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Moody Is Going To Be Mad At Us with Saucepan Dan
1 Playsin 18 hours
This week I am joined by Saucepan Dan, we talk about his journey with kicks. Creating at a young age, how that lead to creating hats. Where he gets his hustle mentality from. Finding his way to Sneaker Politics, how it has been being able to design shoes. Meeting Kyrie Irving and connecting his love for cut and sew. What he loves about sneakers and streetwear and a ton more.
Follow Dan:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/saucepan.dan/
X: https://x.com/saucepan_dan
Site: https://www.saucepandan.com/
Podcast Linktree: https://linktr.ee/myfirstkicks
Sign up for the Patreon: https://patreon.com/MyFirstKicks
Intro & Outro by Sango: https://www.instagram.com/sango_/
Backing Music by The DoppleGangaz: https://thedoppelgangaz.bandcamp.com/
Recommended
Transcript
Inspirations and Beginnings
00:00:00
Speaker
inspiration to get back into making hats again from working on collaborations? Nah, so or design. So really, like sometimes I just get an itch and like, oh, I think this idea would be cool.
00:00:12
Speaker
I have all this fabric laying around. So I had some like Gucci fabric laying around. I love Dapper Dan. Legend. I love his like work um from like the 80s and like just seeing that concept is so dope to me, like bootlegging something and making it like just luxurious. Yeah.
00:00:29
Speaker
flashy and people are excited to wear it. um That inspired me to do the the Gucci Yankee. Yeah. So that initially was just for myself. I didn't plan on selling those. um I posted it. Yeah, I remember. Yeah, I just posted like I'm doing a two piece for me or something like that yeah something like that.
00:00:44
Speaker
And ah people just kept hitting me and hitting me and hitting me. I'm like, OK, cool. I'll send I'll send these invoices out. And at this time, I like I posted the hat and I went on a trip to Austin with my boys.
00:00:58
Speaker
And people were hitting me over the trip. I'm like, damn, this is crazy.
Introduction to 'My First Kicks'
00:01:07
Speaker
What's good, everyone? Welcome back to My First Kicks, the podcast where I use sneakers as a through line to get to know the person in front of me. I'm your host, Haas. And this week, I am joined by the man, Sauce Pan Dan. What's up, y'all? Yo, this episode, 272. Man, this is the this is a huge honor. We talked about this yes for a minute. Yes, I've mentioned wanting to do the show um about a year ago. Yeah. so It's good to finally be here. You know, I flew to New York just to do this podcast. No, you didn't. He's here because if you see the fitted, come on, man. Yes, I'm here for a fitted event. I'm showcasing a one-on-one tonight at A&PM Gallery. um It'll be over by the time y'all see this, so yeah don't try and hit me to get tickets and whatnot.
00:01:53
Speaker
um But yeah, I'm stoked to be here. I'm excited. now Yeah, I mean, i don't know if you're familiar with AMPM, but AMPM is like, and if anybody's listening, AMPM is definitely a really dope gallery out here in Brooklyn. We record in Brooklyn. Apparently people don't know I'm from New York, which is crazy. I didn't know where you were from until like couple months ago. Really? Yeah. I feel like I'm so New York.
00:02:16
Speaker
You are. but like i'm And I'm always wearing a Mets hat. But, you know, my mom, who's here with me right here behind camera. Shout out, mom. sounder paling Saucepan mom. We were trying to come with names earlier in the trip.
00:02:30
Speaker
No, she was born in Brooklyn, but, you know, we're
Sauce Pan Dan's New York Roots
00:02:32
Speaker
from Dallas, so you never know. You could be from New York and then live somewhere else. Yeah. But I feel like just this is the this is a tangent like crazy but I feel like I represent and like I'm straight New York and you do it so well I'm not trying to diss you I feel like you're trying to diss you I'm not trying to diss you no no that's not what I'm saying not in your crib I'm saying it's just like people be like yo where do you record I'll be like you know I tag it I tag Brooklyn in the in the video like I'm like yo this is in New York like we do this in New York my fault didn't do my Google nah you good I just think it's it's dope that like
00:03:07
Speaker
you know, people want to pull up and do it. So like, I yeah really appreciate you pulling up and out of, you know, Texas. We got to get Moody out here next time. I know. This is what I was going to say. And I'm probably going to name the episode of this.
00:03:18
Speaker
Moody's going to be mad for this episode. Shout out Moody, man. Shout out Moody. Holding it down in Texas right now. Yo. Yeah, because I remember I posted i posted an episode and both of y'all was like, yo, we got to get on this.
00:03:32
Speaker
And I was like, yo, I'll pull up. and i this is And this is when I thought y'all both were in the sneaker politics in Louisiana. And so I was like, yo, I'll come down Louisiana. Yeah, you did mention that, actually. And then you were like, nah, we not at that one. Yeah. No, that's home base for the company, but our office is in Dallas. So keep it tight. Oh, for people who are not familiar with you, how about you introduce yourself, man?
00:03:56
Speaker
What's up, y'all? My name is Sauce Pan Dan. I am based out of Dallas, Texas. um As Haas mentioned earlier, I do custom fitteds and stuff, but for my nine to five, I am a designer at Sneaker Politics.
00:04:08
Speaker
So I'm head of all of our cut and sew production. um You know, I do a lot of graphic design for events. um T-shirts, flyers, what have you, sneakers, sneaker collabs. We'll probably talk about that today, too. Nah, we won't. Nah, not on the shoe show. um But yeah, that's that's
Sneaker Collecting and Culture
00:04:28
Speaker
a little bit about me. No, man, it's dope. And immediately, we definitely got to talk about that answer.
00:04:33
Speaker
Yeah, because yeah I think the was dope because you talk about the console and how you're able to incorporate that into what what I thought was like a really dope, you know, activation shoe. Like I was very jealous. I think I didn't get it. Like I wanted to get you on the seating list. i Technically, I am. You are. Yeah. Yeah. But um but I didn't get it But it's all good. I'll talk to my people. Yes, please. Send an email. I'll make happen. I'll make happen. We got collabs every month this year. Which is crazy. It's crazy. Sneaker Politics, because everybody's been saying it, Sneaker Politics has been on an absolute run. That's what talking about.
00:05:12
Speaker
So put a little of respect on the name, you know, but, you know, ah you know, recently, actually, I'm mad curious about this. Like, how does this work? Because like, you know, you got two separate stores and each store has five going on seven. Okay. I meant like designers that are focusing. Oh, okay. You know what I'm saying? Like, yeah yeah you got easy business. We have, yeah, EZ, Ezra. um He's based in our Lafayette area.
00:05:39
Speaker
um Over there we have our flagship and then a, um i want I think it's our flagship. I'm going be talking on my ass. I don't know. um But then our warehouse, yeah which is another office space for, we have some photographers over there, media guys.
00:05:52
Speaker
um But he's based there. And then i'm me and Blaine, our creative director, are based in Dallas. Oh, so like how does that collaboration work? Because it's some different states and stuff.
00:06:05
Speaker
A lot of Google Meet. Like we have like three meetings a week, um sometimes four,
Creative Ventures in Design
00:06:10
Speaker
depending if we're meeting with the brand. um We have group chats. We're on all the emails, like 18 group chats between all the politics um teams that we got going on. Yeah.
00:06:24
Speaker
I need a slack. Yeah. Actually, i hate slack. I was in a slack for a little bit for some media team that I was working with a while back. And that ah that little notification sound just drives me up the wall. Yeah. um That's ah me with teams. I i hate the the sound teams make. I'm not familiar. so Microsoft Teams is terrible. Sounds like a blessing. oh But, you know, it can get tricky sometimes with like when we have samples coming in and it's a project that he worked on, but everything gets shipped to Dallas because it's just the the process that we have. yeah um
00:06:58
Speaker
But overall, we make it work and we make the best product in the industry. Hey, you put a stamp on it. Yeah. I hope you've been enjoying this week's episode with Saucepan Dan. And of course, do not forget to like, subscribe, and leave a comment if you're watching this on YouTube. And if you're listening to this on Apple or Spotify, leave a review and hit that five stars. And also...
00:07:22
Speaker
It goes a very long way. If you join the Patreon for patreon.com slash my first kicks, I only have one tier. It's just a $5 tier. $5 tier goes a very long way to help me get in the studio, help me with the editing and recording. Like it goes a really long way. So. Please do not forget to hit up that Patreon, patreon.com slash myfirstcase. I'm just trying to add more to it. You'll be able to watch this episode or listen to this episode ad free on there. There will be more ads coming into the free version of the show. So please tap in. But for now.
00:07:58
Speaker
Let's jump back right into the episode. If you've got a problem, come see me in Dallas. Yes, go all the way to Dallas. But you're here to answer the questions I ask everybody each week. And that question is, what's your first Kicks with that first pair of sneakers you absolutely needed to have? Okay, so I have... Nine stories. I have two. I have two. Yeah. um And we got mom we got we got Saucepan Mom here to validate the stories. So the first one...
00:08:23
Speaker
Is a funny story. Okay. I'm probably like, I'm in fourth grade. So however old I am there, it's my first trip to New York, you know, growing up, she's from New York. My granddad's from New York. I'm growing up around these New Yorkers. So I can't wait to go see where they're from.
00:08:38
Speaker
Um, this is when I'm like really getting into shoes, but I don't know nothing about shoes, but I know they have a Nike town out here and I just want a pair of Jordans. Yeah. And I don't care what kind of pair of Jordans. I don't know my numbers yet.
00:08:50
Speaker
Uh, I, we ended up making out here, hit the Nike town and my girl at the time for some reason was those low top cool gray flights that looked like fours.
00:09:03
Speaker
They have the patent leather around the toe and then the new book on the side, but they're the and The Mexican Jordans, some people call them. But I thought I was the cleanest kid in the city.
00:09:16
Speaker
um So that was my- This city or Dallas? Doesn't matter. um But yeah, that was my first like experience yeah in in the world of sneakers. um And then for a couple of years, like- I was, like I said, I was into shoes, but i was buying just garbage. Like I love, I had a pair of the Fusion 3s.
00:09:43
Speaker
um A pair that I would like begged and screamed and cried for was the Fusion 20s. That's a rough one. Man. That's like the worst one out of all the Fusions. If you had to get one, that's the worst one.
00:09:54
Speaker
um The white pair. yeah They're all bad. Yeah, he just gagged. He hurt my heart. But we we made up for it come seventh grade. So in my school district in Texas, um junior high is seventh to ninth. Elementary like pre-K to sixth. So there's a a year off of where everybody else is. But my first year of junior high was the year the – I just call them the nines. People call him Space Jam nines. People call them whatever. They're just the nines. Yeah. Okay. I think they're just regular. Chicago nines. Whatever you want to call
00:10:30
Speaker
But those that was the year that those came out. And we were in Florida for, um at the time we were going to Florida like every year for like summer vacation. We have a lot of family out there in Orlando.
00:10:41
Speaker
And um my, what do you mean, my cousin or my uncle? Rob. Rob. My cousin, um he's about my parents' age, took took me to the mall, and he was yo, grab a pair of shoes. We walked them all like twice.
00:10:58
Speaker
And i so you know I pointed at the nines. I was like, man, these just came out. I really need these because I've never had numbered Jordans. And at the time, I'm like... I'm looking at websites. Kids are playing on Nickelodeon.com, Cartoon Network, but I'm on Pick Your Shoes, Kick Exclusive, Flight Club. When it was like, when you get on Flight Club and it's some stuff on there. Yeah. um i wish it I wish it was back to that. Yeah. if That's a whole different conversation. We'll probably touch on that later.
00:11:27
Speaker
But so I at this point I know my numbers. Yeah, I know my SB's I know my adidas. I know everything I'm a open book of just like shoes and that's like what I fell in love with um So seeing those on the shelf and i can grab them and they're not $200.
00:11:42
Speaker
two hundred dollars Yeah But at the time, you know, it like he's my family member, but he's not like my my clothes. Like we're not here where it's like normal people for me to ask like, hey, can you buy these $150 shoes for me?
00:11:56
Speaker
And he saw me pick them up and down for like three hours once we like walked them all. Every store I picked them up, put them down, put them up. He's like, you know what? Go ahead, grab them. And that was my first numbered pair of Jordans that I was excited about. They come out again this year. i am grabbing them.
00:12:12
Speaker
There's already room for them in my stack of ah collection, if you want to call it that.
Streetwear Challenges and Storytelling
00:12:18
Speaker
hey but ah I mean, I think that is dope. I think that's like like the the admiration for that. like Yeah. you know It's a slept on model. People don't give nines the love they deserve. Look, I think they're like boots. i've The only pair I've ever had was the Kilroys.
00:12:33
Speaker
Okay. But I really wanted the Montoyas. I actually didn't love the Kilroys. And low top nine, like, abomination that they got coming out. Yeah, that was so bad. My, like, that was my first one because I wanted, liked the story. Like, that was, like, the first time I ever was sold the story. And then when I got the shoe, it was so uncomfortable that I just didn't wear it anymore. so and then overpaid too because i was like i couldn't get them when they dropped here so i had to get them from end okay california wow i mean uh in canada and they like added i think i paid 250 for the shoe total and like a time i think the jordans were like 170 at the time or something like that i think they were like they just got to like 160 yeah 180 maybe because i remember they did they did that hike and was like Damn. Yeah, it's crazy. I don't want to ask mom for these. But I like, I remember putting them on and like my pinky toe does not hurt in fours. Fours are my favorite model.
00:13:32
Speaker
so So for me, it's not the pinky toe. It's like the top of my foot. That's interesting. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe it's like you got to loosen them up or something. I don't know. Well, I loose lace all my shoes. so i don't know what it is.
00:13:45
Speaker
You got little different feel first You got like a lump But like I put on those nines and Instantly my pinky was on fire i was like oh hell no So then I put them on eBay Nah not for me To each their own the east of the room um So like when When that moment happened right You come back from Orlando back to Dallas like Is that Is that like, were you able to find the people that were, you know, kind of more on your your level when it came sneakers? always a few. Like, in my school, there maybe, like, two or three kids that knew what was up. Me being one of them.
00:14:25
Speaker
um But, you know, in junior high, like, at that time, I'm, like, so into streetwear, like, yeah being a sneakerhead, like. At the time before that was a derogatory term. I don't think it's a derogatory term. I think it is. i don't think it is. someone called me a sneakerhead, I might. yeah oh But I call myself an enthusiast. Oh my God. So I have a take on this. Okay. Right. Go for it.
00:14:47
Speaker
I think... We've, we, as the people that haveve been doing this for so long, yeah it doesn't matter what the name is. You know what? That's fair. yeah you know That's fair. I think when we were first coming out, cause that's me. I was like, Oh, you don't call me s sneaker. I'm a sneaker enthusiast. But like now that we are technically the, the OGs of this, it's kind of like, I'm only 28. I know. But like, we've been doing it for so long though. But which is where the age comes from. Right. Like where it's like,
00:15:14
Speaker
When you bring somebody under you, you're like, or showing them like, yo, now you got to be like, yo, this is... And then when you start throwing terms like sneakerhead and sneakerenthusiast, it's like, oh, I'm trying to separate myself now. My thing is just become... How do I say this?
00:15:32
Speaker
I think it has become so like... people from the public, it's easy for them to like get into it. and um That you know anybody can get into it, which is fine. which you know Everybody starts somewhere.
00:15:45
Speaker
Cool. um But it being so accessible can turn something that you love into being corny. yeah Which there are aspects of this that is very corny. Very corny.
00:15:59
Speaker
i mean, there's a lot of it. but i I just think it's just, this is why I spend most of my time just shutting up. Because it's just like, yeah I'm very judgy. And i've said this on I've said this on Twitter before, but I'm very judgy. I just don't say it out loud. Yeah, like I am too. And I feel like like you said, it just comes from that era of you're you're scanning what people have on at all times and it's not just like...
00:16:22
Speaker
You know, at the time where you couldn't go in a Foot Locker and just buy whatever yeah the last release was because they made 10 million pairs of it. It's you had to go. You're either trying to be bots online. You're camping out at 5 a.m. at Foot Locker.
00:16:35
Speaker
What have you? Yeah. um But now it's just like everything's on sale, which i like. I can't tell you the last time I bought a pair of shoes for retail. Yeah. Because the stuff that I like is like, I like all the OG, like yeah retro. I'm not too big on like the collabs that come out.
Career at Sneaker Politics
00:16:53
Speaker
i li I like the collabs that come out, but it's not like, I'd rather buy a Black Cement 3 than the new Air Max 95 I'm...
00:17:05
Speaker
i'm I was like thinking about my collection currently too. And even thinking about like back in the day too, where just like, I was super heavy on SB. And in some sense that's kind of, those are collaborations in some sense too. yeah um But I do think.
00:17:21
Speaker
i feel like they're more like storytelling. Yeah, but that's but Unlicensed storytelling Yeah, I wish we had that Where was just like, you know, like unfuturism Yeah You know, like Bix and stuff like that um But I think that the way that we're in now And how people are looking at collaborations is I think it's now there we know who's creating these stories and we're being sold these stories but at the same time it's like it's like i don't think everything is hyped like you can have a collaboration that just nobody knows about yeah which is crazy and but that's how oversaturated it is yeah you know
00:17:56
Speaker
It's the name of the game though. yeah I mean, it's evolution of just anything. Yeah. Everything can start small and then blow up out of nowhere. Like feel like COVID just, everybody's on their phones and just exploring on different things. They're bored. Like I got into airbrushing.
00:18:11
Speaker
I got into doing Gundams. Yeah. And trying to paint Gundams. remember that. Yeah. Like, dude, I'm just bored. Exploring different avenues of creativity and what's what's fun to me. So yeah.
00:18:24
Speaker
I get people getting into sneakers. like People just want to look cool. yeah People just want to spend money on stuff. I always i always attribute attribute it to a collector gene. I think everybody has collector have a nasty one. Yeah, ah mine's just crazy. Nasty ones. Sneakers, oh clothes, comic books, action figures.
00:18:43
Speaker
um People will tell me, oh, you should pick up a cards. No, bro. If I pick up cards... I'm going have no room for nothing else. Yeah. Because im I was thinking about jumping back into Magic the Gathering. Yeah. i was like, if I do this, it's going be very expensive. Yeah. So my ah my late uncle used to own a hobby shop. So it was all you know comic books, cards, memorabilia. So when he passed, I got a bunch of comic books and baseball cards. Yeah.
00:19:11
Speaker
um so that's why i got into comic books but baseball cards it's still hard for me to get into it's just you know i'm not a big sports guy um so i don't watch a lot of sports so for me to tap in with like all these players i'm not going to go and research and find their stats and this is this a good card and like i have boxes that are like this big and i'm not going to thumb through them and google each one to see what they're worth like You got to take it to a trade show or whatever. the card But then they fleece you. Those people are dirtbags too. It's like, you know how to haggle already. Yeah. I know how to haggle, but then I like to know how to haggle and stuff. I'm knowledgeable, knowledgeable about.
00:19:48
Speaker
Just read a book. Pull up. Pull up with the I mean, you could do the stock X method. Yeah. You know, you pull up the eBay be like, hold on. well You want these? All right Hold on. ah Five hundred. Yeah. Yeah. yeah here's Here's this one card.
00:20:02
Speaker
Three dollars. Yeah. um But like so going back to like younger you, um like when did it start for like for your creativity? when Where did that who foster that? And like, how'd you find that? um my amazing mother um so i was i grew up a very like i'm not ashamed i to say i grew up very privileged like every time i wanted something like sure come on we'll help you get this um but um i was getting older and this is about the time when just dawn started coming out with hats not wanted one i had the audacity to ask for one and my mom was like are you crazy
00:20:40
Speaker
You know, $500 hat, asking for that at like 14. Yeah, how did you even approach that but situation? we don't even got to get into that. I don't even know why I asked. um There's also a local shop um called Center in Dallas. They were doing their own like custom snapbacks for $150.
00:21:00
Speaker
Still expensive for a hat at the time. You know, hats were like $30. A lot of Mitchell and Ness stuff. And she's like, no, I'm not buying that for you. all right i wanted it bad enough so i was like i'll learn how to make this myself yeah so my first hat that i did was a black obey hat with the red logo uh-huh with a leopard print from hobby lobby and a red under visor and i uh hand sewed and hot glued that thing together that's crazy came out garbage but I thought it was so sick and I just kept doing it and making and making.
00:21:34
Speaker
And I ended up getting a machine, sewing machine from my aunt. She let me ah take hers and I broke it within like the first three days. Mm-hmm.
00:21:47
Speaker
And my granddad saw me and he was like, you know what? You remind me of me. Like you're a hustler. Like you're trying to figure out. Cause my granddad's a jeweler. Yeah. Pastor, like a author does, he used to be a sign painter, architect, like does everything. Cause he's from here. Yeah.
00:22:02
Speaker
Um, he's like, you know what? I'm gonna help you out. And he bought me a ah little home sewing machine. I actually still have. Um, but on that, I was able to start increasing, um, um,
00:22:14
Speaker
My production, I
Design Process and Collaborations
00:22:15
Speaker
guess you could say. Kids are starting to buy hats in my school. You were bringing them to school? and I was bringing them to school and hustling a couple off off ah out the locker. I was selling them for dirt cheap, too. like If you have a saucepan original, it's good throw it up on eBay. um was I was selling them for like 40 bucks, something like that.
00:22:34
Speaker
um we're like what kind of prints on them you know are you were you doing prints at that time whatever whatever i could find that like joanne fabrics or hobby lobby um you know leopard prints aztec prints think of like swag era that type of whatever is popping at that time um i'm pretty sure i've done the galaxy hat what a time that sounds nasty time yeah yeah But, uh, Hey, better than those foam hats. Yeah. That was gross. Oh man. But yeah, you know, i started doing bunch of stuff. I was able to get my stuff into, ah are you familiar pro image sports? Yeah.
00:23:14
Speaker
Um, there was a couple of locations in my area that they let me put some stuff in there for consignment. Shout out Rob. You helped me out a lot when I was like 13, 14. Yeah. yeah yeah matt young Having stuff in stores.
00:23:27
Speaker
um And then you know i Orders are coming in Saving up money i'm tired It's like time to get the industrial machine Heavy duty yeah With the stepper Yeah with the table Sweatshop machine You know I'm saving up Saving up um You know at the time my best friend I'd have him come over spend the night Every weekend just kicking it He slimed me Dirt bag No way um yeah he ah he found my stash of cash that i had and he's bagged me no way yeah yeah and then um i was devastated because you know that yeah that was my man's yeah like was like a brother you know my my family feeds you you spend the night um piece of shit uh don't do i want it yeah yeah yeah then uh
00:24:25
Speaker
I come home one day and ah my my family pitched in, everybody all the members pitched in and basically I came home. There's a machine in my my little room that I'm sewing in. They blessed me with it. so That's amazing. Yeah. Shout out to all the family at home. All the saucepans. Yeah, all the saucepans. All the pans. Yeah. Pots and pans. Yeah. That's that's amazing. I think that like...
00:24:51
Speaker
You doing that at like a super young age, it's like, yeah, you go get her at that point. Like, where did that, where did that come from? Like, did you see anybody else that inspired you? Like, yeah family my dad, my granddad, like my mom, everybody in my family is like that. They have it in their own way. And I think it's just a natural gene that gets passed down in the Delgado Chariton bloodline. So luckily I was, a it was passed down to me as well. Yeah.
00:25:17
Speaker
and then so did you go to school did you start like pursuing this like what did you go to school for so you know coming up in school i was in all the pre-ap p advanced classes get to junior high i'm like oh my god i hate school i'm tired of school get to high school it's even worse not turning in assignments graduate with the 2.8 and copying everybody's homework um And for some reason I was like, you know, I'm still going to go to college.
00:25:48
Speaker
So I go to the local community college for graphic design. Okay. um Let me back up a little bit. Okay. One of the only classes that i actually cared about in high school was my web design class where they taught me Photoshop and Illustrator.
00:26:00
Speaker
So that's where I picked up those skills. Yeah. um Fast back forward for fast forward. Yeah. Back to time to go to college. um i go to the local community college for graphic design.
00:26:15
Speaker
And man, I go for like not even half a semester um because young being young and dumb. I'm like, already know all this. I don't need to be here. I'm wasting my time. Yeah.
00:26:28
Speaker
And I dropped out and. Yeah, i said forget school. I didn't drop out, just for the record. I kept going. I got my degree. I dropped out and i didn't tell my parents. She just found
Brand Collaborations and Storytelling
00:26:41
Speaker
out right now. she knew. We've already hashed that out. um And then where did you go? like Did you pick up a job? like Where are you Yeah, so at the time I was working at a a pizza spot. Shout out Lushai's Pizza in Euless, Texas off Industrial Boulevard across from Euless Trinity High School.
00:27:00
Speaker
All the Lushai family. Arsene Best, Steve, Dashi. They're definitely watching this. Yeah, they're watching this. Use the code saucepan for $30 off of your sauce. No, if you go to the restaurant, my jersey's up in the rafters. That's crazy. No, that's like my second family. I'm still close them to this day.
00:27:18
Speaker
But I was a driver at their restaurant. Yeah. um You know, doing prep, delivery, um washing dishes, what have you. And I did that for a couple of years just because I was at that point. I was just like, I don't even know what I want to do. I'm doing freelance stuff. um And then did that for about two, three years.
00:27:39
Speaker
I'm like, all right, it's time to get back in the game. okay So you stopped doing hats during that time or you stopped Yeah I stopped doing hats my my senior year okay Because It's just it's so repetitive It's a repetitive process I didn't really have like crazy motion So there wasn't any money coming in that was just fed up yeah So I wanted to get more into like the actual street wear aspect Of The industry if you will So I start you know printing t-shirts And what not And then i want to say like
00:28:14
Speaker
2018 2018 I think I started a brand called Kids Table Okay And It was basically my Conceptual brand So My first drop was like a wrestling tee And I Packaged it in a Action figure Like wwe WWE box That's fire And I shot it In a wrestling ring um And I'm doing everything myself Photo Graphics Packaging Shipping Sewing the tags And the shirts Mmhmm um And I'm doing this just all for the love of the game, just to do something.
00:28:45
Speaker
um You know, i I probably didn't make more than in in the whole time of me doing clothing. There's no way I made more than three grand. And I did this for a couple of years. Yeah. So I'm. I mean, it's a tough business. It's tough business and I'm just doing stuff to do it. You know, each drop has a concept.
00:29:04
Speaker
I'm dropping mad money just to make things come to life. Like I think the last one that I did was like based off of old bubble gum packaging, like the ads you'd see in like comic books and stuff. So the t-shirt came in a bag, but it was styled as like a ripped a bubble gum package. Like a ripped big, big Lee Chu. Exactly. Mm-hmm. And then um I found some like bubblegum spray. and I'd spray the the bag. So when you opened it, it smelled like bubblegum. That's awesome. Stuff like that. Like that's that stuff that i was doing, which you see a lot of that now, which is pretty dope. um But I like I love that, that like the creativity behind it. You're you're you're creating a world behind it. Like a lot of people are just like, I just put it out. Yeah. But you I'm just you know, sometimes I'll do all that and I'll sell two T-shirts.
00:29:49
Speaker
Hey man, that's the creative endeavors, bro. Yeah, but luckily, like, you know? like When you're doing it, you don't you don't see it as like, you're like, damn, I'm doing all this work for years, you know? but And on the other end of that, like, I'm blessed to have friends that, like, are willing to help. Like, one of my good friends, his name is ah Wesley.
00:30:08
Speaker
Shout out Rax. um He has a ah DTG machine. So I pull up to his crib, print, and then do as needed. So I'm not holding, like, a bunch of stock. Yeah.
00:30:19
Speaker
um stuff like that helps me out a lot too so and then like did you start like were you still collecting sneakers or did you kind of stop at that point too like how much ah how much is street wearing sneakers still was relevant in your life during this time you know it was very relevant but it can things can only be so relevant when you can't afford it yeah like you know i'm putting all my money into this and there's really no money on the side for for fun like that yeah it's tough yeah So I was just admiring from afar. You're just your window shopping like crazy. So i mean, it's tough. So like, how did you find yourself as New Politics?
00:30:55
Speaker
I needed a job. And I was still... ah What was I doing at the time? I think I was, i was still doing kids table and I was like, man, I'm not making nothing. Yeah.
00:31:07
Speaker
And I was like, I need a job. It's time. And, uh, the first time around I applied to sneaker politics. Uh, one of the guys in the shop, Emmanuel, um, he was like, yeah, apply. Like, cause they were, they were hiring an e-commerce photographer. Okay. Yeah. Apply. I got you. I'll put in a word for you. Mm Wait, how'd you meet him though? Why would he put a word you? Just being in the city, like ah he did a drop of hats and I sewed the tags on him for him. Okay. um And ah what's it called?
00:31:38
Speaker
He's like, yeah, bro, apply. I'll put in a good word for you. And the guy that was doing the hiring, he ended up, um this is when Moody got hired. Yeah. Moody took my job. He won't tell you this, but he took my job because the the referral that he gave to Stu, he was like, um oh yeah i hired your friend but moody also knew e yeah but that's not who who he was talking about uh-huh and it's like oh yeah word that's dope and then i guess moody showed up to work that week and took my job and i i didn't get a call back
00:32:12
Speaker
And then fast forward, like maybe like a couple months later, i see that they're hiring again because i think Moody tore his ACL or he messed up his D or something. yeah so he couldn't do all the work. So I needed extra body in there.
00:32:25
Speaker
And that's when I got hired. I got hired on as an e-commerce photographer. Wow. And I knew like... Because I was really looking for design jobs. Yeah. i was playing everywhere.
00:32:35
Speaker
um I couldn't get nothing. And I saw politics was hiring. I was like, you know what? I think if I get my foot in the door, I can really show them the things that I can do. Yeah. See, that's that go-getter mentality, bro. Yeah.
00:32:47
Speaker
So I get the job with my my own agenda in my mind and did the interviews. They liked me, hired me, doing stuff.
00:33:00
Speaker
doing e-commerce photography for couple months yeah up to like a year i'd say um then they started having me do flyers because they saw me like how i could do graphics and stuff for you never offered they just knew no i did i offered um so we do what's called lifestyle shoots and one of my assignments is do a lifestyle shoot purple brand i think this was the first one that they let me do it um was like you know i'll i'll shoot the photos but do y'all care if i like throw some graphics on there and do like a little collage thing like sure go for it we'll try it out and it was really cool it was a cool graphic and then they let me start doing it more and more and then that turns into t-shirts yeah and then the first time i met derrick he came down to dallas and he was like yo so what do you like where do you see yourself here doing like wow that's like what do you want to do yeah like i ah really want join the how old are you at this time I'm 28 now. I was probably like 25-ish, 24, 25. And I was
00:34:01
Speaker
um and i was like, I'd love to be on the design team. It's like, okay, cool. And then so I guess conversations went around and um they got me. Now they got me on half and half. So I'm doing half photos, but now I get to be on the design meetings and have input and do a couple of t-shirts here and there.
00:34:21
Speaker
And then that from there is downhill. did that for like two, three months. And they're like, yeah, you're just full time design. You mean uphill?
00:34:29
Speaker
I guess. Cause you're going up.
Return to Hat Making
00:34:31
Speaker
yeah To me, that downhill is like, it's, you know, easy. Like, nah, man. Downhill sounds like you like. its like Tomato, tomato.
00:34:41
Speaker
you i mean, but that's dope. I think that like. The one thing a lot of people don't really understand, because like, you know, you have opportunities, but some people don't seize on them and look at it like bigger yeah than it is. they just think like, oh, yeah. Well, you know, being in Texas, it's like it's not out here where there's no sneaker jobs, like just laying around, not laying around, but it's it's not as accessible as here. Yeah. Like if I wanted to go apply to Undefeated or Extra Butter, i could just walk up there. That doesn't exist in Texas. Yeah.
00:35:07
Speaker
So just to me, for me to be able to get my foot in the door in the industry I want to be in, in the area I'm in, I had to take the chance. No. Yeah. i mean, it's, it's, like and i also don't know much about the Dallas like sneaker scene. So it's like, is there, is it just like sneaker politics is the the top of the top or is it? We are the top of the top for a while. It was center.
00:35:28
Speaker
um That was where I would go when I was a kid, like that age I was telling you about junior high up into early high school. Like my aunt would take me. So I stay in a suburb called Uless. So I'm right in the center of Dallas and Fort Worth. okay So they're both about 20, 30 minutes each way. So it's it's kind of a mission to go out to Dallas.
00:35:48
Speaker
um But my aunt would take me on the weekends. I would, hey, can we go to can we go to center this weekend? Yeah, I got you. So she would take me out there. I'd window shop, look at all the cool stuff. like that that's where you could buy stussy and um all your latest retros and whatnot um but that didn't last like too long like they they expanded um and yeah i think they just closed down their last location damn recently recently r rp center rp that's not a diss that sounded kind of sending that's not a diss rp center
00:36:24
Speaker
it's crazy um so like yeah working at sneaker politics i mean where we know about the current state of collab we just talked about the how the how we think like there's a lot of people getting collabs this year alone or even until last year and it started off really hot with the sockany yeah um and so you know touched on asked about like how does that collaboration work but like You know, is it is there like I mean, you said, I got a lot coming out, have a lot coming out. I'm tired. The kid is tired. So that collaboration on the whole year planning it. Right. Like, can you explain to people like what goes into that? Because I think a lot of people.
00:37:05
Speaker
have an idea of what goes into collaborating with brands and stuff. Okay. So you want the timeline. Yeah, pretty much. So brands are looking for people to work with to, um, you know, usually it's 90% of the time is to promote a product they have coming out, build some hype around it, um, like a new model or whatever.
00:37:24
Speaker
um so they're they're looking at these other accounts and stores if they like what you're doing like we we have a an amazing media team that crushes all of our rollouts um the last one for the adidas was verified thank you those the team crushed it um So if the brand likes what you're doing, they'll be like, okay, maybe this is a good spot to put the energy on this model.
00:37:48
Speaker
Brand will pitch us. We say yes or no. We usually say yes because who doesn't want to work with these brands? Yeah. um And sign the contracts, whatever. they they Then they come to us, the designers. Hey, we have this project for next year. Yeah.
00:38:06
Speaker
um Come up with a concept. Yeah. And we'll pitch it back to them, see what they think. So the design team each comes up with a couple concepts on whatever model it is. Do you like pick?
00:38:19
Speaker
like ah each Is it like different stories or is it like one story and you're like, yo, we got the design? So it's... each we each come up with our own stories and then within those stories we might come up with one or two um a few different colorways per each story just figure out how to tell it and then we we land on one and then we pitch it to adidas or what brand whatever i said adidas because we work with them a lot yeah um and And from there we start sampling. And then once we land on a sample, um that's its own crazy process.
00:38:57
Speaker
um We get ah what's the word for it? We get marketing pairs in, shoot all the rollout and then it's drop time. Yeah. So during this time, you're when you got back into posting your hats like last couple couple years ago or last year, last year, due last year.
00:39:16
Speaker
Like, I want to say not even a year ago. where Was the inspiration to get back into making hats again from ah working on collaborations? Nah, so... Or designing. So really, like, sometimes I just get an itch. And I'm like, oh, I think this idea would be cool.
00:39:32
Speaker
I have all this fabric laying around. So I had some, like, Gucci fabric laying around. I love Dapper Dan. Same. um Legend. I love his, like, work um from, like, the 80s. And, like, just seeing that concept is so dope to me, like, bootlegging something and making it, like, just luxurious. Yeah.
00:39:49
Speaker
flashy and people are excited to wear it that inspired me to do the the gucci yankee yeah so that initially was just for myself i didn't plan on selling those um i posted it yeah i remember yeah i just posted like i'm doing a two-piece for me or something like that yeah something like that and uh people just kept hitting me and hitting me and hitting me i'm like okay cool i'll send i'll send these invoices out and and at this time i like i posted the hat and i went on a trip to Austin with my boys and uh people were just hitting me over the trip I'm like damn this is crazy um I probably get like six invoices over that weekend which is a decent amount yeah for someone that doesn't have a website yeah and uh I was like yeah this is this too unorganized so I built a Shopify quick one two and I just send people there to the website
00:40:41
Speaker
And then I guess it's uphill from there.
Collaboration Challenges and Successes
00:40:45
Speaker
Yes, it is. It's uphill from there now. um Yeah, it just turned into its own thing. like i i If you have told that I'd be doing hats again, I'd be like, no way. No.
00:40:54
Speaker
But now it's like blown up. No, yeah. I'm out here for fitteds. I know. It's crazy. the who There was somebody that asked you that was like a big name. Was it like Jid or somebody? what was it It was like a rapper that asked you for hat. What's the context? that They asked me for a hat? Yeah.
00:41:12
Speaker
They were like, I need it. And somebody reposted was like, I need it or something like that. There's been a couple. Not to toot my own horn. Jid has one. K1 has a bunch. Shout out to her in the UK. That's so dope to me. She wears them on tour. Every stop, almost.
00:41:32
Speaker
Larry June has one. Yeah, I remember the Larry June Yeah, he has a sick one. Yeah. um Rich the Kid has one. um there's there's there's a couple of There's a couple people out there that have saucepans. I mean, it's crazy. the But there was that one post that just went super viral. Man. It was the the Braves. or I think it was like a Braves that you did that went viral. Yeah. Oh, that one? ah That was another idea that I just had. like I saw like a i think it was like a Margiela bag.
00:42:04
Speaker
um And it was like the same like color palette, red with the, what's it called? The cow fur. And i was like, yo, that's super Texas. So I was like, let me give that spin on it. yeah Bro, I made that.
00:42:19
Speaker
Posted it. You know, sometimes, like, I'll just post stuff up and, like, oh, this is cool. Throw it up. Bro, that hat changed my life. That hat went crazy. Straight up. With platinum. It did, like, triple platinum on all platforms.
00:42:34
Speaker
Like, I've never seen anything like that. I've never seen anything like that either. And then, yeah, that just turned me up crazy. That's crazy. A picture, bro. Just a simple picture. A picture in hand. Yeah. You know, I didn't do any, like, rollout. Like, Moody, take these photos real quick. Like, I just...
00:42:49
Speaker
Like this. Post it up. Boom. And is it that, I mean, now that's a snowball effect. Yes, that is a snowball effect that goes downhill. Yeah. But to bring it into the collaboration, you know, we talked about earlier with the answer, like adding your personal cut and sew into that, like what was like, what the did the hats lead to that? Like, were you like, yo, this is a cool idea. Like what ah what what came about? So the initial concept was just like patchwork. Like you said, um that's just something that I like. Like I love. i love a patchwork. I love patchwork. I love Japanese fashion. They do a lot of that over there. Sashiko Sashiko and like yeah Boros stuff like that Wabi Sabi Yeah Wax on Wax on Yeah um But yeah this is just just stuff I like and i always try to incorporate things that I like into projects that I'm doing um And that's It just that's how that project turned out Like presenting that to Kyrie though
00:43:51
Speaker
That was cool. Right. Because, you know, sometimes you do these shoes and you don't even meet nobody. Yeah. Like, it's just another project that's in the lineup for the brand. So ah him being in Dallas, um it made sense for that to link up.
00:44:06
Speaker
um But yeah, i I came to work one day and they were like, yo, we're going to go meet Kyrie tomorrow to present him the shoe. I'm like, oh, hell yeah, that's sick. So um I think we pulled up to a studio and he was um shooting, I want to say his like spring summer collection for this year at the time.
00:44:27
Speaker
And it's like a massive operation. Yeah. It's like a whole movie set. um they They have like, they built buildings inside the studio. That's crazy. Yeah. Unlike anything I've seen.
00:44:39
Speaker
And ah he took a little time out that shoot to come and talk to us and chop it up. And it's pretty dope. That's crazy. Yeah. Did he play him? Like practice him them at least? ah No, there's no footage of him playing in it, unfortunately, because, you know, he's yeah injury reserve. Yeah, yeah.
00:44:56
Speaker
That's all saying practice. That's why I went down to practice. If you did, i I haven't seen it. but i um and That's so far. i think the like Working on a signature shoe or like a signature athlete shoe is totally a different thing where it's you know ah A heritage model, per se. Sorry for using sneaker terms. But, you know, the heritage model is like, it's cool because it's yeah like it's been around for years and years. But, like, this one's super personal. Like, yeah we know all about how Kyrie ended up at ANTA. yeah And we know that, like, he's really, like... We saw it in real time. Yeah, yeah. But he's also really, like, behind the design of the shoe. Like, yeah he's not approving anything he doesn't like. You know, so...
00:45:38
Speaker
you know presenting that and showing it to him and like i'm pretty sure he saw it before like like you know mocks and stuff he hasn't approved the mocks and stuff so that that's like yeah crazy moment like did you ever did you ever think that like you know so i actually had doubts on the the project in general because we started on the two and then uh if y'all don't know the model ended up being on the three yeah but you know when a project gets pushed like that onto the next model There's a lot of times where it just falls off altogether. So that was something that was a project that was excited for.
00:46:09
Speaker
um So to see it actually end up coming to life, um seeing the reaction that it got from the masses, like it's super fulfilling to me. Because it's like something that I came up with. And people really like my idea. yeah like It's always a cool feeling. Nah, it's sick. the Also, the roadkill. The roadkill. Was it the name of the model? Gokana. Gokana. Gokana.
00:46:33
Speaker
How's that how that come about so projects like that are kind nerve wracking because you know you see the initial cads in the the first models you're like man don't know if people are gonna like this because it's a new model um and that's the tricky part trying to do something that you haven't seen like if if they gave us a dunk we have a plethora of things that we can look back and reference on on what worked what didn't work this is a brand new model so yeah we're like the first ones to do anything on it and um so that's a tricky part yeah that is that's and then you know adidas has their own uh depending on the model like their own limits on what they can do um you know to hit timelines like oh we can only use
00:47:14
Speaker
the standard materials that we have in line for this. Um, so we weren't allowed to go crazy on, like, I want to use like some textured leathers and stuff like that, but, um, texture letters on the textured leathers on those would be, yeah, it would have been crazy. Um, but due to the time, the the timeline and lead times and stuff like that is just, we have to work with what we got, which is, I think we're really good at doing that too. No, for sure. i mean, even the last collaboration, um super clean, the,
00:47:43
Speaker
i didn't I didn't see the full ah rollout of it so I can't come in with the full like yo this is this which one the Adidas with the the purple one yeah yeah shout out Ezra he crushed that that one yeah the LA trainer that yeah yeah I think we still got a couple left so y'all yeah'all go sell us out hit it hit up the site sell us out so we can get raises yeah yeah for real um and so so like what does putting because i feel like what i've noticed and seen from sneaker politics and you work in there is like yeah i feel like everybody there including derrick like puts the brand and the show at the stop the the the shop on their backs like yeah it's always representing and Yeah, I mean, it's like a For me, it's like a I scratch your back, you scratch mine. Like, I'm always putting on for politics, but also me attaching politics to my name also kind of brings me up a level on people paying attention. So when I'm dropping hats, like, oh, that's the politics guy. yeah I'm doing shoes. Oh, that's the hat guy.
00:48:43
Speaker
So it it all works out. I think it's dope. And then, you know, everybody else, it's like... We try to put us on the the pedestal of the industry because for the longest, like... when When I applied to politics, i didn't know nothing about politics. Yeah. um I was always tapped into, like, the Undefeateds, Extra Butters, all the stuff out here in LA on that side, too. um Yeah, because those are the ones that always getting, like, really talked about. with Yeah, the ones getting collabs and, like, the crazy collabs. But, yeah, now now it's our turn, so... Yeah, I do think it's really dope that like, I don't know, I was going to say smaller stores, but I don't think it's necessarily. We're actually not small. Yeah, I was going to say it's not a small store. We're opening our like seventh location this year. Sixth and seventh. I mean, that's crazy.
00:49:28
Speaker
Like that, getting those chances to really like represent like that is fire. So like, how does that lead to the community like really...
00:49:40
Speaker
Really champion in y'all, especially in two different states. like I think he's just putting the face into place, dude. like I feel like ah this both cities, everybody pulls up.
00:49:50
Speaker
Yeah, but also in both cities, like, well, I say both both states. Because in louisa Louisiana, we have NOLA, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette, which are all, like, their own um respected cities. yeah But it's like we're the only spot.
00:50:08
Speaker
Now, there's a couple, like, shout-out Ruckus. um They're a skate shop. Yeah, shout-out Ruckus. The homies. Yeah, they're they're good people over there. um But as far as, like,
00:50:20
Speaker
They're not everywhere either. So we have, we're in all three cities. We're in Dallas. We're opening Houston and we're opening Denver. So Dallas, we're like the only spot. um Houston, there's a couple other spots there, but you know, we're, we're coming to say what's up to um Louisiana. Like we're just, we've been there for so long in Louisiana. That is just a household name over
Community and Career Reflections
00:50:43
Speaker
there. yeah So, I mean, this it's super sick. 20 years. i Yeah. a long time, dude. It's crazy. like and And even having the ability to even talk to Derek about, like, you know like he's been in this game for yeah forever. really yeah you know So that's that's wild. so he like Does he allow you to be like under the learning tree and like you can ask him whatever you want? Yeah.
00:51:07
Speaker
oh That kind of relationship yeah yeah i mean well Especially with like sneaker culture And sneaker culture with questions yeah so We talk to Derek every week like He's on all our meetings He likes to be super involved So he's an open book um I'm able to hit him for whatever um Same with my other boss Andrew um he's who i really go to for like advice and uh just trying to figure out what's going on yeah um he's really more of like the operation side so he knows all the moving pieces derek is like the approval guy yeah he wants to be involved see what's going on but it's more like we tell him like this is what's happening he's like cool and if he has input he'll give the input yeah
00:51:47
Speaker
and And so like, I do wonder like your involvement with like the community online and stuff like that. Like, how does that? Because I i mean, you and Moody yeah are very, we're, I mean, I'm also very, yeah we're we're all pretty much online, know? So it's just like, you know, the, I know that Y'all include incorporate a lot of the online people to especially within the sneaker spaces. ah But like, do you find that all helps in the long run?
00:52:19
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's all just like cross promotion. um We're bringing awareness to the brand and then the brand brings awareness to us. And, you know, we're we're trying to get our projects that we take that we care about in like everybody's face. So what other better way to do it than online?
00:52:35
Speaker
So, I mean, look, yeah one thing I disagree with you was giving out the jeans and suggestions bro who me yeah you you don't like jean suggestions bro i don't like you if you giving up the sauce see you're a gatekeeper yes i am to an extent but i'd rather have everybody out here looking fresh than not fresh but i also think this is my thing right i i think when it comes to like an online engagement stuff like that or talking to people like it if somebody's asking you directly yeah fire yeah you need to oh you need to create that line of communication but if you're just like i just gotta go i don't have to interact with saucepan yeah i got all the sauce right here well pause for me for me it's when like the the interaction just gets too much and i'm tired of seeing it online so that's my way of saying shut up yeah here here look this like stop talking about it yeah because you know how it goes like people talk about it and it's like 72 hours of just the same nonsense yeah like shut up here buy these pants and then you're good I i think it's just like people we live in a world where people don't like taking risks like just just yeah go into a store and and also people don't go into stores anymore so it's just like don't go to stores like I said politics is the only one there's nowhere to shop yeah but you're still going into a store like yeah you know what I'm saying like you're still touching material yeah but that's the cool thing about here like I was able to go
00:53:58
Speaker
see all these stores that shop at in person because i'm buying online from all these spots anyway so um no it is cool to go and touch stuff in person but yeah here take the online suggestions from from the bigger dude by the way like i know that's hard for bigger dudes to shop oh i did the research for you nobody listened no nobody looked
00:54:22
Speaker
still in biker joggers and galaxy pants Oh, man. But we're towards the end of the the podcast here. So and my my I have one more last question for you. It deals with a little visualization. I want you think back to young young Dan. You know, he's about to get those, I guess we're going to call him Space Jam Space Jam 9s. Don't do that, bro.
00:54:42
Speaker
Don't piss me off. I'll leave right now. All right. um And so he's getting the Chicago nines And now you're... Older you behind your younger self, what would you tell young Dan as he opens that box?
00:54:58
Speaker
What would I tell you? I mean, that's a good question. so I ask it. Don't get rid of them. I remember what I got rid of them for, like what the reason was, but don't get rid of them. That was a good pair.
00:55:11
Speaker
um But also keep buying the shoes. Cause if I didn't like, if I just was into the one and just stopped there, like I wouldn't be where I'm at now. yeah Like spend, spend your money unwisely. Like,
00:55:27
Speaker
That's the best thing I can say is like just keep Doing things just because you want it Yeah Because what I've learned I've gotten to the point where like It all comes back It all comes back Like if I spend the money it'll come right back um And it makes me who I am yeah You know Not saying like material things make you who you are But like if I didn't Do all those unwise Things and mess up And spend the money I shouldn't have Like I wouldn't be in this position yeah Experiences Yeah You gotta You know You gotta to experience life If we're just You know Sheltered inside of a Within reason by the way Nah Just go crazy you have to pay your rent next week And you know You gotta buy the shoes Don't buy the shoes dude Keep keep the roof over your head Nah man Eat the ramen Get the shoes Pay the rent Do all three And you'll be able to do I am not a financial advisor I am a financial advisor Are you really? Nah I'm not The I do think it's just like, yeah, people need to experience more. And I and I'm from that same. I remember there was one time um I worked. i So I was working at GameStop for for okay like three years, almost three years. But it was ah at a rich area. and then OK. and So everybody in there is black card like, oh, what those? this good I'm like looking at people. like bundle and yeah fifteen games Yeah. Yeah. They're just like, whatever. So like I'm seeing people spend bread whatever. Yeah. This guy, ah he would like work from time to time. Weird schedule, but we worked together yeah at one point. um And he told me one time he was like, he told me the same thing. It was basically just like spend the money because you can make it back. You can always as long as you're you wake up the next morning. Yeah. And you can get your two feet under you and you you will always make that money back. yeah So why? Why wait?
00:57:09
Speaker
why just be like you know like yeah spend the money that's why i was like i see something on sale i'm confident like i waited i i got to the point but it's like yeah now it's time like you know but i i also just like yeah go on vacations and do stuff like that like experience life because yeah tomorrow's not guaranteed and so look fresh exactly what's all that money gonna be doing yeah well in your in your bank account when you die yeah they'll say oh but he was fresh though That's what you wanted i want I want it. want on the gravestone when they lay me when they lay me down in my supreme casket. Right. Because we're gonna have to get it off of stock. Yeah. But, you know, put me down on the on the tombstone. It just says, but he was flat. Oh, yeah. yeah
00:57:52
Speaker
and I'm putting that in my notes app. Yeah. Yeah. Well, everybody know where to find you, man. You can find me on all platforms at saucepan.dan. You can catch me at Secret Politics in Dallas during the day. I'll be in the shop not working. i mean Actually, i will be working, but I'll be on my break at the shop. Derek if you're watching this I i am working I get my work done He's working hard um But yeah the The website Oh duh SaucepanDan.com Go buy you a hat buy a buy you a hat yeah And then use the code ah MFK for 0% off Yeah 0% off Get you a good deal Get you a good deal. ah you know You know where to find me. Who is Hass on all social medias. Follow the podcast My First Kicks pod. Hit me up so I can read a My First Kicks story to my guest want to ah by hitting me up at info at myfirstkicks.com. Hit up the website um and check out the Patreon. Please, please hit up my Patreon. Please. Patreon.com slash myfirstkicks. Get the Patreon. Please. $5. Only $5. You got $5. Come on. um
00:58:58
Speaker
And going to kick it to myself due to the Patreon shout outs and the outro. Peace. I hope you enjoyed this week's episode with Saucepan Dan. Man, me and Saucepan go back a while just com communicating on the internet. So to meeting him in person for the first time, like randomly on the streets of New York, um just walking because I was having like a really rough day because they started making me go into the office on Friday. So I was just like, all right.
00:59:30
Speaker
I'm gonna go for a walk around Soho Walked around Soho and ran into saucepan and mama sauce just like walking around So that was very dope and like we've had several communications back and forth like interacting with each other on Twitter IG and he's been doing amazing stuff and so him getting back into his like like find like Having a conversation of how he got back into his hat-creating bag was just super dope. so i hope you enjoyed that. I think that being able to talk about the year Sneaker Politics has been having and getting a little bit of insight on how they handle their collaborations and how they work with people is very dope. i mean
01:00:16
Speaker
We always hear about how bigger brands are doing how, you know, when I have like JTips on, we talk specifically about collaborations with them. So when like hearing like a sneaker boutique or a sneaker boutique that just has expanded, do more and just incorporate the people that they've hired on from like, you know, that work their way up into, you know, being an actual part of their design teams and fostering that talent. Like it's very important, I think.
01:00:46
Speaker
You know, a lot of people, me included, where it's just like we think that we need to just get our foot in the door. If we get our foot in the door, we'll figure our ways around and see if if this is not for us or if this is something that we want to pursue full time. um And like when it comes to retail, like I haven't worked a retail job in a very long time.
01:01:06
Speaker
Shoot. I want to say I'm going on definitely like. almost more, definitely more than 15 years for sure. But I haven't worked there a retail job in a really long time, but I always thought that like, you know, once I started working in retail that if I just worked my way into the office, then I'd be good. I'd figure out like how to maneuver there. And that's something that you don't really learn about, right? You don't really, you don't really hear how people get their, their foot in the door from a retail spot and,
01:01:42
Speaker
Like, how does that turn into from a retail position into a corporate position? the So, you know, we always and I don't know how it is now, but like, I think it's been streamlined to where you're just getting hired straight into corporate America. And so especially straight out of college, like.
01:02:05
Speaker
it's It's something that like we don't necessarily hear the success story. So just hearing about Dan's story and how it came to be and how just it all just kind of worked out to where he's at right now. Being able to you know use his cut and sew abilities to further storytelling that I think is being spread throughout all of Sneaker Politics products. right so Very very dope and I appreciate you tapping in and staying to the end of the episode as well. I hope you're digging this setup right here i Figured out a way to connect my mic to the phone and so now I'm gonna start recording some extra You know short video essays and stuff like that and so this might be the new setup I might switch it up around
01:02:58
Speaker
so never I'm never satisfied, as you can
Episode Conclusion
01:03:02
Speaker
see. So I'm go to figure that out, and hopefully videos will be coming. I know I mentioned in the last episode that I would be start making these short video essays, but what happened was I ended up recording back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back episodes, and so I didn't have time. I main mainly just edited an episode, recording these into like interstitials and outros, and now, because I have a surplus of episodes now,
01:03:28
Speaker
I will be making these videos um real quick. You know, i was last night. So last night I got to hang out with well at the J tips skull candy drop. You see the the headphones here like.
01:03:46
Speaker
These are super dope and they're out now. So if you are looking or in the market for a new pair of headphones, definitely cop these J-Tips Skullcandy headphones. They're very dope. I love the ANC2s. It's my go-to headphones ever since, you know, Bima hooked it up. And I've been using them for better part of a year now. ANC1s are really good too. So...
01:04:12
Speaker
I do love what Skullcandy has evolved into because a lot of the stuff that they do now is not the same like you know jelly headphones in your ears. like They really upgraded it to something that's really good. I listen to a lot of music so this has got my i't know seal of approval for that. um what i've experience in these past like bunch of days with recordings people hitting me up and you know having seen some conversations really dope conversations with people in public like after this recording me and Dan went to his hat showing or the hat like gallery that they did at 8 a.m. p.m. i got to talk to Izzy Izzo From Complex. And talked to John Stan. Talked to a ton of people that day. That like didn't know. Didn't recognize me. One. Because i didn't wear glasses. As you can see in this episode. um And it kind of backfired on me. Thinking that like. Oh yeah. i You know people still recognize me. I had to be like.
01:05:16
Speaker
Oh, that's me. I'm Haas. And so very funny. But all the conversations that I had that day and since that day have been amazing. Like, I don't know.
01:05:31
Speaker
how I don't know how to explain this. I don't know how I've gotten to the point where people really want to talk to me and sit down with me. um you know I think that like and I always do a lot of this self-reflection, especially like just in my head or every day. um You know, I understand work consistency. I understand being creative. I understand finding a niche, finding, you know, where you want to, you know, stake your claim and and kind of make your lane and and make your voice be heard and be known. But
01:06:07
Speaker
The fact that people want to come to me and do these things, even in person or on an episode or in the DMs, like I'm forever grateful. I just need to call that out in here because you know I've gotten a ton of flowers since the S-Wit video. even before that Even before we started recording that episode, S-Wit was just like, you've got ah sway was like you gotta you gotta accept the flowers when you're able to smell them you gotta you gotta to hear um and give yourself the props that people are giving you and that you need to give yourself and so and in results of that i'm saying thank you for your time your efforts um this is not and if you share this you know
01:06:52
Speaker
every every Every ear counts. So if we've ever spoken, you've ever given me a chance, if you ever given this podcast chance, I just want to say thank you. And of course, we got to do Patreon shoutouts. So Patreon shoutouts, if you want to be called out at the end of an episode, much like these people here, hit me yeah hit the Patreon. Patreon.com slash myfirstkicks. Hit that. and You see the yeah URL right here. I've been putting it right here.
01:07:18
Speaker
Or here. Whatever. Wherever it is. Patreon.com slash MyFirstKicks. Let's do the Patreon shoutouts. So shoutout Jordan Kaiser. The shooter. Shoutout. Derek Lipkin, shout out Derek Hawkins, shout out Sean Hates You, shout ah out Ross Adams, Adam Neustetter, Jesse Jesse G, Brett, shout out Brett, shout out Plox, shout out Samir Grand, Grand Pierre, a former guest, but make sure you check out that episode, and of course, I think that's it.
01:07:52
Speaker
I think that's it. I think I hit them all. If I didn't and I missed one name, I'm sorry. Comment below if I missed your name. if you're if you're what If you're watching this or listening to this on Patreon or and YouTube, hit hit hit hit me with the comments because my bad. um Also, just going to call this out at the end of the episode.
01:08:16
Speaker
If you do not sign up for the Patreon, because I called this out earlier in the episode. If you do not sign up for the Patreon, there will be ads on everything. I'm working on getting ads and probably in this episode. If not, it's going to start showing up on all episodes.
01:08:32
Speaker
But... I'm going to add ads into the podcast to help me out. But if you want to watch them ad-free, I will be putting them up on Patreon. I'm trying to get them up the day before for Patreon listeners and watchers.
01:08:51
Speaker
So if you want to watch an episode early, especially because I have a surplus, they'll be coming out on Thursdays. So on there, on Patreon only. Patreon only. Hit that up. Patreon.com slash MyFirstKicks. But of course, if you want to check out more of this podcast, hit up these two videos here.
01:09:08
Speaker
Hit that subscribe button if you're on YouTube. And of course, you know we say each week. Wear your kicks. Peace.