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Pure Insanity with Racks Hogan
152 Plays7 days ago
This week I am joined by Racks Hogan, we touch on his journey with kicks. His transition to becoming an all around creative. The moment he decided to bet on himself and how relationships change over time. What keeps him inspired to continue being a creative. He also shares a couple wild sneaker story and you get a glimpse into what he thinks of the current state of streetwear is now. Plus a ton more!!
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X: https://x.com/itsrackss
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Podcast Linktree: https://linktr.ee/myfirstkicks
Sign up for the Patreon: https://patreon.com/MyFirstKicks
Intro & Outro by Sango: https://www.instagram.com/sango_/
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Transcript
Networking and Self-Belief
00:00:00
Speaker
And it was a good experience. I learned a lot. Like I soaked up as much as I could, because again, you're not guaranteed any of these opportunities beyond while you have them. Yeah. So me knowing that and kind of just being like the foresight in person, I'm just like, no, I'm like, this is so much fun. and This is cool. But now I'm networking. I'm meeting these people i'm in these offices and I'm, you know,
00:00:20
Speaker
partnering with these brands here, I'm representing this brand here. And I'm like, you know, it might take double to work, but I'm pretty sure that I could do this on my own. Yeah. If I just put in the right work. And also believe in yourself, too, in that in that capacity. OK, that's some cliche shit. Yeah. Okay, so like that whole believe in yourself shit. Listen, let me explain something to you.
00:00:41
Speaker
There have been many a days and I again have been blessed where I have believed in myself and guess what? I didn't get shit for it. yeah So that whole believing, it listen kids at home, if you watching this, yes, believe in yourself. Let me just break that down to you how I interpret that, right? Believing in yourself just means you have the confidence to know who you are. Having self-awareness of who you are, what you want,
00:01:05
Speaker
And coming up with a plan to get from point A to point B. That's pretty much the whole belief because the believing in yourself is going to take a lot of you really like locking into the craft. You have to believe in yourself and love what you do.
Introduction to 'My First Kicks' Podcast
00:01:25
Speaker
What's good everyone. Welcome back to my first kicks the podcast. Where are you sneakers as a through line to get to know somebody? I'm your boy Haas. I'm joined today by the legend.
00:01:35
Speaker
Oh man. Come on man. Hi. How y'all doing? Come on man. This is Rax man. Yo, this episode 273. 273. 273. Yes, sir. But man. gonna have to play that lotto back at home. Hey. Pick three. 273. That
Lottery Stories and Scams
00:01:49
Speaker
might be a good. You a lotto guy?
00:01:50
Speaker
No, but my folks back home is tell them I'm passing numbers. Yo, you know a lot of, yo, how addicted, it's crazy when you see like how addicted Lotto is, like when you grow up, the kid you think is just like, it's just numbers, it's whatever.
00:02:03
Speaker
Nah, man. It's like strategy. What's crazy is I fell into like the rabbit hole on ah Instagram where they be telling like so crazy stories about like you know just like weird. And one of them was a lotto story where this dude figured out a way to, like he had been skimming like mad bread over like the course of, like I think it was 16 years and made like seven Ms. His wife thought he was in the mafia or some crazy stuff. When he's just like, listen, Sally, we have $7 million. We got it from the lottery. And they had to change the whole rules of the lotto because of what he did.
Rax's Journey in Streetwear
00:02:38
Speaker
Is that the McDonald's joint? Nah, that was some crazy-ish. I heard that one too. The Monopoly joint? The Monopoly. Yo, he had that. He was clean enough. Yo, you know what's crazy? If he would have just kept it cool. Nah. He go over here getting the family members Come on, you start bringing people in. Nah, just do your one million.
00:02:56
Speaker
And then just come back, you know? He was giving his homies cars. Yeah. He was sending everybody on the vacation. The one lady, the one of his homies won twice. Won the Cardian double back and got the vacation. crazy. I'm like, man. You're not supposed to. There was only like four boardwalks for the entire U.S. s Of course they're find you. But when you hear it like, all right, so think about that story though. just Just randomly think about. When you think about like the level at McDonald's though. Yeah.
00:03:21
Speaker
was going through to even like protect those pieces. They was only going to this one place that was like, you know, known for making, it was almost like Fort Knox style security for that day and age. So it was kind of, you know, like,
00:03:35
Speaker
Where there's a will, there's a way. Yeah, for sure. kind of like with sneakers. Yeah, exactly. Where there's a will, there's definitely a way. You you are well known for doing that. But for people who are not familiar you, how about you introduce yourself? I mean, um I'm Rex. Yes. ah I have been known in streetwear more, I think more as a journalist. i feel like I'm more of a documentarian. In the streets. Style. Yeah. ah Personality. I am a collector. Mm-hmm. I started off as a stylist and personal shopper.
00:04:09
Speaker
Once I evolved, if you will, I kind of just got into personal shopping instead of the styling. And I realized that that actually put me around it, helped my network better than the styling because styling is so time consuming. Yeah. And it takes a lot out of you, especially if you are day to day. Now, I wasn't day to day, but I was day to day when it came to my client list, because I would have you know a video shoot with this artist. This artist wants to come by and take some vintage pieces. So I got to put together a whole style look for this video shoot that they're doing you know under the Brooklyn Bridge or over at you know Coney Island or something like that. so
00:04:48
Speaker
and evolving, I guess, from the styling part because I was really using my own personal archive yeah to style a lot of the people. It just took me to and a space where it was like, you know what, just shop and kind of fall in love with that.
Supporting the Podcast
00:05:00
Speaker
And I know some people are going like, oh here you go.
00:05:02
Speaker
One of these. might No, but it's one of those things where I wasn't shopping for approval. right I wasn't shopping to be like, It's just, I like certain stuff. I had the opportunity at the time to grab certain things and I can't help that.
00:05:17
Speaker
My interest is that of shared. you know If you like the same shoes that like, just don't wear my socks. yeah I hope you've been enjoying this week's episode with Rax and of course, do not forget to help the podcast by liking, subscribing, and leaving a comment if we're watching this on YouTube. I'm so close to hitting 2,000 subscribers. So please, please, please share, share this out, share the YouTube page out. It goes a long way. And and if you're listening to this on Apple or Spotify, you can leave a review, hit that five stars on there, write a review, and I will read it at the end of an episode.
00:05:54
Speaker
It goes a very long way to help the podcast get into brand new ears and other ears when people are trying to find new podcasts listen to. And of course, if you have $5, I only have one tier on my Patreon, patreon.com slash myfirstkicks. $5, you get no ads episodes. You get and the episode a day early.
00:06:15
Speaker
ah pilot it's like it drops like in the middle of the day, but it's a day early. And you also get... chances to help and just help out the podcast just helping the podcast get in the studio get you know people in the studio and also do cool stuff around the podcast so please five dollar tier it goes a long way patreon.com but let's jump back right back into the episode yeah That's
Transition to Creative Ownership
00:06:46
Speaker
it. So ah from that, ah that's how I kind of landed the gig at Complex. i was at Complex for about two and a half years. Then the pandemic came.
00:06:55
Speaker
And I was, I guess, um I had the foresight enough to know that like, this complex thing isn't a forever thing. And frankly, it's not something that I even want it to be a forever thing. yeah But I've always been, i think, one to go with my gut when it comes to opportunities or feelings or premonitions. And I was like, you know, you working at complex, ah pandemic done hit, what are you gonna do? right yeah So like I had gotten a great deal because at that time,
00:07:30
Speaker
spaces were kinda cheap. People was kinda like throwing them out damn near like. cause they were trying to fill up the. They were trying to fill it up and then you gotta remember it's pandemic so incomes wasn't guaranteed at that time so a lot of people was just like yo, pay this, the rent is this. yeah We know that it's kinda you know just, you know so. it up yeah I got a good situation with um some of my homies and we pretty much came together to get this huge space for like a ridiculous amount, like it was cheap.
00:07:56
Speaker
And we made it work. And at first, I'm not even gonna lie to you, like I said, I was at Complex, so I guess I had the Complex mentality to like, I was like, yo, I'm gonna do like the Black Fantasy Factory, you know, cause you know, Rob Dyrdek, I used to watch that, Nitro Circus, you know, Johnny Knoxville, all that kind of stuff, Bam Margera, all that. So I'm like, I'm like, yo,
00:08:14
Speaker
I got this giant space. Like I had a mini, the Coleman mini bike in there. We were just driving it around in the space. The Supreme joint? Well, it wasn't a Supreme joint. It was just a Coleman mini joint. I just, I'm not, I guess that, I don't care about it that much. I to have fun. So we had that in there. We had a pool table, we had arcade, pop shot.
00:08:35
Speaker
i had built a loft in there. So basically by the time it came together and was fully like booming up and running, we had added a print shop. um I was learning how to sew.
00:08:45
Speaker
I have like bought my first sewing machines. My homie who actually got me into it Rick, he ah was next door. So whenever we needed help or if it was a job, we could always, you know. So it was a good, cool, like it was a blessing. I'm gonna say too. Like, cause a lot of times I know a lot of people when they want to get into a creative space, they don't get received the same way or the way that I was received when it came to having like basically a mentor. My homie who was my business partner and runs the other half of the shop with me. he This was like his life. for He was working at a print shop and I'm like, yo,
00:09:18
Speaker
why not stop working for someone and come work with someone? Yeah. It's no brainer. So yeah he got on board and I was lucky everything kind of fell in place, fell into place during the pandemic um to set everything up to where when the complex bubble burst, know,
00:09:36
Speaker
I was cool. yeah And it was one of them things where, because a lot of people ask me, what happened? yo I don't see you on Complex no more. and and It's just, as things grow and evolve, so do brands, so do interests, so do even the way that y'all consume content. right yeah Even like right now, a podcast wasn't really that big of a thing before. it was a It was available to you, but I don't think it was and you at where it's at now. Now it's everywhere. You get what I'm saying? yeah So,
00:10:01
Speaker
um With that, you know, it was time for me to move up and move on. You know, and same with Complex. Ain't no beef with them or nothing like that. But it's just one of those things where like, I like to kind of run wild when i want to run wild and if i got an idea i don't want to have to run it through 80 chains of command yeah uh i kind of want to just if the resources is available do it right if the people are available do it if whatever everything is lined up let's do it and not that it was like a really because i i got executive producer credits over the air i got writer credits all that stuff and it was a good experience i learned a lot like I soaked up as much as I could because again, you're not guaranteed any of these opportunities beyond while you have them. yeah So me knowing that and kind of just being like the forward thinking person, I'm just like, nah, you like I'm like, this is so much fun and this is cool,
Challenges of Self-Belief
00:10:54
Speaker
but now I'm networking, I'm meeting these people, I'm in these offices and I'm you know partnering with these brands here, I'm representing this brand here and I'm like,
00:11:02
Speaker
You know, it might take double the work, but I'm pretty sure that I could do this on my own yeah if I just put in the right work. And also believe in yourself too in that and that capacity. Okay, that's some cliche shit. yeah Okay, like that whole believe in yourself shit. Listen, let me explain something to you. There have been many a days, and I again have been blessed, where I have believed in myself and guess what? I didn't get shit for it. yeah So that whole believe in it, listen kids at home, if you watching this, yes.
00:11:30
Speaker
Believe in yourself. Let me just break that down to you how I interpret that. Right. Believing in yourself just means you have the confidence to know who you are. Having self-awareness of who you are, what you want, and coming up with a plan to get from point A to point B. That's pretty much the whole belief because the believing in yourself is going to take a lot of you really like locking into the craft. You have to believe in yourself and love what you do. hmm.
00:11:58
Speaker
So it's like, believe yourself and believe in what you're doing. If you're going to say it like that. Yeah, I agree. I think that is just like... That whole believe in your shield shit ain't going to get you on the bus. Nah, it's not. i I think it's definitely... You definitely have to have that mind the two different mindsets. Nothing! Because nothing's going to happen. Okay. yeah but but But it is like... So, I mean, going back to that, that whole transitional
Post-Complex Relationship Challenges
00:12:19
Speaker
situation. Because even in that, yo, that shit got hard when I started working at Complex.
00:12:24
Speaker
Yeah! Because a lot of...
00:12:30
Speaker
that was just stopping you? I'm not gonna, listen. All right, listen, listen. I know, again, self-awareness. Right, you gotta have it. I know who I am. yeah I know what I bring to the table and I know what people are dealing with when they encounter me, for the most part.
00:12:45
Speaker
Now, I can't decide how people you know digest me or whatever it is, but I got a good idea. i've been doing this a long time. And all I'm gonna say is that like when it comes down to it, you know the whole self-awareness, it's just like,
00:13:07
Speaker
The same people that are self-aware of who you are and what it is, sometimes they'll give you the past because of who you affiliated with. Yes, yes, yes. I 100, 1000% agree. Said that to say that. Yeah, yeah. They give you the past because
00:13:23
Speaker
basically, you know, I'll say it to you like this. When you're there, your phone's ringing and it's, hey, Rex, I've got this new, hey, Rex, can you wear this on your necks? Hey, Rex, hey, Rex.
00:13:34
Speaker
and you know who you are. And, you know, you stop working at Complex. Now here's the thing about me, I'm not no like, oh, hey guys, after two and a half great years, I'm no longer, I just, I ain't at Complex no more. I'm in my studio, y'all see me sewing stuff and making shit. yeah So it's like,
00:13:53
Speaker
I ain't at the office no more, so put two and two together. Right, exactly. But now here's where shit gets wicked, as the homeboy would say ah on TikTok. Yeah. Here's where it gets wicked. These same people, when I'm asking them, because now I'm going into a new phase, and I'm like, hey, guys, you know, when I was over there doing the, like, media thing, you know, I tried to do as much as I could to, like, you know,
00:14:12
Speaker
shed light on your stuff. I will come and interview you guys. I will try to give y'all the most, you know, paint in the best light possible. I'll make sure that you guys are seen and viewed with the correct, uh, uh, the correct light, you know? Right. Yeah.
00:14:25
Speaker
I went over to them and it was, oh yeah, yeah, yeah. ah yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh yeah, yo yeah ah yeah yo yeah, yeah. It's like a new, it's like. So like. gra but so like And it was weird, cause like, I ain't even gonna front, the first the first like year that I wasn't there, I'm gonna keep it G, I was so like, I guess you said could say ah in the honeymoon phase of having like my own space and starting business right and learning all of this stuff. So I knew that I wasn't really ready or at a level to where I should even be you know ringing people's phone. But I'm a fast learner. yeah So after like the first year,
00:15:06
Speaker
I got all of this stuff. I'm like, okay, well let me start using my Rolodex and start calling these people. Hey guys, I got a print shop. Hey guys, i got a print shop. yeah Hey guys, I got a print shop. Hey guys, I'm making rugs. Hey guys, I'm doing this. Hey guys, I'm doing, and it's like all of these things. you remember the pandemic was still going on. And the people that actually came out and supported me is the people that i feel like I service now, which is the people that are on the level that I can see you because you see me. yeah Those same people that I thought would come through, and I offered free classes to people sometimes. you know like That would be in that that sector. Hey, you know you know bring your office through This after the pandemic, so ain't on in that whole six feet shit. now This is like post. So I'd be like, hey, come by the studio and take a class. Come by the studio and you know just see my facilities. Come by. And these the same people
00:15:50
Speaker
that was, hey man, let's get lunch. yeah Hey man, let's go to Soho House and hey man, hey, we wanna fly you. Hey, hey, hey, hey. And I hate to say it, cause some of them some of the people
00:16:02
Speaker
I really thought that y'all was more sturdy than what y'all was. Now do with that what you will, because i y'all probably ain't gonna see this, but if you do, do with that shit what you will, because y'all's on some fuck i mean you know yeah you know I hope you do, yeah because my my intentions have always been correct. right I'm not trying to like manipulate you exactly or facilitate some shit. But you got to let people show themselves to you, you know? And if you give them the opportunity, they will.
00:16:31
Speaker
What they say when people show you who they are. but Believe them. You have to. um And it's like... That's the that's the the harshest reality, especially when you're doing something you feel like you're doing ah of service and you're doing it like, yeah we're trying to better everybody. It's not just going to be on some like, what can I do for you? What he have you done for me lately type of shit? It's like, yo, let's grow together. And some people just don't see it like that. And I always bring this up. i always see see it like this. Sometimes people just see you as another rung on the ladder. They're just trying to climb to their success. But like,
00:17:00
Speaker
What at the end of the day? Are they trying to look down with you or are they trying to help you up as you well? You know what I'm saying? yeah And it's it's not, no one owes me anything. Nah. So I don't speak from a a point of the entitlement or like nothing like that. But it's just like when you be around or in these
Building Genuine Relationships
00:17:13
Speaker
rooms and you really just see like how like I guess you could say shady and like the mask that people put on around in these offices and you know in these realms and stuff like that but i just i took what like i said i learned i soaked it up i didn't take any other personal uh but that's where that whole like believing yourself i guess that's where that comes in because i realized that trying to do something and gain any type of like i guess notoriety or help from your peers
00:17:41
Speaker
it's gonna be a game of you really having to be like dominant in what you do. gotta For your peers to respect what you do. yeah So I took it like that. Kobe is one of my favorite like role models, rest in peace to the Mamba.
00:17:54
Speaker
I read his book. And I read book and I kinda went through like a whole mental transformation For those of y'all, it's called Mama Mentality. Go get that. Yes, please. It's a great book. yeah um The forward is from Phil Jackson.
00:18:10
Speaker
It's a great book, but it will really, if you are a person, I think that book is for anyone who is in a realm where even, because it's crazy, because like anything that's competitive, yeah you should read that book. Mm-hmm.
00:18:23
Speaker
And I hate to say it, but like even workspaces and shit like that, those are competitive now. 100%. And you have to understand all of the elements of game to really like own your space, like you said.
00:18:35
Speaker
So like for me, it was one of those things where it was like, don't worry about the highlight reel. Worry about... The gym time. Yeah. Worry about learning the background on these machines. Worry about learning, you know, the settings. Find the masters before you. Because it's a part in a book where he talks about, he was like, because, you know he lived in Italy for a hot second. Yeah. And he was ah he was at a museum.
00:18:55
Speaker
And I think it's something, he was at a museum where he was like at school or something. And talking about like the Greco-Roman wrestlers from like the Olympic times. Yeah. And how like, the way that they train really never changed for like a ah really long period of time. And then when like modern training came in, the bodybuilders even you know into like modern the modern era, they used a lot of the same training methods that was being used you know then. yeah So it's like greatness doesn't really change. No.
00:19:26
Speaker
you jea If you're at that level, you're gonna get to that level. And you have to do it that way. And you have to do it that way. And again, like I said, I like to kind of run and do stuff. So a lot of that took me having to that post pandemic, I guess you could say into like the world going back to normal was me really Take an inventory on myself. Yeah.
00:19:46
Speaker
Looking at, well, why aren't you doing this? It's not that person's fault. Well, why aren't you working harder? Yeah. And are you holding yourself to the same standard that that person's, you know, success level is at?
00:19:58
Speaker
It matters a damn how they got there. They're there. Yeah. So now you need to figure out your situation yeah if you call yourself or say you want to be in those rooms. Exactly. And a lot of people I think that I encounter even today, that's the part that they missing is that they want an instant gratification. And this is no shout or no talk like i don't got it figured out because I don't. But I'm just saying, when you reach a certain level of determination to your goals, shit's a lot different. You become a different person. So I understood and that's why I gravitated to that book.
00:20:28
Speaker
And then, like I said, after that time period, it really took me into a different space of how I was gonna like approach things. Like business, relationships, my friends, it all has to basically be taken into account, you know, for a complete situation to make sense and work. yeah For you individually, yes yeah that's individually, you know, so. I mean, I think that's just great advice in general, because I think a lot of people would just be like, nah, this person here in my life, you know, they only hit them up just for whenever they need something or they they only hit them up when they're in a crisis. They only like, so are you is this an actual two way situation or are you just there for this person because you are their emergency contact? Like, what is that? Like, i was listening to something earlier and it was just like, you can help a stranger on the street.
Survival and Rest in NYC
00:21:15
Speaker
If you helping, that means you'll help a stranger. so that means your friend, you you like, if they're only hitting you up because they need help, that means you're just a kind person. It doesn't mean they're y'all friends. It's crazy, bro. Exactly. And then when you start really weighing...
00:21:30
Speaker
Cause I think that a lot of situations can be transactional in a good way. yeah you know Even your friends. Even exchange. Yeah, with your friends. But I think that that's that's like how you really find out who's like kind of really down for you.
00:21:46
Speaker
Because what they say, an empty stomach, a broken heart, and an empty pocket will show you who is really there for you. You know? Yeah. thought he was going say, closed mouth, don't get fat. That's a given, man. Come on. I'm talking about, you got to look at character traits when it comes to some of these people out here that you're dealing with. Because now...
00:22:09
Speaker
the the The times are so crazy, like everybody in survival mode. Oh, for sure. And and coming from a city, you're always in survival mode too, on top of that. So. It's like, yeah. There's no stopping. Everybody's just go, go, go, go. go I don't think I even slept a full, a good full. I did a little facial today, so my shit I see is looking kind of good today. But haven't gotten a good, I think, good good night's rest.
00:22:35
Speaker
Since March. Damn. Come on, man. yeah give you Give yourself some rest. Okay. Because it's got to get done. Yeah. And like, I know why the people that are up and they make it look easy at that point because I ah know how much work I put in to make it look like that.
Creative Drive and Improvement
00:22:52
Speaker
And it's one of those things where like, got to work harder. I got to do more. Yeah. Are you, because I have this mindset too where like, My best shit is my last shit. So I got to beat my best shit. So I'm always just like, yo, the last thing I put out, I got to do better than that. for real, for real, it's funny you say that. I i have a saying that's just don't marry the shit.
00:23:12
Speaker
Do it. It's done. Give it to them. Let them be to the judge. Do something else. you got it That's why I feel like it's like keep constantly like shooting. You just got to keep shooting. You got to keep...
00:23:24
Speaker
Like I might take like this week I was doing, i had a ah opportunities, creating opportunities. I was, I had a contact. ah They hit me up. They say, look, the warehouse is doing like a a sale. They letting people go through the entire warehouse. I said, all right, cool. gonna come by and
Seizing Opportunities in NYC
00:23:43
Speaker
check it out.
00:23:43
Speaker
There's like, but you got to come like tomorrow. Yeah. like I'm busy tomorrow. I show up. Boom. Long story short, I've been running this warehouse for like a week. These are videos that I've been seeing. Yeah.
00:23:54
Speaker
So we've been in this warehouse, but that, yo, I kind of just basically more so got I came in, I didn't ask for no money up front. I just kind of was like, yo, look, let me be of an asset to the situation. I'm gonna buy some stuff regardless, but I see your situation.
00:24:10
Speaker
Let me be an asset to the situation. So it's one of them things where like, when you constantly got opportunities in front of you and living in New York, they all over the place. You just gotta know where to look and how to ask. yeah So I had that, I had, ah got the shot. We doing, we kind of busy right now. We just did a ah a deal with a vintage spot, Electrics Vintage. Shout out to Electrics Vintage.
00:24:33
Speaker
Y'all know y'all the bros. ah But they finna doing their grand opening. So they didn't came through. So like stuff is so, it's going good. Then I got this situation getting ready to go back overseas. We trying to put together events for that.
00:24:44
Speaker
We got events here that we want to do in the city. Summertime is coming up. I'm about to launch the more insane stuff. We bought, like, it's just- I need that. I got you going. I got them. But it's just like so many things going on and we're like, I don't have time to sleep. And the words, think Bodhi. If you- if you If you woke up broke, you shouldn't have went to sleep.
00:25:07
Speaker
Yo, that's crazy. I mean, yeah, that's crazy. Yo, I'm saying, dog. That's crazy. What they say to crackhead smoke crack every day. You gonna let a crackhead hustle you? You know what I'm saying?
00:25:20
Speaker
correct Like what? They going get to the money. They going get to something. A TV, a toaster oven, some shit they can sell in the corner store. It'd be funny because if crackheads in New York, it's crazy. They're going rob that shit from the grocery store and sell it to the corner store right two doors down. Yeah.
00:25:36
Speaker
Two doors down. yo the Walk out of that shit, walk right in that shit and sell that shit. I i used to work at GameStop. and Oh my God. Back in the day, yo they used to come in, cleat. like yoll i They were like, yeah, i just ran. This is my cousins, my little my little cousins. They would rob their own cousins. You stole that shit from your kids, didn't you, man? You took that shit, man? The hell no. Yo, here?
00:26:00
Speaker
Bro, I grew up in Ohio, so the fiends out there was resourceful, but I think out here they probably ah overtly, oh man, I can't.
00:26:11
Speaker
is That's more insane. GameStop? I'm just coming here with the kids motherfucking Christmas gifts and shit? Nah. Yo, people was pulling up with like five GameCubes. At one time? Yeah, be like, here you go. Be like, yeah, I cop these $5 each off of Crackhead.
Sneaker Culture Stories
00:26:29
Speaker
$5 each.
00:26:31
Speaker
And they took it too. Yo, but you're here to answer the question that I ask everybody each week, and that question is... Great segue. Great segue.
00:26:42
Speaker
So listen, Leroy came through. I hear everything. Can't trust my Uncle Andre. You know what I'm saying? He stole my game. You what I'm saying?
00:26:54
Speaker
We're here to answer the questions ask everybody each week. And that question is, what's your first kicks? What's that first pair of sneakers you absolutely needed to have? oh man, I knew you was going to hit me with this one.
00:27:05
Speaker
Alright, so look. It's not the first kicks that I needed to have. yeah But I do have a kind of... I got a couple stories. okay what's been a Alright, I have the story. yeah It just hit me just now. Alright.
00:27:20
Speaker
I've told this story a few times and going to tell this story with a disclaimer. Alright. Rex Hogan was 18. eighteen around the time, I think.
00:27:33
Speaker
i was young boy shooting like Jamal Crawford. But anyways, this what had happened, right? hu This was back in Ohio. Shout out to my man, Ray Roof. He can validate this. He was my man's, you know, that we used to, you know how we got down. Squad gang gang. You know what I'm saying? So check it out.
00:27:50
Speaker
This is, what year is this? I don't fucking, I can't remember. But check it out. This is what happened. We, the first... release of the Cool Grey 3s was coming out. u huh So this had to be like 2009 or a little earlier than that, bro. 2006.
00:28:14
Speaker
Yeah, it might have been 2006. Cause Melo was, you they used him in the campaign. And he had just been, you know, had he was a Jordan athlete and whatever. he was But I remember now, back in the day, we used to have these things called magazines. Okay.
00:28:28
Speaker
okay And ah the ad for them was in one of the double XLs or Vibe. I forget which one I was reading at the time or something like that. Might've been the source, might've been, think it was Vibe though. Pretty sure it was Vibe. Vibe was a beautiful magazine. Vibe was amazing. It was a beautiful magazine. Like when I think about that back now, nostalgic wise, was a beautiful magazine. um But the... ah The threes. They just, and it's back in the day, you know how like the ads would be like, it would just be an ad with the stuff. yeah So you would see the shoe and you'd like, what are those? Yeah. When are those coming out? ahh hu
00:29:01
Speaker
And it would just have like, jumpman23.com. It wouldn't say like releasing or coming out. You just never knew. You'd just be like, oh, I guess it's coming out. You would thought they was out already. Like, oh yeah, they put him in those. Okay, so check it out. So we one boutique store in my city. It was called Next.
00:29:22
Speaker
They was like, i guess, a tier, I don't know what they call them now, tier zero, tier one, yeah tier zero. I they're called like neighborhoods now, neighborhood stores. So they had, they was the only spot that got like exclusive releases. So another cool release that they had got was, remember when the All-Star Game came out and gave Tony Parker, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, I think it was Rasheed Wallace. Mm-hmm.
00:29:44
Speaker
Somebody else, somebody else, somebody else. I'm missing one. You talking about the Air Force Ones with the face on the back? Yes. ah Yes. Sean Marion. Was it Sean Marion? Yeah, he did have that ugly ass colorway. He colorway. Yo, Sean Marion, your colorway was ugly as hell. Braun had the best one. Braun had the best one. Braun had to that black and gold with that bubble.
00:30:07
Speaker
Crazy. What a time to be alive. Yeah. So check it out. So follow me on. So these threes is coming out. Yeah. The one boutique is the only spot that gets them. I go in there, me and my homie, we spent a lot of money in there or whatever.
00:30:19
Speaker
Go in there, I ask him, I say, I took the magazine in there and showed it to the dude like, hey. These ones right here. These right here. Where these at? He like, oh, ah those is actually coming out this Saturday. I say, oh, perfect.
00:30:35
Speaker
I'll buy them right now. He like, nah, you can't. But I'm like, nah, bro. i'm like, what you mean? like, So I'm like, go get the motherfucking manager. He go get the manager. That's my mans.
00:30:47
Speaker
My mans come on. here like, yo, look, man, you can't, you got to keep it cool. Like, y'all can't be saying shit like that. I'm like, it's cool. You know, like, but what's up? He like, look, Saturday, just be here.
00:31:02
Speaker
He like, I'm telling you right now, we only got one size run and two size 11s. And I'm like, I wear a 10. yeah I need that 10. He like, all right, just gotta be here. yeah know yeah like man gotta It's good. here's where the story actually starts.
00:31:26
Speaker
Me and my mans pull up. This Ohio, okay? So ain't a lot going on in the mornings. All right, it's not like here where you go, I'm gonna go to the bodega, get me a sandwich. Nah.
00:31:38
Speaker
Me and my mans, we pop up. I'm like, I'm to pick you up. You know, we're going to go to next. It's like six o'clock in the morning. Yeah.
00:31:49
Speaker
Right. Recon mission. Pull up. Come grab my man from his spot. Boom. Hit the Waffle House. Got some food.
00:32:00
Speaker
Got to the spot by like seven, seven thirties. Nobody is there. Parking lot empty. Yeah. All right, cool. So mission accomplished, right? you Yeah, you're good. We're good. All right.
00:32:12
Speaker
People start pulling up 8 o'clock, 9. nine in The store opened at 10. Okay. People pulling up. So now the employees is getting there. So the employees go in, they open up, turn lights on. If you done been to a sticker drop at a like a yeah a Jimmy Jazz or like us is a... Because the store is a store like that. It's like ah in a strip mall type shit. So like if you done been to a drop, you know how would go. They come in, they open it up, they turn on the lights, they go they open the door. They like...
00:32:42
Speaker
Who was here first? Now, in not in New York, because someone will probably get trampled, but who was here first? yeah It's very civil and cordial. Hey, yo, me and my mans, we was here first.
00:32:54
Speaker
um You know, so we get in line. They're like, all right cool. We're going to open that 10. Just come in. Mm-hmm. Tell us your size, boom go to the register, huh like that.
00:33:05
Speaker
It's only for real, for real, there's only like 20 people out there. Like it's only 20 people out there. I'm like, cool. So me and my homie, first two through the door, boom, size 10, my mans, size 11 and a half, boom, we to the register.
00:33:21
Speaker
I'm shopping though, because they had apparel with the shit too. I'm like, I want the sweatsuit. I need the sweatsuit. I want the shirt. I want the beanie. So I'm shopping. I'm like, yeah, okay. But like I said, it's the only boutique spot that we got. So I was like, you know what? It's the weekend anyway. You know I'm saying? Trapping them, whatever. I'm going to do this. So I'm grabbing other stuff too. So I'm actually in there grabbing stuff. But the people that's just there for the shoes, they grabbing their shoes, paying and leaving, paying and leaving, paying and leaving, paying and leaving.
00:33:49
Speaker
I get to the register, I'm about to pay for my stuff. So I had just grab like the the pants. I think I grabbed like the hat. I had grabbed some, this is when Crooks and Castle was still lit. Grab some Crooks and Castle stuff. Yeah, I grabbed some Crooks and Castle stuff. hu um I think I had grabbed some like a Vizu t-shirt, some ice cream. I just grabbed, was grabbing some stuff. I grabbed some things. You full fits. Get some things to go with my shoes. yeah
00:34:11
Speaker
My homie, the manager, He's stalling though. I see my shoes at the counter. So it ain't like he ain't got the shoes. Shoes at the counter. Yeah. They went. As soon as I came in, he brought them out. I looked at them.
00:34:23
Speaker
Boom. To the counter. So they at the counter. Y'all. He pulled me to the side. He like, hey, hey, let me holler at real quick.
00:34:35
Speaker
you to holler at me about, bro? Yeah. What you want? You need some weed? Like, what's up? Like, what you need to holler at me about? I was here on time. You didn't do no favors. So don't think I'm about to give you no bread. I'm not sliding you a dub. We can smoke after this. You on your break.
00:34:53
Speaker
Smoke blunts all day, whatever. He like, hey, I got to ask you a favor. No, no, here we go. He like, oh would you be willing to like give up your pair?
00:35:09
Speaker
Excuse me? I thought he was like needed a real favor because that was out of the question. hey like He like, would you be willing to give up your pair? I'm like, Man, what? You already got bad clothes on. You like, yo. What are you talking about? I'm like, bro. Crazy. I'm like, add me up, bro. I'm not. what do Why are you at? But it's my man's. He got the shoes and he don't wear my size. So I'm like, give up the shoes. Why? So he goes, all right, man.
00:35:36
Speaker
He's like, oh. And right when he goes, all right, man, i already knew what it was. In comes a kid and his mom in a wheelchair. Oh, my God.
00:35:48
Speaker
In a wheelchair, y'all.
00:35:52
Speaker
Kid comes in with his mom and up in a wheelchair. All right? And he's actually handicapable. Because we ain't gonna do that. And it was one of them situations.
00:36:10
Speaker
He gonna to wheel his ass back home without these shoes. He was like, hell no.
00:36:16
Speaker
he was like hell those not I bought him and wore him out. Walked right out in front of his ass. Respectfully. What? Yo, listen. This is the thing about sneaker culture and people got to understand. You're not entitled to nothing. You many sneaker drops I haven't gotten?
00:36:32
Speaker
A lot. It has to be a lot. Cause like think of your odds. Think of your odds. Think of your odds though. When you really thinking about like shoes and sneakers, bro. And what's crazy is I had kind of got out of it for a second. Like, like had just kind of like, I was only buying sneakers that I really liked.
00:36:48
Speaker
I wasn't, but like as of late, they done been dropping some stuff. Yeah. This year alone, they done came with some, they, they, and it's like one of them things were like, but I even looked at it then it's like, I didn't miss anything. Cause I came back and the stuff that I wanted, I'm pretty sure that kid went and touched crazy other pairs. yeah is the way that he would He probably got them shoes.
00:37:09
Speaker
Cause they came out a couple of times. They came out in again in 20, they didn't came out a few times, but that was the first time. yeah yeah yeah And it was like a thing. And yeah, I had to, that was my crazy sneakers. Cause that's my, I had to have them. Cause I was like, nah, i got a hat. Like what? I'm glad you didn't give them up either. because oh yeah So here go another sneaker story. All right, so I got another one kind of in the same vein, but here's where i lost. okay All right, see, so look, I'm a fair game too. yeah Here's another sneaker story where this Mark-ass Chauncey, you know what saying, DSMO, you know what Wicked-ish, know what saying, to your boy. So look, this was when the 2K, the Hirachi 2K4.
00:37:47
Speaker
four yeah So this is 2004. I think I'm still in high school. Mm-hmm. when this came out. Or I was like either fresh out of high, was still in high school. This is the OG color, like the white with the blue in there. The hyper, when they came out with the Back to the Future colorway. Yes, yes. Okay, and then they came out with the red, white. The ones that they re-released over All Star. And then they started coming out the You Could Get Your Team. They came up with the same event. That was a good sneaker too, by the way. That Hirachi,
00:38:10
Speaker
Fire. Because I feel like that's what they base a lot of the Kobe models on. Because that was technically the Kobe. That was the Kobe. That was the unofficial Kobe. That was like the introduction to Kobe. And then you notice that all of his sneakers kind of had that same vibe to it. That like weird bottom to it. So check it out. So here's the deal. Oh, I got two stories with Chauncey Diaz and some whole ass shit. Hold on. Oh, shit. Damn, Charles. going to tell the first one. I was for sure. So this one I was on some while I was a young boy. I was wilding.
00:38:38
Speaker
We was in them streets. Okay. Back home. Still in Ohio. We still in Ohio. Do you remember when the first, i don't even know what color way this is. Is this like, was it the citrus seven?
00:38:50
Speaker
The black with the yellow. With the yellow stitching. Yeah. Yellow stitching. That citrus seven. The citrus. those yeah So the first time they came out. Mm-hmm.
00:39:00
Speaker
This one, like, I think foot action or finish line. It was finish line. Finish line had them. Because finish line was also a spot where you could get them packs, where you got to define the moments pack. The first one. yeah yeah So check it out. So check it out.
00:39:12
Speaker
I think I was, I don't know. I think I was like, I'm younger. I don't know how old I am at the time. Anywho, I'm wild and no. So I'm,
00:39:26
Speaker
I'm up in a suburb of ohat well of Akron called Mayfield Heights. Okay. Because at the time, one of my partners and them, they family owned a deli up there. we used to just go up to the deli, eat food. It was a mall up there. You could go up there. It was a bigger mall than what we had, basically basically where I'm at. So we would go up there. Now, check this out. So the prequel, or I guess the precursor to this is, we was in finish line, me,
00:39:52
Speaker
My partner that i went got them threes with, shout out to my man's roof, and weak ass Chauncey. We all go. We was just out because, you know, we go to the mall, Chase Girls, all that kind of stuff, you know, whatever.
00:40:04
Speaker
Finish line had them on the display. yeah Like, yo, we going to have these Saturday. ahh Cool. So, not the Saturday coming up, but it was like two weeks. They was coming out. They put them out early. They showed them. They showed like, yo, this is coming out. coming out. You can get them here.
00:40:22
Speaker
Why shoe stores don't do that no more? Neither. that's ah so Some of them do still. They just have it out two weeks early. Let you know, yeah, we got these. We're going to have these for you. You might not get them, but we're going have them. You know these brands ain't not trying to send shit early. So look, so look, so look.
00:40:35
Speaker
We go up to Mayfield Heights the week before, the weekend before the shoes is coming out. This is the first story. The weekend before the shoes come out. Basically, man, I got arrested for driving Wild Black.
00:40:48
Speaker
They pulled me out the car, pulled a gun on me and all kind of stuff. They laid me down in this day in front of my homie's restaurant. Wow. You know, this crap. Put your hands on your head and lay on the ground. I'm like, man, I'm not doing all that, bro. Listen, hands on my head. I walk backwards to you. Just put me in the handcuffs. We ain't got to do all that. yeah Boom.
00:41:08
Speaker
I get arrested. huh huh So I get arrested basically like that Friday. yeah The shoes come out the next day. Oh, is oh okay. okay So, sorry, I misspoke, but I get arrested that Friday. yeah wouldn't know if you get arrested on a Friday. Yeah, you're in there for the rest of the weekend.
00:41:29
Speaker
So do you think happened to old boy? Now look, my cousin, I was with my, it was me, weak ass Chauncey and my cousin. So I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, take my money.
00:41:42
Speaker
da da dada Da da da da da. I knew I was gonna get out because what they was arresting me for was like basically like just some like irresponsible type issue. gonna go to court on Monday, they gonna be why you didn't come in here and just take care of this? You had to sit here, time served, get out of here.
00:41:56
Speaker
All right, I knew that though, but I still had to sit the weekend. right Saturday the shoes come out. I already had called my cousin, this is how, this how Absent minded. They give you your first phone call. I called my cousin to tell him, like, hey, tell weak-ass Chauncey, because my cousin, he had he had a he was into some other shit. I'm like, yo, tell weak-ass Chauncey, go get me the shoes. ah Now, here's the crazy part.
00:42:22
Speaker
Weak-ass Chauncey ain't even want shoes. He saw like, oh, they're cool. They're not all that. No, no, no. All I'm going to say is fast forward. I had to stay in jail for the weekend. When I got out on Monday, I went back to my spot.
00:42:33
Speaker
We all just shooting the shit. Everybody else. Why weak ass Chauncey came to my crib wearing the shoes? No way. Citrus 7s wearing them. And this is when them shits actually sold out. like Yeah. This is when it was crazy. So I'm thinking like, you know, what's Monday? I'll just go to finish line. Grab him. Yeah.
00:42:52
Speaker
You get your money back? Yeah, get you never know. Cause he made it seem like, you know, like I'm just glad you got the money back too. I feel like weak ass Chauncey used my bread to get the shoes. this guy that's what i'm saying I feel like weak ass Chauncey used my bread to get the shoes and then just double back. Cause he had a job and shit. You what saying? He's just like, Oh, he not going come out till Monday. You get what I'm saying? Like, cool. got I have capital. yeah Second time he did it, yeah and that's after, after did it the second time, i like, all right, you know what? i can't i can't
00:43:23
Speaker
I can't rock with Chauncey like that with the sneakers, man. Because like, the 2K4s came out. yeah and This might actually happen, I don't know which one happened first, but either way, some bullshit happened either way.
00:43:36
Speaker
I'm like, yo, I want these two K4s. I had a job, so I worked, and I was like working my ass off for these shoes. They came out, and luckily, they wasn't, everybody wasn't buying them, because it was like ah a basketball model. yeah But like, if you really liked the sneaker, you was gonna get it. So they set. They set when they came out.
00:43:55
Speaker
Then they came out, because then they flooded with so many colorways. You had the Back to the Future colorway, the Red, White, and Blue colorway, the White on White, the White in Carolina, the White in Silver, yeah the Black in White. Yo, they was... My favorite from that from that model is the Audi.
00:44:10
Speaker
Oh! The Audi, yo. Okay. Because it's all silver. That's what I was about to say. them silver Them silver hits was the one. Crazy, bro. Because it made it look like that shit was from air like space. The way that they did the stitching on the side panel, that... It's a good shoe. Great shoe. So look, I'm like, yo, I want these.
00:44:29
Speaker
And I'm working. So I couldn't just go out and buy them. Yeah. Brad, don't you know this weak ass, trick ass, mark ass trick told his mom and his mom, who had a better job than my mom, because my mom wasn't finna pay $225, because that's what they cost at the end. Yeah.
00:44:47
Speaker
Told his mom to go get the shoes. He got the damn shoes, dog, before me, cuz. I said, oh, oh. He
00:44:59
Speaker
didn't even want them? Bro, I think I seen that man in wear those shoes two times. Oh, man. And our whole, and I know, and the thing is, i was cool with Buddy for a long time. I ain't cool with him no more, but I was cool with Buddy for a ah long time after that. Yo.
00:45:14
Speaker
So that's two times I lost. Two times I lost for that. I feel like that was God giving me back for not. Yeah, for not giving the threes. But you know what? I don't give a shit. Praise God. Because you know what? I still touch pears. Yes, yes. Shout outs to Jesus. Yes.
00:45:30
Speaker
you did when When did you move to New York after that? I moved to Miami first. Okay. Were you still collecting out there? Yeah, actually I was. ah it was a when That's when Concords came out when I was living in Miami. ah Concords, a bunch of dunks was coming out when I was living down there. That was in my skate shop was still down there. yeah oh That was really like the only spot that had like cool dunks and sneakers and shit. Um...
00:46:00
Speaker
Did sneaker culture really Were you I don't live like 10 lives When I was in Miami I was on some whole other shit That's what I'm trying to bring it down That was skater racks, that was when I was down there on my skater shit I was working a job, I was living on the beach I was like just working and skateboarding And hanging out I mean, that's wild.
00:46:20
Speaker
That's like, like pursuing that. Like where where did it come out? Like, were you just like, yo what what influence wants you to be like? You know what? That's what I wanted to do. I got tired of staying in Ohio. I was like, I want to do something and go out and soil my royal oats.
00:46:37
Speaker
I mean, I get that. I get that. But think it's like, you're not afraid. You're not afraid. you're not afraid? Were you afraid of something bad going happen? Afraid what? That's what I'm asking. I got shot in Ohio before I moved. if was going to be afraid, I should have been afraid where I live. I wasn't going to I'm going to be afraid of.
00:46:57
Speaker
That's another problem everybody got. They be, again, be worrying about stuff that you, a problem ain't a problem until you make it one. And a situation is a situation until you react to it. Okay.
00:47:08
Speaker
Straight up. Wise words taught to me by an old wise man. Long time ago. All right. Billy and Bobby is Billy and Bobby. You gonna let Billy and Bobby tell you what to do? Nah. Okay then. So what I'm scared of? Yeah. I mean, I get that. And it's not being like, it's not like stupidity fear, like fearlessness. It's just like ah you taking calculated risks every day. Yeah.
00:47:26
Speaker
like i was I went to Popeye's to go get a damn strawberry lemonade yesterday, and a dude was in there about to like cut one of the dudes in Popeye's. Now, here's the crazy part. I'm opening the door. He right there at the door, blade out, wilding.
00:47:42
Speaker
Like, fool, man, yo he throwing food at him. He was throwing, yeah like, he took his food. And the crazy part is, he got the blade in his hand, he opened over, swung around. Now, some final destination, what do swung around, cut me. Yeah, exactly. So that's calculated risk just because I want to get a strawberry lemonade in the middle of the day yeah in the city. Yeah.
00:47:59
Speaker
You see what I'm saying? yeah So it's just like, I think that the good Lord has blessed me. I definitely think that i'm one of his favorites and he has blessed me to, you know, have a wit about myself to kind of be able to determine, you know, a good thing from a bad thing. And even when it's a bad thing, I try to take it and turn it into a lesson that's still sent from the good Lord the above to make it something that I could tell somebody else to basically keep them from dealing with that situation or feeling how I felt or, you know, to better them to where, know,
00:48:25
Speaker
If they're dealing with that or in that right then and there, let them know like, hey, that happens. You're human. it Right. Even myself, you know. Yeah. Relatable. is It's iss definitely tough because like i don't think people listen as much as they they should be, you know, because like I, you know, I've i've been in several situations that explain, oh, this can go wrong.
00:48:44
Speaker
And then when I go, when I see them just still go through and put their head down and be like, I mean, I told you that one was gonna happen. And sometimes as being those types of people, we don't like to be the ones to say, I told you so. No, yeah.
00:48:57
Speaker
I never like to be the one. I don't like to be the one either. Because it's ah's there's no gratification in that. Because it's like, if we worked together, we could have just probably avoided this whole thing, probably done better. But now you being a hard head.
00:49:10
Speaker
Well, i head asses yeah yeah well that's what that's what that's where I think a lot of the folly in, I guess, the creative space. But I think a lot of those those barriers are getting broken down now, I guess, with the introduction of like you know social media being used more as a tool, a business tool to network and do things.
00:49:29
Speaker
I don't think that that individuality, because you got to remember, it was one of them times where everybody just wanted to be like, well, I'm doing this. Yeah. Well, you need help. Hey, guys, I'm going to tell you, Rex Hogan has help.
00:49:43
Speaker
yeah He does a lot on his own, but he has help. You can't do it all by yourself. And I think that that's...
00:49:52
Speaker
That's one of the turning points, I think, even for myself, when I realized that I wanted to take it to the next level. Because there's really only so far you can go on your own. Yeah, yeah.
00:50:03
Speaker
But then it kind of goes back to that whole, what we was talking about, judging the character, the people you want to have around you. Are you around me because I'm going to cut you a check, or do you really believe in the actual mission that we're going for here? Yeah.
00:50:14
Speaker
Do you want longevity, or do you want a flash in the pan? Yo, there's so many people that just really want this flash in the pan. They really like that. Yeah. They really like that. It's like, a it's like I don't know. it i don't I don't get it. And I think it's that's what bothers me right now, too, because it's like a lot of people are just quick to cast a check instead of just being like, you know what? Why don't we build this into something? I'm um'm big on building foundations. Frank Cooker just said something on his Instagram. Shout out. My guy, Frank. Today. or Yeah, shout out to Frank. Frank, you already know. Inspo of mine. i still and We'll talk about it, but I studied all these.
00:50:47
Speaker
Yeah. In a good way, I think, though. like It's almost kind of like, You just be doing karate in the water and just be like, you know, figuring it out. Like, hold on. Like, all right, and then I'm gonna go watch some game film of, you know, something. But Frank Cooker just said something on his Instagram that that kind of resonated with me as I'm kind of getting into the circuit, if you will, publicly again.
00:51:12
Speaker
He said that, he said a lot of the culture is missed. He said, and it's not that, you know, the creatives are at fault for it, but he was like, do you really think people want an airbrushed tote bag at you know an accounting conference yeah for you know such and such? i forget what he said, but it was like it was something along the lines of that. And he was like, there's been a lot of checks that I turned down because it just didn't make sense. yeah And like you just said, people are so quick to go for the right now.
00:51:45
Speaker
And it's like opportunity, just because say don't miss an opportunity that's in front of you thinking that you got it tomorrow, that don't mean Take every opportunity. No, yeah that's being opportunistic. But you're not, you don't foster talent in that. You know? like No. you're just You're just doing the thing and then that's it.
00:52:01
Speaker
And people don't really see that. They just say it it was like, like i don't know if, there's some people that just look at it and they'd be like, oh, I just got to get my foot in the door. But it's just like, but what about the What about when you're in the door? What about when you're you're just going in the lobby? Then going to look around like, all right, well, I'm in the door. I know how to go out, but do I go further in the building? Yeah, exactly. And it's so, that's like that aimlessness because nobody really wants to talk to each other no more too. Can be honest with you? Do you know why that is? Can I share an update with you? Go ahead.
00:52:29
Speaker
That's because no one actually commits to anything. Mm-hmm. um Yeah. When you ask me what is my profession, I can tell you the things that I do professionally. Yeah.
00:52:44
Speaker
And I put in enough time in a lot of the areas of creativity and learning. Like I said, I study a lot. And it may not be your traditional model when a person says that they study where it's like books and videos and shit like that. I really like go touch ground. Yeah. I really like try to get in those rooms and I really go try to see those. Immerse yourself in it. Yeah. And it, and then I see what the effect it has on me.
00:53:09
Speaker
Um, but a lot of the people I think, and it's just my personal, don't take this, you know, to heart, but it's just, I, I encounter a lot of people that say they do so many different things. Yeah.
00:53:20
Speaker
And they don't, I ask them for examples that they work and there's no, there's no record. There's no.
00:53:29
Speaker
Yeah. Those are the people that be like, I'm a dot connector. And, but not like a real one, you know? Exactly. So I use, I'll use that whole, like how people, cause I've i've been talking about this with just homies that's just been coming through the shop. How like being a creative is the new,
00:53:49
Speaker
I'm in the music business. Yeah, it is. I call it Uber driving. It's basically be like, and people hate that. That's crazy. people People hate when I say this because the. That's a good way to look at it though.
00:54:01
Speaker
ah People call themselves creatives and they, I mean, this is something that ah this comedian Adam Conover said, where it's just like, people are calling themselves creatives, but they're using the algorithm. Like an Uber driver uses it to be like, yo, I need you to pick me up. So it's just like, yo, they're creating things, but they're not really creating for themselves. They're just creating for for the just what... The notoriety. I'm trying to go viral. I'm trying to And they're not falling in love with what they do. And I think that's what's helped me actually rise.
00:54:28
Speaker
Like they say, the the cream will rise to the top. And it's I think me having... the consistency, the dedication, and the output that I put out. Cause I do do a lot of work. A lot. Like I'm putting out a lot of pieces.
00:54:43
Speaker
We are in over, I think we at our zenith right now doubt for the year. But I think we still got further to go because we about to get a bigger spot. So it's like the growing pains of knowing when you've reached that point, just like I was saying, like it's only so far you can go by yourself. It's only so far you can go with limited spaces and things like that. But like I was back to my original point of,
00:55:03
Speaker
Some people don't even get to that point to know that they have those problems. yeah They think that because they've hit in one or two areas or maybe even connected on a bigger contract or landed a big name that the work is done and that the job's finished. yeah Job's not done. That's Kobe.
00:55:22
Speaker
Job's not done. Job's not done. Job's not done. And it's like, what are we celebrating? Yeah. And I'm even hard on myself like that. And I think people don't do that ah enough to where they hold themselves accountable to where it's well, look at your body at work.
00:55:34
Speaker
You know what you're capable of with talent, but you put out this. This is shit. Yeah. And when people around you tell you it's shit. You're not listening. You're not listening. you're just like You want to hear it. And it's like, you want to keep saying it or making an excuse for why it's like that. And it's like, No.
00:55:50
Speaker
Do it the correct way. yeah No, go back and study this person that's doing better than you. and People so, they hate to, oh man, he's better.
00:56:02
Speaker
I can name five people right now that's better than me at what they do. And I got their phone numbers and I call them frequently and they're my friends. There's no, I don't feel, if anything, I'm blessed to have them. Yeah.
00:56:13
Speaker
I mean, i do the same thing even within like podcasting or just having like, how do I, I'm always looking at like, yo, you know, this person does, you know, these type of interviews or whatever like that. Okay. What can I take from that? And like, you know, you gotta, you definitely, if you are part of like doing some sort of craft or creative, like you really have to,
00:56:32
Speaker
Like not just taking the people that are in the same lane as you, but the people that are doing it differently in different lanes, because you can take take inspiration from any little thing and bring it back to your space. bring your up make and make a letter yeah Everything is relevant. So, but like I said, when you dancing around or, um, like I said, it's just kind of like being like back, I guess you could say like SoundCloud era where everybody was either a rapper, a producer, an A&R, um,
00:57:00
Speaker
Blog writer. A blogger, a manager, a talent scout, street team. um I'm a promoter. ah All of those things. I'm a writer.
00:57:14
Speaker
You a writer for a SoundCloud rapper?
00:57:18
Speaker
How you write? What you done wrote? Panda. You be with Ryan Leslie? No, like I'm dead ass. This is what people would be saying though. Now today, today it's, oh, I'm a creative. You know why they pay his say creative? Because creative is just an all encompassing general statement that they can make to where I got to explain nothing. yeah And then when you ask them, well, what have you created?
00:57:41
Speaker
That's when it's like, oh, well, um I do visual art. yeah Okay, well, what if you you do know what the term visual art means, right? get we needs we need I need to see a visual of the art. Oh, I'm really just in between pieces right now. Okay, well, can I see the, but well, I haven't finished anything.
00:57:57
Speaker
And that's what it'd be. I got a bunch of, A lot of the the people that I encounter sometimes is I got a lot of stuff in the works. And I'm like, well, have you finished anything? I'll be like, even if you just finished one. Just put it out. but Where's your one? Yeah. Can I see your one? Yeah. No, I don't have that. And now it's like, oh well, I'm a designer.
00:58:14
Speaker
It's like, OK, cool. Do you know how to sew? No. No. They're going to like, no. I just gotta get a DTG sent to China and come back. send it out, I do all my CADs on on Procreate, yeah and then you know I throw them into my iPad and it CADs it up for me and and I use filters to like, and it's like, it's here's the thing, there's there's nothing wrong with any of those things. And like, don't want y'all, this is just stuff that, because to me it just, it's foreign as a person that just basically likes to be very hands-on and like go through all of the like, and if I fail, I failed. You know how much stuff I failed at? yeah
00:58:48
Speaker
But the thing, you learn when you try, though. So it's like, if you take- shortcut it! Yeah, exactly. If you put the shortcut in, you're not learning how to get- That's why I'm not a big fan AI. I always tell people, I'm like, when it comes art- Yeah, don't like that. When it comes to art, AI just not. I feel like that's what keeps people in their lane. Yeah.
00:59:09
Speaker
Like, respectfully, like- You don't grow as a human. Well, my thing is it art. think ah Think of like- We're going to take it back, right? You had like, I'm about like, I don't know, Wild Wild West times and whatever, right? Yeah.
00:59:22
Speaker
Cowboys and Indians. Yeah, because that's the only way I can think of this vision in my head. You had like the saloon. Yeah, yeah. So like Randall owned the saloon. He owned the saloon. Yeah.
00:59:32
Speaker
You had your boot shop. Okay. Todd ran the boot shop. Yeah. You had your blacksmith. Yeah. Okay, now here's the crazy part. Todd that ran the boot shop wasn't coming over here trying to open a saloon. And the dude that owned a saloon ain't coming down here to the blacksmith talking about, ayo, let me, um... So everything ain't for everybody. And I feel like that's some sh- that need to get said more often.
00:59:56
Speaker
i i mean look You can try it. You can have an interest. The world is your oyster. But be real enough to not use that whole, like, I should be able to just because I can. sit your ass down. my My hot take. Sit your black ass down. My hot take, before we get into the last question, my hot take is it's okay to be a fan.
01:00:14
Speaker
Like, I've been saying
Gallifest Experience
01:00:16
Speaker
this. Bro. I've been saying this for a hot minute. Bro. Like, try it out. I can't dance. yeah Let me tell you something. I can't dance. So my dancing is the equivalent of like, I can't dance y'all.
01:00:28
Speaker
You know what saying? Like I just can't. I'm so... Since I lived in New York and I go out because my little brother runs Gallifest. Shout out to Gallifest, my little brother Spongebob. You what saying? But he runs that party. I go to the party. It's like a West Indian, Caribbean fire um inspired ah affirmation, female positive a situation that he has. And he has Juneteenth and Labor Day as his two big parties. Whenever I go to these parties, though, real you see real culture happening.
01:00:55
Speaker
in the parties and they can like they have a stage and like the DJs be DJing like the girls and like even the dudes they go up there but like they so coordinated yeah and I know I'm yes I am black I'm from America I am a black American yeah I can't dance yeah And I be seeing them and they be all this and this and this. And they just be so effortless. And you know what? I stand my black ass over there. I hold my drink. I smoke my weed. And I go, oh my God. that's This is the coolest shit that I've ever seen. what Whoa. Like, I could never do that.
01:01:28
Speaker
and i'm alright with that yeah I'm not about to be like yo I'm about to bust it out right now I'm a dancer too like no I don't have the time I'm gonna feel awkward trying to learn it it's just not my thing that's just not my thing it's okay if you have an appreciation because everyone wears clothes and that's why everyone feels like they have an opinion on fashion but it's like pick a lane Pick an interest. No, pick a lane, pick an interest and start and try it. And you know what? Try that interest. If that one doesn't pan out, try this interest. yeah If that one doesn't pan out, you can try two at the same time. Yeah.
01:02:09
Speaker
You know, but I don't think that people should title themselves or feel entitled to be respected at the title that they throwing out there just because they said that they do that. Right. That's just ridiculous. Because if that's the case, I'm a millionaire. Yeah.
01:02:25
Speaker
I'm going to walk in to Bank of America tomorrow and I'm going hand out money all through Manhattan because I'm a millionaire and I have unlimited money because I said so. Yeah. Because I'm a financial genius. Mm-hmm.
01:02:37
Speaker
You're the guru. You're the genius.
Advice to Younger Self
01:02:41
Speaker
You're the genius. Sean hates you. You're the financial But but were we're towards the end of the podcast. It's all good. You know, I got one last question Which question? All right. It deals with a little visualization. I want you to think back to young Rax. He's about to get those those Jordan 3s, you know. Now you're older you, behind your younger self. What would you tell your younger self when he opens that box? You don't put them shoes on the damn counter and pay for them shits tell them get the fuck out your face.
01:03:07
Speaker
Yo, you know what I'm telling? Yo, that ain't got nothing to do with you, gang. That has nothing to do with you. Go to the counter and give them money.
01:03:15
Speaker
That's what I would tell them. Flat out. i just visual see my I can see myself right there. right I'm standing right there right now. Hey, yo, that ain't got shit to do with you, gang. For real, for real, you tell him get the fuck out your face.
01:03:29
Speaker
You're supposed to my dog telling me give him my shoes. You know, no and I've been out here all week and I brought a magazine in here. Man, you got, man. No. Let everybody find you. Let everybody know where to find you.
Launch of moreinsane.com
01:03:40
Speaker
You can find me on Instagram at It's Rex. Twitter at It's Rex. TikTok I think is at its racks too.
01:03:51
Speaker
Moreinsane.com coming soon. yes sir is ah We have it built. We're just going through some, we just work, iron out the kinks. You know, you want to be correct again, doing it the right way. yeah You know, so the website to be up and running hopefully ah before,
01:04:11
Speaker
June, if not, I'm gonna say it like this, if it's not, then I'm gonna probably drop it right after fashion week when I come back from Europe. okay So just look, this summer, I'm not in no rush, I'm busy, we got events basically through,
01:04:26
Speaker
what month is this right now? May. Oh, damn, I thought it was June right now. now So that show you where in my mind is at though, because I'm already in. already yeah
01:04:39
Speaker
saying
01:04:41
Speaker
See? But that's because my brain, again, is one of them things. But you can find me on all those
Promoting 'My First Kicks' Podcast
01:04:46
Speaker
spots. You can find me at the shop. If you see me outside in the street, say what's up. You can just find me, man. I just try to stay available as available as possible, but out the way as possible, too. I appreciate you pulling up. ah You know me, who is Haas, at all social media, follow the podcast My First Kicks spot. If you want to write in, hit me up, info at myfirstkicks.com. Sign up for the Patreon, only $5. $5! Y'all got that $5! You spent $5 at the bar! yeah for some bullshit. Yeah. Yes. That's, that's, that's two, that's two trips on the train. Yeah. If you live in New York, exactly. That's two trips. So for the price of a round trip subway, less than the price of a round trip subway ticket, you can subscribe to my man's Patreon. Please. It helps the pod goes right back into the podcast. And this is an, Hey, listen, I'm gonna tell y'all, Hey, he didn't pay me to say none of this shit.
01:05:36
Speaker
This is one of the nicer establishments that I've been invited to. So I want to say thank you. I appreciate that. I appreciate that. I ain't going to lie when you were we're going to the podcast. I'm like, all right, bro.
01:05:47
Speaker
Talk to Simone. that's the If you want to find me, you can talk to Simone too. yeah All that good stuff. You want to book me for something or whatever, what not talk to Simone. But that's why, yo, this is good. Thank you appreciates you. appreciate you. oh like Before we go, wait wait do can I get like one or two minutes real quick? All right, go ahead. All right, all right.
Discussion on Swatch AP Watch
01:06:03
Speaker
How you feel about the announcement that Swatch AP shit? ah I was actually going ask you, but we got on a crazy tangent. No, it's cool. But what you thought about it real quick? Just real quick. Real quick. Honestly, I think it's dope.
01:06:14
Speaker
I think it's dope because you can you can adjust it. You can like pop it. It's the pop. You can't do shit with that. Yes, you can. did you see the picture? did you see the picture? Yeah. You see that big ass thing on the outside of it?
01:06:24
Speaker
the The dial? That holds the the dial? Yeah. You can't be able to do nothing. You could pop it out of it. And then you could push it. You can three d print stuff. So I could 3D print a band on it and do it like that? Yeah. Okay, then. You know what? I still it's some trash.
01:06:37
Speaker
Look, I was out there last night. I was going to say, yeah, people already started lining I out there last night. So the warehouse gig then, it's literally like maybe a 10-minute walk from there. I'll go over there. I'm like, yo, let me just go check Swatch. Men's, it was 30 people outside. They was having pizza.
01:06:55
Speaker
Cavazier, it was pizza and Cavazier. And I'm thinking in my head, I say, yo, the vibe is real good right now. I say, but... On Saturday when half of New York City comes out to 42nd Street. Pandemonium. I was like, bro, y'all not going to be friends no more. So I just kind of, I chalked it. I was out there. i might go for it on Saturday just to go out there and see some chaos. Yeah.
01:07:16
Speaker
I might get in the store. Look, if anybody's an AP that watches podcasts or Swatch, just slide it to me. I'll take it. Yo, but I predicted it this morning. away I predicted it this morning. I looked up. Some dude had posted it on Twitter. Yeah.
01:07:30
Speaker
And he said, you do know that this is what these Swatch watches from back in the day look like. And it's like a necklace beaded and all that. And I literally said, I said, so listen, guys. You should anticipate something a little- More like a- And then did you hear the story behind the technology on it though? Have you dug dug that deep yet?
01:07:46
Speaker
It's not- It's like an AI created watch. Is it? Yeah. i and not know that. It's like the first watch created, but whoop, invite me back. We'll talk, I'll be knowing stuff. stuff. But I know I wasn't giving up them threes that day. he definitely wasn't. Yo, bro. I'm going to kick it to myself to do the outro.
Community Support After Studio Fire
01:08:05
Speaker
So peace. I hope you enjoyed this week's episode with Rax.
01:08:09
Speaker
Yo, this episode was very insightful. You know, Rax has been lived many lives and currently he is in his artist bag. He's doing a lot of things with his studio. And currently,
01:08:24
Speaker
One of his like, I guess the printing studio where he was doing a lot of like printmaking and screen printing for his friends and himself. It caught on fire and he currently has a GoFundMe. So I wanted to talk about it right in the front of this outro.
01:08:43
Speaker
Please. You hit the description of this podcast and you'll see a GoFundMe. Any amount will help him rebuild and do some cool stuff to kind of make sure that the people that were affected by the fire are you know made whole and he's also able to...
01:09:05
Speaker
Rebuild the studio in the warehouse that he was working in. It's really unfortunate. So please hit the GoFundMe in the description of this podcast. Please, please, please. But during this episode, I learned a lot about.
01:09:21
Speaker
his trials and tribulations and, you know, kind of his pivot to, you know, leaving complex and, you know, really just getting into his art bag. And it was very insightful. I think that like what I really took from this episode was how much he bet on himself and he was always unapologetically
Self-Confidence and Authenticity
01:09:41
Speaker
himself. And I think that's that's a really good thing to kind of bestow on people, because a lot of people, uh,
01:09:49
Speaker
And we know if you're a child of immigrant, if you're a child of, you know, people who have lived in a way to kind of just assimilate and try to, you know, not necessarily make themselves smaller, but.
01:10:06
Speaker
kind of make sure you're not pushing any buttons. I think like he is a pure you know pure person that is more just akin to himself and always going to be himself. And because of that, you get to experience a lot of things. And you know I grew up in ah in a way where it's like,
01:10:26
Speaker
you gotta to make sure you know you're presentable you're gonna you're gonna have You gotta make sure you you're You you're 9 to 5 and you leave it in right terms and you you you gotta make sure that you know you you assimilate as much as you can and and kind of like do not have a personality within workplace or workplace and i think that is more of a detriment than it is to actually do those things because your learned experiences can also better the workplace that you are in and That's a and also being a creative like we we touch a lot on this episode about being a creative and, you know, I push a lot of buttons when it comes to doing that or saying that because I think I don't think a lot of people are a creative and or a creator in ah and that sense. And, you know, I'm always just super introspective of just the idea of.
01:11:21
Speaker
What am I making? What am I doing? What is this podcast, you know, bringing to the table? And what I really love are conversations like this where we sit down, move very far from the sneakers, but the sneakers is always there. But we hear about what really pushes people, what what are the ups and downs? And we we hear about what.
01:11:46
Speaker
Kind of just put makes people want to be creative and creative is or being a creative is something that is more than just art is and there is an art to it, but there's more than just art because.
01:12:02
Speaker
There are I have always done this and it's be being a creative problem solver is probably the biggest thing and the biggest lesson I've learned throughout my life, especially at a young age and going and to end teaching myself like a ton of stuff because.
01:12:18
Speaker
You know, a ton of people doubted me when I was in high school.
Creator Challenges and Authenticity
01:12:20
Speaker
If you listen to the first episode of this podcast, not the first, part the first episode of this, the first episode of this year, I talk about, you know, how much people doubted me and how I let that seep into myself and into my, my personality and to my train of thought and how I didn't really, I've always just like counted myself out and gave my ideas to other people and not really ba bought in on me. and That is me selling myself short. And I think that, you know, hearing Rax talk about the current state of creators and creating creating is very eye opening in terms of just like what I've been seeing as well, because, you know.
01:13:02
Speaker
By the time of this recording, I was listening to this Trevor Noah episode with Vic Mensa. And shout out to that that ah that podcast. it was called That podcast is called what let see what What Happens Now or something like that. But he talked about... he Trevor Noah said this amazing line where it's like...
01:13:24
Speaker
There are people that create things so that people online knows that they're creating things. And it's like.
01:13:36
Speaker
the the current way of being a creator is kind of that like and i battle with this all the time like i want to be a podcaster i want to just make podcast stuff and you know i want to also have like a similar thing to kind of like fd signifier where he has these kind of b-sides where he can you know kind of rant and talk about things and That's what I want to do because I've been doing this at the end of every episode and I think I can do this coherently on a separate page. So make sure you hit up that who is Haas YouTube. It's going to be starting very, very soon. I promise you that after this week, the first next week when this ah episode drops the next week, I will have episode clips up on my who is Haas YouTube. But i think all the things that
01:14:28
Speaker
When you're just creating, creating, creating and you tell people that you just create stuff and you're making videos and all this stuff that they're all supplement is supplement. The thing that you want to make, you kind of lose where you are.
01:14:42
Speaker
You kind of lose what got you into this. And what I really took from that conversation and this conversation that you just listened to was that you have to stay of the course. You have to not lose your.
01:14:56
Speaker
identity into and your reasons why you started this right i started this to have the conversations that i'm having now and and the conversations you will be seeing in the next bunch of weeks because one thing that always brought me back To feeling just a sense of community, a sense of pride, a sense of creativity.
01:15:20
Speaker
Like it's the one thing that I can always sit here and look at and be in awe and be amazed. from whether it be buying the sneaker, traversing to get the sneaker, doing as much research as I can on said sneaker, or even when I was on a line to pick up the sneaker and making a new friend, or even when I would go to a release or or you know get invited to an event. I always left with somebody new.
01:15:47
Speaker
And that's why i can't and won't ever you know, leave out the creativity and the passion out of this podcast, because at the end of the day, what brought me here was the conversations that sneakers brought to me. And.
01:16:07
Speaker
You know, this is kind of just my overall assessment of this conversation and the next couple conversations and also listening to that podcast. But it just really opened my eye on Why.
Fulfillment in Creative Endeavors
01:16:25
Speaker
Or reevaluated. or and Or just reassured. That what I'm doing. Is always going to fulfill me more. Than everything else. So.
01:16:34
Speaker
Appreciate you for tapping into this week's episode with Rax. Please make sure you check out his GoFundMe. Appreciate you for listening to this long outro. It's probably like a. It's a very long episode, I would believe. But don't forget, we got Patreon shoutouts. We got to Patreon shoutouts.
01:16:53
Speaker
Really appreciate every single one of y'all for signing up for the Patreon. Still trying to build out more stuff to it, trying to do more things with it. You get an episode early the day before. If you're watching this on Patreon, I appreciate you. for signing up for the Patreon. $5. Patreon.com slash MyFirstKicks. So let's do the Patreon shoutouts. Shoutout to ADAndySneaks for supporting the podcast. We've got Jesse, JesseG. We've got Adam Butler.
01:17:22
Speaker
We've got Adam Neustadier. We've got Ross Adams. We've got Derek Hawkins. We've got Derek Lipkin. We've got Samia Grandpierre. We've got Brett.
01:17:33
Speaker
We got Plox. We got Sean Hates You. And we have... Why am I always forgetting one person? I really got that. I thought I had it this time. um there ha her Damn, man. I'm so sorry. I'll probably have to add it in again here. Jordan Kaiser. But I appreciate each and every one y'all.
01:18:00
Speaker
For a patron subscriber, please hit up the Patreon, patreon.com slash myfirstkicks. You will also get shouted at the end of an episode. Leave a review. Do your thing, yo.
01:18:11
Speaker
Of course, if this is your first time checking out this podcast, check out these two episodes here if you're on YouTube. Hit that subscribe button. um And you know what we say each week? Wear your kicks.
01:18:23
Speaker
Peace. Let's go, Knicks.