202(3)4 CATCH

Missed the 2023 yearly check in! My bad!

The last 2 years have been very interesting and rewarding. Professionally, crazy campaigns, local colab launches and still doing cool stuff. Been travelling internationally again! Hit London and got hand out at Rihanna's party. Also, I got to see the Emirates Stadium in the flesh.

I did my first personal trip since 2015. Nearly 10 years since I took a proper holiday. Melbourne was surprisingly cool. Australia was never on the bucket list but what a dope place!

Best part of the past 2 years? Seeing all my friends winning!

See you next year!

2022 CHECK IN

Yo

It's that time of  again. Time for the annual check in. It's been a very challenging one but super fruitful. It's been one gratitude and I've decided smell the roses a bit more.

CHECK IN 2021

You know what this is. By that I mean it’s my annual visit to my corner of the interest where I come talk myself. This place is the place where I started my transition from just a regular Cape Town kid with a love of fashion into the world digital marketing and a formal career in my field of interest. I guess it saved me in a way because it could’ve gone all so wrong had I not found this platform. It’s been so important to my life I made a promise to update at least once a year (even if nobody reds it haha) and in this crazy messed up time of uncertainty and self doubt, it’s the one promise I know I can keep. I guess 11 years later it’s sort of saving me in its own way. Life.

As I move on in my career and life, I’ve been invited to give industry talks and guest lectures about my work and journey I always find myself talking about this page. Crazy to realize that the more I move on the more I’m reminded and pulled back here. Life.

2021 has been the most challenging year, all round, for me. I went back to school, facilitated colabs between African creatives and a giant sneaker company and lost loved ones.Highest of highs and lowest lows but sometimes you gotta remind yourself to smell the roses.

I

.

OBSCURE SPORTS CLUBS

 Yo

Most of my old followers understand my love of weird sports clubs and codes. To my new ones, I was basically raised on Transworld Sport, Gillette World Sport Special and Futbol Mundial as a youth. These shows ignited my curiosity for the world and all it's far places via my love of sports. The best was when you saw a young footballer make his debut in an obscure league then end up a superstar over time. I remember getting really good at Geography coz of these shows haha.

Working for one of the world's biggest sports brands gives you access to all the smaller club jersey's which to me is the biggest flex ever. Jersey's I need this year: Chivas, Palmeiras, Kawasaki Frontale, SK Slavia Praha.

2020 Check In

 Yo!

Almost 18 months since my last post. Life really blows by but I will always keep this blog active, even if it's one post a year. This is the platform that started my digital presence and helped transition from just being regular dude from Cape Town with an unusual passion for taste making to an actual career in fashion, lifestyle and entertainment. Started this in 2010 and 10 years later I still reference it in industry talks and interviews. Lots of your current favorite things and people were posted here first, just saying.

Mad shit has happened since my last post on here like visiting Barcelona, another Sole DXB, a dope ass relationship with Martell and all the other drama that 2020 has brought. Here's to attempting to put more posts up haha.

This will always be the weird, obscure and quiet place on the internet I like to chill at remind myself why I do what I do.

 

2019 Check In

Yo!

It's literally 5am and again I haven't been able to sleep a single minute. So just staying up and then hitting the office. I've been resting too much since I stopped hitting the club and everything that came with it ;).

So I thought I'd throw something up on the blog coz the last time I posted was August 2018 I think. Last time I posted I didn't even have any tattoos (or a man bun) haha. Shit, anyway life has been amazing 2 magazine features for the year so far, work still dope, we opened a restaurant and a bunch of my friends had babies.

I will post on here more regularly.

SUNDAY SESSIONS VOL.1

Sundays are for chill vibes.I try and zone out as much as I can and just get my mind clear for the upcoming week. Music is the key! I'll try and post up my Sunday playlist every week. peep this week's below

THE PROMISE

I very rarely open up or talk about my feelings but sometimes it's good just type it out on a random blog and hope somebody finds it. Another reason I'm posting is that this specific blog has come up a lot recently interviews about my career and how it all started which reminded me of a promise I made to myself to always keep it updated regardless of who reads it.

Crazy to think how blog that launched my career in street culture was the idea of super posh white girls during my AAA days (you know who you are!).

Had a chat with my brother Rolo the other day and we both realized that we've lived amazing lives in our short time on this planet. The projects, the brands, the art, the access, the flights, the network, the features, the women, the beef and it's even wilder when you realize the pants still sagging and the accents still heavy.

MoMA x Upscale Vandal

This right here is everything!

I've been a huge Upscal Vandal fan and he is proof that street dudes can make it to the top of fashion without having to go to fancy schools or have specialized training. All you need is have that fire inside of you and apply that street smarts.

PHOTO OF THE DAY | SOLEBOX & BURGERS

Life is pretty good when important work lunch meetings look like this....

NEVER NOT LEARNING

For the past 7 years this blog has mostly been about sneakers, fashion and music because those are the things that literally saved my life. I started this space to share new and different things within those fields but I think it's time I add another dimension to this. People often ask me "what do you do?" or "what did you study?" and my answer to both is always the same, "I'm an observer of life". I was fortunate enough to realize early in life that I'm actually not really talented or gifted at anything. I never won awards or achieved much in my youth (there were no swag awards in those times), I couldn't even type a CV to get a part time job but I was street smart in a way which made me realize that if I wanted to get anywhere in life I had to out hustle the competition. Often, being talented or gifted can be a hinderance to reaching your full potential I learnt the power of being legitimately the smartest guy in the room. This sounds a lot harder than it actually is. When learning your craft, put yourself in situations where you are able to soak up game, the art of ear hustling. ALWAYS STAY LEARNING. You can get yourself an unofficial Harvard education via social media if you follow the right people. This will only make sense if you yourself have an end game for yourself. Having no end game will just have flip flopping between "motivational" quotes.

SALZBURG VIA MUNICH

Austria is the spot! Best beers ever!