Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Ferocious Uncompromising with Jinx
0 Playsin 8 hours
This week Jinx pulls up to the podcast to talk about his journey with kicks. How Deepcuts Projects came to be, how an idea to honor the foamposite lead to a space in Chinatown. How journalism found him and the career he has been able to build. Paving the way for the current way we see man on the street content. How sneakers and music intertwined have been a huge inspiration in his life and a ton more!
Follow Jinx:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/brandonjinx
Deepcuts Projects IG: https://www.instagram.com/deepcutsprojects/
Check out Lineage - An exploration of the foamposite genealogy
47 Chrystie St NY, NY 10002
Podcast Linktree: https://linktr.ee/myfirstkicks
Sign up for the Patreon: https://patreon.com/MyFirstKicks
Intro & Outro by Sango: https://www.instagram.com/sango_/
Backing Music by The DoppleGangaz: https://thedoppelgangaz.bandcamp.com/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction: Retro Shoes and Intergenerational Dialogue
00:00:00
Speaker
Any retro is an expression of like, intergenerationalism, right? Like the moment a shoe comes back, you're in conversation with what happened before and what you're doing now. So like, I don't want to say old head, but someone who's like wearing the phones in 97 is in conversation with the kid who's behind the Galaxy's Retro or the Supremes whatever it is, right?
00:00:21
Speaker
Or the, I don't even know, like the the Stranger Things joints. yeah They might not be saying the same things, but they're in conversation. and So that's like a that is a interaction or through line that like yeah yeah that goes through several different eras and it goes in everything in the world is like so we took that approach and Nike let me swing big man you know I told Nick I was like yo like um ah I'm a swing you know and he was like all right cool and we brought the deck back together we showed them all the things we wanted to do and everything that's in here is everything that was in the deck like
00:01:01
Speaker
What's
Episode 260 Kickoff with Guest Jinx
00:01:02
Speaker
good everyone? Welcome back to My First Kicks. This episode 260. I'm going to say it's either four or three. i'm So the only reason i've I'm confused is because I did a recording before this and now got to push that one back. And now because you are on on the podcast. you give me like premiere. Yeah, I give you premiere real estate. yeah Yeah. Welcome to the podcast, Jinx, man.
00:01:22
Speaker
Yeah, thanks for having me, man. i' Obviously, I've been like a fan of the show. I've seen like a couple of the episodes, seen a couple of the homies up here, so I'm here. Look, man, that's such high praise. like when When we first met at s Sango's show, like yeah I remember texting Robbie and being yo, I got Jinx's number. We got him on the podcast. I might have been Cook, too. Who knows? that was um That was a fun night. um But yeah, and a lot of times, too, I'm like super patient about what I do. I always want to see like who's on the show first. like if i I want to be on the show. And also, like... um I'm like back outside again a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, all right, I want I knew we did this space even early on. ah We had been talking. I'm like, oh, this is the perfect time to like come and do this. You know, I mean, i like we could talk about it, but like the I felt super honored that you're you're allowing me in the space and let's tell people about the the space a little bit yeah because they only see in the
Deep Cuts: Concept to Editorial Project
00:02:10
Speaker
back. But like, if you are not familiar with like, you know, Jinx and deep cuts, like let people know about you and the and the space as well. Um, yeah, damn, trying to think where i should start.
00:02:22
Speaker
I guess I could start with deep cuts. Deep cuts has been a thing I've been like ideating for many years. It started back when I was like a complex and then it was going to be a couple of different things where we always knew we kind of wanted to take on the lens of like editorial. And so editorial has a lot of faces. It might be a book. It might be a podcast, might be this kind of thing. yeah Conversations ah could be a space, but it's a way to like kind of discuss and surface subject matter. So It had been like a PDF. It had been a series of Zoom meetings, all these things, and it wasn't tangible. But then i got a call from ah my guy Nick at Nike. He's like a longtime friend. We used to work together at Complex.
00:02:56
Speaker
And he's really, to me, he's one of the most thoughtful people I've ever met. um So we've always like aligned on like a level of depth or a level of thought and appreciation for things. Yeah. So... um When this opportunity popped up, he was like, hey, man, like we're opening up this new space. We want to talk about we got some ideas for but we're thinking about trying to discuss phone posits.
00:03:16
Speaker
What do you think? I was immediately like, a yes. Yeah. One, because, you know, the Deep Cuts mission is to do stuff like this. and And granted, also for the record, like Deep Cuts is sight unseen to most people. guess the magazine buried in the tapestry here, but does not exist publicly or it didn't exist ah publicly. And Nick and them took a big gamble on me like now.
00:03:36
Speaker
You know, I cannot tell you how many times I've walked by and seen the Deep Cuts logo on the glass and like it feels, it feels phenomenal. I mean, that's gotta be like... Bro, to go from like, yeah, like yeah this is a deck to what this is, it fire.
00:03:47
Speaker
But... Hold on, real quick though, like like, what does it feel like? Because like, it's a, seeing like a thought, a thought come to life, like seeing this, a tangible piece, like even from the first magazine, like what does that even feel like?
00:04:01
Speaker
Um... It's like fifty fifty You're both like, you kind of flicker between like, wow, this is real. And the other part is um you've thought about it so long and you're already on the next thing that this feels like just a step. Yeah. So I'm constantly told to like be a little bit more present and be a little bit more like appreciative of what's happening in real time. So a couple times I'll just stare and look at this cause I think it's fly. Yeah. Right. Or stare, look at the space because think it's cool. Yeah. But. um I am a i'm a tomorrow type dude, so I'm like always in that, and I'm trying to do better at wheeling back and being like, all right, like i'm I'm here now. So it's it's fifty fifty You gotta give yourself flowers. You gotta be, because you gotta to be around, you gotta to ring around and smell them, man. I think we we live in a world where, You know, that's I feel like it's being more present of like, you know, be here for the present so you can enjoy your presence. i'm not present, yo. I'm not. I'm not. But i'm I'm trying to get better at it. And I think the people who live ah like probably the most fulfilling lives are. I'm usually like.
00:04:58
Speaker
somewhere back there and somewhere up here. Yeah. To the point where i'll forget what happens sometimes and people have to tell me. Yeah. there's There's couple of times I've been really present. But anyways, um
Nike Collaboration and Cultural Significance of Phone Posits
00:05:08
Speaker
yeah. So he's like, yeah let's let's find a way to sort of discuss this shoe. And I think initially i came i came at it from a real Nike angle because I'm ah a big I'm like a Nike super fan and a student of the of the brand. um And he really pushed me and was like, yo, I want to talk ah like We already do that well, do the things that we can or haven't done. yeah And so we're like, OK, how do we talk about the things that if phone pauses are you know the the planet, how do we talk about the things that, you know, or the center? We want to talk about the things that orbit it. Yeah. You know, so how do we get around? So that's you know a mix of everything. It's ephemera. That's magazine clippings. That's you know jerseys.
00:05:47
Speaker
that's, um you know, Sharpie markers, it's action figures, dolls, it's it's moving images. Yeah. the The ecosystem and the universe that's around it yeah is something that would live through the fabric of sneaker culture, especially. And all things that we actually do with them or enjoy about them, more than just buying a shoe. You know, a shoe comes out as just an object.
00:06:05
Speaker
So how do we, what's what we do with the way you lace them, what you wore with them today. You know, what day you wore them, who's wearing them? What did you do why you were doing but when you had them? be playing ball on them where you can fly. um What was going around in that world? What songs are playing at that time? You know, what were people talking about? Yeah, um transporting them, transporting people back to the moment. Like, but also bringing it to to present day, right? Like, I hope you've been enjoying this week's episode with Jinx. And of course, if you want to help out the podcast, please make sure to like comment and
00:06:36
Speaker
Please, please, please share this with anybody that you think would enjoy this episode.
Exclusive Content and Patreon Promotion
00:06:41
Speaker
And of course, if you are listening, listening to this, please do not forget to leave a review.
00:06:48
Speaker
Rated five stars if you love it. Leave ah like a dope review if you do. I will read it at the end of an episode. And if you're on Spotify, leave a comment because they don't do actual reviews. And of course, if you want to go the extra, extra mile,
00:07:05
Speaker
I have a Patreon, patreon.com slash myfirstkicks. $5 tier is just one tier so far right now. I have two Patreon-exclusive episodes, one with higher living, higher learning, higher loving. Joe, we talk about Black Footwear Forum. And then I have another episode that just came out this past week with AD Sneaks. We talk about his book, getting crazy comments on his his post and what it's like to be a teacher. And everybody thinks that.
00:07:36
Speaker
You know, you're rich. um Really good, really good episodes that are only Patreon exclusives. So if you really want to check out more of this podcast,
00:07:47
Speaker
please hit up the Patreon. But of course, let's jump right back into the episode.
Capturing Sneaker Culture's Essence
00:07:51
Speaker
Any retro is an expression of like intergenerationalism, right? Like the moment a shoe comes back, you're in conversation. Yeah. With what happened before and what you're doing now. So like, yeah oh I don't say old head, but someone who's like wearing the phones in 97,
00:08:06
Speaker
is in conversation with the kids behind the Galaxy's Retro or the Supremes or whatever it is. Right. Or the, ah I don't even know, like the the Stranger Things joints. Yeah.
00:08:17
Speaker
They might not be saying the same things, but they're in conversation. and So that's like a that is a interaction or... Through line that that like yeah and goes through several different eras. and it goes and And everything in the world is like that. So we took that approach and Nike let me swing big, man. you know I told Nick, I was like, yo, I'm a swing. you know And he was like, all right, cool.
00:08:40
Speaker
And we brought the deck back together. We showed them all the things we wanted to do. And everything that's in here is everything that was in the deck. like yeah The programming ideas, We have a third component that we haven't really told anybody about yet.
00:08:52
Speaker
um But the space, um even the visuals, one of my favorite pieces in here, just like being able to give this sort of collage culture to it. So it's been really cool. And it's almost unreal that like we hit every mark that we wanted to minus like a couple of small things. But um yeah, man, I'm like,
00:09:11
Speaker
um I would say it's probably the best thing I've ever worked on. It's one of the more collaborative things I've ever worked on. And I'm definitely like, if I'm being present, I'm extremely, extremely proud of this and thankful too. Like thankful for Nike, New York City squad,
Jinx's First Sneaker Memory: Foamposites
00:09:23
Speaker
Game 7, like everybody who just like showed out. You build something that is super, in my opinion, like iconic. and like Thank you, man. You know, like this is something that Like once you experience it and we'll, you know, at the end of this video, we'll definitely have a walkthrough about it. But like, when you experience it, like,
00:09:42
Speaker
it's something that is it does transport you into the moments of like, I remember the first time I've held the phone positive in my hand, right? Like like yeah yeah insane and in high school, like everybody's talking about, oh, yo, eggplants are coming out. And I'm like, I don't know what that is. So I go to Foot Locker because I used to live next to one. now This is the time when i was living in the Upper East Side. And so everybody got money. So they were just rocking it as soon as it came out. So like I go to go to Foot Locker and this time I'm already a size 13.
00:10:09
Speaker
So I put it on, I'm like, let me get these, you know, I gotta get, I gotta be present, I gotta be, you know, up to date. I put them on, i look down, nah, them joints look gigantic on Yeah. First time I saw foams, I kinda didn't even understand them. It was a guy, I used to work at Foot Locker. Yeah. To this day, I'll tell people, like, even the scope of what I'm doing now, full out is the best job I've ever had. Yeah. Like, um and this guy worked with me, Park.
00:10:31
Speaker
And Park was like so far ahead on everything, sneakers, everything. Like, I was this is like I'm wearing like Jordans, Air Forces, Timbs. Like, this is like the era of going up in Central Jersey. Yeah. And Park was into like ESPYs.
00:10:45
Speaker
He knew all the crazy runners, all the crazy Air Max. um and foams and expensive basketball shoes. Yeah. And he gifted me a pair that he had had. It was the
Early Career at Foot Locker
00:10:54
Speaker
2001 Pearls.
00:10:55
Speaker
He gifted me a pair. Man, I let them go. I like traded them at a kid at college. He kind of like tricked me. They gave me like some i was big in the low at the time. Yeah. He gave me like some polo and it was so stupid because the polo he gave me was like vintage. Yeah.
00:11:08
Speaker
But, you know, polo like the next season, they might. Yeah. like Yeah. It's like in two years, the polo he gave me, they re-released um And yeah, I mean, I was sick. I let those go. And it was like the good pearl on it Yeah.
00:11:20
Speaker
But um that was my first pair. And I didn't really know how to wear them, you know, but i think that says it's a testament to like phones. Everyone's like why do they work in every year? I'm like, because from any year. Yeah. Like they're way out in the future. For sure. So if you're brave enough to wear them in 97, you're in the future. You wear them now.
00:11:36
Speaker
We're just starting to catch up to them. But then they drop like GT Futures. Right. Exactly. Push the ball down the field again. You got to catch up. So. Man, I mean, look, it's an iconic shoe, but let's talk about ah you got to answer the question. You're answer the question that I ask everybody each week. And that question is, what's your first kicks with that first pair of sneakers you absolutely needed to have?
00:11:56
Speaker
When people do this part, do they? I've heard a couple people went and then they got that shoe. I've had a couple people that didn't get the shoe. I feel like your first kick is actually the shoe you can't get My parents were not buying me expensive sneakers. like I started having sneakers when I had a job. First job was like McDonald's. Shout out McDonald's. Maybe not, but you know. Yo, look, shout out McDonald's fries, all right? That's my favorite fries. see the new report that dropped on them? No, I'm not reading not reading that. I'm not going to freak you out, man. It's not looking good. But um yeah, man, it was McDonald's and started saving up money. So I do remember buying like... um
00:12:31
Speaker
I bought some Jordan 17s. I bought them at 12. I bought them at 13 because I had to have them. Foolish mistake. They were so big. Gigantic.
Evolution of Sneaker Culture
00:12:38
Speaker
Then they were the black low tops, so they looked extra crazy. yeah But I remember like how the school was like, oh, he's in the game now.
00:12:44
Speaker
And actually, crazy enough, I wore it with a Magic a magic jersey. It was Swingman. But I thought I crushed it. um I think I had a headband with the swoosh upside down. Oh, let's go. Yeah. But...
00:12:55
Speaker
Go school, pull up to school like that, bro. Yeah. And then like, I think like I probably had like a wristband on too, but I think it was Adidas. So I turned it inside out. um Trying very hard, you know, trying very hard to like make it work. But um I remember that I remember getting Jordan 8's like the chrome and the Bugs Bunnies, which is like my favorite. Yeah. I'm really glad they re-released those.
00:13:16
Speaker
But um my first shoe memory where it cut through where I was like, what am I looking at? Still remember the guy. um We still cool on Facebook and everything. um Desmond Bradley, a good friend of mine from when we were kids. And he had had he had all the like right stuff. I want to say he had good puppers and stuff like that.
00:13:35
Speaker
he used to live right down the street from me. And we were in the same third grade class, I want to say. He had third grade, ah this is crazy in my memory, Miss Satterwhite's class. and Big fan. she's Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shout Miss Satterwhite.
00:13:49
Speaker
Desmond had the Griffys. This is like 90s, right? So he had the Griffys. He had one of those classic, don't even know what you call them, but they're like, the shirt that also has a hood, it's usually like some kind of pinstripe. The sleeves are like- Like the baseball? Kind of, yeah, baseball style shirt. It's very 90s. He had Dats and baggy jeans and he had the King Griffey's, the zebra joints.
00:14:11
Speaker
And I'm like, I just saw him. I was like, what are those? And like I remember he had that and he had an X-Men action figure and he had them all on the same day. And I was like, oh shit. like He's going crazy. Yeah, he snapped. He went he went absolutely crazy.
00:14:23
Speaker
um And I wanted I wanted the action figure. I wanted the sneakers and i obviously never got them. yeah That's like the moment I woke up and was like, oh, there's sneakers. And then a big inspiration for me is always my sister. She always had great taste in sneakers.
00:14:36
Speaker
So. later on i end up getting them i'm in college and they re-release them yeah and some guy was like um i'm in the back of class at morehouse and there's another guy i was tapped in with he was like yo um yeah you know the griffey's dropped i'm like what he's like where's like at the west end i'm like when he's like this morning was like what do you mean is like i went right before classes i'm like how'd you know he's like you i asked the guy and they told me they were coming out to him like why don't you tell me i'm like damn i'm sitting in class like shit So I um i like raised my hand, it's hour class. yeah raised my I'm like, yo, can I go to the bathroom? And she's like, yeah, you can go to the bathroom. yeah I leave class, I run down to the parking deck, I get in my car, I drive down to the mall.
00:15:14
Speaker
It's not that far, but it's like like maybe a couple blocks away from the school. I drive down to the mall, I go in there, I buy the shoes. um And then I didn't fit, I to change my size, change my size, get back, drive back, get to the parking deck, get up to the class and come back. And she's like, are you serious? i'm like, yeah.
00:15:30
Speaker
And I didn't, you know, she didn't went bought sneakers, but was like, yeah, my stomach hurts, you know? But all because I saw Dez with those sneakers, yeah you know, who knows how, 14 years earlier? so That's crazy. But that was the moment I caught the sneaker bug.
00:15:43
Speaker
In college? Would you say, all right, so like, because I'm very curious of like how, when the sneaker culture, like, The bug is different from, you know, but like when did they find yeah when did you find yourself within sneaker culture? I mean, know, as soon as I got that job, because I've been staring at sneakers my whole life. Yeah. yeah And then I started that money on my own. I'm like, from that point on, it was like Myers, Jordans, Jordans, Jordans, Timbs. Yeah. Jordans and Timbs and forces. Yeah. You know, I'm also like an Air Force mid-apologist. Like, I'm like. Same. OK, bet.
00:16:10
Speaker
Yeah. We're on the same page. Love that. Look, I always say this. i always bring it up. Clark Kent killed it for us. Like Clark. eat He didn't like. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Trash and everybody, you know, Clark, shout out. Yeah, man, shout out Clark. Yeah. But like once he said that all the sneaker culture was like, this is trash. And I was like, and I love it, which is crazy because we thought about him a lot. We were even making this space, you know, trying to be thoughtful about like, you know, what's the Clark of it all.
00:16:33
Speaker
But, um, Nah. um to to Just to say, I mean, yes, this is like your one thing that I always love and I always say and always inspired me, especially even with the this podcast and everything like that. And within Sneaker Culture was like the one message I always got from him was like, you got to put if you're going to be part of this, you got to push it forward. And this is what this is doing And even today, like getting these and being like, i put them on. Yeah. like You wear your shoes. Yeah.
00:16:56
Speaker
But um when did I get down with secret culture? I mean, it was really then. Like, that was when I was like, all right, I'm in it. And it was bad because then the next job I got was Foot Locker. I was walking by the mall.
00:17:07
Speaker
Anyone that's from my area already knows Triana Slack. Like, she is, the name will mean nothing to you, but everything to people from my area. Where are you from? Central Jersey, Somerset. Okay. so like Yeah, I've never been there.
00:17:17
Speaker
Yo, she's like the one, she used to be at the Full Locker right next to the high school. yeah And then later on, she worked at Bridgewater Mall and gave my first job. I was walking down. I just quit McDonald's because they was giving me, um they were like, we get raises. The raises could be maximum 25 cents.
00:17:32
Speaker
This is like back in like the $5, $5 minimum wage. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, like ugly. and Yo, crazy, right? Like, illegal, like, actually illegal, actually illegal. Like, am it was time to get a raise, and you know, the scale's like, like literally a nickel, a dime, 15 cents, 20 cents, 25 cents.
00:17:52
Speaker
Killing it at McDonald's. They gave me 10 cents. I'm like, yo, I got two out two out of five? Yeah, i went in there i was yo, I'm fucking quitting. Fuck Eddie. And like, to this day. And then I i quit. I remember the manager called me, he's like, yo man, i'll I'll give you 25 cents. i I was like, nah, I'm out.
00:18:07
Speaker
tell Tell Ronald to keep the 25. Yeah, man. You know and smell like fries all the time. And like respect, but you know um still an amazing amazing time. And I'm walking through the mall and my boy just gotten his license. And he was a
Sneaker Store Culture and Experience
00:18:22
Speaker
couple months older than me. So I'm walking through mall.
00:18:23
Speaker
I walk by and she comes up. She's like, yo, do you want to work here? And I'm like, yeah. She's like, cool, because he's about to get fired and pointed to a guy on the floor. Yeah. and like, sure. I put in my application. I got the job before I could even drive. A couple months later, I got my license. I was in there.
00:18:36
Speaker
And T really put me on. She gave the game. So I was a fan of sneakers. When I got Foot Locker, that's when they taught me about sneakers. Right, yeah. And you know, when you ever worked a sneaker store? No. Bro, when you're in there, it's bad because you will look at everything and start to convince yourself. Yeah. When I worked at GameStop, that was me. Yeah, you start being, that's cool, cause you got a discount. Yeah. You're rounded all the time. The the check is going right back in. Bro, it was bad because there was like a Bank of America down the block. And I remember going and being like, yo, I'm going to go in here or not. I think it was a Wachovia. Yeah. I'm going go in here and one off my check and come right back to the mall. It was bad. Like, it was bad. It's so bad, bro. The cycle. because you're And then you're doing the mental gymnastics of like, yo, if just. At that point, you know it's not a job. It's servitude. yeah Because you're just trading your time for objects, you know? and
00:19:23
Speaker
But it was it's the flyest job you can have, especially at that time. Also told me about culture. Like, it was the only job where this era that rap music was played in a mall, right played in a store. Right. So was a cool job to have all the other like we had a homie from Builderberry to come kick it with us. We had people from Wendy's come kick it with us. You get all the discounts because you're wearing the stripes. Yeah, exactly. That was and especially working within a mall. like Yeah. You're doing that like little ecosystem. You're like, you're like, you'll hook it up with this. I could get you, you know, I slide you. And then and it was cool, man.
00:19:52
Speaker
It's like um I love the customer interfacing and it really taught me about sneakers to the point of like the real game, like no excuse and all that stuff. Release dates yeah back then it was the game plan to get this little catalog telling you what would come out.
Regional Sneaker Styles in New York
00:20:03
Speaker
um Got hip to Nike talk.
00:20:05
Speaker
um And from, from, for like like, did somebody pull up and tell you about it? Or like did you- People would just talk about it. And like, and the thing too is like, people were really into it back then. So like, I think one of my managers put me onto it. So I was on there. That's how I got like the, the,
00:20:20
Speaker
the The Altitude 13. Yeah, which are like hard to get. You got a guy in Staten Island. and Get him was all through like Nike talk. I was the only kid that was the first time one I was the only kid in school with the sneakers.
00:20:31
Speaker
um And I ended up getting two pairs somehow. But that was when I got hit to the sneaker game. The first time they took me out here, went to clientele with the supreme. Oh, my God. We went to Dave's Quality Meats.
00:20:42
Speaker
We went to a couple shops. You did the rounds. that That used to be my rounds. i used to do that every day. And they they they showed me the game and they took me around and were like, I remember asking, like why are the sneakers out here different? They're like, it's New York. yeah And I'm like, well, what does that mean? But it was like the same if you went up to Newark. yeah Newark, back in the day, you could only get forces two white forces two times a year.
00:21:01
Speaker
So it's crazy people don't, like, one, they did not. So it was crazy. You only get them two times a year. yeah And they were not available in catalogs. You could not buy them in East Bay. I remember when East Bay first started selling them. We were, like, mind-blown.
00:21:12
Speaker
And you could get them in February. you can get them in August for whatever reason. So people would stock up and get extras. That's why like Jay and them, like they go over to like ah Tom, Dick and Harry's, spicy action, all those spots.
00:21:24
Speaker
They will go and get stuff and they would stock up and get stuff off calendar. But, Nike was kind of hip to um how certain retailers work. Like, yo, in the hood, they want Air Forces. yeah So that's when you get the like um the Three Amigos in Baltimore. right But in other, that's like the main story as told, but in other regions, it was like blue jeans in Newark. So you could go and get like white and clear sole with the jewel.
00:21:47
Speaker
you can go and get ah white and like, you know, yellow, white and orange. Right. So they would have your classics, but they'd also sell white most of the year. Outside of that, it was Black Forces. And it was crazy because black used to be the new color when you talk to like the Jim Jones era. Right. Black was like the it came in white and then they started doing black. Right. So there's all these spinoffs of forces, but um Yeah man, they i get hip to like why sneakers are in different regions and starting to get really good at who has what.
00:22:12
Speaker
Then you fall into the SB era and you start getting hit to like the skate shops. Yeah, so there's all these different
Gatekeeping in Sneaker Culture
00:22:18
Speaker
chapters of sneakers. was Nike SB do or die like it was it was Nike SB nothing. I remember the kid who put me on this kid, I'm still cool today, Pong Chow. Pong was a kid in my class who always had like crazy Jordans.
00:22:29
Speaker
um And he told me about SBs. And he was like, yo, it's NJ Skate Shop has them. And we live in Somerset, so Brunswick's right here. right yeah And he was like, yo, you got to go in there and like find them. so It's so weird to say, but back then, so many people would put you on. And the internet were websites, so stuff would exist, but you don't know what you don't know. yeah So if you don't know to look there, you won't find it.
00:22:50
Speaker
But um yeah, man, I've been like... It's funny because... I've been through the eras. you're You're saying that too? And then like the one thing that we... I think people look back and be like, there's so much gatekeeping back then. and then ah But like when I think about it I'm like, yo, if I had, if I was like on a line and I had a conversation with somebody, somebody would like, yo you got to go check out this shop too. It's actually the opposite. People think it was gatekeeping. It was like, nah, things were just not as available. So someone would tell you, if people were friendly about it, like yeah some guy went and got us Jordan Altitude 13s because he was like, yeah, I got them.
00:23:20
Speaker
Here's the stores. You get on Nike Talk and they would tell you all the stores at the time. So I got the DMPs. This is Nike Talk. like, guys were like, yo, Greenbrier Mall and Lana's going have them. We went there two days early. Some guy who worked in the foot action was like, yo, we're doing a thing where we're going sell you the gift card right now. yeah And then you can come in. We don't want a crazy line.
00:23:37
Speaker
If you buy the gift card right now, you come in here and exchange the gift card and we'll give you the sneakers. It was smart. They got a gift card sale out of it and they got a they got a sale out of it. But it was like someone on the internet that I didn't know just told me about it. Or he put it online and you could go check if you knew. Yeah. so And gatekeeping is also like turn into a nasty word. i' I'm a proponent of gatekeeping. Same.
00:23:58
Speaker
Because with that comes context. If you talk to me, you ask me one question, I'm saying seven different things. Right. That's not gatekeeping. I'm giving you context. Right. But if you were to just put a still image of this on the Internet, what comes with it? It's just a JPEG. Yeah.
00:24:11
Speaker
And gatekeeping means you have to do something with the information, whether I give you a story with it, I provide information, I tell you not here there. And when people start to pull pull some of that back,
00:24:22
Speaker
that's the keeping part of it is like. You're not doing the right things with it, you know, and yes, us as a community get to decide that you are not doing the right things with
Preserving Sneaker Culture Traditions
00:24:32
Speaker
it. Yes, we get to vote, you know, and I do think it's like we do have to if you in order to have standards, I mean, standards and practices like every every company has it. And they should. I mean, you know, the park has standards and practices like there's fouls we don't call this fouls we do. yeah oh There's a rule about who has next. Like all these things have order to it. And when people my example of how cultures die, don't know if answering the original question, we just flow. in yeah it's all good my example how cultures die is like
00:24:59
Speaker
You ever been at a job where one person left and one person got hired? You all got a time to go to lunch. You got a certain kind of jokes you make. Yeah. Is even a quiet dress code at the job. Yeah. That person comes in, he peeps the game and they kind of join your culture. but They bring you something new. They bring their persona. Right.
00:25:14
Speaker
keeping Oh, yeah okay job. Okay, we got so I'm like, yo so you got a job and um someone leaves or someone joins a company, they asked something new to the job, right? But we have these instances where like if 10 if you have 20 people you work with and 10 people quit, 10 people get hired. It's a new culture, new culture. for The rules are going, your habits are going, the 10 people that are there are going to feel like, yo, man, we should have like, who's gatekeeping? Who's telling them how to deal this? Why is everyone lazy? Why are they doing this differently? That's not where we put the papers. It's not how we ship the boxes. Yeah. So I think cultures now, it's not that a lot of lot of people are leaving. We're losing our elders. We're losing people that are contributors to the space right for various reasons. It's like a neighborhood being gentrified where you're like, oh, man, used have block parties now. We don't.
00:25:55
Speaker
So gatekeeping increases to be like, hey, new people. If you want to enter this culture, or this space or this habit or this job or whatever it is, here's how we do things. Right. It's important to keep our culture alive. And through that, we want to share with you. Right. But if your goal is to come and sneak your culture, whatever it is, and be like, no, I'm to do it this way.
00:26:12
Speaker
Start your own thing on the side. For sure. So I'm a proponent of of the gatekeeping. But I do think and I mean to segue into this space as well. Yeah. It's like this is.
00:26:23
Speaker
a lineage, to use the term that's on the wall, but like the lineage of like how things, especially within sneaker culture, how was went it has went. And how do you tell people how they should be continuously passing this on is you explain it this way, you know?
00:26:40
Speaker
Like, this is, this is, and the talks and the panels, like, yeah you know, a lot of people, I mean, when I first started collecting, like, you know, a lot of OGs, I was talking to lot of OGs, and like, you know, some of them wouldn't give me the time of day until you, like, prove yourself, or like, they see, or my thing, or in New York, it was like, you have to make the lines. If you don't make the lines, then there's like, people don't know you, you know, like, yeah. can't skip steps, you gotta do the rounds. I mean, I've been really fortunate, I'd say, in the whole cultural space, I've been like,
00:27:07
Speaker
Man, i've been I've always had the favor of the OGs.
Meeting Virgil Abloh and Learning from His Career
00:27:10
Speaker
I think it's just because of like how I behave and how i act. I've been really fortunate. i mean I could go off the list and be like, this person gave me the time of day, this person gave me this.
00:27:19
Speaker
um I think a big part of it too is like showing up, yeah doing doing the rounds. you know And like the work you do when no one's around. like Every Saturday I would come and hit the top of Soho and just work my way down all the way. back yeah And go in stores. not No money. Just look at stuff. Yeah. You know, meet the sales clerks, move my way down. some of these people end up becoming friends. ah I would always buy a magazine because I could afford a magazine.
00:27:44
Speaker
And then I'm walking out the neighborhood with something to be into. Right. And be in a conversation. Right. And then when you start doing it, like I've run into I ran into Virgil. That's the first time met Virgil was on the street. Tremaine was on the street.
00:27:57
Speaker
Talk about the first time met Virgil. um man, um I wanna say it's 2012, but it could have been 2013. But at this point, I'm already like aware of who he is. Pyrex is out.
00:28:08
Speaker
Pyrex is like the first like expensive tee I bought that shouldn't have been that expensive. Like that first, yeah this is a champion t-shirt. But genius and beautiful, right? I still have it. I keep ah having all about it.
00:28:21
Speaker
But um V was walking down the street in Soho at first i was like, oh shit, I think that's Virgil. And I was outside of my job. I worked at Massapeo at the time. So we all didn't know you worked at Massive Hill. Oh, yeah. I'm from the second era of Massive Hill. This is the first O.G. era.
00:28:34
Speaker
um And I was outside. We were kicking it. I'm probably outside smoking and shit. And he walks by and I'm like, oh, that's Virgil. And I didn't say anything.
00:28:45
Speaker
And then we're back outside again because we're not really working. And he walks by again. and I'm like, I forget some version like, hey, what's up, man? Like, my name is Brandon, bubble blah, blah, blah, blah. Yo, know um I work at Masterfield Magazine.
00:28:58
Speaker
Yo, I'd love to come, like, get you a copy. Can you, like, stay right here? And he was like, um I'm going to roll upstairs with you. And I'm like, oh, OK. And I'm thinking, like, this is to me, he's like, this is a celebrity. Yeah. And he's like, can I come upstairs? I'm like, yeah.
00:29:10
Speaker
we're in an elevator. We're talking ah about it a little bit. We get inside the office. and I had this realization the other day, um maybe like a month or so ago, and i was like, man, for a split second, Virgil and Sasha Jenkins were in the same room together. Yeah. um And it's like just for this split second, these two geniuses, you know, like,
00:29:29
Speaker
um Yeah, man. That's insane. I mean, yeah. Yeah. Like absolute legends. Another one of my OGs and ah V comes in there and he's we're showing the magazine. He's like really impressed. And later on, I would realize that he knew exactly what Masterpear was, right, that he was a student of this in a way that I was becoming a student. Yeah. And remember, he took the copies. He asked for like another. asked magazines we just had in our waiting room. He asked for those.
00:29:50
Speaker
But then he bounced and then um Yeah, like years later, it'd be like messaging and stuff like that. And like just getting familiar and friendly with each other. And yeah just to suit like big. That is. Did you ever think that he would like did you see like that he would become, you know? No, I mean, who no one could because he was in uncharted territory. Like, sure, if someone could have guessed that he would gotten a sneaker, no one could have guessed he was going to do this. Right. Nobody.
00:30:14
Speaker
that's the other thing, too, is like getting a chance to do things. And when you get the opportunity, like, yo, hit the left, you know, like how do you how do you dribble with your left hand and hit him with something they haven't seen before? And I think he was fantastic at that. So there's no way I could have ever seen stuff that he was going to do. Yeah.
00:30:35
Speaker
And also it was still new, like it was happening fast in real time and like several things at once. So I learned so much from just like watching him and didn't do a few things with them. But um Yeah, man, like a genius. man it's it's Well, first, I want to know, like, because now I'm like, how did you how did you figure out like this is what you wanted
Jinx's Journalism Journey and Mentorship
00:30:54
Speaker
to do? How did you figure out like, you know, not this the space, but like, you know, your your time in journalism and did you go to school for like, did you study? No, I'm I'm self-taught. yeah No, I had a lot of OGs that put me on, but
00:31:08
Speaker
It's things you like. You I remember telling some kid this a couple of years ago and like it sounds really clear now because everything looks clear when you look back. Right. But I would just always try to be around things that I liked and spaces that I liked. And there was always a lot of pushback. So like um there'd be clubs in New York City back in the day, like the dress code clubs. and i would be like, fuck this. I'm not going in here. It's lame. Like i'm I'm not dressing like this. Like I'm.
00:31:32
Speaker
what What are you talking about? We're in New York City. Why am I? Why can't I wear sneakers? Yeah. So a big part of it is like staying away from shit you don't you don't like. Right. Yeah. And when it's time to compromise, guys, but you got to go all the way home. like Yes. lame I'm not going here like not. I'm never and I'm never come here again. Yeah. know So that limits your choices. so That's how you end up funneling down your options. But um so you're not a you're not a I'm a just I'm a yeah, I'm a just do it for the story type of person.
00:31:59
Speaker
I got a little bit of that me, but um No, i'm like I'm like a ferocious uncompromiser. It's like bad. you know like Maybe you might not fuck me because of it. you know like um No, I mean, I have compromise in me. I like that, though. I think that... Because the one thing that I've been, I guess, battling with is like I say yes to a lot of things.
00:32:19
Speaker
Look, in the beginning, you should. Well, yeah, but I'm saying, like but I do what you say. i'm like It has to either... Feed a purpose in some way. Career-wise, I used to tell people, be selfless so you could be selfish. Like, show up. Be a be selectable. Be a choice. Like, you can't get chosen if for you're not present.
00:32:37
Speaker
um But when you start knowing what you want, you have X amount of hours in a day, X amount of time. What you gonna do? Like, I knew I wanted to do this today, right? There's something I'm not doing instead of this. yeah That's the point, right right? So it's like, and so are you and everyone else. yeah Like, people are making real choices.
00:32:52
Speaker
And when you get afforded choice, start using it so people see you make choices. Because if not, they'll pull you around. You asked a question before this, and I do a lot of this. I go... You're good. I'm always going to bring it back. Yeah, it's like crippling ADHD, I found out. I sit across a lot of people with ADHD, I know. I'm struggling. um But... No, but yeah, journalism and, like, how did it find you then?
00:33:13
Speaker
um So I went to school. I got a degree in advertising. You know, my first mentor, Dr. Hudson, when I made the Moral Sneaker, I know dedicated it to her. I was going to touch on that because that... are ah Now to bring in my ADHD. Yeah, yeah. But, like...
00:33:26
Speaker
when I remember when you dropped the video for that and and like your post and and I made a an instant tweet about it because I was like the dropping that was a was it it's the model the the Terminator Terminator yeah when you drop that Terminator and honored you know your professor like you know you we don't we don't get a lot of that we don't get the the the ah like the full 360 of like you had a ah moment of of inspiration going to school yeah all black you know um all black college and then bringing that back to like you know you have a moment to really honor your past and the inspiration and i was like that is just amazing like a full i'm big on full circle moments like yeah like you this is a full circle moment for me because i remember being in my job watching your videos and comments complex. Yeah. I'm sitting next to you fucking talking to you. So like trying not to bite on the small nuggets that you're giving me on all these paths. But you know, I'm honoring people is a big part of like that's kind of my thing. You know, a lot of the work, if you really play it back, this room is like a lot of it is like it's putting it like we talked about earlier, putting the credits on the top, and yeah you know, putting the ingredients on the top of it. um It's process and transparency. Again, more virtualisms. Right. Yeah. But um
00:34:45
Speaker
You asked me about how I knew what I wanted to do. And Dr. Hudson, ah I was struggling in school and like really bad and more outside. Like it was going to be like, oh, you might need to go type thing. And i wanted to do film, but more often have that program. Later on, I realized that I could have gone to Clark.
00:35:01
Speaker
I talked to Spike about He was like, why didn't you go over there? i'm like I just didn't know nothing. And also, i was breaking out of the line of like, you do what your parents tell you to do and what people applaud you for. Right. And I was struggling. I went to school for engineering initially. um applied physics and computer science.
00:35:16
Speaker
And I'd been doing that every summer from like Eighth grade on, I went to school all year round. I'd be in a summer program just like, I made a phone MP3 player in 2001. Like on some nerd shit.
00:35:30
Speaker
Which is what this is too, this is nerd shit. and So I'm like, I'm going to be engineer. Out to school, was like, this is terrible. like His classes are whack, everyone here is corny. yeah um I'm good at this, but I don't like this. And I was like sad, like you know like wasn't even partying. yeah It's like the classic, like Like knock on the door, you coming out? and I'm like, nah, you know, I'm on YouTube as it like YouTube had just started.
00:35:52
Speaker
um And it was horrible. yeah And like it was really bad. And someone was you should go talk to a dean or whatever. I talked to a dean. and I ended up in marketing. Dr. Hudson, I just took off, like got it with my brain works.
00:36:04
Speaker
um She put her arm around me and was like, yo, like, You were at me. She's the one to introduced me to Steve Stout as I got to New York City. Like so again, I've had the favor of the OGs. earlier Yeah. But when I got into New York City, I had the job of translation. it was an internship, so they didn't offer a full time. I left, went to Erie, PA, worked, um worked for Nestle. I was selling pet food and lean cuisines in Walmarts in like specifically, literally in Western Ohio.
00:36:30
Speaker
And it was like crazy. um Arguably the strongest weed you'll ever find Western High. Like for real, it is. it know um And just got fired. I'm not even gonna tell you why, but I got fired, came back home and was just on unemployment. yeah Pennsylvania unemployment is cracking. it's it's Oh, you don't like it? Bro, PA unemployment, they was paying me like what I made.
00:36:54
Speaker
It was crazy, bro. It was cracking. But also maybe Argument wasn't making that much. so yeah you know say Yeah. Yeah. They're like, yeah, we'll give you like gary a check in. We'll give you a check in. Yeah, here you go. And I was buying sneakers and coming to the city all the time. I'd be in like Santos, Sway, A Life, like the beginnings of this, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And got a gig at a spot called Decon. Decon ended up buying Mass Appeal. Right.
00:37:21
Speaker
And then in came Sasha Jenkins. Sasha was there and he's the one who kind of like, showed me how to write, put my first writing in print.
Developing Video Content at Complex
00:37:29
Speaker
The first people I wrote about, honestly, was Jeff Staple and Kimu Mayer, who's now a creative director at Nike. Yeah. um Yeah, they showed me how to write. Absolutely. And then the Mass Appeal guys, the the prior generation Mass Appeal guys were the complex guys then.
00:37:45
Speaker
So they'd come around, NCB, Noah, he came around and was like, yeah, man. Noah came around and was like, Yo, I see you in all the rooms, you don't say much. you know This is like my pre-talking era, this is when I was quiet all the time. Were you an observer or were you? I'm an observer now. You are, yeah, for sure. I yap a lot, but um I process quick. I'm i'm observing now.
00:38:07
Speaker
can tell you i'll tell you guys what you're going to do tomorrow, you know? And he's like, but every time I ask about you, they say you get shit done. And that's what got me to Complex. And then that's what put me on camera. They were starting a new video program.
00:38:19
Speaker
And I was i was saying this to Joe. I was with Joe Lapuma last night. And I was saying this like, I was kind of intimidated because Complex was the hype. Yeah, it was. Yeah, at the top. And they had great writers at the time.
00:38:30
Speaker
And they had this new video program. like you could write and do video. Mm-hmm. When they hired me, my job description was literally just make videos. They had nothing in there. There was no complex news editorial. We just knew we had to make videos.
00:38:42
Speaker
Then they linked me with the squad, Sean Stout, Cornell, Raph Moses, you know, Donnie Kwok, Brendan Fredericks, and like we all came with the complex news concept. yeah And that's what it became. And I did it because I'm like, they got the great writers over here. yeah If I do this, a B plus is like an A plus because there's no standard. yeah But then we started making A plus, and that's when we got Emily Shawn, Speedy, Pierce, like, yo. That crop.
00:39:06
Speaker
You're part of the legendary, like. Yeah, we built the mold on that. like in That's what people are trying to replicate now to this day. Really? You know that. right Are they? I would say, yeah. You, like, that your core group of that, like, yeah. Everybody in that group was, everybody's trying to replicate that, like, man on the street type of, like. It's crowd yeah it's crowded now. and that's when gatekeeping also kind of needs to be a thing. And not that, like, I'm glad when people can have their voice and do a thing. But I see it, were talking about earlier. I see you in sneaker culture where, like,
00:39:38
Speaker
Brother, you're lying. like you you You made that up. you know You heard about that thing. You understand it now. like you know You're lying, bro. that's not That's not really what this is. yeah And even the creators that out there and make their stuff, all due respect, but like you're waiting for reported information yeah before you do your thing. We're reporters, dog. You can bring this back to your story post when I messaged and I was just like, i was like, it's crazy how all you need is a massive following in order to be considered like the truth sayer of what's going on. Or you amass a massive following to be considered that. And you do that, you get amass a massive following
00:40:16
Speaker
with the lies and then people assume you have the truth and that's nuts like you like it's a nuts to be honest and like I I watched a video on grifting now rifting grifting there's a video on grifting I it's actually a video on the c-word uh you can't say that on YouTube I don't know what that is and I'm all right it ra you're real careful Yeah.
00:40:42
Speaker
So basically, you grif there's there's a form of grifting where you grift against the community that you come from. oh yeah oh yeah, for sure. Sellouts. Yeah. what so like sellout yeah but like you do that if you do that in sneaker culture, it's it's like it's interesting because The sellout version of that is like you're following the algorithm to sell a preview of a
Integrity in Sneaker Showcasing
00:41:05
Speaker
sneaker. Yeah, yeah, yeah. yeah Without and you're adding all this extra context of that. That doesn't really lies. Yeah. One, um yeah the way you know the grifters is if you spot one, they all click, they all click together yeah and they all like even they never met each other. They all on the Internet. They because it's part of the game like I.
00:41:21
Speaker
i you know, comment you up, fire emoji you up so we can all rise together yeah because we need each other, right? Like if one of these pieces fall, people start seeing the truth, like, you know, what do I do? right There's a lot of grifters, bro. yeah This won't be that this won't be that episode that we're not let off shots with. But I also think it's just like, it's it so I think me and you are kind of like the same when it comes to that stuff where it's like, let's fire each other up. I've never been that person to reach out be like, yo, you know repost this for me. like Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But even, yeah, it's that man or the grifters, man. They're good at like, it's a social tool where they can spot, ah they're good at reading the room. They just don't have any skills. yeah You know what I mean? That's it. Like they, you know, they like, we can all be in a room, but we know what to do. They're in a room like, where's the opportunity? Yeah. And they're- Who do I get? to who Who's going to get me on the next rung up on this ladder? Yeah, man. And I'd say um even when we did the Nike sneaker showcase, it was an attempt to like,
00:42:18
Speaker
they have their own business ah ah KPIs and desirables for why this needs to work. They want to get ahead of the leaks. yeah For me, it's like, yo, I said yes to the project because one, I love the solution. Two, it was like the truth. yeah So we're going to come here and show you everything that's going to come out in the next year. yeah And you everyone else that says anything, it's not true.
00:42:35
Speaker
Right. And Yo, it's important. And the other part, too, is because these other guys, they're showing you the sneaker, but really they're trying to sell you socks. Yeah. You're like, all right, bro. Or they're trying to amass a following because they need money. I'm like... More more following, more meta meta paychecks or whatever. put Elon bucks, you know? Yeah, dog. Yeah, spending Elon checks. That's crazy. You're like thinking about like the Toys R Us Jeffrey dollars, but with like Elon's... Yeah, yeah. Just... Yeah, it's like, you know, ketamine, you know? Yeah, yeah. But...
00:43:05
Speaker
Yeah, man, like, you know, like, he like, even that is like, we're watching this and it's age of the grifts. Right. and like And like, 100%. It exists in every space. um I also struggle with that. and I've said this, like, in passing or in any conversation anybody ever has with me is like, I'm, I'm so afraid of of people to look at what I'm doing and be like,
00:43:27
Speaker
Oh yeah, he's trying to just get money out of this. And one, if you have a skill and you're good at it, you should be compensated. But if you're good at it, it should be serviceable. Even entertainment, making people laugh is a service, right? Like, um make the fries at McDonald's is a service. You should be comp compensated.
00:43:43
Speaker
It's a guy who's at McDonald's with his arms crossed and ain't doing nothing. yeah You know what I mean? he should not be getting a check. And I think that fear you have, um hope it doesn't result in insecurity. now But what it should do is that should keep your mind healthy. yeah Should be checking in, is this good or bad? right right am i Am I good or bad today?
00:44:00
Speaker
And we're all people, so we're all available to be good or bad. At times the same thing. I could be saying something here I feel confident about, it lands in the comment section and someone's like, yeah I really hurt my feelings. I mean, feel a way and I can reconsider it then.
Creation as Honesty and Integrity
00:44:12
Speaker
Yeah. But we were in the age where nobody is reconsidering shit, though. No, I mean, the moral compass is like, you know, spin out of control. I i don't blame young kids because they see what we represent them. Right. Yeah. But, you know, it's why like um The other part too, when we talk about gatekeeping, this ties into it.
00:44:28
Speaker
Gatekeeping is not continuously hoarding your area because it's so small and making sure no one else can get in because it shrinks and it shrinks and it shrinks. yeah The new thing is like, you got to contribute. Because you can get mad at dude over here who's lying or doing the whack shit or it's fake or you know his products break before you get them. you know Like the paint's going rub off, all the cheapness. yeah yeah So you put your effort in. He might show up 10 times a year, but you show up one and it's cracking. they now have a choice. yeah So part of gatekeeping is presenting choice to people and letting them choose. So it's easy to be to rest on yesterday's wins. It's easy to look around and be like, all right, like, um here's when it was good. Yeah. So what you going do now? Yeah. And you got to click up to what other people that are really doing it and and support each other and do all the right things, because if not, the gatekeepers win. Because one thing they do have, they have a hunger. Yeah. Another thing they have is they don't have to take time to get things right. So going to beat you in volume every time. Every time.
00:45:24
Speaker
People that respond to a video that they made, that responds to a video that they made, that makes a snake eatin' its tail. And at the end they didn't say anything, but they talk about both sides of their face and you're like, what do you think? Yeah. You know, so.
00:45:36
Speaker
Yeah, you know, i'm not I'm not with the grift. And I think like journalism, um creation is anti-grift, you know? So you don't have to get on a platform and say you don't like it. You can just make things and by effort, you are counteracting everyone else who's just filling the room up, you know? yeah the You touched on the Nike showcase and I i
Hosting the Nike Showcase Experience
00:45:57
Speaker
loved it. i thought Like when you did the two, like it was like you did two of them, but it was like- I did, I'm on like four or five maybe. or five, then I missed a couple then because what but what I really loved them was that like your intention with it too of just like, yo, here's everything about, you know, this coming out and then you like touch on notes and stuff like that. i mean, that's really Nike too. It's Nike doing it, but they, it's cool, man. It's cool to like have that be like my rep where they're like, yo, we want someone who like,
00:46:24
Speaker
Like the truth is associated with my, I've never said this and I i feel weird about saying, maybe I shouldn't say it. Say it. Like the truth is, I was talking to Carl Chariot, he runs Rap Caviar on Spotify. He was like, yo, know you're, we were, i was complaining about someone I thought was grifting, you know, and he was like, yo, your gimmick is that you have no gimmick. And I was like, man, I love that. And I built that over time and that's not easy. Like you say, and it's a lot of no's.
00:46:50
Speaker
Not because I'm bigger than It's to know to protect myself and protect the people that watch me or whatever it is. Usually the no's is like there's some coins in it that you're like, I could use that. right You know, you put yourself in dire circumstances like if you if you're a real person to take care of things.
00:47:03
Speaker
But Yeah, man. So when Nike called me for that, I took it as a reflection of the thing, the practice I had built over years of like being observant, listening, patient and liking things. Right. Being a fan of things.
00:47:15
Speaker
So when they hit me for that, I was like, it's a yes. And it's crazy bro to get to see that stuff early. But that was their initiative. But they were like, you're the right person to do it. And then they let me riff. They let me like go off. So I'm not just reading the script. But um Yeah, man, it's one of the better things I've worked on. It's interesting that you say your gimmick is you have no gimmick. Yeah, and that's weird to say that now because then it's like, is that before I sell you guys like, you know, CMOS or like, you know, what do you call it? You know, whatever people are- Cucumbers? going to start rapping about cucumbers? What is the new grip? What are people selling these days, right? Marketing?
00:47:48
Speaker
Marketing classes? Yeah, marketing classes, yeah.
00:47:53
Speaker
Yeah, Tumorix, for the record, Tumorix and CMOS are extremely beneficial. yeah But, you know, like, where are you getting yours from, bro? So, like, yeah it's that, you know? But, um yeah, the marketing the marketing guys who are now, like,
00:48:05
Speaker
taking someone's really, like their extreme, their hard work, like months of hard work and be like, this is why this works. And you're like, guys, come on. Like, you know, and like, you don't. I go out way too many rants about that. And like, you don't, you don't even know why it works. yeah Like you, you know, so. it just it's It's funny because like, so.
00:48:25
Speaker
When it comes to this and like getting this in front of people, everybody gives me so much advice and
Persistence and Optimism in Creativity
00:48:30
Speaker
I'll be like. Oh, this show? Yeah. Yeah. Like everybody's always going to be you've got to use the right captions. You've got you're not promoting it correctly. I'm like, I'm like, here's the thing. Some of it is valuable. And I think it's an advice, great advice can come from anywhere. Yeah.
00:48:43
Speaker
But they always like like, that's the thing that's going to turn. Yeah. It's always like this. It's always such a like, a you're just missing this one thing. And I'm like, you don't think I've done this. Like, you know, i don't think i've you don't think i've got I've done the laps. The other part, too, is like, um how much of it are you going to, you know, there are real mechanisms that work. And I think today more than ever, there is less room for adventure inside yeah chats. But I also think, um man, doing something different than other people, you know, and I think that shows a level of
00:49:14
Speaker
adventurousness, bravery, um optimism, you know, that you believe other people will believe in it. yeah And even making deep cuts, I was talking to my mom about it. And it's very easy to get pessimistic about a thing you've been trying to make for like a decade and trying to show up every day and get people to see it. Or how many times I went to a pitch meeting and someone's reverse pitching me on their thing. I'm like, what about my thing? I can't. You invited me here for this.
00:49:39
Speaker
But the fact that I keep trying is signs I'm an optimist, you know? um And I think looking for optimism in people's work. um Again, going back to Virgil, I remember um we were messaging about a thing that had happened and um his response was crazy to me. He was like, but i'm ah he's like I'm a serial optimist. like So like this is just a challenge to me.
00:50:01
Speaker
And I watched how he flipped it like two months later and I was like, damn. So optimism is like a superpower. Oh, for sure. The turning no's into yes or like hope, like my thing is is, and this is why I'm gonna always keep doing this podcast, is because there is, i'm I'm afraid of like,
00:50:19
Speaker
I stop and I'm right at the door. Like I'm about to open it. I'm about to break through, right? And I think always having the, like not the, like the fear that turns into optimism of like, I'm gonna just keep going because eventually this is gonna work. Yeah, or think about, yo,
00:50:36
Speaker
yo you are trying to meet somebody and like if you don't go to the club that night, maybe you don't see her. Right. And like miss connections, you know, and so you keep showing up or how many times Deep Cuts has been again a presentation deck and losing steam or running out of cash to do it or, you know, morale.
00:50:55
Speaker
And, you know, like I remember we got the dummy copies of that printed up and I showed someone they were like, yo, I get it. And how that starts a journey, you know, like of just showing people stuff and then they get pulled in here and it's nike being like yo cool and i'm like my boys told me like yo it's like the swoosh and deep cuts right there right there and this is our this isn't even our real launch this is like our our soft launch and to be able to jump out the world the first time into this but it's because you stay the course which is always my advice too like number one advice stay of the course of course cannot get chosen unless you're present yes so you got to make yourself a ah ah selectable option someone can choose you and
00:51:32
Speaker
you know, someone's going to get it
Deep Cuts: Bridging Cultural Narratives
00:51:34
Speaker
one day. And I've been fortunate to run into a lot of people that get it, you know? So um I mean, because this breeds culture like this is like deep cuts breeds culture. Like this is something that is it feels present and it feels like it feels present and history at the same time. Like there I don't want to get too crazy down into like the sort of like kaleidoscopic thinking, but it is how I think it's what made me um it would It's what brings me towards certain type of people where I'm like, oh man, you think the same way too. like
00:52:08
Speaker
It's one idea that intersects a lot of different points and they run it a lot of different directions. So um yeah, i I believe in that, like that it's the past and present and future and all that shit. i i don't wanna get too crazy. It's hard to explain, you know, but yeah. No, I think because, well, this is like, it's physical. Like, it's something that you, this is, like, Deep Cuts is something you you connect with. Yeah. Right? Like, that's what we're searching for is yeah connection, you know. and And, you know, that's what we've been missing. Like, 2020 took us all out of being connected, you know. And it and instead it gave us, you know, ah gave us the grift. It gave us gimmicks. So, yeah trying to show up, you know. Yeah. yeah um So I asked this question the other day on Twitter and I'm going ask you this question because honestly, i was testing
Timeless Sneakers and Cultural Significance
00:52:56
Speaker
it out. Is this the says B Dot not liking Jordan's past?
00:53:00
Speaker
No, no, no, no, no. Shout out B Dot. Shout out B Dot. But I asked this question where it was like, if we think of sneakers, colorways as like classic albums, right?
00:53:12
Speaker
What would be your top five? Like, I'm talking about like stands the test of time, like classics. Classics? Yeah. um And we're talking about just sneakers, not like boots or anything like that. Yeah. OK. So I'm like, go and it has to be colorway and model.
00:53:27
Speaker
I mean, obviously, white forces yeah and i I will group mid and low together. Just white forces. That is like it's classic. Like, um I don't have an album I would equate it to, but like,
00:53:38
Speaker
It is classic. Trends will have them come and go. But for me, it's the show i probably bought the most and had the most of my life. ah It's been it just does so much. Yeah, know I think it transcends like it's yeah, it's you're going to see we're going to see it's like white girls with them. We're going to see dirty, clean, the way people now customizing them.
00:53:57
Speaker
I remember this Cat Leonard had a pair. I was in high school, this is like the beginning of like the Gucci print era. Like, he cut Gucci print. but I wanted to jump in on so bad. but We saw Jadakiss with him, and he put him on, and he wore him to prom. I remember he had like a Gucci print vest that he had made.
00:54:12
Speaker
like I never even knew Leonard. I just thought it was, I still remember that. I couldn't tell you what i did yesterday, but I remember that. um Just wake up thinking about Leonard. Yeah, shout out Leonard. Shout out Leonard, he's good. White Forces for sure. hu um i'd say, you mean, we're getting to Jordans, you get into Rio, they could eat that, all the the rest of these four up. I'd say, ah Jordan 1000%. Jordan 4's, I'd say- White Cements?
00:54:37
Speaker
Yeah.
00:54:39
Speaker
ah cements yeah Black, Black Red Cement, like Black Red, Bread. um Those are just like, I could just keep running through those like crazy, just classic.
00:54:51
Speaker
Man. Black Cement three s They are but is this really just my favorites or this like the classics? No talking about like you know like so this came from like you know for example be like you know reasonable doubt I'm not a big Jay-Z fan so like I'll That's crazy. Yeah I'm a Nas fan. I'm a Nas fan. All right just taking the temperature of room. You guys fuck with this? Alright. I said I'm not a big, I didn't say he's wack.
00:55:19
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fair, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. That's crazy. Wow. You still have to be like, Reason Without is a classic album. I would have to- 1000%. 1000%. Yeah, yeah. Or like the same, know, Illmatic. Okay, so yeah, I'm not necessarily fan, but this is classic. Yeah.
00:55:33
Speaker
Okay, I mean, look, there's like, So I agree white on whites because you'll see that if you go into classics and yeah, it's white on whites. It's Jordan ones. It is Jordan threes. It is Jordan forest. That's four right there.
00:55:45
Speaker
I'd say, but I'm saying colorway to like, you know, I'm being we've slimmed. Yeah, then it's like now we're into like, yeah, we're into. So yeah I would say black and red Jordan ones. I would say i can read.
00:55:56
Speaker
um Let's say black and red Jordan force. I would say white cement Jordan threes white on white forces. What's my fifth? um These are the classics. Like again, these are not all my favorites. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:56:10
Speaker
It's my fifth. yeah I mean, like, if we're talking also just numbers alone, like you could throw a Chuck Taylor in there. Yeah, I've seen a lot of Chuck Taylor. So when I asked the question, um i was getting White on Whites.
00:56:23
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. ah White on Whites, um Chucks, Black Cinnamon Like somebody, somebody tweeted out and said Black Superman 3 is for all five. And I was just like, all right. Yeah, I mean, like, yeah, to me, it's like, i don't want even say i drift towards all those models, but like, but yeah, I get the classic. But what was surprising is I got a couple foams. People were like, Royal foams. you could class You could easily put those in there for sure. could throw royal phones. The only thing is that- royal But I'm also like, to me, is that like there's there's levels of classic. And like my classic is after the OG classics, right? like If you would ask someone like a Clark, you know I mean? like They might say something different. yeah um
00:57:02
Speaker
It's funny, it was with Spike like a couple months ago, and he always says, cons. I said, he's like, cons, because that's his era. They call it cons. It's like my pop's era. So you know like i get that um You could throw foams in there for sure, Royal foams. But but I don't think it's... and i'll mean's That's a different level classic. So if I get even away from like the like top in the Wikipedia... Because somebody was like, somebodys like oh, Lennon Air Force 1s. And I was just like... i would if you If you put out a Lennon Air Force 1 as much as you did a white on white, I don't think we would see... You know you wouldn't see Lennon Air Force 1 right now. But like yeah, oh so that, like durability, like yeah Royal foams can come out any time of the year and they're going to crack. Yeah. Three's will come out any time of a year they're gonna crack. Oh yeah, for sure. Four's any time of year crack. Four's is any time of year they're going crack.
00:57:45
Speaker
And I would even argue that sometimes Jordan 1's should, but maybe not as much now. But I think they're classics and they should go. That's always a tough conversation. And like, it's like to me when you try to do favorite rappers, like there's people, you name Big and Pac, you lost two spots. Yeah. Like they're already up there, you know, like.
00:58:02
Speaker
And I'm more interested sometimes in like who they, who people like that think is like their best. And you talk to like guys like, oh, he's going to say Grand Poobah, right? Like, like he's going, right? He's going to tell you who was getting fly first. So yeah, it's not my favorites necessarily, but um but I like them all. But classic, but but thats that's why I like asking the question classics, because it's more of just like, to me, it's like a universal thing. I have stuff. I'm more too. I'm also in an era now with even like apparel. I'm trying to like, here's my classics and I will dip off and have a side mission. But like, it's always going to be like Nike's, Timberlands, New Era, North Face.
00:58:36
Speaker
Like, and there's new things that probably everyone's in Arc'teryx wave. Cool. um I'm going to double down on a Timberland ACG. Like, and then I will jump out and do other things. But I'm also like, I've been through so many eras and trends that I'm like happy to like, yeah kind of build what I think is my circle and then have like,
00:58:54
Speaker
build my album, have like a guest feature here, you know, a mixtape song here. So I'm kind of locking in more and more to things. I'm like, this is it. and I can keep this for
Individuality vs. Social Media Trends
00:59:02
Speaker
20 years. But that I mean, that's see that i've I've talked about this a lot. We lose it. We lose an individuality. And when people like, you know, you or you know, when you're like, you know, you're being intentional, of what you're doing,
00:59:15
Speaker
like Now we're in this world of like everybody's dressing for TikTok and you know. Yo, so I've tried that. Like I've tried to like, was just overdressing and being like, yo, I can't do like it feels nuts to do that and then go to work. Yeah. it feel You know what I mean? Like it feels nuts to do that. And then like,
00:59:32
Speaker
um It really only works if you're taking a photo. And you're like, wo what are we doing here? Why are we all dressing like we're in a Hype Williams video? like It's fly, but like, and you see it where it's like, and then it just looks crazy. like To each their own. Right, for sure. But i think they I think having range in it and being able to have those statement pieces and get fly.
00:59:55
Speaker
But um we also have to have a point where like it's the guy in the old Stussy knit shirt and some jeans and like some beat up sneakers. He's part of this too, right? And having room for that. yeah Not just being like, we're all going to be dressed like, you know we're going to like the Grammys every night. like I mean, then you get crucified, like Wale.
01:00:15
Speaker
In which way? Because they were like, oh, people over 40 shouldn't dress like Wale. What did you see that? No. It went viral. Like some guy was like, oh. I love Wale. I love Wale. But like somebody, somebody was like, if you dress over, if you're over 40, you can't dress like Wale. Is it that he's dressed in street wear? Yeah.
01:00:34
Speaker
I'm, you know, I made it in my mind. I'm doing, I'm doing this. if I told somebody other night about this. I'm doing this forever. Yeah. What I mean by that is like culture. Like I'm doing this forever. Like there's not everything I'm always up on, but I will be supportive of someone else who's up on something. Right. It goes back to the same thing of like,
01:00:50
Speaker
putting people on and putting, you know, putting things in the mix. Anti-Grift, all that's the same theory. So I get people say no, but like, when you see the old lady who's wearing like the trench coat and like the bonnet and everything, go look at photos. That's what she was wearing at 20, at 30. She just never, people dress how they feel when they were at their coolest and they never switch out. yeah It's fine. You know, like when you see like, um,
01:01:13
Speaker
you know, like my pops generation, like they're going Bluetooth it up. They're going you know, Kangol it up. They're going to do all that. And it's fly.
Staying True to Passions and Interests
01:01:20
Speaker
yeah So much so that we're watching people now resurface that as as a vibe or an aesthetic. And so our generation is just going to go through this. Like we're going to wearing sneakers and listening to rap music and versions of it forever.
01:01:31
Speaker
You can do different things for sure. But when people feel like they got to mature away from it, I'm like, Yo, you can just follow it along. Like, it's okay. But I think people, they don't know what to pick. And that's fine, too. You know? But I'm going to be in this forever. Same. Forever. Yeah. Like, this is part of me.
01:01:50
Speaker
Like, I'm not going to be like, all right, now I'm over it. like Yeah, and I think you don't to go down every tree branch, for sure. But, like, um yeah, man, i i'm um'm I'm in this. I do find it, like, I find it frustrating or, like,
01:02:05
Speaker
Shout out Wale, bro. Yeah, shout out Wale. The way he's been doing the GT future. He's got pink ones? Yes. Stupid. So that was the picture. so he posted a picture of him wearing that and somebody reposted it and was like, you can't be dressing like that at 40. Also, by the way, did we go to that person's gram?
01:02:21
Speaker
Are they shutting it down? I don't know.
01:02:27
Speaker
Yeah. I left it there. Yeah, what we're hearing there is like, you know, I don't care about your opinion. And with all due respect, you were allowed to have one. But we were also allowed to be like, don't care. That stinks. We don't like it. Yeah, silly, silly.
01:02:43
Speaker
so he's Silly, silly. I was going to go off on something else, but now, since we're towards the end of the podcast, I do want to ask ah another question. it deals with a little visualization. i want you to think back to Young Jinx, right? He sees what was the kid's name with the Griffey's?
01:03:01
Speaker
Oh, that's probably my guy. Yeah. So he sees he sees young young does as also with the with the Griffey's. But now you're older, you behind your younger self. What would you tell Young Jinx?
01:03:14
Speaker
Like, well, he didn't get the shoes, but usually I say as he opens that box, but you got the shoes later on. So, you know. I'm stuck. Which part in the future are we? I'm like, what? Like, what I tell young Jinx? Because usually, so yeah, so usually I, so this is why i fumbled it. Because like, usually I tell you to, I tell the guests to think back to when they were about to open the box with the shoes in it. But I didn't get the shoes. didn't get the shoes. Yeah. So now,
01:03:39
Speaker
the yeah The inspired young Jinx. Like, you're behind him. Yeah. What would you tell him? Probably nothing on the reel, man. You know, for real. I know it's a terrible answer, but, like, i was fine without it, you know? um I knew I liked it, though, and I'm really happy that. You know, I tell him it's like...
01:03:57
Speaker
um
01:04:02
Speaker
It's just like it's not going to be a proper sentence, but like keep liking things like that woke something up and I liked it. You know what I mean? stayed with it. A lot of stuff I'm doing now stuff that I was doing kind when I was younger. But when you play it back, I was always on that or someone people remind you of conversations you had. like, oh, wow, that really came true. I was just saying a thing. I don't even remember saying it.
01:04:22
Speaker
So less about having things more about like, yo, whatever this thing is that made you like super attracted to this you thought about it every day. Yeah. You didn't own it, but you, you like started paying attention.
01:04:34
Speaker
Keep that alive. Cause that thing is like my whole, everything is a product of liking things and like pursuing them and being really clear about what I don't like and really clear about what I do like. Like it has, um,
01:04:48
Speaker
I've had no calls, I've had calls in other directions, but it's answering the call or making the call about the thing you like. yeah That has like, it has served me. Should I say I'm a ferocious uncompromiser? totally true, but um I'm, I'm lasered in on my shit. You know, like I'm,
01:05:07
Speaker
like that, you know, so it would have been I need a sharper one. My hands are more moisturized. Yeah. But anyways, yeah, like I needed it's that. Yeah. So whatever that thing is like because it gets tested as you go along, whatever it is, it survived in me all these years. And now it's like it's working out. So I mean, i think it's I always call it like the curiosity gene. Yeah. Yo, curiosity. i would tell everybody. That's why I was tell kids to read. Yeah. Like watching shit is not it makes you a little curious, but reading makes you curious, it works your imagination, you're part of it, you're doing a lot at once. um
01:05:43
Speaker
Curiosity has, it's my great, a couple skills, curiosity and like sensitivity, two of my greatest skills. To be able to want to go in that room and to get in the room and be sensitive to what's happening has been like,
01:05:56
Speaker
it makes a difference. And I'll be in rooms with people who are in the same room, but they're not using those things. yeah And it's different results. So I've been extremely, extremely fortunate. And the other thing about curiosity is um people who who have things to offer respond really well to you. For sure. they're like They see it.
01:06:13
Speaker
So like if you look like your bright eye and you have questions, they will they'll rock with you. That's think I got a lot of OGs to um that's how a lot of them found me. It was like, you ask a question. Right.
01:06:25
Speaker
That's that's the it's you got to pour in. People want people to pour in back in. Yeah. or like pour out like the the thing that will always continues to fuel people that are, you know, progressing is that curiosity of like being able to ask a question because I think when you're too intimidated to to be like, hey, how do I get to here? Or like, what are your thoughts on this? Or like, you know, like, I'd also say, though, to curiosity, shouldn't just stop it asking questions. You've got to be working like your own, you know, you've got to be like super observant. You've got to be observant because like,
01:06:59
Speaker
nothing's harder than the kid who's like, Jinx, how do I do what you do? I'm like, one thing I do is done. It's already on its way out. yeah what You need skills, attributes, traits to go do what you do. And to have me redo my life story in like a a quick blurb on the street doesn't do anything. now yeah Like, you need traits more than you need like a tail. That's why I always flip the question back. i yeah yeah People be like, yo, how do you you know start podcast and stuff like that? I go,
01:07:24
Speaker
Well, what do you want to talk about? And just start. Yeah, you just got to start. So curiosity has to just be like questions is great, but it can't be on everyone else to answer. Like you got to find your way. But it's powerful, man. Like um
Curiosity and Sensitivity as Success Traits
01:07:38
Speaker
it's powerful. it's It's I'd argue one of the most powerful traits you could have is to just to care. Yeah. You know, those are all they all dance together for sure.
Brandon Jinx's Online Presence and Projects
01:07:45
Speaker
Yeah. Let everybody know where to find you.
01:07:46
Speaker
um Brandon Jinx, you know, Deep Cuts projects more so these days. Yes, please. yeah Follow the page. Follow all Deep Cuts. um yeah that I was going to say some flashy like me. I know where to find me. You know, but yeah, that's where I'm at. and Do your old sign off. Yeah, you know, I don't even know what that is anymore, but... um Yeah, man. um Thank you for this, bro. No, thank you for this. ah You notify me who is Hassan on social media. Follow the podcast My First Kicks pod. If you want to write in so I can read ah My First Kicks story to a guest, info at myfirstkicks.com.
01:08:18
Speaker
Hit the Patreon, patreon.com slash myfirstkicks. We're going to slice in some ah a little walk around of the space. Yeah. But the full The full walk around with the talk will be on Patreon. You gotta sign up for that. So yeah, appreciate you, man. Yeah, thank you, bro.
01:08:36
Speaker
I hope you enjoyed this week's episode with Jinx because, man, like I said at the end of this, full circle moment. It is a huge honor to be able to introduce one of my favorite interviewers. I just remember...
01:08:52
Speaker
Being at my job, watching Jinx do his on-the-street interviews and also like that whole crew, very inspirational. and Look at what they've been able to to grow out and do. It's such a huge, huge honor. I also got to do a quick shout-out. to JD by Domino on Instagram. He filmed all of this. He took all the pictures that you see.
01:09:21
Speaker
Huge, huge, huge help. And also shout out to D. D was in the building, you know, making sure people don't come in front of the cameras. And, and you know, he was a huge help as well. So make sure you check out D and Oxymorons whenever they're in town. Follow them, hit them up hit up, you know, JD tell him how much you loved his work, you know, manning the cameras and lighting the place. Like he really made us look really good. But big, big, big, big shout out to Jinxford and Nike for letting me record an episode in that space. I know in the episode i said i was going to put kind of like a B-roll of a walkthrough of the space. Now, I don't have the footage currently.
01:10:08
Speaker
I'm waiting on that to come in. so But this episode has to come out today ah on Friday. So that will be coming in a separate clip. It might just be only an Instagram post that announces the full video, which is me and Jinx actually going through the cultural space that he created and where he's telling me about each single piece that's on the wall. And so that's going to live on Patreon. So don't Don't, don't, don't skip out and, you know, skip this. and Or if you're seeing this in the future, please, please make sure you sign up for the Patreon, patreon.com slash myfirstkicks.
01:10:49
Speaker
All that money goes right back into the podcast. As you know, I fund this myself. So this is such a huge, just like a monumental moment for me. You know, Jinx hit me up as he was creating the space and he talked about it in the episode. And he had me in mind to kind of just like talk about his journey with deep cuts project and how his relationship with Nike came to be. And she's just super dope that like, I was able to have this conversation because I never thought like I, and I say it in the episode, I never thought in my wildest imaginations that I would be the person, you know, interviewing him, or just even talking to him. And the universe is crazy. I don't like, i
01:11:37
Speaker
I have i literally in in the back of the recesses of my mind, I do have a kind of like this, like I must interview these people list because one, they were inspirational in my life and two, they kind of, you know.
01:11:53
Speaker
Paved. the way within this or within something I love and enjoy. and to me, like seeing Jinx on sneakers, seeing Jinx on his complex day and like seeing his work within, you know, his, his ah music podcast and just like seeing bumping into him at shows that I like rappers that I really enjoy, um which I always feel like it's such a, ah a small, you know, niche,
01:12:24
Speaker
Or like, I'm always looking for the artists that like nobody's really hearing about right now. But if you know, you know, you and you know, they're talented, that's me. I'm always there. I'm not going to be, you know, trying to be like only listening to anybody that's like hot right now. I'm always looking for newer people. That's why you see Life of Tom on here or, you know, Fergie Baby, who's blowing up right now. um I'm always that I'm that person.
01:12:51
Speaker
that will always look for either what's next or or something that like I feel like i need to dig for, right? So, you know, before this episode, me and Jinx talked about Bruiser Wolf, we talked about but Billy Woods, and um we in the video with the walkthrough, we talked about Mavi. These are a lot of rappers that, and Mike and ah and, like, these are a lot of rappers that I find insanely talented. So, you know,
01:13:21
Speaker
When I used to do he essentials, I always make sure it's like music that people aren't really finding these days.
Passion for Music Discovery and Emerging Artists
01:13:28
Speaker
Right. You know, it's crazy to have like Coda and Marlon craft on there and then eventually have Coda on the podcast. Like I'm a big music head. So like, please, please, ah maybe I might bring back essentials, but all this rambling to say, you know,
01:13:45
Speaker
This journey has been crazy. And being able to interview Jinx has been what a... like I never thought this would happen. so I hope everybody found this extremely insightful. We touched on journalism. We touched we touched on gatekeeping.
01:14:05
Speaker
um like i wanted to stay away from you know, stuff that I feel like he's definitely talked about. And I really wanted to hone in on the space and how we interact with culture and how can we bring this to what we feel, how we bring this into life that we feel is missing. And, you know, I feel like my work is within this podcast and interviewing interesting people um and doing my, my own research and doing my work. And i As Deontay says, do in the knowledge. So I always implore you, if you're just getting into sneakers, if you just found this podcast, if you're in the future or you know you just tune in this week, please do the knowledge and and please...
01:14:56
Speaker
Shout out to Sean Williams and Dee Wells. ah But please take care of our culture because this is something that we cherish extremely, extremely, extremely like highest degree we we cherish this um to the fullest potential so let's jump into patreon shout outs let's do patreon shout outs please please please don't forget you can sign up to see the walkthrough that me and jinx do uh of the space on patreon so patreon.com slash my first kicks uh let's start it off we got ross adams we got adam neustetter we got plox
01:15:33
Speaker
We got Jordan Kaiser. We got Adam Butler. We got Derek Hawkins. We have Derek Lipkin. We have Samia Gran. We have Sean Hates You. And we have a new subscriber this month. Shout out, Brett. Thank you so much for joining. I don't have ah a a name for the My First Kicks listeners, but And if you all want to, you know, if you all want to name yourselves, please leave a comment with the name y'all suggest y'all would call yourselves. But I appreciate every one of y'all for tuning in, checking out, um sign up for signing up for the Patreon as well.
01:16:07
Speaker
um If you want to check out more of this podcast, please check out these two episodes here. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button if you're on YouTube. And of course, you know what we say each week, wear your kicks. Peace.