We had the good fortune of connecting with Paris Giraud and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Paris, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
Everything in life is a choice, for good or bad. In regards to risk in life and career, being a career musician and entrepreneur, my life has been nothing but risk and dealing with consequences of said risk, from financial instability, the constant shifting of locations, change in every possible way is the only security I’ve encountered in this journey, due to this necessity to exist and be, you learn to wait, have patience, keep an absolute eye on finances, you learn to improvise, more importantly, you learn to become a problem solver, which in essence, is the driving force behind my version of entrepreneurship. This choice that was made within me so long ago has absolutely nothing to do with the flawed idea that is sold as entrepreneurship today, this is a lifestyle, not a title. You have to truly want it since you will be the owner of a few triumphs and an uncanny amount of failures.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
When focusing on La Morte XIII, which in essence is a 24/7 event, I tend to chunk my time into different areas, in order to fully focus on similar tasks, and mostly, to avoid and control decision fatigue. For example, the mornings are for promotional postings, which we also do in the afternoons, social media, answering emails, SEO work, marketing, etc, essentially all business part of La Morte.

In the afternoons, I focus on more social media content, updating our shop, getting orders sorted, following up on emails, and customer service issues that might arise. In the evenings, I focus on designs and ideas, the creative aspect of La Morte XIII, even though I keep constant notes for these throughout the day/night, night time is when those creations come to life, either by working on mockups for one of our artists or creating designs/sketches from beginning to end, preparing art for marketing or simply doing product photography, etc, all that is creative is mostly done at night.
In addition to this, we are also hosting a Blog for different writers to flex their artistry, hence I have become somewhat of a Blog Editor.  Currently, we have 2 writers, Kavita D. Quill aka @psychvvitch, which is our resident genius psychologist witch, and a soon to be announced Art Witch, whom cannot be mention by name as of this writing, but let it be known that she is a prolific artist that will focus her writings on the creation of art and her occult and spiritual practices.  These blogs share something in common, people sharing their private and personal thoughts, their tales of work, art, and the search for their private and unique spirituality.
As for myself, being on the inside of all of this, I don’t feel that anything sets me apart from others, but there is something that is different within me, the relentless mindset of doing or be homeless, the how bad do you want it mentality, the work ethic, the desire to be me on my own terms, the pursuit of doing something I can be proud of, to create something that means something to me. I have never been the type to work 9-5, even though I keep an uncanny schedule of 6-7 days a week 12 hours a day, I never want to feel like I am working, only creating and problem-solving. Has it been easy?, absolutely not, I hope it never is, to be complacent is rather unattractive, to be content is to be dead.
Overcoming challenges is more of a result of giving yourself permission to act, to let go of the wins, and focus on the next challenge, to continue moving on my own terms, without apologies, without regrets. La Morte XIII started as an innocuous idea that has become something significant to myself and others, something that has touched, inspired, and ultimately helped others, something defiant, beautiful, and free. This idea is what keeps me busy professionally.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
DTLA would be a thing, the different kinds of people, the constant being on the edge of something happening, the disparity of income makes for a volatile environment, that is DTLA. To eat, it would be a trip to Koreatown, MyThai Restaurant, the Mexican Food truck vendors on Wilshire, the unique coffee shops, the Korean Food. For a more character-driven agenda, I would say Hollywood Blvd, where else on Earth can you see Superheroes performing, Jesus playing Drums and an Elvis impersonator walking, intertwining and causing mayhem?… The Live Music locations and staples of the Los Angeles music scene, also known as The Sunset Strip, the Whisky, The Rainbow, The Troubadour, The Viper Room… History has been created at these locations.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
To start this I would have to say that if I had not had the absolute disjunction of parents as a child, I would have never been able to grow into the relentless human I am today. Encountering that I did not belong at an early age, fueled by curiosity, an uncanny ability to want to learn, finding solace in music, art, and solitude, I can bluntly say my biggest inspiration is and will always be the discontent that was my upbringing. As far as external forces that have inspired this journey, hearing Motley Crue’s “Shout at the Devil” for the first time, the writings of Anton Lavey, discovering the “Goth” in me, the people involved in and around La Morte XIII: @craemodco, @leelooalexandra.official, @psychvvitch, @belfry.martyr, @noreasonart, @redlipstick_and_ravens, @morteishaaddams for the constant inspiration, support and late-night conversations, our clients that have become friends, the esoteric search that is the pursuit of knowledge from that which is “The Void”, @marilynmanson for being, the writings of Michael W. Ford, the business Master Lessons of Gary Vaynerchuk, the obsessive insight of Alex Becker, and most of all, the unjudging ear of my mother, Elba Giraud, without her insight, nothing would be what is, and what is to become.

Website: www.LaMorteXiii.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lamortexiii/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaMorteXIII/
Other: Blog: https://lamortexiii.tumblr.com/

Image Credits
All images provided by the models themselves and/or photographers: @lamortexiii, @dodoris_shop, @belfry.martyr, @craemodco, @LeelooAlexandra, @tdude64, @morteishaaddams, @noreasonart and @redlipstick_and_ravens, all can be found via their Instagram user names listed above.

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