Profiles

On the Fly

Although it was a real need to get from point “a” to “b” that made him a pilot at 10 years old (he grew up in a remote and roadless part of Alaska), Ty Frisbee refuses to see airplanes as transportation. In fact, 99% of his flights take off and land at the same place.

The Man of Steal

When people meet Gregory Wilson of Costa Mesa, they don’t know whether to fear him or love him. Usually, they do both – then pay him for the pleasure. The one-time professional con man has given up the life of a pool hustler and card sharp, and now spends his days deceiving and stealing from his clients as one of the world’s most popular magicians.

Fly Girl

At 89 years old, Vi Cowden completes her second sky dive with Mike Elliott of the U.S. Army’s Golden Knights parachute team.

Dressing Rooms

Ever fallen in love with a mannequin? Darrin Rowland has, and he’s made a thriving career out of his affection as the visual manager for Neiman Marcus Fashion Island. “Mannequins are so much fun. I love them,” he says as he fixes the hair and touches up the makeup of an eight-foot-tall leggy super doll named Jade.

All Dolled Up

By the time he’d logged 34 years as a fashion illustrator working for the most glamorous names in the business (Vogue, Seventeen, Ladies Home Journal, Cosmopolitan), Donald Hendricks of Laguna Woods faced a problem. Boredom. His search for a new challenge left him floundering for years until he finally stumbled upon his calling in the last place a grown man would look – a paper doll convention.

Primate Unkown

Most people think Matt Moneymaker, the head of the San Juan Capistrano based Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, is insane. Some people would even call him a fraud, but a growing number of scientists think he’s on to something.

Nip/Tuck

He doesn’t advertise. If you don’t know how to find him, you’ll never even see his well-hidden Costa Mesa shop. But those in the know will tell you that when things just don’t hang like they used to and they need a little lift, he works magic. In fact, his work is so popular he hardly has room for more business. He’s Anibal De La Cruz.

First Impressions

He’s not Elvis, and he’s not Neil Diamond. But his fans love him just the same. He’s Phil Shane, and his renditions of “All Shook Up” and “Sweet Caroline” have kept him in business longer than the King himself. In fact, Shane’s 40-year music career has been so successful that he’s never done anything else.