05/14/18
ALEX
Alex has been a huge supporter of LENITA. He’s documented the truck’s transformation into a flower truck, checked in and approved the paint body job while we were out of town, helped setup a Facebook page, cleaned the inside and assisted in spray-painting the dashboard, spent a week helping setup LENITA’s Urban Outfitter’s Space 15 Twenty pop-up, photographed products and so much more. But most importantly, in Golden Girls theme; ‘thank you for being a friend.’
︎
Alex Bohs
Filmmaker / Los Angeles
Fun fact:
Loves the color yellow and leaning into the laughter of life
You’ve seen the truck go from concept to completion and have helped so much along the way (forever grateful!). Do you have a favorite moment?
Watching Nemuel take a mere concept (which was initially printed on regular, flimsy ol' office paper and taped up on a wall as an eventual goal) and turn it into an actual living, breathing, community-based product has been one of my favorite overall moments of living in Los Angeles. I still don't know if he realizes how daring it is to do something like that - so many individuals never take similar leaps and it's just so beautiful to witness it all happen - even from the safety of being behind my camera most of the time.
If I had to give one specific moment though, it'd probably be setting up the Lenita + UO Space 15 Twenty exhibit because it was just such a challenging hoot transforming an entire bare space into an extension of Nemuel's Lenita and Grita love-children. I know I probably sound like a broken record but I just cannot stress enough how fantastic it's been to see someone I consider family manifest actuality from their mind. Prior to Lenita, my only similar experience has been watching something initially written on a page turn into something seen on a screen (which is also magical, don't get me wrong). When I say helping with all of this has been an eye-opening experience, I truly mean that - I've never seen anyone create a flower truck - nor have I even seen a flower truck here in LA. Lastly, and while I'm being particularly honest, I must also state how stoked I am to now add and check 'making floral sculptures' off my bucket list. Thanks, Lenita.
What hiking trails do you recommend for someone who loves nature as much as you? And how important is it to escape the city for a day?
I have found over the nearly-five years I've lived in Southern California that it is nothing but vital to escape Los Angeles often in order to stay in love/lust with it. I, for one, get too wrapped up in the silliest "problems" at times and to be so close to such overwhelming nature is a true gift. With that said, I don't usually stay within the confines of LA (although there are some decent, breezy hikes only a Google-search away). For me, I've found the only times I feel truly recharged from life's mayhem is when I venture 30+ miles out - preferably smack dab in lush mountains. It's just so important to feel minuscule and unreachable every now and then.
Long, rambling story short: my nearby go-to is an afternoon spent heading up to the top of Mt. Baldy Summit (and only complete with post-hike pie a la mode + hot chocolate at the bottom Baldy Lodge Restaurant). If you've got a free weekend, I'd say venture a few hours up to Sequoia National Forest and disperse camp with a pal (or, by yourself can be restorative too). I have had a great time exploring the Sequoia's over this last year and can guarantee at the very least you'll feel oh-so-very-small in the most satiating way(s) possible.
Who did you last write a letter to?
It's funny that you follow the previous question up with this one because writing letters to friends and family is a similar experience and escape to going into nature: an opportunity to pin-focus on what is actually happening in not only my life but in return getting to read and hear about another friend's in a more intimate way - devoid of distractions or interruptions. It's actually a bit challenging to do now that we live in such a bite-sized world because you have the whole floor and do not get the instant gratification we have been delivered on a platter over the last few years. I challenge anyone reading this to write some friends and actually think about how you feel right in that moment. It's a similar satisfaction to writing in a journal only letter-writing serves more than just you and your future-self.
As for who I wrote last, and fittingly in the spirit of Lenita, my own Momma was the last to receive a letter from me. I finally utilized this amazing Maya Angelou stationary I had been saving and also various postcards I meant to send from some 2017 travels which made for a real scrappy final product. While on the subject, I really need to get better at sending postcards more promptly after I travel because it tends to be "oh here's something I got when I was in Portland the summer of 2015." Nemuel can attest to receiving some of this randomness. Maybe one day I'll master all the aspects of being a pen pal - or I'll just lean into my shortcomings like the true unapologetic Aunt I am deep down in my soul.
Open ended: Leave LENITA a poem, a song, a few sentences, a thought.
Well since I briefly mentioned her in the last question, here's a favorite - and fitting given what I've witnessed with LENITA over the last year - a quote from one of my mother's-I-never-met: Dr. Maya Angelou: "Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage."
Flores of LENITA ︎
Alex’s Instagram ︎
︎
Alex Bohs
Filmmaker / Los Angeles
Fun fact:
Loves the color yellow and leaning into the laughter of life
You’ve seen the truck go from concept to completion and have helped so much along the way (forever grateful!). Do you have a favorite moment?
Watching Nemuel take a mere concept (which was initially printed on regular, flimsy ol' office paper and taped up on a wall as an eventual goal) and turn it into an actual living, breathing, community-based product has been one of my favorite overall moments of living in Los Angeles. I still don't know if he realizes how daring it is to do something like that - so many individuals never take similar leaps and it's just so beautiful to witness it all happen - even from the safety of being behind my camera most of the time.
If I had to give one specific moment though, it'd probably be setting up the Lenita + UO Space 15 Twenty exhibit because it was just such a challenging hoot transforming an entire bare space into an extension of Nemuel's Lenita and Grita love-children. I know I probably sound like a broken record but I just cannot stress enough how fantastic it's been to see someone I consider family manifest actuality from their mind. Prior to Lenita, my only similar experience has been watching something initially written on a page turn into something seen on a screen (which is also magical, don't get me wrong). When I say helping with all of this has been an eye-opening experience, I truly mean that - I've never seen anyone create a flower truck - nor have I even seen a flower truck here in LA. Lastly, and while I'm being particularly honest, I must also state how stoked I am to now add and check 'making floral sculptures' off my bucket list. Thanks, Lenita.
What hiking trails do you recommend for someone who loves nature as much as you? And how important is it to escape the city for a day?
I have found over the nearly-five years I've lived in Southern California that it is nothing but vital to escape Los Angeles often in order to stay in love/lust with it. I, for one, get too wrapped up in the silliest "problems" at times and to be so close to such overwhelming nature is a true gift. With that said, I don't usually stay within the confines of LA (although there are some decent, breezy hikes only a Google-search away). For me, I've found the only times I feel truly recharged from life's mayhem is when I venture 30+ miles out - preferably smack dab in lush mountains. It's just so important to feel minuscule and unreachable every now and then.
Long, rambling story short: my nearby go-to is an afternoon spent heading up to the top of Mt. Baldy Summit (and only complete with post-hike pie a la mode + hot chocolate at the bottom Baldy Lodge Restaurant). If you've got a free weekend, I'd say venture a few hours up to Sequoia National Forest and disperse camp with a pal (or, by yourself can be restorative too). I have had a great time exploring the Sequoia's over this last year and can guarantee at the very least you'll feel oh-so-very-small in the most satiating way(s) possible.
Who did you last write a letter to?
It's funny that you follow the previous question up with this one because writing letters to friends and family is a similar experience and escape to going into nature: an opportunity to pin-focus on what is actually happening in not only my life but in return getting to read and hear about another friend's in a more intimate way - devoid of distractions or interruptions. It's actually a bit challenging to do now that we live in such a bite-sized world because you have the whole floor and do not get the instant gratification we have been delivered on a platter over the last few years. I challenge anyone reading this to write some friends and actually think about how you feel right in that moment. It's a similar satisfaction to writing in a journal only letter-writing serves more than just you and your future-self.
As for who I wrote last, and fittingly in the spirit of Lenita, my own Momma was the last to receive a letter from me. I finally utilized this amazing Maya Angelou stationary I had been saving and also various postcards I meant to send from some 2017 travels which made for a real scrappy final product. While on the subject, I really need to get better at sending postcards more promptly after I travel because it tends to be "oh here's something I got when I was in Portland the summer of 2015." Nemuel can attest to receiving some of this randomness. Maybe one day I'll master all the aspects of being a pen pal - or I'll just lean into my shortcomings like the true unapologetic Aunt I am deep down in my soul.
Open ended: Leave LENITA a poem, a song, a few sentences, a thought.
Well since I briefly mentioned her in the last question, here's a favorite - and fitting given what I've witnessed with LENITA over the last year - a quote from one of my mother's-I-never-met: Dr. Maya Angelou: "Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage."
Flores of LENITA ︎
Alex’s Instagram ︎