“Fashion activism is hard work. You have to get your hands in the dirt.”

Words by Ryan McGinley. Photography by Ryan McGinley.

We collaborated with Ryan McGinley to shoot the first campaign in the On x Sky High Farm Goods partnership. Rooted in the values we share around community and nature – we’re coming together to build a new kind of movement. A movement connecting people to the land. Not just making a fashion statement, but making a difference. Because the clothes you wear say something about the world you want to live in. Here, Ryan shares his own experience of the farm, the brand and using fashion as a signal for what you believe in.

I love the Hudson Valley. I grew up on the border of where New Jersey meets upstate New York. I’ve always been an outdoor enthusiast, a road-tripper. I’ve hiked the landscape, been weird in the woods as a kid, snowboarded its mountains, discovered cornfields, harvested a pumpkin from a patch. My first memory of upstate is tapping into a tree and maple syrup coming out. When you drive around up there you have to watch out for the deer. Sometimes you’ll see a bald eagle flying by, if you’re lucky. 

Back then, I never really knew any farmers. We all know that farming is not easy, that you have to be skilled and trained to work on a farm, but also possess the stamina to wake up when the rooster crows and finish when the sun sets, all while looking after the land. I used to wonder: what time do farmers get up, how long do they work? Do they have down time? Do they work in the snow? What are farming tools called? Is John Deere a real person?

In the early 2010s Dan Colen, who I’ve known since we were kids, and I got clean. After building successful careers in NYC, we sought out new surroundings; we wanted to reconnect with nature, it was all part of a creative progression. While in recovery I learned about spirituality, to serve and give back. I’ve always believed that’s one of the ways Dan came to the idea to cultivate the land that would become Sky High Farm in 2011.

Dan’s work and my photographic ethos have always been about questioning traditional and authoritarian models, subverting what is ‘normal.’ I believe this, and the spirit of service, informed SHF’s founding: a new system or model that would give away 100 percent of the most nutritious food without making any money in return – food that would ordinarily be reserved for a fancy chef to cook with. Now the farm is a nonprofit; it has expanded its work to include a fellowship to provide access and opportunities to people interested in food systems work, it does educational programming, and gives grants away to farmers all around the globe – people who are doing important work in their local communities. 

Around the time Sky High Farm was founded, I was in love with this little sheep named Oliver. He would follow me around like a dog; sometimes he even came inside with me. Once I gave him a little bath in the tub. On my next trip upstate, I was looking forward to seeing him again and was sadly informed the coyotes had gotten him. I cried; it broke my heart. Away from his pack he had no protection. We have to serve and take care of one another, to offer protections where none exist.

In 2022, Dan and Daphne Seybold said, ”Let’s find a way to help fund and grow the farm’s work,” and that’s where the brand started. The strawberry and moon patch was a clue – and it made for a cool logo. It was put on a hat, then came T-shirts, and more. Our friends and heroes were wearing them. A hat can communicate, a T-shirt can communicate. These simple things can engage people on a broad level. Clothing can be fun, aspirational, and also compelling. 

Fashion has always been my entry point. The leather coat and blue jeans of Act Up were the uniform when I was a young boy with my brother protesting and sign making downtown in the Village in NYC. When I was in high school the cool kids that wore army boots and oversized parkas were in Amnesty International. I joined them because of the fashion, and then got the message that I could put in the work and help others in need. Fashion can be a catalyst for a social movement, a tool for meaningful change, a way to participate, to signal what you believe in. 

Being a photographer is my purpose, and I like to think of myself as the unofficial photographer for the nonprofit and Sky High Farm Goods. In the last 14 years, I’ve photographed animals, a food access delivery, a symposium, a dinner, a farmer, fashion shoots, the original barns, community gatherings, in the city, upstate or somewhere in between. I’m just a consistent photographer for them. I like being supportive, I like volunteering, I like giving back. The more established I get as a photographer and artist, the more of a sense of duty I have to do that. With age and influence comes privilege, wisdom and a need to do compelling projects. While I can’t write a big check, I can be an agent of action by taking a lot of photos. My camera can add value: it can make something look great, create authentic moments, capture the viewers’ imagination, provoke joy, influence people, open minds and amplify a cause. It is to take my concern for human welfare and advancement, and address it in the only way I know how – the gift of a picture. 

The brand has brought so many friends into the mission organically. A creative family – people from many fields who have different expertise. I’ve seen several crews and companies built from the ground up, but most powerfully in what Kunle (Martins) made with his graffiti crew. It took a logo, a unique perspective, a community supporting that perspective and a T-shirt to establish an identity. Sky High Farm Goods has that in excess: It has been made to uplift and sustain; it’s not consumption for consumption’s sake. It’s a movement – built to do something much greater. It has the power to unite everyone around a shared cause. 

To do something ambitious, to pursue a mission, you need a little naïveté, ignorance and arrogance. You have to be a bit renegade, illogical and willing to take risks. It’s counter-cultural and punk for a brand to commit to giving most of its profits away, in a country founded on capitalism. A brand is an experiment; you have to believe so hard in its purpose in order to succeed.

If you want to begin to understand food, the relationship between insects and plants, the soil, the seed, the harvest, become a lil’ farmer. Get some seeds and plant something in your front yard or, if you live in a city, on your fire escape or your rooftop. Watch it grow. The easiest things to grow are lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, kale and carrots; plant sunflowers to make it super pretty. You’ll quickly see that farming is hard work. Many of the farmers in these pictures have dedicated their lives and futures to responsibly stewarding and preserving the land. Every day they show up to practice a type of farming that can restore the soil to health and repair the climate, all while working to build more equity in our food system. Truth is, fashion activism is hard work. You’ll have to get your hands in the dirt. 

Learn more at skyhighfarm.org and skyhighfarmgoods.com