vol. 290 / Black SupermanExploring and celebrating the place we all love to call home.
VOL. 290 / Black Superman
Meet this week’s guest editor, Ishmael Sandiford, an electrical engineer, fitness trainer, and founder of the Fit X Experience. He’s become Richmond’s most-followed trainer on Instagram, known for his high-energy, motivational workouts, mid-range pushups, mind-body coaching, and his “Black Superman” persona.
A chess fan and VCU graduate, Ishmael likes to say that engineering is his passion, but fitness is his lifestyle. He developed a love for exercise early in life, inspired by watching his father run miles in combat boots and train with discipline and persistence. By age 8, Ishmael became a calisthenics advocate, setting goals to perform hundreds of reps every day.
Ishmael’s late older brother, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, lived to 17, far beyond doctors’ expectations. Ishmael credits that journey to his family’s holistic approach to health, and it helped him understand the impact of lifestyle, peace, and fitness on quality of life. He also believes fitness should be sustainable, fun, and built on community, which inspired him to introduce Richmond to the party-style boot camps surging in popularity.
Ishmael has developed a network of expert trainers across the East Coast and learned what makes the boot camp trend so powerful from the Atlanta fitness community. His first class here in February drew 13 people. It caught fire quickly and now sells out at 10 times that attendance. He has served as a featured trainer in D.C., Virginia Beach, Charlotte, and Atlanta, took Fit X to Dogwood Dell this summer, and is planning a full lineup for 2026.
You can still get in on the fun before the year’s out. The next two classes are Nov. 22 and Dec. 13. Details below.
Take it away, Ishmael ...
Art That Stays With You
The new “Giants” exhibit at VMFA is moving, captivating, and something I’m still thinking about. I had the opportunity to hear an inspiring message from Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz at the preview opening party this week. The collection they’ve shared features all kinds of inspiring work from 40 Black artists. As someone who’s boxed and helped train a few boxers, I was especially struck by Gordon Parks’ 1966 photos of Muhammad Ali, and an interpretation of his Sonny Liston knockout in an oil painting by Titus Kaphar. The energy at the party was incredible, with all kinds of Richmonders vibing to the DJ. Everyone will move to music! And I was lucky enough to get some career advice from actress and former model Daphne Maxwell Reid — yes, the Fresh Prince’s mom herself.
True, it’s turkey season. You might think I’m all in as someone born on Thanksgiving. But I’ve never eaten poultry or meat, so I’m not the one to ask for recommendations. Fish? I’m your guy. I recently discovered the Ca Chien Xao Mang at Mekong. It’s crispy rainbow trout that melts in your mouth. Comfort food on a cold night, and sautéed with all the good stuff — onions, peppers and mushrooms. For the soul food version, it’s hard to beat the famous fish at Croaker’s Spot. By the way, you can order a Thanksgiving Holiday Pack that features a whole, herb-roasted salmon filet. My favorite. Plus, get those omega-3s! And if you still need that turkey, Croaker’s other choice is a deep-fried turkey.
A quote that serves as personal inspiration comes from Nelson Mandela: “As we let our light shine, we give other people permission to do the same.” We tend to reflect more on joy, unity, and giving this time of year. And you can get into the spirit with the Dominion Energy GardenFest of Lights, which opened this week to an “Elements” theme — fire, earth, air, water, and a bonus one, love. You can add music at Jazz Night there Nov. 25, 6–8 p.m., with Lucy Kilpatrick and Ken Kellner.
For another holiday warmup — and I’m not sure if my roller-skating will translate — a 2,000-square-foot rink is taking shape for Winter Wonderland at the new Conex RVA. It’s being built by my fitness trainer colleague Brandon Garner and his team. Can’t wait to strap on the skates!
One of my goals when I founded Fit X Experience was to open our doors to nurses and first responders in the community, who can attend free as a small way of saying thanks. We’ve also worked to raise money for the Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation and help students at Barack Obama Elementary School. If you’re looking for a few ways to give, here are three:
The Giving Heart Annual Thanksgiving Day Feast, Nov. 27 at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. It’s a free meal for anyone who wants to come. Simply show up to commune with others and show support.
The Giving Wall. A constantly evolving list where you can help vetted people in need with specific items — an urgent phone bill, a household item, a car insurance payment.
For a holiday event that showcases Richmond musicians and raises money for Richmond Triangle Players, consider “A Shockoe Sessions Live! Christmas.” The show features everything from blues to opera, pop, rock, and techno. At The Hippodrome on Dec. 2, 6:30 p.m.
Ishmael invites you to the biggest boot camp in Richmond. It’s for all fitness levels, packed with community, networking, vendors, motivation, and great energy from start to finish. Our year-end finale is Dec. 13, but the next one is on Saturday, Nov. 22 at Iron Legend Gym, 3310 Rosedale Ave., Unit B, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Teachers, nurses, college students, and first responders enter free. Expect top-tier trainers, DJs, and a community that pushes each other to win! Click to see what the boot camp looks like.
vol. 289 / Where Perspectives ShiftExploring and celebrating the place we all love to call home.
VOL. 289 / Where Perspectives Shift
Meet this week’s guest editor, Kristen Cavallo, Executive Director of The Branch Museum of Design. Kristen never planned on becoming a CEO — yet she did, twice. For thirty years, she helped build some of the world’s most recognized creative agencies, including The Martin Agency and MullenLowe Global. After a career spent shaping brands and advancing equity, she left advertising to focus on something just as ambitious: building Virginia’s only museum devoted to design. Now, as Executive Director of The Branch Museum of Design, she’s helping people see how that craft influences the way we live. Inside a 1919 Tudor-Jacobean mansion, the museum explores how design is all around us, from restored motorcycles to woven tapestries to photography that captures moments of change.
And this season, there’s plenty to look forward to. Sit back — you’re in for a special treat as Kristen shares her tips for upcoming events not to miss.
Take it away, Kristen …
A Roaring Twenties Speakeasy
Built in 1919 as the Branch family’s winter home, the house has always been a place for gathering and celebration. On December 10, the museum revives that spirit with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, live jazz, and a few secrets hidden throughout the house. Guests of the Roaring Twenties Speakeasy will experience the building as it was once lived in. Festive attire encouraged — and don’t forget the password: “Miss Beulah.”
Featured portrait: Branch family descendant Ned Rennolds, painted by Edmund Archer. Oil on canvas, 32” x 40”. Rennolds was also one of the founding members of the Richmond Symphony.
Vitals:
A Roaring Twenties Speakeasy – December 10 / Get tickets / Tell the doorman you’re there to see “Miss Beulah” / 2501 Monument Avenue
The Art of Fashion
Presented with VCUarts, this exhibition brings Christian Siriano and Ashley Longshore together in a bold exchange between fashion and art. Siriano’s red-carpet gowns appear in an immersive runway installation. Longshore’s pop portraits are displayed alongside the gowns, revealing how art and fashion continue to inspire one another.
Vitals:
Presented by VCUarts / January 17, 2026 / 2501 Monument Avenue
Makers Studio
Launching in 2026, a new quarterly series will bring the act of making to the public. The Makers Studio workshops break down the barrier between observer and maker — reinforcing that design isn’t only something to admire, but something to experience.
This is a new phrase, but not a new direction. It’s a reflection of who The Branch Museum has always been. When the Branch House was built in 1919, it was technologically advanced: indoor electricity, an elevator, and a central vacuum. Designed not just to impress, but to push what was possible. Just like the Branch family themselves — John Kerr Branch, Mary Munford, Margaret Glasgow, Zayde Dotts, and Ned Rennolds — champions of progress, equity, and civic access long before those values were widely embraced.
Today, that same spirit fuels The Branch Museum. Through exhibitions, programs, and partnerships, The Branch highlights design that invites visitors to see things differently. It has woven this story into a new logo that was rolled out this year. The angles of the house, tilted on its side, reframe what we see: a “B” becomes a house, a house becomes a “B.” A nod to the toppled monuments that once stood outside its door, a symbol of a city always redefining progress, and an invitation to shift your perspective. The Branch invites you to come be a part of it.
vol. 288 / Art of PlaceExploring and celebrating the place we all love to call home.
VOL. 288 / Art of Place
Meet this week’s guest editor, S. Ross Browne, a celebrated Richmond artist whose work has enriched the River City with depth and color for decades. Born in Mount Vernon, New York, Ross studied Communication Art and Design at VCU and The Corcoran School of Art. His paintings have been featured in more than 75 exhibitions across the U.S. and abroad, with works in the permanent collections of the VMFA, the Valentine Museum, the Black History Museum of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, and The JXN Project.
Ross has received honors from the VMFA, the Black History Museum of Virginia, the Virginia Commission for the Arts, CultureWorks, and the Gottlieb Foundation, among others. You can spot murals by Ross across Virginia—from the Children’s Hospital at VCU Health to Virginia State University and beyond. He was also an inaugural artist in the acclaimed Mending Walls Mural Project.
As an educator, Ross has shared his passion through therapeutic art programs at VCU Health and through youth initiatives such as Art 180 and the Fresh Air Fund.
This week, Ross joins us for a special issue of Here Weekly with his tips for exploring and celebrating this place we all love to call home. Take it away, Ross...
Richmond’s Arboreal Treasures
Compared to many of the cities I have visited around the world and those I have lived in across the U.S., Richmond is wonderfully walkable, with many urban neighborhoods just a short sojourn away from the almost bucolic. I think the proximity to nature that living in Manchester provides is truly a moment of zen amid what can be the miasma of city living. I love to raft, fish, and take long hikes and bike rides along the many wooded paths while identifying flora and fauna with friends. It always amazes me how quickly the sounds of the city melt away. One of my favorite shorter walks is along the floodwall to the west of Manchester, under the Manchester Bridge, across the Potterfield Bridge, and onto Brown’s Island—past the amphitheater at Tredegar, under the Lee Bridge, where the suspended footbridge provides breathtaking panoramas of the river (especially at sunset)—then onto Belle Isle, where the many trails can lead to sylvan tranquility, sparsely interrupted by fellow hikers and bikers and the distant, muted trumpeting of a lumbering locomotive.
A gem-blue robin’s egg nestled in a brown dry thatch is the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. I often find myself depleted from the day-after-day hard hustle of being a working artist. It is one of the few jobs that requires grueling manual labor, mental perspicacity, and unflinching vulnerability as a prerequisite. So it would almost seem anathema to logic that when I teach two painting classes in a row for three hours each, such an endeavor is energizing and soul freshening.
My students come from all backgrounds and age groups with one overarching thing in common. They want to paint. They want to create. They want to be artists. The obvious caveat emptor aside, our shared enthusiasm for the craft is energizing in an unfathomable way. I forget all of my troubles and aches and pains and try my best to ignite a spark of inspiration in my students. They often return session after session for years so we come to understand one another and the complex mathematics of art.
Now this is just my introduction to intermediate/advanced acrylic painting classes. VisArts has so many art, design, writing, woodworking, jewelry making, pottery, and photography classes I couldn’t possibly name them all without continuing to violate the guest editor word count. It’s a wonderful place with supportive and kind staff and opportunities for professional artists. Treat yourself. Go there.
The continuing exhibition Bodies of Labor, Hands That Built a Nation at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia is a must-experience. It is a group show featuring Virginia artists’ interpretations of what labor means to them and African Americans’ contributions to that effort. The BHM is a thought-provoking, whirlwind tour of cultural enrichment and enlightenment on any day. This particular exhibition, however, is a tour de force of self-reflection, skillful creative elasticity, and cultural introspection.
In this political climate, we are often regaled with the greatness of American ingenuity and industry without giving due credit to all of the American peoples who helped lay the foundation and were co-architects of the edifice shaping its history. As an artist who is featured in this exhibition, I can truly say—without bias or hubris—that the work in this show is, as my brother Kent would say, outstanding.
Curated by Mary Lauderdale, Director of Curatorial Services, it would probably behoove anyone to ask her for a tour of the exhibition, although with her busy schedule that’s probably a long shot. Shameless plug: the painting I have in this museum exhibition is In Defiance of Caste, 2024, 60” x 60”, oil on linen.
Catch the latest mural by Ross, recently completed on the corner of 10th and Hull Streets as part of a new series of enhancements to the Manchester neighborhood. The project, made possible through a partnership with Venture Richmond, Manchester Alliance, and the Hull Street Merchants Association, is part of a community effort to celebrate creativity and spark momentum in one of Richmond’s most historic corridors. Ross says his mural, measuring 20’ x 30’, is his ode to Afrofuturism.
Go
