Purple Magazine
— F/W 2012 issue 18

ATL Twins

six hours of separation

photography by TERRY RICHARDSON
style by HEATHERMARY JACKSON
interview by SCOTT CAMPBELL

Sidney and Thurman’s own childhood pictures.

I met the ATL Twins at their apartment in Atlanta. I was there to tattoo the rapper Gucci Mane and wanted to take in as much of the city as possible during my 24 hours on the ground. I got the twins’ number (they share a phone) from the director Harmony Korine, who spoke highly about his experience working with them while shooting Spring Breakers. I was excited to meet up. For those who are rusty at biology, when a single egg is fertilized by a single sperm, and before it develops into an embryo, it can on very rare occasions split into two mirrored beings that share exactly the same genetic makeup. They are born as monozygotic or “identical” twins. Take those two products of one singular conception and drop them into some dingy housing projects in a forgotten corner of Chattanooga, give them each a skateboard and a 14-inch cock, and this is what you get.

 

SCOTT CAMPBELL — Are you guys originally from Atlanta?
ATL TWINS — We actually grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the shittiest projects in town. Growing up, we were introduced to the world by having to share everything because there wasn’t money to buy more than one of anything. We shared a bed, we shared clothes, we split combo meals from McDonald’s — we shared food stamps. Now we have this penthouse apartment overlooking downtown Atlanta, giant plasma TVs, a white Range Rover with new white rims, gold teeth, diamonds all over. This is the shit we’ve always dreamed of, and we appreciate every bit of it.

SCOTT CAMPBELL — From where I’m sitting, your lives look like a rap video. I hear you guys do well with the ladies.
ATL TWINS — People always think that identical twins with big dicks would have no problem getting girls. But the reality is it’s hard at first to get a girl to fuck two guys at once. Every girl we’ve ever brought home has said, “I’ll come over, but there’s no way I’m fucking both of you.” Maybe they’re worried they’ll look like a slut. But then they start to see how we are and that we’re so much more than just brothers. An hour later they’ve got a dick in each hand and are sending pictures to their friends.

SCOTT CAMPBELL — It sounds like the plot for a great porno flick.
ATL TWINS — People always bug out about how we fuck, which we understand, because it does sound like the plot for a really insane porno. But if you get past that, we fall in love just the same as everyone else. Sure, it seems like a freakish Jerry Springer episode from the outside, but it’s the only way we know how to be. We tried dating separate girls, and we realized pretty quickly that that’s just not for us. It would never work. I don’t go anywhere without him, and he doesn’t go anywhere without me, so how the fuck would dating work? It’s not possible. Maybe if we found another set of twins it would work. Are Mary-Kate and Ashley single these days? It’s hard for non-twins to really understand how connected we are, and even the twins we have met, none of them are as connected as we are. Shit, we even lost our virginity together. When we were 13, we got arrested for skating at this spot downtown. The cops took us to the precinct, but we couldn’t let our parents find out. We called this older chick who would always hang around, and she came down and pretended to be our stepmom. The cops believed her and let us out in her custody. We went back to her house and got drunk. Next thing we knew we were wasted, and she was standing there in crazy lingerie and blasting Mötley Crüe. She told us to take off our clothes, and we ended up fucking her every way we could think of. It wasn’t creepy or dark — we were into it. It was educational. Looking back now, I guess she was a bit of a pedophile.

SCOTT CAMPBELL — Any long-term relationships?
ATL TWINS — Of course we’ve had serious girlfriends. And we still hope we can find someone we can settle down with. We were even engaged once. She moved in with us and we did the whole domestic thing. Yeah, it’s unconventional, but fuck conventional. It’s more natural for us to both marry the same girl than to try to fit who we are into the traditional Ward Cleaver cookie-cutter lifestyle. We were with this girl for over four years. She fit in really well, and we were truly in love. It was great. We were really happy. In the beginning, she lied to her parents and said she was dating just one of us. After a while it started getting harder, because anytime we would come over for Thanksgiving or Christmas, we would both be there. Finally we just came clean and told them we were both dating her and they were fine with it. They were actually really supportive. It ended one day when we came home from work and all her stuff was packed up. We were heartbroken for a long time. We’re still affected by it. It’s been hard to take a girl seriously since then.

SCOTT CAMPBELL — How was it working with Harmony?
ATL TWINS — We love acting. We’ve gotten so many offers to do a reality show, but that’s not for us. All we want to do is work with Harmony. He’s our mentor. He’s a genius! It’s an honor to be a part of what he does. Working with him is definitely the coolest thing we’ve ever done, and we have amazing chemistry. He’s obsessed with twins, wheelchairs, and balloons. Spring Breakers is a game-changer. Not just for us and for Harmony, but for the entire film industry. There’s never been a move like this. Selena Gomez is fucking beautiful, and has an incredible presence. We’d love to marry and have kids with her.

SCOTT CAMPBELL— What’s the longest period of time you two have spent apart?
ATL TWINS — We live as one person. When we’re together at home, that’s our version of being alone. I can’t imagine anything darker than being without each other. We don’t do anything separately. We’ve been together our whole lives. There’s only been one time since we were infants that we’ve ever been apart. It was a few years ago. We were driving home from a night of partying and got pulled over. Since he was the one behind the wheel, he got arrested for drunk driving and not me. It was about six hours before I could get cash together and get to the police station to bail him out. Those are the only six hours we’ve ever spent apart. There’s no reason for us to do anything separately. We sleep in the same bed, work the same job, fuck the same girl, and then afterwards, we smoke the same cigarette.

END

 

Alanna Gabin, casting — Dennis Lanni @ ART DEPARTMNET, hair — Seth Goldfarb, studio manager — Rafael Rios, digital technician — Nicole Tappa, photographer’s assistant — Jessie Tate, stylist’s assistant — Sidney and Thurman Sewell (ATL Twins), talent

All jewelry, watches and sunglasses are Sidney and Thurman’s own.

[Table of contents]

F/W 2012 issue 18

Table of contents

purple EDITO

purple NEWS

purple BEST OF THE SEASON

purple INTERVIEWS

purple FASHION WOMEN

purple FASHION MEN

purple DOCUMENTS

purple BEAUTY

purple TRAVEL

purple LOVE

purple NAKED

purple PHILO

purple NIGHT

purple WINTER

purple VISUAL ESSAY

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