Atlanta Magazine
Atlanta s New Way: 60 voices on the city s past, present, and future
Sixty years, three generations, six decades that’s how long we’ve covered the city. To celebrate, we talked with 60 of you about where we’ve been, where we are, and what’s next.
The editorial team immediately loved the idea of “60 Voices” for this May issue, which marks
Atlanta magazine’s 60th year. Talking with people from all over the metro area seemed like a good way to take stock of our city. Needless to say, all of us Atlantans have done a lot of soul-searching over the last 12 months, whether we were holed up at home or suiting up for yet another 12-hour shift. However, as this issue went to press in March, Governor Brian Kemp just had announced that any adult over age 16 can be vaccinated. So, we may not have emerged from a year of malaise quite yet, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
When did you know that there was something special about “Atlanta Influences Everything” as both a slogan and an ethos?
When the world started thanking Atlanta for “saving democracy,” it made me realize that although Atlanta Influences Everything as a consultancy was established in 2015, never before have those words rang as true as they did after November 3, 2020, and January 5, 2021 where people from disparate sectors who may have never even met or collaborated before are saying the same, unifying rallying cry about this imperfect city they all find themselves living, working, and creating in.
I look often at how it came together in Austin. Austin is known for Tex-Mex and its live music scene but, most notably, South by Southwest. They have been able to leverage that “Keep Austin Weird” culture and draw major brands like Oracle and Tesla.
Atlanta Magazine
60 Voices: Nothing demonstrates Atlantaâs potential like its thriving entrepreneurial scene
âPeople from disparate sectors who may have never even met or collaborated before are saying the same, unifying rallying cry about this imperfect city they all find themselves living, working, and creating in.â
When did you know that there was something special about âAtlanta Influences Everythingâ as both a slogan and an ethos?
When the world started thanking Atlanta for âsaving democracy,â it made me realize that although Atlanta Influences Everything as a consultancy was established in 2015, never before have those words rang as true as they did after November 3, 2020, and January 5, 2021âwhere people from disparate sectors who may have never even met or collaborated before are saying the same, unifying rallying cry about this imperfect city they all find themselves living, working, and creating in.
Photograph courtesy of Made By Mars
Most adult cycling is data-driven: the number of miles ridden, average speed, max heart rate and other criteria folks use to establish credibility on two wheels. However, in the bicycle universe being built by Marshall Thomas, memories are as important as metrics, and more attention is devoted to personal style than athletic personal-bests.
Photograph courtesy of Made By Mars
“I come from the sneaker world, so if someone has a fresh pair of kicks I can design the color of their bike to fit that fresh pair of kicks,” says Thomas, 48, known around Atlanta as DJ Mars. “I create custom bikes for people to give them their own personal individuality. We all can go ride the black bike or the green bike, but when you get a Made by Mars bike I put a little touch to it so it’s
Good Day Atlanta viewer information: April 19, 2021
By Good Day Atlanta
A chance post on social media sent DJ Mars’s creativity into high gear.
ATLANTA -
Atlanta DJ spins records … and bike wheels:
Clark Atlanta University graduate Marshall Thomas better known to audiences as DJ Mars knows how to get people moving. Touring with Kelis was huge … Keri Hilson, Monica, Ne-Yo. Essentially, I’m like the go-to DJ for the big R&B acts in Atlanta, he says.
But when the pandemic put the brakes on live touring in 2020, a chance post on social media sent the artist’s creativity into high gear.