RIO 🌊

when Audre Lorde said, “if I do not bring all of who I am to whatever I do, then I bring nothing of lasting worth, for I have withheld my essence…” I felt that 😤 INCREDIBLE HAIR & MAKEUP BY @kaiashimua GROUNDBREAKING DESIGNS BY @adamxujiajie NOT POSSIBLE W/O @lydia.ryy @hellskitchenrat AGENCY @remademgmt • • • • • • • #nonbinarymodel #androgynousmodel #avantgardefashion #experimentalfashion #highfashionmakeup #experimentalmakeup #colorfulmakeuplook #nycphotoshoot #editorialmakeupartist #editorialfashionphotography #editorialfashionshoot

Too many of our systems apply a one-size-fits-all model that doesn’t actually work for most people, especially queer folks I saw this working in research, nonprofits, and healthcare, but what we need now more than ever is accessible, trauma-informed, and sociopolitically relevant care 🎥 in conversation with artist @williamrowan in my home & neighborhood 🖤 Share with someone who could benefit or DM to learn more about my work that I’ve been evolving over the past decade 🌱 • • • #mentalhealthadvocates #queerwellness #healingfromtrauma #wellnesscoach #decolonial #queerowned #healingtools #transhealth

@pipencolorena @teenvogue FW24 Editor - @sara_delg Writer - Anjana Pawa @anjanapawa Production - Ojeras @ojeras.pm Photographer - Phi Vu @phivu.1 Styling - Savannah Avant @slimsavvy Assisting - Nova Krasner @nova.zo Hair & MUA - Juna Uehara @okigaljuju Model - Rio Polzin @plantbasedrio @remademgmt Grateful for how much this unique & beautiful collection brought out my inner child’s freedom of expression- what a healing experience that is when it happens ✨ Then for it to come out in a magazine I used to tape on my bedroom walls- how cool! Lil Rio would love this! Thanks team x1000

I’ve been professionally diagnosed with ADHD since I was 7. If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s to be honest with myself about the habits I’ve had my entire life and to accept that they aren’t going away: like procrastination. Shame doesn’t create better habits. Working with your brain does. #adhdhacks #burnoutprevention #procrastination #neurodiverse

Yes if you hear me talking about my child, she does in fact have fur Dm me your pet look alike pics I wanna see em all #petparent #kittensofinsta #catlovers

Healing is a lifelong process because being in relationship with others is a life long process ~ definitely pause to celebrate your growth, but the growth will not always look linear and that’s OKAY 💛 It doesn’t mean put up with harm! It means we don’t have to compare or internalize other people’s actions when we recognize that we’re all on own healing journey #healingjourneys #survivors #relationshiptalk

You know what I meeaan? #adviceforwomen #queercommunity #lifecoachingtips

My ADHD brain wants to understand WHY I’m being asked to do something in order to do it. I always felt like affirmations were useless until I understood the essence of neuroplasticity. We CAN rewire our brains, but it takes intentional repetition to get there. What affirmations are you repeating? Check out my affirmations broadcast channel for inspiration ✨ #adhdtips #neurodiverse #queerlifecoach

More from “Floating While Drowning” for @numeroswitzerland ❣️ “Suspended between weight and lightness, Floating While Drowning reveals the instant where surrender becomes strength. Inspired by Kundera’s ‘unbearable lightness of being,’ the series turns vulnerability into clarity, showing that even under the heaviest gravity, we still hold the power to float — and rise.” It was magical, humbling, and riveting to experience each artist bring their unique talents and interpretations to this editorial ✨ a testament to the concept itself Team Credits: creative director, model, producer RIO @plantbasedrio photographer VAZHA KUCHULORIA @_vazhak_ stylist RANDA HADID EID @randaeidstylist make up artist EL DEBRATTO @el__debratto hair artist TAKAYUKI UMEDA @um_takayuki nail artist XING LI @starxdnails @xingbaebei props & set designer XAVIER AMES @xavierames.co retouch & color MELISSA ISABEL @melissa_isabelphoto lighting assistant LIZA GABUNIA @lizagabuniaphoto production assistant NADIA HOSKEY @decreeofannihilation set assistant CHARLIE WARD @charliecward styling assistant MARIA DABBAH @maria_dabbah location VK STUDIO, NYC @vkstudiony Fashion Credits: Balenciaga @balenciaga Martine Rose @martine_rose rag & bone @ragandbone Jil Sander @jilsander Rick Owens @rickowensonline Ganni @ganni Atoir @atoir Marni @marni The Frankie Shop @thefrankieshop Jeffrey Campbell @jeffreycampbell Tonny Kobo @ronnykoboofficial Skims @skims Tony Bianco @tonybianco Marcella @marcella DARKPARK @darkpark_ Naked Wardrobe @nakedwardrobe

New creative direction published by @numeroswitzerland — in the delicate balance between heaviness and levity, there exists a space where the body surrenders to both gravity and grace. “Floating While Drowning” explores this fragile moment, inviting us to witness the transformation of overwhelm into clarity, struggle into stillness, and breath into life. It is in this space that falling becomes an art, and surrender becomes a practice of resilience. Drawing inspiration from Milan Kundera’s reflections on the “unbearable lightness of being,” the editorial delves into the paradox of human experience: while the weight of the world is unavoidable, there is an equally inevitable capacity to float. Here, vulnerability is not weakness—it is the gateway to lightness, awareness, and the gentle possibility of rising even while immersed in the depths of one’s own gravity. Another production in the books and I couldn’t be more grateful to the amazing team: photographer @_vazhak_ creative director, model, producer @plantbasedrio at @remademgmt stylist @randaeidstylist make up artist @el_debratto hair artist @um_takayuki at @87artists nail artist @starxdnails @xingbaebei props & set designer @xavierames.co at @wibagency retouch & color @melissa_isabelphoto lighting assistant @lizagabuniaphoto production assistant @decreeofannihilation set assistant @charliecward styling assistant @maria_dabbah location @vkstudiony Featuring designers: Balenciaga @balenciaga Martine Rose @martine_rose rag & bone @ragandbone Jil Sander @jilsander Rick Owens @rickowensonline Ganni @ganni Atoir @atoir Marni @marni The Frankie Shop @thefrankieshop Jeffrey Campbell @jeffreycampbell Tonny Kobo @ronnykoboofficial Skims @skims Tony Bianco @tonybianco Marcella @marcella DARKPARK @darkpark_ Naked Wardrobe @nakedwardrobe #highfashioneditorial #fashioneditorials #creativedirecting

Tomorrow is my birthday (a better holiday to celebrate imo hehe). I love my birthday, but I don’t like talking about my age much these days. As an executive leadership and life coach, I’m often one of the youngest people in the room, teaching folks older than me how to best lead or lead their best lives. As a model and actor, I’m sometimes the oldest person at a casting. I’m encouraged to go for younger roles because “I look like I could be 16.” At the end of the day, I still feel like a lil kid no matter how much I learn. Maybe wisdom isn’t how much you know. Maybe wisdom is how much you learn without losing yourself. It’s all blessings. It’s all abundance, and it’s still a bit odd to navigate at times. I guess I see age like gender. I get to choose how I want to perform my age on any given day, and the best choice is always that which honors lil Rio. Portraits by this talented artist with a big heart & impeccable taste @riccardo__piazza

You can’t go wrong with a childhood bestie and a black bikini - or maybe you go wrong in all the right ways 🖤 Thank you for showing me such a good time in your beautiful (albeit unhinged) city (but so are we) @joey.zepol