Tardy to the Party

Finally copped the premiere issue of Inventory

I'm excited to go through it. I'm flying out to Thunder Bay tomorrow
so I picked up this and some other magazines to peruse on my flights.

Goodfoot closes...I shed no tears.

What better way to end a blog hiatus than with a good ole fashioned rant.

So, Goodfoot has closed it doors...

Last March 2009 the location in Montreal closed and I started thinking about a conversation I had with a buddy of mine back in the early winter of 2008. We were talking about our respective retail experiences and I was speaking on my Goodfoot experience, and how it kinda got under my skin. It could just have been me, but I felt that whenever I walked into Goodfoot T.O, I was flat out ignored and treated like more of a bother than anything else. He spoke on similar experiences but only with clerks that didn't know him. He had some people who worked there at the time, so he would get looked after and chill, chop it up all that good stuff. The total opposite from my GDFT T.O experience. That sounded nice. Opposite of the screw faces I got inside GDFT TO .Now, my GDFT MTL experience was closer to his. I only had one bad experience there, and it was actually the last time I walked into that storefront on St.Laurent. And I thought about when I heard the news this week about GDFT closing.

Wrote a song about it, here how it goes;

I was supposed to go by and pick up my P-Rod 2 Tinker Hatfields. I had been in sometime before that, looking for them and in talking to the manager managed to see if T.O had a pair to ship out for me. I stood as he was on the phone with someone in T.O and they made arrangements to ship out a pair of 9.5s to MTL.

So, now I got to pick it up and low and behold, he doesn't have them. He said they shipped out a 10.5 instead.

Now, I'm not confrontational or anything and I don't get heated in public. So, I just said, "Oh Werd, that's shitty". He kinda said sorry, that T.O fucked up, but I couldn't get past feeling like was being treated like a chump. They weren't sending shoes out to MTL for some D.J or some Blogger, they were sending it out for some regular guy, so maybe they said fuck that dude. I'm keeping these for some one who matters...whether or not that was case, I'll never know.(I'll be 100...that is most likely not what happened) However, no concessions were made for myself, the customer. That pissed me off enough to never go back.

But, back to the main point of this e-mail. My buddy an I started talking about the attitudes of the retail employees at some very reputable establishments, like say, Stussy T.O, GDFT T.O to name a few.

We felt, that as young men, and customers that we were being treated with a lack of respect or even, dare I say appreciation.

"Appreciation? Who the Fuck Is you?" Is that what you're thinking?

I'm the customer. I am here to spend money, or find things that I will spend money on today, or in the near future once the check from my job comes in.

This attitude, we felt was going to lead to retail back lash and the implosion of the sneaker head community . 2 years later, it is staring to feel that way. Shit, Union NY closed down in the fall....

I could shop on-line, 'cause my credit is good, but maybe I feel like supporting local shops that carry lines that I identify with and like. But, what keeps me out of some stores like the ones named above are the "Who the fuck are you?" attitudes adopted by the staff. If I'm in your spot and asking informed questions about the merchandise, I should be acknowledged as an informed customer who is not just looking, but is actually shopping and looking for quality in both the merchandise and service.

I felt, and said at the time (I still say this) that GDFT TO only wants to provide a service if you're someone of stature in the community. But which community? The afterhours club scene? To be treated with respect as a customer do I have to have a record deal? A t.v series? A series of underground mixtapes? (I worked retail for 2 years in High School, so I'm not speaking out of turn when I speak of customers and respect etc.)

While all of these people do a great job of extending the visibility of your brand/shop in the community, they do not pull everyone in. I feel like sometimes brands and shops can not look past these "celebrities" when it comes to customer service. It feels like you're fending for yourself sometimes, and feeling like the uninvited.

With recession and changing of fashion trends it's no surprise that a niche sneaker boutique had to make a decision on whether or not to close it's doors. But, the implosion of the industry is being fuelled by the "cool" guys and their attitudes. If the service wasn't lousy and the attitude toward the lousy service not treated like a joke (remember the GDFT Bags and tees that said "I Went To Goodfoot and All I Got Was Lousy Service") then maybe at least one shop could have stayed open to provide the loyal, informed and invigorated customers with the product they want and support.

I always point out the great service at Off The Hook in Montreal. Not only have I been shopping there for years, but I have also introduced numerous people to the store. I am not a rapper. I am not a D.J. I write this blog once in a blue moon. But none of that matters over at OTH. I am the most important thing in the store when I get there. The Customer.

That's my rant.

follow me on twitter...

username: TERmtl

When I see you.

Back in the kitchen...

Literally

It's Been A Long Time

I shouldn't have left you...

with out some dope things to look at?

I went a month a a half without blogging. That seems like an eternity, and I had just started.

But, seeing as how there is so much going on in the world right now, not blogging or even blogging at all is a very very minor thing.

Look for tweets, and things to pop up as I think of them, over the next little while. Why?

Because I am tardy to the (twitter) party.

I want to be able to get out a topic or something as I think about it, so that I don't forget it before I get a chance to log it here.

So, yea, I am welcoming myself back.

When I see you.

Silhouette

I Love Shoes!

No doubt about that. And while I may not have a crazy collection (I have somewhere around 30 different pairs, nothing compared to most sneakerheads) I still appreciate a great sneaker, or boot, or dress shoe. (Don't even get me started on my shoe fetish...I love a woman in spiked heels or boots.......)

What is it that makes a shoe stand out to me? What is it that gives it that "got to cop that" mystique?

The silhouette.

It's pretty much a tenet of design. ( I can only assume...)

At the end of the day, that's all that really matters. That's why Bapestas and Air Force 1s exist on a level field. It's the shape of the shoe. If a shoe looks good, it doesn't matter how much it costs. If the shape stands out to you, then it's a good looking shoe. Anything else, like luxe materials, limited runs or top tier branding is just gravy. The basics of a shoe are the important thing. That's why the Chuck Taylor Converse have had such an impact on popular culture, and so many shoes are made in their image. That's why wing tips are found in office's, at weddings, in casino's and courtrooms.

Here is my favourite original and similar (or blatant) silhouette.

Nike Air Jordan 3

JB Classic Scarface

Some more favourite "Silhouettes"

Red Wing RW1

Nike Sportswear Air Yeezy

Supra Skytop

Air Max 90

Air Max 95

Adidas Superstar (Shelltoes)

Nike SB P-Rod 2

-------

When I see you...

Style Inspiration Series 4

Shout out to HUF S.F!

It's funny how somethings that are at one time part of a counter culture movement can come to the very front of the culture it was turning away from. When skateboarding started in the 70s (as we know it now) it was viewed as an activity by burnt out stoner surfers to do when the waves weren't hitting. Fast forward more than 30 years and it is a culture that drives commerce and dominates mainstream fashion (too many brands to link too, just trust me) and media (ditto).

I remember back in High School, when I was heavy into "extreme sports", like in-line and skateboarding, some of my more melanin proficient friends told me I was acting "white". They didn't know I first tried skateboarding when I was 7, and my black cousin was the one who taught me how. It's funny how little they actually knew about me or skateboarding. Thanks to Paul "P-Rod" Rodriguez, Terry Kennedy, Pharrell Williams, Lupe Fiasco and countless others ( I see you Eric Koston, Daewon Song, Stevie Williams, Kareem Campbell, Ray Barbee, Christian Hosoi, Steve Cabalero & Chris Pastras et.al) skateboarding has always been accepted (mostly) by "non-whites". More so than the excitement of the sport, it's the style and fashion attributed to the sport that has been picked up upon in recent years. And there's no doubt that those guys I mentioned above have style . Shit, Chris Pastras is a spokeman for WeSC, Pharrell owns Ice Cream/BBC, P-Rod is the Michael Jordan of Skateboarding both in ability and exposure and Steve Cabalero has one of the most successful (read:popular) Signature Skate Shoes of all time. I hope this doesn't seem like too much of a digression, but I felt it could add some depth to the post, y'know, before I get to posting related photos that I found on the interwebs. Even though I could probably write an essay on the impact skateboard culture has on our mainstream pop culture...hmmm...nah, who has the time? (Maybe I should find the time...)

Stolen from the interwebs!!!!

Nike SBs are amongst some of the most coveted limited edition sneakers

---

Supra has smashed the market with their Skytops and NS (Non Skate) Collaborations, and mainstream clothing lines sponsor professional skateboarders.

---

Thank God I never listened to anyone in High School to tell me how I should be acting or dressing, or doing...or else I wouldn't have know who this guy was (it's Stevie Williams...) when I saw him at Supreme L.A. DGK All Day!!!

---

I never really let my affinity towards skateboard culture go. Instead I grew up, and found ways to keep it with me. Shout out to The Hundreds! Shit, I may even buy a board this summer and see if I can still kick-flip. (disclaimer: that is NOT me busting out the kickflip -heelflip?- on The Hundreds deck)...go visit www.theberrics.com if you need a daily skateboarding fix. Bangin'!!!

When I see you...

Beard Inspirations...

It's late fall, we're gearing up for winter and my winter beard has been in full effect for two weeks. I'm talking about a Vincent Chase without a movie deal kind of beard, a Gil Grissom CSI beard, a Sam Roberts "Where Have All The Good People Gone" beard...get the picture?

I enjoy the winter beard, often find myself scratching it as a way to pass the time, wondering to myself if I look like a vagrant...but, still I keep it. Helps me to feel more of my age, or at least more so like a man who can actually grow a beard. I don't have to shave for an office job, so as long as I keep the beard clean and even, it's not an issue. Plus, the feeling I get when the sucker comes off in the spring (or whenever I get tired of it) is amazing. It's not terribly difficult to part with so who knows how long I'll keep this one around. I have been known to start a winter beard in the summer, when I'm working a 20 day contract that only allows time to eat, drink and sleep outside of work, but the actual winter beard is something to behold.

A big beard can either make you look like you are down and out or enjoying a laid back lifestyle. I like to think that my own beard is the latter and not the former.

So...this post is dedicated to those beards which give me the courage to wear one in order to keep my baby face shielded from the elements but more imporatantly, allows me to be a lazy m*&$%erF%#*er for about 6 months...

The Boss (pretty much what I'm aiming for this winter)

?uestlove

Pacino

George Clooney in "Syriana" (a down and out beard)

Zach Galifianakis

---------------

When I see you...