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CON TEN TS
issue o N 15
artist spotlight 30 Engineering success with TonAsh.
cover feature 36 Our Brutha of The Year.
man on the rise 46 Making Films with this Brutha.
femme fatale 50 The fun-sized life of TAP.
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06 EDITOR’S LETTER 08 COntributors 09 Credits 10 power & money Here’s what to do to be successful.
12 creating the balance 3 Ways your ego is killing you.
14 WORK IT Make her beg for sex.
16 fashion 26 fitness 56 cruise control 2018 Car Crush
58 bruthaman Do you self-sabotage?
ON THE COVER: ADDIS HUYLER Photographed by Anita Clare in Nassau, Bahamas
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editor’s letter To my Brutha, Resillience brings rejection. We’ve been taught to run after success. Be brave they tell you. Don’t stop they say. Yet, we’re never warned about rejection. Rejection, the sister of failure, can cripple a man. I’ve seen grown men cry over putting their best foot forward and being denied their desired outcome. Though, we rarely stop and appreciate rejection for what it is. Rejection can be a beautiful thing if only we learn while continually adjusting and moving forward. Perhaps it wasn’t a good fit or the right timing but by all means don’t take it personal. Don’t absorb rejection and get left with a bitter taste in your mouth. David Wygant shares with us that if we want to be successful we must drop our ego and watch our success blow up. IN THIS ISSUE: There’s the usual interesting hot topics on love, sex, relationships, fitness, women, power, money and motivation. Plus, we’ve called Addis Huyler our Brutha of The Year for 2017. Other bruthas doing great things are inside, such as Lavado Stubbs, budding filmmaker and TonAsh, rising music star here in The Bahamas. We’ve also featured mega influencer TracyAnn Perpall as our Femme Fatale. Feel free to send us your thoughts via instragram @bruthamag. Until next time...much love Brutha,
Travis T. Sweeting Editor-In-Chief
Let me know what's on your mind by following me:
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@travunlimited
let’s make magic.
ADVERTISE TODAY // hello@trytrav.com
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*CONTRIBUTORS ETHAN QUANT
At a max weight of 306 pounds, Ethan found himself depressed and unhappy and of course living a very unhealthy lifestyle. He made a decision to not just transform his body but his life as well. He not only loss 110 pounds but built an impressive body worthy of being judged against the best in the country. He became a certified Corporate Wellness Specialist, recognized under the Corporate Health and Wellness Association of America. Currently Ethan is the Chief Executive Officer at Elite Wellness Solutions. Ethan is on a personal mission to improve the health of Bahamians.
ERIN GAY
Founder of Link Bahamas. Link Bahamas is social networking company that focuses on love, relationships and dating. Born and raised in the beautiful Bahamas. Surrounded by beauty, a priceless island life and, of course, a unique small island dating community. I believe in love and laughter. I’ve had my share of love and life experience, some great, some, not as great. But, at the end of the day there will always be love, especially where you least expect it.
RASHAD LEAMOUNT
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Rashad Leamount is a singer/ songwriter from The Bahamas. His brand of well crafted R&B is both classic and contemporary; rooted in the neosoul sounds of the 1990’s yet driven by the innovation of current Indie R&B/ Hip-Hop. His sound is a seductive storytelling of love, loss, & lust set to the backdrop of effortlessly layered ambient sounds and Kanye-esque percussion. His risque wordplay and acute vulnerability typifies his passion for creating what he calls “soundtracks to urban novellas.”He takes inspiration from a wide spectrum of Contemporary R&B, Pop, & Rock styles with his major influences being Janet Jackson, Prince, Patti Labelle, Lenny Kravitz, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé, Frank Ocean, Miguel, Solange & Kanye West.
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BRUTHA CARIBBEAN
@travu
nlimited
TRAVIS T. SWEETING Editor-In-Chief // Publisher
CLARENCE ALBURY gs n Executive Editor i h t e r a _ s @word ETHAN QUANT, TRAVIS T. SWEETING , MASTIN KIPP RENEE CAESAR, DAVID WYGANT Copy
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hy p a r g o t o ANITA CLARE acph
@an
Art Director
ANITA CLARE, kenzi
Contributing Photographers
CRAIG BAIN
Managing Editor, BruthaMag.com
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This Magazine is published Bi-MONTHLY. No part of Brutha Magazine may be reproduced in any form by any means without prior written consent from Sivart Media Group, LLC. We reserve the right to edit, rewrite, or refuse material and we are not responsible for products that appear in this publication. © 2017 Brutha Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
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>>> power & money
you want success? then stop talking & start listening
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BY david wygant | davidwygant.com
’ve been around a long time. I’ve seen lots of people who are successful. And I’ve seen lots of people who aren’t successful. I would include myself in both of those groups. In life, my balance sheet is definitely positive, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t lost a lot, too. On the whole, between bad contracts and real estate deals I’ve
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missed out on and so much more, I would say I’ve lost about $1 million in my lifetime. And looking at both myself and the men and women I know who are successful, one thing is very clear to me: one of the biggest keys to success is the ability to listen to criticism. Years ago, when I opened up my first business, it was in the early ’90s
in New York City. The business was called Bar X, a theme bar, which was a big trend in New York in the ’80s and ’90s. I was a micro-manager. When I walked into the bar at night, my bartenders would salute me and call me the general. I literally would micro-manage everything instead of allowing them to do the job they were hired to do. I would make sure that they would do it my way. It’s a trait that, at times, has haunted me throughout my entire existence. Over the last 10 years, I’ve hired people. And unfortunately, hiring is not exactly one of my greatest strengths. I seem to hire people on a regular basis that don’t seem to do what they need to be doing. I would love to see them do what they need to do, but unfortunately, most of the time people just do what they think they need to do, or what they think is right. And that’s something I learned along the way. When you hire somebody, it’s all about dropping the ego. You’re going to have great feedback, they’re going to have great feedback. Together, you can collaborate on things, and make things work. The Know-It-Alls Never Seem to Know It All They’re all just about ego. The people who don’t listen, and never listen to the things that they are being critiqued on, are the egomaniacs. And egomaniacs are rarely successful in the long run, because they always believe that they know what they’re doing is
100% right. But in reality, it isn’t. Think about your life. Do you get criticized over and over again for the same thing from different people. If so, that’s something that needs to be worked on. Because that means the universe is ganging up on you and giving you the same lesson over and over again so you’re able to start really becoming a much better version of yourself. That’s really what it’s all about. Lessons show up so you can be a far more powerful and far more interesting version of yourself. Successful people take criticism well. They don’t get defensive. They listen. They see the lessons that keep coming up, and they understand that dropping the ego is one of the biggest things that they need to do on a regular basis. Drop your ego and watch your success blow up.
‘Lessons show up so you
can be a far more powerful and far more interesting version of yourself.’
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>>> creating the balance
“To be able to truly love yourself and to truly be able to love someone else, you must drop the ego.�
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Ways Your Ego will kill your relationship
BY david wygant 12
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et’s talk a little about relationships today...Anyone who has read me knows that there is something I say over and over again (because it is so important: To be able to truly love yourself and to truly be able to love someone else, you must drop the ego. This is absolutely essential to finding an amazing relationship, but it’s equally critical to maintaining and continually improving a relationship once you’re already in it. Nothing will kill a relationship (even the best of relationships) more quickly than ego. Here are 6 ways your ego can kill your relationship, and how to avoid having your ego ruin your relationship.
1. Resist The Temptation To Defend Yourself:
Think about the number of times you’ve fought with a significant other, and whenever things get a little heated you start to defend yourself. All you hear is you being attacked, and you immediately go into “defending yourself” mode. Do you know that when you defend yourself in a fight, what’s really happening is your ego is defending itself. It also means that you’ve stopped listening to the other person. If someone tells you that they don’t like the way you’ve been acting lately, why not hear them out instead of defending yourself? It will almost always create a MUCH better outcome.
are all ego-driven to some extent or another, so let’s acknowledge it and embrace that we need to separate the ego to cultivate and maintain a truly amazing relationship with someone.
3. Your Ego Can Ruin Any Conversation: The truth is that no matter how much you prepare, plan and hope for a good conversation with your significant other, your ego is the one thing that will consistently ruin any conversation you’re about to have if you let it. Let’s say your significant other is frustrated with you in one way or another and really needs to express something about that to you. How do you respond? If you let your ego get involved and you defend yourself, it means that you’re not listening to them. In order to really listen to somebody, it’s uncomfortable. Sometimes your significant other has things that are really bothering them about which they want to talk to you, but which you would rather not hear. To maintain a great relationship, however, you can’t let your ego keep you from really listening. This is a topic that we will go much deeper into another day. But Think about these 3 topics and ask yourself are you guilty of this?
2. To Love Yourself And Someone Else Completely You Must Separate The Ego: So the next time you see your ego getting In order to truly love someone, you must separate your ego from yourself. This is also true if you want to be able to totally love yourself. Now, I know that in a perfect world, we would never be ego-driven. This is not a perfect world of course, so let’s get real. We
involved in your relationship, get rid of it! If you find yourself defending yourself or not allowing you to really listen, then you need to take a step back. Listen carefully to what’s really being said, and use it to create the most amazing relationship.
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>>> work it
make her beg you forSex www.davidwygant.com
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friend of mine’s girlfriend thought that this would be an awesome blog for all the men and women. So she took the time to write this up for all of you. So straight from her mouth to all of you here is the unknown massage therapist: Thanks David and hello all of his readers. Here is how to give an amazing erotic massage that will drive her crazy. The only thing that tops a massage is an EROTIC sensual massage, and that is where we are going to go with this today. Erotic pleasure brought on by the sensations one feels when their skin is center focus. Your skin is the largest organ of the body with thousands of nerve endings and the touch stimulates all of your senses. Before we get into the steamy specifics there
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are some important things that need to be type, IMPORTANT: NEVER break contact with tended to. I will keep the details short and to your partner’s skin. Once you have started the point on this part?: the massage, keep that connection with your partner at all times. #1. Please make sure your nails have no jagged edges that can ruin your efforts to #5. Create a sensual environment from the please. start. Light some candles, maybe some erotic incense of your choice or some Lavender oil #2. Have your massage oil warming in a heating in a burner (very sensuous and very warm bowl of water so it is a pleasurable relaxing). sensation (Oil is a MUST for a great massage. Water based oils are preferred, containing #6. Turn the phone off. Draw the blinds. Lock NO Nonoxynol-9 which can be an irritant to the door. NO DISTRACTIONS! the skin). Keep it close by at all times because you will need it for continual lubrication for a #7. Last but surely not least – MUSIC! You smooth massage. can purchase soothing spa CDs at any music store. Try to make sure it will continually #3. You may want some “edible” oil for play. You certainly don’t want to have to get later on your tongue can work massaging up to take care of the music flaws. erogenous zones. #8. TAKE YOUR TIME and BE GENTLE! #4. When you are giving a massage of any So important! This is meant to be a slow
process that builds into such uncontrollable sexual desire for both of you the end result will leave you both breathless.
sensuously will cause just that reaction. It is an involuntary reaction of pure pleasure and stimulation!
#9. You should both have a glass of water,
Time to roll her over onto her back. Make sure you keep a hand on her. Is the oil plentiful? If not, grab it with one hand and lubricate her chest in between her breasts. Gently massage her shoulders working down her arms and back up. Skim over her breasts with the palm of your hand only with plenty of oil. You can stop there for a few circular motions over her already erect nipples. Does she love it? Move on then. OOHH why did you leave there! Now is when she is feeling sensations in her nipples that are dying for stimulation, as well as her vaginal area. It is feeling hot, certainly wet and yearning for you to penetrate at this point, BUT not quite yet.
wine, or something sweet to sip. Lets get started shall we?
Men, your first task is to have your partner strip to her birthday suit. Have her lay on the floor face down. Put a soft blanket down. You need to be able to eventually reach every part of her body without effort. Place a sheet over her back. It is very sensual as you move down in the massage, to slide the sheet down as you work your way down. NO body part will be left untouched. Now, take your warm oil and oil yourself up to begin with, where she can watch! You will be using your hands yes, but you will be wanting your arms and chest oiled up nicely. That alone is a turn on, so you are off to a great start only to get better as you go! Take a good amount of oil in your hands. Rub them together to further warm it. Gently, start by gliding with smooth strokes using your whole hand, over the neck and shoulders, down and up the arms. Make your movements rhythmic in motion working together in a continual synchronization. Remember not to lose contact at any time.
“Create a sensual environment from the start. ”
Work your way down the back, now moving into longer deeper strokes. Continue this method using you body for pressure and not the strength of your sexy arms we love to see all oiled up! Lightly press your chest up against her back, letting other parts of your body lightly skim against her. The sensations of your skin brushing against her are so stimulating! Kiss her jaw lightly then her neck working down her back soft and slow. You can lick the lower back in circular motion, moving up a you lightly breath your warm breath up her spine until you get to her ear lobe where you can kiss lightly to drive her wild.
She is more than likely breathing hard and gasping every time you kiss her stomach down to her inner thighs. Now you should know where that G-Spot is—yes? Good, because while you have her leg up on your shoulder kissing the inner thigh, you are going to massage the outer lips of her vagina—lightly skimming. Go in and gently massage her G-spot. Now, whew it is almost more than a woman can bear! Find just the hood of her clit and GENTLY move it side to side. Experiment and watch her reactions as to where and how what you are doing is working. When you get that gasp of pleasure, stay there for awhile. Glide that other hand up to stimulate her nipples that are SOOOO in need of attention. By now she NEEDS and WANTS and HAS TO HAVE the feeling of your erection. Just tease in and out a LITTLE in and out. Okay! Enough! Please take her hips and turn her over on her knees. Kiss her back, and fondle her nipple as you enter her vagina slowly. Keep teasing. Right now, you are hitting that G-spot again with your penis as long as you don’t go too far in. OKAY! No more teasing! You should know how to take it from here. Alright, so now I gave you these tips, but here’s the deal: Most men screw up somewhere from point one to point nine. Don’t be that guy.
By this time, I guarantee she is HOT and you are getting there if you haven’t gotten to that point yet. Haven’t lost contact yet have you? Nice!! Move back down, only now you are massaging her butt. Make sure her legs are open where you can lightly skim up and down her inner thighs. You want her squirming? Inner thighs touched
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>>> fashion
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>>> fashion
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>>> mr. fitness
Incline barbell press
Sit On An Incline Bench Set At 45 Degrees. Start By Holding The Bar Over Your Upper Chest With Your Arms Straight And Grip Slightly Wider Than Shoulder Width. Slowly Lower The Bar Until The Barbell Makes Contact With Your Upper Chest. Then Press The Barbell Straight Up Over Your Chest Until Your Elbows Are Locked.
incline dumbell chest flyes
1.Lie On An Incline Bench Set At 45 Degrees Holding The Dumbbells Up Over Your Chest With Your Arms Straight. 2.Lower The Dumbbells To The Sides Of Your Body In An Arc-Like Motion Until Your Elbows Are At The Same Level Of The Bench. 3.Raise The Dumbbells Back Up Over Your Chest, Keeping Your Arms Straight Throughout. 4.Repeat
dumbbell bench press
Lay On A Flat Bench With Dumbbells In Each Hand. Bend Your Elbows At A 90 Degree Angle So That Your Forearms Are Perpendicular To The Ground. Press The Weights Upwards Until The Two Weights Meet At The Top. Pause And Lower Back To The Start Position.
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dumbbell lateral raises
Stand And Bend Forward Slightly With Your Knees Bent Too. With Dumbbells In Both Hands And Elbows Bent, Raise Upper Arms To Sides Until Elbows Are At Shoulder Height. Pause, Lower And Repeat.
dumbbell shoulder press
Start With Both Dumbbells Positioned To Each Side Of The Shoulders With At A 90 Degree Fashion. Press Dumbbells Upwards Until Arms Are Extended Overhead. Lower And Repeat.
barbell upright row
1.Stand Upright Holding The Bar With A Closed Grip, With Your Arms Straight And Palms Facing Back. 2.Raise The Bar Up To Just Below Your Chin, Keeping Your Elbows Above Your Hands, Bar Close To Your Body. 3.Return To Starting Position. 4.Repeat.
MODEL: Nathan Sweeting Photographed by: Anita Clare in Nassau, Bahamas
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>>> fashion
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>>> fashion
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>>> fashion
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>>> MR. FITNESS
BY ETHAN QUANT elite wellness solutions
keeping your health goals
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nce you have made the decision to start your fitness journey, you should understand that the reason we call it a journey is because it does not happen overnight. You are about to change your lifestyle and this will take commitment to challenging yourself physically, mentally and emotionally. However before you can even start training your body, you need to begin training your mind. The most important part of any lifestyle change is determining WHY YOU WANT TO CHANGE. For every major life change we embark on, we have a plan or a guideline. Think about it, when you go to school you have a syllabus, When you start your career you have a job description, and similarly when you decide to
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improve your health and fitness, you need to have a plan. I am not talking about just a watery commitment to start walking or eat more salads I mean a detailed, well written, day to day plan. This process starts with having a clearly defined goal. What’s the difference between a goal and a dream? A goal unlike a dream, is tangible and can be measured, it’s imperative that before beginning your fitness journey to write your goals down in detail and set a timeline to hold yourself accountable. There is a old saying, “Failure to plan, is a plan to fail.” I often ask my clients to get a picture of their dream body. It’s important to find a visual representation of your body goal. Once you find your picture
think about some of the things that are stopping you from having that body. What if I told you that the only thing stopping you from having that body is you. Not the lack of money or time, just you. Your choices, your habits, your actions your belief your mindset… This health and fitness lifestyle isn’t easy, but most of the things that are amazing in this life aren’t easy. Think about it, success in the workplace, a successful relationship, being a good parent. To be successful in all of these different areas in our lives take sacrifice, commitment, determination and patience. So set your goal, pick your target body and let’s get healthy fit and sexy!!!
eq
@callme.
bealiv.com
MyAliv
iamaliv
@be_aliv
ALIV
611 or 300.2548
believe in music
believe in best
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Photographed by Anita Clare, Nassau, Bahamas
>>> artist spotlight
ton ash BY renee caesar
With a bachelor’s degree in electronic communication engineering and an associate’s in computer electronic engineering, it is clear that music and fashion hasn’t always been his goals. I asked him how long he’s been doing music and his reply was, “forever!” So where did engineering come in? “That was a ‘get out of nassau’ type thing”, he says, “cause at one point I used to be a bank teller. I was still doing music while I was over here but it had just got to a point where I stopped for a while. I think every artist goes through that period where you say ‘This don’t make no sense. What I wasting my time for?”
is engineering success
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onAsh is the classic “I almost gave up” story. So what makes up the difference?
I sat down with this connoisseur of all things henny and bahama mama related to try understand what fuels an entrepreneur, with little free time, in a climate where entrepreneurship is not the norm. Though, before I go further, let me explain exactly what kind of entrepreneur we are dealing with. This is one who expertly juggles a full time job and a healthy respect for a good night out. He pushes an incredibly niche commodity: himself. Brand building appears to be his strong suit. Everything from his budding fashion empire to his rap career is carefully curated. Nothing is a mistake. I have often encountered TonAsh in the dark recesses of an album release party or concert. He may not come to overpower the room with his presence but is always seen. So, let’s backtrack. How did TonAsh become a thing?
TonAsh continues, “I just needed a change. My girlfriend at the time ended up going away and that pushed me to go at the same time. So shoutout to her still for being the motivation at that moment.” It’s funny though, apparently leaving the country to seek a change of pace is the best way to meet Bahamian musicians and get back to your first love. While he was studying abroad, TonAsh ran into Charlie Brown (Exile Media Group) and began to send him music for feedback. “Charlie would tell me it was garbage. I needed to run into that kind of constructive criticism at the time. I think every rapper goes through that spot where they feel like they’re the best in the world but there is always room for improvement.” Thereafter TonAsh began making music seriously again. And stopped again. This time the reason was reluctance to let his family hear his content. After listening to one of his mixtapes, his mom gave him a speech
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>>> artist spotlight
about how you can’t take back what you put out there. That stuck with him. When he recorded the song ‘Go’, his father told him “Just go for it. Put everything behind it. A lot of people like what you’re doing and you have skill. Just don’t be scared.” That was the final push he needed. One day he approached his employer for sponsorship of a music video. They decided to let him make a different song with local artist Rik Carey as a tester and after he successfully completed it, they took him on as a full time brand ambassador. “That was my first introduction to what you can do or make here in The Bahamas, in terms of music. It opened my mind up to different business aspects. See the thing is, I’ve already been through the phase of just wanting to be on the radio and having people say, ‘Aw you hard bey!’ I noticed sometimes people can’t put together an actual song. They can’t keep the content consistent with an idea. So I started to practice that. Like the ‘Bahama Mama’ track, I was saying I wanted to write something to appeal to the ladies cause I mean, I like woman, but I wanted it to be a song that would stick while making good business sense.” ”I want to get to a point where marketing professionals in The Bahamas know that Bahamians are making usable content. When
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I first finished ‘Bahama Mama’, I downloaded that video (a tourism today ad) and put my song over it. I use to show people the video and not say anything.” The positive reactions cemented his desire to make his music commercially viable. Speaking of commercial viability, TonAsh’s brand “City 242” is his answer to the need for classy representations of The Bahamas. Clean and regal is the mission. At present he produces t-shirts and watches while in the process of creating new designs. Having pushed past his own dejection and doubt, this business minded creative has truly engineered his own success.
“
I think every artist goes through that period where you say ‘This don’t make no sense. What I wasting my time for?”
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>>> feature
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A
A Our Iconic Brutha of The Year: Addis Huyler talks success, dreams and empowerment. By Travis Sweeting
Photographed by Anita Clare
ddis Huyler
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>>> feature
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t’s not easy doing great things in small communities. Traditional views tend to eat away at new ideas and customs. However, every so often there are new platforms that push through and goes on to become great success pillars in those communities. This is what happened with the Bahamian Icon Awards. Heading into its 6th year come 2018, The Bahamian Icon Awards was founded by Addis Huyler. Addis himself has always been involved in uplifting his country whether through sports, business and now social empowerment. He is a former pro athlete turned successful businessmen in addition to being the founder and CEO of Sidda Communications Group, the company which produces the ‘Memory Book’ (a refreshed take on obituary designs) for deceased loved ones. The Icon Awards was founded on the principles of community. It’s mission is to ‘provide an achievable goal that inspires consistent efforts to achieve excellence and the fostering of good will.’ The Icon Awards could not have come at a better time. Often, the great work of Bahamians are overshadowed by political influences and foreign interests. Moving to empower, encourage and inspire through the observation and recognition across various sectors has the capacity to further push Bahamians to greater heights not only locally but internationally as well. For this reason, we are elated to call Addis our Brutha of The Year 2017 for his work uplifting and motivating a community of talented persons.
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Here is how he feels about his success as an entrepreneur and producer:
1. You’ve accomplished a lot so far, how does that make you feel? That’s not something you go around thinking about everyday! I’m not constantly taking inventory of the things that I’m doing! But now that I think about it I feel immensely grateful and optimistic. I’m grateful because I haven’t always made the right choices and taken the right steps. Still the universe has seen fit to give to me all that I’ve wanted to give to the world but didn’t always know how and that’s very humbling. I’m grateful that those missteps didn’t leave me broken and bitter but rather hungry and determined to make the most of this one life I’ve been given. And it is a blessed life. It also makes me optimistic because I know who holds the future and I know that my connection and intention are in alignment with His will for my life. That makes the hairs rise on my arms. I look at what I’ve done and can only imagine what’s to come.
2. Are you living your dream life from 10 years ago? In some ways I am. Ten years ago I was turning 30 and for the first time I found myself searching for a stronger connection to my purpose. For the first time I chose to open myself up to whatever the universe had to offer. Me moving back to the Bahamas was definitely not on the radar. But now I wake up every day feeling really blessed and lucky to get to touch so many lives through
“
Ten years ago I was turning 30 and for the first time I found myself searching for a stronger connection to my purpose.
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>>> feature
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Icon happened because I recognized the importance of empowerment. The most important thing you can do for a human being is validate the truth of who they are.
my work and it challenges me to reach even higher.
3. How did you go about creating The ALIV Bahamian Icon Awards? Icon happened because I recognized the importance of empowerment. The most important thing you can do for a human being is validate the truth of who they are. It is what we all want at the very core of ourselves. I recognized it because I too wanted to know that my life was making an impact but at the time 6 years ago there was no national platform to recognize and acknowledge outstanding Bahamians across the industries that we celebrate. Icon just made sense in that moment.
4. What was your biggest hurdle getting started? Overcoming the stigma that is attached to any new program. “This could be a fly by night thing”…”I don’t think this is going to last”… “they can’t do this again next year”. Any new program goes through the same thing. It makes it very difficult to gain the public’s trust, as well as the corporate financial buy in that is required to pull off a program, in this instance, like Icon. The reason we were able to be so successful, I feel, was because Gina (Gonzalez-Rolle) and myself along with everyone attached to the foundation of that project was able to galvanize around one common intention; to celebrate, and empower and embolden the human spirit. And it’s because of that the Bahamian public and companies like ALIV started to connect heart to heart with what we were trying to achieve and help us to move it forward. It really has been extraordinary to experience.
to be helpful and kind and wanting to make things and people better. That’s just in my DNA. And so you couple that innate mindset with a lifetime of experiences that helped to shaped my world perspective and who you have is Addis Huyler at 40 years old wanting to change lives for the better in the biggest way and finally getting the opportunity to see that happen. How sweet it is!
6. Tell us a day in your life at the office? That’s a fascinating question for many reasons! People think my life is all red carpets and tuxedos but actually I’m very much a workaholic. I get up about 6 am and start everyday at the track with my trainer Lavardo Smith. Then I get to my desk and work often till 9-10 at night. I get to bed and get up and do it all over again the next day. We recently restructured the company so that I can have a more hands-on approach to working with my clients. Luckily it has also given me a lot more flexibility as well with my personal time. I do love spending time at my home reading or watching a good movie so if I’m not working or travelling that’s normally where you can find me.
7. Who is your biggest inspiration? Why? I’m inspired by stories of people like Tyler Perry, Malala Yousafzai, Nelson Mandela, Elizabeth Edwards, Barak Obama…I love stories of strength and ambition. The higher up the chain you go the less you will find people that can identify with your process. So for me it’s important to know and learn from the stories of people who have struggled and overcome so that I keep my own life in perspective.
8. What can be done to empower 5. Have you always wanted to empower entrepreneurs locally? people? I don’t think I always called it empowerment. I’ve ALWAYS wanted to make a difference. From a very young age I had a propensity
Buy Bahamian shit! [laughs] I think entrepreneurship and supporting local businesses is directly tied to having pride in your country. The age-old colonial mindset
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>>> feature that the best for ourselves exists only if given by the others makes it very difficult to explore and express who we are as business owners. Empowerment of business owners begins with the acknowledgment that we are just as valid as our foreign competitors and then spending your money with us. Trust me, we like that last part!
up to when I was growing up and they helped me to feel connected to who I was as a person and how I would come to uncover my place in the world. But my advice to others who may be paying attention to my journey is what I had to recognize back then as well: That who I am, and who you are, has value. We are all placed on this earth with unique gifts and talents. The one job we 9. How does it feel being this successful have is to figure out what that calling is and bring it for to use it to serve the world. Once at your age? you’ve connected to the truth of that notion That would depend on how you define then the sky’s the limit. success. I think of all the dreams that I have for the future and where I am now is 12. Your favorite quote is... just the tip of the iceberg. Success is only perceived by people looking at your example “I may be poor, I may be black, I may be and offering an assessment based on what ugly…but I’m HERE!” -Miss Celie they value. The challenge, though, is that when success the perception it comes with 13. How can the public connect with a tremendous amount of pressure and you? responsibility because the expectation is so high. That’s what I feel more than anything. I’m on Facebook and Instagram @ So I try to balance that pressure with laser addishuyler or through my website at www. focus and curiosity to uncover everything siddagroup.com that the world has to offer. I think that’s where ultimate success begins- first with 14. You’ve been named ‘Brutha of The being open to the possibilities and having Year’ for your work with ALIV Bahamian the courage to go after them “whole hog”. It is in the benchmarks along the way where Icon Awards...how does this make you feel? you find true success.
10. What’s next for Addis? I’m finally at the place in my life where I’m no longer in the pursuit of happiness I’ve found it in myself. As long as I have left on this earth my plan is to live in and cultivate this space so that energy of joy and love can continue to inform the work that I do. Hopefully it inspires the same peace in others as well.
11. What advice would you give to someone looking to follow in your footsteps? I believe we are all beacons of light for each other. Certainly, I had persons that I looked
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Shocked! I’ve never received anything like this before! Ironically even the Icon guy feels good when he’s recognized. I’m a fan of this magazine and understand how it has become an important tool in shaping the lifestyles of Bahamian Bruthas. I’m truly humbled by this honor and grateful for the consideration. To be recognized for doing work that has brought me so much joy and fulfillment is really just icing on the cake!
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>>> man on the rise
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Making Films with Conch Boy’s
lavado stubbs By Renee Caesar
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rawing inspiration from directors like Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze and Stanley Kubrick, Lavado Stubbs’ name has become synonymous with the “one take” style in local circles. What began as a budget friendly creative choice has now become the source of a much welcomed feeling of accomplishment when he gets to see his results.
He was raised by hugely supportive parents, who always encouraged him to pursue both of his first loves (painting and rapping). However, having grown up in the limited sphere of a tourism and banking driven society, Lavado opted to head off to college at York University to pursue a degree in Law and Society.
“I don’t know what I was thinking. I hated it! Within the first year I was like ‘what am I Interestingly though, Lavado grew up not doing?’ So I switched from Law and Society even being aware that film was a career to Sociology. While studying sociology I met option. a friend who was studying film at York. She
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>>> man on the rise
Photographed by Anita Clare in Nassau, Bahamas
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While studying sociology I met a friend who was studying film at York. She brought me onto one of her sets with her and I was like ‘This is what I want to do!
brought me onto one of her sets with her and I was like ‘This is what I want to do!’” Suddenly it occurred to him that he had always been a lover of film. “I remembered that when I was younger I had always loved movies, even though at the time in the Bahamas there was only one theatre so there was only one movie option at a time.” Now he tells me about the first music video he ever made. Even though he knew nothing about the technicalities, he managed to create a video back when he was in 10th grade at St. Anne’s. His group got an honorable mention in an international competition and then his love for film laid dormant up until the day he set foot on the set of his friend’s short film. Since then, he decided to spend as much of his time as possible working on sets around Canada. He worked around the likes of Nelly Furtado, Director X and The Food Network while taking in all the workshops he could find. He finished up his degree in Sociology and then headed to warmer climes to pursue a formal film education. Full Sail was the perfect choice for him, especially since he was closer to home and could visit family more often. He shot his first local video along with fellow Bahamian creative Ryan Lightbourne while still in school. The director and cinematographer met while in Orlando and worked together on several projects both locally and abroad. A few years later and Lavado has made a significant name for himself and his brand “Conch Boy”. He is an island boy to the core, has a strong grasp of the business side of the industry, and is humble and gracious to top it all off. This brutha is going places.
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>>> femme fatale
Branded Persona: A dive into the life of
T AP 50
racy
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erpall
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s kids we often dream of becoming major celebrities in our own right. Whether singers, actors or the next Oprah, sometimes those dreams can be crushed by society’s take on adulthood. TracyAnn Perpall has demonstrated that with some creative ingenuity, hard work and countless hours of editing, becoming a celebrity can happen. She has amassed a large following behind her vlogs (video version of blogs) at a time when vlogging was new and she stood in the lane all by herself. Using social media as her biggest platform, persons were able to enjoy a comedic take on social issues, relationships, etc. while getting a hearty laugh. With her online persona, TAP, now a household name, Tracy believes greater things are available for her beyond The Bahamas.
1. How did Tracy become ‘TAP’? Humans are multidimensional. I don’t like to view my online personality as a separate entity entirely, it’s just one layer of my personality, one part of the sum that people for one reason or the other enjoy. So, I’ve always been Tap, but at this season and time in my life, this particular layer of my whole part is being shared with others.
2. Were you always outgoing and comedic? I was ALWAYS outgoing and outspoken, sometimes to a fault. I was brought up by two amazing parents (one that’s an immigrant and the other a creative as well) and although I’m not the best at expressing it, I do owe a great deal to them. They instilled a great deal of confidence and curiosity in me. They never punished me or swayed me for being different. I was a very willful and imaginative child and I do feel they encouraged that. I was also involved in school plays and church choir and things of that nature, so I was never afraid of a spot light. I NEVER got nervous in front of crowds. I don’t know if I was ever comedic or if I even am now. What does it mean that people think I’m funny and I don’t? I’m not sure [laughs]
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>>> femme fatale
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I want to do larger than life things: like be on a Netflix series, or at the Emmys sitting next to Ava DuVernay!
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Photographed in Nassau, Bahamas by LUMIERE BY KENZI
3. What has been some of the challenges in growing your brand? Growing and evolving in a pretty much stunted market place sucks ass. There’s so much that I want to do, but most of my beloved country is stuck in 1981, so that provides a good amount of difficulty as a social media personality especially. I mean, you have places still that don’t take debit cards, many businesses don’t even have social media pages because they feel it’s not a necessity or businesses that do have pages don’t really keep them up or let their 12 year old cousins run it cause “it’s not a big deal”. Meanwhile social media content providers and influencers in America are treated with such value. It’s weird and certainly annoying. For every Bahamian creative out there, there’s currently a fight of proving to people that “this IS a thing” and that foreign doesn’t automatically equate better. Like why in the hell does a certain government ministry hire an outside ad agency to handle their social media? Bahamians can’t do that? And this is the type of mentality that starts from the top to the bottom in The Bahamas and that can be a source of frustration for persons like myself. But I thank God that despite that, I’ve been able to garner a strong following for such a small country, especially being the only woman in the lane that I’m in.
4. What do you love most about what you do? I just love that I’m able to operate on my own frequency. I’m just being ME. I’m acting naturally as I was created. Coming from a 9-5 job especially, where you’re expected to dress, act or operate a certain way- I love the freedom. I love my fluidity and I love the creative process.
5. Explain the process of a vlog from idea to publish? When I’m going to create a vlog, I try to keep my creative process as organic as possible in terms of the idea. I don’t always wanna talk about things or do things because my followers demand it or because every other person takes interest in it. It HAS to be something I genuinely care about or
something I’m intrigued by or interested in. After all, one of the reasons people began following me is because I give MY VIEW and I’m genuine and follow my gut. So in terms of inspiration, that could randomly come from a chat with a friend or maybe I’m taking a crap while scrolling Instagram. Then I allocate a time to film. If I’m lazy it will be in my room, but I do have an office space. I’ll set up the lighting, throw on my lashes and film. It can take anywhere from an hour or more depending on the content. Then comes the pain in my beautiful black arse…editing. It’s my LEAST favorite thing to do. It’s soooooooo time consuming. Now that can take like HOURSSSSSSSS and keep me up to the crack of dawn.
6. What do you feel is your best vlog thus far? The best vlog I’ve done so far is my most recent one “I may quit vlogging”. In this vlog I’m basically transparent about being burned out as a social media and on camera personality in a country that I describe as bad soil; a country that generally speaking, doesn’t value, respect or reward persons like myself. I know a lot of persons weren’t accustomed to seeing such a somber demeanor from me, which is part of why it was one of my favorites. There’s this social media culture of unrealistic perfection. People seem to have the attitude that everything truly HUMAN should be hidden and everything vulnerable and real should be looked down upon. I reject that school of thought. I’m gonna be me: good, bad, ugly or OGLY! Also I think that people need to be aware of the reality of what creatives endure in their own country. A lot of us speak amongst ourselves only because usually the reaction from many in the public is that we need to stop crying and work harder, to which I say: STFU! What I want people to get out of that vlog the most, because I DO believe some missed the point, is the question we need to ask is, why in our own country are qualified and proven creatives NOT being given opportunities as we see in other countries? Again, why is a foreign ad agency running social media accounts for government ministries? Why are certain stations paying for the rights to foreign tv content instead of using the money to pay for Bahamian directors and producers to
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>>> femme fatale provide content? Why isn’t a wildly popular journalist or personality with a degree (not me) and crazy following filming a show in a fast food joint on their phone? Why is a mega liquor brand offering to pay me with a case of their premium liquor instead of cash? Why are SO many young people messaging me after I posted this vlog to tell me they are not coming back home or actively trying to leave the country? These are the questions we need to be asking and the things we need to look at and say “Okay this is a problem”, stop blaming the artists and saying they aren’t doing enough.
7. If you could change one thing in The Bahamas in regards to creatives, what would it be? If I could change one thing in The Bahamas in regards to creatives, I’d wish that creatives would present a united front and stand up for themselves, damnit! Stop working for free. Stop undercutting and working for too low a rate. Stop accepting caca on a gold platter, don’t worry about the presentation, at the end of the day, it’s still poop.
8. What’s next for TAP? I ain’t Jesus, so I don’t know what’s next for me! We can plan a pretty picnic but we can’t predict the weather. But I do desire to be working and seen in a larger market. I want to do larger than life things: like be on a Netflix series, or at the Emmys sitting next to Ava DuVernay! I don’t want to speak on too much of what I’m planning but always know that I’m NEVER NOT WORKING towards my dreams.
9. Your advice to someone who wants to follow in your footsteps... Don’t walk….RUN to another market or country if you can. I know people don’t wanna hear that. But if you’re someone who is truly talented and has a great work ethic, you deserve to at least take a real shot where you can be appreciated. An artist’s first priority, in my view, is NOT to
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be Christ on the cross, is not to spend their days attempting to transform the mindset of an entire country. Now, these can be secondary things, sure, as is almost the case, but I think most artists will agree with me when I say an artist’s first priority is to themselves, to their spirit…to create… wholeheartedly and organically. And I don’t want anyone to follow in my footsteps but to be better than me as I intend to do better than those that came before me. I won’t be
young and hot AF forever and I want those behind me to have more than I will.
10. How can the public find you? www.theycallmetap.com Instagram: @theycallmetap youtube.com/theycallmetap Facebook.com/theycallmetap
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>>> cruise control
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Meet Model X
Model X is the safest, quickest, and most capable sport utility vehicle in history. Designed as a family car without compromise, Model X comes standard with all-wheel drive, ample seating for up to seven adults, standard active safety features, and up to 295 miles of range on a single charge. And it’s the quickest SUV in production, capable of accelerating from zero to 60 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds.
www.tesla.com
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>>> bruthaman
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bust through self sabotage BRUTHAMAG.com
BY mastin kipp | the daily love
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o you “self-sabotage”?
2. Find a role model who is already successful doing what you want. Then, do what they You know what I’m talking about. do. Learn from the best. Getting right to the end line - and then just messing it all up. 3. Train your mind to find the good in what’s gone wrong. There is always a larger lesson Perhaps you’ve talked to your life coach, for you to learn, even in life’s worst case therapist or friend about your problem, and scenarios. they told you that this pattern that you do, to unintentionally “mess things up” is called 4. Allow yourself the time to feel your feelings self-sabotage. fully. If you try to change your behaviour without feeling your feelings - you will hold Now, I believe in therapy. I believe in life yourself back. You can’t do this alone, find coaching. I have a therapist and a life coach a great coach or therapist to help you get myself. them out. Also, Kundalini Yoga does wonders at this. However, some of the wording in the industry needs an update. 5. Try again. We chose our failures by choosing to stop trying. Get back up and Let’s trade, from now on “self-sabotage” for keep making the attempt. “self-protection”. 6. Know that no matter what happens You see, we human beings are designed to when you follow your Heart - you will always survive. Our bodies are darn good at it too. be taken care of. Trust that and when you get Your brain is darn good at helping you stay scared rely on your faith. alive. The problem is - your brain, unless it’s trained - really stinks at helping you be 7. Rely on your faith: learn to see fear as a happy. friend and a compass showing you where to go. Fear isn’t the enemy. It’s just your We must train ourselves to trust life. We must brain trying to protect you. You don’t need train our minds to find the good in the worst. protection from your dreams, what you need We must allow ourselves to feel feelings that to courage to bring them about. Be a person we think will kill us - yet when we feel them, of courage. we are freed from the bondage of lack of expression. These tips should help you get well on your way towards getting past what many You see, you don’t self-sabotage - you just call “self-sabotage” and what I call “selfdon’t trust that you will be safe if you keep protection.” going. It makes a lot more sense to think about it this way. We are afraid of success Your dream life, your happiness, your because we don’t think that we can survive fulfillment and your Higher Power are it. We are afraid of being vulnerable again waiting for you to have just a little more faith because we don’t trust that we won’t be in yourself and a little more courage to see emotionally violated again. things through. We are terrified to leave a job that sucks our soul or a relationship that is toxic because we don’t trust in our won ability to be resourceful. And we don’t trust in our Higher Power to provide for us in ways we can not even yet imagine.
You will be provided for, I promise. In the comments on the blog - let me know how you are going to make the switch from self-sabotage to self-protection and faith.
Lots of LOVE, The cure for self-protecting behavior is as follows: Mastin
‘have just a little more faith in yourself and a little more courage to see things through’
1. Put your faith in Something Greater than just yourself. Know that you are guided in every step by The Uni-verse.
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