Viral Status Magazine _

The Beginning

In my creative infancy during my sophomore year I created a then magazine called Viral Status. It was meant to highlight art, culture, and fashion that was on the cusp of "breaking through". What started off as a school project turned into a full fledged 6 year creative endeavor. 6 years of exploration, experimentation, learning about managing a team, creating at scale, and making tough business decisions. Above all it was made for others to get out their work, and in retrospect gave me an avenue to express mine as well.

Issue One_ May 2009

The first issue of Viral Status magazine ran in May 2009 of which we ran stories about music, local artwork in the Harlem area, fashion trends, relationship satire, and tons more. We were quite prideful of the fact that one of our interviewees at the time Darold Furgueson went on to be known as ASAP Ferg and has gone to sell hundreds of thousands of records today. We distibuted issue one primarily all across the Harlem area and began to gain traction as a new publication to look for in art and all things New York culture.

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Founder + Editor: Castro Desroches

Writer: Carl Joseph-Black
Writer: Dominique Germain
Writer: Crystal Beckford
Writer: Alexander Smith
Writer: Nadine Charles
Writer: Edwidge Mucius
Writer: Sherifa Gayle

Issue Two_ November 2010’

Embarrassing cover aside, Issue 2 ran later on that same year in the fall of 09’. Redesigned and restructured, we took more considerations in rolling this issue out. Through testing a few hundred readers from issue 1, and looking ahead to what publications at the time weren’t addressing, we found a space in which we felt we could offer something fresh to those served.

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Founder + Editor: Castro Desroches

Writer: Carl Joseph-Black
Writer: Dominique Germain
Writer: Crystal Beckford
Writer: Alexander Smith
Writer: Yashelime Moise
Writer: Edwidge Mucius
Writer: Sherifa Gayle

Contributor: Jenna Adolph
Contributor: Tiffany Williams
Contributor: Bernard Simon -Louis
Contributor: Theodore Norgaisse
Contributor: Marcy Duvert
Contributor: Dominic Pierre
Contributor: Chris Romero

Photographer: Gabriel Garcia Roman

Model: Deanna Reve Miller
Model: Jasstina Featherstone

Issue Three_ June 2010’

The dawn of the iPad spurred quite a change in my thinking on the future of publishing. To stay ahead of this, I began experimenting and attempting to redefine what the magazine was and what it might look like years from now.

This birthed Issue 3.

A documentary style video with design elements and structures borrowed from traditional print magazines to create a short film that hopefully provided the depth of a written article in moving picture. To keep in tune with the magazines roots in fashion we followed the interviews with BTS shots of a photoshoot we held to create posters to raise awareness and funds for those affected by earthquakes in Haiti and by PTSD from serving in the United States armed forces.

Founder + Editor + Composting: Castro Desroches
Co-Director: Carl Joseph-Black

Guest: Francois Pierre-Louis
Guest: Crystal Beckford

Photography: Justin Reid
Photography: Dominic Pierre
Writer: Edwidge Mucius
Writer: Sherifa Gayle

Model: Xavier Smith
Model: Tamara Timothe
Model: Nyasho Ayinde
Model: Patrick Celestin
Model: Jermaine Sampson

Contributor: Bernard Simon-Louis
Contributor: Jessica Damour
Contributor: Marcy Duvert
Contributor: Jenna Adolph
Contributor: Akeem Lawrence
Contributor: Tiffany Williams

Artists Platform_ July 2013’

After a few years experimenting with print and video we decided to create a web experience. Viral Status was then reborn into a full feldged artist platform. Our mantra as told by the 2013 version of me:

“ The creative underground is surging with amazing talent; from musicians, filmmakers, actors, painters, and much more, we're here to bolster their voice, while curating a beautiful platform for their work to be showcased. Your creative vision...your life's work...are given importance by the story behind it. Share your story. ”

With a new logo on deck, we were officially a start-up company growing our following. Collaborating with hundreds of brands, artists, writers, and makers of the New York arts and culture scene and were completely engulfed in every event, scene, and topic that circled both the interwebs and IRL.

Artist Profile Page: Latasha Alcindor

Founder + Editor: Castro Desroches
Co-Founder: Carl Joseph-Black

Writer: Dominique Germain
Writer: Crystal Beckford
Writer: Alexander Smith
Writer: Yashelime Moise
Writer: Edwidge Mucius
Writer: Sherifa Gayle
Writer: Ayanna Wu
Writer: Shadavia Jones
Writer: Mark E. Scott
Writer: Khalil O. Haywood
Writer: Tassika Lloyd
Writer: Ryan Desroisers

Contributor: Jenna Adolph
Contributor: Tiffany Williams
Contributor: Bernard Simon -Louis