Photo's by Shaniqwa Jarvis
A couple months ago I was on a ski trip at Mammoth with my main man JP from
Feal Mor. JP is an avid soccer fan and needless to say, when we weren't skiing we were watching soccer (and drinking whiskey of course). I learned a lot that week and we ended up talking about this guy Clint Dempsey quite a bit...
...so it was pretty funny, about a week after I got back from vacation that I got a call from
Nike Football asking me if I had heard of a guy named Clint Dempsey? I was like "f#@k yeah!" I actually just finished getting a crash course on the dude.
The people at
Nike Football told me that they had made a new football bag and that they wanted me to Style Clint Dempsey by filling the bag with dope sh!t.
What was really exciting about this project to me was that I felt that Clint's personality was well suited for the the type of style that we do at Union, being that he has worked himself up from meager beginnings, like us. That he was an 80's baby having his roots in hip hop, like us. And that he was an American excelling in a field usually dominated by Europeans, much like what we do in fashion.
I was in!
So I called up my friends, told them about the project and I got everyone to pitch in to help me style Clint.
First stop was
Feal Mor, I mean without JP's help and direction this project wouldn't have gone right. And I felt like JP's soccer enthusiasm would help set the tone. So I met Jp at his shop to see what he had for Clint.
JP is an Arsenal fan... here Jp breaks down why he thinks Clint is going to Arsen. Let's see if he ends up being right when Clint makes his decision in the next two weeks?
Next up the boys at
Parabellum. These guys are as American as Apple Pie and I wanted to get them to customize something dope for Clint. Jason met me at the Parabellum headquarters.
Here I am getting my hands dirty...
...all play and no work.
Your boy Frank Ocean ain't the only one with a surprise.
I am officially Bi.
Bison-sexual....get it? Ha!
**no bison was harmed during the filming of this photo shoot**
Job done, got two fresh pieces for ya boy Clint.
In doing my research I found out the Clint is an avid bass fisherman. Surprise, surprise...I don't know sh!t about fishing? So I called my boy Cyril for a little help. He took me to some tackle shop in the Valley and helped me pick out a few items.
Feeling a little overwhelmed. Weights, lures, hooks, reels, rods....what ever happened to just using a worm???
Now I know that Clint, being from Texas, knows his "chopped and screwed" hip hop so I thought I would put him on to some LA sh!t. I hit up my boy
Gas Lamp Killer at the Labcabin for a special mix. We interrupted him as he was preparing the final mixes of his forthcoming album in stores this fall.
Called up my boy PEP who works with
Sennheiser for a little audio love. Gotta make sure that Clint gets the best headphones for his GLK mixes...
Next stop, Santa Monica where I dropped in on the fellas from
SOL. I asked them to make a special camera strap for Clint...there was something that he would need that for...hint hint (this is what you call good old fashioned foreshadowing).
Went on a little shop visit to see Rene at
RTH...anyone home?
hmm what to get? Ironically enough, I hate shopping. Go figure?
I'll take that one right there....yeah the
Native Indian beaded kilt pin. I don't think anyone has said those five words in a row before....thanks Rene!
I thought it would be good to get Clint some "smell goods" for those road trips...so off to
Le Labo.
Yeah I know I look craze?! All that perfume makes me a little light headed...
Time and money permitting I had this crazy idea of me flying all over the world, picking out the best sh!t on earth from all my friends and vendors and filming the whole thing. You know... Fly to Tokyo to see my boy Tommy Ogara and get the Neighborhood sunglasses then on a quick flight to Italy to get some Ten C from Paul Harvey then off to somewheres else to get some other crazy sh!t... There is a Bravo reality show in there somewhere? Fashion and travel...if we only had to eat crazy food and if there was a competition of some sorts in there...like a race...yeah a race!!! oh sh!t...there I go again getting all excited...
I had to save that idea for another day so instead I just had Paul Harvey from
Ten C send me the dope sh!t via Fed Ex. Guess I will have to wait on that reality show...
And of coarse we gotta rep for
Union. It's weird shopping in my own store for someone else???
"Never get high on your own supply..."
I had to make a few other calls...My boys at Neighborhood pitched in as well as a ton of goods from Nike...of course. Yo Robbie @ Nike, don't forget to get a brother one of these bags...sh!t is fire!
Aight...got the bag full...
...off to present this to Clint. To see what's in the bag and whether or not Clint liked it...check back to this same
bat channel after Clint makes his big announcement.
Super Duty Tough Work shout out to Nike for putting this project together.
Clint Dempsey for being "as cool as a cucumber" with this whole thing, you the man Clint!
&
Special thanks to the following heads that helped make this Freshhhhhhh....
Adam W & the whole Stussy Tribe
Cyril
Feal Mor
Gas Lamp Killer
Neighborhood
Parabellum
Sennheiser
SOL
Ten C
Tommy Ogara
