It’s a typical day for Dr. Ganji, who this morning ended a patient’s three years of leg pain and difficulty walking by removing a blockage in his leg. “The effect is instantaneous, and I’m going to see that with my own eyes, and that gives me a lot of pleasure,” says the cardiologist with Southeastern Heart and Vascular Center, who has been interested in heart disease since the age of 15 when his father became a heart patient. His passion for heart health brought him to the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign, which aims to raise awareness about the No. 1 killer of women. He advises women to be physically active, eat fruits that have an edible skin and not to overlook the warning signs of heart disease, such as shortness of breath. “When we can diagnosis it early, then the treatment is much simpler than when we diagnose it late.”

What do you like about wearing a skirt? “Like a hint of mint, it makes me cool.”

What do you like about reading skirt? “It’s about women and discusses women’s issues, and I’m happy to be a part of it.”
 

You won’t find any purple dinosaurs here. With Big Bang Boom!, one of five bands Chuck and Steve formed together, you get high-energy music with a G-rated twist. “It’s a rock show,” says Chuck. “We don’t treat the kids as if they’re stupid.” The duo shared stages in the ‘90s and formed a relationship that has spawned both cover bands (Rubberband, Chuck Folds Five, Steve & Chuck) and original music (Big Bang Boom! and Amplify This). “We’ve discovered that if we wanted to make a living as musicians, we had to diversify,” says Chuck. And diversify they have, with a side business composing for sports teams. But Steve and Chuck, both fathers of two, say performing for kids (and their moms) is what brings them the most satisfaction. “We love the moms, and we’re really playing more for the moms than the kids. The kids being there is simply a byproduct.” Learn more at chuckfolds.com.

What do you like about wearing a skirt? Steve: Freedom. I’m sure you’ve never heard that. Chuck: I like the breeze.

What do you like about reading skirt? Chuck: I love women.
 

The oncologist and hematologist with Moses Cone Regional Cancer Center doesn’t usually wear skirts when seeing patients, but he does make a point to wear colorful socks. “They’re called anti-depressant socks,” he says. “No one will believe that if you have cancer, your oncologist can wear socks like that and actually believe that your cancer is that bad.” But the father of two and 15-year oncology veteran knows that socks alone aren’t enough. “Patients really understand what they’re dealing with, and what they really care about ultimately is to find someone who’s going to be their cheerleader and help them get through it. That’s what we do; we’re the cheerleaders.” And with the center’s ongoing research trials and team approach to patient care, survival is more likely than ever. “Breast cancer, with the newer drugs, we can actually turn into a chronic disease. It’s not something that has to be fatal.”

Charlie is a part-time professor at UNCG, but even when he’s in the garden, he’s in the classroom. What started as a mid-life crisis grew into a career as a sustainability expert, teaching courses in simple living, green cities and permaculture gardening, which imitates nature. “An organic model works with nature, and nature is a very powerful friend.” Though his own garden is a place he calls “pure paradise,” you’ll often find him in other people’s gardens, sampling the harvest from the edible garden at Greensboro Montessori School (where he’s a consultant) or working on a farm in the Italian countryside. His hope, through workshops and groups like Slow Food Piedmont Triad, which he co-founded, is to get people to think differently about their values. “We’ve been tricked by all of this wealth, and we’ve forgotten that real wealth is things like good friends, being able to pursue one’s interests, good food, a stable community.” Learn more about Charlie’s workshops at earthmatters.info.

What do you like about reading skirt!? – “With two daughters in their twenties, this would be the kind of publication they would really enjoy and would say, ‘Hey, that’s me.’”

When Charlie goes out for a short run, he means 10 to 30 miles. The ultra-endurance runner was one of the first to cross the Sahara Desert in 2007, in the process raising more than $5 million for H20 Africa, the clean-water charity he co-founded (with Matt Damon, no less!). This fall he’ll make a second attempt to beat the speed record for running across the U.S., traveling from California to Greensboro in an effort to inspire young people to live a healthier life. “Kids learn by example. My goal is to set an example that makes them sit up and take notice, even if that example is having to run two or three marathons a day.” The former drug addict and founder of Mission skincare runs to see the world, but also because he believes it reinforces the lesson he so often shares as a motivational speaker: “If you’re not doing something that you’re afraid of, you are just spinning your wheels.”

Why do you like wearing a skirt? I like doing things that are not normal.

Why do you like reading skirt? I really like anything that does support the notion of being out of your element and of doing something that just seems impossible.

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“Music’s powerful. It pulls people down scary roads sometimes.” That was the case with Marcus C. Rizzo, Nathan’s friend and bandmate, who took his own life at the age of 18. Nathan, now a decorative painter by trade, toyed with the idea of creating a musician incubator but didn’t put the plan into place until 2007, when he heard the name Rizzo on the local news. “I felt like I needed to create a place where young musicians can let their guard down and just explore and be creative and be safe.” The Marcus C. Rizzo Center for Musician Enrichment will be a place where garage bands can access low-cost studio space, and where young musicians can find mentors or meet up using an eHarmony-style database. To make his dream a reality, Nathan needs $500,000. “I am a little crazy, to start a nonprofit organization with nothing. But it has to happen.” To donate or learn more, go to rizzocenter.com.

What do you love about wearing a skirt? I can’t think of anything that I like about wearing a skirt.

What do you love about reading skirt? I love that tall format, the readability and the size. It does set you apart.

From the moment Jeffrey walked into his first Intro to Metalworking class, he knew he’d found his calling as an artist blacksmith. “As soon as I got introduced to the tools and the materials, it’s like the elevator finally went to the top floor,” he says. “That’s the way it’s been every day since then, like I’ve arrived at exactly where I’m supposed to be.” The owner of Sungun Studio has since established a successful career as a sculptor, often using his love of the outdoors as the inspiration for his “modern organic” pieces. To escape from the solitude of sculpting, the father of two tends bar at Liberty Oak a few nights a week and spends his free time sailing or riding his Vulcan Drifter motorcycle.  “I’m not real big on plans,” he says. “I just kind of live in the moment and wait to be shown what’s next.”

What do you like about wearing a skirt? There is just a freedom and a playfulness, just kind of a primal thing that comes with  . . . less.

What do you like about reading skirt!? Raising a daughter now, I just love anything that empowers women and is directed at celebrating who they are and what they are capable of.

“Overall everything I do is trying to, in some way, better this city,” says the UNCG grad. He launched GreensboroPolitics.com last year to help keep himself and other young people informed about city government, and has taken roles on the board of adjustments and as president of the Southside board of directors. The marketing supervisor is also taking steps to clean up the city, literally, by maintaining a piece of Lee Street adjacent to downtown. An avid biker, Ryan pedals close to 200 miles each week, but he’s always glad to come home to downtown Greensboro. “Greensboro’s really a phenomenal place. From the jazz clubs to the martini bars, it’s a great atmosphere. I urge people who don’t come downtown much . . . you gotta come out. From the comedy clubs to Triad Stage, Carolina Theatre, Center City Park, the Grasshoppers stadium – to be so close to all that, it’s phenomenal.”

“It’s not about the fixtures, it’s about the wine,” says Robert, who with Richard co-owns Vin Vin wine shop. Tucked into the back of an industrial building, the store’s no-frills location mirrors the “snob-free” attitude the store’s owners have about their beloved merchandise. With low overhead, they can afford to offer a 10% discount on every bottle, as well as free delivery and personal services such as in-home tastings and consultations. Mostly, they just want you to enjoy wine, and they don’t believe you have to spend a fortune to do it.

(Editor’s Note: This month we profiled feminist men, who wrote to us on the topic, “I am a feminist because . . . “)

I'm a feminist because Dad was the one pushing the grocery cart when I was riding underneath it, because everyone scrubbed the toilets on Sundays, and because Mom clawed her way through three degrees and into a professional life with me on her back and nothing but her knife-sharp mind.

(Editor’s Note: This month we profiled feminist men, who wrote to us on the topic, “I am a feminist because . . . “)

I grew up surrounded by strong women. My maternal grandmother used to say, “A woman was not put on the earth to be a slave to a man!” I believe we are going to see more women in leadership roles as we move further into the 21st century. Hopefully, many of them will be Bennett graduates.

Eric Chilton is a self-proclaimed “weather geek.”

The chief meteorologist for WFMY News 2 enjoys his job, and it shows. When the weather is calm, he’ll entertain the rest of the news crew by putting cartoons in their copy or working a particular phrase into his forecast. But when the weather turns severe, as was the case with the May tornadoes, “that side of weather just juices me. I love severe weather,” says the Mount Airy native, who was on camera for 6 hours and 40 minutes that night. Behind the scenes he’s usually interpreting data or constructing graphics, but the Johnny Carson fan loves to get out of the studio as often as possible and talk to the public, despite the confrontations that may arise. “You take a lot of public criticism, especially in weather, but I always say I love weather because it’s the only job in the world where you are paid to be wrong.”

What do you like best about wearing a skirt? “There is so much airflow! I never thought about that, but it’s the first thing I noticed.”

What do you like best about reading skirt!? “I’m a visual person, and I loved the look of skirt! The retro and ‘50s-type font, and the layout and graphics were really fun, and it looked fun to read whether you read the articles or not.”

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By day he’s director of student activities at Greensboro College, where he graduated in 2003. But come April, Danny dusts off his pickle hat and giant sunglasses and takes the field as on-field host/crowd motivator for the Greensboro Grasshoppers, a job he’s held for five years. He started his career as an intern for the Hudson Valley Renegades in New York, where an announcer gave him the nickname “Spaz.” He’s been a fan of minor league baseball since he was a kid, traveling New York to watch games with his dad. Now he hopes to attract a new generation of fans to the game.