The Lifestyle Issue Curated by Dominic ‘The Surgeon’ Ciambrone

This issue is unlike anything we’ve ever done before. For the first time we have turned the reins over to a guest creative director—Dominic “The Surgeon” Ciambrone.

Ciambrone had a hand in nearly every aspect of this unique issue. He didn’t merely choose people who inspire him to take part in the issue—he conducted many of the interviews, directed the photoshoots and even got behind the camera himself. He even interviewed himself which is no easy task.

On one of our covers you’ll find the iconic rapper 2 Chainz. In our interview the Atlanta-based rapper talks about his upcoming “ColleGrove 2” collaboration album with Lil Wayne and more.

On another cover you’ll find the multi-talented Cleo Kinnaman. A true creator across many mediums, Kinnaman and Ciambrone discuss fashion, art and much more.

You can pick up your copy of the Lifestyle Issue Curated by Dominic “The Surgeon” Ciambrone at InkedShop.com. Or, and we highly recommend this, click here to get a subscription to Inked so you’ll never miss an issue.

In case we haven’t quite sold you on the issue yet, here’s a sneak preview of what’s inside!

Dominic Ciambrone

Creative directing an entire magazine is a chore for the professionals, walking in off the street and taking a crack at it is a hell of an endeavor to attempt, let alone pull off. Ciambrone was doing such a good job at it that we gave him an even more difficult task—interviewing himself.

In this unique profile Ciambrone looks inward and shares the passion that motivates him while simultaneously revealing an unexpected truth.

“Here’s the thing,” Ciambrone responds when asked to reveal his most coveted pair of sneakers. “People think I love sneakers, but I just like making shit. I like taking anything and turning it into more art or taking it apart. I’m obsessed and passionated about making things.”

Read the article here! 

Cleo Kinnaman

if there is a story to tell, Cleo Kinnaman finds a way to tell it. She does this through the portraits she infuses with a subjects DNA and paints, she does this through her tattoos. Early in her life she moved around a lot, an experience that profoundly shaped her artistic inspiration.

“I’ve had a lot of amazing experiences and special experiences with people who I sometimes only meet for a day or a week or a month of my life,” Kinnaman says. “As a kid, I got terrified I would forget them. So I started writing a lot. I love keeping a diary, taking pictures. I have pictures of friends and people I’ve met randomly since I was a little kid. I feel like a lot of experiences in people’s stories shape me.”

Read the article here!

2 Chainz

2 Chainz has been a household name for years, especially in his hometown of Atlanta. No one would begrudge the rapper pulling back and taking it easy. But that’s not in his character as he continuously strives to get better and reshape his craft.

“I’m always putting lyrical content in all of my stuff, even the watered-down stuff,” he says. “Right now the space I’m moving in is fine. But it’s not saying the first one or two things that come to mind. It’s about digging in and coming up with ideas and concepts that people can hang onto and enjoy for a long period of time.”

Read the article here!

Ben Baller

There are many ways to determine success. Some would say net worth, others contentment. No matter your personal philosophy, I think we’d all agree that when A$AP Ferg is rapping about your skills you’ve made it to the pinnacle of your field.

Ben Baller isn’t one of the most creative jewelers in the world, he’s the entire list. Every piece he makes pushes his art further past what people once thought was possible, a trend he aims to maintain.

“I’m only taking jobs that change the game,” he says. “If we’re not going into a museum, I don’t really care.”

Read the article here! 

Michael Voltaggio

Michael Voltaggio was just 15 when he discovered exactly what he wanted to do with his life. He was working as a busboy at a Holiday Inn alongside his brother who was a sous chef. He did everything he could to find a way to ditch cleaning tables for the much cooler role his brother had in the kitchen. One day his brother penciled him in for a shift and gave him a shot. The executive chef, who did not know a kid would be his sous chef for the day, hazed him mercilessly.

“He gave me shit for a year and a half straight, doing everything he could to talk me out of getting into this industry,” he recalls. “Fast forward to today. I took that as a challenge: I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it at a higher level than you’re ever saying is possible because I like doing this.”

Read the article here! 

Brittany Byrd

A lot of kids scribble in the margins of their notebooks and lazily doodle instead of paying attention in class. Brittany Byrd was definitely one of these kids, but she took things much further. She looked at her grade school’s bland logo and drew up her own, which the school not only adapted at the time, but still uses today.

“I grew up in mid-city Los Angeles,” she says. “I went to school with Korean kids, Indian kids, Mexican kids. I looked at that logo and thought, ‘This doesn’t reflect me and my rainbow tribe.’ Seeing that art made me feel something and that’s when I knew how I wanted to feel.”

This is just a taste of what you’re going to find in the Lifestyle Issue curated by Dominic “The Surgeon” Ciambrone. Make sure to go out and grab your copy of the Lifestyle Issue Curated by Dominic “The Surgeon” Ciambrone at InkedShop.com. Or, and we highly recommend this, click here to get a subscription to Inked so you’ll never miss an issue.