The World's Hottest Taxidermist

[INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC] Life is just unreal, just the way it works. That's exactly what I'm thinking about every time I cut something open. When I start taking stuff out, I look at the inner workings. And I'm just amazed by it. I think it's so beautiful. A carrot! A carrot? Ugh. [UPBEAT MUSIC] Fashion and taxidermy were two very separate things that I was really interested in. The love of anatomy got me into fashion, because I saw clothes as wearable sculptures that people could wear to either express themselves or turn into a different person. This to me is what fashion is. It's not really trends. It's just more about crazy self-expression and becoming who you want to be. I think the first mouse that I did that came out well, I was so excited. I was just, like, ***. I'm going to do this so much more now. I'm going to *** do it. I'm going to do it. Whenever I go hiking, I've always got a little cooler and Tupperware and Ziploc bags and gloves. And more often than not I'll find something on a hike. And then when it's the season to trap, I'll go trapping. So a friend called me, and told me about a lot of pests that were on his property, and just gave me the invitation to come up there and trap. We set the traps really early in the morning, before all the animals wake up. I always had this connection to the outdoors and science, and always seen the two as one and the same. We got something. I think it's actually even better for women to hunt. Because I think-- not to be stereotypical or sexist-- but I think women are more intuitive. They're just a little quieter. So this guy is small, so he'll fall right out. We have stuff to prove, but there's kind of nothing to prove. Chippy. With guys it's like, I got to prove that I can shoot this big gun. And I got to prove I can catch, like, 45,000 minks this season, and all this stuff. Whereas a women would just be like, I caught a chipmunk and I'm going to put a cherry in its hands and make taxidermy out of it and just be happy. I grew up in Miami, Florida. My parents were pretty conservative. My mom was a biology teacher, which had a huge influence on my love of nature, my love of anatomy. My dad was an accountant. And I think he always wanted me to be a doctor, or a lawyer, or something. And when he found out I wanted to be artist, he was like, well you better be really *** good. Or else I'll have said I told you so. My family is pretty traditional Hindu in that they're nonviolent. They don't hunt. They don't kill animals. And they're vegetarian. Whoo! ***. Oh, so we caught a woodchuck. He's dead. And he's going to turn into a piece of art. So pumped. Such an adrenaline rush. We have to go to the general store and get a bigger cooler. Yeah, I'm OK with killing something and eating it. And I'm actually feeling better about killing something and making art out of it and eating it. Because it seems so much more natural. It seems so much more real. And it's super satisfying when you finally do get to get your hands on something and take it down. It's a huge accomplishment. So end of the trapping day, and I got one big one, which is the biggest thing I'll have mounted, ever. And one little one, which is still pretty awesome, because he's cute. What I'm going to do right now is skin him, take his guts out, and all that. So what I'm going to do is just make a cut right down the back, all the way down here, and just take it apart. I did a lot of dissection in high school. And I was always the kid who was so ready to dissect whatever it was. And this time was dissecting a mouse. I had never dissected a mouse before. I was always really curious about their anatomy and stuff. Because you hear that thing about, their bones are like rubber. They just squeeze into whatever. And I read a bit about taxidermy. I got some books. And then got an X-acto knife and some Borax, and just went at it. I cut this open and was so amazed by its tiny bones, the little world inside its body. It's just *** fantastic. He's heavy, oh my god. Putting him down. There's that tension and excitement there. But then there's also the thing, the feeling of, I've got to keep my hands steady so I don't *** this up. It's deeply reflective when you cut something open. You see all of its inner workings. And every time I'm just amazed by this anatomy, and seeing the structure of an animal. You're dealing with death. And death is not pretty. It's not fun. There's nothing really light-hearted about it. What it does is take something that's ended, for whatever reason, and give it a second life, give it a new way to enjoy it. I think it's a lot more healthy if we remember it. Not to dwell on it, but to remember and to memorialize, and to face the reality that is that things and people and stuff dies. [MUSIC PLAYING]