Welcome back to Style Dossier, Gabrielle Royal’s column that profiles stylish queers across the country. This edition, Gabrielle is featuring Kayte Demont and Heather Carr, the creative duo behind DRYxHIGH.
Kayte Demont is a photographer, model and digital marketer with a passion for people, connection and community. She also is a Marketing Executive at OUT FRONT Magazine in Denver, CO.
Heather Carr is a professional cook focused on food education, building community by giving back and sustainability. Heather has competed twice on The Food Network’s ‘Chopped’ – winning in 2017 and later competing in the ‘Champion’s Tournament’ in 2018. Heather is the Executive Chef at Footers Catering in Denver, CO.
Both Kayte and Heather manage to maintain a coveted effortless dapper chic style all while running the brilliant platform DRYxHIGH. So, we caught up with them to learn more about their fashion and advocacy.
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dapperQ: What is DRYxHIGH?
DRYxHIGH: DryxHigh is a special project designed to authentically connect with people through ending the stigma around cannabis use, while expressing our love for each other and our relationship. We love to have fun, work hard, and want to set a good example of a healthy relationship while inspiring people to take a look at their consumption habits.
dapperQ: What was the inspiration behind DRYxHIGH?
DRYxHIGH: There wasn’t really an a-ha! moment for DryxHigh. To be honest, we were probably just high on the couch one day and decided we wanted to be more open about our mutual sobriety. From there it just naturally unfolded into a pretty organic pattern of us sharing snippets of our lives and eventually recommending brands we’ve had great experiences with too. Education around both the spectrum of sobriety and responsible consumption of cannabis is so important, so anything that we can do to lead by example is important to us.
dapperQ: Did either of you ever drink and, if so, what sparked your decision to be dry?
DRYxHIGH: We both did. Kayte has been sober from everything but weed for 3 years. Heather for 4.
K: Addiction runs heavily in my family so once I felt myself slipping into a dark place and using alcohol to numb out, I knew I needed to reconsider my lifestyle. It definitely isn’t easy but my life has become so much more full (and productive!) since quitting drinking. I first started using cannabis in college and since have created a relationship with it that makes me feel more relaxed, more in tune with my needs and a better friend, daughter and girlfriend.
H: On June 18th 2016 during Denver PrideFest, I experienced the tragic loss of a friend to an early morning freak accident. I drank vodka for the first time. Of course I had previously consumed vodka but that night, I used it to get inebriated in a way that led me to my knees later that night. I decided in that altered state of mind that I wasn’t going to use alcohol as coping mechanism to lessen or cheat myself of the grieving process. A day turned into a week, a week turned into a month and after a year of being sober from alcohol, I decided that this would be a permanent choice that I would make each day going forward. I haven’t looked back since making the decision with anything but thankfulness that I made that choice for my future.
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dapperQ: That is truly an incredible journey. Thank you for sharing. In addition to providing a community for others with shared sober experiences , you are also style icons. Our readers and staff love your looks. How would you describe your personal style(s)? How are they different from each other?
K: I’m definitely a bit more in my feminine energy. I love a good dress and lipstick but I also love to rock a more androgynous style as well. It depends on my mood and what kind of energy I’m feeling when. We both love black so that makes sharing a closet fun, for me at least [laughs]!
H: We joke about it but I claim my style in the Summer as “WeHo Lesbro” and Winter style could be better described as “Black Clothes Only”. I think of myself as having a good beginning into a future of a decent shoe game. Nothing you’re going to find me in is coming from the Women’s department, that is for certain.
dapperQ: Who are you fashion icons?
K: Tasya Van Ree. She’s so dope. I love her art in every medium and I think her style is unique and effortless and cool. Also Mimi Elashiry. She’s an incredible trained dancer as well as model and I love her free spirit on every level.
H: Crys Shannon. She’s local to Colorado and she has been bringing the heat with her unique designs. She started using up-cycling garments and designing on them like they are blank canvases. I probably have 15+ pieces from her and counting.
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dapperQ: What piece of clothing can you not live without?
K: Black jeans! A few years ago I decided to only wear what I want and that means comfort. In my line of work, I need to be professional but able to move around and work for long hours. Black jeans you can dress up or down very easily so going from the office to an event or from a shoot to a meeting.
H: Hoodies! I don’t believe that you can have enough of them. To know me is to know that I live in hooded sweatshirts. I even sleep in one with the hood up every night.
dapperQ: What can we expect from you next?
K: Hopefully lots more of this type of thing! We are both very career-oriented so I think that’s what our number one priorities are (besides our family of course), but I would love to be able to reach more people and start important conversations in a safe and loving way.
H: Many things, most of which I unfortunately cannot disclose to the public yet. Stay tuned on our DryxHigh page for updates to come from both of us!
