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Chef Harold Villarosa
53 Plays3 years ago
This week we speak with Chef Harold Villarosa, about what kicks means to him. We talk about the first pair he needed, what kicks he prefers in the kitchen. We also talk about his work with Bon Appetit. His hustle mentality and how he got to where he is now. We also talk about Air Maxes as we kick off Air Max month! Don't forget to leave review and share it with your people.
Got a my kicks story? email us at myfirstkickspod@gmail.com our IG is @myfirstkickspod
Where to find Chef Harold:
Socials: @chefharoldvillarosa
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/unkleharold
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/myfirstkicks
Ify's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ifynwadiwe
Music by Gordon Bombay: https://thegordonbombay.bandcamp.com/
(Cop something and tell him we sent ya!)
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Transcript
Introduction of Chef Harold Villarosa
00:00:10
Speaker
What's up, everybody? Welcome back to my first kicks. This is episode sixty five. And this week we have a first we have on Chef Harold Villarosa. And he pulled up to the pod to be our first chef guest. It's pretty exciting, right? Well, he hops on. He gives the four one one on what kicks mean to him.
Sneaker App Frustrations and Supreme Dunk Fail
00:00:35
Speaker
And I'm going to tell you now. It's a great listen.
00:00:40
Speaker
But let's talk about this week and how your boy was back on the sneakers app. And I'm gonna tell you from going from not even opening the app to opening it and getting that sweet, sweet L on those undercover dunks, like it's like,
00:01:08
Speaker
How much did I miss this feeling? Because it just smacked me right in the face of like, oh yeah, this is why I don't open this dumb ass app.
00:01:19
Speaker
And it's like a pair of kicks. Like I really thought that the undercover shoes and, and, and you know, what's even funnier. I was on a zoom, not a zoom call. I was in a meeting with my coworkers and I even was like, Hey, if anybody has the sneakers that can you please put in an entry for a size 13 and, and also shout out to the sneaker history discord, because I also asked a couple of people in there.
00:01:45
Speaker
to just drop in a size 13 if you aren't going to cop them and we all got L's. I think it's a combined, I want to say 10 L's just like that. And it's, I don't, I don't, I don't miss this. It's crazy. It's like, it's, it's super trash, but this week's dunk release did not disappoint because we first started off with the undercover dunks, but
00:02:15
Speaker
By the time of this recording, on this day, this week, Supreme dropped its foray in the
Excitement for Air Max Month
00:02:25
Speaker
dunk. It was a regular dunk. It wasn't an SB dunk, but it was a dunk nonetheless, you know? And I had them in my cart.
00:02:35
Speaker
I proceed to check out. Hyped, hyped. I got the Brazil colorway, because you boys Brazilian, you know, half Brazilian. So I had to get the Brazil colorway, had them in my cart, go to checkout, go through the whole process, and I'm just like clicking real fast. All right, let's go, bam. All right, okay, bam. Go to PayPal, because you know, the tip is, and if you aren't hip on the tip of how to buy from Supreme now, it's basically
00:03:04
Speaker
Once you get it in your cart, once you go to checkout, hit that hit that PayPal checkout and you are good to go. But me, I have to make it harder for myself because I am not sure I should have PayPal to be such an easy, like, you know, trust this.
00:03:28
Speaker
Device right? I don't have it set to that I have it set to that whenever I make and a payment whenever I make a payment on PayPal it has to text me a pin number or something whatever their access code and Then I have to input the access code those precious Seconds that I used to wait for the code then to go on to back into the to the to the website and check out
00:03:58
Speaker
Listen, I hit the checkout button. I try to do this as fast as possible. The screen just went, the website just went black and took me straight to the Supreme homepage. I was beyond upset. And you could probably hear it in my voice because I had them. I freaking had them. And I literally just let myself down. That fucking sucks. Man, and because of, it's two L's in one week,
00:04:27
Speaker
It's super disappointing. And I, you know, I don't miss being on sneakers.
00:04:35
Speaker
and just trying to get another, or just trying to get any pairs of sneakers and striking out. I don't miss it at all. I haven't bought anything in a minute. And so this was just like, Hey, welcome back. You get two L's this week. But I'm just going to say, you know, I've kept my cop list pretty short this year. And
Chef Harold's Culinary Journey and Sneaker Passion
00:04:57
Speaker
it's funny. It's, it's funny that because of that two pairs that decided to come out in the same week,
00:05:04
Speaker
I would have been hurtin' real bad if I was able to get them, so it's fine. But, do you know what I am excited about? This was just announced today, by the time this recorded, Thursday, that the Chicago ones are coming back out at the end of this year.
00:05:28
Speaker
If you aren't familiar with the shoe, please look it up. It's every collector's favorite pair besides the bread slash band ones. And I've never been able to own a pair. Like I've had, I have the top three Jordan ones, which combines the breads, the Chicago's and the Royal ones, which I have no pairs. So I was just like, you know what? I'm gonna just knock them all out. I'm gonna just get one pair that combines all three of them. And they're dope to me, you know, but
00:05:57
Speaker
I will definitely try my damnedest to get a pair of these Chicago ones. And we are in, just jumping on to this month, which is March, we are in Air Max month. So I have another excuse to wear my bacons every day this month. And I'm just like Air Max, Air Maxes,
00:06:21
Speaker
You know, if you've listened to the previous episodes, if you listen to Kixie Jixie's episode, she talks about how much Air Max is mean to her and also this month. So make sure you go back and listen to that episode. But.
00:06:35
Speaker
Ever since Air Max Day was introduced to the fandom, if you wanna say, or the sneakerhead them, we usually get either like a retro pair of Air Maxes or they just bring out some new joints. And recently they've been teasing, well not teasing, I think they've been doing a PR push for this new form of Air Maxes. And I'm not a big fan of like whenever they introduce new Air Maxes into the system.
00:07:02
Speaker
I don't know why I said system, but into the system, um, I, I've just never felt for it. Right. Like, you know, when they brought in the three sixties, the air max three sixties, it, which encompasses the air max all around the bottom of the shoe. I wasn't a big fan of it. I didn't jump onto it. So.
00:07:22
Speaker
Hopefully they go back to the route, which they did it last year, which combined 2020 and 2021 because of COVID, they weren't able to release the bacons. So what they did was they released the bay. No, they weren't really able to release the clots. So in 2021, they just decided to release both because they had both pairs just like locked and ready to go. Right. They had the bacons and the clots. I was able to get both, but.
00:07:50
Speaker
If anybody remembers, they released the Atmos during, um, it was like a poll. It was like a poll on sneakers, which one you want to see, which one do you want to bring back? And I was a big fan of those, but I hope this year they bring back the Air Max 95 animal packs because I've always wanted a pair and this is very, very selfish, but I would love to get a pair and I hope nobody else wants them.
00:08:15
Speaker
so that I could get maybe two pairs again, like I did with the bacons. So, so I mean, there's that for that. But. And, you know, usually our Air Max Day, they also release the Air Max Day shoe, which has the 326 on it, which is Air Max Day. Write it down your calendars. Make sure you're wearing Air Max's on that day, especially if you're repping the podcast.
00:08:37
Speaker
It looks cool. Like it has some sort of like iridescent lenticular effect on the sides on the panels it has the 326 on the tongue, you know and I Think it I think it looks dope I'm I would like more looks at it because there's only I think there's like a Instagram post with with it broken down and like four pictures I think in a video and I think it looks pretty cool. So If you're gonna if you're gonna jump in on the on the air max craze, why won't you do it with a
00:09:06
Speaker
the Air Max day. I did a straight up rhyme and it was a promo. Pay me Nike. But because it is Air Max week, I mean Air Max month, I would like to know
00:09:25
Speaker
This goes out to everybody that's listening to this. What pair of Air Maxes you would like to see come back out? Or what pair of Air Maxes, even just the design, just throw us something. Just tweet it out to us, tag us, make sure you aim it at us and be like, hey, at my first kicks, I would like the Atmos ones to come back out. I would like the blank, blank, blank to come out.
00:09:51
Speaker
tag us twitter instagram put in your stories i would like to have some sort of interaction this is going to be i'm gonna be asking for this all month especially before the end of the sea this month's end and then you know tag us in your air max pics if you're rocking air maxes every day in honor of air max month let us know so
00:10:14
Speaker
How about we go on to where you can find chef Harold. You can find him on all social medias at, at chef Harold Villarosa. It's obviously, it's going to be, I'm going to put links in the description, give him a follow, let him know that we sent you. Check out a ton of his videos that he's been posting from when he was working with Bon Appetit on his Insta.
00:10:37
Speaker
And make sure you check out his restaurant that's opened up in San Fran this year. That's gonna be dope. I'm definitely gonna make a pilgrimage.
Sneakers in the Kitchen and Style Inspiration
00:10:45
Speaker
We made a ton of jokes in the beginning of this episode. It's gonna be dope.
00:10:50
Speaker
And you know where to find your boy I am, who is Haas on all social medias, don't forget to follow Ify. And I know he hasn't been on a couple episodes, but you know, it's mainly because of scheduling conflicts, but we're working on a fix that to get him back on. The man's busy. I mean, he's literally just was announced as a writer for the new Twisted Meadows show. It's freaking cool. So shout out to him.
00:11:14
Speaker
and give him that follow if you haven't followed him already. And don't forget to send us your My First Kicks stories to myfirstkickspod at gmail.com. Don't forget to follow us at My First Kicks Pod everywhere. Y'all know what it is, but onto this week's episode with Chef Harold.
00:11:47
Speaker
Hey Harold, welcome to the podcast. I appreciate the time, man. Thank you so much for having me. No, man. It's a super honor having you on. Uh, I don't even know. I know of you through love, which I was on his podcast. And, um, and then you also, you, you also worked at the stand too, right? Correct. I was a chef at the stand for about a year.
00:12:11
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, when that place first opened up, I was like, I've been in there once and I ate for like some sort of Comedy Central thing. And I was like, yo, this food is crazy up in here. Yeah, we called it a panty dropping food in a comedy club. That's what we called it.
00:12:31
Speaker
That's crazy. But for all my listeners, how about you talk a little bit about yourself, let them know who you are. Yeah. My name is Harold Villarosa. I'm 37 years old. I was born in the Philippines, but I grew up in the South Bronx, New York City. And so I call New York City my home.
00:12:51
Speaker
I'm a chef by trade. I'm a hustler by heart. So anything I do, I try to make money and get money, you know? So there's been kind of a great journey here for the last 19 years. Being a chef in New York city, I'm about to open a restaurant in San Francisco, California, which is kind of like a combination of my journey. And now I'm here on my first kicks podcast talking about sneakers.
00:13:19
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, it's crazy over to your own restaurant, man. That is crazy. Yeah, man. The hustle never stops, B. Yo, I mean, you bring in the Bronx straight to San Francisco. Yeah, definitely. You know, there's going to be like, we're going to have like little details of like Air Force Ones, like the table, like little details of like Timberland boots in the bathroom, like just little details of like letting people know
00:13:45
Speaker
the holy fucker with in the kitchen, but at the same time, the aesthetic of the space is very beautiful, very, you know, a high-end, you know, beautiful FFNE stuff, like...
00:13:56
Speaker
you know, Brazilian fucking chairs and all type of shit. Let them know that, you know, we still from the South Bronx and, you know, um, big pun and, and ASAP Rocky and fucking, you know, most that big L JZ going to be playing on the playlist. So, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's a, it's a representation of who I am as a person. And it's a, it's a great, it's a great beginning.
00:14:20
Speaker
Yo, that's sick, man. I definitely can't wait to go there. I'm hoping like the waiter pulls up with like a Yankee jersey on to some Tim. Yeah, he's gonna be like, you're table for two. Yo, that'll be sick. Like if you make that your answer machine, when you call in to be like, yo, you get a reservation and the answer machine's like, you're,
00:14:51
Speaker
Don't make a half man, it's a mess. Yo. It's a fact. Yeah, so having you on and now you're on to answer this question. What's your first kicks? What's that first pair of sneakers you absolutely needed to have? Yeah, the first pair of sneakers that I actually needed to have was the
00:15:09
Speaker
all blue foam positive Penny Hardaway's. When they came out, it was the most anticipated sneaker. I mean, I think at that time, back in the early 90s, I paid almost $230 for them. And that was two paychecks that I saved for my first job, which was McDonald's, to be able to buy them at Dr. J's down the block of 34th Street.
00:15:34
Speaker
I still remember this day and I ran through them things for almost two years. I didn't give a fuck. I wore them shits with everything. So, yeah. Yo, I mean, yeah, so I'm going to give the listeners a rundown of the the the air. Phone positive one, Royale, Royale. I don't know why I said Royale like I'm like British.
00:15:56
Speaker
The Nike Airform Posit One revolutionized encore performance elements and design when it was first released and unveiled in January of 1997. This original royal edition introduces a synthetic upper molded around a mesh booty
00:16:16
Speaker
a mesh booty. A contrast swoosh and one cent logos honor the athletic brand's heritage and Penny Hardaway with a carbon fiber plate revealed as the midfoot zoom air pairs with a translucent outsole to add a finishing touch. Yeah, baby. I'm just fine.
00:16:40
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, especially in New York, cause we've, we've talked to a couple of people and I mean, obviously, you know, I'm from New York too. And phone posits was just running New York to the ground. Everybody, everybody. And then when they came over, the different colors was over after that. Oh yeah. I mean, when the eggplants came out, when the eggplants first came out and then, uh, and then, uh, the all white joints.
00:17:03
Speaker
Oh yeah, the all white joints with the big black check on the side? Over with those. And the coppers, I think the coppers were like... Yeah. When they first dropped, I think everybody in my high school had a pair. I think the basketball team, they all got a pair of the all white joints as their uniform. It was crazy. Where'd you go to school at? I went to Manhattan Center, East Harlem.
00:17:28
Speaker
Jeez, jeez, Manhattan Center was like, I don't know, I don't know if we're at the same age, but Manhattan Center was, I remember dudes from my school going up to Manhattan Center to fight. Yeah, all the time, always wanted to fight. I think it's just part of the heritage, you know, Jim Jones, Mays came by to that school. So, you know, bunch of, you know, bunch of East Harlem motherfuckers from Wagner projects. And then a bunch of people from uptown Washington Heights went to that school. So you already know what kind of, you know, vibe that was, another kilo que, the fucking,
00:17:58
Speaker
the mongo in the morning and everybody was on it
00:18:02
Speaker
Oh man, you're bringing me back to high school straight up. So you said that you worked at McDonald's just to get these phone pop-ups. Yeah, but the reason that I got the job at McDonald's was I asked my mom for the $230. And she laughed straight on my face and said, you better go get a job. You better go get a job at McDonald's. And I said, fuck it. So I went to go get a job at McDonald's. I was starting off at like $7.25 an hour. And it took like a couple of weeks to save up money for them gents.
00:18:34
Speaker
That's crazy, but how does it, what was that grind like? Because I've never worked at McDonald's. A lot of people say there's good times, bad times, but New York City McDonald's has always been infamous. Oh yeah, especially on 34th Street. I worked on the one on 34th and 8th Ave. And not only did I meet some of the best people ever,
00:18:59
Speaker
I grew up with a lot, I went to work with a lot of great people, but just the interactions with all the people that is in that area, all the crack heads, all of the people that worked in all those different places. That's where I learned how to barter. I got fired, excuse me, I got fired from McDonald's because I started bartering the food with other people that worked around it.
00:19:26
Speaker
When I first got there, I started giving free Mac chickens and fucking fries and Big Macs to people that work that like the movie theaters or TJ Fridays or Krispy Kreme down on Penn Station, even a day.
00:19:46
Speaker
Every time I go over to these spots, I get the hookup. At Dr. J's, I get the 20%. At the movie theaters, I get the family tickets. At Krispy Kreme, I get a fresh fucking dozen donuts for free. So I learned how to barter and all that. Then when I became a chef in a restaurant, I used the same kind of methods. But I started bartering with millionaires and talking about business, all kind of stuff.
00:20:14
Speaker
I learned a lot working at McDonald's, man. I learned a lot. Damn, you've always been in the restaurant industry? Yeah, that's been my whole life. I try to go to college and learn how to do shit, like be an English major or like a nerd, all type of shit, but it was never for me. The restaurant business kept calling me.
00:20:35
Speaker
Oh yeah, for sure. Once I got out of retail, I was out of it. I was just like, hell no. I don't know if it's like this in the restaurant business, but you were so checked, the check is literally just, you just wade into water to get to the next check. And then trying to get sneakers on top of that too. Oh, it's a wrap. It's a wrap.
00:21:02
Speaker
So you have to get the hustle on the side, you know what I'm saying? You have to like barter and like, you know, 20% off at Dr. J's is a lot, you know what I mean?
ComplexCon and Sneaker Culture Experience
00:21:10
Speaker
So you get 10s for like $80, Air Max is for like 95, you feel me? So it was lit, man, had a good time.
00:21:20
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, what were you, were you able to stay fresh? Like, even though you started off and... Nah, nah, I wasn't really that type of dude. Like, I was broke, you know what I'm saying? Like, I was like working all the time and like, I would have like maybe a seven to six sneaker collection every like three months, you know, three or four months I rotate them out. But I wasn't really a big sneaker head back then, you know what I'm saying? I was just getting shit that was comfortable, you feel me? Like Air Max 95s.
00:21:50
Speaker
I'm a big Air Max head, like Air Max 90s, Air Max 97s. I never was a big Jordan fan, like even like fucking when my father tried to buy me a pair of a pair of red and black joints.
00:22:11
Speaker
Oh, the 11. Yeah, the 11's like, I was like, nah, I'm good. And he looked at me, he was like, you sure? Like, this is like the sneaker, you know? I was like, nah, like, I'm not really into it, you know what I'm saying? Cause I seen what happened to motherfuckers, like I sneaked like that on my block, you feel me? Like motherfucker, they like chomped and shit and like fucking, you know, get all, get all like fucked up and butt hurt, you know what I mean?
00:22:34
Speaker
Oh, yeah, I mean, yeah, we were in 11s on the street back in like the 90s late 90s 2000s is a wrap. Yeah, it's over after that, man. So, you know, they used to give people about 50s back then. So I was never really trying to I was really not trying to get it caught up in 90s.
00:22:52
Speaker
Dude, man, Buck 50s, dude, you just brought me back. Like, you definitely don't hear anybody being like, yo, I'm gonna give you a Buck 50 anymore. But, here, dude, come on, pull up. Yo, come back here, let me give you a Buck 50. Like, you used to hear that shit all the time. You don't hear it anymore, man. Do you remember Halloween? Halloween was the scariest fucking time of the year, you know what I'm saying?
00:23:16
Speaker
You don't want to be outside for Halloween. You know what I mean? No, for real. Like I remember this. I was one of my friends. My friend's sister friend was was like walking and they straight. She was like, oh, really good looking girl. And like.
00:23:33
Speaker
She was straight up like even like my friend's mom was like, yo, she was beautiful. And then do some do I know it was a female that came up to her, said something and she didn't understand and just straight just sliced her face. So yeah, give her a smiley face. Yeah. I usually like. That was the that was the craziest time in Halloween, like nobody was going outside. You don't want to go outside. You don't want to go outside at the time.
00:24:02
Speaker
But I mean, have you seen anything crazy about dudes getting robbed for their kicks? I mean, hopefully you were in one of these stories. I never got robbed for my kicks. I got robbed for my tips and for my knicks fitted one time. But I know I got jumped for some blood shit, but
00:24:26
Speaker
I see some Crips on 3rd Avenue in the Bronx, jumped a bunch of motherfuckers for like, some dude came out of Jimmy Jazz, like a couple of North Faces or whatever, and jumped them for it. But I mean, it happens, man. It's part of the upbringing. I think the motherfuckers that grew up in that time and the motherfuckers that grew up, really grew up in New York at that time, really have this sense of like,
00:24:54
Speaker
I don't know of like awareness that nobody else has, you feel me? Like, I think that's what New York really gives you is this, you know, two things, right? It's grit and resiliency,
Culinary Creativity and Personal Style
00:25:04
Speaker
right? Every time, every time you're down or every time something happens to you, you always tap into those roots that, you know, that New York gave you and you always prevail. That's what they always say. If you make it in New York, you make it anywhere.
00:25:16
Speaker
Whoever grew up in that era and kind of, you know, understood those things that happened from, you know, the fifties to like, you know, school Metro cards and like happened to train then tickets, like all type of shit that we used to do when we was young, it kind of shaped you to the person that you are now. And I think that's so cool about growing up in New York, you know what I mean?
00:25:37
Speaker
Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean, we were we definitely speaking of like, because like those the supreme dunks that are coming out this week, they literally say what we are inherently known, which is by any means necessary. So like by any means, man, I'm definitely like doubling up, save save a couple of dollars here. You know, you just you just you just try to get as much as you can so that you can get what you want.
00:26:06
Speaker
Um, but yeah, so like you saying like, so wait, you, you started working at what age then I was started working on 14, 14. Oh, you got the papers. That's all you had to get the papers. Yeah. Yeah. And then, you know, you caught those, you caught your, your phone posits and then, you know, you're saying that you got your, you, you, you weren't able to cop as much of you had your seven, your seven pairs. So then.
00:26:35
Speaker
At what point were you like, I'm getting back into this? Because now I've seen the videos, man. You're rocking heat now. Yeah, a couple of joints. I think I'm maybe in my late 20s. Because in my early 20s, I was still wilding out. I was in the West Coast for a little bit. I think in my late 20s, in the West Coast, they're not really big on sneakers like that.
00:27:02
Speaker
They're like, you know, they stay with their Cortez's and like, you know, they're like, you know, I don't know what else to wear out here, but I try to- Definitely vans, I think, right? They're like that, you know what I mean? Like, they have their own culture, Stiga culture out here, you know? But they're not like, it's not like a walking city. So all their speakers have flat bottoms, you feel me? So all the Converse, they love the Air Jordan 1s, you know what I'm saying?
00:27:31
Speaker
So I started really collecting sneakers like my early thirties. So I've been back being a sneaker head for like seven years now. And what I do is I get a 12 pair rotation and I rock them the whole year. And then I get rid of them and I just drop them off at a good will or, you know,
00:28:00
Speaker
Goodwill or Buffalo shame, something, you know, like, especially, especially in the West coast, you know what I mean?
00:28:11
Speaker
What I'm really getting into is really just connecting to what I feel is comfortable. And for me right now is Air Max 1s, Air Max SCs. I have like fucking shit. I got like 10 pairs of Air Maxes, bro, like all different colors. You know what I'm saying? Air Max 97s, 77 trailblazers. I got a couple of those, the John Elliott collaboration, LeBron.
00:28:41
Speaker
I got two different colors of those. How do you like those? Cause I didn't think, like a lot of people, they kind of like slept on those. And I remember though, I saw those and they were like, yo, these look dope. They're, they're fired, but they're bad, comfy, bro. Like you, you feel like you're just walking on air. Seriously. They're the most comfortable sneakers ever I ever wore. So comfy, bro.
00:29:04
Speaker
And I don't even pull them out like that. And the all white joints, I don't even pull those, I don't even pull them out. The all white, I don't even pull them out. And the other thing that I'm getting into now too is these loafers from North Face, I don't know if you've seen them, they're like slippers almost. They're like uggs for men, you know what I'm saying?
00:29:27
Speaker
Yeah, comfiest. Those are my airport shoes. I go to the airport with those. They just take them off, put them on real quick. Don't they have like a bubble jacket? It looks like a bubble jacket on the front. A bubble jacket on top. That's not his first. That's crazy. I mean, like, so like, I mean, you know, as you work in like hospitality or restaurant industry, you're always on your feet 24 seven. So you're saying like, I'm all about the comfort, bro.
00:29:57
Speaker
Yeah. So like the, the air maxes are definitely just like, that's the bread and butter right there. Cause isn't, isn't, isn't what everybody, cause like I have a couple of friends that are in, in the business too. And they're all like, uh, you know, Crocs is it like Crocs is what you gotta be wearing in the kitchen. I wear Crocs. I wear Crocs in the kitchen, but I also wear air maxes.
00:30:19
Speaker
When I used to run the kitchen at the stand, I used to wear Air Maxes during the service because I didn't have to cook behind the line. I just stood on my feet the whole time. So yeah, so for me, they're my go-to, like, I think for the rest of my life, I'm going to be buying those because they're just so comfy and the style is so, you know, it just reminds me of my childhood, you know what I mean? Oh, yeah. Yeah.
00:30:46
Speaker
The Air Maxes has so much story behind them too. You were never part of the Nike SB rise? I copped a few. I copped a couple of early 2000s, maybe, or 2003s. But I just didn't like the big ass lip on the tongue. I just wasn't a big fan of the tongue. That shit was too fat for me. It was weird.
00:31:16
Speaker
I mean, that's to be, I love that part. That part is so dope. My man got the Grateful Dead joints and they have a zipper on the tongue. And that's why you like keep all the bud and all that stuff. That's why he keeps all his bud. Yeah. All the 420 shoes. Cause I have a pair. They're called the white widows or the, yeah, I think they're called like the white widows or something like that. And I don't smoke weed. So literally the pocket goes to waste.
00:31:44
Speaker
But yeah, it has a Velcro pocket so you can like stash your your shit in there. And I like the card and then show them to vaccinate. Unless unless you Joe Rogan. You know, you.
00:32:00
Speaker
Yeah. But yeah, so like I remember I got them in and I wasn't even thinking about it because obviously it's a shoe that's based on weed. It comes out on 420. Right. And so like I order it and I get them in my house and I'm just like.
00:32:15
Speaker
I'm like looking at him like, yo, these are dope. It's all like skunky looking suede and stuff like that. And then I'm like, why is there a pocket here? And I had, I like, I was like, ah, you gotta put weed, you gotta put weed in this thing. So the whole thing smells like weed. It's supposed to smell like weed, actually. That's funny. That's, I hope they come over the purple haze one, just to have fun.
00:32:38
Speaker
Uh, did they, I know they got the, the purple, there's a purple skunk one. And those are the man, man, don't know about that. I don't smoke. I don't smoke. So I don't know that. I don't know. That's the Washington Heights gym. No, I thought it was sour diesel, sour diesels were ran New York city. Now I'm a man. He's ran, he's ran New York city.
00:33:05
Speaker
Where's the farthest you had to go to cop? I mean, speakers is just part of your personality, right?
00:33:16
Speaker
You know, I think, you know, when people talk about girls, like the holy grail of
PJ Tucker's Sneaker Collection
00:33:19
Speaker
sneakers, it just depends who you are, right? Some people are like fucking Jordan heads, right? And one, one through 11, right? They fucking worship that shit, right? Yeah. But for me, you know, my shit is like the utmost collab, utmost collab with, you know, with, um, with, um, with Air Max and I'm saying, I like, that's my grail. Yeah. That's a grail right there for me. You know what I'm saying? Like, you know, just simple tennis stuff, you know, those are the girls for me, girls for me too. You know what I'm saying?
00:33:46
Speaker
You know, the, the weather spoons, you know, those are, that's a grill for me. You know what I'm saying? But it just depends on like, you know, what people like and shit, you know, but, but for me, comfort is number one. Don't tell you the truth. Comfort. Yeah. I mean, but it's crazy because like you can get, you can get dope ass style with comfort, right? You don't have to, cause like we, you know, like back in the day or even like people would just put their feet through hell, just be just to look dope. The size smaller.
00:34:14
Speaker
That's to look dope. Oh, oh, the speaker that I'm fucking dying to buy to that is going to, I think I'm just going to, I'm going to have to drop a couple of maybe two or three stacks is a pair of fear of gods. I mean, like, I mean, like, this is like, this is like my, my dream shoe, bro. The fucking fear of gods, bro. What is it about the fear of God that does it for you? I don't know, man. I think the way that it's like the high, the high, the high top,
00:34:43
Speaker
and also how the strings wrap on the side. And I just love the design of it. It's like super futuristic, but I think it was ahead of its time when it came out, you feel me? Like if it came out now, it would be more popular than when it came out like a few years back, you feel me? Oh yeah, for sure. Cause like, I mean, I wasn't sold on it in the beginning. I was looking at it like, was this like some elf shoe or something like that? But since, you know, with the whole photographer,
00:35:09
Speaker
a kind of craze and then like Kanye's shit. Like all time machine, you know, that style is like really like, you know what I mean? Yeah.
00:35:21
Speaker
I mean, and on top of that, cause like, you know, a lot of people don't realize like Nike does not let you do whatever you want when you collaborate with them. Like if you look at previous people that have kind of collaborated with them, you know, like until night, until, until Kanye came through, like you, you weren't going to get your own model that you build it from, from the ground up. Oh, Jeremy, Lorenzo, Lorenzo. Yeah. I think.
00:35:50
Speaker
Yeah, because it's less like that shoot because he got he's he got the original fear of God and then he still had other Models come out too because he had the lows there were like four level like cream colorways or whatever Yeah, and and a lot of people a lot of people were just like oh I should get him now So like when when he bounced right people started buying them up all on stock because when he bounced They he was just like there's not gonna be another pair ever again, right? He's going straight to Adidas
00:36:20
Speaker
And so that's the, that's the, I think that's the pair that I would pay a couple of stacks for is a sphere of gods. And I also had, I also had Air Max 97, the Ratatouille colors. I don't know if you've seen though, there's like the Jamaica colors was like red, green and orange and yellow. And so I had a pair of those for like, I had it for like three years, but I over rocked them and they just got fucking fucked up. But.
00:36:48
Speaker
Those pairs I'm trying to look for, again, the Air Max 97, right at two each. Oh, these are crazy. I like these. Amazing, bro. I paid like $2.20 for them. I said, I'm copying these ASAP. I just bought them crazy.
00:37:04
Speaker
But yeah, I just ran through them and they were so fresh, you feel me? Just so fresh. And so, yeah, I'm trying to buy those again. But right now StockX, they're like going for like $320 or $400. So I'll do it. Oh, I don't know your size. I'll also tell you right now. I'm 13. Oh, yeah, I'm also 13. So they don't even have a pair. Last sale was like $190. Worst size ever, bro. $13 is the worst size ever.
00:37:31
Speaker
13 is totally the worst size ever, man. I've been on so many lines, and then be like, oh, you got any 13s left? Nah, man. We just sold the last one. Because you probably only had one back there. 13 is the worst size, B. Whenever something drops on Nike, I'm on the first one there. I'm just like, please, for the love of God, have a size 13. All these fucking basketball players grabbing this shit up.
00:37:55
Speaker
It's funny because I've spoken to a couple of resellers recently. And they're like, yeah, we go for the bigger sizes because they go faster because basketball players would pay money for it. Yeah, I believe it. I believe it. And I'm like, damn, that makes sense. But I've been struggling all my life trying to buy pairs of size 13 because they're so freaking hard to get. That's when you get a pair of sneakers, you hold on to them. You don't give them up so much.
Sneaker Community Stories with Chef Harold
00:38:23
Speaker
Yeah, I mean that is PJ Tucker man that guy I don't even know what the fuck he does, but he gets the fucking most exclusive pairs. I've never I ever seen in my life You've seen that that one article where PJ Tucker got a pair of unreleased mellows, but in mellow had never seen Yeah
00:38:49
Speaker
Yo, I was like, damn, this dude is so plugged in. Like, I mean, he's definitely have to be like, I don't even know if it's he, cause he, I don't think he's going to Nike and being like, yo, I need you to make these, you know? He's paying somebody that worked at Nike that has that one pair. You know what I'm saying? That his ties or whatever, you know what I'm saying?
00:39:11
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, it's his his collection is definitely crazy. And what's even what's doper about him, too, is that after he wears them, he puts he sells them on eBay and then he donates the money. Oh, really? I didn't know that. That's dope. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He has he always puts collections up. He recently had one up and it was just like
00:39:32
Speaker
Like, I think it was like his recent, like not this season, the season before, he put up a bunch of pairs that were, that he played in and he was selling, he was just selling them off. And they weren't even going for that crazy either, but, and he had some stuff that he just like, he wore to the games and stuff like that, so.
00:39:51
Speaker
He's dope. Eventually, hopefully one day, I get him on here and then I tell him to go visit the restaurant in San Francisco so he can get the South Bronx treatment at a nice fine dining. I did how ridiculous he is that he has like fucking like maybe 12 pairs of sneakers every game day that he lays out in his locker and he just like switches sneakers every quarter or some shit.
00:40:16
Speaker
I mean, he's gotta, he's gotta be like, but the thing is about that, like basketball players that got that, that inside track like that, is that these shoes that he, like his insoles are probably worth more than the shoes.
00:40:31
Speaker
Yeah, he's his insoles, his like ankle brace and all that stuff. That's probably all like crazy engineered, like so that he can play at anything, you know? You have to like, you have to engineer it so you're right, because he can't just be wearing any type of sneaker, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, for sure. But so like, have you ever worked in like any, have you ever like met somebody that's also sneaker head that worked in the kitchen too?
00:40:56
Speaker
Yeah, there's a chef named James, James Kent, and he's a chef at Crownside. He's a heavy, heavy sneaker head. Like the other day he wore the Air Jordan and Union, LA Union collab where he joins whatever. He had them. He also had the Dior's. He wore the Dior's one time for like
00:41:22
Speaker
a dinner that he was doing, just working service and rocking the deals. Yeah, yeah, he's a deep, he's a deep, he's a deep, he's a deep, that's crazy. I mean, just like, just like, cause to me, it just seems like the kitchen has to be like, you got, you like sloshing through stuff. So if something falls, it's a wrap. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. So I think
00:41:47
Speaker
If you're if you're if you're rocking sneakers in the kitchen, you know for a fact you're fucking you're the boss man and you ain't you're not working like you know I'm saying you're not fucking Working heavy heavy shit. So you just chillin. I want to I want to wear my nice shit like on the line like that
00:42:06
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, like, oh, but also I do want to talk about like, you've been starting to do these like cool videos like last year. That's when I hit you up last year. You're doing, um, dope videos. Was it, was it for Delish? Did you do a video for Delish? Um, I did a couple of videos, but I think the main videos I'm doing now is with Bon Appetit. Yeah.
00:42:25
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But what's, what's that like? Cause like, are you able to put like your, your spin on things like that? Or is it just like, I'm, I'm, oh, I'm super curious about this because we've seen everybody watches these freaking videos. Like everybody wants to see you cook. Right. So like, what is it like? Are you just like, yo, this is, I'm gonna put my signature on here. They gave me a box and I just work in it. You know what I'm saying? So they said, look, we need you to make a chicken wing.
00:42:50
Speaker
recipe. Like, all right, here's my recipe. Like, cool. And then we shoot it and then they just let me talk my shit. And you know, that's it. I think it's pretty cool that they just let me be me and be original, you know, and that. Yeah.
00:43:06
Speaker
How did you fall into this? Well, it was like two years ago, they were going through their things, you know, with all the racial stuff and like they lost like maybe 11 members of their team or whatever through some
Episode Wrap-Up and Social Media Engagement
00:43:19
Speaker
relationship. And so I was like, oh, this is a perfect opportunity. So I slid into Brad's DM, one of the main producers, and I said, look, you're not going to get back to where you're going to go without a person like me on your team. And he was like, you're right.
00:43:35
Speaker
I got interviewed and then I got hired. And now I'm like 36 episodes in, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. I mean, and you're doing amazing work too. Like, I mean, I ain't like you in the kitchen because I burned, I've burned.
00:43:48
Speaker
Plenty of plates, not plenty of plates, plenty of pans. That's the only way you can really learn. If you don't burn, so I burn. I burned a lot of things in my career. So if you don't learn from your mistakes, then you're not progressing. So I think when people ask me how to get confidence in my cooking, I think the only way you can really get confidence is by failing. If you keep failing at something over and over again, I think that's the only way you can really get confidence.
00:44:17
Speaker
So, rest assured, I didn't get to this point now without burning something or failing in a couple of things, you know what I'm saying? No, yeah. I mean, even on Love's podcast, like you talk about finding that inspiration or trying to figure out how to find your hustle gene, I think. And, you know, not everybody has it, but like,
00:44:44
Speaker
Like you can create it, right? You know, like you're big on like, you know, these are your paths. Like you can make it your way. And that's how I feel like you take that into cooking. Cause like you can, you get X amount of ingredients and you can make what you may think will taste great. Yeah, definitely. I think, I think as long as it tastes good and I think as long as you know what you want out of it, it's all that matters. You know what I'm saying?
00:45:11
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. Has there been stuff that just like been catching your eye? Like, even if it's just like, have you seen like, you know, I don't mean, maybe I'm throwing this out or maybe I'm creating something that you might want to start, which is like a sneaker cooking show or like something where like, you know,
00:45:34
Speaker
Something that's caught your eye where is able to mix the cause like, you know, we both have passion for sneakers. And I mean, I love cooking. I've watched cooking channel all my life, basically. So.
00:45:44
Speaker
Like, have you seen something that has been able to mix that up? Yeah, I mean, we're pitching that to our complex right now. We created a show where, you know, sneakers and food came together and we talked about creativity. So something like the Atmos collab with Air Max,
00:46:07
Speaker
those sneakers I translated into a dish called Shorrib Okonomiyaki where I made a Japanese pancake representing the colors of the Atmos sneaker and where the Atmos store is at, Shibuya region of Japan. And in that region, the Okonomiyaki pancake is super famous. And so I just connected the dots and created a dish out of that.
00:46:32
Speaker
And so we're pitching, we're pitching complex now and BuzzFeed on that idea of like having a show where chefs are presented with an item and either a sneaker or art piece. And they have to create a dish that connects back to that piece and then the judges taste and then, you know, and see if it makes sense or not. I mean, that'd be funny if somebody tastes that and they'd just be like, I taste the Atmos.
00:47:01
Speaker
Like just what I made was like the all, the all four, all white, all white, all white fours.
00:47:09
Speaker
I made like a udon noodle, fettuccine alfredo with shrimp, but with udon noodles, and it was like a Japanese style of alfredo with miso and sake and shit, and jumbo shrimp, and it was all white. The whole dish was white, right? So it kind of like matched with the atmos, I mean, with the all white force. Yeah. I mean, how'd you get the quotation marks udon in there?
00:47:40
Speaker
Udon is a style of noodle. No, no, no, I was just saying, cause like, usually he, Virgil does the air on the side and he like, the quotation marks Udon right there real quick. Yeah, that'd be great, no? But I feel like that, I think, you know, sneaker culture, food culture goes hand in hand, right? You know, sneaker has got to eat too, right? So, you know, at the end of the day, you know, I think that's, that's how you're going to approach it, you feel me?
00:48:08
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, when I went to, I don't know, did you go to complex con last year? I was supposed to go to the one. You mean last year, like 2021? Yeah. Like 2020. The one in Los Angeles. I didn't get to go.
00:48:23
Speaker
man, like so they had So I was there we were there representing the podcast and like and we go out there and they have feet first we feast Lagoon where they had like a bunch of trucks with their food and it was interesting because like Everybody was out there and everybody's like fresh as hell, right? but this whole thing was on this like a wet and
00:48:51
Speaker
grassy. No. Oh, you know, I I left there with so much mud on my sneakers. I was kind of upset what she was wearing that day. So the first day I was I rocked my SB. I have a pair of hemp SBs, the red hemp SBs from like 2002 or something like that.
00:49:16
Speaker
And, and, uh, but also, uh, which everybody listening knows, but I went there like four months after I had ankle surgery. And, and so like, I was, I was in pain the entire time and, um,
00:49:32
Speaker
I'm out there and I was supposed to wear an ankle brace and I forgot the ankle. No, no, I was supposed to wear my inserts and I didn't have my inserts. I only wore an ankle brace. So like I'm walking on this grassy, muddy knoll or whatever trying to get some food. I mean, the food there was crazy, too. But it was just like wild, just like.
00:49:51
Speaker
I was I was I was very much in pain the entire time that I was an accomplice con. And then the second day I wore a pair of Nike. I wore the Nike SB Jordan from it's called like from New York to L.A. I think it is from Chicago. No, for Chicago to L.A.
00:50:11
Speaker
I think, and then you can like, I don't know if you've seen it, but it's the ones that you can like scratch it off, or if you skateboard, you grind off the top and it'll be like, the top colors is Lakers, and then if you grind through, you'll get Chicago way, you get Chicago bread colors. Yeah, we got all that shit mudded up, huh? That one I didn't get mudded up, because the first day when I was there, it was misty.
00:50:37
Speaker
And then it didn't get hot. And then the next day it was fine. Jesus Christ. But I mean, like food food and kicks mix like crazy. I think I think I don't know early in the early in the days, like early in like sneaker days, sneaker collecting days. I don't know why I'm saying it all weird. But like early in the day, early and before.
00:51:03
Speaker
We've got a bank exchange and there was always just like dumpling there was a dumpling spot dumpling truck that will pull up the dung exchange and i would be like the prime like they just hit me hit it prime on the dumplings are just always in clutch. Yeah. And.
00:51:22
Speaker
I think like, yo, that idea though, that idea is straight fire. Cause like, I'm gonna tell you, cause now, now my idea is probably never going to happen. I'm never going to get the funding to do it. I don't think I can because sneakers, like selling sneakers, like selling, like getting like a Nike account is so freaking hard, but I've always had this idea of doing, um, a sneaker speak easy. Right. But.
00:51:49
Speaker
The front of the store is actually the sneaker store and the speakeasy is actually a restaurant in the back. And then you get in and each, if it's like a drop day and the restaurant is only gonna be open like, I wanna say like Wednesday through Sunday or something like that, right? And on a drop day, the menu will be tailored to what sneaker dropped. Yeah, that's fine.
00:52:21
Speaker
And I was trying to see if I can do it, but yeah, I don't have friends. I don't have friends in high places to make that happen. It's hard, man. It's hard. There's a lot of money involved.
00:52:37
Speaker
No, yeah, I mean, and then on top of that, like sneaker stores are just like now they're literally I haven't run into like a non footlock or something like that, unless it's like, you know, it's all it's mostly just consignment stores now all over New York City. Yeah. Yeah, that's tough. Yeah. So like that dream is dead. I had thought about this in like when I was like 13, dude.
00:53:03
Speaker
I had like the first one, I was just like, oh yeah, the bread would just, you know, do like a little shrimp leguini or something like that, or like with like some red sauce and it'll be crazy. It'll look like a pair of breads or something like that. Man, that's too much. That's crazy. But we're at the end of the podcast, but we ask everybody at the end of the podcast each week, this one question, which is, what does the thrill of the hunt mean to you?
00:53:33
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, the thrill of the hunt really means to me is, you know, really pursuing something that you really want, but also, you know, nourishing in the process, you feel me? And not really focusing on the end game, but just focusing on the process, getting to the end game. And I think, you know, that's the way I see life. And that's the way I see, you know, the thrill of the hunt looks like, you know what I'm saying?
00:54:03
Speaker
Yeah, man. I mean, that that you say you said it like a freaking sage old wise man. I mean, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. That was a fact. Like that was that was beautifully said. But let everybody know where they can find you.
00:54:23
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I'm all over social, IG, Chef Harold Villarosa. I got a YouTube channel called Uncle Harold TV. You're going to catch me on Bon Appetit's YouTube channel. I'm everywhere, man. Come see me in San Francisco, open the restaurant in October of this year. It's going to be lit. That's how we do it.
00:54:45
Speaker
Yo man, thank you for jumping on. This was amazing, insightful. I feel the hustle. You got me going. But we sell everybody each week to always wear your kicks. Peace.