A Second Life Prodigy : Topaz Joubert

Written by Carmichael Caudron






This interview took place on July 15th.
Since the year 2009, Topaz Joubert aka Thelma Lay in real life, has been a prodigy in the Second Life™ virtual world, simply because she was one of few who managed to catapult her virtual digital magazine, MANIERA™ into a real life legitimate magazine just like any other in the real world we all normally read. Real life models, real life coverage of fashion shows, art events their real life reporters attend and ofcourse also real life advertisers which truly makes it worth it in the magazine business.

MANIERA even got nominated last year at the Digital Magazine Awards™ ceremony, amazing.

Throughout all this, she remains as humble and genuine as can be, a pleasure to be around.

I interviewed Miss Joubert via Facebook™ this Monday morning at 11 AM Pacific time for an hour, getting all the details of her journey that seems to have many more accomplishments to discover.

How did you discover Second Life?

"I first heard of Second Life by watching the show The Office™ and thought it was fictitious until I heard a few guys I worked with talk about virtual games . I became curious and decided to check it out."

MANIERA magazine was first noticed in Second Life before you made it a real life magazine, what made you want to start a magazine, do you have a background of being an editor in real life already or was this all first created in SL™ (Second Life)?

"Everything I learned about publishing and the magazine business , I have learned in Second Life. My background in RL is travel management. But what I found was useful with my real life background is always thinking on your feet.

I was not the founder of MANIERA, I was originally hired as a fashion editor . After the company was formed in SL and before the very first issue was released the owner stepped down and asked if I would take over.

Well, to answer your question. We put a lot of work to get the first issue together. We had everything just about done and when the owner stepped down. It was either trash it all or try to make a go for it.

We all decided we wanted to make it work."

Thelma Lay's Second Life avatar Topaz Joubert by G Photography.

What made you want to take a job as an editor in Second Life?

"I saw the job noticed posted for a stylist and thought it would be interesting , I think at that time I was in SL for approximately 9 months. I honestly thought it would be fun."

How on earth did you manage to make MANIERA into a reality in the real life publishing world? It is so rare and unheard of,seriously.

"Well, I think we were in our 2nd year in SL when we first starting talking about it. by the end of that year , I honestly felt where do we go from here? We put so many hours into the SL magazine, and I say "we" because it was not only me but NOx Deigan, Aphrodite Brianna, Lovelymiwacko7399 Menna and our former photo editor AtomicSparkle Skytower. I personally got to a point of either close it, sell it or see how far we can take it. I knew I just could not let it go because MANIERA became so much a part of my life.

So I talked to the team and its been amazing. They all trusted and believed in the vision . I honestly think, or should say I know , that this would have not been possible with another group of individuals."

Sweet! how did the transition come about? Did you have real life contacts or you got real life offers? Dish some (not all) secrets to our readers please :D

"Real life contacts definitely help but with this business I am finding its based on trust , building relationships. Yes, there were real life contacts, friends of friends and a good portion of reaching out to people and building a relationship.We all do our part , researching, networking , searching for new and interesting topics to cover. Our writers play a huge part in obtaining content for upcoming issues."

Thelma Lay on the cover of ManieraSL's Women issue (June 2012)

Awesome, if I am not mistaken your first real life issue was the one where you were on the cover?

"The edition with my picture on the cover was out SL Women's issue. That was the edition where we first announced we were going real life. We ran a real life preview edition and had a launch party in SL which I think is one of my happiest memories of SL. Our first official real life edition was released September 2012 with the Russian Designer Dmitry Loginov on the cover."

MANIERA's November 2012 issue, one of their best releases

November 2012: MANIERA PHILLIP TREACY FEATURE

MANIERA CHI ZHANG FASHION SPREAD

MANIERA LONDON FASHION WEEK

Taking a look back at the cover of October 2012

Some editions of real world Maniera including last month's cover of June 2013

Please tell us about yourself a bit.

"Hmm.. well, I am single , I live in Washington DC. I am a lousy cook . I wish I could say my life is all glamour and glitz but working on the magazine consumes all of my time. I am still trying to find the balance between work and leisure. Overall , I think I am pretty laid back, some may say too laid back or some may just disagree. Hell, I am still trying to figure it all out."

From a personal standpoint, I have always looked up to you. Remembering seeing the arrival of MANIERA on the scene in Second Life when I was actively publishing OI Magazine SL™ at the time back in 2009 and 2010. I even attended some of your workshop classes on publishing back then. I knew right away you would go far from the beautiful professional work you did but just how far I was pleasantly surprised! Having said that, what advice would you give beginners in the magazine world besides not giving up on their dream? Follow up question, MANIERA publishes 2 magazines a month, the real life one due today I understand and then the Second Life issue too, can you give us a sneak peek what they are about for which we will post the embedded links below for our readers to read.

"Thank you , so much for your kind words and as well for all the support you have given us. The real life magazine is monthly and we have moved the SL magazine to bi monthly. We had to make some touch decisions regarding our publications. We felt going bi monthly at this time was the best decision , to keep the quality to a certain standard. The real life magazine started growing at a fast rate , faster then we even dreamed about. We started to be noticed in the industry , mind you we were only in our 3rd publication when we made the finals of the Digital Magazine Awards™ and that is pretty unheard of. So with how great that was it also added tremendous pressure to the entire staff.

Well, I am excited for this issue , we love fashion but we also love new technology as well as science and I think this one has the right blend. We also this issue have a very special interview with Tobias Tobell director of the new thriller Confine which will have its international release. We are so fortunate to be able to get one of the first interviews with such an up and coming director.

For the Second Life issue which is now called MANIERASL™ we have a special edition featuring Mohna Lisa Couture™ and the new MLC Adriel Huntress™. Our July SL edition is a new twist on fairy tales.

Read it here at the MANIERA website (click hyperlink)

MANIERA JULY 2013 COVER

The best advice I can give anyone who is planning on launching a magazine in SL is to really think on why you want to and are you willing to devote the time. Also, decided on what magazine you want , what will make it different from the rest and look not only at SL magazines but real life ones as well to get a sense of design, content and layout."

Then the only way is up!  Thank you for your time Topaz, it is an great honor you deciding to let us interview you.

"Thank you.. it was an honor and once again Thank you Carmichael for all of your support . It means alot."


Update for 2014 :Topaz Joubert is hitting another milestone, she is going print in real life with Maniera and thus retiring what started it all ,the SL Maniera, congrats Topaz!

Her words on Facebook :
As you all know, last year we took on an unheard of step in launching a RL magazine. In such a short time, we saw how what was a pipe dream became reality - not just any reality, but a recognized and respected reality, but with that came some hurdles. One of which is one many here in SL can relate with: balancing SL with RL. I know many of you have seen how it has affected the SL side: halting the SL publication, less shows and less communication.
This is due to the fact we are redirecting our focus. In 2014, the RL MANIERA Magazine will be not only a digital magazine but also a print magazine, which will be carried in bookstores and newsstands around the US, Canada and Europe. Another major change is that while we will still carry international features, we will be more centered around the events, people and news makers in the Washington DC area. Washington DC is an ideal market for us and having a “home” location will not only build distribution and circulation but also build the brand.
The RL MANIERA has grown over the past year and is at a critical stage. We just finalized a working relationship with a business consultant who specializes in launching new magazines and circulation and distribution with existing magazines. We are fortunate to be working and guided by someone with over 30 years experience with magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Time and with Bob Guccione, Jr.owner of Penthouse launched SPIN magazine.
So, what does this mean to SL? After much discussion and some serious soul searching, we decided it is time to phase out the Second Life operation over the next few months. We will be contacting students holding unused vouchers to finish their courses, downsizing the sim and APR/MAR will be the last official edition of MANIERASL. We will not be closing down any groups as to retain the MANIERA brand in the SL community. Our RL staff will still be here in world to keep an eye on the brand as personal members of the SL community -- but not as MANIERASL. There may be opportunities for shows, just can't say when. I will, of course, understand if any of you feel the need to drop our groups. I will keep you posted on the timeline of events as they happen.
Aphrodite, Nox, Deep and myself want to deeply thank each and every one of you for the last five years. I know I have said this many times, but SL has changed my life in so many ways and each one of you have been a very important part in MANIERA. This is not goodbye, but instead a new journey for us. Ending a relationship - whether it’s business, romantic or friendship - may be sad, but remember it is not the end of the world but a chance for a new and better beginning. (end quote)

Rap Sensation Tomgirl From Japan Is Also A Star In Second Life™!

Written By Carmichael Caudron

2 glam pics of Tomgirl's avatar done by our photographer,kaley fancypants.

Japan is a country where if you make it big, you have realized your dreams.
Tomgirl™, a rap sensation from Japan did just that, starting back in 2003, driven to become a rapstar after being a backup vocal musician for various Japan pop groups.
With the help of a Nigerian composer, Udy Frank, she started her success in rap in 2005.

The exact start of her professional music career was 2005 November , when her song “Give It A Try”...was nominated for “Yokohama Music Award” in FM Yokohama, Japan’s one of main radio stations. Tomgirl got the second best prize thanks to the listeners’ vote, which led her regular appearance in FM Yokohama.

Rap is big in Japan too besides the United States of America or Europe and the artists are very versatile, rapping in various languages besides Japanese, doing it in English and even in Chinese.
With her first album “Tomography” released nationwide in June 2007, Tomgirl did just that collaborating with fellow music star MC Maira™.

Her most recent release on Dec. 24th 2011 , Tomgirl released her third album "Lady Samurai" in downloading format. The album hit No 1 position in Amazon.co.jp download hiphop album category.

OI Magazine SL™ took notice and had the pleasure to meet with Tomgirl in Second Life ,a virtual world to discuss her expanding success in this virtual world what we call the future of the internet and unlimited potentials to come how musicians like Tomgirl and other world sensations have used it to advertise their real world success to millions of internet gamers from all over the world, in Tomgirl's case , making fans outside of Japan!

Her glamorous promotional pictures are as beautiful and "kawaii"(Japanese word for cute, adorable, pretty) as expected, the radiance of a rap star.
We met on a Saturday afternoon inside of the virtual world after making an appointment to meet there with communications via her official Facebook page.

Our interview starts.
"Konnichiwa Tomgirl", Thank you for meeting with us at OI Magazine SL.
How did you discover Second Life?



2 Nice real life photography promos of rapper, Tomgirl

"I had a producer who made several hiphop tracks for me. He urged me to perform in Second Life. That's how I got to know second life. So firstly I went to his house to perform.", she replied.

Do you perform by request or do you have a schedule?
"Since the first performance went very good, I wanted to do the broadcasting from my house. So I invested my money in expensive PC parts so that the PC I build up is fast enough to do SL™ (Second Life)", she continued. "Since then I kept on my regular show for about 3 years even though the producer quit his activity in SL. At the same time some of my SL audience started to invite me to his/her place and asked me to perform, which I also am thankful."
"As far as concert schedules, I both had scheduled gig and at the same time people requested me to perform."

Your English is excellent, you also rap in English, did you learn English in school or were you raised speaking English because I read in your Facebook bio that you once lived in the United States?

Tomgirl performing in Second Life (from Tomgirl's Facebook)

"I went to US when I could not speak English. But the hiphop tracks that my host brother was playing in his room hit me like a thunderbolt in 94. Since when I came back to Japan I started to buy lots of hiphop CDs and started to copy rap music exactly like Coolio™, Salt N' Pepa™ and other 90s rapstars were doing. That was how I evolved my English skills. But at the same time my high school provided the higher English education than other schools & my mom was an English teacher so I could always go ahead of the curriculum that also must be part of the reason."


Your rap music is really good, I listened to Lady Samurai and Player, do you write your own lyrics? What do you mostly like to rap about?
 "Yes I write my own lyrics. I'm glad you liked the messages in my songs, too. I express my message to boys in those 2 songs. In 'Player' I sing about boys who have two names, two cell phones, several chicks to play around and never commit to one girl. The message is similar to TLC™'s "No Scrubs". This song is favored by lots of female fans. In "Lady Samurai", I deliver messages to foreign guys who have fixed images to Japanese girls as nice, rich and obedient."

Pictured above are the cover photography of her 3 published Cd's in real life.
To our readers at OI Magazine SL, Tomgirl's music Cd's "Lady Samurai"(2011) , "Give it a try"(2005) and "Tomography"(2007) are available at this online store (click hyperlink). The albums and songs also available in iTunes Music Store. Spread the word!

Ok, continuing our coverage of this gorgeous female rapper we told her we were so excited to interview a real life star who made an account in the Second Life virtual world, our second time a OI Magazine SL so far to have the honor to have done this, our next question was how it felt when she first saw she became successful and what the first thing was that she bought to spoil herself.
Humbly, Tomgirl answered , "Honestly the first moment I thought I earned money with my music was when I won a 2 million yen (about 20,000 dollars) scholarship from one company to make my dream come true. But that money vanished quickly by my activity trying to print CDs, shooting PVs, hit ads and pay for my dancers. Everyday was another struggle after a success. And I don't feel that I came to my goal till today, which motivates me more. But one thing I learned is I should keep investing to my music from the money I earned from music because it surely paid back to me. Never buy a sexy sport car out of your music earnings if you want to keep on going with your dream job."
"And as far as in Second Life, the first thing I bought out of my SL earning was a stage costume from SL boutique, because I know I cannot look the same on 2 stages to impress the audience everytime.

That is great advice, and also I saw on your Facebook update that you are expecting! Are you having a boy or girl is its secret still? Congratulations!
"I will have a boy in mid August. This is my first baby and I am so excited!"

Thank you so much for meeting with us, Tomgirl ,it is a true honor.
"It was an honor for me to get interviewed from a famous editor in SL, too. Thank you for choosing me as your article subject. And thank you for the congrats to my baby", Tomgirl replied.


Here are some additional nice pictures including one of her on maternity leave, borrowed from her official Facebook page, a truly beautiful and successful woman, enjoy!

a promo in Second Life virtual world for one of her concerts

TomGirl beaming expecting her first child

She also Dj's in Second Life

Nice glam real life promo



Tomgirl's article translated in Japanese!

http://ameblo.jp/tomgirlweb/entry-11572399439.html



Update August 31st! :

Nice update : Tomgirl told me she had her baby August 14th. Congrats ! :)

Our fb convo :

Carmichael Caudron
Hey tomgirl I saw your baby on twitter! Beautiful and congratulations
Thursday at 9:44pm
Tomgirl
Hi Carmichael. Yes my son was born on Aug. 14th. Thank you for your message. I am feeling great to be come a mom.
Yesterday at 1:04am · Sent from Web

Update December 5th! :

Tomgirl posted a new song featuring the birth of her son on Facebook, check it out below from this proud momma! Enjoy.

[Tomgirl's Facebook quote]I'd appreciate your feedback and sharing to your friends. 感想コメント、シェア歓迎いたします
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkOl0EDxH0Q

Kawaii ! It exists inside Second Life too!

Written by Liza Veliz (aka NineIZ)







I'm totally sugar bombed inside out. I have been hanging with Kawaii Dolls™ for a few days.
I've been to the fairy land of cuteness. Never seen anything like it before!

Here is a video from the night I first met them.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10200126296375056&set=vb.1079989222&type=2&theater
and yes, it is me is dancing in the audience with that long black hair floating around.

Maeda is the cutest thing I've ever seen inside of Second Life™!

My first view of Maeda Aiko. She was the cutest I had ever seen. It is the girl in white.(See picture above).

First time I came in contact with this culture was by finding the book Kawaii by Marita Lindqvist™,
of which its cover were like a sort of candy all over. Little bubbly cute stickers on it and in pastel pink.
That book covered Japanese pop culture and was about boy bands, but also a lot about the female fans.


Marita Lindqvist's book cover of Kawaii. My first contact with Kawaii. Photo: NineIZ

Kawaii is not entirely a teenage phenomena in Japan, it's aesthetics of design is even used by the
military for information material and in all sorts of other public media marketing.

Well, it is one thing to read about this and totally another to be part of this for real.
Maeda Aiko – aiko.torii in Second Life - (or Acchan as she is nick named) is the one who founded
Kawaii Dolls inside Second Life. It all started 2 years ago, Maeda heard about this world, made
an avatar and put up a Facebook page as she had an idea to make a Second Life career shot at the
same she had experiences of in RL. Then she forgot about this for a while till she started notice she
actually got Kawaii Dolls friends on her FB site.
https://www.facebook.com/Kawaiidolls.co.jp

Kaa Boom! Or maybe I should say Kawaii! The story started. That was one year ago and they
made success. Members come and go, but they keep growing.

− I met someone to work together with and we got the ball rolling again, Maeda tells me when
we meet at the lounge of Pink Velvet in Tokyo of Shubaya sim.

Here we are hanging under a bridge after the interview before the club night. You see the Pink
Velvet lounge in the background.

Me interviewing some of the Kawaii Dolls at the lounge of Velvet Pink. Me, Vivi, Maeda and
Syrena.

Pink Velvet is their own club in this world in their sim Shin Shubuya. It is in Tokyo region which is
a gathering place for fans of the Japanese culture. Here the girls hang in the streets as any teenagers
and sometimes dance at a street corner.

The Kawaii Dolls dancing at a street corner of their Second Life Tokyo.

The Kawaii Dolls, or KWD as they also are called, is an idol project. In Japan there are many kids
who wishes to become famous and they are all teenagers. When you get too old your chance is
gone. This is the reason they involve in Second Life to get another chance. In Second Life they can
be teenagers for ever.
This project goes RL also. The plan is to become famous in real as well as virtual. And to give each
member a chance to become an idol. Same as it happens in Japan for real. Their videos from Second
Life are shown at different events in RL, latest in Nice. The carnival you saw in the video at the top
of this article was shoot to be shown at a real convent for fans in Nice. It is from the Cyber Carnival
of Nice on Moya Island. Moya Patrick is a RL modern artist that used to do art in Japan, in Shibuya
especially, but now is an artist in France famous for his love for virtual environment.

The Second Life fans of Japanese Kawaii culture are all over the world and Maeda Aiko gathers
them within her international project by Facebook™ and Second Life.
− I want a second chance but I also want to share this chance with others. To have a family
is important and we are family, she explains. What we have in common is the interest for
Kawaii and Japanese culture.

− Future plans is to involve a vote system, same as exists in RL. Whoever get most votes
become famous. This is a secret so far, but soon we will start a vote system at our shows,
Maeda tells me in confident voice.

Then she tells me that kawaii is not always happy candy and recommend me to listen the lyrics of
the Japanese group AKB48.
http://youtu.be/6ArJCF-D5C0

− My name is no hazard, AKB48 are the reason my name is Maeda, she explains. KWD want
to be the AKB48 of the virtual universes.
The girls of KWD also sings for real in the shows, mostly karaoke style but also using their own material. So there is a chance here to listen the music of Maeda Aiko when go see them or check
their videos.
After the interview all gets crazy, tp's are raining as everyone wants to get ready for the evening
clubbing, and I get lost. Think of trying take that tuk-tuk outside but it throws me out.

The tuk-tuk outside the Pink Velvet.
Then they come back from their tp's and get me.

One of their male friends offers a ride and me and Ema take this. I get a grand tour of Tokyo.
In middle of the ride Ema ditches me by TP as she is the DJ of tonight’s club and the guy drives me
into death. Yeah, Wild night. Suddenly I get that TP to the club and we party for hours.

Me and Kura dancing at the Discoteque in Tokyo.

See the girl in the excavator bucket? Some way to pick up girls for afterparty. Am still laughing.

Relaxing in the swing in my garden after the party. It was needed after this tumble night of fun.
After this night and the day before I am totally wasted. So needs some time to get things together in my head again. Then I check my chats and recalls the interviews. Took me a week to land in fact,
after this flight.

At the lounge of Velvet Pink Ryou Yiyuan was the one giving me links to their blog.
http://kawaiidollskwd.blogspot.fr

There is a reason for that. Ryou is the outer world communicator for KWD™.

Everyone give their share in the band. Ema Burt even sang her own material when she was DJeing
at the party after we had met at Velvet Pink. Just to give us the full picture on how they operate, or
maybe because this is how it works. When engage the girls, you get some KWD with it.

− When I met Ryou things started to take off. She was willing to do the communication with
blogging about our activities and set up our website, Maeda explain and continues, then we
met Vivi (Vythika), and she provided us with islands to do shows at.

I wonder of course over the connection with Mr Moya, as my first meeting with them was at the
carnival he organized.

− Mr Moya engaged us for the Nice carnival of RL and SL intercommunication party and has
shown our videos at the RL/SL convents at game fairs. KWD make him discovering more
about Japanese pop culture. He begin to have interest for Harajuku style. We didn't find him
in SL but it's too complicated to explain how we got to know him, explains Maeda.
One thing that confused me about KWD is how they communicate as a band. Do they have
managers or band meetings or what?

- When it comes to KWD we do everything all together or not at all. We tried concepts of band
meetings with managers and so, but that did not work for us. We can not be controlled and fixed
into someone else idea of concept. We need be free and do it together within the group, Maeda
answers with emphase.

Acchan, Maeda Aiko, in a picture from their Facebook.

Maeda lives in France right now. She moved away from Japan as a teenager, just when she had got
connected with record companies, due to family reasons.

− In Japan it was mainly my parents idea I should take the chance to become an idol but now
it is my own. I am a very happy person in my RL, I work as a nurse and love it, still I need
to do this once more, she explains.

− I also want to give others this same chance. So anyone who reads your article that wants to
become an idol with KWD are most welcome to join us. Being an idol in the Japanese sense
of the world is not being especially famous but searching to be. What we have in common
the passion for Japanese pop culture, she continues.

− Vythika (Vivi) jumps into the talk here and tells: Avatars of idols are required to look Asian.
^o^ That is the one main rule.

− Another rule is no gor or such, we are supposed to be teenagers, adds Maeda.

Maeda explains the name of the band.
− It exist many idols in SL, they are mainly Asians and destined to a Asian public too. My
mixed status (being Japanese and French) gave me envy to give the path of KWD being
international so this way the "teams" came. Team K = American time zone, team W =
Europa, team D = Asia. So whatever time zone you are at there will always be someone in
the KWD to be with you.

The girls make postcards with autographs for their fans, this is Maeda Aiko's postcard.

Then she does something extreme that fascinates me and proves once again during this meeting
with KWD that there are more to Japanese culture interest then just sugar bombed pastel. She shows
her alt. This is a dangerous looking Japanese Ghost avatar and it makes me think of Japanese
Horror such as The Grudge and The Ringu, only worse.

There are always two sides to a coin, sort of speak.

Picture from KWD blog.

At the interview the girls explained to me the diversity within the Kawaii culture. There are Gothic
Lolitas as well as many other different style. Within KWD everyone got their own agenda, even if
they have costumes for their official shows that looks same.
- Ryou is a Kuro Gyaru, Setsuna an Hime Gyaru mixed with an Ageha, I'm an Hime Kei, Maeda
explains.
− These are Japanese styles of dress and appearance, adds Vythika.
− I remember aiko and the other had word for my style, but I couldn't remember it, says
Syrena Macpherson.
(She is the Gothic Lolita in my eyes.)
− Setsuna is the specialist, Maeda say with a manga smile. She love to give a distinctive style
to all of us.
− Setsuna is your stylist? I ask.
- No, our stylist is Neka but Setsuna is a sort of fashion victim. She run the bar we are in to be able
to feed her hunger for shopping.
Syrena Macpherson giggles. Maeda too.
− Until Godzilla comes, says Vythika.
− Godzilla?? Liza Veliz peeks ears and the girls explain they got the Japanese movie horror
monster terrorizing Second Life Tokyo for fun in their sim.

Godzilla terrorizes Tokyo sometimes. Photo from Kawaii Dolls Facebook.
− DO you live this style in RL too? If I may ask?
− - I'm not but sometimes a bit occasionally, tells Maeda.
-We all are fans of the style in RL, Vythika says. But it is hard for some.
They have a choreograph that create their dances and lives in Japan in RL that is called Kote
(tetsuya Andrew). And is sure good at it too. Watch this video.



The only male idol in Kawaii Dolls so far is their stylist Neka.
Neka is the stylist of Kawaii Dolls KWD.

- The thing we got in common is the interest for Japanese Culture and Kawaii, and the burn inside
of the wish to become an idol, Maeda Aiko explains and then bows respectfully in Japanese way to
show us her appreciation we wanted to write about her and her Kawaii Dolls.

We do the same to her and the other Dolls.

It was surely a pleasure to write this article.

If you want to connect with them or book them for an event you can always reach them at their
Facebook or at their website. They also have a calendar in the form of a book inside of Second Life
if you wish to go see them live.
They have their own TV Channel where you can watch them at this link
http://livestre.am/46I3d

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Kaiolohia/134/168/4000
Slurl to the Pink Velvet

I wish to end this article with an awesome video of AKB48™. It was Acchan (Maeda) who
recomended me this one when we were speaking of styles.



Thank you for reading my interview of the Kawaii Dolls in Secondlife!



Update 2013 November, Aiko Maeda & The SL Kawaii Dolls have a new website, please visit it, its called Project 48 Virtual Idols at http://project48pjt.wix.com/pjt48

My name is Liza Veliz ,reporter for OI Magazine.

Celebrity DJ A.F.I. talks about Secondlife

Written by Carmichael Caudron



Introduction of a real life celebrity in Secondlife™......

beautiful promo glamour shot of DJ A.F.I

DJ A.F.I™ is a celebrity DJ and TV star aka Aubry Fisher (A.F.I stands for Aubry Fisher Ink).
Aubry who has starred in 2 reality shows TLC'S LA INK™, and VH1'S ROCK OF LOVE 2 ,also has upcoming movie projects in the works in Hollywood (Los Angeles) where she resides.
In this interview we will be looking into the past 2 years of her life , where she has visited a virtual reality game called Secondlife.
Many other celebrities have visited Secondlife (SL™) such as Duran Duran, real world companies such as Mercedes Benz™ and along with another estimated 10 million visitors at home have either made an account or live their "second" lives daily on this wonderful virtual reality.

It's not everyday at OI Magazine we have the honor to write an article on a real life celebrity so I was very excited.
I had the chance to talk to her on the phone as well as chat with her avatar in SL.

Along with the details of our conversation, lets look at her journey in SL thus far....

Family in SL....

Rain, Maddox and DJ A.F.I in Secondlife

On Facebook™ she has a professional page and an SL page for her profile and besides listing her DJ schedules , she proudly shows off her friends she made in SL and especially her SL family. To those less familiar with the virtual world, you can do as you would in the real world, after creating your avatar you can create your own first and last name, a career, design, rent a home,anything including raising a family and Aubry is doing all that.
In there she connected with the avatar Maddox Dupont, a native from Australia in real life,a well known hair,fashion and shape designer in Secondlife who owns KMADD & Mad Designs™ with whom she is raising a family that includes her simulated SL children, Rain, Paige,Lucas,Faith,Tana and their furry pet avatar,Andu.
Rain, Paige, and Lucas are all toddledoo (toddler/baby clothing) designers of which Rain has established an online store at Marketplace at this link https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/125519

DJ A.F.I in Secondlife with family and friends

The meeting of her first SL child named Rain is a deep genuine love story Aubry told me,who in real life is a 20 year old girl who roleplays Aubry's daughter in the game.It was something she had never experienced before, filling the void of not having had kids yet in her real life and finding it here in SL.

Rain in turn considers Aubry her surrogate mother as well as they both have established that deep unbreakable connection. They Skype™ almost daily, talk on the phone and Aubry mothers Rain like she would her real child, it was pretty touching hearing her speak in this way of her close friend from SL.

Meeting Maddox Dupont was also a love story on its own where she tells me one day she just imed him and said, "You are hot,I want to go on a date with you!"

Maddox replied and sparks flew in the game where they have been together ever since.


Designing SL fashion....

AFI Argyle UK Tank Top

AFI Boho Elephant Halter Dress

Recently Aubry has also just begun her own fashion clothing line in SL which she named A.F.I Designs™. She creates mesh clothing designs, male rock designs and female boho (hippy) designs with majority of the textures handcrafted by her.
That day I had met her earlier at one of her homes in the game with my own avatar where she had invited me over to ask me and one of her friends there for our opinion of some of her latest male mesh designs, where she was dressed as her male avatar displaying the clothing.
You can find her store at this link https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/125520 and to buy one of her items you need to register an account and exchange your currency into Lindens which is a very quick and simple process.


Djing in Second Life.....

promo made for her Secondlife DJ sets

The main clubs DJ A.F.I. spins at regularly in Secondlife are club Ambrosia, Rez, I love the 80s, Grind, BAD and Toontopia.
Aubry tells me she is also friends with Phil Kearny who is the owner of Ambrosia, Rez, Grind, and BAD. She continues "He has made a major impact on my game and life and I love him dearly as a friend. He has become a confidant and has been there for me through everything. He is very compassionate and motivating and a very caring friend. I owe him a lot. He pushes me and makes me a better person both in RL and SL ".

She has fliers for each event at the clubs and promotes them on Facebook or in the game (inworld)

DJ A.F.I djing in Secondlife

I asked Aubry what brought her to Second Life to DJ and roleplay plus how secondlifers perceived her being here from her RL celeb status.

"I saw it on HBO, I thought it looked so cool with 3D animations and I tried it out and found I could DJ on it as well.Been there ever since" she answered.

"Overall the acceptance was great" , she told me "but a few people did hate on me being here as they thought only normal everyday people with everyday problems as they put it,should be in the virtual world, to which I said I have as much right to be here as the next person, my status has nothing to do with it, I'm human and have the right to the same escape,relaxation and journey SL offers its players".

Couldn't have been a better answer,I thought and her answer definitely silenced her haters.

As to managing her Second Life keeping it in balance is her manager who checks on her from time to time logging in with his own avatar, who she on multiple times,ejects from her home she told me when he gets too intrusive hahaha.

past real world promo where Aubry performed

Validation was also an issue for Aubry, she tells me "When people saw my avatar, they always seemed to question my identity if I really was who I said I was, so one day I webcammed live during a set in the real life club to put the rumors to rest that I was faking who I was".She has since done several webcam shows as it was naturally well perceived by the audience in SL.

Next I asked if she has told her real life friends, colleagues and family about secondlife .

"In my real facebook I have a picture folder called Second Life, they are aware of it and it's definitely no secret"

The 108 pound 5 foot 6 blonde beauty then told me she enjoys promoting her SL but it is a lot of work as she is very busy with Djing in her real life career while trying to handle her secondlife audience at the same time but she does it because she loves it and she's paid well too for doing it.

She then gave me this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1CpojXrd2w (or see the embedded video we provided above) of her birthday party back in August last year she shared in SL on video listed on Youtube. Needless to say the event was grand and even a Linden employee attended which is rare in SL.Linden employees are people employed by Lindenlab™,the makers of the virtual world of Secondlife who have their own avatars and make sure everything goes smoothly inworld.
She tells me she has befriended several Linden employees now, who enjoy her events and periodically visit her sets!


Photography, Photoshop artist......

Photoshop Photography by DJ A.F.I

example of her client photography work

Photography is another one of Aubry's passions in real life that she is exploring in SL too using Adobe Photoshop™,she is very good at it may I add having seen her work, very skilled.You can schedule an appointment with her if you wish to hire her for any photography work,simply leave her a message inworld or via Facebook to set it up.

In closing......

As the clock turned 5 o'clock in the AM, our phone conversation winded down as I heard her yawning and ofcourse I couldn't keep a lady up this late, I thanked Aubry for her time and hospitality and being so open with me.A great experience for me as a writer in Second Life.

Don't expect to get her phone number out of me though when we talked because even I don't know it, it was blocked on my caller ID as her manager would go crazy if she hadn't made that precaution which I completely understood.

Real Life DJ bookings..........

Thank you for reading our article of celebrity DJ A.F.I (Aubry Fisher) exploring the virtual world called Secondlife.

You may join her group in SL named DJ A.F.I. Fans

Like her SL Facebook page to stay updated on her DJ gigs WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/RLDJAFI 

Like her real world Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/DJ-AFI/114614045270863?fref=ts

Also find her websites at WWW.LADJAFI.COM and https://soundcloud.com/BOOKINGTHEDJ
Follow these links to either book her services in real life or in Secondlife.