Q.question What are you looking forward to doing, post-lockdown?

A. answerCrystal: Travel. Leave L.A. I like to go home to Florida, or out of the country, or to New York.

A. answerSparkle: I'm going to be doing a lot of traveling; I'm going to Jamaica. I'm also looking forward to hanging out with my friends, and just having some free time. I know everyone's excited to get out, eat, and even go to Six Flags, but I'm just excited to get back to some normalcy because it's been so tense.

A. answerGanna: For me, it was skating. When my ice rink opened, I called my coach and was like, "We have to go.” That was the best feeling for me, because I had stopped skating for two months. It's the longest I ever took off. The first steps on ice, it was so weird. I was like, "Oh, my God, I have to learn all over again!" Other than that, going out with friends was actually really cool. I think it was with Tavia and my other friend, Diana. We went rollerblading and got food to go from Sugarfish and ate it on the street. We had a little beer and it was so nice. It felt like a piece of normal life.

TAVIA BONETTI

GANNA BOGDAN

Q.question Ganna, you had mentioned to us earlier that as a figure skater you bring a risk-taking attitude into the sport. I loved that because I think traditionally the sport is a little bit like ballet, and the aesthetics are more conservative. Can you elaborate more on that?

A. answerGanna: I always loved figure skating, but I hated the rules that came with it. I hated having to wear a dress, for example, because I always saw skating as such a tough, cool-girl sport. So my idea was, I can practice in a traditional sport, but I'll show you how to do it differently. I'm not going to wear a dress, but my skills will show you that I'm just as good. Now, we are allowed to wear pants and you can skate to modern music. The rules are changing a bit. This is a great time to break those boundaries and be a new role model for younger generations.

Q.question What stands out to you about your group of friends?

A. answerCayley: I like to surround myself with really genuine, down-to-earth people who would do anything for me. And the same goes for me. Just funny, cool, creative people who aren't too wrapped up in the scene or whatever.

A. answerSparkle: We are always open to trying new things and meeting new people. So whenever we go out, it's always a good time. Also, my friends are super creative and unique. We all have our own thing going on, and we never step on anyone's toes or try to take the spotlight. We all support each other, no matter what. Even if it's the dumbest idea ever, we'll always go hard and cheer for it like it's our own.

A. answerTavia: We’re all from relatively small cities and came to L.A. to figure out life in our twenties. So, we all kind of connected because of that.

Q.question What are some of the things you bonded over?

A. answerTavia: One of the things that connected us is the fact that we are all trying to be sustainable in relationships, work, and all of these things that you need to balance. Because at 20, you're like, "Oh, everyone has it together. I need to figure my stuff out.” But when you reach 30, you're still like that. You're going to figure it out on your own and it doesn't have to be a race. Because of the Internet, you now see so much more of other people’s success and milestones.
Sometimes l feel like there's so much pressure and that I’m missing out on something, but it's like, just take a step back. You're really not.

SPARKLE TATIANA-MARIE

Q.question Sparkle, you have your own swimwear brand. What's interesting to you about designing swimwear?

A. answerSparkle: Swimwear was always something that made me feel a lot better about myself, especially because I grew up being kind of insecure about my body. I felt like it was just the right path to go down to help other people feel confident and comfortable in their own skin. Whether you're a small or an extra large, it really doesn't matter. I just want people to feel as comfortable and as confident as swimwear makes me feel.

Q.question What are some things that have boosted your confidence?

A. answerSparkle: Not thinking about what people have to say about me has really helped a lot. I just block out the noise, focus on what I have going on, and it makes me feel unstoppable. Also, using social media as a tool to put myself out there helped me a lot, because I've always been shy and camera shy. I never really liked to take pictures when I was younger. Having a platform where I can share and express myself the way I want has helped my confidence a lot.

CRYSTAL TILLMAN

CAYLEY KING

Q.question What about you, Crystal? As someone in fashion, what is something you want to achieve through your work?

A. answerCrystal: I would say I am someone who wants to touch a lot of different industries in my work. Besides modeling, I hope whatever I end up doing will reach a lot of people. I don't want to be stuck in a lane. I want to be able to do what I want to do, and influence people along the way — whether it's through cooking, making something like clothes, or just anything that makes me happy.

Q.question How would you describe your personal style?

A. answerTavia: There's very much two sides of me when it comes to style. If I'm not going out, I'm just comfy. But I also like to dress it up. I like to try to be pretty.

A. answerGanna: I think to me, style is freedom. I can be any character I want, and it’s all about how I feel that day. It’s something that comes with not being scared. I actually have a funny story about this. I was about six years old, and my sister brought me cowboy boots. I wore them to school in Ukraine, and every kid was laughing at me. So I came home crying, telling myself that I would never wear those boots again. But then I sat down, looked at myself in the mirror, and thought, ‘But I do love those boots. I have to wear them again.’ Next day, I put them on again, but I just didn't care what anyone said about me. All of a sudden, the kids took my boots and just accepted them. So I think personal style is something that you truly have to like and own. It doesn't matter what other people or trends tell you.

Q.question Part of this shoot took place at a skatepark. Do you feel a connection to skate culture at all?

A. answerGanna: I always loved skateboarders and their whole culture. I'm part of the first generation of kids that had access to the Internet in Ukraine, so we would look up what's going on outside of the country. Because we were a communist country for so long, it was all new for us. I remember it felt so far away, but when I moved to Los Angeles, it was all right here. Everything I looked up on the Internet when I was growing up — magazines and my favorite shows — was all right in front of me. I bought a Super 8 camera and started filming my friends skateboarding. And as a figure skater, I approach the sport more like skateboarding, too. It's a dangerous yet cool extreme sport where you get so much speed that you can almost fly.

A. answerSparkle: A hundred percent, because I feel like it's a counterculture. They just do whatever they want or whatever is comfortable or cool to them. I've always resonated with that. I respect and love anyone who's doing whatever the f*ck they want, whenever they want.