The Virgin Mistress

By Gia Barbs
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Bloated Beach Bod

Remember, Craig said ever so casually while loading the incline bench press, you may be able to squat 365lbs and deadlift 400+ etcetera, but no woman will come up to you at the beach and ask you what you squat.

Sobering. I gazed downward towards my barrel belly. At nearly 36 part of me had embraced the “Dad Bod” way of life, sans being a dad coming out of Covid. Ukrainians are built to move boulders, and pull cars and trains with rope, you know, normal everyday tasks. Myself being born as a heavy baby, or with the mass of a dying star so I’m told, I am apparently no different. With lifting heavy coming naturally to me on construction sites or in the gym, I never really had dug deep into the fundamentals, the proper technique and getting curious about my own body and more importantly, my own flexibility. For years my attention was numbers and core strength, however post covid it was in my latest crisis.

At 27 I started to come into my own of who I am in this world, and my contribution to others, the bigger picture. Nothing big, just a small existential crisis if you will… I could have been this, I should have done that, is this the right path, who am I?… you know, normal, right? A decade or so later and I have more of an understanding of all that and then some. My latest crisis, the weight, well that’s why I have Craig and a holistic approach. And for the Slovakian sensation that is Gia in the pages that follow, it took this session, and her powerful prose to provide the raw underbelly of what beauty is and isn’t in a world of voyeuristic obsession, and a little healing in being seen.

The Virgin Mistress

www.giabarbs.com

ay, but so far, the world is changing me. And around me. So many stupid people. Still, God loves everybody the same. Stupid or pretty. Or both. -GB

Gia Barbs
Gia Barbs
Gia Barbs is an actress & artist blending nature, emotion, and movement into abstract works made with sand, ink, and melting ice. Her art explores GIALOGY—a soulful geology of feeling, where each piece becomes part meditation, part memory on canvas. Discover more at http://www.gialogy.art and follow her journey on Instagram @gia.barbs (https://www.instagram.com/gia.barbs)

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Karjaka Magazine

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Aleksandr Karjaka
Aleksandr Karjaka
Aleksandr Karjaka came to New York for the music, but stayed for the visuals. As a classically trained musician, he’s had the honor of performing with some of the greatest musicians, and artistic houses, in the world. Often quoted as "Listening through his eyes." he's photographed the lives and stories of thousands of artists of all fields over the years. Here are their KARJAKA portraits.

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