Mikey Koffman is one of those people that if you are lucky enough to know or meet, you never soon forget. She is full of life, brimming with excitement and at times, humorous sarcasm. She is best known for fashion, producing and being an out lesbian in several industries. The Gallery, motorcycles, LA Fashion Week, Sin Cycles and her time spent giving back, to name a few. She has recently added on more accolades to the long running list, as a cast member of The Real L Word. She has been extremely successful at everything she does and is known as one of the hardest working producers in the fashion world. Surprisingly, when you think of a high power player in the fashion industry, humble would be the last word that would come to mind. However, Mikey is one of the most well grounded and sweetest individuals you would ever want to meet. She is certainly a lesbian icon and someone who has always done more than just hung out in bars and clubs. I had the pleasure of meeting up with her and finding out what she has been up to lately.

GLT: So, for those who don’t yet know about the show can you tell us a little bit about The Real L Word and what people can expect?

MK: Well, hmm, (laugh)! My fingers are crossed! Drama for sure! It is a reality show, so it is edited to make us look a certain way. At the same time it gives a greater message of six different stories and story lines. We are all ourselves, that’s for sure. A good case in point is this, they make me look curious and happy in my home life and make me look way bitchy in my work life. Hopefully, it reaches to the straight community and they can see we are a lot like everybody else. It will certainly tug on your heart strings.

GLT: Did you watch The L Word? Who did you think was the hottest character and why?

MK: Yes, Helena! I loved her. I have a thing for British accents. Speaking of the L Word, here’s a funny and very true story. I was getting my hair cut at the same place Kate Moennig gets her hair cut and my stylist asked her if she wanted to meet me and told her I was on The Real L Word. So she looks down to where I am sitting, shrugs and didn’t want anything to do with me, not even a hi. Laugh! I really don’t get why some people are like that.

GLT: So I heard that you used to work for West Coast Choppers? What was that like?

MK: Hell! (laugh)! You know when you work for the biggest douche bags in the business, yeah? Well, that’s how it was! What was positive about that situation though was that it pushed me to start my own business. I would work on bikes at night and bartend. I was working for minimum wage and making someone else a million dollars. I was like, fuck this I can do this for myself, so I started saving little by little.

GLT: So you opened your own shop called Sin Cycles? Was it hard to be a lesbian in that industry?

MK: Um, yes and not just a lesbian. But, just being a woman in a male dominated industry. I was around really unpleasant male ego driven men most of the time. At bike shows they would be like where is Mikey, I want to talk to him, (laugh)! I used to be hell on wheels and a bad ass. I would bartend at night and work at the shops to save money to own my own shop. I was young dumb and full of cum, (laugh)!

GLT: Am I right in thinking that you were the first women to own a motorcycle shop in Long Beach?

MK: Yeah, for sure. That was a time in my life when it was important, as a woman and a lesbian, to show that we are normal and just like everybody else. I am still very hands on. I don’t know how to be any other way. I can’t sit back and watch someone do my job for me.

GLT: What type of motorcycle do you ride?

MK: A custom Harley that I designed myself.

GLT: Do you have a girlfriend?

MK: I do. I am engaged and we have a long history. Ten years, actually.

GLT: How many tattoos do you have and what do they mean to you?

MK: Do my sleeves count as two? (laugh) I have sleeves, my neck and stomach tattooed. They mean a great deal to me. There are religious icons on one side and the total opposite on the other. I am a Libra, so it’s like a scale, balancing the struggle between good and evil.

GLT: Do you have any word tattoos?

MK: Man, I have been avoiding this question forever, until now! Fuck! I have my fiancées name tattooed on my wrist.

GLT: You know I am going to write that, right? (laugh)

GLT: Which is your favorite tattoo?

MK: My white ink tattoo on the back of my neck. It is Kanji for serenity.

GLT: How did you end up wanting to get into the fashion industry?

MK: Interesting enough, I was flying back on the last flight on 9/11 and I lost my whole business in a day. It was a really bad year. I was offered the opportunity to get into fashion and work for some great places. I love to build and the production that goes along with fashion. I just love it and I did it in a plain v-neck tee every day.

GLT: It seems like your career really took off quickly in an industry that’s so hard to get into. Would you advise someone to get into the industry?

MK: Fucking don’t do it! You know it’s a challenge, I don’t conform. I don’t get into the gossip and ego, so I stick out like a sore thumb. You have to have thick skin. I have been so successful by being opposite to the rest of them. Let’s get real, you aren’t saving lives, (laugh)!

GLT: What is your clothing line called?

MK: My first clothing line was Sinner clothing. You might see some girls down there still wearing that shit today, (laugh)! It was great!

GLT: What part did you play in getting LA Fashion Week off the ground?

MK: I was one of the first people to get it off the ground nine years ago. We are now The LA Fashion Week. We created a turnkey event for the designers and it is stuff you can actually purchase.

GLT: Can you tell me more about the Green Initiative Humanitarian Fashion Show and what it means to you?

MK: We created that show. It’s in its sixth season. It is a platform for sustainable fabrics and designers. To promote the designers that are working with less impact material. I do that show to give 15 minutes of fame to those designers, so they get exposure. I also do it in the hope that the mainstream will catch up and take notice.

GLT: Who is your favorite designer or label?

MK: Um, I don’t want to piss anyone off, (laugh)! I would have to go with Dolce Vita.

GLT: How would you describe your style?

MK: Very, very tom boyish, (laugh)!

GLT: I have heard that giving back is a huge part of who you are. What are your favorite places to give to?

MK: Anything to do with kids is what I love to give back to the most. My favorite is the Green Youth Movement. It is a nonprofit organization founded by a teenager and they do living gardens, 80 to 100 kids. They hold an event drive that takes old prom dresses.

GLT: Would you consider yourself an activist?

MK: That’s tough! For me it’s more about equal rights for all human beings, not so much just for gays. We all deserve to have equal rights. It does fucking matter to me and I do get really heated about it. We all deserve the same respect and rights.

GLT: What are your favorite things to do in your limited free time?

MK: Riding my motorcycle. I love to ride. BBQ’s at my house. Being low key. Seeing everybody out of the bar scene. I like to be surrounded by people I love and who love me for who I truly am.

GLT: Are you a boxers, briefs or undies girl?

MK: Calvin Klein boxer briefs for ten years. You can thank my girlfriend for that, (laugh)!

GLT: Are there any words that you live by?

MK: The golden rule, do unto others as you would have done unto you.

GLT: If you had to sum yourself up in three words what three words would you choose?

MK: Damn, these are good questions….loyal, honest and hard working.

Thank you, Mikey, for taking the time to update us. The Gay & Lesbian Times wishes you nothing but further success in the years to come.