"ORIGINAL IS NEVER FINISHED"

"the next you catch me looking off into space seemingly in deep angsty thought , you know , this is the junk thats flying through my mental space . "

| style , photo , video , dance

There's no denying Adidas come up in the last few years with their NMD's and their Yeezy's and their HumanRace and etc . They're starting to give Nike a run for their money culturally . I make that distinction because Nike earned 3.7 billion in sales compared to Adidas 877 million last year . So to say that they're giving a Nike a run for their actual money is a little like saying that Myspace is really growing and is finally making a comeback against Facebook . Nevertheless , Adidas has definitely became cool again with all their new tech and celebrity collabs but I think that it's the Original's that are really making the noise . Yeezy's are dope and NMDs are comfortable but the Superstars are what you see everywhere from your neighborhood mall to your favorite model's Instagram when they're wearing their "casual comfortable , woke up like this" looks . The "Original" line is where they showed 60% increase last year and that's whats the most popular purchase amongst the consumers . They haven't really upgraded the fabrics very much especially in comparison to all of Nike's new wearable tech but they have tailored the old designs with a new silhouette to make the looks more current . 

The reason why I bring all this up is because of their brand spanking new , million dollar creative agency created campaign , is all fantastically and beautifully wrapped around their current slogan : "ORIGINAL is never finished" . The commercials , digital content , and marketing efforts are put into features that showcase athletes , artists , lifestyle athletes who are deemed originals in their distinctive fields . The marketing media is done beautifully and the sentiment is beautiful but I feel like the slogan doesn't speak to that . The slogan really , obviously , states that (Adidas) Original is never finished and that the Adidas Originals Brand is making a come back . The double entendre is fairly obvious but I would argue that the double entendre doesn't really work as it only really clearly speaks to one of the metaphors are is a reach for the other . 

Of course , my mental meanderings on this topic is fairly futile because obviously the campaign is working is that people are buying . In fact , I love Adidas Original products and I love the media content that 72andsunny have created for this campaign . This is just a little peak into the mental gymnastics I do for no reason to distract me from the real questions of my life such as , "coke .. or pepsi?" 

So the next you catch me looking off into space seemingly in deep angsty thought , you know , this is the junk thats flying through my mental space . 

I want to say that there was some epic artistic inspiration behind creating this video . Something like , I saw a bird fly through the night and when it hit the light an Adidas logo was created in the shadow and i just knew that i had a go buy a bunch of gear and create this... for the people of humankind .It would certainly give me more artist cred . But the truth is that me and my friend Chad just bought a bunch of Adidas gear that we liked and thought it would alleviate our shopper's guilt if we did something productive with our new purchases . We both used their opportunity to try our hand at different photo and video skills and also got to work with a talented friend . Money will spent-ish

Direction - JUSTFENG

Photo/Video- Chad Mayate , JUSTFENG

Dancers/models - Ayumi Sasaki , Chad Mayate , JUSTFENG

*** I'm sorry MySpace for the cheap shot , I gots love for you and will always remember the good times .

WEEKDAY ESCAPES 

"Sometimes you just gotta vibe"

| style , video 

Sometimes you just gotta get out there and vibe . 

Jacket - Obey Clothing

Shirt - Top Man

Sunglasses - Ray Ban 

Photographer/videographer - Dim Slum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EATING FOOD WHILE IT'S HOT

"I sometimes can get to a clean plate when the food is cold but it takes a lot of discipline . It often gets left out there cold and unfinished . No one gets prizes for food unfinished . Not even participation trophies ."

| style

It’s always best when it’s hot . The flavors are at their most flavorful , the smells fill entire rooms , and all I can think about is taking the first bite . That’s when the food is at it’s truest form and meant to be experienced . I am most likely to finish all of my food when it’s hot . The plate always gets cleaned . That’s when the food is at it's best . Hot .

When it’s warm , I can still eat it , it still tastes pretty good . All the original flavors are still kind of there and I still remember my first bites while it was hot . I might get distracted a little but I always come back to my food and it will get finished .  

When the food gets cold it’s tough . It just doesn’t have the flavor and enticing quality it once had . It doesn’t make me salivate . When I’m away , cold food doesn’t make me think about it and make me wanna rush home to finish it . I sometimes can get to a clean plate when the food is cold but it takes a lot of discipline . It often gets left out there cold and unfinished . No one gets prizes for food unfinished . Not even participation trophies .

Reheating food . I can do that . I mean , it’s definitely not as great as it was when it was originally hot . but it’s technically hot again , I can get through it . I sometimes can get to the end and get to my clean plate when I try to reheat food . 

When food is cold , eating feels more like work than pleasure . That’s why I have to try to finish my food while it’s hot no matter where I am or what I’m doing . Or at least take my first couple bites out of it so that when I have to reheat it later , I can imagine what it tasted like when I first bit into it while it was hot . To try to recreate that experience .

This is also why I try not to eat too many different dishes at once . Maybe 2 or 3 MAX and that’s even stretching it thin because you have to switch between the dishes before any one of them gets cold . Its tough to juggle . Maybe with fast-food you can juggle easier , but if you’re out at a nice restaurant with quality food ? Food that puts fire into your heart ? I highly recommend eating one hot dish at a time . 

This is really just a reminder to myself to focus on one hot meal so that I can really develop that one hot meal and produce one exceptional and extremely clean plate . A plate that will let the audience know how the food made me feel when it was hot and fresh and moved me to eat it . 

Jacket - Obey

Shirt - Zara

Pants - Top Man

Shoes - Toms

Photographer - Hey Yeh

*** This outfit was thought of while I was on a trip to Chicago . I came home to shoot it the next day to try to recreate the feeling I had when I first tried it on in the store and imagined a version of myself that would wear this jacket .  

MIXING , MATCHING AND NEVER FITTING IN

| style

"Though I may never feel like I fit into one group , I find comfort in knowing that there are plenty of worlds that I'm blessed to have experience and that I can bring together"

Growing up as an Asian Immigrant in a predominately hispanic neighborhood , I never really felt like I fit in any where . And to this day as a citizen of many worlds I still don't feel like I fit in anywhere . After years of feeling this way , I've discovered part of the reason for this is that I don't seem to fit into any particular category no matter how much I had wanted to . In high school , I wanted to be an athlete , but I never connected with my team mates . I was also in a lot of advance placement classes but I didn't related to them either . I also wasn't savvy enough to bounce between the two worlds . I was stuck in between and it was hard to make friends this way especially in high school when you don't have an identity that people can understand you by  , I sort of drifted .

Even in dance which I've been doing for 15 years . I came from a choreography team background then I moved into a professional company of predominantly trickers , bboys , and soloists . I'm not the strongest in any type of choreography not am i the strongest in solos . Even friends who've seen me dance for years can't really understand what it is that i'm doing . I'm not a Bboy , I'm not a popper , I'm not any category yet I can do a little of a lot of things and it all sort of blends into my own style . 

Unconsciously , because I've been drifting through different worlds since moving to America at the age of 8 , in trying to fit in as a young person , I picked up different perspectives and tastes for all the different groups that I was a part of , and even though I didn't completely identify with any one specifically , I was able to absorb all the things that I love and exchanged what I brought from different groups . When I brought into Quest , I brought skills in choreography , dance stage direction and team organization of a crew of amazing soloists and from my crew mates I was able to learn a little from their strengths . This became my identity to myself . Other people may or may not understand it but as with all people I am a sum of my experience and knowledge and though I'm not an expert in one area , I have gained so many varied experiences from different worlds that I am able to combined it all into something thats just me . 

I feel that the way that I dress is a physical representation of that . I'm never going to look great in outfits that are put together in a magazine , movie , or commercial . I don't fit into those molds , I mix and match all the things that work for me that comes from different genre's and that makes up how I dress and who I am . In this outfit , I'm wearing pieces from 8 different brands that cater to different demographic . Though I may never feel like I fit into one group , I find comfort in knowing that there are plenty of worlds that I'm blessed to have experience and that I can bring together .  

Jacket - Marshall Artist

Flannel - Alternative

Beanie - Woodlands

Glasses - Toms

Photographer - Courtney Yeh