May Rio

May Rio on Working Out Naked, Not Reading Anna Karenina, Devin The Dude, and more.

April 5, 2023

By clicking "SUBSCRIBE" you agree to our Terms and Privacy conditions.

—

May Rio is a New York City-based musician, writer, and painter with a brand new album titled ‘French Bath’ out on Dots Per Inch Music in June. Her first single, “Need You Like”, has one of my favorite music videos of the year and her incredible follow up “Aspartame” dropped yesterday with another great video. If you’re unfamiliar with May’s solo work, you’ve probably still heard her incredible vocals on PI favorites like Blaketheman1000’s “Blake 2,” The Dare’s “Girls,” and Shallowhalo’s “Renaissance Affair”. May also has a lovely Substack () that you should absolutely subscribe to ♥️. Lucky for us, May is here to tell us what she’s into.

🏋

Working out naked

I work out unclothed in my room. It’s less restrictive than working out in athletic wear, and of course it means I cut down on laundry days. On YouTube I bounce between Caroline Girvan and Madfit. Outside of YouTube my friend Sadie lets me use her Sculpt Society account (I almost called it Pilate Pals). Working out is so addictive–mostly I love to feel strong. I had a phase of using fitness metaphors often and sincerely, but I think that’s behind us now.

🤡

Doing scary things

I grew up being painfully shy with anyone other than my closest friends. I got sick of that. Over the years I’ve grown into a confident person by doing as much scary shit as I can. If there’s something I find particularly terrifying, like accepting an invitation to attend a clowning class, it means to me I have to just fucking do it. I don’t always end up having good experiences following my fear, but more often than not, I do. And you know, worst case scenario I end up with a funny story? Eating shit is good for you. If there’s something that keeps floating into your consciousness, but you’re afraid to poke it, I recommend walking towards it!

🎧

Devin The Dude

I first got into Devin The Dude (shoutout to Houston) during a lil chopped and screwed phase in high school, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I first heard “See What I Could Pull,” and it caught me. I get obsessed with things, but I’ve never gotten unobsessed with this song. It’s unlike any other song I know of, and it’s stayed in my weekly rotation.

🚫

Not reading Anna Karenina

It’s not worth it. I recommend not reading it 🙂

🫓

Pita clock

My beautiful and elegant friend Roya makes clocks out of pita bread. I have trouble reading my clock, but time is not fundamentally real anyway. You can cop one by DMing @empty_vassal on IG. If there’s a little wait, it’s because her oven only holds enough space for her to dry out two at a time (the first step in curing them). Bonus! 50% of the proceeds go to the White Helmets 🫶

🌯

Eva’s x Cinco de Mayo

This place is pretty weird. Even the name–what does it mean? Whenever I come here it’s either completely empty or there’s like three jacked dudes posted up solo in different corners. Before ordering I’ll always read the poster that’s hanging up in full:Working out - is my partyProtein shakes - are my beerPreworkouts - are my shotsThe pump - is my buzz The pain the next morning - is my hangover!I don’t totally understand gym culture, but you don’t have to understand something fully in order to love it. Anyways, the food is good and relatively cheap and it’s one of those restaurants that never has music playing, which I often prefer.

🎧

Movies

My two favorite movies of all time are The Last Picture Show and A Christmas Story. The former is a beautiful film about a dying town in Texas (❤). The latter is a true classic, and if you’re one of those people who’s been avoiding watching A Christmas Story every December…open your mind and your heart this coming holiday season. I triple-dog-dare ya.

📖

The Rabbit Hutch

I was in London this past summer, I don’t even know why. My phone got stolen the first night I arrived. Then the following day, the queen died. I was having kind of a bad time. I came across this book in a Blackwell’s and it stunned me out of my malaise. Gave away my copy and have since bought a few more to gift to friends.

PERFECTLY IMPERFECT IS A CULT FAVORITE NEWSLETTER AND AN APP FOR YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS

We've interviewed guests like Lorde, Olivia Rodrigo, Francis Ford Coppola, Charli XCX, Ayo Edebiri, Michael Imperioli, Emma Chamberlain, Clairo, Ice Spice, Molly Ringwald, Weyes Blood, Jeremy O. Harris, Conner O'Malley, Rayne Fisher Quann, Julian Casablancas, Alexa Chung, Mac Demarco, Moses Sumney, Omar Apollo, Suki Waterhouse, Narwuar, The Dare, and hundreds more in the Perfectly Imperfect Archive.

The history of PI is well-documented by The New York Times, NYMag, Vanity Fair, Interview Mag, Flaunt, Office, The Verge, and NPR.

May Rio

RELATED

Perfectly Imperfect