Say You Swear

Went to Brooklyn, NY, to meet with Dylan and spend an afternoon in his apartment/studio. Dylan is a talented and thoughtful painter/artist with a keen love for nature. We speak about his roots in art and tattooing, but the conversation dips into several facets of his life and life in general. This episode is a bit different than ones in the past, exercising a shorter form technique. Thank you to Dylan for taking the time to be involved, trusting me as a platform, and helping me edit down the episode! Here's Episode 11...

Coming up in Florida, Beatrice picked up skating at a young age and never stopped! She speaks on her experience in skating as being one of a 90's feel. Sending in a tape to Strobeck, it getting into the hands of Dill, and getting flowed directly under him for Alien at the time. We talk about her linking with the Supreme team and it being the first time she really had a skate crew. Eventually, she gets on FA and leaves school/Florida to pursue skating full time in New York. She speaks on her love for travel, photography, and literature. This interview was super exciting for me, being someone that has watched her skating for nearly a decade! Beatrice is the flatbar don, you feel me? Thank you again to B for sitting down with me and I'm excited for y'all to listen!  

Before this episode I picked up some of Phil's new samples, then headed to his home in Connecticut. We sat in his room, I threw the mic between us,  and we talked for a couple hours as we looked through his new samples and designs! He told me about his younger years of inspiration, getting into filming skating, the early years of the brand, and having dertbag put Connecticut on the map. We spoke about him loving/making music, making art/painting, and doing all these outlets at a high caliber instead of just focusing on one craft. He talked about creating natural relationships with people he valued/respected through the art and dertbag. We spoke about early times in New York going to ALIFE, Only, Good Co, hanging with his friends in Odd Future, and reflecting on how enjoyable those times were.  His consistency, and attention to detail, manifested into Kanye West getting dertbag into his hands. Ye loved the brand so much that him and Philip formed a personal and business relationship! Phil spoke on his time at YEEZY, being made art director, traveling, and some of his experiences during this time. After this, he talked about having the opportunity to direct a high prodcution runway at NYFW for dertbag! He reflects on how during these times that he was bouncing around so much and not taking care of his mental/physical health to the level he needed. This amount of stress caused/led him to have complications with his Crohn's and eventually Phil needed intensive surgeries. He spoke about the level of reflection this has caused and that almost passing offered him new perspective. We talked about him now running dertbag alone, taking care of himself/the brand, the recovery that comes with the surgery, and his attention to "refining". This interview is a tightly packed hour where Phil is straight up and honest. I want to say thank you to Phil for being such a gracious and selfless person. This was a really nice day and, as always, hope y'all enjoy the listen! Peace!

Visited Antilogy, in Kingston New York, to meet with its creator and founder Jim Moore!  Antilogy is a screen printing shop that Jim started over 15 years ago. Antilogy has gone from just him printing in a small shop to being on its fifth location with 12 employees. We discuss him growing up in Vermont, how he got into making clothes, and eventually starting Antilogy when we was 24. Jim talks about the trials and tribulations to running a business, the care that goes into making the brands Antilogy works on, and curating a positive environment of creativity for his employees. I have personally worked at Antilogy for 5 years. When I conceptualized this very podcast, about 2 years ago, this was the person that I hoped to interview. Jim is a true mentor to me and I am humbled and honored to have him on. This was recorded outside of Antilogy, just as a note for the background noises. Thank you to Luke and Will for creating me an intro! Enjoy <3

My friend, the talented photographer, Mel and I sat on a rooftop in Brooklyn and recorded a conversation! We spoke about the years he spent in Connecticut, Florida, and eventually moving to New York. He talks about his passion for graphic design that led to him delving into photography. Over the years, Mel has shot 10's of thousands of photos of a plethora of different people. I ask him about what it is that inspires him to shoot, how he goes about taking photos, his thoughts on the community, and advice he would give to "coming up" artists! We speak about his role in the brand "Cliff", his book series "Smoke Break", and up coming projects he is working on. Lastly, if you know me, you know how much I love "Super Smash Bros". Mel is the best Smash player I've ever played against, so you already know I had to ask my man a bit about that! Mel has a wonderful infectious energy about him you will be able to feel/hear throughout this interview. Please enjoy :)

Drove to the African Roots Center in Kingston to interview Ethan! We delve into Ethan's childhood, skating,  and many years in academia. Ethan and I discuss facets of race, gender, queerness, and mental health. We get into moving to NYC, partying, sexuality, finding yourself, and ultimately the death of Mike Brown in 2014 changing Ethan's life. Ethan eventually runs for Mayor of Kingston, creates the Kingston People's Party, and gets involved with a plethora of community initiatives. Much love to Ethan for opening up, being vulnerable on this, and allowing me the space to share as well! Hope you all enjoy :')

Met up at Good Co and then zoomed up to Dyckman to talk with Estiee! We talk about his early days living in Arizona, always being around/working on music, and eventually starting to rap in high school. We discuss shit clicking for him, starting to perform a lot in Arizona, and opening for artists like Pusha T and the Flatbush Zombies. We talk about him moving to New York and him becoming a substantial part of The Good Company. In 2015, Esteban started the brand "Cliff" which he continues to run today with a collective of his close friends. We go into why he decided to start a brand, how it is to run one, and how he continues to keep things fresh in the very saturated market that is "fashion." Many other topics are in the mix like him performing many times in Japan, producing for A$AP Rocky, being godlike at NBA Street, etc. Shoutout to Caleb and Mo for being a part of this and thank you to Estiee!

Took the fuckin' 2, I think, uptown to talk shop with my boy Greg! We discuss growing up skating and him naturally gravitating to filming. His influences from going to Art and Design high school and collective "Muddguts". We breakdown his creative process for the Upper West Side Curb Club Video to showcase his beloved home. We speak on his relationships with Thrasher n Quartersnacks, and skating/filming with friends Ted Barrow, Frankie Spears, and Mark Suciu. Definitely got into diet, sobriety, and other shit! Greg revealed that he's working on a new video as well and we excited! Thank you to Greg and, as always, hope y'all enjoy.

Cooper biked over speed style to Prospect Heights and got mic'd up. We talk about his extensive years in filming; from videos like \m/ (my personal favorite), ether, and Heady Mental. We DIVE (lol) into Coop's eclectic love for music, playing drums, and playing in bands Pique and Aspartame. There's other shit too like him working in photography, loving cars, GLUE,  etc! Thank you so much to Cooper for agreeing to do this, this was a really fun one, hope y'all enjoy. Oh also, his love for mismatched vans and riding for Krux comes up too so don't you worry! 

Sat with Caleb for a couple hours the other day. We talked much about his younger days in NYC skating and extensive background in music. I asked him a lot about getting into rap, being a part of the Standing on the Corner ensemble, and his solo career. Working with his close friend Gio Escobar, Caleb and SOTC toured the country with King Krule! Caleb naturally gravitates towards being around other talented creatives and has worked personally with artists like Fousheé and Chuck Strangers! Sprinkled along the way we touch on religion, his modeling career, work ethic, etc. Caleb is such a talented musician and just a great man. This was a really fun one to do, thank you so much to Caleb and I hope y'all enjoy :)