There's a difficult story I've been mulling over, and it's time to lay it bare. It starts and ends with my former assistant, my compatriot, Vinny Vega. But before we dive into that, hats off to the artisans who wove their magic into this project: Midnight Blues from #teamfabulous, the makeup wizardry of Charlie Riddle from the Wall Group, brandishing Stila Cosmetics' new Suede Shade, and of course, the man who knows hair and style like the back of his hand, Henry Delapaz, jazzing it up with a touch of Gucci.
Vinny and I, we were kindred spirits navigating the tumultuous seas of human emotion. I remember when our paths first crossed on an MTV set, under the keen eye of my dear friend Richard Lowe. Vinny, a greenhorn with a spark in his eyes, had a portfolio that screamed potential. Together, we dived headfirst into the intoxicating world of fashion photography. Like two sides of a coin, we were often at odds - his nocturnal escapades contrasted my stern military demeanor, yet his infectious energy became our lifeline in an industry that often bordered on the brink of madness.
I recall the day epilepsy tried to steal Vinny from us during a shoot. His towering Arnold Schwarzenegger-like figure crumbled, but my jiu-jitsu training sprung to action, cushioning his fall with my meager 132-pound frame. Amid the chaos, I reassured him that he was among family, and those words still resonate with me.
But, life has a way of complicating things. The allure of nightlife, the demands of the corporate circus, and my own failure to grasp the complexity of ADHD started to create fissures in our camaraderie. As it happened, we never got to script the resolution I had envisioned.
In the aftermath of Vinny's departure, I found my camera aching for his presence, the laughter, the energy, the shared thrill of fashion weeks, and intense photoshoots. There's a vacuum left by Vinny, a haunting echo of what could've been had we continued to shake up the fashion photography world together.
Vinny's light may have dimmed in this world, but his spirit carries on - a reminder to fuse discipline with joy, to weather the storm with resilience. Our reconciliation might not have come to fruition in this life, but I trust it awaits us in the next, where laughter rings out incessantly and the camera lights never dim. To you, Vinny, the friend who taught me to dance with life, thank you for the shared smiles, the irreplaceable memories, and the life lessons. Until we meet again, dear friend.
