#truphx

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Since TRUPHX is on summer break we didn't want to leave everyone wondering when the next story was coming?! TRUPHX will return in Sept and we already have a list of stories we're excited to bring you.

Till then we hope you enjoy the following pictures from our "Forgotten PHX" ghost image series. Some of the pics were on display at three shows we were asked to participate in this year, the "Our Town" show at Bragg's Pie Factory in Jan, TRUPHX show at The Lab Pop Up Gallery in April and "DRY Summer Art Event" earlier this month at the R.Pela Contemporary Art Gallery.  

We've also included a few other pictures that have never been seen till now! 

If you decide to repost any of the pics we ask that you please include the TRUPHX link.

Thank's to everyone for all the love and support and we wish you all a safe summer.

See you in Sept!

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Whats your story?

Hi my name is Tina and I like to eat. 

Where you originally from and why PHX?

I grew up in Twin Falls, Idaho. I moved to the Salt River reservation after High School and loved living there for about 13 years. Since the reservation is close to the city I was able to get involved within that community as well as the PHX community through the things I am passionate about.

A few years ago I had come to a point where I had to start my life over again. Phoenix is symbolic to me, so in order to be reborn I moved into the city. I have found opportunities to grow and transform here along with the support and love needed to do so. Plus there are so many great places to EAT!

I feel equally passionate about food and the art of Muay Thai. I've been eating good all my life and I started training Muay Thai in 2002 or 2003. A few elite athletes live and train in the area so luckily I was able to learn how to fight from some world class trainers.  That led me to an opportunity to represent PHX on the 2006 Oxygen TV reality show 'Fight Girls'. Since I got to take part in the reality show I became very interested in shooting videos and post production. 

My other passion is for arts & crafts. Back in 2005 I was injured from my Muay Thai training so to keep myself busy I started a small business collaborating with artists. I incorporate their designs onto earrings and I was able to supply a few local boutiques and many First Friday fashionistas with some affordable and fun to wear jewelry.  I have a few designs available online now check out <a href="http://gjewelry.bigcartel.com/"> http://gjewelry.bigcartel.com </a>

Back in April I was able to make it out the show to support the TRUPHX movement. I always wanted to take a picture with the PHX letters so I was stoked to be there, I shot this video of the show 

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/iyDWY_fVgxI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I was excited to Instagram my shot with the infamous PHX letters.

My job at the time inspired my edit of the photo. 

I was spending alot of time doing research on space, aliens and UFO's.

If you're interested in that type of thing, here are a few of the videos I did: 

http://youtu.be/TW4nhse_Se0 -  Uruguay  

http://youtu.be/ubGeqS9g6po -  Brazil  

http://youtu.be/4Llk3T9qFjk -  Chile

More information and lots of other random stuff can be found on my blog: <a href="http://gjewelry.blogspot.com/"> http://gjewelry.blogspot.com </a> 

What’s the future hold for PHX?

PHX is a great place all types creative people to grow. One of the best parts of being here is that there are always people with new ideas that art out there trying different things. As we find different ways to collaborate our collective conscious awareness of reality will continue to evolve and transform. It's great to see more and more people start to pay attention and participate.  

Subject: Tina Goodson

Location: TRUPHX Debut Show at The Lab Pop-Up Gallery 1022 W                         Grand Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85007

Photographer: Tina Goodson

Tina's Jewelry Website: http://gjewelry.bigcartel.com/

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What’s your story?

My name is Pablo Perez and I own Nogales Hot Dogs and I sell Sonoran Style Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs and we have been in business at our current location for 12 years.

Where are you originally from and why PHX?

I was born Chihuahua Mexico and I’ve lived in Phoenix for 27 years. I decided to move to Phoenix because I liked the city, I liked the people that live here and it felt like home. I also like it because of the proximity to Mexico and how easily I'm able to go back to visit my family.

What’s the future hold for PHX?

There’s a big future here in Phoenix despite the games and the show politicians like Jan Brewer and Joe Arpaio like to play for the public. They don’t represent the state and it’s residents properly as someone with their responsibilities should. They don’t include everyone here such as those that struggle but still work hard. They just look at us like we are from another planet, if they would only stop brushing us off and include us in all the good the state has to offer, everyone and the city would benefit.

There will be political change in the future and when that happens this city and state will get back on track and continue to progress once again.

The future I see for my business… well anytime someone first opens a business like my Hot Dog cart they dream of one day moving from a cart to an permanent restaurant and I want to have that but I’ll continue to have a cart because the public like the convenience of walking right up and ordering a Hot Dog.

    Nogales Hot Dogs “Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs”

Location: 20th Street & Indian School

Hours: Sun thru Thurs 7pm – 12:30 am Fri & Sat 7pm -1:30am

Subject: Pablo Perez

Photographer: Hector Primero

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Whats your story?

My name is John Paul Adan.  For the past ten years I have been working for the Valley’s largest non-profit Mentoring Organization Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona.  We directly impact the community by matching kids with adult volunteer's who mentor a child for at least a year.  I began as a volunteer for this organization and eventually became a full time employee.  I really wanted to be a part of an organization whose main goal is to enrich the lives of children.

Currently we have nearly 300 boys (mostly West Valley) waiting for a Big Brother.  I have hope that each and every one of them will have a chance to be paired up with someone who cares.  Someone who will listen to these kids and help guide them towards a brighter future. In my ten years I have seen and heard so many stories of kids lives being changed for the better.  These kids are the future of Arizona and I want them to have the best opportunities in life.  

  Where you originally from and why PHX?

I was born and raised in Central Phoenix. I grew up in PHX in the 80's and 90's and have seen our city change so much over the years; it has been truly incredible.  I actually remember the I-10 being built directly through my neighborhood. Now it's a 6 lane freeway that runs through the heart of the Valley.  I have been to many other large cities in this great country and there is no other place I would rather live.

  What’s the future hold for PHX?

I believe that the future of PHX is brighter than ever.  As one of the youngest states in the country (to be admitted to the Union) we are finally finding our own true identity and how beautiful that identity is...

  For more info on how to become a Big Brother or Big Sister check us out on the web www.bbbsaz.org

  Photographer: Hector Primero

Models: John Paul Adan and his little brother Steven

Location: Glendale, AZ

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What's your story?

The Isac Amaya Foundation started as a radio show called El Break! A group of friends got together to do a youth radio show in 2006 because there was no Spanish talk radio for young people (There still isn't) so we did that for about 4 years. While we were on air, we started to see different issues that were affecting our community, so as a group we got involved in different things. The main one was education, specifically higher education for DREAMers. We threw our first fundraiser in 2006 and raised 1,000. We held a hunger strike to call attention to the DREAM Act after prop. 300 passed in Arizona; we traveled to Washington DC to lobby for the legislation and we started hosting community forums to inform the community about different things related to higher education: financial aid, the college enrollment process, scholarships for undocumented students, student rights, etc. We were all kids back then! The youngest was like 17 years old.

One of the people in the radio show was Isac. He used to do the clubs and parties segment for El Break! That guy was a partier and he was super sweet and super smart. Laura and I (also in the show) met him at Phoenix College where he took all the math courses he could before they ran out of math classes for him to take and it was time for him to transfer to ASU. But he couldn't. It was too expensive and he was undocumented. In August of 2006, the company Isac worked for sent him to Tennessee to train a group of people but when he was driving there, he was in a car accident and passed away. That was one of the hardest things we've ever had to face. He was one of our best friends.

He was 25.

When we stopped doing the radio show, we decided that we didn't want to stop doing the community work we had started so our focus became raising funds to give scholarships to undocumented students. To do that, we had to be a more formal organization because we didn't know how many donors would give money to "El Break!" hahaha. So when we were looking for a name, we thought "What better way to honor Isac, a hard working guy who was doing everything he could to get ahead and wanted to go back to school as soon as he could, than to name our organization after him." So the Isac Amaya Foundation was born in 2009 and 5 years later, here we are! We're all grown up now but we are just as passionate about the work we do than when we were high school and college students. 

  What's the future hold for PHX?

One of the things that was the most fun for us while doing the radio show was getting to know everything that was going on in the city and helping to promote it. In 2007 we actually started doing Stylos Awards (Stylos as it is known now because the first one was done in 2005) and that was a way for us to showcase and recognize local talent because we felt like there was a gap in platforms that artists, musicians and others could use! We started developing relationships with all sorts of people and we loved the fact that we could be part of the growth of this city.

A lot has happened since then and for some time there was a plateau in growth and vibrance. It was around 2010 when all the SB1070 shenanigans were going on. There was a vibe in the city that was unwelcoming to the Latino Community and actually many people left.

In the last couple of years though, that has started to change again and it feels awesome! Phoenix has an identity and we Phoenicians take a lot of pride in being from here. We choose to stay because we're building things...movements and we don't want to miss out. I think Phoenix is going to be a magnet city pretty soon. As long we continue to work in it and for it with the passion that we have been.

  For more info about The Isac Amaya Foundation and to donate too please check out  www.isacamayafoundation.org

  Photographer: Hector Primero

Location: Phoenix Center of the Arts

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Whats your story?

Marshall Shore, I am known as the Hip Historian. I always had a passion for uncovering the weird, the wonderful, and the obscure treasures. Upon landing in South Phoenix (Central City South,) I immediately began hearing stories about the community and it’s history. Meanwhile, across town I heard others say that there was no history here. I knew that wasn’t true and began on a journey to find some history. I continued taking delight in listening to people’s stories, whether it was about venturing out to shop, eat, dance, watch a movie, go to work, or being a part of headline news. I started curating and retelling stories. People began saying, I knew more about their hometown than they did. I knew that there was a larger purpose for this knowledge. I left a stable income to pursue this passion about connecting people to place. Using storytelling magic, found film footage, old photographs, ephemera, and artifacts. I bring our state’s heritage to life in entertaining bus tours, educational presentations, and other unexpected ways like postcards and more...

  Where you originally from and why PHX?

Grew up in small Indiana farm town, of 25 people, realized at an early age that I didn’t want to grow old, there. I got myself through college ending up with a Masters in Library Science and promptly moved to NYC. I worked there as a Librarian for about a decade. Ready for another adventure, the lure of the west and possibility of a delightful midcentury home got me to Ariz. Actually, it was my parents sending a list of thrift stores in the valley. Followed by moving into a 1956 ranch. Friends refer to our home as the unmuseum, it is pretty much original and teeming with 50‘s - 60‘s kitsch and stories.

  What’s the future hold for PHX?

Phoenix is the city of tomorrow! Looking for the next big thing. It exploded during a post war boom that created a car centric, neon dotted landscape, that is steeped in Americana. It arose from a prior civilization, which remnants of continue to discover.

The city of tomorrow will continue to progress, but we can’t forget yesterday. It is up to us, to keep the relevancy of the who, what, and where this place evolves from. Balancing the city of tomorrow with yesterday, as we continue to forge our unique identity. Let’s have a beverage and share stories.

  Website: www.marshallshore.com

Photographer: Hector Primero

Subject: Marshall Shore

Location: The Ice House