FASHION / Man in Black

Mike Doughty shot by Paul Lowe in Brooklyn, NY

What’s been a major change in your life recently? 

For the past two years I’ve been living in Memphis after living in New York City for 25 years. This place is such a vibe-y town. There’s a darkness, a mystery to it. There’s a lot of people here making really weird awesome art without any kind of commercial notion. 

Why did you decide to leave New York? 

I just had enough of it, man. You know, I would wake up at 3 a.m. thinking about money, how I was going to pay rent, thinking about my debt. Now, I wake up not worried about that. I have a whole house with a guest room! You know how in New York people always say you can stay with them but don’t really mean it? I mean it in Memphis! Come stay with me. Let’s go explore the city, let’s go to Graceland!

What first drew you to Memphis? 

I wanted to live somewhere with a great well of musical talent, somewhere with a strong history of music. There’s Al Green’s Royal Studios, Ardent Studios—which has had big stars and is still operational. The music life is still so full of life and creativity in Memphis.  

How many bands do you have?

I have two. Moticos and Spooky Party. You can find my music on my Patreon page.

How did you find out about Riot Bear? 

I follow the rapper Big Dipper, who’s so awesome. We are actually working on a track together. He posted about Riot Bear and I really loved the style content. I happened to be looking for style ideas and Riot Bear is very much my kind of look. 

How did it feel to take part in the photo shoot? 

You know, when I was a 25 year old slender guy making music, I got asked to do photo shoots all the time. It was always a lot of fun, but that was 18 years ago. There’s not a lot of places you can go being 47, having a beard and a belly. But it was great to arrive and have that photo shoot treatment. It was really cool. 

What does the body pride movement mean to you? 

I think it’s awesome. As a straight guy there’s not a lot of us who are comfortable with celebrating our bodies—I’ve even been a little skiddish about looking at myself. But I think it’s great for us to do more of that. I think the world of style is much more inclusive and a way more creative world than it used to be. It’s nice to find places like Riot Bear that do this. It goes for anything in art or even on social media. I like to see the real. Anybody that doesn’t have some sort of flawed view of their life, I don’t find interesting. Own who you are. 

hat models own / sweater by Willy Chavarria / t-shirt by Phoenicia Flea / button down models own / sweatshirt by Gucci