Say You Swear

Episode 31, you already know what it is!

Filmmaker, photographer, cyclist, chef, and all around vegan stud XD

Thank you so much to Johnny for trusting me with his first interview on wax!

Normally, I over explain these. Yes we discuss the Supreme vid lol

Enjoy <3

For Episode 30, I was joined by photographer/videographer David "Shadi" Perez. 

Bronx native, Shadi, spoke about coming up in the borough and his early influences of the time. As a young teen in the 80's rollerskating, hip-hop, skating, graffiti, and breakdancing scenes; he explained always being immersed in street culture. His father shot photos and through this Shadi began to stay with a camera and document his experiences. 

We spoke about him starting to work for early Stussy, forming a relationship with James Jebbia, and beginning to help out at Supreme at its inception. Meeting Sue Kwon, he explains what a powerhouse she was in the industry and how his relationship to her deeply shaped the people he'd meet. Eventually, Shadi ventured into working in videography and directed several music videos for the likes of The Beastie Boys, Big Pun, Onyx, Fat Joe, etc. 

There are a ton of stories in this one! Going to Miami in '91 to shoot some crazy rap party and shooting photos of Tupac. Riding around on the back of David Blaine's motorcycle to go photograph him doing magic for Bill Clinton. You know, Shadi kept saying I was dating him with my questions lol, but the dream is to get older and have lived that much life! (Also he's like 50 or some shit which ain't even old) Shit some day imma say "Back in 2022" and kids are gonna look at me with the screw face, but I hope I have this many stories to tell when I look back!

Much love and respect to Mr. Perez for trusting me and allowing me into his home to chop it up. God I hate that phrase lol. Is the conversation an onion? Yo, Link n build bro, link n build! 
I know that normally I write these out, but Shadi has just worked with too many people, Ye level name dropping was going on, and I have other papers to write! 

This is a fun one ;) Enjoy!

Episode 29 is with Anatoly Kirichenko, the creator/founder of Whaam! Gallery and Whaam! Bookclub.

Born in Ukraine, Anatoly immigrated to the US with his parents and grew up in Brooklyn. We talked about his upbringing, having an immigrant mentality, and his early influences. Spending formative time downtown, getting into streetwear and art cultures, he spoke about having a deep admiration for NYC.

After graduating from NYU, Anatoly began to work in streetwear. First working out in LA for Supreme, he later moved back to NY to work for Adam Kimmel. During his time at Adam Kimmel was where Anatoly was first curating pop-up art shows. Leaving AK, he then moved to work with CDG/DSM, and then to run Stussy's New York flagship location in 2016.

Being given the reins at 26 years old, I was perplexed that Stussy would give him the position at the age I am now. He explained that he always followed his heart and was not afraid to be honest with the brands he worked for. This allowed him to form the beneficial skills and relationships that would shape his career. He spoke about really connecting with Stussy on their values and principles as a brand.

At Stussy was where Whaam! Bookclub was first formed, in 2017, and eventually the conception for Whaam! Gallery was created. Anatoly expressed the ideology of the gallery as one that doesn't show "classically" trained fine artists, explained the significance of the location, how he curates, and what the gallery has become in 2022. Whaam! gives artists the ability to see their vision come alive and creates an atmosphere to meet new people. He elaborated on the joy he receives in taking chances and that he doesn't need Whaam! to fit the profile/constraints of a traditional gallery. 

"Art is whatever an artist creates." he said! 

Enjoy <3 

Episode 28 is with Onyedi of Motherlan. Currently residing in London, Onyedi and I got to sit down for an interview on a recent trip he, and his friends, took out to NYC.

Growing up with an Australian mother and a Nigerian father, Onyedi lived in Australia til he was 12 and would go back and forth to Nigeria. We spoke about the culture shock he had eventually moving to Lagos. Growing up in an almost solely white population and then moving to an almost solely black population.  Having family all over, he discovered skateboarding on a trip he took to California and brought a board back to Lagos. Eventually he was made aware of what is known as the first ever skate shop in West Africa, WAFFLESNCREAM, and became a regular. Onyedi then worked at the shop, became close with the founder Jomi, and met the crew that would eventually form Motherlan together.

In 2018, they started Motherlan when the cult moved out to the UK. Onyedi broke down the process of discovering what they wanted to do with the brand. Initially, he was still in Nigeria while most of the group was out in London, but eventually he made the move out there and started really pushing the brand. He spoke about the brand growing, working on delegating roles, finding structure for the brand, and transitioning into the head role as Creative Director.

Onyedi, and Motherlan, are quite multifaceted and this has much to do with his extremely eclectic understanding of culture. He enlightened me on how gnarly Nigeria can be, knowing how to move properly in places full of corruption, and the importance of sticking with people you trust. Family in the US, growing up in Australia, moving to Nigeria at 12, moving to the UK alone at a young age. I was super impressed when I was thinking about my own personal experience of living in the same state my whole life.

After the interview, Xavier helped me realize how fucking young Onyedi is and that shit humbled me. When I was his age I was not even close to that seasoned! Respect!

We also talk about filming, writing graff, collabs, etc! My fingers are cramping and I'm in class! Pce!!

Episode 27 is with artist, designer, and filmmaker Jack Greer!
Jack is the owner/creator of the fashion brand IGGY

Making art since a child, Jack speaks about the art he creates, his experience at art school, and his years of pursuing the fine art world. Learning that it was not the place for him, he decided to step away. Jack notes the muddy waters of fine art, being pigeon-holed to one medium, and that being a catalyst for creating a full-length documentary about Tompkins and starting his brand IGGY.

As a fellow cynic, I loved Jack's critical honesty about his crafts and running a brand by himself. No sugar coating in this episode, he reveals the perks but also the immense sole responsibility he experiences to make sure IGGY operates as you see it.

He spoke with conviction throughout the interview of how imperative it is to be yourself. IGGY is truly just an extension of himself transferred into a physical world through design! At his apartment, I saw binders and binders of perfectly archived graphics he had drawn. I loved learning that all the designs for IGGY are hand-drawn by Jack and then rendered.

Oh also! Jack's pup, Iggy, makes a couple cameos in the interview...it's only fitting :) 

#26 is with Detroit's very own Mr. Caleb Barnett aka lil tut!

Recently going pro for Hockey, we talk all that good skate shit you wanna hear. I asked Caleb about filming for recent videos like "Hockey X" and James Cruickshank's "SENSIBLES". Living out in Paris a lot to be with his girl, he talks about his love for Paris, filming out there, and living abroad.

Knowing he had a love for it, I asked him about how he got into boxing. We discussed his origins with it as a kid, his father being a boxer, and training in it as an adult. He talked about his intensive workout routines, sparring, favorite fights, and learning discipline from the sport. I have to say my man had me dying in this interview! The stories he told about getting into it with assholes who tried him were hilarious. I appreciated him saying that he's never looking for a problem, but that he's not going to let people get away with violating/disrespecting him or his friends.

A large part of the back half of the interview discusses Caleb's music career as "lil tut". Tut talked about getting into making music, always loving writing raps, and how moving in with Genny causing him to start to take music more seriously. Buying beats, sitting in the studio all day making song after song; tut knows the discipline of practice well! He spoke about not being afraid to be himself in the music, singing and rapping on songs, and his love for R&B. Check out lil tut on soundcloud and his videos on YouTube!
Tut will be releasing his first project "Josiah" on August 27th!!

Thank you Caleb and check this shit out!

Episode 25 features artist, art director, photographer, and (of course) skateboarder Jerry Hsu.

This episode is an extra special one for me due to my personal fandom of Jerry's work. From watching his Stay Gold b-sides nearly 100 times, wearing his Sci-Fi Fantasy label, owning his The Beautiful Flower Is The World photo-book; I have found myself immersed in Jerry's creative world since I was a teenager. This interview was months in the making and an absolute dream come true that I was able to create a platform that would invite such a personal hero :)

Throughout the interview we touch on several different subject matters from reflecting on his years of professional skating, his photo work, love of book making, running Sci-Fi, and even family. It was eye opening for me to hear about the immense pressure that skating can bring at that level and how psychologically tolling it can be.

It's too daunting for me to write out all that we discussed, but I will expound slightly on a part I did not expect...but really enjoyed. Jerry spoke about his wonderful relationship with his wife and how impactful/inspiring she has been in not only his life, but also his creative outlets. He explained how crucial it is to find a partner in life that can challenge you to be a better version of yourself. That having "yes" people around you can be detrimental to personal growth and that he supremely values how critical his wife can be. This is what I do this for! 

Humbled that this worked out and that it went so well. So so excited for everyone to hear this one. Much love 

For this episode, I sent it to Brooklyn to record with Genesis and play a couple hours of smash!

Genny's early YouTube videos, Lurknyc parts, and tricks in Johnny Wilson edits had such a huge influence on me coming up in skating. In high school, pre-917, Genny's videos and personal skating showed me that skateboarding is truly about having fun with your friends and doing what comes natural!

Upon arriving to him and Caleb's home, I gained a profound new appreciation of Genesis's creative world. I walked into a house full of music, plushies, in-progress paintings, Caleb at their table recording a song, and their friend Marcus cutting out and sewing letters onto a polo. I quickly learned that skating is just one of many tools in Genny's bag!

He said something that has since stuck with me because it was a feeling I've had, but I've never quite put into words.  As a kid, he thought that art/music were things someone was naturally good at and that it was like a superpower; you either had it or you didn't. He noted that this ideology is one that deters people from trying new things. However, sometimes you suck at new things but that doesn't mean you should stop or that you can't be great at it!

We speak in-depth about Genny's love/ear for music, deep musical roots, Blair, and venturing out into a solo career as genny!. This episode coincides with his first solo album release 8 SONGS, as Genny spoke at length about his creative process and work for this album. Go check that out!!! Oh and, as always, hope y'all enjoy :)

I took the 6 to Chinatown, to the STP offices, to kick it with Lu! 
There were many interviews out there covering Lucien's past and early acclaim in the fine art world. However, I wanted this conversation to revolve around what would bring listeners more into the headspace in which he lives. 
Lucien's baby is STP, Serving The People, a nonprofit that focuses on bringing power back to creatives and pushes for collaboration. Obviously Lu describes this much better than I can! We speak in depth about how the organization came about, the steps that have come along the way, and where he/his team are working for it to go. Lucien speaks about his Seeds NFT project and offers his take on web3 technology/integration. 
Having prior knowledge that he loved the film, we discuss the vast significance of Fight Club. He voices that there are several intricacies of the film that he has connected over the years to his personal life. Project Mayhem = STP. Furthermore, Lucien spoke about his personal work on short films, working on a full length film, and it being the medium that he has been pivoting into. 
As always, there are a bunch of other goodies sprinkled in there! There are a few nice moments where we touch on mental health, the significance of it, and how beautiful times of hardship can be. You already know I love that :)

Thank you to Lucien for trusting me with your words and thank you to all of you checking it out! Much love as always!

Ryan is a professional skateboarder currently riding for Sci-Fi Fantasy. We speak about his time at Enjoi, years at Welcome, and making the decision to make the move to Sci-Fi. His level of honesty on how volatile the skate industry can be was both refreshing and eye opening. 
In addition to his skate career, Ryan helped found the organization Skate After School and is an ambassador for the SkatePal organization. Having gone back to college to pursue a degree in Public Administration, Ryan preached always having a personal desire to do more than just skate. 
We also talk a bunch about his new passion of endurance running. Going on 800 mile hikes, overnight runs, ultra marathons, helping pace runners on 250 mile runs: respect Ryan!
Ryan is also a co-host with SYS alumni Ted Barrow on the lovely podcast Vent City!!

Thanks for tuning in <3