Mar 3, 2014
Playing with a concept lately that takes up a majority of my time hashing out. It's something familiar but relatively underused because the implications that go alongside it are dangerous for most businesses and entities to rely on. Once you give it a close look, you'll understand why it's often overlooked and also shunned by the majority of people we deal with in and out of business.
If you haven't guessed the name or source of the piece, I will give you a hint, actually, I'll go even farther and just give you the word itself: truth.
There was a point where I had to examine the way I deal with people and do "business" because some things weren't adding up.After some choice insights and musings from strangers, I came to realize the reason any of this works is also the reason it doesn't at times.I tell it like it is.
Now that's a great thing if you're in a wonderful position of obscurity,power, or you have a tough skin (often synonymous with delusion), but that's not always the case.So, the truth can be troublesome.
After some heavy deliberation and a ton of fan emails asking something to the effect of "why don't you tell people this?" or "wow, I had no idea"...it seems I was not authentic.If something was just really bad or painted a light that was uncomfortable, it was pretty much glazed over or avoided.
If this were politics, that would be an awesome thing.But this is a brand about struggling to reach goals, breaking molds, hardship,resiliency,and at the end of the day, it just doesn't work to ask so much of you without putting that responsibility on myself while running this. It's essentially a lie. Lies don't work here.
With all of these revelations, there comes more.You guys have to be truthful with yourselves and ask whether you would rather bathe in mediocrity or if you indeed live the brand and want more.
If you do, get on the mailing list, tell friends, spread the brand and culture in places we can't go. This has been a labor of love and continues to be, but it can't be done alone.The places we try to go, they might not always want or accept us.This isn't new, it's life. And if someone doesn't want or accept you, why would you try to support them in the first place?
That's been a part of the struggle in not only streetwear, but life as of late.There's a feeling now that is hard to shake, and working on some pieces has made me realize what was missing all along...the complete, unabashed,truth.
Feelings will be hurt, egos will be crushed, pride may be jettisoned.But,the end result should prove to yield all of you a more worthwhile brand that not only tries harder than ever to give you the best, but also doesn't settle for any less with any facet of the brand or culture behind it. You're in for some good stuff.
In the meantime, keep holding on and persisting, spread the word to everyone you know.We need that from you and I'm genunine in saying it's for the sake of making something great happen. This and just doing the best you can for yourselves to want and do more each day is all we can ask...oh, and maybe some Laffy Taffy...but that's another day (grape is the best). Carry on and stay hungry out there! -h_h-
Try Hard, Never Settle, Stay Hungry -h_h-
Mar 3, 2014
The world is prone to celebrating mediocrity and ignoring anything meaningful and/or substantial unless there is fame or profit involved...or the person dies.Because of that, a lot of really great stuff flies under the radar never to be heard from again unless fate,luck, or the aforementioned help position them elsewhere.
At any rate, one of my good buds is trying to do great work for the fighting game community and despite it being a passion project by someone from a large community with a need for such exposure,and a huge fanbase, their fanpage has all of 37 likes.Bummer.
Coincidentally the book covers Evo Moment 37,which is arguably the greatest moment in the history of competitive gaming.
The project is in its infancy, But,there is a lot it has to offer.Do us a favor and like the fanpage when you get a sec.They deserve better.Remember, if you want quality, you have to support it! I believe in you guys!
Lifted this pic from the internet.This is how Glenn looks after he's eaten somewhere good without telling you. Tell him to stop doing that to us when you can, maybe he'll listen to you guys!!!
Try Hard,Never Settle, Stay Hungry -h_h-
Feb 26, 2014
Starting to realize something: it's easy to fall back into old habits.
Grazing over some projects and just handling real life has me looking like a hot mess right now. It's one thing to have a balance, but when you're the goto guy for just about everything, that can fall apart really fast.
Something I've been forcing myself to do is work on my truth.That sounds all mysterious and zen-like, but it's a bit more straightforward, if you have "X" amount of time in the day, you don't have time to waste on things that don't matter or you can't control.I keep harping on that for a reason, it's not things that I do that bother me as often as external stuff...which is cumbersome, you can't do much about it.
We've been doing a bit of top secret stuff and the thing that always comes to mind during pieces of the day is behavior.Why can some people control themselves so well at a given time? Is it an intrinisc talent? Practiced? Where does the ability stem from?
After some plotting, it all comes back to a pretty simple statement : people will do what they do.
If you take yourself outside of the world and realize your responses and self are all you can control, you'll gain a new meaning of what it takes to ascertain a goal. It's not bending the object, it's bending your will to the obstacle.
With that said, we have a lot of obstacles.They're not new. They just aren't mentioned, because it seems like a distraction, but if you think about it, the real loss lies in trying to do more than control oneself, but CHANGE yourself and how you feel.It's not real.
Now that I've turned the vague rant off, you're probably going to start seeing more stuff that doesn't make sense right now that will later coupled with some things that seem apparent and won't be complete until they are done. It's a long and secretive bunch of jargon I'm spitting at you,but there's purpose,just remember that.
I'm the meantime, make sure to check the fanpage and mailing list up before the week ends.I'm kind of everywhere, but there are things you won't want to miss. Pretend this is all a game for the time and just hang tight, we're trying to get to the next level. -h_h-
Try Hard,Never Settle, Stay Hungry -h_h-
Feb 23, 2014
I've been working on ditching lame stuff lately. What do you mean by lame? Just... lame. Only word to describe it.
Looking at the work, old and new. I can see a trend.We do great work, but it suffers. Not in ways you would imagine. More like, "oh wow, I didn't think about that.That's lame". I think I've said that at least a million times over the past few years.
It seems like we were just spending too much energy on the wrong stuff, and each piece of the story has just come together. The moment you stop trying to destroy yourself, and look up, the whole picture comes into focus.And now we're here. So welcome to the party.
Now that we're "here" , for lack of a better word, it seems like there is so much to do. I keep thinking about releases, wild faces,and just how fun this is going to be. It's the first time in a while I've been excited,for anything.
You guys have been hitting us up on Twitter, Contacts,and the Fan Page more often with the posts.It's kind of tough to explain everything that's going on, so just keep hanging tight. We're not dead, nothing crazy has happened (not in a bad way at least, unles you mean 'bad' like 'good',then yes, "something bad has happened"),cool stuff just takes time,that's all.
There should be some stuff in circulation for the people that just can't hold on much longer, and from there, we'll start making the craze happen. So, grab a Redbull and hang on.
Expect the posts to still keep up though, some fun ideas that you guys should like on that end too. It's all just coming together.Finally.
Try Hard, Never Settle, Stay Hungry -h_h-
Feb 12, 2014
There's something you have to learn to acknowledge when you do this: not everything works out.
Whether it's that design you just couldn't get to pop out "just" the way you wanted it, or a store,printer, or whoever else is just too busy or "not accepting new clients".You kind of have to suck it up and roll with it, because you can't change it.Not all at once,at least.
I was thinking about something I said in an interview a year ago, "celebrate the people who celebrate you", I haven't been doing that enough.When I think about what it is that we're trying to do, there's NO POSSIBLE WAY ON THE PLANET that we can get by without making a lot of people unhappy.Whether it's someone who doesn't like the price of the gear (I'll be real, streetwear is tough to understand until you get that everything is custom made and the work that goes into it is crazy), or that person,business, or brand that you were once cool with starts to butt heads with you over whatever they choose that day, you really just start to see that the only thing you can control fully is yourself.
With every new interaction, I'm starting to see there is more control that comes from just letting people be who they are.It's cool to want a certain outcome, but would you want it if it wasn't real? If the love of your life didn't really love you,would you overlook it just to make yourself happy? Or would you seek out something real that might not be what you originally asked for, but whatever you get ,you can trust...? There isn't a right answer to that, some people are cool with the first one, some the second, and many have their own story that lies somewhere in between,we all have to do what works for us.
Going back to business, I think I was in love with a lot of things that weren't real.I browsed through old emails and messages the other day, and it was crazy to see how much I ignored.Now, there's a sort of ignorance that is forgivable when you are just unaware of something,that's naivete , and if you were born on this planet, you've had to have those moments, it's the cost of entry as far as life beyond being a single-celled organism is concerned.So,that's a pass.The second of ignorance however, is not so forgiveable.It's called delusion.Let me explain.
Fairly recently I was afforded a choice exchange with friends, and the concepts of love and mystery came about while talking about a piece we had been thinking about.Somehow the image of a heart has always been a part of everything I've done for as long as I recall.I thought back to when I drew my first one, and the second,then the third millionth one, why did I always draw hearts?
Later in the day it came to me that growing up in a cartoon and media based era, hearts are the best way for someone to understand love or amorous in illustration.The once meaningless symbol now has a unique place in that it represents not only the intended desires and convictions of whoever plants the symbol there, but also the end user is forced to examine their own idea of love.It's external imagery internalized,no way around it.
Back to the query , it seems that more times than not, if you put a heart next to something, it means that you love it....and that in turn usually is coupled with an easily overturned misconception or surprise that somehow transitions into love once revealed or conveyed.In layman's terms, the media tells us from birth that if you love something, and you do the right things (aren't a villain,and don't try to feed Gremlins after midnight),whatever you love will love you back.That's great in practice, but it's not how the world works.
Looking at HH, I think that the most prominent thought about the brand is that at it's core, it's love.Now thinking even deeper, I've come to realize that the statement goes a bit further than expected: HH is my love.
You guys don't know it, I was not the brightest when it came to people.The best reference I can think of is the 5th element,TonyTony Chopper from One Piece,E.T. or the little Gameboy on Captain N...they were all equally uninformed about the human condition, not everyone is good,and not everyone is perfect.That's not how life works.
I always tell you guys to 'Try Hard, Never Settle, Stay Hungry'...but at the same time, a big part of that is to acknowledge what's really happening and be smart about it.If you go to McDonald's and they're not serving breakfast,you have to get something else,if the Slurpee machine is broken, you're gonna have to deal with a really cold Mountain Dew and/or a popsicle,that's just how it is.It's not the end of the world, it's just the situation for the time.You have to move on.
Thinking about what we do here, there are times where I have really been trying too hard to get that McDonald's breakfast and Slurpee.I didn't really have the experience initially to recognize lack of opportunities, and that was beneficial for a time.Sometimes it good to not know what you're up against,as it won't affect your performance if you're trying for the most optimal result regardless of outcome.However, there comes a point where you need to acknowledge what is apparent,and for us, the thing to address is, not everyone celebrates you,so you don't have to celebrate them.
The fallacy in love is that it's chemical.We can't help but idealize and feel bonds with what resonates or strike a core inside us.If you love something, you love it.There's no easy way around that.Despite love, you have to take care to also protect yoursellf.If you're not prepared for that, life can be rough,love internally first.
Now that we're going farther, there's a need to love not only what we do and what speaks to us, but what nurtures us.It's okay to change it up or have something just not work out...really.It doesn't have to slow you down, it doesn't have to be a Facebook post,scrapped design,or Twitter rant, you just keep it moving.
There's an expression that goes "just because everything's different, doesn't mean it has changed.." and while that doesn't apply completely to the external things we love and strive for, it speaks bounds for the internal..it's a message for the things and people we love.That's you the fans,artists, the muses, the references,the community,cultures....all of it...but especially the ones that don't love us back : I love you so much.You are the reason we do this.There is no place in my heart that is without feeling for you.There is not a time in the day you are not spoken of,conjured,or otherwise heralded as the reason for joy or existence of any kind.There is nothing you have done or need to do outside of persist for us to be content,as real love is unconditional and timeless...But right now this is about us...and we have to go where love is apparent...and it's not here. Not yet... -h_h-
You see, people say that we're changing
But really it's the people around us that are changing
You see, we aint tryna hurt nobody
People tryna hurt us
But you know what
Imma keep being me
That's all i can do in this life time (check it)...
Try Hard, Never Settle, Stay Hungry -h_h-