Conversations with Skyler Whitehead

Today we’d like to introduce you to Skyler Whitehead. He and his team share their story with us below:

Sky Wind is a body and sex-positive educator from Atlanta, GA making his mark by helping people re-frame the way they see themselves and their relationships. Starting his career as a photographer, content producer, and multimedia artist over the last decade, Sky’s career has allowed him the pleasure of capturing stories and events for 25+ broadcast networks and digital platforms. Seeing a disparity in positive content, he began authoring several projects and workshops that use art, psychology, and fun activities. His objective is to deconstruct social stigmas around subjects that have become taboo through negative programming.

As a curious, fun, and spontaneous person he has interacted with a wide range of people and felt the need for normalizing conversations about desire, sexuality, body positivity and naturalism. Those professional and personal life experiences, combined with his creative nature, made the Hedonism & Debauchery game a reality.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Working in multi-media and broadcast definitely have its ups and downs. Depending on where you are opportunities to work with the best in the world come your way but also disappear in an instant. It provides the highest of highs and lowest of lows with very rich life memories. Navigating who you want to be versus the work available to you is always a challenge for any technical artist. Your livelihood is partially based in what the current market needs and is looking for, not what you have to say creatively. It takes time to really find your stride after working a lot of different things and developing your skills.

As I started to develop my own products and work with clients, there were a number of challenges. The first was the stigma concerning conversations about sex and how we sexualize the human body in media. Being a black man who started his career photographing art nudes then inventing a game that shifts conversations around consensual sex bring initial skepticism to some. The second obstacle was learning the ins and outs of manufacturing and intellectual property. The third is having the resources to upscale the business and continue to grow awareness around the product.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’ve worked as a photographer, camera operator, content producer, and serial artist in Atlanta since I was 17 years old. Over the last decade, my career has allowed me the pleasure of capturing stories working in different capacities for networks like NBA TV, BET, ESPN, Food Network, NBC, TNT, TIDAL and many others.

My personal work represents freedom. Freedom of self, imagination, and lifestyle. I pride myself on being a storyteller that believes in being emotive and capturing the moment, not making a fake one for the camera. There’s something special about capturing a person in a space where they are expressing their true selves. Over the years my style and favorite things to capture are a mix of figure studies, whimsical characters, beautiful bodies in dynamic action poses, and unique skylines.

The artistic sensibilities come from the same fun inquisitive nature I had in childhood, coupled with a perceptive voice, comprehension, and eccentric vision of my life experience today. Growing up in Atlanta I was lucky to have so many opportunities to see and be a part of history making moments like The Black Arts Festival, Freaknik 95-98 and 96 Olympics, Battle of the Bands and so many more.  Being in touch with so many amazing artists and professionals first hand let me know I could find my own path even if it wasn’t charted yet.

During the shift of pandemic, I was able to give focus to some of my other latent passions and projects that I couldn’t follow through with otherwise because of tv and film productions demanding lifestyle.

As a host, author , yoga instructor, sex & relationship guru I’m an introspective creative that finds inspiration from digging within. After years of practice, my voice shines through on topics of embodiment through art. Seeing a major need I created the first adult card game to center conversations around consent and inclusive sexual play entitled Hedonism & Debauchery. Entering the work as a sex and relationship guru my goal is to help all genders re-frame the way they see their bodies and their desires. You can also find me presenting at conferences, hosting retreats, offering workshops, doing lectures and exhibiting art when I’m not working with media clients or producing content.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Media is definitely at an interesting crossroads. If we continue to do the work we will find more ethical and inclusive stories about all kinds of people. I think we will be enjoying the same things we are already doing, just more connected through VR and other community-based software.

Dating is going to move into a blend of in person and virtual connections, creating new experiences that widens the access pool of potential partners in addition to creating new ways to interact. Health, wellness, sex, entertainment, education and technology are all intertwining, if we as a society push for products that stress the importance of enthusiastic consent, autonomy, empathy and experiential learning that’s fun we are bound to see lots of interesting innovations for all interest. Imagine sex education, therapy and events being available giving you a whole new way to be in the room together.

Pricing:

• Hedonism & Debauchery Game $21 + shipping
• Merchandise $15+ on webstore
• Consultation: $60 / Media Prices Vary
• Workshops $40-200

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: Respectfulplay.com
• Instagram: hed0nism_and_debauchery
• Other: https://linktr.ee/whirlwindarts

Image Credits:
Cover Photo: Self Portrait Money On My Mind: Self Portrait Hedonism & Debauchery Cards: Sky Wind Studio Portrait: Westhaven Management Artist Portrait: Derek White Sunset At Sea: Sky Wind Tender Moments with a Heroine: Sky Wind