, Alvaro does um capture, capture the essence of uh of the subject and um gives you back the essence of yourself. Yes. And so so so that you can marvel and be appreciative of you. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 5:56

Which we don't always I was just about ready to say, you see a different version of yourself of how he sees you. It's true, it's amazing, and then you're like, oh yeah, I see me.

SPEAKER_04 6:06

Yes, yeah, it that's exactly it. That's it. Because at first I'm like, whoa. Yeah, and then it's like, oh no, it's not true. Yeah, no, no, no, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

Yeah, yeah. That is me. Yeah, yes.

SPEAKER_04 6:18

Like the face, oh my god. All of it, all of it. Yeah, he gets in and he gets in and he does. Oh no, he got it. I'm I'm not gonna say.

SPEAKER_02 6:34

Oh yeah. Oh, okay. Let's just say you're looking real good in those pants. I'm saying it. I gotta censor that again. Hello, your mom's coming out a big, huge cloth. This is a flower. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 6:54

A flower black, yes.

SPEAKER_02 6:55

Yes, yes, that's hello. Exactly. A Georgia O'Keefe flower. So um, you guys have seen lots of images that this one has done of me, and we still have yet to do a little uh something something with this one for for the show. Absolutely for the show.

SPEAKER_04 7:14

Well, yes, but I'm also working on a couple of different projects. Break it down because you know, I believe that we have to come together as a community. Absolutely. Okay. Uh the brown community, because everything that I am, yeah, brown, okay? Yeah because baby, I got all the colors. Yep. So, you know, I'm doing things uh with the Jezz Invasion to help designers, to help artists, uh, and things, but I'm also thinking of doing an exhibit. So at the same time. So I've and I'm working like running because I gotta get all this done and sponsored. So, but so you know, you guys are gonna have to get involved. Baby, that's amazing, though.

SPEAKER_02 7:55

You absolutely need to have an exhibit of your work, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 7:58

Yeah, well, that's what I'm thinking uh that I'm gonna do for this fashion week because there's so much going on. Yeah, and I said, okay, it's time. Yeah. So, and you know, there's a whole shoot that you have not seen that I have like she ain't getting that not until it's ready. It's true. He did tell me that.

SPEAKER_02 8:16

He did tell me that because we did a lot of great all of the images from last year during uh Grand Marshall and everything, those were all his images for promotion and everything.

SPEAKER_04 8:26

Yeah, so the ones that I'm holding, oh I don't even remember we did so much.

SPEAKER_01 8:32

Did you recently post a shoot that that you did? Maybe recently? She's been posting. Yeah, I've posted some stuff. Yes. I have some images, but not all of the images. And it and it's and it's very um artist and model. Yep. Yeah, yeah. And it's um it's very um this is a relationship that goes beyond absolutely it's it's it's friendship, it's respect.

SPEAKER_02 9:02

It's like when Alvaro captures you in a painting, honey, yeah. He does that too, especially if you have a relationship. Like every model that you've worked with, like your work is stunning. Thank you. Stunning that.

SPEAKER_04 9:13

Well, I like to capture the essence of a person because anybody can be a photographer. Yes. And you know, it's like especially nowadays, and nowadays. Yeah, everybody's a photographer. It's a photoshop. It's a photoshop. Yeah, they'll give you a photo. Oh, wait until you see the photo after it's been posed. And I'm like, if you don't see the photo, thank you. The rock I will show you the photo from the camera, yeah, and there it is. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

Okay, no, because we we come from the days of Polaroid. That's right, that's right. And if it looked cute in the Polaroid, you knew that if you bumped it up a notch, the photo photo was gonna be sick of it. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 9:48

Right. It's like I don't, you know, I don't believe that's why like photography has lost so much because you know, like I I tell people, oh, then you're a retoucher. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 10:00

Yeah, call a spade a spade. You're a retoucher. Hello.

SPEAKER_04 10:03

You're not you're you're a photographer, doesn't have to uh bring up and down the light. That's right. I mean, I will clean up the face, I will clean up whatever needs to be taken care of.

SPEAKER_02 10:13

But I'm capturing an essence of something, capturing is different. That's right. Not everybody's a DJ, not everybody's a fucking model. Yeah, you know what I mean? But in this era that we're living in, everything's so fabricated. And and and they think that that's an art.

SPEAKER_04 10:25

Yeah. And it's not, it's not an art to mop. No, it's not. It's like with the whole AI situation, it's crazy. And you know, I was really disturbed yesterday because I watched this video, okay, on Instagram, and it was AI. And honey, it was um, what's his name? He makes my heart like Pascal uh and it was him, uh the guy that played uh uh the um Captain America and two other two other actors that I I I don't remember, but really great actors. It was a gay novel, and they were kissing and everything, and I'm like and I have friends that are actors and actresses, and I'm like It's creepy Sheena. This is creepy, yeah. It is this is creepy. This is like that's what imagination's for. Hello, yeah. I mean, hello. It's like, do I want to see that? No, I want to Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 11:27

Thank you. If it's gonna happen, I I don't want it virtually. Yeah, exactly. I want it in life.

SPEAKER_02 11:33

Yeah, I don't want to see a premonition of it, uh, uh, uh, uh, a paled-down version of it. Yeah, it's honey. If you see one day, honey, AI is gonna take all over all of us, honey, and kick us to the curb.

SPEAKER_01 11:42

Yeah. No, no, the matrix, the matrix. Carry that, you know.

SPEAKER_04 11:46

I was so like, well, because you know, it's taking away so many jobs. I mean, in so many fields. Yeah, in so many fields.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

I mean, because hair, makeup, because they're so there's so many um ads on television now, and I'm just watching the mouth and the neck to see if this is a real person. And a lot of them are and now I don't trust. Yeah, my my my trust is lost. It's true. But but because unless I see a person, I I'm just like, you're you're a cartoon. A glorified cartoon.

SPEAKER_02 12:23

And I how I I can't. You're being puppeteered by the master behind the the lens, if you will, you know.

SPEAKER_04 12:31

You know, I love creating and creating something that it comes from here, something here, you know, from knowledge. You know, and to be doing stuff, and I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, use in moderation to enhance, uh, because uh we do have to evolve with time because we don't want to get left behind. Right. But baby, when you're just creating it from scratch, it's like Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:05

Or you're just making it uh a hallowed version of what you think it's supposed to be. So yes, it is the visual of a human, but it's not.

SPEAKER_04 13:13

It's not, yeah, you know? It's creepy. It is, it's very creepy.

SPEAKER_01 13:16

Yeah, and it's it's just taking from what has come before, you know, putting it in a pot, mixing it up, and then spitting it out when what you do is in the moment. Yes, it is, you know, the wind takes the the dress.

SPEAKER_04 13:36

Create an atmosphere the way that I like, okay, yep, this this needs to be here. Yes, yeah. See direction, the conversation, all of it. Yeah, yeah. We have to do this this movement. Yeah, you know, that the direction, there's a big difference.

SPEAKER_02 13:51

You miss that. You miss you can see that.

SPEAKER_04 13:54

You know, it's like because you know, before I was a photographer, I did hair makeup. Yeah. So he's on it with everything. Yeah. I, you know, so I see everything. And I when I started doing photography, it was really funny because I was a glorified hair and makeup guy, and so I didn't do a lot of guys. Right. And I then I was I think it was Tommy that I was showing the the hair, and I borrowed a friend of mine who happened to be a top male model at the time, and I did a point and shoot, and I and his agency goes, We want you to shoot. That's how you're gonna go. I ain't got time for this. I work all the time, and I I know it's too expensive because it was filmed. Right, right, right. So they go, No, we're gonna pay you. You're like, oh, so my first book, I can do it. My first book was all the top male models. Bitch. And it was me on the cover, uh, Herb Britz, um, Bruce Weber, Mario Justine, all that in the back or whatever. Mainly I did a lot of, and it was like, and I used an alias.

unknown 14:57

What?

SPEAKER_04 14:58

But one of the bookers from the agency always wanted me to go. So he put my name on a cum card. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 15:07

Wait, a cum card? Yeah, like a child. Oh, a comp card. I think he said a cum card. Oh girl. I was like, wait, what's that? I I mean, I have a few ones that I could put a little hole in, but I was like, I didn't know you. He's dirty sugar.

SPEAKER_03 15:19

Oh what? Excuse me. I'm a respectable human being. I'm so I cannot believe I I gotta go. Okay, I gotta go. I gotta go. I gotta be able to do it.

SPEAKER_02 15:33

Thank you so much for coming. It sounds like come car. Don't frown. Go ahead. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 15:38

So so all of a sudden, and you know, I used to do a lot of Revlon, Claire. Yep, a lot of beauty. That was like my thing. And I'm like, oh, this month is slow, what's going on? And I had just uh got my place downtown because I was on when I was living in Paris, I bought the place on the Upper East Side. Right. And then I was I was there and I was like, well, this ain't for me. It isn't for me. I was like, it was nice action. It I was like, I was always gonna so I said, so I moved out to west uh to midtown, and people thought I was crazy. My friends would come to my neighbor, can you come down? I'm getting off the cab. My doormen were where like, you know, um drug dealers, potties. Yeah, the good old days, honey. The haws. But you know about best people, honey. I used to be able to go to the corner store and not brush my hair.

SPEAKER_02 16:34

Yes, yeah. Oh no, honey, now now, yeah. Now, baby. Yep. I gotta like gotta get it together, honey. Hello. That's true. Everybody's around there now.

SPEAKER_01 16:44

Yeah, and everybody has their camera. Everybody has their camera from there. Oh, can I take a selfie? Oh, yeah, exactly. Oh, what's your Instagram? You know, totally. And it's just like, I I don't want to be that involved in you.

SPEAKER_02 16:56

You exactly, yeah. Just because you recognize doesn't mean you I need to be brought into it. You know what I mean? Because I'm just going about my day-to-day doing me. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_04 17:04

Yeah, well, it's really funny because I, you know, we all have to do social media because that's how you know things grow. But it's I was having a conversation with my sister, and I and you know, I posted something about, but I don't like to post my family because it's like it's not private. Exactly. You have to have a separation. The people that I love. That's right. Like, I'll post one of my sisters that works with me and stuff. Yeah, yeah, I love her. And and but like I find it personal type, even with my friend Carol, like, you know, and we're in the same uh Carol Alt, supermodel. Yeah, sorry, excuse me.

SPEAKER_02 17:42

You know, we'll get together. Yes, honey, yes, honey. Miss Alt. Yeah, that's that's his girl. That's like my one of them. Yeah, because he's got a whole gaggle of them, him and Alvaro, they collect the doll. Kim Alexis?

SPEAKER_04 17:54

Uh I know Kim, but I'm not that friendly. Uh-huh. Okay. But so I we'll me and Carol will be out somewhere and we'll and we'll start talking. We forget to like, oh, we could have done this, just to like, you know what I'm saying? But it's like we're we're having our our moment, you know. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:13

As friends, as and and and why commoditize that. Yes, yeah. Because so so much of our existence is about marketing. Right.

SPEAKER_04 18:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:24

That you have to have a separation. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:26

I mean, listen, if when when I was in the heyday, because let me tell you, the business was so glamorous. Yeah. I was on a plane every week. We lived, you know, and different exotic baby.

SPEAKER_02 18:41

My Instagram would have been like, but thank God also at the same time we were able to be in our moment, really enjoying it and making relationships.

SPEAKER_04 18:49

It was so much fun. Yeah. You know, because we didn't. I mean, you go out to these places and everybody's like, Yeah. Oh, wait, oh yeah. Yeah. And I'm like.

SPEAKER_02 19:07

It was just a two-top. Then there were two larger tables that were empty, and it was, you know, it was uh it was a holiday, it was Mother's Day. And um all of a sudden, uh uh three people, uh, uh a husband and wife and their daughter sat down, and then later on, a family sat down. They were older, but you know, two, maybe I think it was a uh guy and his girlfriend, and then his mother, and then their mother and father of the other one. All of a sudden, I I went like this underneath the table. I kicked him or whatever, and I was like, and I went like this. I was like, look to your right or whatever. And then he's like this, and then he goes like this, look to your left. All of them, everybody at the table were down in their phones, and I was like, it looked so creepy. I was like, you guys don't need to be here right now. Like, literally, what is the point? It was very odd people, it looked strange to me. Yeah, disconnected. Yeah, how are you sitting at a table at a restaurant in public, all on your phones? Yeah, and me and this guy are having a conversation. I felt like we were the odd ones out, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 20:02

Yeah, no, I was on a date on Friday, was a lovely date, but at one time uh during the after the movie, uh at the dinner, he was on the phone, and I'm like, wait a minute, what are you doing? Yeah, no, he's like, and it's like, but he was answering something from the phone. You always say something before him. But yeah, because I'm like, not if the phone is not on the table. You saw the table. Yes, thank you. You saw the table, the phone is upside down. Yeah, I'm not picking it up. That's right. It's like it's connection, it's connection because we're losing it.

SPEAKER_02 20:33

We are absolutely. If you people remember to actually look up and talk to people, you can meet your best friend, your lover. Hello, we come from that school, yeah. You know, the era flirting, honey. I thank goodness I still know how to do it.

SPEAKER_04 20:47

Well, but the funny thing is that now, you know, flirting is on social media. It's crazy. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. It's like I mean, I'm like I liked your post. Oh no, no, no. No, they like no no no no, they're a little bit more.

SPEAKER_01 21:11

Okay, I get like because I'm not on the ads. They're like in the words.

SPEAKER_04 21:17

Oh, I want to marry you. I'm like, uh I get stuff like, oh, you're you're gorgeous. I'm like, I need this to happen in real life. Right.

SPEAKER_02 21:25

They they want to jump to the yes, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 21:27

Can it happen? Yeah, and hello, it's like, when is it happening in the neighborhood?

SPEAKER_02 21:34

Right, or in real life, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 21:35

Yeah, because it's like I gotta be on a plane 24-7 if I'm gonna. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 21:40

Hello. Because I I I think they think it's like AI. Yeah. And it's an AI story, and they're just going to put it out there and then forget about it. Yeah, yeah. But your feelings are in it. It's disposable. You just you just said you wanted to marry me. Right. It wasn't AI.

SPEAKER_02 22:01

It was frivolous talk.

SPEAKER_01 22:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:02

It doesn't have any substance. Yeah.

unknown 22:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:05

And then when you follow up on it, they don't know what to do. They're like, wait, what? Uh-huh. It's like they have to have the control of like, you know, kind of like playing into it. Yeah, exactly. Playing and yeah.

SPEAKER_04 22:13

No, and the funny thing is, I um I was in Portugal, and all of a sudden I get this text like this on Instagram, and I'm like, this cannot be real. And you know, I won't be catfish. No. Tell it was real. I I because you know, I said, Oh, we we need to do a video talk. Yes. And I was like, for real? I was like, couldn't believe it. It was like God. But it's like things like that. It's like it's like some so it's there's good and bad. Right.

SPEAKER_02 22:50

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Well, because I think that because we come from a different time, we know how to maneuver it. You know what I mean? But some of these children who are just in it and this is all they know, forget about it. I think it would be so scary to be a youngster coming up these days.

SPEAKER_01 23:06

I wouldn't know to. It would be so frightening and like I how they they don't even know how to interact.

SPEAKER_02 23:15

No, no.

SPEAKER_04 23:16

No, they don't.

SPEAKER_02 23:16

No. And they're very scared by confrontation, having an actual conversation. Or if you speak to them, why are you yelling at me? Bitch, I'm not yelling at you. I'm just trying to tell you something. You asked.

SPEAKER_04 23:28

You know, and also we're doers. I mean, so we're like, oh, this has got to get done. Let's do it. Yeah, absolutely. You know, it's like, I ain't waiting for nobody to do it. No, no. You know, it's gotta be done. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

Or waiting for an email or for an app that can do half of the work for you.

SPEAKER_02 23:43

Yeah, that exactly.

SPEAKER_01 23:45

But because it's like now they're they're used to chat GPT doing the whole thing. Right? That's could you imagine?

SPEAKER_04 23:51

Well, I gotta tell you, I'm a little bit addicted.

SPEAKER_02 23:54

I've never used GPT. I'm afraid.

SPEAKER_04 23:57

I've never used it. No.

SPEAKER_02 23:58

No, Connie Concon told me about it for the first time when we were with Jason Canner one day.

SPEAKER_04 24:02

Well, let me tell you. I am the most fantastic writer there is. I'm thinking of writing my novel. With Chat GPT? Ciao. Let me tell you, it'll get work done in an instant. It is crazy. Like, you know, the yellow pages, you know, 911 information. Ciao, it's chat to be. Oh. I will ask where something is, how to get there, to chat GPT.

SPEAKER_02 24:38

Interesting.

SPEAKER_04 24:40

It's like the thing, you have to know how to ask for like if I have to write something, I will like, okay, blah blah blah, do the research on this, and of course, uh you have to put your own feeling towards, you have to put your personality to it. But learning how to use it, it's incredible. Yeah. I mean, but there's so many lawyers and writers that are using it. No, that are that are losing their jobs.

SPEAKER_02 25:11

Oh, they're losing their jobs. Oh, because of this, yeah, I would imagine so. See, that's the problem. It's it's it's teetering on getting rid of humans. It's like, well, the the the matrix will take over. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 25:21

Well, that's why I have taken like, okay, I gotta do more events.

SPEAKER_02 25:26

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 25:27

And because we have to build the communities, yeah. That's the way we survive.

SPEAKER_02 25:32

Yeah, and I love the way that you incorporate that with your art and your photography and your philanthropy, sweetheart. Because as you know, we all we juggle many hats, you know? But I love watching you shine, brother.

SPEAKER_04 25:44

Thank you. Same here. Because I see you, I see you back. But you know, it's but you know, we are getting older. Uh better, you know, like Cheddar. But you know, I believe in getting older like fine wine. That's the truth. Thank you. That's right. Thank you. So, you know, I just did stencil.

SPEAKER_02 26:08

Yes, that's right. I wanted you to tell me about that.

SPEAKER_04 26:10

Well, let me tell you. I don't know why I waited so long. Because one thing that I've, you know, because I'm Cuban born. Yeah. Right. So there's that little bit of macho. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So something I kept very secret that I did is movement. Yeah. So I would teach uh girls how to move and guys how to move. And this last year, all of a sudden my knee starts bothering me. And I'm like, what the hell? Right? And you ain't gonna catch me walking. No, no, no, no, no, no. We don't want to be a little bit more than that. Because I'll do that behind the scenes. Yeah, but I'm like, ooh, child, you limp it. You cannot. Because here I am, because I'm not just teaching right now girls, I'm teaching like the the girls that are coming to me are already. Yes, that's right. They exactly they know how to do this, yeah. You know, so it's like, so I'm like, I gotta get this fixed because fashion week's coming, and then you know, then the Victoria's Secret, and it's that's right, you know, that these girls come.

SPEAKER_02 27:14

And also, we're too young to have any of those things, honey.

SPEAKER_04 27:17

Hello. I went on Saturday, baby, and I did my research. I called 20 million places. I'm like, do I go to Mexico? Do I go to Panama? I ain't got time for that. Right. I gotta heal. So luckily I was I've been working with this spa, and then she goes, No, we do it, and we do the intensity. Amazing. And my doctor, my foot doctor said, Oh no, they're doing, they have the right intensity, but so I said, Okay, I'm gonna do it. So I go there, and the doctor at the spa, she's amazing. Okay, I mean, this woman, she's the sweetest lady. And I don't do Botox, but she also does Botox, but I've done it with her, but I do Morpheus 8, and it works great, so I don't really do but I've done Botox with her and she's amazing. So I go in there and so she gets and she moves my hip around, and then she does the hip, and it's a little bit of a pinch, right? And but it's a second. Then she does the knee, and the knee she did it in two spaces. And I saw stars. Wow. I saw stars, but for a second. So she goes, Oh, just lay there and relax and just move it a little bit. I'm moving it a little bit, and all of a sudden I say, Wait, I was able to raise my leg like this.

SPEAKER_02 28:43

Wow. Without pain. That's amazing. I was gonna help so many people, you know.

SPEAKER_04 28:50

It's it's crazy because the thing is that there's so many people that are saying that they're doing stencils and they're not doing the right ones, the right ones. You have to make sure that you have to do your research with everything, like people doing messy pools. Yeah, and all that stuff. Yeah, absolutely. Um and I'm like, like I said, I'm thinking I'm going bike riding tomorrow. I'm like, oh baby, I'll be dancing in no time. So she gives me this paper. I need you to take it easy for two reasons.

SPEAKER_02 29:20

Absolutely. You want that to sound easy.

SPEAKER_04 29:22

You got baby uh baby stem cells, baby stem cells in your body, and they need to grow. Yeah. And I'm like, oh, okay, so it's like whatever I do, I need to take a car. That's right. I need to or I and no riding bike. And girl, you know. That's okay. I know, but we live on our bikes, yes, we do.

SPEAKER_02 29:41

Yeah. But baby, listen, this is gonna be all for the long run.

SPEAKER_04 29:43

Yes, because baby, I'll be baby.

SPEAKER_02 29:46

You'll be stem selling everybody.

SPEAKER_01 29:47

Yeah, you can still be there when you're ready.

SPEAKER_02 29:50

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. This is the part where we have a little fishbowl situation with Alexa.

SPEAKER_04 29:54

Fishbowl. Ooh, or wait, let me let me get coffee.

unknown 30:00

Fishbowl.

SPEAKER_04 30:01

Oh, is it that type of wait, wait.

SPEAKER_01 30:09

That meal cream was making me moist. I can't. Both of you got the melons in the store window.

SPEAKER_04 30:14

Yeah, now you gotta, baby. Okay. Um, what's my favorite item of clothing? Ooh. Well, you know, I don't have a lot of clothes. No.

SPEAKER_02 30:27

Not with that big walk-in closet.

SPEAKER_04 30:32

Well, you know, I like to keep it real. Yeah, of course. Of course. Now, I have several designers that I love uh that are amazing, uh, and that I support, and they're great. But you have a signature look. Yeah, but there's this one jacket that is my go-to jacket, and I want to tell the story because I was talking um to uh some people that were rented my space, and I I walked in from an event, and you know, I you know, I can be a little bit extra sometimes. So somewhat fair. Somewhat fair. So I'm like, I'm wearing a shirt, and I asked uh one of the well, how much do you think I paid for this shirt? And he's like, Oh, that's probably like a thousand dollars or something like that. And John, I go, baby, you know, take a second guess. He he went up higher, and I go, baby, I paid six dollars.

SPEAKER_02 31:33

Baby, you've got fashion in and you don't got to prompt perpetrated fraud.

SPEAKER_04 31:38

Miami? Yeah, oh the bomb. So there was one time I was in Miami and uh I got they found out I was there. I was actually not in Miami, I was in my sister's house in Fort Pierce, and they were doing a fashion week thing, and Carlisle uh texted me and said, I saw you're here, can you come? And I'm like, I didn't bring any clothes. I had seen Amara Negra uh do this post on social media, and she goes, How do you like my outfit? She was fierce because you know she's fierce. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:16

So she's she's like a Barbie doll.

SPEAKER_04 32:18

Yeah, she's a total Barbie doll. And she says, I spent six dollars five or seven dollars on the whole outfit. So I called her and I go, girl, where did you where did you get the stuff? She said, the goodwill. That's right. So I went to the goodwill. So that there's this one jacket, tuxedo jacket, that I found there. And if I paid ten dollars, it's too much. I love those buys for everything, and it's an oversized tuxedo jacket. So you you guys might have thought I was gonna say Bob Man.

SPEAKER_02 32:53

No, no, no, Valenciaga.

SPEAKER_04 32:55

Baby, I'm telling you.

SPEAKER_02 32:56

Yeah, good finds are hard to find. Yeah, hello.

SPEAKER_04 32:59

So that piece is like my staple piece.

SPEAKER_02 33:03

I love that.

SPEAKER_04 33:04

You know, uh, because you know, money don't buy you clothing.

SPEAKER_02 33:08

No, that's true. What's yours, Khan? Um, okay.

SPEAKER_01 33:14

Wait, what was the question again?

SPEAKER_04 33:17

What item of clothing is your favorite.

SPEAKER_01 33:20

Well, your favorite, okay. My favorite item of clothing. Oh, sorry, um it would be a cross between a pair of denim shorts, or my I have two of them. Um at Cassini uh sequined sequin uh tops.

SPEAKER_02 33:46

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 33:47

Because the sequined in the 80s, it's done so beautifully. It's it's embroidery beautifully, yeah. Chanel. Yeah, yeah. So, and it's thrift. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 33:58

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 33:59

Yeah. So that's a favorite piece of therapy.

SPEAKER_02 34:02

Yeah, absolutely. Some good vintage. And I I I think I wore it. I've got it. I think I know what you're talking about with the dynamic shirt. Yeah, absolutely. I love that. Um, let's see.

SPEAKER_04 34:10

I'm I've got you don't have much, so I don't have much.

SPEAKER_02 34:15

It's hard to but it's also you know this this question is for me to be what my mood is. Because I have certain things that I like when I'm in a certain mood. So I'm just gonna go with one random mood. Um how about a I don't know. Sexually acting? No, no, no. I knew you thought I was gonna go there. Um I don't know. Uh a good Poochie bikini. Okay. I love a good Poochie bikini. I love the cut, and it's really cute for summer. Okay. Shall I shake the dice into the rat? Yes, please.

SPEAKER_01 34:48

Oh no, no, I think it you shake it. I will. Okay. Shake the dice. Steal a rat. Steal the fish. This is an octopus. Ooh. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 35:03

Never get the wood in the heaven help us now. What do you read number two? Do you have hippy? Taffy.

SPEAKER_01 35:18

Oh my god. Do you have a friendship that started as a random encounter with a stranger? And became sexual?

SPEAKER_02 35:30

Oh my god, she has to bring it there. No, I wasn't sure if she was done reading it. If you ignore it.

SPEAKER_04 35:36

I'm gonna go. I gotta go. I you know, I gotta go.

SPEAKER_01 35:42

If you ignore it, she kind of forgot.

SPEAKER_02 35:44

No, it gets worse. If you ignore it, I will still continue to get it more. I'm like, I will not be ignored Dan.

SPEAKER_04 35:50

Oh my god, I actually have I do.

SPEAKER_02 35:54

Wait, hold on, answer the question first before we forget.

SPEAKER_04 35:57

Oh, do I have a random encounter with uh that became a good friend?

SPEAKER_01 36:01

Friendship that started as a random encounter with a stranger.

SPEAKER_04 36:05

Yes, okay, and it's the funniest. I'm with my sister in Miami at La Carreta, right? And this woman sits down next to my sister. Now, my sister's gorgeous. My older sister is really stunning. She looks like Beverly Johnson with long hair.

SPEAKER_02 36:26

Beverly!

SPEAKER_04 36:27

So this woman that sits next to her is very beautiful, looks like an Asian doll. Right? But I see that they're getting along and stuff, so I'm being very quiet and minding my own business. Oh, my sister's gonna make a friend. This is great. Right. So they're talking, and I'm just like, you know, and I'm just minding my own business. I was like, let her make friends, you know, and it's like they're and it's like, oh, she goes, oh, I I I'm a TV host, and she says that I was listening to the conversation and I was like giving her the side eye, like like this, right? And and she's like, I can't stand him, okay, because he's so pompous. Meanwhile, oh my god, I'm like looking at her like this woman is fierce. She was reading you wrong, and she was reading, and I'm like, this woman is, I mean, gorgeous and just like incredible. Yeah. Right? And she's so we I tell this story all the time and we start laughing, and she tells it, and it's like, oh yeah, he was like looking at me like I'm a I was looking at her like, oh my god, she's totally fabulous, right? And because my sister goes, Oh, well, he hasn't met my brother's photographer, and he has a magazine and all this stuff. So she thought I was a snob. Right. I'm like, let them be friends. Exactly, yeah. So then throughout the years, you know, we follow each other on Instagram and we become friends, and she's like another sister to me. That's amazing, and we laugh. You know what it is. And and you know, she's just she's over the top. Maybe like you know, she would fit in. Oh, of course, of course. You're you're gonna have to have a random encounter.

SPEAKER_02 38:18

I love story time in the middle of fish time, it's very cute. Now, what was the question again?

SPEAKER_04 38:27

A random encounter with a stranger that became a friend.

SPEAKER_02 38:31

Oh, yeah, uh so many. Um, but like some really good ones that have been um uh some really strong ones would probably be um a girlfriend of mine from way back in the day who I met one night at Roxy, and um we went back to her house because she lived around the corner from Roxy, and apparently I vomited at her home, and her name is Shakita, and we've been sisters ever since. Well, on that no, y'all. And it's this has been fantastic. Thank you so much for coming. I'm so glad we finally got you here.

SPEAKER_04 39:08

Well, thank you for having me. This was amazing. Anytime and always, we love you. Next time I gotta get it to shake.

SPEAKER_02 39:17

You guys were here every Thursday. Like, subscribe. Lenny blessings, love and light, and always some brown sugar kisses. What you guys did?

SPEAKER_01 39:24

I have some honeysuckle loving for my sugar dumplings and deuces. Thank you. Yay, thank you, Allie.

SPEAKER_02 39:51

Our show is produced by Josh Rosenspike and Matthew Brain. Our gorgeous graphics are by Daryl Raymond. Our theme music is You Need It, produced and written and performed by 808 Beach, John J.C. Carr, and Bill Coleman, courtesy of Peace Biscuit. Our perfect production designer is Daryl Dickens. Our very special thanks to Jason Cannon for all your wonderful support. The Cutting Up is a Pride House Media production.