By Ava Elghanayan
Photography by Justin Negard
Meet Leo (pronounced Lay-oh) Nelsen. He’s a 5-year-old kindergartner at Primrose Elementary School and a future monster truck racer who loves ice cream, superheroes and spending time with his family.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
A teacher.
Who do you want to teach?
I want to teach about sunflowers. I mean, sea turtles.
What would your students learn about?
Baseball!
Are sea turtles good at baseball?
No, because they’re slow.
Who’s your favorite superhero?
Spider-Man!
Why?
Because he has spiderwebs.
If Spider-Man fought Darth Vader, who would win?
I think both of them, because Darth Vader has a lightsaber.
What is something you wish your parents would let you do?
Eat ice cream for 100 minutes.
What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Chocolate.
What ice cream flavor do you not like?
Vanilla.
Do you like any other ice cream flavors?
I like ice cream sandwiches.
If you had a monster truck, what would you call it?
Spider-Man. I saw Monster Jam on TV, and there was a Spider-Man monster truck.
What tricks would you do in your monster truck?
Ten flips in a row, high in the sky. I would win the Monster Jam. Guess what?
What?
I actually know the Monster Jam trophy. When the Monster Jam guy won it, I saw him with the trophy all the way down there.
How big was it?
I feel like it was 15. No, 11.
Actually, 10.
If you had 100 dollars, what would you buy?
Everything in the whole world that I like. And everything inside the store. I would buy ice cream and 100 Airheads.
What do you think would happen if you ate 100 Airheads in one day?
I would turn into a muscle man.
If you could make up your own holiday, what would it be called?
Family night.
What would you do on family night?
I would eat pizza.
What toppings do you like on your pizza?
I like the plain topping.
Would you do anything else for family night?
Coca-Cola. I would sneak it.
How often would family night happen?
Once a year. Actually, 100 times.
If you could invite Mario, Sonic and a Minion to your birthday party, what would you play?
Whatever they want.
What would Sonic want to play?
Tag. No, hide-and-seek because he’s too fast.
Do you think you could find all of them if you played hide-and-seek?
Oh, yeah.
If you could talk to the bunnies and deer outside, what would you say?
They would run away!
What if they sat and listened to you?
I wouldn’t say anything. I saw a mama deer and a baby.
What did you name them?
One was Frost, and the baby one was Jingle.
This article was published in the September/October 2025 edition of Connect to Northern Westchester.
Justin is an award-winning designer and photographer. He was the owner and creative director at Future Boy Design, producing work for clients such as National Parks Service, Vintage Cinemas, The Tarrytown Music Hall, and others. His work has appeared in Bloomberg TV, South by Southwest (SXSW), Edible Magazine, Westchester Magazine, Refinery 29, the Art Directors Club, AIGA and more.
Justin is a two-time winner of the International Design Awards, American Photography and Latin America Fotografia. Vice News has called Justin Negard as “one of the best artists working today.”
He is the author of two books, On Design, which discusses principles and the business of design, and Bogotà which is a photographic journey through the Colombian capital.
Additionally, Justin has served as Creative Director at CityMouse Inc., an NYC-based design firm which provides accessible design for people with disabilities, and has been awarded by the City of New York, MIT Media Lab and South By Southwest.
He lives in Katonah with his wonderfully patient wife, son and daughter.
