Posner Homecoming Event, Detroit City, Stevie Soul

Last night Adrienne and I made the trip across the Mitten to Detroit for Mike Posner's "Homecoming Celebration" held at Cheli's Chili right outside the Warped Tour in Comerica Park. There was a great turnout and a pretty good show. The highlight of the night was definitely after the show when myself and friends went a few blocks away to Stevie Soul's loft apartment overlooking the city of Detroit, at least what remains of it...

Detroit is an interesting story. Back in the 1950's it was the spot to be. At that time it was the 2nd or 3rd largest city in America behind NYC and maybe Chicago. During that time it was what LA/Hollywood is like for us now - as hard as that is to believe. Sadly however, the race riots in 1967 completely destroyed most of the city and some of its most beautiful buildings.

Stevie has a great spot just blocks from Ford Field and Comerica Park overlooking the Detroit skyline. We got back to his apartment sometime after midnight and chilled on his rooftop for hours. It has a 360-degree view of the city and it was amazing to look over everything. Stevie and his friend gave us a complete history lesson on buildings, the incredible old houses that either are still completely destroyed or are being restored, etc. It was extremely sad to witness the devastation we know Detroit as while comparing what it could have been. In all reality, it could have been what Chicago is today, but instead, it's Detroit. It will take a lot of money, time, and people to fully restore it to its glory days - if that is even possible. Personally I vow to dedicate whatever I can do to help in its redevelopment. It won't be easy, but if we all do our part, anything is possible. Dream Impossible; yes, even you, Detroit.

Lakers Championship Parade Video

My good, good friend Joe Buys put together a quick little video after the Lakers championship parade for you to enjoy, even if you're not a Lakers/Kobe fan...Hahaa

Super Slow Motion of Stuff Being Destroyed

This video has no purpose other than being really cool and entertaining, oh...and very scientific too.

Mike Posner After Party - This Friday

Mike Posner is coming back into his homestate/town of Detroit on Friday for the Warped Tour at Comerica Park. Afterwards he'll be hosting his official "Homecoming" celebration after-party at Cheli's Chili, which is only a block away from Comerica. Come on out and support the guy, hang with him, and eat some great food. $20 for general admission or $50 for VIP access. Want some more info? Hit up the event Facebook page: http://bit.ly/9VoUpn

How Fireworks Work

This weekend, I witnessed the best fireworks shows in Charlevoix, Michigan. Every year during the Venetian Festival, there are two spectacular nights of fireworks. On Friday night, there was a 30-minute firework display that seemed like a constant grand finale over Lake Charlevoix. On Saturday night, there was a lighted boat parade and yet another 30-minute fireworks show on the harbor surrounded by the downtown and numerous multimillion dollar homes. While watching in amazement like a little kid all over again, I often found myself wondering, "How do fireworks actually work?" I figured I might not be the only person wondering the same thing, so I did a little "research" via YouTube. Obviously, this video is a rather dummied-down version of the mechanics behind the colorful bursts, but nonetheless, it provides the general knowledge of how fireworks really work.

Benny Gold Video Interview

I've been a fan of Benny Gold for a while now and I was pretty excited to see this interview with him in his flagship store/office in San Fransisco by www.itsbongoboy.com. Benny is one of those designers I follow and somewhat model my business after. Watch the interview already, will ya?!

Rooftop Jammin'

I've been a strong supporter of the man, Stevie Soul, for obvious reasons: the dude rocks out with so much talent and even more soul. There's nothing else I can possible say other than you need to rock out with him and support the homie: www.steviesoul.com.

Dream Impossible

LeBron Afterthoughts

Initially I wasn't all too happy with LeBron's decision to join the now-stacked Miami Heat. In my last post dedicated to the subject, I stated that it may severely hurt his legacy. After soaking it up for a few days and staying away from the media coverage of it all, I've come to the conclusion that I actually think it will help his image. Sure, people will always say that he had to go to an engineered all-star team to win - whereas Michael (and even Kobe) stayed on their teams and created champions...but I think this was a big step for LeBron. Why?

My perspective is that his decision showed humility, which is hard to believe considering the heavy criticism of his selfish nature - especially displayed during the free agency process. LeBron wants to win championships, not just regular seasons. He did what he could, basically by himself, in Cleveland. He knows he needs help to win, and I greatly respect him for admitting that "weakness," if you may.

As much as he is a leader, LeBron needs someone to make plays with him. He needs someone who he can create plays for and will want to take the last shot to win the game. He needs someone to take some of the undeserved pressure off of his 25-year old shoulders. Because of these needs and many more, I feel by him following his heart and making the tough decision to leave his hometown, he took a big step as a basketball player. I may not agree with how the situation was handled, but I don't condemn him for it. None of us could handle the pressure this guy is under, especially being only 25 and having to deal with it since he was in high school.

I hope to see people chill out a little about the whole subject. Don't point fingers and don't condemn. Everyone is human and everyone makes their own decisions for their own reasons. Let's enjoy what the NBA has in store for us this up-coming season and just see what happens. Who knows? Maybe Dan Gilbert was right: maybe Cleveland will win a championship before LeBron?? Hahaa...

LeBron Team: Free Agency

I know we are all so sick of hearing about NBA free agency. It's been a constant discussion since last season. As tonight is scheduled to be the climax of it all, there have been a lot of mixed feelings about the happenings. Let's digest a little about the LeBron situation...

LeBron James is a business. From his NBA contract, to his Nike brand, other endorsement deals, and beyond. People have gotten to a point where they are so extremely fed up with hearing about LeBron that they automatically begin to hate him. Some of the publicity could be pinned on LeBron's team seeking it - but that is part of their business. Why wouldn't they want it? Just as any company desires to attract as much press coverage as possible, why wouldn't the LeBron James brand want it?  The other part is that media is enticed with the situation because it is such a big story in our society. They can only say "no comment" so much. Either way, I think the media would follow him rather or not the meetings were held in Mav's office or if he flew to each city. All business is about publicity, so why would we hate on them getting theirs? Sure, a lot of it is WAY blown out of proportion, but that is how our society is. Our culture's priorities are so out of wack that this sort of story is something that floods all forms of media.

I'm not thrilled with the way LeBron's team has handled the free agency when I view LeBron as a person, like many of the other free agents are more so viewed as. But when I look at LeBron as the actual business, then there is not much that should be changed - from a commerce point of view. After all, they are only capitalizing on the opportunity, which any business would do. There are two sides of the story, so I think it is important that we understand both: LeBron as a person and LeBron as a business.

As for the legacy of James: would joining the all-star team of the Miami Heat hurt his legacy? Probably. Jordan created a championship team around him, but it seems like LeBron will be the piece on a team engineered to win championships. Who can completely fault him? According to skeptics, he needs rings. He tried his best to bring them to Cleveland by himself and also in trying to entice other free agents to join him - but no one wants to play in Cleveland. Sorry Cleveland, it's true. For the loyalty part of it, which is extremely important to LeBron, it would have been great for him to stay in Cleveland. Prior to tonight's "event," it seems as if Cleveland might be left alone at the free agent alter though, which is sad to see.

All-in-all, there are a lot of good and bad in this scenario. Unfortunately someone is going to get hurt. This just might be one of those things that we have to watch unfold before we can truly determine if we agree with it or not. History before our eyes...even if it is only a pop culture social significance. Remember, it is just basketball, ha.

Want some other perspectives about all of the LeBron attention? Here are a couple articles written that condemn and praise his camp's work: "LeBron James - PR Genius" , "State of LeBron at 9PM - His Ego" 

My Guest Music Review: Eminem's "Recovery"

I was presented the opportunity to present my review for Eminem's latest album, "Recovery" by the on-line music blog, www.MusicReviewforIdiots.com. Make sure to check it out, support the blog, and leave your thoughts and comments of Eminem's newest album. Read the piece here: http://bit.ly/9QWWvp

All-Nighter Sneak Peak

Here's a sneak peak at one of the unfinished shoes that is literally keeping me up all night. Any guesses??

Mike Posner Album Release Info

The dude Mike Posner announced that his highly anticipated first official album will release on August 10th. He also released the album cover artwork for his rookie debut. Starting July 20th, if you pre-order the album on iTunes, you will receive the long awaited second single, Please Don't Go as an extra-early bonus. Support this man; he's doing it for Michigan!

New Website Launched! July 1st...

Today is a very, very special day! July 1st is the exact middle point of the year. July 1st is my birthday. July 1st is Canada Day. July 1st starts the biggest free agent summer in the history of the NBA - aka: the LeBron sweepstakes. And now July 1st is the first day of the next step for this company marked by the launch of our new website: www.theTWAYcollection.com.

This time I was able to have complete control over the design and layout of the website. My overall goal was to make its layout very simple, sharp, and modern - which explains the straight-edged black, gray, and white color pallet. Another reason for its simplicity is to not distract visitors from the main content: the custom footwear, apparel, and other creative services/projects that I've been a part of. To counter the mono-tone web layout, with the help of my web-nerd friend, George, we were able to write some coding to enable color to appear on the sidebars and links when hovered over by the user's mouse pointer. It adds a little interaction to the site and is a fun little surprise when you first visit and aren't expecting the image to instantly come into color.

There are a lot of future plans to further enhance the site and your experience in visiting it. My desire is to have it become a place to learn more about the company from the inside and out so that the many lessons I have learned throughout the journey can also be passed along to you. Chasing a dream is not easy, but by having others join you in the venture, it makes it much easier in numerous ways. The support all of you have shown me through the process have been one of the reasons that have kept me going in the many, many low-points. Any success of the company, I feel like I am able to celebrate with you as if you are a business partner. I want this dream to be a shared dream - to better our worlds by uplifting and inspiring others. Many hands make light work, and I feel that is very applicable to what we have going on here.

So to cut myself off from rambling on, I'd like to conclude that I really, really do appreciate all of the support you have shown me. I encourage you to please keep showing it so that I know I'm not alone going down this path. I do it for you just as much, if not more, than I do it for me.

P.S. To show some love to you on this day, we've put the apparel on a BIG SALE for you to get whatever shirts you haven't been able to get before. I'd like to empty out the inventory from last year so that we can begin preparing for the great stuff coming up in the near future. I love you!!!