Yeah.

Right, you've seen the frustration overlappings with the Chronics, Stacey.

He is now into the gangster mode.

You know what, I'm like a lictory like like like m lictorly like like.

Like yo, it's uthing.

You want to cat barl man.

This is victory like so you've been doing right baby.

You know why because I keep it wavy.

This is a very wavy environment that we're in today.

You know what I'm saying.

We are at Wake the flagship.

You know what I'm saying.

Right here Orchard Street.

You know what I'm saying.

And I am with Angelo Baka and my guy you brother in dull side?

What up?

You know what I'm saying.

Queen in the building, Bronx is in the building.

Don't forget it.

You know what I mean.

Welcome.

No, know what I'm saying, thank you for through man.

A matter of fact, thank you for having me.

I was about I was about to Yeah, I was about to be like, thank you for pulling up finally.

You know what I mean.

I appreciate you.

Yeah.

It was crazy because we were saying off Mike like how like my stuters over there and I just pulled up here a bunch of times like thinking like, yo, you just be here, like just hanging out.

Most people think that.

I mean, there's some days that you might catch us here just chilling.

I'm you know, I'm a shop guy.

And that's part of the reason, part of one of the main reasons why I wanted to open up a store is to be able to pretty much take all my shop experience and put it in a space.

Right, like you said, you came in here and you felt like you were home.

And that's really what I wanted to accomplish.

You know, have something that you can emotionally connect to.

You don't know why, right, you might call out like you said the j tags like I.

Swell the instance, I'm like okay, I was like I'm here, Yeah, I'm in my room.

Every group you writer knows everybody that came to your crib taged the back of your door, your closet or some shit.

And I always like to say, like graffiti was social media before social media, because it could be like, Yo, I'm from East Stream out of the Bronx and I'm going out to Softpin Boulevard, which I've never been there in my life, but I'm taking the train out there.

Because there's a graffiti dude out there who wants to look up and go here the seven line.

Also, it was a good way to tell either a you were boosting in the neighborhood or you were visiting a shorty.

Then I would see like a random meryal tag on Liberty Avenue.

I'm like, what the fuck is this motherfucker doing that?

Like, I know you're from the Bronx, you know, so you must have a girl out here you do it, or you boosting in the neighborhood or something like that.

You could have burned my writing.

You took all the hydroxy cops.

There's a similar shortage the Dwayne I don't know what the powers the Bumpy Listen.

That is all very high level, you know what I'm saying.

Shit, But we'll get into that.

But like talking about like your experiences and like you know, putting together the store, like bro, your resume is like bro, No, I'm yeah, like like interning at one hundred thousand different places you tell me matter of fact, because I'm like, the list is too exhausted.

Uh well, I mean it started back in ninety six.

I worked at Canal Ging Company on Broadway.

Then I worked at Urban Outfitters, and then I got my first internship of The Source magazine.

Then I worked at The Fader magazine with Jeff Staple, and then I was really broke in the year two thousand and I asked Jeff because the Fader didn't want to pay right.

They refused to pay, not even a daily stipend like fifty bucks to get a meal.

And he was like, well, let me introduce you to this guy, James Jebia, and he still had the store on Prince Street.

He's like, they're about to move to Wooster and I know they need kids to part time.

So I went in.

This is the most like never had an interview like this before.

I was like, hey, I'm Angelo, and he looked at me up and down.

He was like, I'll call you.

Didn't look my resume, just like just looked at the fit And then the next day he was like, be in front of the store at seven am.

And the rest is That's true, Doug.

That is such a New York thing, bro because it's like for people that remember parties and clubs and shiit pre bottle service, that's what it was.

It was like the guys the door was like a you valid like you know what I mean, It didn't matter how much money you had who you was like, do you fit the aesthetic of what's going on in Many And that's that's super huge.

Another thing that you guys, I say, you guys, because we got queens, we got the Bronx in the building.

I feel like people that are not from New York City see New York City as like kind of this like monolithic, like whole flat thing where there's very specific things about the Queens, about queens, and it's very I said the queens because.

I was Queens.

By the way, that's some slick talk.

You try to do it right there, queen's disrespect.

I get that ship.

It's not going down like that because it always goes down and it always goes back to the bridges over, the bridges over.

Okay, guys, I got it.

I get it's about to be twenty twenty six.

But there is something that is very specific to each borough that I kind of want to talk to you, like you'll ask you first man, because it's like, I know, like the Bronx is like a very specific vibe energy when you go to Brooklyn, it feels different when you go to Queens, it feels different.

You still feel like, Yo, I'm in New York, but it's just like yo, we in Queens now Brooklyn now as a Bronx dude, what is something that you bring to like awake you know what I mean that it's very specifically Bronx.

I mean I will say my attitude, you know, like it just wherever we go.

It's like people ask me where I'm from and I'm like, I'm from the Bronx and they like, oh, I could tell.

Which is like I don't.

I don't know what that is exactly, but yeah, I'm like like yeah, I'm like I don't know what that is exactly, but yeah, I was.

I would just say my attitude, you know, like we could be in any room man, just like pulling up and we hear, yeah.

No weirdo shit, yeah I'm on the block anywhere I go, yeah, like yeah, and for Queens, because Queens is like, you know, the world's borough, right, like the most diverse, Like there's so much input that you're getting from everywhere.

You know, the diversity plays a big part because I grew up in South Richmond Hill, so my neighborhood and it still is it's a predominantly West Indian neighborhood, right, so there was the island influence.

There was an influence that was going on within my house and then school, but always like I remember like there was like a time when it went from like picking boogers and kind of like not taking showers like that, like real boys shit, like in the fourth grade, to like, yo, girls are kind of cute and I kind of got it, like dressed properly, right, and that's I want to feel.

I want to see.

That's like when the Jordan Threes came out, like and as much as like Caras dissed us, like I wanted to be KRS one slash Big Daddy Kinge slash Slick Rick, the was like, yo, those dudes are fly, you know what I mean, Like I want to be flying, you know.

And then it just kind of like it was like a ripple effect through all the boroughs.

But I think when people think of guys from Queens is like we're pretty boys.

Like that's always been like they use it as a disc right, but also it's a compliment.

Yeah, I like to look good, you know, as a bronx dude.

And tell me if this is if this, If this is true, I feel like Queens dudes were always seen as like.

What you're saying, but also like, yo, they got the shit together, bro out of.

My whole crew, Like the first dudes that had like cars.

Yeah, I was gonna say, cars is the biggest thing.

Do you know what I'm saying?

My homies from Queens had licenses at like eighteen eighty sixteen, is strip like.

Like yo, I got my I'm like, permit, bro, I'm on the back.

I'm holding onto the back of the but it's like Jim Jones and they'll let me know video like you feel.

Me like, yeah, you gotta act you up?

Like what how the fuck do you do that?

Yeah?

So I would credit that to shout out to my Filipinos.

I think the Filipinos really set that up.

Filipinos and the West Indians right so, but I think Filipinos and a lot of my Filipino friends, when they turned sixteen, its kind of like their bar mitzvah.

So they would get either a pair of Technique twelve hundreds or Honda Oh.

Like I feel like that was the you know what, which path are you gonna take?

You know what I'm saying you're going to try and join the fifth platoon or you're gonna be fucking doing some tokyo drifting on the BP WEE.

You know so like also because most of us come from two fare zones.

Yep, the car was essential to everything, right, if you want to go shopping, if you want a date, you want to get laid.

You know, it's just like it's like one degree of all those things can come true if you had a whip, if you have and it didn't matter kind of you didn't need anything fancy, like it was just as long as it ran like you're good a to b bro.

You know, listen, if you if you want to wait your dick, you gotta get on the van.

That's the Queen's limerick yo.

For the back end.

Meryl said that night him.

You know all it's a safe space.

Sixty two Street.

We love you, yo, but out of borough kids bringing the energy downtown.

You know what I'm saying.

Like I was a pianos terrorist, like I would throw the steep tech on bro old bottoms, straight backs, get in the car.

People's choice.

I don't know if you'll remember the OJS pret this is pre uber pri when you had to call on this or you called Mama du and he pulls up in the expedition and then he lets you smoke dust in the car.

Wow.

You know what I'm saying, You'll get downtown.

But it was we were bringing all of that ship downtown, like the Bronx ship, like like the Queen shit, the Brooklyn shit.

Everybody was kind of like converging on downtown.

So then you get you know, situations like like I mentioned cooler, like you know, like Iraq where it's just like a crew of kids that's like this kid is from this kid is a film student, and this kid is like a Dominican kid from uptown and this kid is from Queens and this kid.

It's like a very mixed bag of people.

You get down here and when like personally speaking, I would come down here just to be like yo, like this shit is different, Like it's different than just being in front of your building fucking pull them.

Myself, you know what I mean.

I mean I got friends that never went past one twenty fifth, you know, like that will never will come down here and they'll be like yo, Like I'll go back to the Bronx and they'll be like yo, he goes on that cell whole shit, like you know what I'm saying, Like he's on that cellhole shit, you know what I'm saying.

And it was just like, yeah, I came down here because one girls, two facts music, you.

Know what I'm saying.

And also just me and like minded people you know, like that was also on the same ship that I was on.

So and it's beautiful.

That's New York City, like because I was talking about like the outer borroughs and like how people view New York City is like kind of like this flat HBO show type of thing, but that is very New York City because you know spots like you know, like Manitoba's that's like straight like punk hardcore bar.

I'm in there, bro with straight backs and it seems like vibing because what because so and so rights graffiti and they here, so we in here and uh man like that.

I feel like that makes New York New York.

I feel like when people look at something like Awake, that's what they see, like they see like, Yo, this is Queen's Bronx Brooklyn like distilled into one place because like I said, bro, I came here small the incense, bro I felt like I was walking into like the one, the one free crib.

Like you know how it is, man when you're growing up, Like if somebody somebody got a free crib, we out of here at launch fourth period, we go on a whole a's crib because it's a free crib.

There's nobody there, no parents is there.

We go over there, we go drink and hookie jam house.

Or this is crazy, but like like it's a running joke.

I'm like, bro, the one kid that you go to their house and they're like, Yo, nah, my parents are cool.

We could smoke ahead, we could do whatever.

And then you look at their parents, You're like, oh, your parents are heads.

Your parents, that's what They're not enough on the couch watch of persons white.

But you know what I'm saying, Like talking about wanting to be fly, Like there was a point in life where you wanted to be fly and you said it was around fourth grade?

Fourth grade?

What was that point for you?

Uh, probably eighth grade when I got my first job and I started like actually making money.

I used to work at the Yankee Stadium and I was probably the only kid at my school who didn't have a job through the summer program.

So I was getting paid, like I think at the time minimum wage was like seven dollars.

I was making ten dollars an hour.

I think I can say that.

So I was balling like I was.

I will get out of work on pay Day and like hop on the d train, come down here, blow it up, and then go to school on Monday.

Just fly as fuck.

So yeah, I would say probably like eighth grade.

Like, were y'all the fly guys in school like broke coming up or was that something that you developed because I always was like the clown Like every year book I've ever been in, it was like class clown Joe Old Martinez like blah blah, like shut the fuck up, stop saying the teacher got harried back, you know what I'm saying, Like shit like that.

But for y'all, was it like yo, I always have like this idea.

I wasn't, Like, I mean, I went to school with so many dudes who's so drugs like they were just like you can keep up.

Yeah, they were pulling up so fresh like it was Pelly Pellis and and like, but nah I was I wasn't.

I was like I was very timid.

If you could believe that and in middle school, but yeah, yeah I was.

I was never really the fly.

I did get fly though, like I had my ship with shoes, Like I would just have mass shoes when I was growing up, like and then just a white tea and some like rock and Republics and ship or some shit like that.

But yeah, nah, nah, it took a minute.

I don't know, no, not at all, which I'm grateful for because pretty much like the dudes that I looked up to I thought was super cool in high school, they peaked.

Yeah, they peaked, you know what I'm saying.

Like they peaked like they had every girl from every grade, you know what I'm saying, like from every borough, like and they peaked like they're literally like bald and fat today, you know what I'm saying.

Like, So I'm glad, like it really honestly didn't happen to me to like my late twenties, when I finally like built com efidence, you know, and stop giving a fuck what other people thought, you know, because a lot of also a lot of my wardrobe was dictated on like what is he like?

What is me?

Like?

Dude?

You know?

Who am I?

You know what I'm saying, and I don't know about your because I'm a little older than you.

I believe right, I'm forty two, I'm forty seven, So I don't know about your generator, Like not that it's your generation, you're twenty eight years afore.

Honestly in New York City, a high school class, it's big, it's big.

It's big.

So we used to trade and borrow, right, So like some of my some of my flyer's gear was like my best friend Scott's, like he let me his high tech jacket.

I remember in ninety three and I was like the man for two weeks because I had a polo high tech jack.

It wasn't mine, you know, I'm saying.

Had my cousin Jesse.

You know, he would give me his polo sports shit and I would trade him my He'll figure shit, you know, so like I never you know, like some of my friends that you know that are that are part of the graffiti crime down with, like they got those photos like they were the dudes like shout out to my boy Kel five and mates, you know what I'm saying, Like he like yeah, Kel five of and mah, Like I like I look at his high school I was like, Damn, I'm jealous.

He had the fronts.

He had every pee wing stadium plates, you name it.

You know, like I never friended that.

Like that was definitely not my high school experience, you know what I'm saying, Yo.

For me, I think it was like it was I think it was like seventh grade, seventh grade grade because it was like like you're saying, like, yo, like not that I'm not interested in girls, because bro, I'm Dominican.

My pop was like like I'm coming home from my first day kindergarten.

He's like, no, no, no, yeah, I'm like, bro, I'm five years old.

I was like, I don't even know.

I've never seen I've only seen genitals on Barbie we're talking about.

But like once you start to you know, like yo, look fresh for shorty, you know, da dah, but in a very Bronx graffiti way, like everything was nor face.

Everything was nor face, everything was Spider, the Tommy Mo y'all know if you know you know the Tommy Mo Spider classical.

You know what I'm saying, Like things like.

That, like like ass boots, you know what I'm saying, Like the Dolomites, like like to me, it was like a lot of outerword because like you're saying, like you could always just go cop a white teeth.

From the corner store, like from from from.

Mama doing them like you know what I mean, to get ten of these ships and then switch up your kicks and your hat.

You got a whole fresh outfit.

I think that's why fatigue trucks are so popular in the Bronx because you can sit outside all day and the shit and they don't look dirty.

You know.

Oh but what is like like cross generational appeal, right, because like again like I'm growing up and I'm saying, like you know, Brad and these guys like Skape like roller Blade in with the K two's and shit, and they wearing the Ginko jeans and and I feel like shit, like that is coming back, you know what I mean?

Like, what is something that was fly that is really like it's resurfacing as fly.

I think back to kind of like what Hugoes answer about attitude.

I think it's just the attitude.

I think because during the pandemic there was a mass exodus out of the city that it made room for this next generation.

That's kind of like I would say like sixteen to twenty four to kind of leave their neighborhoods and come back downtown and have the freedom to be whatever the fuck they want.

You know, Like I always say this, like my if there's anything that I'm jealous of of this generation is the freedom of expression that they have.

So back to your question about ow the Borough kids coming downtown from my generation, like five years is a big difference, right, Like we were forced to come downtown if we liked anything alternative, Because if you liked anything alternative like skateboarding or fucking be amexing, you're gay, right and you'll get your asked.

Okay, white's white.

Yeah, that's that's a white thing, right, that's a white boy shit.

So like you know, you couldn't talk about those things on the block, you know what I'm saying, Like my friends didn't want to hear that shit.

So like like you're saying, like you're saying, like back to like like minded people, like you were forced to go to places like bar beatles, footwork or fat Beats or even Canal Gene Company or sitting on the ledge in front of OURMANI Exchange waiting for other kids.

So hos that that now rip you know, scrapyard, they're gone, you know what I'm saying, Like, that's where I met some of my closest friends by just holding a black book.

Even though you might get hurt.

You you might get hurt book, you know, you know, but you might meet somebody else that's timid and like, yo, can I hit your black boy?

Like, oh, you know, that's how I met one of my closest friends, bizarre, he's from Canarsi.

Then he took me to Knarsi, to the projects out there, you know what I'm saying.

So it's just like that's how you I started traveling through the city because if I would have stayed in my neighborhood and no disrespect to the people that chose his path, but I would have ended up working at JFK and duty Free so I could get that with when I was sixteen and then end up in my mother's basement with a pregnant girlfriend at eighteen.

Like that was my that was my my generation.

That was like the queen's traditional trajectory in life, but with them for the driveway exactly that with a vanity plate with a vanity Yeah, I suck on this.

Yeah, I never no sport like go to decaun back.

Yeah, I just I refuse that, you know, And I always talk about this to an interview.

It's like shout out.

I had an oldest sister six years older than me, so she brought me down here in eighty eight, you know what I mean.

So like I already had a peek into what downtown life was, and I was like, this shit's weird.

I don't know, I don't know how, I don't know how to put worse to it, identify it, but I want a piece of this.

The minute I turned twelve or thirteen, which is what happened, I started sneaking on the A train coming down here, twelve thirteen years old, eating at the McDonald's by the cage, you know what I mean.

It's so it was the oldest sister for you, was there somebody older you have an older sibling, cousin whatever that was?

Nah?

But you want I think for me, it was one act like coming down here and then to like the internet, you know, like because once I started like looking on the internet, that's what you know what I'm saying, Like, that's that's what it was, you know.

But I think like also just like magazines.

I feel like complex was like one of the ones that you know, I was actually like going to the magazine shop and like looking into the fucking issues and shit.

But I think, yeah, it was just actually just living it and like coming down here and being down here and like really just diving into everything and you know, finding out for myself, like going to parties and like seeing what it is, like what music people are listening to, what DJs are playing, and actually also you know, that's when I was like, oh, this is what I want to do, Like you know, like I want to be in this whatever this is, like this is what I'm gonna do.

Yeah, like this is what I this is what I want to do.

At the time, I didn't think I was going to get to get to it, but like you know, I was like I always knew, like every shitty job I had, I was like you know what, man, like one day, this is one day one day.

But yeah, when did you when did you realize?

Like, yo, it's over for the shitty jobs baby?

Like was it Angela calling you?

Like I think when I started when I started working at as Stucy in the shop, like I moved through that company really quickly, like you know, I started as a store manager, and then like two years in, like they were flying me out to like Paris and like London and all this shit.

And I think that's when I realized, like, all right, cool, like you know where.

I don't know where this is going to take me, but you know, and I thought I was going to be there forever, honestly, like I thought I was going to be there forever.

And then you know, just like when Angela called and I was like we sat down and the first thing he told me, it's like yo, like ownership.

You know what I'm saying, Like this is like this could this this thing is like ours, you know what I'm saying.

Like, so yeah, that's when I was like, all right, cool, peace peace out, peace out.

Yeah.

And also I just I also just wanted to work out a brand that's like from New York for New York that you know, we could really just sit down and like do whatever we want and no one's gonna question it because we're from here.

Of literary like like like of ligury like like.

Like and it's real because that's what I always like, yo, Like, men and I have had this conversation and it's just like I feel like a lot of you know, like brands or artists, creators, whatever you want to call it, like they'll just this.

I call it like a bucket, right, and it's like it's a nostalgia bucket.

And it's very specific to guys our age.

It's graffiti, it's skateboarding, it's like hip hop is it's like polo, it's north face, it's like all these things.

But it really was like more so like graffiti culture, like boosting, all that type of shit like wrapped into one.

And I feel like like some brands will just like, Yo, we don't know what to do.

Let's go back to that, you know what I'm saying.

And it's just like when when people do it that like and you could tell us like all right, bro, Like the the vision behind us was just like Yo, let's just make some bread.

It wasn't like yo.

This reminds me of.

You know what I mean.

This reminds me that one time I went boosting in Westport and I had this same steep check on and I and I got rained down on and I ran out of the store and there was a mannequin with a mountain got on it and I grabbed it and that was the first time I found out that they tied them ships with them little metal strings.

And I'm pulling the mannequin trying to run out of the store, and I'm ripping the jacket like half clean off the fucking thing.

Like but those are like memories tied to like those garments, you know what I'm saying.

I don't know if I'm getting too abstract with it, but like it's very it harkens back to a time in my life, you know what I'm saying.

So like when I came in here for the first time and I seen like the scuffed team, I've seen all the tags and shit, and it was.

Just like instantly transported back.

Bro.

I was on the way, I was on the air track tracks on the West Side Highway, on the Fairway rooftop doing a fill in, you know what I mean.

Like, and it just it's very real, you know what I'm saying.

And like you were saying, like you shoint out people like Kel that's like a bro, like he's super valid, Like he was not on the outskirts like no.

Kel was in the thick of it.

And Kel also was at the forefront of that culture and that time period that you're talking about this forever reference.

Like I came in right after Kell.

By the way, like Kel, like you know, I would say, like ninety ninety two all the way to ninety six, they were on RC was on Broadway.

And the thing is like a lot of those RFC guys don't talk, they don't talk to media, they don't interview, you know, they don't, so then their narrative is lost.

Right.

So then now what we're going through right now is history revisionism.

You have a lot of dudes that weren't there, that weren't active participants, that are talking about the time period that they weren't a part of.

But because those kind of let's say, like participants like a Kel, you know, like the you know, life has moved on, you know what I'm saying, like that was a time period, and Kel's a super talented artist, you know what I mean.

It's like, yeah, you got other shit going on, like you and I can't speak for him, you know, that's my man back, you know, Like I don't know if he wants to talk about that time period anymore.

You know what I'm saying, he was there, you know, like me.

It's like ninety four ninety six, I was at the New Yrekan you know what I'm saying, Like that's that's my kind of like genesis of Like that's where I met Chris Gibbs from Union.

Chris was an usher at Radio City Music Hall with my boy Bizarre.

That's my connection to Chris.

The first time.

It wasn't Union, it wasn't any cool guys.

Shit, It's like we love going to open mics.

We all listen to Stretching Bob and this is why we're here.

And then that kind of bled into the vill right.

So like ninety six is when I got really connected with my boy Bona five from the Bronx TCK, and I started running with the TCK guys and the rest is history for me, you know.

So I wasn't I could never talk about like that ninety four time period like at the Cage or in front of Mickey The's I wasn't there.

I wasn't there.

I didn't ha didn't have I wasn't low down with the rais in my mouth and everything like that.

And I would never front because those you know, I know some of those dudes, like I'll get called out in a heartbeat, so and so, and then back to your kind of like your first kind of point that you were making, you know, like ninety to ninety six is such a wealth of culture and things that happened for the first time, right coming out of New York City, Right, we're talking about art, fashion, graph right that it's it's almost it has become like an infinite well of reference.

But the difference between myself and some of the people that you're talking about have an idea what you're talking about because they weren't there.

It's very it's very it's not that deep, right, it's a shallow it's a it's a shallow well that they're pulling from some Then it's almost like like an algorithm.

Like when you go to like your you know, like your Instagram and you'll see the same four or five photos on you.

Yeah, it's like the photo of Goldie and you are holding hands and fucking a j A filling And this is like of course saying tag or whatever.

Yeah, okay, cool, But like, you know, do you know about jazz and easy you know what I'm saying, Like Taber Bester bro, Yeah, do you know about tabe and bell?

You know about TFT do you know about which we two nights?

You know the dudes from South Side Queens, you know Bez, you know rest in Peace, you know rate TCN you know, Like what do you know about you know, trying to get off on you know the ralphav stop on the C train.

You know, like you don't because you wasn't dead, you know what I'm saying.

So, like my Queen's narrative is very different because I was only three stops in Queens on the A Line and then now you're in City Line, East New York.

Right, So it's a different kind of gladiator school, right.

I feel like if you survive the nineties, we all kind of graduated from like these different variations of gladiator school.

So for me to go from Liberty app to West Fork, I had to go through every bad neighborhood in Brooklyn.

And I'm not tough.

I'm not a tough guy.

I'm not a thug, but you got it.

You know you gotta be like yo, no smiling for forty five minutes straight to get through all.

Yeah, you know it couldn't fall asleep, you couldn't crack a smile.

If your boys there cracking like, yo, chill you yo, you're about you're about to pulling you chill about the pulling to borrow East New York.

Man, don't suck up, We're about to brow it jump.

Yeah.

Yeah, and it did.

That's the thing it did.

Yet you'd be like, I remember, I tell the story all the time.

It's very specific and it's very like it's to me.

It encapsulates what us coming downtown.

What I remember being in a group where my man Tahoting, my man tase H, Nace Cipher, a bunch of writers and then like you know, there's always like the people that don't write but they got a tag, and then the shorties and da dah dah whoo.

So it's like we like fourteen deep and we're just walking towards coffee shop Unit Sweat, and there's other there's a another like similar looking crew walking towards us.

And I'm like, oh man, it's on, like it's on.

Like what like the what you right could be like life is that's like a life or death question, bro, because like you know what I mean that could be.

Like oh shit, or could be like yooo, so.

We seen these dudes approaching us, right, and I'm like not getting nervous, but I'm getting active.

I'm like I'm grabbing the fucking paper the paper weight in my arm.

I'm like yo in my sleeve.

I'm like, all right, bro, I might have to I might have to get somebody with a fucking beat boss over the head.

For It's like, YO, shot out the taste, bro, He's like the un He was just.

Like, y'o, y'all, where is yoll last?

What up?

Baby?

And it was just like oh shit, oh you know these dudes, Oh dang god boom.

Then we connect.

Now we're like thirty deep, that interaction of us of like the fear turning into like yo, now we're mobbing, bro, Like now we're deep.

We're catching tags, were racking beers in the bodega and shit, like I.

Missed that ship.

The camaraderie, the camaraderie, the camaraderie, because the reality is that within the graffiti spectrum, you have dudes that just want to write and have fun.

Right then you got your you know, like career boosting kind of like criminals, and then you just got thugs like they just they like graffiti is just a pastime when they're not robbing or like beating somebody up, you know what I'm saying, which is always good to have one or two guys like that in the crew that are just career criminals, like they always in and out of the system.

You got to give them a flow.

They can't even come up with their own ship.

Yeah, here's your letters, gang, like, this is what you're right.

Yeah, so but back to your point, most of the time, like if you're cool, it would I would say nine times out of ten, it was easier to create that, you know, like, oh you got the teddy, I got the teddy.

What's up?

You got deals or whatever?

Whatever?

You know, you hear my black bult.

Nobody really, to be honest, like nobody really wanted to fight back then, you know what I mean, Like when it really came down to it, like nobody, like I think the preferred choice was let's just chill, let's let it look up, and let's go catch some tags, you know, unless you had a knucklehaind the cruise like yo, fuck you you'll fitch, Yeah exactly, bro.

It was.

It was a lot of people don't understand.

I'm glad that I'm sitting that with Chot because y'all really understand it, Like graffiti could get dangerous, bro, Like you know what I'm saying, Like both fuckers done got boomed behind the ship.

Like it's been situations where you get jumped all kinds of shit.

Yep, you get the earthworm on your face bro from buhying, you know, like and weave ship.

Bro, there was a lot of like you know, pain put into that ship.

So that's why I take it like that's wh when I see ship like this.

I'm like, yeah, yeah, you know what I mean, because.

It's like, Yo, that shit meant something, you know what I mean, Like all that work you put it, even though I lost all the flicks in the flood and ship like that, Like yo.

I got that, and then places like this kind of.

Like harken back to that and it and it it's needed, bro, think it's needed.

I just got to I appreciate you man.

Well, I think once again back to your point is like the space was built for us, you know what I mean, because they're all those places that you know that you came down to, I came down to, or even Hugo came down to their non existent gone They're gone.

They're gone.

Like you don't you know, like we started this Marshall program last year, you know, a life from Awake New York.

Like high Key and even low Key.

They're free concerts.

You ain't got to buy ship.

You don't even got to give us your fucking email, you know what I'm saying.

That to get in And it's like project pat Anisia Charlotte Day Wilson.

What's that we have here?

Uh stoles p stoles pe you know what I'm saying, Like yo with Joe Batan, Joe Baton, you know, just pull up.

You know.

All we asked is to bring a good vibe doing like an asshole, you know what I mean.

And we've been lucky.

No fights, no fucking no glass being broken over somebody's head.

Like it's been peace.

Peace.

That's what your name.

And that's that's exactly where I was going next, Like you do a lot of community ship, you know what I'm saying.

And like and again, I feel like that's part of the ethos of the store.

Like I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I feel like that's part of like the soul.

Of what you do with Awake, which ILL do with Awake.

So yall connection man, Like you know, I want to say you're older in like in a bad way, but like you.

No, but I am I am older older older for sure?

What is like the what do you see in Hugo that like you feel like, yo, this is this is awake?

You know what I mean?

Like, well to take to take it a step back.

I didn't even know Hugo.

So when I first left Supreme, I was asked to do the creative direction for this undefeated shoot.

They did this air Max project and I try to through a mutual friend, Hugo was recommended to modeling it.

He couldn't do it.

So that's the first time I kind of like Hugo was put on my radar.

Right, I didn't know who he was, you know, like I was like, oh, this kid's kind of cool.

And then fast forward two years ago, like a little over two years ago, Uh, Tremaine.

I want to go visit Tremaine in the hospital.

He was he was literally on his deathbed, okayu and you know tremaining Classic form doesn't want to talk about Himore's illness, but he's just like, how you doing.

I was like, well, you know, about to open up the store, and fuck, man, I feel like there's a missing piece of the puzzle, you know what I'm saying.

I feel like I got our generation down, you know what I'm saying.

Like, and I feel like young kids fuck with me.

So at the time, this kid Vegas was working with me in Vegas.

Now it's probably like twenty two to twenty three, so back then he was little, you know, twenty So I was like, I got that that jen Z, but the millennial is missing, right, and ego wise, you know, maybe ten years old, been like fuck them, you know what I mean, Like I don't need them, you know.

But now, being older, a little wiser, right, it's like, nah, I don't.

I don't understand why there's a misconnect, right, And he was like, you should talk to Ugo.

I was like, really, was like he seems pretty happy of Suice.

Every time I see photos of him, he's fucking like waving the flag and fucking like really this shit, Like I think he got a good thing going on over there.

He was like, a call him.

I was like, okay, and he was like, and you can tell him.

I told you to call him.

I was like, cool, Literally, that was it.

I hit up you go, and I was like, yo, let's sit down for a chat.

And because my thing, you know, like one of the things that I learned or working at Supreum was we don't poach unless you want to be poached, right, So got you know, throw a little feeler out there like are you happy?

Mar and my life and my line like fact, then my next question is how they treating you over there?

Yep.

That's why I'm able to gauge the conversation.

It's it's swaying towards unhappiness.

Well, this is the opportunity to have over here, you know, and making it a serious offer and not kind of like dilly daling.

It's like, yo, this is a salary.

I'm also offering you points in the company because I want you to feel like he's what he said ownership.

I want you feel like you you have a You're not just working for me, you're working with me.

That's it's important for me when people work for me, want to hire them right that they understand that they're working with me.

So it's important for me to empower you by giving you something.

Part of it.

I want you to feel like you've really this is your shit.

You know what I mean, because how many places you've worked in the past or you where you're just collecting your check and you're just like fuck that, Like no, you want to take that jack, go ahead, fuck them take that jack.

Yet I'll give a shit, you know what I'm.

Saying, Like if there's no sense of like like pride, pride, priety, like yeah, anything, like it's yo, I'm just here for the check, bro, like you know what I mean.

Like and then so then it shows.

And then the other part of that is he goes outside.

I'm not outside anymore, that part.

And I think also what I've seen a lot of my predecessors do is not age gracefully in this industry.

Right when I was in my late twenties, and I'll still hanging out at Max Fish seeing the dude that's in his forties trying to rap to the same girl that I'm rapping, so and I'd be like, Yo, my man, I know you got at least like three kids at home, like you need to go tell this old motherfucker go.

And to me, that is my worst nightmare for my name to come up in conversation and be like, Yo, that dude's washed.

He needs to go home.

I've seen him doing a bag of yeah, yeah, something like what's happening, man?

His wife?

His wife is bad?

Like I'll be fucking I was him.

Why is he not home?

A home?

So never you know, I've prided myself to do my best age gracefully in this industry.

Uh.

And that was the important part because similarly to where he goes at in life when he first started working with me, is exactly where I was at when I first started working at Superhot.

I was outside.

I really was home.

I was at every open bar, every bar, every after hours, you know, getting it in, you know what I'm saying.

So, like it was an easy transition because basically that's what I was getting paid to do, besides coming with the you know ideas.

But it's like I also need to report what's happening, and like you know what I'm saying, I need to be I need to go back and be like, yo, Meryl's that guy he goes the dude what I'm gonna call it, such as Zaxsors, the graffiti rider, Like we need to see him.

The DJs is flo you know what I mean.

Like, so, but I need to be outside in order to bring that information back, and James was smart enough to understand like okay, yes, go.

But then where I was able to see outside of the boxes, like why don't want I do this globally for you?

Allow me to go to London and report, Allow me to go to Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, right, and figure out, like, all right, how do we get outside in New York to make sure that we got the hugo of each city on smash before they're recognized by somebody else.

And it's not just the hugo based the graffiti rider, it's the DJ, it's the skater, it's the pretty boy, it's the it girl.

Right, and they're making and I'm making sure that they're getting seated the things six months in advance.

And you know that's okay, Hugo, that's your job.

That's what I for ten years.

As a point, it was very important for me to to for this to be the next thing I do, you know, just because it was time to really take all everything that I you know, basking, you know, and to do it for a living, you know, like you know what I'm saying.

So and then to piggyback and for Angela said also what was very important was that the ownership part, you know, like a lot of people don't know like you know, and I got I got shipped for being for leaving stuci from like some friends that are no longer my friends and come into a way because they were like, yo, like what are you doing?

And I'm like, you don't understand, Like I don't own Stucie.

I'll never own Stucie.

Like that's not you know what I'm saying, Like it'll that's that's out of the question, you know what I'm saying.

Like so it's like for me, also, the big part was working for a brand that understands my points of views.

And you know, I could going to the office and be like, Yo, we need to get meal eating a chop cheese in front of fucking the four line, and it's like all right, cool, Like Angel, It's like, all right, I understand, you know what I'm saying, because we're from We're from this ship, you know, Like so yeah, I mean.

This motherfucker in front of it a little chick me at four am drunk.

But also, you know what a lot of people don't talk about is because it also it has become a lost art but the graduation of the shop guy and that, and that's something you know from my from my class of like two thousand and six.

Our goal back then, I was like, we all want to get hired by Nike.

Everybody wanted to see Nike about it.

That was like the only option was to get hired by Nike, and like they would come to the town like yo, you know, such like yo, we got to make sure we hang out with them and try to get this you know her, there's an opening at s B and it never happened.

It never happened.

So for me to get that that opportunity to work for James, you know what I'm saying.

Like that was Haley's comment, you know what I'm saying, because I was like, Oh, I'm working at no them to get folding fucking three hundred T shirts a day.

I'm like, I guess this is it, you know what I mean.

There was no ownership on the tip.

I didn't own.

People used to assume because I was there so much and I was a, you know, on the front line with that brand.

They're like, oh, you must own some of them.

I'm like, I don't own shit here, you know what I'm saying granted because they couldn't give me anything.

There was already four partners in that business.

So that was also one of my first lessons in business, is like, don't have four partners, you know what I'm saying, Like, you know, try to own as much as possible.

And then I go to an opposite experience over at Supreme where there's one owner and that's it, you know what I'm saying.

But then also learning how to take care of people, you know when they work well and they're kind of like busting the ass, like making sure that they're taking care of so they're not thinking about anywhere else, right, so they don't get the call like Yo, are you happy?

Are you happy?

Like pretty show you goes guy?

You know what I'm saying, Like what I love about?

What I love about you know, my staff is they snatch, you know what I'm saying.

Like I've had designers work for me for the past, like Yo, Stucy hit me up or Ovo hit me up.

I'd be like yo, you know, go through your thing, like I don't hate you know what I'm saying about I'll tell you right now, the grass ain't greener, you know what I'm saying like you you think it's just different grass, It's just different grass man, Like that's a fucking fact, Yo.

This like you said about you know, Asia gracefully you being outside?

You know, I got four kids, bro, Like as much as I want to be outside, like I'm outside at the football field, you know what I'm saying, like, Yo, like watch the ball.

Wash the ball on defense, are gonna go on to They're gonna make you jump off sides.

Wash the ball.

That's what I'm outside.

Like, But I still the graffiti shit keeps.

It's like a disease, bro, It.

Is a disease.

There should be a graffiti's anonymous by now bro because because I'll say, unfortunately, unfortunately, there's a lot of addiction.

Actually Scuff wrote his his thesis on it, the Correlation of Addiction with graffiti.

Right, So it's like, I don't know about you, you know, but I've come across a lot of fucking crackhead graffiti.

Right.

What that's like it's dust type of it's not for half.

It's like, yo, you on something that's while heavy, or you got a portfolio and you're trying to go to prap like but.

Then also too there's there's a bunch of guys in recovery.

You know what I'm saying.

I've been in recovery for over ten years, and there's you know, I'm not gonna start naming names, but there's a there's a bunch of us, you know, ex Graffiti, reight, current graffit also in recovery.

You know what I'm saying, because like they understand, because it's like it's like graffiti is the ven diagram of all fucked up things.

Right, It's like we talk about boosting drug abuse, you know, homelessness, fighting, fucking jails and institutions, you know what I'm saying, psych wards, you know, and unfortunately a lot of people don't get to the root of why, right, you know, it's like, oh, you know, so just like, oh, yeah, he's back at Beth Israel, he's in the fucking psych ward or whatever.

You're just like, fuck man, like ship, I hope he gets better, you know.

And it's like when we're in the forties and we're still dealing with the same ship.

You know, It's yeah, man, it's it's fucked up.

I don't have an answer.

I don't have a solution for a bro we gotta do something.

You know what I'm saying.

All I do is just keep at least six kNs in the truck.

And if I see somebody that I beef for the nineteen ninety.

Eight, it might be kimber.

For me.

It's like I call, I have my annual phone call with mister, and I'm like, y'all want to go to a feeling.

He's like, all I got you, yo, talking about kindling beef.

Bro, Yo, mister, I love you, bro being this guy had life or death beef really from like high school, like bro, like I'm talking about real deal, like for real, Like if I see you, like he jumped me with his crew in the park, I jump his crew in the park one time.

Like we was going back and forth.

Now we've grown men, now it's just like yo, now he'll hit me up.

He sent me a flick of a feeling of his that I had ragged and I wrote like, yo, you pussy or something to other things like yo, real remember this like lol, Like I'm just like, bro, this is crap.

Now that we've grown, we can laugh about the When.

We was nineteen twenty, it was like I'm going to kill you when I see you bro like type of shit.

But yeah, bro, like he's one of the ones man like he's like taking it.

He's like taking the torch and like taking.

It litery like like like literary like like.

Like speaking of taking torches.

Places.

You are on your second Jordan collab.

Awake is on his second collab, or is the second?

This was number two?

Number two is raph.

We're about to go into number three for the Yeah, sh how do you how do you put that together?

Because we were just talking about like Nike and how it's like everybody, every New York kid was just yo, we're trying to get into Nike.

To Nike.

Now they're coming to you.

Yeah, what's that?

Like?

It's still mind blowing, you know what I'm saying because you know, if you would have told me to put together a bucket list of brands that I wanted to work with when I stepped down for Supreme, like Nike and Jordan are one and two.

Number three would be Ralph Lauren.

You know, so like to be able to go to port Land for myself, right because like from six to sixteen, I was you know, I was able to work on every Nike project through Supreme.

But that wasn't for me.

You know, I was going on behalf of somebody else, right, So it's what the kids say, hits different, right, it hits different when the meetings for you.

But that being said, like I still had to show and prove like it wasn't like it was handed to me, you know, like that first pitch deck, you know, it was like a forty page pitch deck to you know, basically convinced them why they should work with Awake New York, you know, and and uh and then you know, basically them giving us the airship like cool, I'm going to body it, you know, like I mean that's basically it.

You know, was that a thing?

Was that?

Did you select that model?

Was that the were they like, yo, here do something with this?

Yeah?

Yeah?

That was that was the trial by fire, you know what I mean, Like, you know, yeah, here you go.

And I was like, yeah, but what about a three?

And they're like, what about an airship?

And I was like, yo, but what about a four?

I was like, they were like, here's the airship.

I was like, what of one?

They're like how about nothing?

I was like, you know what I'll do there to your credit?

Y'all smoked it, you know what I mean?

And now these fives bro graduation right, you know Airship High School.

You know we did we did what we were supposed to do with it, and you know we're rewarded you you know.

Yeah.

I was like what about a four?

And they were like how about a five?

I was like deal, Yeah, there was like there was no back and forth.

They're like, hey, it's the thirty five year anniversary of the five.

Next year, we think you'd be the best partner for that.

I was like, fuck, yeah, you know what I'm saying.

And then then I started panicking.

I was like I was thinking about the Off White fives and about the Supreme fives that I worked on, and I was like, damn those like fuck it has to like hit that or be better, be better or be better?

How did you?

How did you?

I mean, like the shoe was like, y'all have seen it?

Man, Like if you haven't seen it, then you then you don't have internet.

Oh you a hater?

Oh you a hater?

You know what I'm saying.

Or you purpose black hole, turned off your TikTok, you turned off YouTube everywhere every day.

But like you said, like going from the Supreme model to the off white model.

What did you.

Take from those and say, yo, listen, I'm not touching this, I'm not doing that, I'm doing what this instead.

I don't think that was so much the approach for us.

What I like to do is kind of turn it all off and then operate in the vacuum and just start literally it's like a game of like what's like throw it and see what sticks, and that that process starts in turning to me, you go, Nick, our head of graphics really just the three of us, you know, and being like, what are the things that we like, what influences what we like?

How do we want to approach this, What do we want to do?

You know, kind of similarly what you're asking, like, what don't we want to do?

You know, So like, yeah, obviously there's things that like are off the board, anything that feels a look similarly to those two like those collaborations like off the table, you know, and then all right, let's figure out what can we do And then yeah, we came up with the with putting the A on the side of the shoe, and it was just like, you know, we could get away with this, Like fuck, was like yoh, this is with with chillin', you know what I mean?

And yeah, that also the rest is history.

Once once we locked in on that design aspect, everything was kind of like an accouturement.

It's like what do we put around what do we put around this?

You know, because once again it's like we're able to change the outsole of the shoe.

Nobody's been able to do that.

No one's put actually like a letter on the side of the shoe.

And it's not like we're just like just putting like a sticker on tide.

We're actually like changing the construction is shue, which a lot of people don't understand.

And also like keeping true to what was there originally, right, So it's not like we're trying to convince you that it's also some kind of new design, you know what I mean, Like because it's all all the elements are there of the of the og silhouette.

Uh.

And also that's why it was so important for me to kind of keep true to the other things like the Nike air on the heel, the which you won't call it, the reflective tongue, you know, the twenty three on the opposite shoe.

Also, you know, a lot of people don't understand, like we went through like four rounds to get that embroidery right on the twenty three and the n why, you know, like we had to go and source the original typeface from the original Jordan five, like go get the og wants to be like no, it has to be like this with this thickness on the shadow, you know, because if you look at the on ones, they're like slimmer or taller, you know what I mean.

So it's just like all those things were considered, all of it, you know what I mean.

And then we also had some other extra things that we wanted to do, but then the price points started getting too high, and they're like all right, so you got to make a decision, like do you want the custom lay slot, because then that's going to add an extra two dollars, you know.

It's like, all right, well, I don't want to beat people over the head, and I wanted to still keep the price reasonable, you know.

And that's another thing when considering design, is just like I want it affordable.

I want people to actually be able to buy it, right.

I don't want to sell a three hundred and fifty dollars sneaker.

Oh, it's real g ship when the airships drop, you know, I do seventh Grammer Broogomello.

He gets all the Jordan ship like a zillion years before it drops.

He pulled up on them ships.

But he had the whole, the whole fit.

Yeah.

He did the video and I was like, I was like, damn, man, I mean all right now, it's like tough.

I was like fuck.

I was like, yo, then I don't know who I DM.

I was like, I DM awake you did.

Yeah, I saw that and I was like yo.

I was like yo.

I was doing this in text for him like yo, ha ha ha Yo, what's good baby?

Yo?

That jacket is tough.

You guys, I'm sitting for the building and ship, like you know what I mean when no shirt on the some warmny.

But also back to that ship, you know, it was more successful than the actual shoot was the apparel, and that that's what really empowered us in a position to be able to get something like the five because they're like, oh, these dudes can actually move apparel.

Like at the end of the day, you know, we can have the biggest debate or whatever about what joining needs and doesn't need.

You know what I mean.

They can move shoes on their own, right, but the apparel can always use a little oh yeah push, you know.

So then like that you know bleach flannel that we did, that was Japanese fabric.

They never done nothing like that before we tricked out that Varsity.

It all smoked, It all sold out within seconds, so they were like, oh, oh, we didn't know you could do that, you know what I mean, Like, it's cool what you did with the shoot, but that apparel thing, that's what we need to talk about.

Right.

So originally, you know, the way we came across the pink colorway is we were originally asked to design some female skews for women, right, So we did this whole collection and then we mocked up a whole bunch of colors, and it just happened to be that pink looked the best for these female skews, right, And it wasn't.

And I kind of at first was opposed to mocking up a pink color because I'm like, that's a layup.

That's too easy, right, Like, oh, we got to make something for women women color and pink.

But then when we saw it, we were just like, oh, that's just hard.

We're like, yo, when we all say and that was just on the monitor, we were just like, oh shit, like yo, that's hard.

And then when things came down to the final meetings, they're like, hey, we kind of want to move from this direction of you know, women's I think we just don't let you guys do what you do.

I don't think we want to do the pink thing.

And I was like, and they were like, well, what do you want to do with it?

I was like I'll take it, and they're like okay, and like I'll take it as an awake exclusive like we can share the black color away, but I believe in the pink, you know.

And sure enough it was hard.

And then also because I've been getting smoked online because I did this thing with less from Ghetto gaff Strow, I brought him out the queens and he asked me, like, what was the pink thing?

I was like, yeah, you know, pink.

You know, it's a representation of New York now, you know, it's part of our kind of like fly ethos, like you know, pink and purple, like there's certain colors that are like are part of our DNA.

And yes, it was started by Cameron right, was never on the mood board for the shoe, so I never That's why I never shout it out.

Cam is like an influence for the shoe.

But when it comes to like the actual greater influence, obviously you know what I'm saying, which and other interviews of like of course, like when I put on those shoes, I want to put on fucking purple haze, or I want to put come home with me.

You know, from end to end, you know what I'm saying.

Or Dipsit value one through twenty.

You know what I'm saying, Like obviously you know what I like, and it frustrates me.

It was like, dude, Like once again back to your point of like if you're not from here, of course you're gonna say the dumb shit like while you're trying to fucking rewrite history by not mentioning it's like, duh, I lived it, bro, if you were here in oh one, Like there's no way that you cannot get around the Dipset g Unit Murder inc movement like it was.

It was blasting out of every project window, fuckingbiquitous.

Yeah, And so to your point, like I think Cam was the spark, but then you know, New York City, the streets took it, took it, the streets ticket somewhere else, you know what I'm saying.

So then I started dropping pick uptowns.

You have the pink white instead of white teaser was pink tea.

You have the linens that linen the linen like all this stuff, bro Like all right, so listen, is there is there something like a trend, you know what I'm saying, or something that was popping back in the day, because I have one very specific one in my brain that I never want to see come back.

Do you have any I don't know.

I think I think let people do whatever the fuck they want to do, you know, like I think, like if dudes want to wear skinny jeans again, Like you know what I'm saying, Like, I don't think when people ask that question, I'm just like I don't know, like you know, like I don't even I don't look at trends, you know, like we we we'd look at it as because we need to know like what's going to be next, and like but personally like, yeah, I don't, I don't really you.

Want to set a trend instead of being like yeah.

Yeah, Like I don't Yeah, I think I think kids, which is the beautiful thing about like the generation under me.

It's like these kids are wearing whatever they want, you know, like they're wearing like little T shirts with big jeans or like skinny jeans with big T shirts like you know, like so it's like, yeah, let them do what they want to do, Like I don't think, yeah, transfer for everybody if they want to follow it, follow.

If they're not not so very diplomatic answer yeah yeah, but also think it's very honestly and that has a lot to do with us being down here, you know, you know what I mean.

Would I would say, I don't know if I don't know if it would be about criticizing any trends that are happening right now, but I think it'd be more about pushing more individuality and confidence.

And like back to what I was saying about, like what I'm jealous about this generation is the freedom that they have, Like it's expressed through clothing, is expressed through sexual identity, sexual preference, and through all that you kind of get like this weird DNA hodge podge or whatever's out on Arches Street right now, which I love, you know what I'm saying, because that's the New York city I grew up in.

It's like I grew up with fucking weirdos, you know, Like that's I'm happy of working.

Why I'm the most that I benefited from work in retail was working with all the different weirdos from the Burroughs, you know what I'm saying.

So like because because I'm Ecuadorian Latino, you know, they always try to shove me in the stock room, right, And in the stock room is where I befriended all my Dominicans.

That's where I got my Spanish, right, Like, so I have my Ecuadorian home Spanish, but then it became the local Spanish from working the stock room, right.

But also like for example, I worked when I worked at Urban Outfitters.

This dude Angel, who I fucking love.

I haven't seen him in years, was a Puerto Rican, Puerto Rican cap from one sixty fifth on the two line, who was into like industrial music.

Bro.

This motherfucker put me onto like meat Beat Manifesto and like just so weird how this shit this motherfucker had.

He was like a Puerto Rican Lenny Kravitz, all right, and he brought me him.

He had the illest, craziest house party when I was nineteen years old.

And let me tell you something once again, I must stress I'm not a tough guy.

I got off that train.

It was like nineteen eighty eight.

Up there.

Somebody pulled their hand out through the hole and they're like, you want some krills.

I was like no, Like I was like, no, I want to look like this motherfuckers, like you know, the the garbage came with the fire.

I was like, what the fuck?

Where am I right?

I just walked into Warriors and shit, But this motherfucker dressed top hat Lenny Kraft like one sixty fifth two line.

Yeah, you know what I'm saying, Like like that's so I welcome it.

I embrace it, you know what I'm saying, Like, you know, like like the whole that's why people feel like they're at home when they come here, Like there isn't none that weird fucking you know, like just cool guys shit, cool guys shit, or you know what I'm saying, or like just like or being like anti gay or whatever, like dude, like just do do you just do you?

Man?

Like fuck man, just be you know, like I said, just come on some cool ship.

Like that's all.

Bring a good energy, bro, that's all.

That's all that's required.

Way for me is I have one very specific beef with this one garment.

And it's always because because I was part of it, and it was it just was not hygienic.

Man.

It was this Remember one motherfuckers were wearing.

Sweater vests like that was like the knit sweater vest, bro, but just the knit sweater vests like no undershirt.

I bet, like are you like are you referencing like Tyrese, like a Tyrese kind of like you know, like like who wearing the sweater vest?

Like we are we talking about like everybody tic in Beckford?

I think it was another sweater vest kind of like yeah, but like that like a muscular like a baggy sweater vest would know nothing under die about you and you're just making tiny sauce under there.

But not Also that a grahole right here, That's what I'm saying.

That's right here, it turns into the grahole, Joe, Bro.

That ship and the piping was always black because they knew like the.

Gra hole was gonna stain your ship.

Bro.

Please put a shirt under at least, like, I don't care if it's shape wear, bro, like just something that absorbed the bro.

Please, that's it like spray the other they got that was a deep cut, man.

I wasn't expecting.

That it was a sweat invest with the third Rail hat, bro, that was like the uniform.

And this is what we announced our third Rail a week lab real culture ship.

I gloss over this before because you were talking about, like, you know, y'all, y'all processes and how y'all come up with ideas and designs and whatever.

I feel like y'all have a relationship where you'll be like, yo, Hugo, what do you think about this?

And he'll be like, is whack?

This ship is whack?

Gold you bro?

I'm not I don't know, bro, Like no, it's more like this what do you see?

You be like, that's that's the Hugo.

That's the Hugo.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And that brings us perfectly into the community ship because that is a very that is so Dominican.

That's that's just I mean, hey, bro, like.

Yo, whatever you think you know.

Of literary like like like of literary like.

Like like talking about community growing up Ecuadorian Dominican growing up in the in the in in New York City as a child of immigrants, bro, Like that is a very I don't want to say specific experience because like it doesn't matter where you're from.

If your parents are immigrants, you're a child of immigrants, you know what I'm saying.

So that that like experience is I like to say similar, not congruent, but across like all immigrants.

What was it like for y'all growing up?

I mean for me, I think there was a point like when I was growing up where like I was like, yo, this, I'm either gonna be really sheltered or I could step out and like find freedom and the whatever, like immigrant experience.

But I think, yeah, for me, it was like I I was thankful enough that I went too.

When I went to high school.

I went to high school with all every race you could think of, you know what I'm saying.

So it was like.

Seeing that and just like coming down here and then like finding out that there's like people like me who are into this kind of shit was like very very important.

Did you go to high school?

I went to this high school on math and science, on uh and once on one seventy fourths.

Okay like that.

Yeah, so I'm like forty seven, forty two, thirty two thirty two.

So generationally you're from the generation.

I feel like when they started taking schools, Like I went to Clan, Yeah, and it was just Clinton.

What'd you go to Bayside?

It was Base.

Like now they're taking like Clinton is just like the Clinton Educational Campus and there's eight different schools.

Yeah, like my school when I when I went in there, I was like I thought I was going to learn about science and mathematics and ship like that.

It wasn't the case.

Like and very early on, like I'm not sharpping on school, but I was like I was like, yo, I don't know if I need this ship Like I was like, I was like yo, I was like yo.

Like at one point, like I was like coming coming to school just to talk to girls and hang out with my friends.

Like I was like, you know, but stay in school kids.

School kids.

There's also listen, as a former teacher, I could say that this you know, and this is like science, Like there's different types of intelligence right, Like there's like I don't know, I forgot them because it's been so long.

But one of them is like kinesthetic.

It's like, yo, is this kid really good at math?

No, but he's really good.

He understands his body, you know what I'm saying.

So like he's very he's very athletic, or he's very coordinated, or he's a very good dancer or you know, there's different types of intelligence that you know, attach themselves or manifest themselves differently.

It could be like that's to me, that's a type.

Of intelligence because I got a homeboy that man, this motherfucker, if you put a Doctor Seuss book in front of him, he's fighting.

For his life.

But this mother knows money and how to like move around, how to hustle, how to get to it.

And to me, that's like a.

Very that's like that's like a scals intelligence that a lot of mother fuckers don't have, you know what I mean.

So that being said that that type of intelligence, like is that something that was like like you said, like you you were a shy kid growing up, but like you know, you're timid to a certain extent, but like to do what you do, you kind of have to be outgoing and be like yea and welcoming right to like, different types of people and not like Isela.

Saying, not look at somebody and be like a weirdo.

Bro't even gonna I ain't even gonna interact with you because you want some weird shit.

Well I got I got retail to think for that, you know, like working in the shop.

That taught me everything I needed to know about being social.

You know, like even when I didn't want to go to work and I went to work, I still have to talk to a million people, you know what I'm saying, And that for me was like very important.

Which like even now, like I got, I got kids that come up to me and they're like, yo, like how can I get into what you're doing?

I tell them every time, like go work at a retail store, Like, go work at a cool shop that you think is cool, go in, drop off your resume, ask them if they hire, and and that's where it starts, you know, like everything I everything about me I learned working at the shop.

You know.

So and like there's a there's like a very you know, this is a specific every time I come in the shop, I see somebody that looks like me?

Is that by design?

Are you were?

You?

Like?

Yo, I gotta not necessarily find the next Angelo, but find like mind like like minded people you know, from the community, from our communities, you know what I mean, not necessarily kids like yo, I came from out of our school and like you know, my dad is a CEO of Boeing and he paid for me to do all of this, And I've been getting classical training and da da da da da as opposed to a guy like you're on for one ninety six Morris Bro Like I write you know what I mean, I write da da da.

You know what I mean, Like I've been doing it for fifteen years.

Like I like, I like what you do.

Like I don't know how I'm gonna get involved with what you do, but I know that I like what you what you got going on?

Like do you kind of like shepherd a kid like that?

Or is it is it kind of like more on them to to figure out what they want?

Well?

One for the record, I love white people.

I love my I love my Caucasians, my Caucasians.

But I think, you know, it's like it's like a simple kind of like thought ideologies like go where it's warm, m that's it, you know what I'm saying, Like it's not a coincidence that every time you walk in there's black and brown kids.

Well, my staff is black and brown.

You know what I'm saying, Like it's owned by a person of color.

You know what I'm saying, Like, I try to hire as many people of color, you know, as possible.

You know that being said, that doesn't mean I don't hire white people.

Of course I hire white people too, you know what I'm saying.

But it's like I always related back to my experience coming up in the city, and when I was in the room, whether it be at the Source of the Fate or whatever they were, there was nobody that looked like me simple and if there was, they were trying to take me out.

They were trying to clip me.

Yeah, Highlands, Yeah, they're going to be one that's like that real self hater shit, you know what I'm saying.

Like, And so I'm just trying to even the plainfield, you know.

And then but also all the things that attract you to the brand also attract a sixteen year old to the brand, you know what I'm saying.

And the other thing that I started figuring out over the last couple of years is like, if you if you do the math properly.

Somebody that's eighteen is literally their dad is our age.

So like they're not they're not into Wu Tang or nas or black Moon.

Not a nostalgia.

They were actually raised on that shit, same way that I was raised on Los Racundo's and Los Pastelitos Vebdes and all these kind of like Boletto bands and my mother put me onto that she played on nause or Leo Dang or Pimpinella whatever.

It's like, that's not nostalgia for me.

I grew up on it right now, Yeah, like I grew up on that, you know what I'm saying, So like, yeah, of course it makes sense that these kids are into this because it's if they were raised right, is what their parents you know what I'm saying.

So like, for example, like Vegas that used to work with me, the first photo show we did, he pulled up in a wichmclla Iceberg Mickey Mouse sweater and I'm like, who got you that?

And he's like, oh, my dad used to collect low in high school.

And I'm like, who's your father?

You know, because you know, you know the thing is like small, right, the circle small?

And he was like yeah, My father just saved all his high school clothes for me.

So he had he had, he had all the teddies, he had all you know, like you name it.

Like his father literally saved him his whole high school wardrobe for him, and his dad is my age.

That is so so like once again that gen Z.

That's why they you know, and this is just my theory.

You know why they're attracted to this because it's what they grew up at home, you know what I'm saying, Like they got the flicks with their mother with the bamboos and the baby hair, and you know what I'm saying.

Then they started jacket sitting on anyway, he had the north face nuts seeds matching nup seeds, you know, like with the fucking with the Cuban and the Jesus.

You know, like yeah, like of course it's it's a it's a no religious man, this is an homage.

Yeah, it's a it's a no brainer.

But you know, back to your question that you asked, Hugo.

You know, for me, it was a different experience because E was unclassified.

We were like other category, right, like which you got to experience some of that, right, So like the narrative of New York City Latino narrative is either your Puerto Rican or your Dominican or possibly Cuban.

Right, Cubans they fled New York City in the late eighties, right, because my grandmother's from the Heights and half of her building was Cuban and Polish.

Right, that was a demographic So then you know, for me, full circle moment is making sure that the Ecuadorian narrative is told.

It is, what is it?

Does it mean?

What does it mean to be a New York Kino that's also Ecuadorian that was raised in Queens, that's from New York City.

I want to tell that story right because nobody, nobody knew it.

And also why it means so much to me is because I've never I've never not been Ecuadorian.

Does that make sense, Because there's a lot of halfes out there, blessed them.

They were like half Ecuadorian to havelf Puerto Rican from Bushweg or half Dominican Ecuadorian from the Heights, and you ask them what they are, I'm Dominican, I'm Puerto Rican.

They don't even they don't even discuss the Ecuadorian park because there's a lot of shame connected to it because they didn't They didn't know how to talk about it or describe it, right.

So that's why that's really important for me to inject that pride piece that we've never that I never had growing up cause I didn't.

I didn't know who was Ecuadorian, right, I don't.

I don't know who the og or whatever?

Right?

And then lo and behold I would find out later on in life, oh, such and such as that I didn't know that he only claims pr you know, they only claims d R.

You know.

So I also don't think it's a coincidence.

Now, like on Instagram when kids hit me up, they got the little Ecuador and emoji and they're fucking hard.

I'm like, that's hard, you know, dope, like make it, you know.

It's almost like a rebranding of fucking negohoo.

Like yeah, like we repping our ship, you know what I'm saying, Like this is us, you know, but yeah, I've never been down with that code switch and ship, you know what I'm saying, Like nah, Like I've always been Equadorians.

And it's fire to say because it's like like you said, like it's one of the communities that's other represented, not talked.

About a lot.

But I feel like, bro, you becoming not becoming You are that guy.

Now you're the You're the Ecuadorian New York guy.

Like you know what I'm saying, Like you're like you're holding that like flag, that torch and shit and like like we were saying before, like you know you you you put you purposefully injected into the campaigns like the shoots all that type of stuff.

Yeah, and to be honest like that that See, I didn't realize how like that I was Latino or Ecuadorian.

So I went to high school because my neighborhood once again was mostly African American West Indian, like a little bit of the Irish kids that stuck around.

So I didn't meet like my tribe till high school.

I met all the kids from the seven line, so they were like, yo, come to junction, come hang out with this.

So I was in Corona with the Dominicans and then I would be with the Colombians on eighty second and you know and rouzie, you know what I'm saying, Like that's when I was like they took me in, you know what I'm saying, They're like, no, you're hanging out with us and we're gonna go to Main Street and we're gonna we're gonna put you on you know what I mean?

Bro Man, So like that that's like that really is when it was like oh oh ship yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.

Like this it is like yeah, this is who this is who I am.

You know, community and nothing is more communal and community based than being a dad.

Bro.

It's literally you are the head of a small community.

You know what I'm saying.

Like, y'all are both fathers.

How has fatherhood impacted which because you're newer dad and you are your son it's eleven, right, so we we here like we've been.

We've been in the trenches, bro, like we were out of diapers.

How has been a new dad?

Like forget like awake as a brand?

Right?

Like just impacted your life in general?

And like how you move around?

Like because I told Victor, like you know what I'm saying, shot the victor.

You know what I'm saying.

I was like, Yo, when you have kids, bro, you are never going to sleep eight hours straight again.

You are gonna eat a lot standing up.

There's gonna be a lot of shit that you took for granted as a like non child having person that after you.

Are responsible for a life, you're like, oh shit, bro, Like naps were cool.

You know what I'm saying, Man, I can't do those.

I have a few answers for that.

First things first, Like I'm a late dad, you know, so, like my son's name is say say it came along when I was forty six, So all that shit is kind of out of my system, you know what I'm saying.

Like do I necessarily miss naps?

Yeah, but I also enjoy hanging out with him more, right, And I would say having a family and having a wife has helped me prioritize my life.

It simplified it, right.

So basically, like if it doesn't benefit my family, I'm not doing it.

That's it.

No more favors, Like I'm sorry, I can't jump on a plane to go to a party or a store opening or this, like unless there's a bag waiting for me.

And if you got a bag for me, that's going to go back to benefiting my family.

I'll do it because what it is the most precious and valuable commodity I have right now is time.

It's not money, it's just simply time.

So if I'm jumping on that eight hour flight to go to London to do the favorite thing, then that's three days that I'm not going to.

I might miss that first two, the first step, the first crawl, you know, explosive shit like I don't know, but I want to be there for all of it.

And I do know for the last sixteen months, I've been there for every benchmark, all of them.

And that also is breaking the cycle within my own family.

Like my father left one now was six years old that I don't have much of a memory with him.

You know what I'm saying, I don't know if you changed any fucking diapers.

He's definitely one of those old school Ecuadorian dads, like you know, like, yeah, you know, I'm saying, like I think both of my grandfathers are turning over in their graves because I changed diapers in my house, you know what I'm saying.

Like you're like, you don't know, you know, so yeah, man, Like my son knows me, plain and simple, you know, he sees these solves dad, You know, like there was no night nurse, there was no none of that shit.

You know, like I was in the trenches with my wife waking up making sure you got a bottle.

So by the time he hit thirty days.

He knew what I smelled, like, Yeah, you're doing all this shit like the skins to skin like yo I did Yeah man, you know my nipples?

Bro?

Yeah yeah, Daddy is yeah man, like yo, that is the best.

You know what I'm saying, Like the best that he runs to me when I come into the door, you know, like you know that shit is like crack, bro, Yeah man, I got you know what I'm saying.

I got.

I got three boys, and my daughter's my youngest, and when she especially her like when she comes running and it's like, yo, Daddy's home.

And then John, I'm like, bro, it's all worth it, right, it all makes sense.

Yeah, it all makes sense.

And to your point, it's like, yo, bro, I'm not doing this unless it's gonna benefit this household.

I'm saying.

And what we got going on over and for you what was.

Like, you know, because he's a little older, you know, twelve, that shit made me grow up quick, like I was twenty one when I have my kids.

So it was like just quick man to get my.

Ship together very fast, and it was hard at the beginning, you know, like it was it was really hard.

But yeah, I mean he's eleven now, so it's it's a bit easier.

But that ship was crazy.

Like that ship was crazy.

And but the dope thing about it is that he's gonna he's eleven now, so in like a few years, he's gonna be like because my kids be doing it.

Yo.

Oh you know, oh yo back to.

School night or a parent teacher conference and ship like yo, yo, that's you yo, that's you go.

That's you go from a yo you see.

Your popsles, you go from a wake brot like yo, yo, now you're getting links, you know what I'm saying, Yo fucking yo Yo.

Jose asked me if you can, if you can hook him up.

With a five and a half.

It's actually crazy because he's he's into like he's into this, like now he's into he knows what he likes.

So like he'll text me and be like that can I get this, Like can I get the my cousin's daughter also my cousin Felipe texting me like can I get the awake Jordan five?

So I was like, what the fuck, Like so the kids know now, you know, like and she's also she's twelve.

You know when did that turn?

Because to me, that was so ill watching it happen with my kids when they go from like the Carters and like the children's place, like just whatever blah blah blah shit yeah yeah, like just the random like yo, I'm a cool skateboard dinosaur whatever the fuck into Like yo, I actually like this, I like purple jeans, or like I like this, or I like you know what I mean, Like what is it like seeing that as a dad?

Because to me, it was like I love it twofold.

Yeah, yeah, I love it.

You love it and you hate it at the same time.

It's it's just like damn, bro.

LIKEGA used to take me to Target.

We used to walk out of there with no man a whole fit for like fifty dollars.

I'm like, damn.

I mean yesterday, yesterday he his mother called me and was like his phone is messed up.

He wants a new phone.

And I was like, okay, great, I just got a new phone.

I'll give him my old on it.

And she's like, no, he wants the new one.

And I'm like, what you don't.

I'm like what And then I was like yo, put him on the phone and he's like no, because you know, the new one has better protection.

And he started.

And then he started, he started naming it, and I was like, you know what, all right?

Man?

Like yeah, I was like if you know that much about the new phone, like whatever, you know?

But can we take a quick pause because now that we're we're talking about new drip, there's something that me and you will want to give you as a president.

Oh Brandon, do you mind?

Brand is the store manager.

It's not the branded by the way, for the record, this wasn't from one of those canceled orders.

Everybody says that, you know, there's a conspiracy theory.

This this is a seeding pair.

Thank you, thank you, thank you brother, because actually, you know why, you know why this president is being given to me because mer actually buy ship, yes, and he doesn't hit me up for no ships.

That's the rule of thumb.

You know what I'm saying that you know really supports the brand.

There's a handful of y'all that can afford it, and thank you for it.

And because we got bills to pay, a lot of people assume that we don't have bills to pay.

We got bills to pay.

So thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

And Yo, Adrian Avery already no these mind.

You're not borrowing them to go to get ice cream with Shorty sorry, because they get into that now now they fit, Yo.

Come come away a good smell right there.

There's no way get out and boot us.

But YO, honestly, bro, like that's that's that's thank you for saying that, because that is so real and important.

It goes a long way and like and it's like, Yo.

If I fuck with you and I fuck what you're doing, what better way to show that I really fuck with what you're doing then pulling up and being like, yo, brand you got this an x LP.

Like you know what I'm saying, Like I'll take a large And also for the record, and part of me for speaking for Hugo too, we're both extremely petty and we see everything.

You know, I'm always like I'm right here.

We're always keep king like, Yo, you see this motherfucker asking for this mother fucking buy ship.

You know what I'm saying.

And it's like, Yo, no got the real tree fails dope, you know what I'm saying, we gotta look out for him.

You know what I'm saying, you know, And that was a ship like a clock.

We clock it all funny.

Is like I was gonna wear that today and I was just like, damn, bro, I got fat.

I got photographed in that ship.

I was like, I got coming with it something different and I pivoted at the last second.

But I was like, damn, bro, I don't feel right.

I was like, I probably should have got dressed.

We should have did me getting dressed in here?

Know, man, a little style.

Yo to me style lie from awake.

You know what I'm saying, Yo, Angelo Backe hint by the human direct flap.

This is victory.

Like why do they call you a human direct flap BRW because I keep it wavy?

Baby, You know what I'm saying.

This is another banger episode of the most important show on.

The planet Facts with only the most.

Illustrious important guess in the world.

You're hurt, so stay right there.

And you know, if you have a subscribe to you're an idiot, you.

Know what I'm saying.

But running smash, you know, I love to say smash, smash the subscribe smash scratchy show my back, I know.

Show Thank you, brother, I appreciate you that ship Lord time Coming man liter like like

Mm hmm, litery like like like