CP3 Weekend - Day 2

Saturday was the weekend's big day of events. It began with a basketball clinic at the YWCA hosted by Brand Jordan. We arrived half-way through the camp and watched CP play some 1-on-1 with the campers while also entertaining the spectators hanging over the track railings hanging above the courts. Afterward we brought in the shoes into the back room to have Chris sign them - they grabbed A LOT of attention from everyone, and I sensed Chris particularly loved them...
Saturday night was THE night - the Gala. The silent auction had Carmelo Anthony-signed Jordan shoes, CP3-signed USA Olympic basketball, Emmit Smith and Tony Romo helmets, Kareem Abdul Jabbar autographed jersey, etc. The three-course meal was amazing, and the dessert was huge - I could only put away 3 bites.

The main event of the night within the main event of the weekend was the live auction, and the custom sneakers were proud to be included within the few items featured. Among those were a golf lesson from Tiger Woods' personal coach (Hank Hanney), a high-end luxury watch, limited-edition full tool set signed by Dale Earnhart, Jr. and of course, the T.Way CP3 custom sneakers. The auctioneer gave his best effort to describe the sneakers' inspiration and the customization process as they had pictures of the shoes on both projection screens and Chris Paul carried the sneakers and case to the podium.

The starting bid was $500 and as each numbered paddle was raised in the air, the price increaed in $250 increments (at one point I caught CP himself raise the paddle). As people at our table kept looking towards me with congratulations, the final bid was placed - $3,750. Not bad, just under $4,000 - success! After the auction, I met up with Chris and asked him about being outbid - his response, "Yeah man, my grandpa got it. Kept it in the family." Wow, what an honor. Not only did CP like the shoes, but his family liked them so much they paid all that cash-money to keep them in the family. What an honor for me. After hearing that, I made sure to get a picture with Chris and his grandpa with the shoes.

Overall, the weekend was incredible. For the first time it seemed like everything went right, and it was well worth the 24-hours of driving and 36-hour time span of zero sleep. The Paul family is incredible, and I have an extreme amount of respect for them and what they continue to do for their hometown - it's inspiring.Special thanks to Adrienne who made the trip with me and all your great networking abilities (haha) and Lindsey Adams who also came down with us and did what he does best - video (can't wait to see the footage and what he puts together!). Also, thanks to Jennifer Keene and Ben Clark, and especially Chris Paul and his family.

CP3 Weekend - Day 1

Wow, what an incredible weekend...let's start at the beginning. We left Grand Rapids immediately after night class at 9:30PM and drove literally ALL NIGHT. We finally arrived in Winston-Salem, NC, at 9:30AM - exactly a 12-hour drive. I slept 0 hours or those 12. Upon arrival at the hotel, we tried to at least get a few hours of real sleep. Once again, I slept 0 hours of those 3. After my failed attempts at sleeping, we took to the town for some lunch without any knowledge of what would happen...

We grubbed at Mellow Mushroom and near its completion noticed MoPete (Morris Peterson - NCAA Champion from MSU and current NOH teammate of CP3) eating directly across the street. After pizza and salads, we decided as a group to head over and at least introduce ourselves. As we crossed, someone from a passing car was yelling out their window at MoP. I turned around, and it was Chris Paul. Crazy. So I quickly talked to him standing in the middle of the downtown street. As that was happening, Lindsey managed to pull out his video-camera and Adrienne proceeded to introduce herself to MoPete and his company, haha. After realizing I was in the middle of the street, I concluded my discussion with Chris and receded back onto the sidewalk where I met up with Adrienne already in conversation with MoP and two others. Turns out, one of them, Jason Trice, is a GVSU graduate and played football on the back-to-back national championship teams from 2000. Immediately we all joined forces and cracked our jokes directed at MoP about GVSU basketball (a Division II school) beating MSU on their home court a couple years ago. We ganged up on him bad, and he had no defense. Good times, good people, and a good Day 1.

CP3 Charity Auction Sneakers: Press

So far the early images of the Chris Paul charity-auction sneakers have been attracting some press. Here are a few of the sites thus far that we have seen:
SLAMOnLine.com,
PaintorThread.com,
NiceKicks.com,
AboutSneakers.com,
CampusLifeisCrazy,
The Lanthorn

CP3 Charity Auction Sneakers: Photos

Photography by Kim Way (www.always-photo.com)

CP3 Charity Auction Sneakers: Video

Inspired by Chris Paul’s on-court anatomy of superior court vision, extensive basketball IQ, and committed love for the game, these sneakers were freehand painted by T.Way to be auctioned at the Chris Paul Winston-Salem Charity Weekend on September 26, 2009. The originally all-white Nike RT1 sneakers were graciously donated by All City Kicks sneaker boutique (Grand Rapids, MI).

TWay Customs: CP3 Charity from McFaddenisDead on Vimeo.

Social Media - WOW Facts

Making of JAY-Z BP3 Cover Art

I had no idea the work involved in creating Jay-Z's cover art for the BP3. I figured the majority of the work could have been Photoshop'd and done digitally, but they did it right this way. Oh yeah, and his actual album was yet another classic. Go BUY it.

Shipment One: We Run GVSU

Last Friday Adrienne and I road-tripped from one side of Michigan to the other side, and back. But that has nothing to do with what I'm posting about, so disregard that useless fact (sorry to waste your time - that's 5 seconds you won't ever get back). Man, I really dug myself a hole on this post...now I really have to 'entertain' you to keep you reading, otherwise you're probably saying to your self, "Self, I just wasted 5 seconds of my life reading that first sentence, and since I'm still reading, I'm wasting another 15-20 seconds." Unless you're a slow reader, then maybe like 30-45 seconds, heck, maybe even a minute. I love coffee.



Ok, so what I was trying to quickly post about was the instant success of the first shipment of the 'We Run GVSU' tees - the first installment of the 'We Run' College Series. I started by trying to say we picked up the shirts on Friday in East Lansing, then got them back to Grand Rapids late that night. The next day was the first home football game, and by the end of the game, they were completely sold out. No joke. From my own experience, and from the others that were wearing their shirts, they said they received comments and questions all through out the night about, "Where'd you get those?" and, "Those shirts are freakin sweet!" etc. By the next day, we made our re-order to get additional shirts printed. They should hopefully be in-hands by some day next week. Here are a few pictures sent to me of some of those who pre-ordered from the first shipment. They look so happy! Therefore, if you have not already, make sure to order your shirt from the second shipment before those ones sell out.



We updated a new webstore that makes the ordering process more easy and reliable for you. If you do not need to have your shirt shipped, enter the promo code: PICKUP so you will not have to pay shipping costs. Any questions, just contact me.

Lookin Like I'm Feelin

My man JBiZzNys dropped this note via his Facebook Fan Page and is definitely worth the recognition. He continues to drop his soul and heart into everything he does. I got you Bizz, and we got this!




"I’m up /
Lookin’ like I’m loved but I’m feelin’ like I’m ****** /
Feelin’ like the one but I’m lookin’ like I’m stuck /
Takin’ what I won, but they tell me that it’s luck…ugh! /
They laugh when I say what I say /
But they don’t see where I lay /
On the couch, on the grind, in your heart, on your mind…it’s mine /
Tell me it’s a maybe, they tell me it’s a probably /
Dummies thinkin’ bout a dollar, I’m thinkin’ like I’m Ghandi /
Einstein, Ben Frank /
I’m dealin' with the dream, I aint worried bout the bank /
Catch 22 – I need it if I wanna stay /
Stupid with the will, but I can’t find the way /
They’re tellin’ me to chill…be good /
Gotta get great… /
You’re thinkin’ to the ceilin’, I’m thinkin’ what I’m feelin’ /
She aint hand me a thang, so I’m thinkin’ bout stealin’ /
Changin’ what she’s dealin’ /
If you got it then you got it, if you want it then get on it /
Let’s keep it real then /
Everybody else /
I don’t hear them, and I don’t see them /
I’ma kill them…"





(i.e. out-work, out-hustle, out-grind - FYI)

Coolest Music Album TV Ad