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Grandma's Couch 2 Release with Philip Lipshutz & More
111 Plays1 day ago
This week, I am live from the Unheardof Brand event. I get to sit down with AD and recap why the video and audio came out so bad for the live show. I also get to sit down and catch up with Andy, Aaron, Phil, Elaina, and Melissa. As we get to talk ask them what does the Grandma Couch 2 and the collaboration means to them. How they are impacted by this release and how much they love the shoe. Also I asked each guest if they could share a sneaker story about the matriarch in their family. This Grandma's Couch 2 release was one for the ages and I hope I was able to capture and make up for the live show that I took away from the feed!
Where to find Phil:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/@unheardofbrand
Website: https://unheardofbrand.com/
Where to find Sneaky Leak: IG: https://www.instagram.com/@sneakyleakpod
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@sneakyleakpod
Podcast Linktree: https://linktr.ee/myfirstkicks
Music by The DoppleGangaz: https://thedoppelgangaz.bandcamp.com/
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Transcript
Symbolism of Colors and Growth
00:00:00
Speaker
Growth and new beginnings, never forgetting where you come from, never forgetting what you went through. but celebrate the good times and remember all the good things that did happen in life, whether it was with your loved ones or with yourself um or your friends.
00:00:18
Speaker
um All over the internet there's constant things written up about what the green symbolizes on flowers and you know I'm all about growth and constantly getting better at no matter what whether it's a personal achievement in life or constantly trying to get better at my art or creating get better at communicating with people um in the you know social media universe or in person. Yeah exactly.
Surprise Podcast and Technical Challenges
00:00:48
Speaker
What's good, everyone? Welcome back to My First Kicks. If you're seeing this, guess what? It's a shock drop. Right, AD? Right. Yo, ah let me tell you about what happened the night the nightlys yesterday, man.
00:01:02
Speaker
Yo, so we're we're at Vintage on on Race. i always I've been saying it, Vintage on the Race for some reason, but Vintage on Race and... We were recording a live podcast with Phil's me and the Sneaky League ladies.
00:01:15
Speaker
Shout out to Elena and Janelle um and also shout out to Henny, too. But, bro, let me tell you that it was a disaster. Right.
00:01:26
Speaker
I don't know if you ever put on a live production, but this is like my. Third. My third, I'm host i'm doing myself. But you didn't have your equipment. i didn't have I don't have my own equipment. So that's the problem with podcasting. You think it's easy. We make it look easy. I have a studio.
00:01:39
Speaker
It's a lot easier when you have a studio. ah you know Shout out to my people at my friend's basement. like They were super helpful. like I've been recording with them for a year now. you know You got to come up and and do an episode. Absolutely.
00:01:54
Speaker
it just went to shit just plain and simple so that's why we're doing this episode you see this setup is cool uh if you if you're i'll probably throw in some b-roll nah not gonna throw in any b-roll this is just gonna be straight like this um but there's a whole stage uh if you watch the live episode i'm sorry for your ears i'm sorry for your ears because you did try to give it a spin yeah um but the visuals look good and then the camera overheated so So here we are. Yeah. So
Sneaker Design Contest and Storytelling
00:02:20
Speaker
here we are. We got we got Aaron. He's helping me out this time to make sure that this one goes smooth for y'all, for y'all.
00:02:28
Speaker
You know, teamwork makes the dream work. Exactly. But eighty we've been trying to do this for a minute. You know, like the last episode you were on, you know, was a I guess that one got ah ripped to shreds on Twitter, right? Yes, it did. But shout out JSM, to be honest. like ah the you know He's been doing some good stuff with the NBA, some cool stuff with with Justin Timberlake. so he Yeah, and did some stuff recently with Kevin Hart. Exactly. He's still killing the custom game. He is. He is And you know we got we were able to experience the this event right for the Grandma's Couch 2.
00:03:02
Speaker
If you were here live, you got to hear...
Connecting Generations in Sneaker Culture
00:03:05
Speaker
clearly the story of the grandma's couch too uh hopefully later in this episode i'll have phil back on you know but let's catch up man with with what what you've been up to man it's been a minute man i know i mean since we last talked still doing you know middle school still grinding that away uh recently wrapped up my student sneaker design competition yes man and always fun everybody every year looks forward to that you know it's fun man and like it's really cool because like every year that i've done that i've tried to like
00:03:34
Speaker
be a little bit more intentional about what I want the kids to design. yeah So I try to focus on storytelling and ah like the first time I did it, I was just like design whatever you want. right Kids were taking like, kids were getting like air mags and like making crazy colors and stuff. I was like, that's cool. um but So like I tried to to make it more intentional and honestly, like I was able to come out for the first grandma's couch release. Right, yeah.
00:03:57
Speaker
Phil is master storyteller. And I took inspiration from that and i was like, you know what? like I want to have my students tell stories too. So um we kind of break down like a bunch of different sneakers that tell great stories in sneakers. And then I encourage them to to come up with something that resonates with them that can also resonate with other people and try to tell that story on ah on a design.
00:04:19
Speaker
um Build up all semester their skills using Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop to you know, have them showcase this at the end. It's just cool to see what these kids come up with and and see some of the stories they tell.
Building Genuine Connections
00:04:30
Speaker
Nah, yeah. You know, that's it's super inspirational and I think that, you know, I'm always just trying to find ways to get kids into sneakers. Like, that's the one thing about this or like being part of the sneaker community is like, how do we find ways to bridge that gap? I feel like the gap continues to continuously grow and then when you look online, it's always a lot of just trying to, a lot of people just trying to
00:04:54
Speaker
to be like, no, the OG, and then, oh, too much, a you know, like, like the the younger kids are like, oh, I don't want to talk to the younger, like, how do we bridge that gap? And I always try to, like, have an open mind. And I mean, you're you're with the kids, so it's, like, really hard.
00:05:08
Speaker
Like, i really I feel like it's hard to, like, make that connection. It is, i mean, because our interests and our styles are very different from a lot of what some of these kids you know really enjoy. like As a kid growing up, I was a Jordan head. love Jordan, love basketball, and you know that was when Mike was playing and doing his thing, and so there was a different like feel to his shoes. I mean, today, you still have the nostalgia. It still pulls at that, but that nostalgia isn't there for kids because they don't know Mike. They don't know that kind of like what he did and stuff like that, so...
00:05:38
Speaker
There's a lot of diversity with ah with what these kids like and what they wear and stuff like that. And I think, you know, just bridging that gap, celebrating that diversity. Like, what these kids are bringing to it. Like, not every one of them is going to want to be, like, an Air Max head or a Jordan head or, you know, hardcore Adidas or Asics or whatever.
00:05:54
Speaker
So just meeting these kids where they're at and just teaching them, like, the history of stuff. Like... through the storytelling um that I try to do in class and stuff like that. And, you know, just let them be them. Like, stop trying to make people try to be something that they're not. Yeah. That's that's the thing now, because i think I feel like social media has definitely made everybody kind of want to just follow the same, you know, patterns, like right? like Or like be part of the same, like, just copying the same thing, I want to say. Like, copy and pasting, because...
00:06:28
Speaker
The creativity does come from within, but it's like you have to have trials and tribulations. But if you're not taking those chances, you know, and like somebody's making fun of you or something like that, you kind of feel discouraged, right? Like, right how are you, like, how do you push that forward into these kids?
00:06:43
Speaker
I mean, just got to do it yourself, first of all, right? Like, to be an example and just... ignore what other people are saying be confident in who you are as a person and what you like to do um you know everyone has their own interests own skill set and pursue it like if that's like you love doing podcasts talking to people pursue it ignore the noise right i love doing photos and doing all that stuff ignore the noise that comes along with that as well and so just encouraging kids to be confident in their abilities and i mean first we got to start being confident in who we are as people too and sneakers
00:07:15
Speaker
Yeah, you just got, well, the recently, you know Complex featured you on Instagram.
Teachers and Social Media Balance
00:07:22
Speaker
A lot of people were commenting, you know, you've definitely made a space for teachers and tell who love sneakers to really start you know pushing themselves forward. for sure. You know, I also feel like when you're when you're a teacher, it's hard.
00:07:37
Speaker
to have a social presence. So like how do you balance the but thing? Because like i feel like people I feel like people get in trouble for being a teacher and being online.
00:07:47
Speaker
Right, no, and no, I can see that. I mean, there's ah there's a delicate, ah you know there's a fine line that you gotta walk with that for sure. Really supportive administration that you know helped me out with stuff too. I mean, as long as you're not including the kids in any of that stuff, then usually you're pretty good to go and not doing like super shady stuff online.
00:08:07
Speaker
um And it's it's usually fine. I mean, yeah, it's, I just feel like, like, you know, there's like Sneaker Teacher, ah trying to think, there's a bunch, like you, there's a bunch of, like Aaron, Aaron's a teacher, like, there's a bunch of teacher creators that are, oh, shout out J5 Fridays, who's also like, works with kids, but they,
00:08:28
Speaker
Like you guys have been starting to really push forward that you know you can be part of sneakers, be part of an online presence, be positive and then also be positive with kids, right? For sure. And I feel like you know literally right now when this is recording, Phil's speaking to you know young girls, trying to get more into you know just storytelling and and being part of you know something or community.
00:08:51
Speaker
Right. Like, I mean, if community is like growing, right? Like community should be growing and not stale. And I feel like as teachers, like, yeah, we don't teach sneaker classes. Yeah. But like, if that's, if that's who you are as a person, if that's something that you love, like why hide it from your students? Yeah.
00:09:06
Speaker
And so that's what I've tried to incorporate in the stuff that I do at school is like, I don't have like a teacher version of myself and then like a non-teacher version of myself. I'm just myself like all the time. yeah.
Friendships in the Sneaker Community
00:09:17
Speaker
When kids see that, they can relate to that a little bit more and and buy into what you're trying to teach them as a teacher. yeah And then like like, oh yeah, Mr. Dutton's into sneakers. He really likes sneakers. And like whether a kid's into sneakers or not after that, like It is what it is, but um like we talked about earlier, just kind of bridging that gap between older generation, younger generation, and just including everybody in that. That's because whenever I see like what Phil's doing, especially with with this shoe, and I mean like you know specifically this shoe, the the the friends Friends and Family colorway, how
00:09:51
Speaker
how And we'll talk about it later, but during the during the live episode, we talked about how his grandmother picked these specific Pantone colors for this specific shoe, right? love that.
00:10:03
Speaker
And in honoring like his grandmother and matriarchs, do you have ah um ah grand like um a story where your mom hooked you up with sneakers? Um, so like I remember, so I grew up in Idaho. Yeah. And Idaho isn't known for sneakers. Right.
00:10:19
Speaker
At all. Potatoes. Like that's what we got. Yeah, you wear potatoes for shoes. Exactly. Potato stompers and you know, we go around in that. No, like, cause I remember, cause I was into basketball growing up. And so my exposure to sneakers was this tiny foot locker in my mall that was maybe there for 10 years and then closed cause they weren't getting enough business.
00:10:38
Speaker
And then East Bay magazines. So I vividly remember always asking my mom for like specific Jordans in East Bay magazine or asking my dad and they're like, that's out of our price range and all this stuff. So, you know, as a kid, you're disappointed by that, of course. But like just those experiences of just connecting with my parents ah just by asking them to buy me sneakers. Like I always remember that my parents now they're like, see, now look what we turned you into. yeah You have too many sneakers. it's It definitely has become a beast and um ah you know especially now, like once we start working into sneakers, and were we're but been said like I always kept myself at like 150 and now it's like it's like crazy now. like It's crazy. i mean i mean you know Thanks to you, you know ah you recently you sent me the Wu-Tang Dunks. I'm forever grateful for that too because i you saw me crying on the one time I cried on Twitter.
00:11:34
Speaker
One time I cried on on Twitter, i actually my my cries were actually heard. but they They rang all the way over. it was just It was just crazy. I wish
Creative Inspirations and Personal Influence
00:11:44
Speaker
that like, you know, we had more people like that that were just like looking out for our other friends, you know, like right building building that bridge as we say. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I feel like friendships and sneakers, like, don't know, we we've talked about this off off show a little bit, but there's a lot of transactional relationships in the sneaker space and it's like,
00:12:05
Speaker
is that why Is that how sneakers like were you know back in the day? Maybe to a degree. I don't think so. But social media has kind of opened up a whole other can of worms with ah you know those transactional relationships that we have with people. And you know whatever happened to hooking up friends or yeah meeting friends and like doing things for your friends in sneakers. And I mean, that's that's the the core of it, right? That's the essence of it. And we need to get back to that, people. Yep. Enough of that tribalism. Yeah.
00:12:31
Speaker
I mean, tribalism is always going to come with anything, which is what i especially with like a passion, right? For sure. ah Photography, tribalism, photography, there's tribalism in podcasting. Like there's tribalism in anything, especially when it comes to passion, because people feel like you're stepping on their toes when you're when you're like, you you kind of do something like them. or you like, right you know, they don't see it as inspiration. Like even even i can suffer from that where somebody would take my question but take a spin to it and be like, right not what's your fake first kicks but like, you know, hey, what's that pair that you you, the perfect pair for you? You know, like something like that.
00:13:07
Speaker
no No shot at anybody. But but it's it's the way that I think you you take some people take it as flattery some people take it as disrespect some people like But um for me, it's just like it if you can be inspired by me and try something and then that brings you into something else Right, like I feel like I've done my part for whatever. Yeah, you know kind of pass it forward in a way exactly intentionally or unintentionally Yeah, you so you put yourself out there for people to see yeah, and people are gonna see it and take inspiration from it Yeah, you wanted to or not and
00:13:40
Speaker
You know, the the best thing that you can do and we can do is people who create in the sneaker space is, you know, pass it on. There's going to be people that are going to come up that are going to have a better podcast. There's to be people that are going to come up that are going take better pictures, do better review videos.
00:13:53
Speaker
It's going to happen. And so instead of trying to, you know, avoid it or like, you know, be all contentious about it, just, you know, help each other out because, you know, the we we all grow together. Yeah. Like it's not...
00:14:06
Speaker
It's not like, oh, let's let this person grow and step over them to get to where we want to be. like There's room enough for everybody. There there is. there isnt ah Especially with sneakers, like there is such baby-created thing. my gosh, yeah.
00:14:19
Speaker
created thing like oh my gosh yeah You know what mean? I mean, like i mean were we're our own echo chamber. like yeah but like If you were explaining any of this stuff to somebody who wasn't into sneakers, they think we're crazy. Oh, for sure. But, you know, it's just everybody has their own little like pockets of things that they enjoy in their own communities, and their own groups. And sometimes it can get a little heated in some of those. yeah you know But that's that's just how it is. And, you know, I'm always one for positivity. I'm always one for for helping other people grow and just lifting people up. So...
00:14:51
Speaker
you know One, thank you for pulling up. And let me interview for this. Yeah, of course, bro. It's been a long time coming. It is. you know like i Look, I got jealous Beyond Kicks got to do an in-person interview. And I was like, no, the next time we're doing this in person. We got to do it in person. you know This is the first time we've met in person. ah When was that first episode?
00:15:13
Speaker
First episode was 20...
00:15:18
Speaker
22, 23. No, 2021. I think you only had like, man I think you were only at like 20,000 followers when we were. two twenty twelve That's a while. That's crazy. Right? Maybe. Dave. Have to fact check that. Can you check his first episode? episode?
00:15:31
Speaker
Can you check what his number of first episode? What year his his episode was? Yeah. I know, that's yelling. And I'm keeping this in. um Live life fact checks. yeah the But it's, you know, seeing you grow, you know, I said this in the last episode, like seeing you grow because your consistency is second to none, you know.
00:15:53
Speaker
I try to but i try to try to follow you in terms of just like always having something up, always having something up. But you've blocked your time out and you still get to spend time with your family. You get you get to go on vacations. You get to experience things.
00:16:08
Speaker
How the hell do you do it? Because I feel like me and Aaron have spoken about this a lot. like we don't we like i i have I barely have time. I work a nine to five. I do the podcast.
00:16:18
Speaker
And then I'm like, okay, now I'm editing. I mean, video and podcast stuff, that takes a while. Yeah, man. So. So i'm I'm, you know, this is for tips for, you know, anybody listening to this. Yeah. Like, how do how do you how do you, what is your tips to manage that? um For me, like, I answered this the other day because when I was flying here on IG, I was answering questions. Someone asked that exact question.
00:16:40
Speaker
And so like I just try to be all in on whatever it is I'm currently doing. So like if I'm in the classroom, I'm all in, like locked in with the kids, doing everything I can to help them learn and grow.
00:16:51
Speaker
soon as I leave school, I'm locked in all in to being with my own kids and my wife until kids go to bed, stuff like that. And then spend a little bit of time with the wife and after that I'm all in locked in on photography and that kind of stuff too. And so I think just being intentional about like your time and what you do.
00:17:08
Speaker
And for me, like i I don't really have a lot of downtime. I don't watch a lot of TV, don't play a lot of video games or anything like that. um Would you consider that the sacrifice you made? Ish, kind of, but like honestly my relaxing downtime is when I'm shooting pictures. yeah that's That's my like unwind time. people Some people like video games, some people like TV shows or reading or anything like that, but that's my unwind time. And then yeah, there's early days on like weekends and stuff. Like I'll get up super early if I have a project that I'm working on, get that all done before the kids wake up so that that's all finished and we can go do stuff as a family that day. so
00:17:41
Speaker
just busy, um but just be intentional about what you do and just structure your time um and just be really intentional about what you do in those specific time slots. And I mean, I've developed a way for like me with pictures, I know my flow, right? And you've probably done the same thing with your podcast. It's like, okay, I got my structure doing things, trying to optimize it as best as possible. So yeah, I just try to do that.
00:18:05
Speaker
ah Your biggest tips for avoiding burnout. Biggest tips for avoiding burnout? Because mine is mine is find time to have fun, like turn to turn everything off. Balance, yes, for sure. like you need to my So for anybody listening and watching, like if you if you are back-to-back grinding like we are,
00:18:26
Speaker
in terms to like put your content out or put you know put your your efforts forward, because you you love this, this is your passion, so you're gonna do it for free, so you really wanna do it regardless. But you don't wanna make it where it seems like it's a job. correct you know So burnout is where you feel like it's a job. You're like, ah, I can't wait till the next thing. like I don't wanna wait.
00:18:44
Speaker
like i don't or or like Not I don't wanna wait. um i can't I cannot do the next thing. like know like You keep putting it off. So I would always make sure like Sundays I don't do anything. That's smart, yeah.
00:18:55
Speaker
Because everyone's like, oh, lock in, lock in. Like, everybody's got to lock in. 24-7, lock in, grind. Always got to stay on that grind. Yeah, but what happens when you grind something long enough? It's not there anymore. Yeah, exactly. So, like, yeah, you got to find balance. You got to pace yourself.
00:19:10
Speaker
Like I said, my family is a great balance for that, right? Like, so when I'm home, I'm home. Get a lock in with the kids. Get a play with the kids. Do stuff with them. Support them. Try to go on trips with them, know, when we can. And just, like, completely forget about that.
00:19:24
Speaker
And you often find that when you have taken those breaks or those those mental breaks, you come back to it, you're rejuvenated, you're refreshed, you have new ideas, new perspectives on things, and then you just keep getting better that way.
00:19:37
Speaker
You're not going to keep getting better if you're doing the same thing 24-7. Yeah. Breaks. That's important. You need the breaks. It's crazy because like when you start working in this creative world, and you know Aaron behind the the camera can understand this, like you know we talk about it.
00:19:52
Speaker
there There are people that continuously get frustrated because they just do the same thing, and then they're they're expecting the accolades of somebody who keeps trying. Right. and so like when i when it comes to me and this podcast, I've always like I haven't when you were on, I was very like trying to figure it out. type But although I remember it was like a webcam in your yeah apartment. Yeah. Like I had a bus had crappy camera audio. And then and then I just kept you know bringing it up, bringing it up outside for this last episode before this episode.
00:20:24
Speaker
but That was it. That was a downgrade. That wasn't on you. that was it It was a live downgrade. I don't know. But the the way that that, you know, I try to just continuously make little adjustments, like, you know, when I, you know, or for interviewing somebody, like I try to, you know, see if I can get, you know, make adjustments here and there. How do I get to this faster? Or how do I do this a little bit better? Or how do I avoid using the same words over and over again? You know, um how do I differentiate myself? And I think differentiating yourself in especially like a small niche spot like this, or is something that Phil has been doing. Mm-hmm.
00:20:59
Speaker
where he's standing out so much that the community loves it so much. Absolutely. And I think that's the same thing for you. You know, when people find your stuff, they're just like, yo, this teacher is like, you're you're doing the floating sneaker above your head. You you know, like you're you're adding in music. you're you're You're adding a piece of yourself, which is what Phil did with this shoe. For sure. And his whole Adidas run.
00:21:19
Speaker
And... how do you How do you connect to that? I mean, individuality, right? like It's easy to be you know cookie cutter, do the same thing, and not not shaming anybody. like There's a lot of podcasts, there's a lot of photographers, there's a lot of reviewers, and it's it's really hard to like differentiate between like each one of those lanes, and there's a lot of crossover between people that are in those lanes, and I think any way that you can add your own personal twist or your own personality into things, that's key, because then, like,
00:21:49
Speaker
People, yeah, we already know people love sneakers, yeah thin sneakers. So, like, do people love you as a person? Like, are they going to vibe with you as a person? So sharing your personality, sharing you out there with people, it's hard, honestly.
00:22:02
Speaker
Like, I remember when I first started, I did not want to take a picture of myself. Right, yeah. I just wanted to, was all about shoes. And i was like, you know what, like... I want to show people who I am and share that. And then by doing that, like I've been able to meet dope people, right? Like minutely you, me Aaron, me yeah lots of people. And that's what it's about.
00:22:19
Speaker
um It's just building those relationships with people and building friendships. Yeah. I mean, friendships, that's, that's the thing, right? Especially within the creative, I mean, creator economy, as they say, like a lot of people are just, they're using network as network. Like they're just like, Oh, how do I,
00:22:34
Speaker
move to the next person. can I use this person to get to next level? Yeah, exactly. And building friendships, like Aaron said in his video, building bridges, you know, like that. These are this is what we do it for more. Right. This is the more rewarding, like me getting to talk to you and like meeting in person and the life like we hugged each other. It felt like we know it because like when you sent me the Wu Tangs, I was like so fucking happy. I fought instantly FaceTimed you. Yeah, remember. And I was like, bro, you don't understand. I know i i love this, man. like ah nobody's like I was like, yeah, but people don't really do that for me unless they're like you know they really like care for me. You're
00:23:12
Speaker
ah love ah ra you like you're you're a longtime friends for me. like Yeah, dude. Friendship. Friendship and connections. That's what it's about. But thank you for hopping on for this a short, you know, short, short ah revisit of us. absolutely this This is like kick talk.
00:23:26
Speaker
The second kick talk. But but, you know, shout out to Phil for for bringing us on. Hopefully the next person I talk to is Phil. But yeah, you know, Phil, do thank you for having us out here. Yeah, for real. Do your plugs.
00:23:39
Speaker
Do my plugs um again. Shout out Phil. I mean, Dude is one of the most genuine people in sneakers right now. Yeah. Telling stories, building bridges like he did with his other, you know, release before. And ah just such a genuine, genuine people. Shout out to you, Haas.
00:23:54
Speaker
Appreciate you having me on, man. Linking up here in real life. um Shout out right now. I don't know when Haas is drop this, but shout out all the mothers. It's coming out on either Sunday or Monday. Oh, Sunday or Monday. So shout out to all the mothers, right? Shout out my wife. July 2022.
00:24:11
Speaker
It's the first, your first appearance. 2020, dude, that was a minute ago. Yeah, man. Almost three years ago. That's crazy. Yeah. You cut me off now. i forgot what to talk about. You're talking about shout to mothers. Oh yeah. Shout out mothers.
00:24:22
Speaker
Uh, shout out my wife for being supportive, uh, loving me for who I am and what I do and, uh, being my partner with my kids and, you know, teamwork with that is, is where it's at. And, uh, you know, shout out everybody in sneakers trying to, you know, do their thing. Keep grinding. Well, don't grind. Cause we already talked bad about grinding.
00:24:40
Speaker
Uh, Say, say, uh, if your mother, I mean, well, is going to sound, sound mad grim, but, uh, if the matriarch in your family is still around, you know, and you know, I can't say that to everybody, but, uh, make sure you say you love them. You know, like you, you, so one thing I, I still take care of my mom. Like my mom had when she was older. I talked about in a live episode, like I'm not, I'm an only child and my, my, um, my mom raised me basically. Like,
00:25:07
Speaker
But, you know, I still even though i don I don't take it for granted that she can call me, you know, some people don't get that that opportunity. Yes. You know, so if you are able to get that that call from your mom, you look down at your phone, just pick it up, pick it up.
00:25:21
Speaker
And if you can go give your mom a big hug. Yeah, they sure. mom Moms run this world. Thank you again, A.D. Thank you. haas Appreciate you. Not 11. I know what you Oh, so i was playing basketball and a guy passed the ball too hard and it bent my finger, my pinky all the way back.
00:25:39
Speaker
Bro. Oh, she show yeah. Yeah. pey I don't want my pinky to look like that. i'll see show to Show the show her camera. the That was, that was, I thought I jammed my finger and I taped it just like yours and it wasn't jammed. It was broken. was like, nah, nah, nah. Yours isn't crooked. So I think you're good. Yeah. Mine's not crooked. It's just, it's just messed up. As Aaron showed us his messed up fingers. Oh man, we all got messed up fingers. I, I, I, mine, this one's broke.
00:26:04
Speaker
So, uh, onto to the next person. You really think that you can keep watching this episode without like subscribing or leaving a comment. Come on, man. And also if you've been listening to this episode, leave a review.
00:26:18
Speaker
But back to the episode. Yo, we're back and we're back. You know, this is the this is the the shock drop episode. Got front page Aaron on the third time back on the podcast. Third time's a charm, bro. Third time's a charm. Yo, you're going to get it right this time. yeah I told you the story what happened, so you know I'm not going to go over it again. Nah, let's go over it. Let's go over it. I'm not going over I want to toot my own horn. yeah i can go Let's go over it again one more time. Yes.
00:26:44
Speaker
Did a live show with the Sneaky League ladies yesterday. Shout out to everybody that pulled up and and was able to partake. If you're listening to it, I'm sorry. But you're listening to this because Aaron?
00:26:58
Speaker
Yo, I came through. I'm in these rooms and I'm... ah Yo, nah, for real though, I'm in these rooms and i I just knew how to work the camera, so got I got the camera set up. That's all I did. All right I did, get the camera set up.
00:27:15
Speaker
so they'll start Don't start nothing on my podcast, man.
00:27:20
Speaker
Look, you you definitely came in clutch. you know I wish you were here yesterday because I feel like this would have went way smoother. We'll not make this mistake again. i will say, I'm going to be like, you know I'm going to need Aaron here. Aaron's my official camera guy. hey Just make it official. Just make it official. from Here, let's sign the contract.
00:27:40
Speaker
me i't got um not The producer already said it. He already linked it. He already inked it. you're You're in the writer now. got the contract. DocuSign.
00:27:52
Speaker
It's... ah yeah like We're here at the event, you you know, you let's talk about, because we didn't get to try talk about our time at the Piggy Racer. yeah you know What did you think about that execution and and visiting the American Sign Museum? like we We hung out all day. This is the first time we met in person. ah That was the first time we met in person. yeah So like what was that experience for you?
00:28:16
Speaker
Nah, it was dope, man. It was dope. ah that That venue was amazing. The sign museum was dope. The people there were dope. It was, yeah, it was dope after what, maybe like five years of knowing each other online yeah and video calls, meeting in person for the first time.
00:28:29
Speaker
that was dope, bro. It was dope to get together. Phil obviously shocked the world with the blue pair. And it was just a good vibe, man. Good vibe. Yeah, the the way that the Piggy Racers, like that drop, like my my first time actually being asked to come out, you know, to an event for a sneaker.
00:28:47
Speaker
So, you know, I was like a deer in headlights. Like you you got to experience the building bridges. You got to talk about building bridges. you we After the event, we but the next day we got to go to the bridge, yeah you know, and got to see it. We took pictures together.
00:29:01
Speaker
ah Well, no, you took pictures of me. Now we took pictures together. a Professional model, professional... Hand and and a shoe model. Hand and feet. Hand and feet model. Haas, book them. My First Kicks podcast slash my first modeling contract. yeah you know My First Feets. My First Feets. It's a...
00:29:22
Speaker
like ah Like I said, that's actually kind of fire. My first feats, but like feats like feature like, hey, trademark it. You heard it here for here first. Me, Ten. You know, it's very like that, like being able to be partake in like this stuff. Yeah. And the way that Phil has been picking like who he wants to be at his his events, like yeah trying to help people get more chances, more looks in their creatives and their creative a process or even just to so like, you know, be able to, he he's like really taking chances on people who are, who feel, he feels that are putting in a lot of effort and putting in a lot of time. Like, you know, did you ever think when you first made those videos, because we've been, like like you said, we've been friends for five years.
00:30:10
Speaker
Like, you've been trying to make content for a while now. Like, now I feel like, you found your groove, you found like, you know, you're you're in front of the camera, you figured out what the topics that you wanted to talk about and like how you want to present yourself.
00:30:23
Speaker
Like, where does that inspiration come from? And how do you feel about Phil just like, you know, giving you a chance last year with that? Yo, so the inspiration definitely comes from just the the love of sneakers, right? I think for all of us, it started that way.
00:30:37
Speaker
I think for all of us, it really was just as kids, we fell in love with shoes, whether we had them or not. And now we're able to get them as adults, now that we have real jobs. And so just trying to stay true to the essence of that, just trying to stay true.
00:30:49
Speaker
I actually took about seven months off last year from making content, which is crazy. More than half the year, I didn't make a single video or take pictures because I really had to kind of ground myself again in what what I was doing this for, which is this building community, like feeling a part of something.
00:31:05
Speaker
And I think Phil recognizes that. I think he recognizes that sometimes that community feeling, ah the people who are most influential are just in your inner circle. And so when you have people that you would call maybe micro influencers or people with smaller followings, but they have built a community, that sometimes is more powerful than like, you know, crazy,
00:31:24
Speaker
crazy millions of followers just because it's real. You can connect with them. And so I'm grateful for filming because not a lot of people are doing that. ah Actually, most people aren't doing that. right they're looking for They're looking for metrics. They're looking for numbers. And that's how they justify you being there instead of truly trying to build a community and something special ah that people feel a part of. Yeah, building community has definitely been, i feel like the hardest part about this because, you know, we talk about how, like, we have we have a lot of conversations that are not on camera, but we we talk about how some people think they're building community, but really they're just trying to bolster themselves up, you know, or like trying to...
00:32:05
Speaker
to to feel like they are the bigger person yeah in this like sea of content creation. yeah you know So it's a lot harder to navigate when everybody's trying to be that person. yeah So you don't know who to talk to, who to ask for advice. like And that that can be two ways. right like If that's the common perception of what's going on, then how do we how do we How do we grow in this? Because we feel like everybody's just trying to eventually stab us in the back. Yeah. You know?
00:32:35
Speaker
Nah, it's a wild place to navigate, man. i think I think if you can stay rooted and grounded and ah like you just contribute in your own positive way, right? like You find ways to contribute and you find ways to uplift other people, then ultimately karma is a real thing, right? It'll come back to you.
00:32:51
Speaker
we really We really have to get past the transactional relationships, right? like We really have to get past people just using each other or like you know, using someone's name for their advantage. Like you contribute, you find a way to contribute in a meaningful way.
00:33:06
Speaker
like what you're doing with your podcast, like 80 does with his photos, like what I'm trying to do just asking questions and sparking conversation. You have to find a way to contribute. And then I think you build that community, uh, almost like naturally, right? Because we, we just all connected because of, we're just trying to play our part in this and that, and that's when you can lift each other up. That's when you can offer advice.
00:33:28
Speaker
Um, And it's it's very obvious, man. Like when people are are purely transactional and and they're just trying to use this to catapult themselves into something more, that relationship is is fragile. So I think we just keep doing what we're doing, man. We just, we keep contributing in a meaningful way in the way that we know we best know how. And then naturally and organically, these relationships will form and and you'll just grow, right? Like opportunities come just naturally because other people recognize that as well.
00:33:55
Speaker
yeah um I think more people are recognizing it. Like, You know, when it's so easy to flood someone's DMs and ask for ask for things and expect things, it's a like, I think they can they can figure out who's in it for real and who's not. Yeah.
00:34:09
Speaker
ah You know, you do talk about like that your work as a teacher and like, you know, you're teaching these kids about marketing. Yeah. And how do you... and implement, you know, sneakers into that because I feel like you you don't really touch on it a lot, but you do.
00:34:24
Speaker
You do like AD. We talk about how AD, you know, incorporates his kids with his design, his his his design contest. And, you know, you And the reason why I'm bringing up kids because we're at the kids' event right now.
00:34:37
Speaker
And so how do you you know continue to help that and and bridge that gap? Yo, I actually have, it's crazy, because I have AD's photos in my classroom behind, i so I think I sent him a picture of it, like behind my desk, I have the the photos that he's taken framed.
00:34:53
Speaker
And so kids, when they come into my classroom. AD just cried off camera, he shed one tear. Moment of silence for AD.
00:35:03
Speaker
It's Yo, moment of silence for AD. Nah, I'm just kidding, AD's a good friend, and so um we've been able to connect off camera a lot too, but I have ah his pictures up in my classroom, and so that's one of the first connections I make with kids, and so they know that it's a passion of mine. A lot of them follow my Instagram account, even though they shouldn't, and they stop need to stop trying to message me. But- Mr. Diaz, can you give me an A? they're wildin', man, they be trolling me. Yeah, one kid commented the other day, like, can you grade my S-A? And like, no, I'm not grading it right now, gonna give you
00:35:35
Speaker
for commenting on my Instagram post. I'm going live on Instagram, I'm not grading your work. No, I'm kidding. But a lot of what I do, a lot of the marketing base is is a sneakers. like i've had I've been blessed enough to have some guest speakers from major brands speak to my class about marketing.
00:35:52
Speaker
And I have another one lined up this week. I won't name drop. I'm gatekeep that one. But essentially- Phil Knight, pull up. Yo, Phil Knight, Tinker Hatfield. Jump on the pod, my first case, and then come talk to my class.
00:36:04
Speaker
yeah We can do it. We can do the live pod, but we just won't record it because I'm not recording live. or No, more ah now but a lot of a lot of what they do is studying Nike marketing campaigns and Adidas marketing campaigns. yeah I have ah the sticker. ah Phil sent me some posters to give out to students. So they have unheard of stickers on their binders and the posters up in the classroom, too. So I try to show them in ways that are applicable to them. Right. They like fashion. They like shoes. And so um This is an easy way to blend both worlds that that are a passion of mine.
00:36:35
Speaker
No, yeah. I mean, the one thing that's the hardest is to bridge like that gap. and yeah AD was on previously, and we were talking about that. Because like i mean this is i feel like this year, because like last year my whole thing was community. out every Every guest I've had on, I mean, you listen to the podcast, I was talking to them about community. How do we build community, right? Yeah. And I feel like this year, I feel like my theme for this is how do we bridge build that bridge that gap between the younger generation of sneaker heads and hopefully new ones and the old ones that that are like set in their ways, right? Like how do we reach back and be like, nah, this is like, not not not like on some like, this is how you do it. It's more like show me how you appreciate this so that we know, you know, we are both appreciating the culture. We're just appreciating our own way. And I feel like, you When you're an older sneakerhead, you're so jaded of like, you're not appreciated, right? yeah You know? Oh, what? You you weren't there for for for the Pigeon's release? You weren't there? Like, ah yeah, I know.
00:37:33
Speaker
My mom didn't even, my mom was you out on the line with you. Like, what do you mean? My mom was 18. So, about like bridging that gap and, you know, not to make the pun on, you know, Phil released that shoe.
00:37:47
Speaker
The idea that you know we have to be so separated in order to appreciate this, I feel like we need to break that up. and you know You recently started a new series where you're asking these people that you look up to or people that you're influenced by ever since you were younger about questions, like these questions that you had on mine, in your mind, and you're like,
00:38:07
Speaker
I want to just, since we're using social media, we might as well see what happens. And you've been having ah good a response in terms of just like people actually jumping in and helping you get these responses. Yeah. So is that part of you trying to bridge that gap of or reach out to your younger self or... Yeah, absolutely. That's that's purely selfish for me. It's just like, you know, these are questions we always wanted to ask. And and I was just sitting there the other day and I'm like, well, I don't have a a podcast. I don't have a platform really where they could jump on and we can have a conversation. And so I figured if I could just get a DM, if I could just get a video response, a story response, a comment, then that's that's enough for me. That's satisfying kind of.
00:38:46
Speaker
my my itch, right, to get that. But to your point of bridging the gap, I do think, and I'm guilty of this and I need to get better at it, I do think- That you're a gatekeeper? Yeah, all right, now we can end it. yeah, Yeah, yo, I'm a gatekeeper a thousand percent. Yo, clip that.
00:39:03
Speaker
Nah, I could get better at It's just like understanding they don't care about shoes in the same way that we do, right? They care about shoes. And that's fine. Yeah, and just getting to that point where that's fine, right? Like, AD knows because he teaches too, like, he'll wear a pair of of like Air Max Thunders and the kids are like, oh, those are bricks. Or like, yo, what do you have on? And you're like, yo, the Air Max Thunders?
00:39:23
Speaker
You don't understand. And I want to do that a lot. Right. I used to do it when I'm like, bro, you don't even know what these are. Right. Like, and I teach juniors and seniors in high school. So we have those, you know, we have that little banter back and forth. But um I had to realize, like, they care about shoes and um and in the sense of like fashion. Right. Like, yeah how do these shoes fit into like what I'm wearing? Whereas, like, I feel like we were more like,
00:39:47
Speaker
we'll what we throw whatever on with the shoes. like right I have the shoes, I have the dunks, I have these SBs, like we'll throw whatever on. you know We'll go get the Stussy, we'll go get the Supreme, the streetwear to match the shoes. Whereas like um for ah for them, it's like, all right, the fashion comes first. right like the rick They like high fashion.
00:40:05
Speaker
they Yeah, they have just a different- the thing is, this is what I'm trying to say. We had that too. Remember when back in the day, people were stealing Ferragamo belts? Yeah, that's true. know, like people were stealing stuff. You're getting jumped for your fur coat in New York. Your murres. If you had a mur, it was over for you. Like, it's the same thing now, right? Like, kids are stealing the high fashion stuff or they're stealing money to get it. Or they're wearing fakes. Or they're wearing fakes. And they don't care.
00:40:32
Speaker
Like they're aware they'll wear a fake Supreme, they'll wear a fake Bape, they'll wear a fake designer and they don't care. Like they're not like, yo, we saw someone, i mean, granted our fakes were like she threw du zero the Zeros or like the SpongeBob Dub Zeros.
00:40:46
Speaker
So like we, yo, the SpongeBob Dub Zeros, like yo, those are our fakes. Did you see Joe LaPuma said he loved the Dub Zeros? Yeah. And I was like, well But what what about SpongeBob? What about the SpongeBob ones? The SpongeBob see-through ones, right? Like, that was our fakes. And they're they're getting fakes that like look almost exactly like real sneaker. and and and then And then you hear people be like, but it's the same factory. Nah, nah. Get out of here but that's But that's because, you know, there's no education, right? We just shame people.
00:41:14
Speaker
Yeah, and we just shame people. And so that's the problem, right? We're not being like, yo, oh, you want those? But how about this instead, right? Where, oh, you like Rick's?
00:41:25
Speaker
Look, Adidas drop, ah whatever, you know, like, you know what i mean? Yo, another part to that too is they don't really need to be educated. And that sounds kind of ignorant, but like, we had to go look for this, right? Like we had to search it up.
00:41:37
Speaker
We had to go and talk to people at the store. Like we had to ask questions. They have everything in their hand. like they can just scroll and be told like oh this is coming out and then move on right like yeah we have release calendars through next year already right yeah they don't need to seek it out the way we did it's like yeah i wonder if this guy's designed other shoes like they have all of that um they have all of that and so it's just a different space so we have to find a way to reach them in ah in a way that's different so But yeah. Yeah. the
00:42:09
Speaker
So I've been asking, I asked AD the same question, but like, do you have like a, I mean, I know your mom hooked you up, but like, do you have, we and we talked about how your mom hooked you up. ah So is there like a specific story? That's not the story that you told on this podcast before, but is there one, it doesn't have to be like a crazy one and just like,
00:42:27
Speaker
Is there a moment where like your mom hooks you up one time, you know, Mother's Day type of story? hey Yeah, Shout out to my mom, man. Like, I think the older you get, the more you appreciate the sacrifices they make. Like having my own kids now and realizing like... You got kids?
00:42:41
Speaker
Yo, I got i got two. Dos. Dos. Two. Hey, how's it been on FaceTime with my kids? So he knows. Yeah. So. Shout out. Shout out to the kids. Shout Naomi. Speaking of. Naomi. Shout out Naomi. Dear Naomi. It's not Naomi. Naomi. Yeah.
00:42:57
Speaker
Shout out Brooklyn. Shout out Brooklyn. um But yeah, shout out to my mom, man. Like she just, we didn't have a lot. We lived in a in a basement in Brooklyn, but like for her, it just felt so important to to get shoes. and And for me, it was getting the 17s. Like I remember going, in Brooklyn, there's a store called Top to Bottom. It's all Fulton and in Crescent.
00:43:17
Speaker
And um she was just like, yo, we're getting the 17s. They came out today. Let's go. We got home from school. We walked with her to the store. We got them. My size was too small still for this suit for the suitcase, but my godbrother wasn't. so I saw him get the suitcase.
00:43:31
Speaker
I got the Jordan box. Damn. I know. Sad. I missed out. AOL disc in that shit too, right? yeah um I say AOL disc, but it's just ass a it's like a disc with it with like Jordan pictures on it something, right?
00:43:43
Speaker
So, no, I just appreciate her putting that in our forefront and and exposing me to a variety of shoes, like New Balances, Nikes, Jordans. Like, she she felt it was important. and And to this day, it's one of the most important things to me. So, shout out to my mom.
00:43:56
Speaker
I love you. Appreciate you. um Yeah. Yo, thank you for pulling back up. And thank you for helping me with the camera stuff, yo. Facts. Yeah, All right, bro. Appreciate you. Appreciate you. Oh, and we're back. um You know, Phil, thank you so much for letting me come out and do this.
00:44:14
Speaker
ah Yesterday was... the live show element was great. Like, everybody had fun, I feel like. I mean, the just what I put out, which is going to overtake this, was terrible. the the The static on everything just sounded so bad, so I wanted to kind of make it up and do my own shock drop as you shock dropped your yeah this shoe right here.
00:44:40
Speaker
um Wanted to talk about this because I feel like that what what got really got cut out that that hurt the most was you explaining this the the secret colorway of this shoe when you shock drop the shoe.
00:44:53
Speaker
So can you break break it down? Yeah, the the green colorway basically symbolizes you know what the color green means on orchids or even flowers, um symbolizing to me growth yeah and new beginnings, never forgetting where you come from, never forgetting what you went through.
00:45:14
Speaker
But celebrate the good times and remember all the good things that did happen in life, whether it was with your loved ones or with yourself um or your friends. um All over the internet, there's constant things written up about what the green symbolizes on flowers and you know I'm all about growth and constantly getting better at no matter what, whether it's a personal achievement in life or constantly trying to get better at my art or creating, get better at communicating with people um in the you know social media universe or in person. Yeah, exactly. You definitely you you also touched on in the in the episode that
00:45:53
Speaker
if you can hear, ah you know each color was picked by your grandmother. um And you know today is the day after. this today if you missed the live, today you were able to you know give back the the community aspect of you know donating to the kids. ah like I'm glad I get to talk to you after, it but like what was that how did that feel for you? and And the concept of specifically giving it to the girls this time around?
00:46:23
Speaker
I mean, every release, um I'm always going to have kids from my area yeah involved. um You know, my sister, Erica, we grew up really, really poor.
00:46:36
Speaker
we went through a lot of hard, hard things in life. things that you would only see like in an HBO type show or yeah documentary and you know there are unimaginable things and we're not the only ones that went through that in life.
00:46:48
Speaker
um In our neighborhood it was all walks of life like you saw today these girls that came in today you know they're all different races yeah and have all different backgrounds and all different stories and in their eyes especially me growing up, you know we didn't look at each other of like, we're different because we're you know our skin color's different. We all looked at each other and we're like, damn, we're poor. like The only color that really matters to us is green. and right We gotta get out of poverty. and you know Growing up, there were people that came back and helped me.
00:47:20
Speaker
and i wouldn't say like necessarily paved the way for me, but definitely showed me a light and I just ran towards it and ran down it. And every time I work on anything, whether it's a skateboard deck, a t-shirt, um a pair of shoes, I constantly always make extra or go to the side to go back and give to people in my community and try and grow that community to more communities by word of mouth and networking and reaching. But you saw today real real kids.
00:47:52
Speaker
And you didn't see a corporation. You didn't see guys in bow ties and tuxedos and... fancy shindig you saw real life kids getting the shoes yeah the box the art and having that real experience with me because that's what they need to get to have that one piece of advice to change their life forever yeah to motivate them to to change directions. So that's why we always constantly go back. And you know, it's a Mother's Day theme.
00:48:23
Speaker
um It's a women empowerment theme. All shoes have been kind of themed after a female except for pork chop. yeah But You know, those girls are going through things that like my little sister Erica went through. And that's why I'm constantly always bringing um those schools around. the What's really dope, I mean, we touched on it. And I think like the way you bring community together, like it's super commendable. as Like i'm saying it again.
00:48:50
Speaker
i It's really tough like when you when you see the internet how it interacts with sneakers But then when it comes to how the internet interacts with your sneakers I think it's it's just mostly out of love because the way you Put yourselves into these shoes and how you connect with people It's like I don't think anybody else can do that right because You know, your story has been said, you've been on several, you know, done articles and stuff like that where when people read it, they're just like, I'm gonna root for you, right? So the story behind the Pork Chop Runner and like people making fun of you and you owning the name, like,
00:49:31
Speaker
how does How does that, you know, how do you continue that, especially even into, like, the future? Or, like, how do you continue to just keep, you know, pushing that? And especially in the eyes of, like, the younger kids who do kind of go through that stuff or, like, who do have, you know you know, relationships that are not, like, fulfilling. But, like, how do you bridge that gap to, like,
00:49:55
Speaker
to also pun that. I'm kind of confused on your question. How do continue to bring stories to life? Yeah. How do you continue? No, but with the kids. So like with the community and the kids, because i mean,
00:50:08
Speaker
In this environment and in this community, there's a million stories that happen a day. yeah You know, like what they experience, what they go through, the names they're called, then go home and see, you know, dealing with their older brother or a younger sister or dealing with a drunk dad or a drunk mom and like,
00:50:28
Speaker
They have so many stories. yeah And there's so much of this world in this world that happens like that. And i I think because of COVID, there's definitely a lot of more awareness of mental health. um You know, there's...
00:50:44
Speaker
all kinds of people that suffer from mental health and have suicidal thoughts. And I think us as a human race are now being really open and starting to listen more and be more sympathetic to what people go through. Yeah. Um, yeah, I get it. We're in America. This is a great country, the greatest country in the world. And we're very blessed to be born in this country. And, you know, people in other countries go through a a lot of stuff and, you I've been fortunate enough to to leave this country and travel and and see a lot of the planet. And um i've I've done some amazing things in my life and I'm really ah proud ah proud and um really respect myself for what I've seen and where I've gone on this planet. um And people are constantly, because I communicate to a lot of people that are in other countries and yeah constantly like, yeah, but do you know what it was like in this country? And I'm like, I understand that.
00:51:36
Speaker
But what the rest of the world doesn't understand is what it's like in America in poverty, in the bulliness and, you know, the suicidal and like, you know, the things that happen, whether it's in the hood or if it's in the suburb or, you know, it doesn't matter. like Yeah.
00:51:54
Speaker
mental health is gnarly and we definitely need to be kinder to one another and quit picking on one another and quit, you know, behaving the way we do to hurt people's feelings and like intentionally degrade people. And there's a lot of that that goes on in these schools yeah and in these kids and in these communities. And,
00:52:14
Speaker
I think that's why a lot of kids kind of crawl up into a shell and stay in that shell. And I definitely was one of those kids. Yeah. Like I got picked on, you know, like all the time. I still get picked on, you know, and like in the sneaker world. Right. Like whatever. That doesn't bother me. Like I get it. I'm doing i'm working with Adidas. I did a rivalry. It's not like a Travis Scott and a Jordan. So what? but but that that stuff doesn't bother. I love that stuff. know, I love hate. I love being hated on.
00:52:42
Speaker
Um, yeah. But I've learned to roll with it, right? I've learned to roll with the punches. And... um you know But I'm still like behind closed doors constantly being told, like oh, don't work with him. like you know he He steals from the community or whatever it is. And that's where it's like, whoa. like Even after all this homework and all this blood, sweat, and tears we put in, we still do this, I still have to go home, put my head down, and you know let let the water roll off my back like a duck. You got to keep your head down. You got to keep working hard because there's always somebody that's going to try and take...
00:53:19
Speaker
what you're building. and um That's why I'm constantly advocating to these young kids is like, You know, you guys are about to become young adults and you're the future, you're the future of the generation and you have a generation that's gonna be looking to you very soon.
00:53:36
Speaker
And the choices you make and the things you go through right now is what's gonna encourage your younger siblings and the generation below you to mature and be better as well. yeah And I think a lot of these kids really resonate with that with me because they hear my story, they've experienced what I've gone through and that they could see that there's light at the end of the tunnel. yeah And that's obviously my biggest message to to these kids. yeah ah both So i I was able to experience the but Piggy Runner release and this release. What's your big, like...
00:54:13
Speaker
I would love to know the the inspiration behind holding the event at the Piggy Runner, for the Piggy Runner at the museum. Because I didn't get to talk talk talk to you about that. Yeah, so Piggy Runner, um the Sign Museum is just a place that, like I can't read, I can't write, I'm dyslexic. But I'm very good at observing things. And I'm very good at communicating and talking and telling a story, obviously. And I'm extremely good at making people laugh and cry.
00:54:41
Speaker
um So one of my favorite things, no matter how where I go, where I travel, is kind of discover what built the city or the town or the community. And I go all over the place.
00:54:54
Speaker
I meet all these people. And then I go back. I tell them, like, yo, this is what Cincinnati has to offer. yeah So the sign museum, you know, isn't like this Taj Mahal thing of Cincinnati. Joe Burrow is and like the Reds are. Yeah. But...
00:55:09
Speaker
That's an i kind iconic place, and you experience that. And that's a dying breed of art that no longer really exists. yeah um They've been collectors and hoarders, and those guys just... That's their hobby. That's their art. That's their passion. They've collected these signs.
00:55:26
Speaker
They've preserved these signs. They make these signs, and they're kind of a dying breed. And they built an amazing museum. And i want to... always support those museums and these people.
00:55:39
Speaker
But that's where I go to get inspired. I go to museums and I look at signs and I look at logos and, you know, they have signs that date back to the 1800s in the history of like window painting and how they paint the letters on banks and stuff. And like, you can't You can read about that online, and you can watch YouTube videos about like that online, like but you're never going to have that experience thing, like going and seeing that stuff yeah in person, right?
00:56:06
Speaker
And it's just a place that like I went to. I got really inspired. um And you know a lot of that art you kind of see with like Pork Chop's head. you know We made the neon T-shirt. um Oh, I love that shirt. And it's just, yeah, man, it's just a place that... you know, I've always gone to to get inspiration and stay motivated. Yeah. And then for this release, you know, you decked out the stage.
00:56:27
Speaker
ah What's the inspiration of like outside of the living room? But like what I would love to. We were just recreating. um We were just recreating like grandma, like a grandma living room or a tea room.
00:56:41
Speaker
um You know, I. I really wanted to have a like spiritual moment with a lot of the female influencers and sneaker collectors and female audience and then women in my life that have helped me kind of like grow um as an individual outside of the sneaker world. Yeah. Come here and just have a celebration of life.
00:57:03
Speaker
Celebrate them. Give them their flowers. And this is a great place to host just because it's a big open space. Yeah. um The windows outside is like the biggest billboard. Yeah. um But this also used to be the headquarters for Macy's in the Midwest. Wow. And this was like one of the largest Macy's stores. And when Macy's closed up and went out of business, um you know, it was one of those things like Cincinnati was going to belly flop. um And I just think it's really cool that Macy's left here and I'm doing a pop-up shop here and like we'll have 300 people here. We'll shut this place down. Yeah. And it's kind of cool that like...
00:57:38
Speaker
something that didn't work now is going to work tonight. Yeah. You know, we're we're supporting a new business that kind of took over the space. yeah And, you know, we try to always support somebody locally in town to, you know, to help them and get the word out about their local business as well.
00:57:54
Speaker
No, yeah, you you made this a straight-up destination, like I said it at the live show. the you know I said it super commendable. like I think that like making ah your hometown a destination is something super hard, but everybody wants to do. i've I mean, you you're when you're on the internet, people are like, oh, my town's not a sneaker town. I can't do stuff here. I can't do stuff here. But...
00:58:18
Speaker
i've always said build it like if you if you build it they will come you know feel the dreams like well yeah we've been building it for 25 years yeah but um yeah the city is like obviously backed us and supported us since day one and that's why i put unheard of in downtown cincinnati on fourth street in the heart of the city during the recession right after the city went through a major race war and riots and looting yeah and you know you guys have walked the city the last few days, there's no retail here. na yeah
00:58:50
Speaker
And that's why I've had this chip on my shoulder and rivaled other retailers, even retailers in our own city, because like they've said, no one will support you. No one wants to come to Cincinnati. No one's gonna buy sneakers in Cincinnati. yeah You need to be by a college, go to Columbus, go here, go there, whatever it was.
00:59:09
Speaker
Everybody told me, I'm an idiot. I don't know what I'm talking about. And then you start working with brands and it's like, yo, I got this idea. And it's not like I would go to a brand and be like, hey man, I got this idea. I want to do this, uh, you know, shoe, uh, for this and i need 500 pairs cause I'm cool.
00:59:27
Speaker
No, I would show up with a real presentation, mock the shoe up, pick the Pantones, design the whole thing out and have merch. Oh wow. Already ready to go. Yeah. And grandma's couch was supposed to be a Nike collab. Wow. Okay. Um,
00:59:41
Speaker
Yeah, like we we got we went straight to the top, mocked everything up. And then it's like, yeah, this is a bad idea. No one wants this. No one wants to do this. yeah And then it's like, all right, all right. So you hold, you know very one of the very first interviews was Team Roshi was like, if you could do a Roshi, what would it be? And I was like, Grandma's couch.
01:00:00
Speaker
um I did a Nike ID. I made it Grandma's Couch. um I did the 2015 Nasty Boy. Yeah. And then right after that, i was like, here, here's my next shoe, Grandma's Couch. And I have a booklet of how I made the presentation, and I'll i'll show that to you off camera. Hell, yeah. But, um yeah, man, you just got to keep pitching yourself, keep believing it in yourself, and, like, you can't give up because, like,
01:00:23
Speaker
one day someone's gonna be like, alright, here's your shot, prove it. And then you just gotta to take advantage of it. No, yeah, you're, we talked about like, you know, you finding your grandfather's chest with ah all his paintings and you kept saying he was a failed artist, but like, you During the live, you know Elena was saying that like he's not a failed artist now, right? you You're able to take share the world, share share his art with the world, which is something that he wanted to do that you were able to fulfill. How does that make you feel, though?
01:00:55
Speaker
Oh, it's amazing. um I just really wish that um he was here to experience that. um I know everybody's going to tell me, well, he's watching, he's listening. But like my grandpa was one of my biggest fans, if not the biggest fan next to grandma. And he would constantly, con I bought him a computer and he would constantly be on the internet Googling me.
01:01:17
Speaker
Really? Yeah, for real, for real. um Every doctor, every church, anywhere he ever go, he'd be like, this is my grandson. He's a big shoe salesman.
01:01:29
Speaker
i was like, cool, he called me Al Bundy. yeah For Married with Children. but ah no, he was ah he was a big advocate. And, ah yeah, he he would Google me and read all the articles and stuff up until his, like, last breath.
01:01:41
Speaker
um That's love. I love that. But, yeah, it was... part of you, man. No, I know. I know. I know I made them proud. They told me all the time. yeah And, um you know, it's a huge thing to take in and be responsible for. And, like, they took care of me at a very young age, you know, and just made sure I was good and...
01:01:59
Speaker
then I started taking care of them you know during COVID. like I bought all their food and took care of the nursing seen home or nothing.
01:02:18
Speaker
That's good. Oh my God. right. ah all right the the The way that it's like... Is it going? Yeah, it's going. I'll fix it.
01:02:32
Speaker
The... Huh? That's good? You're good? right. All right. No, no, no. um But the last question I wanted to ask you, you know, we talked about, I've been asking everybody because I had AD talk about it, but like, do you have a matriarch story, like a story about your grandma with sneakers and like she blessing you with sneakers? I know I asked it on stage, so we'd love to hear it again.
01:02:55
Speaker
No, my grandma never bought me a pair of shoes. yeah um The one thing my grandma bought me one year for Christmas was like, There's tech decks, and then for ah one year there were like tech BMX toys. Oh yeah, love those, I had one too. Yeah, so Walgreens. So like that's where Christmas shopping was done at, was like at the Walgreens. um Because we didn't,
01:03:18
Speaker
We would go to over for Christmas, but mostly just to eat dinner. it wasn't like we had like presents to open and we never... I don't think I've ever opened a birthday gift in my life with my grandma or um my mom. But it was constantly her just writing a message to me in a car. And then obviously, like once I got older, she's like, I want to get you something you've done so much.
01:03:41
Speaker
I'm like, just I want those messages. want those letters. yeah you know That's why I have all those voicemails saved. And I got hundreds of voicemails saved. And um yeah you know I think from like zero to 12, I didn't really realize and fooled at how poor we were or how like gnarly our lives were and the shit we were going through.
01:04:05
Speaker
um and didn't really hit until i was like 15, but at 15 I was already skating. yeah And i already started getting free shoes from brands or like the guys I skated with. So that's when it hit and that's why I immediately started giving shoes back to other people.
01:04:19
Speaker
Now my mom on the other hand, you know I don't want to get too gnarly on this interview, but um one time she, you know but I'll just say she stole some shoes. yeah And then that was like my Christmas gift. yeah um but majority of the shoes that we had were like hand-me-downs or like the church gave them to us, yeah stuff like that. Yeah, I mean, you know, that's why I can see that you're so big into giving back, you know, like you you're able to be that person that makes the less but less fortunate.
01:04:53
Speaker
I feel like that's the worst way to say it, but the less fortunate, ah you know, able to experience stuff that takes them away from their experience their what they're experiencing right now.
01:05:03
Speaker
And that's a great gift. you know you get you It's a it's a great it's a great chance a great great chance to change somebody's life. you know yeah So, yeah. Thank you, man. It means a lot coming from you. I really appreciate it. And I really appreciate um all you content creators um coming out here supporting me. yeah And that's why you know when you said people see a little piece of themselves in the me, because I know how hard it is. oh yeah I know how hard it is when you know you're right and you know what you're creating is dope and your visuals are it.
01:05:37
Speaker
And people don't want to give you ah shot and you got to prove them wrong. And i I know I've proved a lot of people wrong. You have. And I'm not done proving them wrong. i'm going to prove the whole world wrong.
01:05:50
Speaker
But I'm also going to inspire these kids to not give up on themselves and to continue to like keep believing and and and keep trying. And, you know, you guys just got to keep trying too. And that ah that's why i reached out, man, because I love what you guys do
Sneaker Collaborations and Newsletters
01:06:03
Speaker
and what you create. Man, you know thank you so much, you know, being at this for five years and and also just like seeing your your growth as well. And, you know, nasty voice. but I told you, i was like, that's the one that got away from me because you don't understand. i hear that a lot. Yo, look.
01:06:20
Speaker
that Because obviously, you know, everybody's like, I say this, like everybody's intro into a new shoe or a shoe or a brand or something like that is through like a collaboration.
01:06:31
Speaker
And so when I found that, I was like, I gotta, I gotta get these. And then I signed up for the newsletter. And ever since then, I've always been ah fan. Because was the only way I can get them was that like, sign up for the newsletter and then you get the message like, oh, these are out.
01:06:44
Speaker
um And then ever since, yeah, I've been a fan since then, man. That's funny because like when the Nasty Boys came out, that was the time when SB was whack. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Skate shops hated box, right? Yeah, skate shops hated them. They didn't want them in their store. Dunks were dead. yeah um And people were just really kind of over and burnt out on dunks.
01:07:01
Speaker
And I was like, yo, I'll do two. yeah um Same thing with the rivalry. I did Erica's poem and the amount of people that told me that that was the ugliest shoe they've ever seen, that was a brick, blah, blah, blah, all this stuff. Now it's nonstop. like Yo, I slept on Erica's poem. I need Erica's poem. is there So that's the cool thing is like hearing her name over and over and over all over social media and all of her message boards.
01:07:26
Speaker
And it's, you know, that that's the most rewarding thing me. It's like. did you know, proving everybody wrong. Yeah. I mean, Erica and Naomi's name live on forever now. Absolutely. Yeah.
01:07:38
Speaker
One day we're going to
Perceptions of Shoe Designs
01:07:39
Speaker
tell Marcia's story, but um I don't know if a shoe is the right way to tell that story. um But, you know, no matter how hard things were with with me and my mom and the things we went through, she's still my mom. Yeah. And I love her to death.
01:07:54
Speaker
the most important thing she ever told me and what keeps me motivated every day is to never give up on myself and that my imagination is the most important thing and that, you know, kids need to stay kids and imaginations need to continue to imagine a and be creative. And I think that's why I became who I became. Just because of those magical words. Man, I'd get that tatted in the back of your chest on that
Challenges of Live Podcasts
01:08:20
Speaker
one. You know what I mean? But thank you so much for for jumping on again. absolutely, man. Anytime. Yeah. Let's do it again tomorrow. Let's do it again tomorrow. I'll stay. Thank you. Appreciate it.
01:08:31
Speaker
Yo, what's up? This is like the ultimate crossover episode. This is part two of the ultimate crossover. I know we had a few technical difficulties last night, but that's OK. It happens.
01:08:43
Speaker
It's a it's a learning curve. Oh, absolutely. i don't if that was your first ever live. Was that your first live podcast? No, we actually me and the girls from Sneaky League Pod. um We've actually done we did a small like very kind of similar like with um With Chic and Jordan Brand. That was like friends and family. There was like maybe 20, 30 people at that event. We did like a nice little alive. That's also on our platform as like a bonus episode.
01:09:10
Speaker
And then recently for All-Star Weekend with Shoe Palace and Jordan, we did a, it wasn't necessarily a pod. No, that was the talk show, right? Yeah, we did like a panel. They did it like, um it was like girl talk. Fire. Her name's Auntie Ney. She basically interviewed us, and we just talked a few things. So it wasn't really podcast. It was more panel. But we've done a few live things now. getting more into into the feel. But totally understandable. the The sound difficulties and microphones and all that. And especially when you have like people in the crowd. yeahs like It's hard with the noise because some people talk and all that. I mean...
01:09:45
Speaker
Look, I did my best, but I think I thought the show went amazing. Like, I think we got to talk to Phil about some really cool stuff. And like,
Custom Sneaker Colors and Family Influence
01:09:55
Speaker
if you weren't there, going to have to brave through did. Exactly. No, I agree. Like the conversation was really good with Phil. I think one of the things I don't probably had mentioned again, think the coolest thing was the custom coloring and the Pantone. Yeah, I had to bring it up again. Yeah, I thought that was really awesome. And I forgot he had said that. It was like his grandma had picked those colors. You know, his grandma picking those colors. I love that.
01:10:18
Speaker
though And then for him being like, I'm only going to make 100 of these. only It's 60 or 100. There's I think there's 100 of the green. Yeah, the green one. And then 600. 600 of the pink. So it's a this run is very limited. Yeah. I know the last run with the Addy Cushion 3, the pork chops, the piggy runners. 14. There was like more pairs, even though it was like limited. it was I feel like everyone in the city got to eat. so that was really nice. And then people online to like. um i want to I don't know if it was like global, but nationally, a lot of people ended up getting pears,
Successful Sneaker Events and Inclusivity
01:10:51
Speaker
which is really awesome. Yeah, everybody, I mean, apparently people were getting upset that people were oinking on the timeline. i'm dead. Oink. Oh, it's funny as fuck. Yeah. I mean, what did you think about that like event? And i you know, like you've been to a bunch of sneaker events and I'm still, I'm new into getting the invites, you know? So like, yeah. Well, the last event that was here. um Yeah. When I was back out here in March, honestly, I had told Phil this too. i was like, this was one of the best events I had been to in a while. Yeah. um I have, I've been doing the sneaker thing for a while and especially yeah like in LA, we do have a lot of events. Yeah. I feel like she's been doing it for a while. Don't be, come on, yo, chill. um But,
01:11:31
Speaker
Yeah, I feel like pre-COVID, we've talked about this on our own podcast sometimes, like with the brands and the parties and stuff that we used to attend were so much more fun. Yeah. Like now it just feels like sometimes it could be a rushed thing.
01:11:47
Speaker
event or the detail just isn't there sometimes. I'm like, they'll just throw up a step and repeat, a little background to have some people come through. And it's like, you know, we we love seeing all the familiar faces at these events, which really what what makes it fun is like us coming through. But like,
01:12:03
Speaker
There has definitely been a lack in some of the events like from pre-COVID to now. And i know I know it's budget. I know it is. But um after going to Phil's event in March for the Piggy Runners and everything, I said, I was like, this has been one of my favorite sneaker events in the wild. like Oh, yeah, for sure. The venue was absolutely amazing. Insane. The sign museum was so cool. Yeah. And then on top of that, I think just the detail that he puts into everything, not just his shoes, but the whole event was like really special and everything. So i it was very, very noticeable. It was it was one of my favorite ones that in a while. Yeah. And in this one, you know, his focus on, you know, inviting women here, know, his focus on, you know, honoring his grandmother, honoring, you know, his sister like, uh, just the mother's day, like doing this right on mother before mother's day, you know? Uh, and we got to talk on, on the show about like, just share some stories about our moms and, you know, I think, um Today at the venue, Phil also brought through um some girls, forgive me, I don't know the school name off the top of my head, but I didn't know that he's done this in the past for the other releases and um he allowed us to be a part of that, me and some of the other girls to talk to them and like,
01:13:12
Speaker
honestly, it made me want to cry just because it was just really special. Like it was just really nice. im I'm one of those people I love. I love kids. I love doing stuff like that. And just seeing the girls faces and getting shoes and being able to talk to them and like motivate them a little bit. I think um I was kind of like an awkward kid. oh are you I definitely was. if i was a funny looking kid too.
01:13:34
Speaker
And um I think just like seeing some of those girls, you know, as like ah as a woman and being a girl and being, you know, growing up insecure, or feeling like I don't belong and, you know, seeing myself in some of those girls and being able to be a representation and being like, hey, like you keep doing what you're doing. You can do whatever you want. And the message that Phil sent them, it was it was really special and a very beautiful thing to see and be a part of. So like, I really do appreciate that, Phil.
01:13:57
Speaker
No, yeah. like First of all, let me give you your flowers. Like, you know, I i watch you guys, you know, i got watch you gals, you know, grow so it's been an exponentially fast, you know, and y'all stay true to yourselves.
Podcast Growth and Female Perspectives
01:14:12
Speaker
Absolutely. You know, we, we got to talk to, we talked a little bit about how we differentiate ourselves from all the other podcasts, you know, on stage yesterday, but you, y'all have been crushing it to the point that y'all were in foot ah in the on the list for the you know footwear Yeah, footwear news. That was really awesome being alongside a lot of those people and getting that recognition. Because I know, I mean, you've been doing it a little bit longer, but it has been really, it's been nice. like Things that just like picked up. and Yeah. Um, just having that point, um, from women's point of views, because there are so many like male dominated podcasts and spaces yeah and just seeing like other girls now wanting to do something similar, seeing key key Lee starting her own hard podcast, focusing on mental health and everything because you know, those are within her grounds and boundaries. Make sure you check out through our lens. Yes. Yes. Exactly. I forgot the name. I keep forgetting. I have a horrible memory. guy You watch my podcast. I'm constantly like, I can't remember.
01:15:11
Speaker
But no, yeah, it's been really nice to get that, just the love and recognition for a lot of that stuff. Because like you said, we've been doing it. We've been in this game for so long. Yeah, y'all three have been in this game for super. And I think, yeah what's the I feel like, and you know, the misconception, and and it's what it is with content. Everybody thinks you just popped up out of nowhere. Yeah, no. So it's like, just because you didn't find me, you didn't find me three years ago. Doesn't mean I wasn't doing it for seven years. I think like, a lot like for the thinking we popped up out of nowhere, like even prior to us launching, um, the podcast, like we went live with our first episode in August, 2023, and we had actually been working on the podcast for six to seven
Planning a Podcast Launch
01:15:54
Speaker
months prior to that. Yeah.
01:15:55
Speaker
coming up with every little detail because we didn't want to just like sit down on a couch, record and just put it out. Like we wanted it to be like a legit thing. And we really sat down with each other. Like, what are we trying? Like, what is our, our mission here? Our statement? What is the reasoning?
01:16:10
Speaker
What do we want to name it? We did like a photo shoot. We kind of put it out like four months, five months in advance. that like, hey, we're doing a podcast that's coming beyond the lookout. It's us. yeah So we kind of like got it a little bit like hyped and prepped and like letting people know like it was coming before we dropped the first episode. And it's just been like, I was going to say nothing but love, but we got a little bit of hate, too. um But I mean, it's all part of the game. So all it's all part of the game.
01:16:34
Speaker
Like, look, as they say, if you got haters, you're doing something right. I know that's right. You ain't got no haters. You ain't got no. But, you know, this was once in a lifetime. mean, it's not once in a lifetime, but we definitely going this again. don't know if you want to. Are we still? I mean, we can announce that we're trying to do a show in Vegas. Vegas? I grew up. For ComplexCon. Oh, we did talk about that. See, forget everything. I do. I really want We want to get something with Complex popping for sure. mean, if you've seen me and the girls at ComplexCon last year, we was making waves, making headlines.
01:17:09
Speaker
And then I got people mad at me because I was like, we were the only ones at ComplexCon. y'all not out there, y'all not making moves. Exactly. So it was, I really hope so. Like we want to do something big at ComplexCon. We have our two year anniversary coming up in August. We want to do something for. So, I mean, we have a lot of stuff like to look forward to and coming out Oh yeah, for sure.
01:17:29
Speaker
Just keep an eye on us. Cause as I was telling Phil and i and i I think I said this to you too. There's only three really good sneaker podcasts. And we are the two. We are the other two. We are the two we are the other two. And we are at the top, like for real though.
Diversity in Sneaker Culture
01:17:43
Speaker
Like y'all got to like, yeah, yeah, yeah. There are like, it's because it's crazy. Like there are like multiple sneaker podcasts. Yeah. But.
01:17:51
Speaker
I'm not even going to say it. say No, I just feel like some men can be very monotone. Yeah. And it's it's I'm not going say hard to listen to, but I think it's just a brush of fresh air. And I know sometimes like my voice can be annoying. I know that um me and the girls can be loud, but I think it just makes it more fun. Oh yeah, for sure. i know but And I mean, with me, I'm like, my whole thing was just like with podcasting or the podcast iies I listen to, i just want people to feel like a fly on the wall. Like I'm having a conversation, like I'm pretty sure when people listen to me like the way we we did this just now, they're just like, damn, I wish I was there. yeah That's what we want. Like, you know what I mean? Like with the the setup in the room, like
01:18:30
Speaker
You know how many times like, I watch and be like, damn, I gotta get on that couch. that That's what everybody's been saying. You know what mean? So many people, it's crazy. Like I said this on the pod, like probably a few weeks ago where it was like, people probably looked at us like, okay, good luck with your podcast. And then like two, almost two years later, people are like, when when are you going to get me on the couch? It's like, oh, you know what?
01:18:48
Speaker
We're booked. We got to give us some time. because ah And then with the our setup now, you know we used to record weekly. And with Henny being in Portland, we do a lot of pre-recording. yeah yeah So it's definitely, we have to set up in advance.
Networking and Diverse Stories
01:19:01
Speaker
like Who's going to be in town? Who can we get on? like It really is. like People pull up to LA and be like, hey, I'm in town. yeah Can I come on the pod? We're like...
01:19:09
Speaker
It's a Thursday afternoon, sir. It's crazy how people literally think you can just record. This has been happening to me a lot. And it's not annoying. It's very... You got to be like... I'm flattered. I get it. Yeah. But it's also like... If it works, it works. Yo, we set up. This is in my house. It's multiple things. But we do try to accommodate lot of people because... between the three of us, and I'm sure you know, you know a lot of people in the game, and you want to get everyone on, you want to tell everyone's stories, and it's amazing to have a platform that people want to come share their stories with you. Yeah, it's dope, and I love what y'all doing. Thank you. We got to do my first Sneaky Leak again. My first Sneaky Leak part two. second Sneaky Leak. The return.
01:19:53
Speaker
yeah But thank you for pulling up again. Of course. Thank you for having me again. The other two aren't here, but it's okay. I'll be holding it down. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then, yeah. yeah yeah Nah, that's it, that's it. See you at the party tonight. See you at the party. Welcome back. You know, I've been sitting here interviewing everybody, but yo, I can't believe I got to actually meet Melissa Chanel in person.
Honoring Women in Sneaker Design
01:20:16
Speaker
I know. I'm so excited. I've been meeting a lot of my faves in person. So I'm so excited to be here.
01:20:21
Speaker
Yes, of course. Of course. Always tuned in to the pod. Oh, please. Yeah. you I love I loved our episode, like getting to talk about, um you know, you growing up and the evolution of kicks and throws. But you chopped you chopped off the fro.
01:20:36
Speaker
I I chopped off the locks. They are gone. The locks are gone. I have a little mini pro. Just a little bit. Yeah. not But you look amazing. I think the reset, like I said earlier, the reset looks amazing.
01:20:47
Speaker
I love, I mean, yeah we did that we did a show yesterday. this is what I've been talking about. all been show when it went The recording went really poorly. I'm getting text messages right now that it's bad. so It happens, technology. We can't help that. I know the live was dope in live. So if you were there in person, know it was amazing. So it's okay. We here now. We here now, turning it up. But it's just wild, like seeing all the women come, the women creators come, like me and the Sneaky League ladies and you in person. We got T, we got Key, we got Gabby. We got Jen. Everybody's here. Yeah, Jen.
01:21:27
Speaker
Everybody's supporting. So excited. we I love the storytelling. Phil and the team do a really great job. The storytelling, the details. It's all about the details. The box, the charms, the laces, socks, everything that went into this release. And just knowing it's for the women that raised him, that made him the person he is today is like just extra special. I get goosebumps thinking about it. So like you know Mother's Day is coming. You got a little one. yeah you know ah how does What did this shoe make you feel?
01:21:56
Speaker
Oh, it makes me feel seen. yeah It makes me feel like, you know, a a younger, my bonus daughter is 10. So you don't really know what you're pouring into them until, you know, they get an adult. I love that you call her a bonus daughter.
01:22:10
Speaker
Yeah, that's my bonus baby. I'm her extra mama. um But just knowing that all the hard work we put in it works. You know, they're thankful for it at the end of the day. We're teaching them something and, you know, to know hopefully one day Riley has a shoe dedicated to me. oh That would be cool.
01:22:30
Speaker
But just it makes me feel seen and it makes me feel very special.
Sneaker Customization Trends
01:22:33
Speaker
Yeah. You know, the the evolution of of kicks and throws you know, having the the sneaker, the sneaker, Steam? What's it called? this the I know it's a... ah The cleaner? No, no, no, no, no. I'm talking about the... I was trying to name... The Airstream. Yes, the Airstream. Yes. I was trying to be like the sneaker streamer. like those songti yeah. though. Yeah.
01:22:54
Speaker
No, the Airstream. Yeah. How's it been since your episode? Like, how did it evolve for you? Really cool. Amazing. Since we talked, we have a new offering now. You are always able to come and customize a pair of sneakers. You could do a date night or a friend's night.
01:23:09
Speaker
And now we have a charm bar, sneaker charm bar. So I didn't realize how many ladies and men, too, they come through as well and just switch out their laces, add charms, use our paint pens, and just get creative with sneakers. It can be an old pair that you're making new again or a fresh out the box pair you want to jazz That's Yeah. um So seeing the charms in the box today really got me excited. got this. Yeah, he's on it. Phil's like, going to speak to Melissa right now. Yes, yes. So the Airstream has been awesome. Our new offerings have been going really great. We've been booked and busy, so I'm very thankful. Got to be booked and busy, as they say, you know.
01:23:44
Speaker
the The way that I like look, let me look. I'm a mom, ah like my mom raised me, so I'm um um'm big on, it's okay. I'm big on, you know, honoring mothers. And so with this, you know, fifty ah two eighteen b I'm calling it, or 218, you know, part de. I've been asking everybody that's been on here, like, do you have a sneaker story with your mom, involving your mom?
Influence of Family on Fashion Choices
01:24:13
Speaker
Oh, that's interesting. So my mom was very when I was younger, my brother got all the Jordans, all the dope Adidas, all the player sneakers, every basketball player that had a sneaker, he had them. And for me, she wanted me to be this little girly, girly, prissy, girly girl. And I was like, I need the kicks, too. But I do remember she put me on Air Max. So she always kept me in a fresh pair of Air Max.
01:24:37
Speaker
She always made sure I took care of my sneakers. So I would say that's like a cool story of not letting me dog them out all the time, making sure i when I had to go somewhere and be presentable, yeah I had some fly kicks to rock. yeah um so So that and a story of...
01:24:53
Speaker
Me and my best friend were going to see Bow Wow. Okay. Long time ago. thought you were like recently. No, no. Back in the day. saw Cleo Thomas was like, we're doing, we're running it No. Back in the day and I airbrushed a pair of like new sneakers and she got on my behind about that. Airbrushed at what? Like, you like... Yeah, it took them to get airbrushed.
01:25:13
Speaker
You know, like back the day... got Bow Wow on one? No, I got like my nickname on one on the other one. You know how like all the... With the script....young rappers were getting like this... Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah....airbrushed?
01:25:23
Speaker
So me and my bestie were like, we're going to take our kicks and get them airbrushed and wear it to the concert. And she was like, what? I just bought you those. I like, oh, sorry, girl. So... A lot of cool, great memories because she put me on some really dope sneakers. Yeah. But then some memories where she's like, all right, now, i didn't buy those. I worked hard to buy those for you to go airbrush them. So I've been very creative with, you know, adding to, ah adding colors and designs and paint to my sneakers from a very young age.
Mentoring Youth on Social Media Realities
01:25:53
Speaker
You know, it's...
01:25:55
Speaker
and we we Off camera, we talked about your involvement with Kamala's campaign. yeah you know and you know Strong women, I think that's the that's the that feel like that's the theme of today. yeah like Earlier, you know Phil got to introduce i got to talk to a bunch of young ladies, good-long girls. Yeah, I got to i came up on and on the end of that. It made me, oh, I felt like...
01:26:19
Speaker
Felt really good see them here. What would you like to see more of like that, but like in your in your community? What would you like to see? Ooh, more of like working with younger girls? I think just mentoring kids in general. I feel like we live in a very instant, social media-driven world, and i I was able to talk to some young teenagers maybe like a week or so ago, just telling them that what they see isn't real. Like I have Kicks and Froze turns eight. Yeah, this month and a a knowing. Hey guys, lower it down.
01:26:54
Speaker
Kicks and bros turns eight this month and just I put in a lot of work. This wasn't like an overnight success. So what you see on social media is fake as hell. Like people really you have to really work hard and really put your head down and do the work.
01:27:09
Speaker
um in order to reap some of the benefits that you may see people share on social media. So just pouring back, like seeing Phil today, pour back into those girls. Yes, gifting them something very special, but sharing what what where this came from and how it came to be.
01:27:26
Speaker
So me, and I want to continue doing it, and i hope you know people in my city and everywhere else... yeah Just continue to pour into the younger generation, showing them their hard work and dedication is what makes you successful, not trying to go viral on a TikTok video. Oh, my God. I definitely feel like it's really been hard to to kind of, like, separate people from that idea. Yeah,
Women's Influence in Sneaker Culture
01:27:47
Speaker
yeah. You know...
01:27:49
Speaker
I've had a lot of women on, I want to have more women on, and you know the the space that like you have to navigate is so tumultuous, you know ah you know you especially in sneakers. like they're trying to i feel like there are some I feel like it's gotten a little bit better.
01:28:05
Speaker
It is, it's gotten a little bit better. It's gotten a little bit better. Slightly bit better? But I feel like the sneaker community, as far as, like, men are concerned and how the men are involved, they really support the women. Like, we appreciate you guys for, like, always turning up for us and making sure we're in spaces, making sure we're seen and heard. So we appreciate that, too. No, yeah. It's reciprocal. Yeah. People really think that, like, oh, this only has to be only guys thing, right? And I think that...
01:28:34
Speaker
Overall, we just kind of just got to show each other love. Exactly. exactly And help each other out and support each other. And I think it is changing. Little by little, getting there. Baby steps. Baby steps. It's getting there. Yeah. We'll eventually get there. Yes.
01:28:47
Speaker
I think in due time with the things that you're doing with Kicks and Fro, like shout out to Tay with ah Respect Female Sneaker Heads. Yes. Yes. Like the the combination and the way that everybody like who like the the women that are stepping up to to change this. Right.
01:29:05
Speaker
That's what I love about like what you do. I love what Tay's been doing. and you know I hope you guys continue to to keep pushing this forward because sneaker culture, it's about. is It's about pushing this forward. and This is what Phil has done with this. What do you specifically think of this show? I love it. What does it remind you or like does it connect to anything for you? the details just all of the details adding some femininity into like a chunkier sneaker more of like a skateboard chunky sneaker yeah adding those soft feminine details where it's not just glitter and a bunch of pink all over the place yeah it's very plush yeah and it's very rich and expensive that's what it's giving and i love it i love it so much Nah, yeah, he went crazy on these. He did go crazy. Both colorways are fly.
01:29:54
Speaker
They look so good in person. They're comfortable as hell. And the the quality is like A1 for sure. a one yeah Are you excited for the event? So excited to be here. So excited to celebrate. So excited to hang with my girls. Meeting some of them for the first time. And yeah, happy to be here. So thank you for having me No, thank you for pulling up though. Yo, everybody make sure you to to sign up.
01:30:18
Speaker
Tell all everybody about Kicks and Froze. please. You know, we did a giveaway ah for your episode. um i wish we had more engagement on that one, but the next one. We'll do it again. We'll ride it back. We'll ride it back. And make sure you cop that Kicks and Froze sneaker cleaner. Yes.
01:30:35
Speaker
Kicksandfrost.com. Yeah. Support support support Melissa and her journey and and the business. Yes. and Thank you. Thank you pulling up. Of course. Thanks for having me. Talk soon.