SOLE TO SOUL

Sneaker Culture: An Examination In Three Parts

This has been my heart for the past two months, correction this has been my baby. It may seem like a disturbing comparison but this documentary was born out of my mind and fathered by my passion for all things kicks.

Sitting in that class today and watching my work on screen there was a sense of pride and slight embarrasment, mainly because I hate the sound of my voice – suprising as that may seem! Yet, for the most part pride.

Before I started creating my documentary my main goal was to give this topic justice. To get across not just the passion I have for sneakers but the appreciation for the design, implementation and process of it also. While I realised I wasn’t doing something entirely new here, the whole process of interviewing, editing and communicates my ideas visually was new to me. And in some cases the subject matter was new to my audience of class mates.

This documentary gave me the opportunity to introduce, explain and critique sneaker culture and explain why people are associated with it. I had to play devils advocate as I made this.

In doing so I learnt some amazing stuff about the business of sneakers and mentality of brands but also peoples insights and personal opinions which are the real highlight to this documentary.

Yet, suprisingly I learnt about why I am associated to this culture. I think that was really defined while making this.

It is clearly evident that sneaker culture has changed.

I understand it’s transcendents, as this New York phenomenon is now appreciated all around the world yet in it’s transformation? Has the essence of the culture been lost in its growth ?

I remember the first ever blog post I done here called Old Love New Love and explained why I loved sneakers so much.

Upon reflection it should have been entitled New love and just that! I have only contemporarily become a member of this burgeoining culture but as everything there are people before you who enjoyed it but most of all enjoyed it in it’s purest form.

Its purest form being a niche sub culture – the readings of Bobitto Garcia showed me this. Yet, contemporarily we claim it as our own because the technology is much more advanced and the rules of the game have changed. Today sneaker culture is defined by a Hypebeast mentality, people wear sneakers, trainers, kicks, with little or no understanding of the history of the culture.

I believe brands have changed the direction of sneaker culture, they became rich by marketing a culture that before relied on word of mouth and foot soldiers, they put it on tv, on billboards and turned the sneaker into a form of social normality, you needed to have it to be hip, cool and chic. Today the marketing and advertising strategies of leading brands have remained same and the faces associated with the product have changed. This is what has made sneaker culture new, these are the rules we adhere to, the ones created by the brands and not the people.

The basis of sneaker culture may remain the same – the passion, the love, the adoration for kicks yet the modes of operation have significantly changed.

What of the state of sneaker culture today? Since I’ve been in America I have only purchased 1 pair of kicks – fact.

A pair of Vans Authentics. Nothing is catching my eye at the moment, nothing is making me want to spend by money. The market is heavily saturated with product that favour style over substance.

This may sound like a defamation of sneaker culture but it really is just an eye opening to me of what I was buying into. I want to understand the business aspect of sneaker culture the most. The communication of ideas all spread from here.

So you say where is this “masterpiece”?

And I reply soon good people soon!

Give Thanks !

This was my first thanksgiving – EVER!

Contrary to what some of my American friends think, we don’t actually celebrate turkey day in England. There are so many things we don’t have in England because they are distinctly American!

I’m telling you this a country and culture on it’s own, there is nothing like America – FACT!

Thanksgiving is about food and family and some more food. It was great to be with my family and be a part of a tradition but really it was great to have some chill time, to relax and to reflect.

I used this thanksgiving time to put things in perspective and do give thanks for me being here and having this opportunity. Lately I’ve been feeling very distant from home and everything in it and that’s understandable but in all those thoughts distract me from the great experience of being here.

Sometimes we move at a million miles an minute and we don’t step away and just reflect.

You see things are getting intense at Temple the amount of WORK to do and the little amount of time to do it in is so far from a joke. So coming to New York was that chance for me to get away from all of that and I made sure I appreciated it to the max.

It’s funny how I’m writing this and watching Alica Keys and Jay-Z perform Empire State of Mind. That song will forever be the anthem of New York City and quite rightly so. I here that song in Philly which is funny to me seeing as the Yankees beat the Phillies in the World Series but I played it on my Ipod going through the city and I heard it on the radio while I was there.

The whole song is incredible yet while I was standing in Times Square the lines in the chorus were all I could think of,

” These streets will make you feel brand new, big lights will inspire you ”

So let’s here it for New York where I had the greatest Thanksgiving with my family and time with my friends.

First Impressions

First impressions are everything?

You can decide whether you like someone or something in an instant, so when I first arrived in Philadelphia and made my way to Temple I didn’t like the place at all!

Driving down Broad Street with through the “hood” was not what I expected, and as my very lost Haitian cab driver drove further away from 30th street station, the more real my surroundings got. Temple University was somehow in the middle of this, literally around the corner from the block. You see, in all the information I had read and been told about Temple, somehow they forgot to mention that this great university of academic excellence was located in North Philadelphia which as people are now very eager to remind me is the worst area for crime in the whole of the US. I was shocked to say the least and while most of you will think “well it’s no different to some universities in London”, the main reason for me going to UEA was to get away from the inner city life, from cars and casualties and because of the constant sound of sirens I felt as if I was back there.

First impression of Philadelphia so far, not so good.

My disappointment continued as when I opened the door to my room I was greeted by a rather grim looking space with a huge concrete block in the middle of it. The whole set up of my room was rather bizarre and in all honesty I think the architect was pretty high when he or she designed this place as they have not utilized the space at all. The rooms at The Edge are all mind bogglingly weird and very basic to say the least. Concrete blocks, mesh drapes, no cooking space and a lack of light…. I really questioned why I was here.

Before I came here I had an image in my mind of what Temple would be like yet what I was presented with was the total opposite of what I had hoped for. It goes without saying that you put high expectations on things in your life and when you imagine something to be a certain way – you train your mind to think of all the  great things and you don’t factor in the things that are out of your control – the things that are beyond positive thinking.

The true test is how you react when stuff doesn’t go according to plan, when you are presented with the opposite of what you had initially hoped for. Do you either give up there and then or turn the situation round in your favour?

In other words, don’t let your first impression be your last impression.

Tomorrow will mark my second week in Philadelphia and I am so far away from those thoughts of disappointment and regret.

I believe there is still some time to go until I feel fully grounded but I do know in order to make that transition from tourist to resident I need to familiarise myself with the city of Philadelphia.

Philly is an extremely historical city and in my first couple of days out here I got to see that. One of the main reasons for having my first impressions changed was having my elder sister with me and she led me into the city with the determination to break the bad impression we had of the place so far.

So here’s a quick tour guide of all things Philly so far.

First stop:  IHOP –  no American city is complete without one.

Heaven on a plate !

Second stop: Historical sights – understand where you are and what happened here.

African American Museum

Liberty Bell

Third stop: Cool spots, the whole of South Street will be snapped up in due time.

South Street

Fourth stop: Sneaker shopping, the aim is to look and not buy…

Jordania!

I’m here for nine more months and there are so many moments ahead of me and right I’m excited to embrace them all.

I have to remember that not everything will be perfect and I have to open my mind to change and maybe lower my personal bar of expectation a bit.

I have to open my mind to the possibilities of all things new.

First impressions aren’t everything!

The city of Philadelphia just gained a new resident – let’s do this!

Retail Summer

“All the glitter is not gold” Family Business – Kanye West

First and foremost I have to apologise for my total lack of posts recently but hopefully this will explain why I have been extremely M.I.A.

From the moment I got back  from Paris way back in June, I have been on my feet – literally! As for the past eight weeks I have been working at size? in Covent Garden, that exact store where I had my Air Yeezy experience was where I would be working. Working at size? let alone working at all was amazing. It’s no secret that right now there are record levels of unemployment in the UK especially for students so I was extremely grateful to have a job.

But I stand by my opening quote that “all the glitter is not gold” because the novelty of working at size? started to wear off. Now I know you shouldn’t burn bridges but I feel with this post that I am not being ungrateful or throwing back in their face what was given to me. You really have to understand what I have been doing these past eight weeks.

Size? is situated in Neal Street Covent Garden which is a very fashion orientated part of London, with stores such as American Apparel, Carhatt, Offspring and Slam City near. I was at the centre of it all and was happy to be able to see different styles, kicks and cultures every day. But it was my position that at times brought me so much joy as well as boredom. The store itself is split into two parts. With the upstairs entrance acting as a show room and the downstairs being the actual store. I mention being bored because, after you re-lace the same shoe for the third time that week or even day, you’ve told the customer that there are more shoes downstairs and they can try some on and SIT DOWN, (a pleasure taken for granted I must say) what more is there to do? Except wait for a customer to come in that will not ignore you, not look through you as if your not there and is willing to talk to you. It was those moments that brought me the most joy from my time at size? and made working there worthwhile.

The BF made a point of saying how many customers come into the store and just want to be left alone to look at the trainers and do not care if you said hello or not. To a certain extent he was right, you could really tell that some customers didn’t care whether you said hi and sometimes that hurt. I have a “problem” in that I care too much for what other people think and a customer once said, “Why am I asking you anyway – you just sell the shoe” and I took that personally and from that point made the effort not be the Sales Assistant. I think people thought I was trying to give them the hard sell and entice them downstairs and make sure they left with a bag when in all honesty I was just looking for casual conversation to pass the time and see what was going on in the world outside my space – so I always said hi!

My philosophy is that you meet a different person everyday but it’s the connection that you make with them that determines whether you meet them again. And I really did make a connection with some customers who came back numerous times to see me, give me books, go to lunch with me and who really took the time to talk with me about anything and everything! We talked of politics, fashion, music, food, weather, hairstyles, our generation and more, it was always reassuring to hear that someone shared the same idea or opinion as you or learn a new view to a popular debating topic.

I must say some of the most passioned conversations I had was undoubtedly about kicks. With every person I spoke to we always came to the conclusion that sneaker culture is indescribable. You can’t pin down one word to define the culture and feeling. For longer than I should have I stood and spoke to customers about their own collections and experiences, what we had in store and whether they got the thumbs up or down and what releases where coming in the future but most of all what we enjoyed from the past. I think that it is important, to know where a shoe has come from and how it has transformed and been influenced by designers or elements from today. I asked Marcus Troy why he particularly liked the Air Jordan True Blue III’s and he replied for nostalgic reasons. The fact that a shoe could you take you back and evoke memories is amazing and that is very common of the main series of Jordan shoes as the designers pick and take certain elements from past shoes to create a new one or hybrid version of one as we can see with the Air Jordan 60+ which incorporates the Jordan I, II, V, and VII.

It’s no secret that I am trying to get into the footwear industry and working at size? presented me with a fantastic opportunity to meet people who were where I would like to be and had turned their passion into a career. I met representatives of great brands such as Fred Perry, Adidas, Pointer, Helly Hansen and Marks & Spencer. Meeting all those people was a chance for me to essentially shine and be my cover letter and CV right there and then and get across my passion, knowledge and ambitions.

Working at size? gave me the opportunity to really know what I want in life and point me in the right direction on how to obtain my goals. I now know I would like to work specifically with a brand where I can focus my energy into one thing.

Everyone needs to start somewhere and that’s what happened with size? this was the foot in the door that I was talking about in previous posts. I think it’s important to excel after this point, with any dream or aim you need to be thinking about what is next.

Everything is a progression.

Yes, it was boring and tedious at times but you have to start somewhere.

The Breakdown

“I got a big ego ha ha ha, I’m such a big ego ha ha ha” Ego Remix – Beyonce ft Kanye West

Actually very far from it.

However, my blog was labelled “one big ego trip” from a reader of my last post Dreamers Never Die. Patrick of Tropical TV said to me, “once you cause emotion in someone then you know you’re doing something right.” And I agree, because I wanted Dreamers Never Die to be thought provoking, I wanted you all to read it and not so much be inspired but recognise that there is a thin line between being a dreamer and being someone who dreams but never achieves.

The person that commented on the post told me that I should, “mind [my] own business and stop worrying about other people.” but I do and will continue to do so. TOLA understood what I meant and in replied “Surely you can’t deny that there seems to be a lack of ambition for any ‘career’ that doesn’t involve being rich and famous, instead of merely being bloody good at what you do, and inspiring others”.

I mentioned a while back about the state of London and how it is rapidly deteriorating but it is not only happening to the structure of London but the people in it. That is the picture I had in mind when I was writing Dreamers Never Die. Everyday I meet people who are working towards their dreams and I see that they will continue it through till the end but there are some who want everything now without the hard work and with no time or effort being put in. I said before I am not the blueprint for success and I am not heralding myself as a leader in achieving dreams as I too say things and don’t act upon them. I realise no-one is perfect but that shouldn’t stop you achieving great things.

So let me break it down.

1. A dreamer is anyone with aspiration, passion and drive. Someone who is working towards a goal and striving to make sure it is fulfilled.

2. There are a lot of dreamers out there and in my experience SOME not all lack that last push to make sure their dream come to fruition. As said before people want the short term option and our not prepared to follow through and wait for their dream to really happen. ”Their dream is short-lived, they want all the rewards now and are not prepared to work for it”.

3. Please note I say SOME not all. This is where I think the person misunderstood my post. Some not all people are not driven enough, I can talk about the people I see around me but I can not vouch for every single one of my peers. I am not labelling everyone one as a non-dreamer or someone who is not driven.

4. The essence of my message is that you shouldn’t let your dreams – die. You should always pursue them, if you really want to attain them, work for them and see them through, don’t do it half heartedly, do it to the best of your ability. Granted it might take time but the end result is more than worth it.

I went to the BF’s Masters graduation last week and as well as other MA and BA graduates on his course BBC journalist and security correspondent Frank Gardner was receiving an honorary degree from the University. He entered congregation hall in his wheelchair and valiantly stood up to talk at the podium. Gardner was shot six times while reporting in Saudi Arabia and the bullet that paralysed him passed clear through his spine. I listened to every bit of his speech as he gave advice to the graduates and talked about how he got his job at the BBC how he worked all the shifts others wouldn’t and his passion for wanting to always be a journalist but the most poignant part of his message was when he said that “perseverance is everything”.

If you don’t take anything away from what I have said, remember this – perseverance is everything.