#theuplifted

Underwear created by designer Richard Dayhoff to celebrate the spirituality of our erotic expression. #theuplifted @the.uplifted #theuplifted.net #richarddayhoff #richarddayhoffunderwear #eroticexpression #eroticenergy #spiritual #selfconfidence #transformational #celebrate #alive #menswear #mensunderwear #allages #allsizes #love

Very special evening at the studio! Kentaro @samaimaging of @the.uplifted project captured our owner @gloriairwin on camera and learned about the power of Epsom salts in our business! Each float tank requires a minimum of twenty fifty pound bags or 1,000 pounds to establish the right measurement of specific gravity to float any human being effortlessly. We can't wait to see his amazing artistry and interpretation of our brand added to his #upliftedproject portfolio!!! We are just bummed he didn't bring @rick_bayless to float or any #guacamole from #fronteragrill #theuplifted #weloverickbayless #the.uplifted #artofchi #ingerschicago #samaimaging #editoftheday#levitation #floatsixtyrivernorth #floatsixty #floatpod #epsomsalts #rivernorth #chicago #artistsoninstagram (at Float Sixty River North)

A huge thanks to @the.uplifted & @samiamaging for the magical story! Jesse Diaz definitely had a humble beginning. In 2007, he answered a Craigslist ad for a job slinging coffee at Ukrainian Village's Star Lounge. Just three months later the owners told him they wanted to sell so he borrowed $2,000 from his childhood best friend and bought the shop outright. Diaz then taught himself about beans, prioritizing those from sustainable fair-trade coffee farms mostly in El Salvador Mexico and Guatemala. So became Diaz the president and founder of @darkmattercoffee. “At that time, I didn't have $15,000 of espresso gear and I didn't go to college. I just started learning about the business myself and everyone in the company learned together ” he says of his 31 employees with whom he runs the company cooperatively. “But now we're growing 300 percent annually.” A few years ago, Dark Matter also started experimenting aging coffee in cognac and bourbon barrels and over time he has joined forces with craft brewers like @3floydsbrewing and @pipeworksbrewing to produce high-profile coffee-tinged beers in limited releases. Diaz now runs four locations in the city with the latest new addition, Meddle. “It was named after Pink Floyd’s album, “Meddle". My team did all of the work for this new shop downtown, from interior design to engineering and art pieces to wall arts. Everything”, smiles Diaz, mysteriously uplifting his beloved flagship product, Unicorn Blood. #theuplifted #Repost #meddle #drinkcoffeestayhigh #highconceptcoffee (at Dark Matter Coffee)

Jackie Taylor grew up at the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago. She rose from modest roots to become a distinguished director, producer, actress, singer, playwright, and theater founder. Jackie's now 40-year-old Black Ensemble Theater (BE) is a strong institution committed to eradicate racism. “The more you know, the more you understand, and the better you can fight against bigotry,” she believes. “By erecting a building called the Black Ensemble Theater, and having it to represent all races gives a new spin on what black actually is” Jackie doesn't stop at being a phenomenal actress and performer, she has also written and produced more than 100 plays and musical biographies. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the BE theater, Taylor levitates a postcard of the play Don’t Make Me Over (The Story of Dionne Warwick) which she wrote and produced.

Chef Rick Bayless is an American chef who specializes in traditional Mexican cuisine with modern interpretations. His award-winning contributions to Chicago's Mexican cuisine include the famous Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, XOCO, and Tortas Frontera. Among his several published books, the best-selling Mexico: One Plate at a Time is his beloved piece. But what separates Chef Bayless from others is his dedication to his activities outside the cooking world. He not only performs in theatre, but also has had his own production, Cascabel. He is not only a dancer, but an award-winning one who knows the rumba, cha-cha, salsa, and bolero. He not only practices yoga, but is a 20-year-devoted yogi (and can do splits!). Chef Bayless is the type of individual who rehearses, rehearses, rehearses, and rehearses and does not accept failure: he is a perfectionist. The chef is found in his kitchen making a batch of his famous guacamole, levitating the freshest ingredients.

Stephon Alford, who has broken the barrier in the entertainment world, understands all about limitations. "Your imagination is your preview to life's coming attraction". Steve Harvey spoke this Einstein quote directly to him in November 2015, he recalls. Alford, strong in his Christian faith, believes that there is nothing impossible in Jesus Christ and everything happens for a reason. After being told that his height would get in the way of him being successful, he was told to stop modeling. Instead, he defied those very words that came to stop his dreams. From a Paris runway to his home city of Chicago, he is now a walking missile of hope. He is currently pursuing an acting career and is watching his dream unfold. His motto: never let anyone place limits on you because they simply can't see what you see. Alford levitates his Catou suit jacket in mid air to lead his way to wherever his faith takes him.

Chicago's own WGN TV journalist, WLS-AM 890 radio talkshow host, and founder of the renowned a cappella group Straight No Chaser is the one and only Mr. Dan Ponce. In 2009, Straight No Chaser's album "Holiday Spirits" jumped to #1 on iTunes and Amazon.com and Ponce decided to leave ABC News, where he worked at the time, to join the group full time. Fast-forward to 2016: Dan now with a lovely daughter and a family, is back to follow his career path at WGN-TV. He has the magic touch when it comes to people—talking to him just makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. As a musically-gifted and avid piano player, Ponce levitates his precious piano in the middle of living room.

The moment you walk into world-renowned equine artist Thomas Allen Pauly's Ravenswood art studio you instantly sense his passion for horse racing. Sporting art, jockey silks, saddle leather and other equestrian accents define the Ralph Lauren "Turf Club" inspired studio which allows this year's Official Artist of the Woodford Reserve Kentucky Derby Bottle to produce his masterpieces. Since 1978, Chicago native Pauly has been honored to portray some of the greatest Thoroughbreds and jockeys in the Sport of Kings including last year's Triple Crown champion American Pharoah, which he was commissioned as his official portrait artist. Thomas Allen Pauly, who will be attending his 18th Kentucky Derby in May, proudly poses with his limited-edition Woodford Reserve Kentucky Derby 142 Bourbon bottles levitated — the labels featuring his oil painting Barreling Down. (Woodford Reserve® is the Official Bourbon of the Kentucky Derby®)