Brooklyn-based actor/model/designer Shawn Joswick is a man-about-town in New York's coolest spots. He's appeared in recent campaigns for Donna Karan, and Hennessy among many others. A denim obsessive and co-founder of NYC/Tokyo cult streetwear label Raised by Robots, he's now struck out under his own name creating custom luxury denim pieces, to be available this summer at Barney's New York's designer men's floor.

More from Shawn Joswick

The Ruins of New York

Photo Gallery

Interview

Hi, Shawn. What were you working on before becoming the host for this project?

I’ve been doing a lot lately. There’s so many things that I’m interested in, mostly creative stuff. Now I’ve been customizing denim. I make jeans. Originally I had a repair business but then that evolved into customization. But acting is really why I came to New York.

And is that how you became involved in the Ruins of NYC shoot?

I was asked if I’d be interested in doing the audition so I came in to be the host.

You guys explored rundown places all over New York—a grain terminal in Red Hook, the Freedom Tunnel, an abandoned hospital in Staten Island, the old Glenwood Power Station… What was the shoot like?

The video was done just to document everything that we were doing. The video kind of tells the whole story.

The Red Hook Grain Terminal for example, what happened there? I read that it’s like the Holy Grail for local photographers. They would easily risk getting arrested just to take some shots inside.

That place was actually really cool. It’s pretty interesting because there was still some old machinery left inside. I didn’t know what it was when I went there, I just kind of checked it out. We climbed these scary, old, worn out, rusty metal stairs, and the higher you got the more narrow the floor got around you. I think that was the most exciting thing. They were so rickety, there was no structure… They freaked me out so bad. You could get all the way to the top and climb this other rusty ladder to get on the roof. You could see everything. The guy who let us in said when the Twin Towers were collapsing he climbed up there and watched it all. You can get a really good perspective on stuff up there.

And there was an actual urban explorer, Joe Anastasio, with you guys that acted as a guide?

Yeah. It’s something he’s been doing for a long time. He kind of lurks around these buildings and takes photos. People go into the buildings and do graffiti. I think he was actually into graffiti years ago and that’s why he started going into those buildings.

You guys also went to the Glenwood Power Station, which has been abandoned for years. What was that like?

It was super stripped down so there was nothing in there, but aesthetically it was cool to look at. There was this huge hook and some windows up top. It went on and on. There were different rooms to it but the inside was just gutted. I can only imagine what used to be in there.

And what was your experience like at the Freedom Tunnel?

This place was a gem. It’s out of the way and most people don’t get to see it. You go in and there’s tons of graffiti. There are people living in there. It’s definitely interesting. You don’t normally get a chance to do that. A place like the Freedom Tunnel can totally change your perspective because you know people are living down there, but once you really see it and how people have set up camp—it’s nuts. You know, with all these places that was the main thing—if you’re ever curious about what’s inside of those buildings or what they were...

Definitely. If you know these splintered and broken down places are close by, why not just go there and explore?

Yeah, exactly. They’re all over. It’s just something to do because, especially in New York, you do the same thing. Just do it. Why not? It’s something different at the very least, you know? This experience kind of reminded me of being a kid in a way. Because that’s the kind of stuff you do when you’re little. You want to walk around, you go to an abandoned house… You’re just curious.