Interviewing the One and Only LINUS LEONARDSSON.

The brisk smell of coffee and the unusual, but nonetheless, pleasant, smell of paint fill my nostrils, as I walk

inside a small, cosy art cafe to meet up with..

LINUS LEONARDSSON.

Or, as known on stardoll, 

Dog_boy96/.pease. (as Linnea)

In a nutshell, Linus is a 15 year-old who lives in Stockholm, Sweden, who took the stardoll world by storm.

Under his alias stardoll account .pease., he's become a successful model in the stardoll modelling industry, 

came 2nd place in the fifth cycle of MelsModels, and has become a well-known socialite. 

Under Dog_boy96, he has successfully created his own stardoll fashion line (doing all the

graphic designs himself) KHARMA, became an accomplished blogger, model, judge, socialite, 

the list goes on! 

Unfortunately, Linus has actually left stardoll a few months back,

but you can still contact him through all the links listed in his presentation here.

I'm gently sipping my double expresso shot coffee while reading the local newspaper, all whilst admiring the various art on the stone walls beside me,

when I hear a jingle of bells, to find Linus walking briskly towards me from the front door. 

We arranged to meet up for a small interview for Stardollz Vogue catch-up after, at 2pm sharp, and as I swiftly check my antique Forever 21 watch, I realised Linus was not a minute late.

We greet each other cheerfully, and have a small tour around the small, but strangely vast, cafe, generally talking about what

was happening in each other's lives, and how we were.

When we finally teared our eyes away from the colourful pop-art featured, I began to simply, start 

interviewing him.

~

Hey Linus, how are you? How's life without the dramatic world that is stardoll?

Hello Joanna, I'm fine thank you. Life without stardoll really is less stressful and dramatic. Once I was an active member of stardoll I really had a lot to do, constantly. It was almost like a drug. I couldn't stop myself. There was always a little more to do or someone else to talk to. It's really a never ending game which can continue on forever if you don't stop it. Now though, I've suddenly got a lot of time to spend on other things. For example I've got time to perform interests that I didn't have time for before, like drawing or running. It's also very good for my studies.

What made you leave stardoll so suddenly, with Kharma expanding and everything? What was the final straw?

Well, I'm not sure if I can mention one happening to be the final. Before I left I had been thinking about different ways of leaving for quite a time. Should I just disappear? Should I just stop log on? Should I tell someone? etc., so I could really see it coming myself. I simply grew out of it, I suppose.

But what was really the final cut was the stress that Kharma, as you mentioned, expanded so drastically. And with Kharma expanding, also my fame did for each day. As I also ruled Linnea at the time things started to become really stressful. Being a full-time designer, blogger, model, judge and graphic designer made me to constantly be on the edge of what I can handle. So one day I just decided for that I couldn't do it no more. I couldn't keep doing what I was doing because it was insane to put that much energy into something that will never provide anything back. And so I changed my presentation, said goodbye to a few, and left.

Do you ever miss stardoll, and consider coming back?

 I miss it. Sometimes much, sometimes not at all. But I do miss it. Anyway the people I've met on there, because for myself they are my definition of stardoll's good side. I don't consider coming back though. There was a time when I first left that I felt a need of coming back, but after another month I realized how much better my life had got. So in some aspects it's sad, but I feel that it's necessary not to.

How big of an impact do you think stardoll has made on your life?

A huge. When I first joined Stardoll I was no one. I was also a child, but, I think that if I wouldn't have joined I would still have been no one. Stardoll has been my ground where I can try whatever I want and not really get hurt for it. I could always tell myself it doesn't matter, it's just virtual. However when I tried something and it went really well, I got praise for it. So I've tricked myself into believing that the bad side of Stardoll can't influence me but the good one can. Thereby that's how it became. It's really interesting how the mind can be controlled. But in this way I have developed into the person I am today. The people I've met along the road has really meant a lot for me and I can still recall them for inspiration and love.

How much has stardoll contributed to your passion for fashion?

Also here it's done a lot. Not Stardoll in itself, but the people in it. Throughout this community of blogs and magazines etc. which are all based in Stardoll I've learnt a lot about the fashion industry. I've learnt a lot about what I like and how colours and shapes can affect you. Stardoll is quite of a base of my fashion-interest, because before I joined I wasn't sure of what my passion was, but now I am.

What do you think about other males being bullied for being interested and capable in the fashion industry? Have you ever experienced this?

I think this is a really awful fact. Our society today is way too divided into the two genders. We're all humans. We're all the same. So why divide us into two?

Today it seems like the only males who are accepted for the bigger crowd in the fashion-business are those who are really on top, people like Riccardo Tisci, Viktor Snoeren & Rolf Horsting, Johnny Johansson, Valentino Garavani etc.. I think this must be so because they all have something the other people which the discriminators always admire; money and power. And in some case contact to beautiful women, but I personally think this is an ugly way to resonate. 

The men who are on the other hand in the 'middle-class' aren't as accepted among people who are not in the business. Thereby the fashion-business becomes very isolated, as it defends many things which many cultures loathe (homosexuality and abnormal looks for example).

I have experienced this myself, yes. But not as badly as I've heard others to be. I can personally handle it well and don't care for whatever a person who believes such a thing has to say, because their opinions doesn't matter anything for me. But everybody are not like me and thereby I feel true anger when I hear about someone being discriminated for that they're interested in something that doesn't belong to their sex.

~

With these simple, yet passionate answers, I'm left in a whirlwind of thoughts, 

and I decide to take my leave. I kindly thank Linus for allowing me to interview him, take one last

sip of coffee, one last glance at the modern-day art, and disappear into the streets of Stockholm.