LeBron MVP Shoe Photoshoot

Tonight was the photo shoot for the LeBron MVP sneakers. The location I decided was one that has been very familiar to me over the years - and the place I first went the moment I received my driver's license. For many of my friends from the Brighton area know this place, which has been filled with our blood, sweat, and maybe even some tears. 

Known simply as BECC, this gym has to be from the early 1900s or something with its hollow floors, stage curtains, and locker rooms directly underneath the hardwood. This gym has all the character you could ask from a gym, and is a place I would live if allowed. My photographer of choice was the same that produced the T.WayCustoms interviews with Tayshaun and Rip: my man Mike Berlucchi. He's definitely someone doing some great things with his cameras. He just finished a two-day shoot with Eminem the other day, so you know it's legit, HA! Anyways, we shot well over 200 pictures that I have a special plan for that you will have to wait to see. Until then, here's a couple teaser pictures to hold you off. Keep the look for the final productions!

LeBron Weekend in Detroit

Yes, my Pistons got destroyed and swept in the first round of the NBA Playoffs - definitely a sad ending for the Pistons dynasty over the past 7 years. As difficult as it was to watch that, my interests were luckily held elsewhere. Saturday was tentatively scheduled as the day to deliver the MVP shoes to LeBron. However, it was decided to not present the shoes to LeBron until the NBA officially announces him as their Most Valuable Player so not to jinx him beforehand, ha. So instead, Adrienne and I killed the majority of the day in the Great Lakes Crossing mall shopping, went to a movie (Earth - which I ended up pretty much already seeing the entire movie on Discovery Channel), and dinner at the Stir Crazy asian restaurant. Sunday we were able to go to my home church that my family has gone to for the past 16+ years and then went to the Palace of Auburn Hills for Game 4. (Thank you to Michelle and A.Smith for taking such great care of us and the shoes...again. Every time I'm in town you both go above and beyond, and I definitely appreciate it!) We watched the game right next to the ABC announcers on the floor and enjoyed watching LeBron put on another MVP performance. Afterwards we met LeBron's mother who is the coolest lady ever, and most of LeBron's closet people. Mrs. James gave a BIG two thumbs up on the shoes and was very excited about them - which is a very good sign to get the approval of the mother, HA. So the new plan is to travel to Cleveland when the NBA officially announces his award, and then I will present him the sneakers. I will be sure to keep you posted.

Live in Love. Lovin' Life.

Hanon-McKendry Meeting

As one of the perks from winning the Business Plan Competition, I was granted a meeting with Hanon-McKendry brand consultants. Their CEO Bob Blanchard set me up with their some of their best people: Amy (Director of Public Relations), Pete (co-founder of Mindscape), Jane (Chief Strategic Officer) and the company's co-founder Bill McKendry. I cannot begin to share with you all the expert knowledge they shared with me during our meeting...so I'm not even gonna try at this point. But you will see the results from the meeting as this company progresses - give it time! Anyways, their building is absolutely amazing and is located in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids, definitely an inspiring office space. Take a minute to check out their site by clicking the above hyperlink because I know it will be worth your couple of minutes. 

LeBron Soldier III

Cleveland Cavs Commercial - HAHA

This promo video from the Cavs plays off the Heineken "closet" commercial. It's hilarious and very well done. Congrats on the good work, Cavs people. I'm anticipating a similar reaction when LeBron receives his MVP custom sneaker (I'll try to post pictures of the step-by-step process sometime this week or weekend). Check it!

Insane Video!!

This video was found on Kanye's blog and is like a movie in all but 2 minutes. Crazy. Why must clowns always be the bad, scary guys??

LeBron "MVP" James Painting

T.Way completed this painting weeks before the MVP announcement. Why? Because LeBron had THAT great of a season and no matter the arguments, rightfully deserves this award. Come back soon to see the Nike Air Force 1 that T.Way is creating for LeBron to commemorate this MVP season...

Sneaker and Streetwear Blogs

Here's a list (in in particular order) of the sneaker and streetwear blogs and websites I check on the daily. Anyone else have these ones bookmarked and keep up on? 

Hypebeast

All City Kicks blog

Kanye West's blog

Sneaker Maniac

Sneak Hype

Kicks On Fire

Nice Kicks

High Snobiety

Sneaker Files

Artist Spotlight: Chris Shields

This dude Chris Shields is definitely an up-and-coming photographer. Check out his sites on Flickr and Myspace. Keep the look for his future works, and don't be surprised to see me hire out some shoots with him - hopefully!

Sometimes when climbing a mountain you have to climb down or sideways to find a better path to the summit.

Mascot Hit in Junk & Falls Thru Hoop! HAHA

Hahaha - I'm sorry, but I thought this was hilarious. The mascot (for some stupid reason) climbs and stands on the rim. Then gets hit in the junk by a half-court shot. Then to top it off, falls through the hoop! HAHA. Stupid. He/she must be pretty skinny to fall right through the rim.

Final Four Weekend

How often is the Final Four in your homestate? I had to make the trip from the west side of the state back to the east for all the Final Four activities and hype. Of course Adrienne made the trip with me on Friday as we made it just in time to Ford Field to watch all the teams practice as well as the Hersey's College All-Star game. Then Saturday was also fun because I finally got to upgrade my Verizon phone from a Treo to the new Blackberry Storm - the world's first touch-screen Blackberry! I'm still getting used to it, but so far love it. Then of course that night were the games (heck-to-the-YEAH Michigan State!) Afterwards Adrienne, myself, and a group of friends from the area went to a private Final Four after party at the Ultra Lounge inside Greektown Casino. After a late night Saturday, we got up on Sunday and had to come back to Grand Rapids. Wish I was still in Detroit for tonight's game though. If State wins, oh I mean "When State wins," don't be surprised to see Coach Izzo with a new pair of sneakers (T.WayCustom'ized, haha). As my friend would say," I'm not saying, I'm just saying." Go Sparty!

Business Plan Competition Success

I've been talking here and there about this business plan competition these last couple weeks after my first-round submission of a written 2-page summary of my business. After being accepted into the second round, I then had to submit my written business plan (which came out to be around 30 heavily detailed pages - aka: a LOT of work!). Thursday was the final round of the competition where it was narrowed down to 8 contestants to present their plans in 10-minute oral presentations. Held downtown at the Loosemore Auditorium on the beautiful Grand Valley campus, the nearly 5-hour event contained a fairly big crowd. Thanks a bunch to Adrienne, my sister Aubrey & her friend, my dude Garv, and long-time bud Jamie for coming out and supporting me for the entire competition! I wouldn't even had stayed that long if I didn't have to - so I GREATLY appreciate all of you giving me your support! Anyways, long story short, I got up on the stage and conducted my presentation & completed the Answer & Question round and overall felt absolutely great about my performances. To save you the anxious-excitement, I'll just tell you that the judges awarded me the 1st Place prize of $5K as well as numerous other perks and meetings with business experts. Never winning anything like this before, I was pumped to win a giant-sized check like you always see on game shows and what-not. The stupid thing is though that I have to now fill out a tax form and wait a couple weeks to actually obtain the winnings. Stupid taxes.

Here's a little cell-phone picture until the real ones are sent to me. Thanks Aubrey!