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Photography SAM DAMESHEK Model LOLA JUAREZ Graphic Design SARAH SMITH In MALLORCA, SPAIN

Photography SAM DAMESHEK Model LAURA OGANESSIAN Graphic Design SARAH SMITH In MALLORCA, SPAIN MALLORCA WEEK 1/3 WANT TO SEE MORE?

Photography SAM DAMESHEK Model KATERYNA DUDKA Styled by SASHA ALEXANDER Producer KIMBERLY HUNT At WILD WEST SOCIAL HOUSE, LA

Photography SAM DAMESHEK Styling DAZ MERCHANT Model KELLY GALE from MAGNOLIA ENTERTAINMENT Graphic Design SARAH SMITH At PETIT ERMITAGE'S TOPANGA CANYON Wearing DOLCE AND GABBANA, BALENCIAGA, YVES SAINT LAURENT You know when someone says they’re a f***ing introvert but they’re five minutes into a story with no signs of stopping? That’s Kelly. She says she only likes ten people, max—but when she talks, she’s open, present, and funny without trying. We talked about finding her anger, navigating fear, moving from modeling into acting, and building a beauty brand that actually works. No fluff. No filters. She’s not trying to sell you anything—she just made something real. DAMESHEK: You called yourself a f***ing introvert, but you haven’t stopped talking for five minutes. GALE: I know. Everyone says that. But it’s true. I barely like ten people. DAMESHEK: Do I make the list? GALE: You flaked on the barbecue. So… no. DAMESHEK: I had no car. Malibu is far. GALE: Excuses. DAMESHEK: Every model says they want to act. When did it stop being talk for you? GALE: I actually started in theater. Acting was always the goal. Modeling came later—kind of as a f*** you. I got bullied for being ugly, so I thought, if I become a model, no one can say that anymore. But I never loved it. DAMESHEK: And acting gave you something back? GALE: Yeah. Modeling teaches you to shut down. No one cares about your opinion. Acting forces you to feel everything. You bring your life into it. DAMESHEK: You said at one point you couldn’t even feel anger. GALE: I couldn’t. People would do something awful and I’d feel sad, but never angry. I hadn’t raised my voice since I was a kid. DAMESHEK: But now? GALE: Now I get pissed and let people know. I have access to all my emotions again. Modeling doesn’t love that version of me, but that’s fine. DAMESHEK: Would you say acting helped you find that? GALE: 100%. You have to use your real emotions. And the prep can be intense. Like before a scene I’ll scream or punch a pillow to get where I need to be. I learned a lot of it from Joel. He’s coached me a lot. DAMESHEK: Do you journal as your characters? GALE: Yeah, and I use AI sometimes. I type in what I know about the character and ask it to give me a hundred questions I can answer to go deeper. I write backstories, diaries—I go all in. DAMESHEK: What kind of role do you want most? GALE: Relationship drama with amazing writing. Something like Marriage Story. Everyone wants to cast me in sci-fi because of how I look, but I want raw dialogue, just two people in a room. DAMESHEK: Let’s talk about fear. You said you’re scared all the time but still do the things that scare you. GALE: I made a list one New Year’s of my top three fears. I faced all of them in three months. Jumped out of a plane. Swam with sharks. Not sharing the third. DAMESHEK: Fair. Let’s talk about Chandra Beauti. When I came to your place, it wasn’t some influencer setup. You were actually using the stuff. GALE: I’ve been making this stuff since I was three. At 13, I overheard a client say they needed to retouch my cellulite. So I started researching. Gotu Kola, coffee, cypress—I was making scrubs in my mom’s kitchen. That’s what became Chandra. DAMESHEK: And you really use it. GALE: Every day. No perfume, no filler. I tell people—copy-paste the ingredients into ChatGPT and look them up. There’s no hidden b*. If it doesn’t resonate with people, that’s fine. But it’s real. SAM: How do you balance being the face of something with not wanting to feel like you’re selling? KELLY: I don’t think about it like that. I just do things with good intentions. That’s what matters to me. SAM: What makes you feel seen? KELLY: People who don’t assume. People who ask the right questions and actually listen. That’s everything. SAM: You just described what I want soap to be. KELLY: Then keep going. It matters.

Photography SAM DAMESHEK Model LAURA OGANESSIAN Graphic Design SARAH SMITH In MALLORCA, SPAIN MALLORCA WEEK 1/3

Photography SAM DAMESHEK Model MAHEA DALTON Graphic Design KIMBERLY HUNT In MALLORCA, SPAIN

Photography SAM DAMESHEK Model CAMILLE ROTH Graphic Design SARAH SMITH At DUST STUDIOS, LOS ANGELES

Photography SAM DAMESHEK Model RENEE MURDEN Graphic Design SARAH SMITH At TAHITI, FRENCH POLYNESIA TAHITI DROP 3/5 WANT TO SEE MORE?

Photography SAM DAMESHEK Model SIENNA SCHMIDT Styling SARAH SMITH In PARIS, FRANCE

Photography SAM DAMESHEK Model CHLOE CAMPBELL Graphic Design SARAH SMITH At TAHITI, FRENCH POLYNESIA TAHITI DROP 2/5 Photography SAM DAMESHEK Model KINSEY GOLDEN Graphic Design SARAH SMITH At TAHITI, FRENCH POLYNESIA TAHITI DROP 1/5

Written by FOX SINCLAIR Photography FOX SINCLAIR Graphic Design SARAH SMITH For SOAP MAGAZINE "Night School" 2024 My education didn’t prepare me for the real world—but Jumbo’s did. Not my parents. Not church. Not the liberal arts degree from my sweet little lesbian college. What actually trained me in power, presence, boundaries, and womanhood was dancing at a tiny rock ’n’ roll strip club in Hollywood called Jumbo’s Clown Room. I started in 2013. I was 23 and deeply underqualified for what I was stepping into. I showed up in a baby pink bodysuit and six-inch light-up heels (both of which I’d retire almost immediately), thinking I’d just dance a little, make some money, and make my ex-boyfriend regret my loss. What I didn’t realize was that I was enrolling in a decade-long course on everything I hadn’t been taught growing up. In my conservative Christian household, sexuality was a touchy subject—never discussed openly, and by default, made taboo. It wasn’t until I commodified it—claimed it, performed it, profited from it—that I began to understand its weight and power. "Life in Red" 2018 The first few months felt like rushing a sorority—if the sorority was run by chain-smoking showgirls in eight-inch heels who didn’t tip-toe around your feelings. I came in giggly, friendly, and painfully Southern. The girls weren’t impressed. At Jumbo’s, respect wasn’t handed out—it was earned, with attitude, resilience, and a flawless strut to the jukebox. I didn’t have years on my belt as a stripper so, naturally, there was some vetting. Eventually, I found my footing. My heels got higher, my outfits smaller, my patience shorter, and my confidence louder. I learned how to talk to anyone. I learned how to feel perfectly fine leaving a conversation the second it got dull. I learned how to read a room, flip it, and make someone feel like the star of a fantasy—while secretly planning what I’d order for dinner. The photos in this piece were taken during that time—on a half-frame flea market camera I found in Austria, loaded with discontinued 1600 ISO film. I never used a flash, out of respect for the club’s strict no-photo policy- a policy I enjoyed as I navigated the outwardness of this “taboo” life I had chosen. These were quiet captures of costume changes, cash counts, cigarette breaks, and shared glances. No one was performing for the lens. They were just working— uniquely existing— and I was lucky enough to document it. "Views of Getting Ready" 2019 Soon, like everything, it changed. COVID hit. The club restructured. Fuji stopped making the film. My negatives were stolen from the trunk of my car. The dancers I came up with moved on. A new era began. But those years—that era—were the golden ones. We were half-dressed, fully aware, and having the time of our lives. I miss it. It felt more like home than anywhere else ever has. Jumbo’s was my master’s degree—not just in stripping, but in life. In power, performance, and presence. In boundaries, business, and self-worth. And now, diploma in hand (figuratively, of course), I get to see where that education takes me next. I’m just happy I have these fleeting moments on film to remember it. "A Rollie in Between" 2018

Photography SAM DAMESHEK Model CARLA GUETTA Graphic Design SARAH SMITH In MALLORCA, SPAIN MALLORCA WEEK 3/3