Live Fast with Vivianne Lapointe

1. Give us a little info about yourself. Where did you grow up and what were you up to before the birth of Live Fast Mag? I grew up in and around Montreal, Québec. I’ve been working a million jobs since I was twelve years old – can’t even remember all of them! A couple months after I first got to New York City I met a really nice girl at a party who told me there was an opening for an assistant editor at the company she worked at. I walked into the interview with the best intentions and a portfolio full of published work… all in French. It was hilarious to see the editor’s face when she asked me if I thought I could do the job. I really had no clue if I could. Then the 90+ y-o owner of the journal walked into the conference room and luckily he was French struck, so I got the job. It was right before the recession, so the cosmetics & fragrance companies were still throwing lavish launch parties and I had a chance to meet a lot of people in the city. I started blogging at that desk. Later on I took on a job with New York artist Corno. I helped her with marketing and tagged along to her openings around the world for a couple years. It was awesome! At one point I just wanted to start my own thing and stop writing for and promoting everyone else, and the idea of Live Fast Mag was born. I moved to L.A. to make it happen.

2. How would you describe your personal style?
Classy and sexy.

Photo: Kimberly Genevieve

3. How did you come up with the concept for Live Fast Magazine. Did anything in particular trigger the idea? I was at a rooftop party on Prince Street, just getting drunk with friends. I was at crossroads and pretty lost at the time; I didn’t know if I wanted to stay in NY, move to L.A., go back to Montreal?! I knew I had to start something of my own… I just couldn’t find the big idea. Then one of my friends suggested to think of a catchy acronym; “What do you love most in the world,” he asked? Two minutes later, I had it: Fashion, Art, Sex and Travel. Live Fast.
4. It’s interesting you call your site a magazine however you don’t produce any print. What do you think are the advantages and benefits from being a solely digital publication? What differentiates a magazine from just a blog is that “magazines typically have editors or editorial boards who review submissions and perform a quality control function.” And that’s what we do! I love being online, because the content we put out is available worldwide in a click.

Photo: 2wenty

5. Live Fast definitely represents a certain LA vibe, would you ever consider expanding it into other cities as well? I chose to live in Los Angeles because that’s where I’m most inspired and productive right now, but although there is a fair amount of local content on Live Fast Mag I’m hoping it doesn’t feel too confined to SoCal. My business partner Victoria is based in New York and our photo editor Abby is in San Francisco. We definitely try to cover as much land as possible in our travel section and I’m currently I’m working on a French version of the site, which I’m extremely excited about!

Photo: Micheal DeFoe

6 What do you look for most when receiving submissions and emails from potential contributors? Originality and understanding the mag’s voice and aesthetics.

7. In addition to being the EIC and founder of Live Fast, this summer you curated your first art show in LA with the likes of Jason Lee Parry, Arto Saari, Danielle DeFoe and many others. What made you decide you wanted to give this a shot? How did you go about selecting artists? It was my first group show, but not my first art show. My dad’s a painter and I’ve been working his shows since I was a teenager. My years with Corno taught me a lot about the art business in the United States. I wanted to feature mostly L.A. artists, and a good balance of male and female energy. It just happened so naturally, instinctively.

8. Did you realize you had a knack for it after the shows success?
Ha – I knew already it was going to be a killer show.

9. Do you plan on doing another in the future? If so, anything you would do differently the second time around? Yes, actually I pretty much have my second line-up ready. Now I’m only looking for my next venue, and guess what… I’m taking it to NYC!

10. Last but not least, what is some advice you would give your younger self?
Save up money, don’t waste it all eating, smoking and drinking out. Ha! And cultivate your unique talents because they’re what’s going to make you happy doing what you do later.

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