Most of you’ll probably went for the event, and some of you are probably slappin’ yourself for not going. After all the dust have settled, and even though it has been a week since the event, many of you are still suffering from post-kicks-on-syndrome, which is caused mostly by a lack of contact with vast amount of sneakers.
MASSES had the pleasure of working together with the fine chaps of Think & Thing Creative Core, as the official online media partners for “Kicks On”. And as the official media partner, we felt that it should be our responsibility to share with you guys the brains behind the event. So for our latest edition of “The Borak-Borak Sessions” we had a chat with the three musketeers of Think & Thing Creative Core and what are some of the challenges faced by them when planning the event, and also share their thoughts on our sneaker culture and where they think it should be heading to.
This article may not be a cure to your post-kicks-on-syndrome, but it should slow down the effects of the syndrome.
For starters, why don’t you guys just introduce yourselves and what each of you do in Think & Thing?
Bee Tong: I am the Art Director for the company, I do most of the designing here. I also do designing jobs on the side like designing album covers for artiste in labels like ManRoom which got an award for the ‘Best Album Cover’ for the ‘Malaysia PWH Music Awards‘ in 2012, some production jobs for movies and also corporate jobs.
William: I am the Creative Director for Think & Thing, and I basically plan out the creative direction of some of the campaigns we are doing, and I occasionally do some designing which I answer to Bee Tong for approval. Basically, sometimes I am Bee Tong’s “Kuli”. LOL! I also am a columnist at Mint Magazine which I have been writing for them for almost 3 years now.
Bee Man: I do the Marketing and Events for the company, in charge of planning the event, the programme flow for the event and all the other mambo-jumbo that comes with it. Basically, I am the biggest “Kuli” here. I am also part of a Chinese rap group called “Manhand“, I organize a monthly Chinese hip-hop event called “Ching It Out” and also co-own a brand called “Baseline” together with these 2 other idiots.
What would be your biggest problem faced and also biggest worry when planning the “Kicks On’ event?
W: I think it would be getting the tenants to participate, because this is the first time such an event is taking place and we are pretty much inexperienced in it, which would mean our connections aren’t that strong either. Because of that it was very hard to gauge how big our scene was and that’s why we needed outside help from people like Azuwan from KLKIX, you guys from MASSES and also help from Mr. Poh Chye, the owner of Hoops Station to hook us up with certain people.
BT: We were pretty worried about the turn out on the event day. I think that is the biggest worry of most event organizers. And since this the first time such an event of this scale is taking place in Malaysia, it is definitely something to worry about cause it is untested grounds.
B: One of our goals for the event would be to have more participants selling more sneakers than streetwear apparels, which is also another concern of ours. Whether or not we can find enough participants that would make the event a sneaker majority event since it is a sneaker convention.
If lets say you were riding on a jet ski out in the ocean, and you see Michael Jordan and Lebron James both drowning together, your jet ski can only fit one more person which you can help save, who would you pick?
W: I am a huge MJ fan, but in this case I would pick Lebron James. Because if I save him, he can still probably win a few more NBA championships, come up with a few more dope shoes. You can say that Lebron James is sorta like the future of the shoe game and where it would it eventually head to.
BT: I would park my jet ski, and drown with them. Saving just one of them would really break my heart, and meeting both of them at the same place is really a dream come true, so yeah, dying together with them would be a great honor.
B: I cannot live with myself if I let either MJ or Lebron die, so the best thing I would do would be to run away and let them both die together. LOL
From the event, in your opinion, what do you think about the sneaker scene here in Malaysia? and how does an event like “Kicks On” effect the sneaker scene?
BT: There are a lot new sneakers. Not many vintage collectors. We hope that the following “Kicks On” would attract more vintage shoe collectors to participate. Not just to show off their collection, but to also educate the younger generation on something different. Which I think is a crucial part of doing an event like this, which is to educate the younger generation, or someone who has just started out collecting sneakers, that it isn’t just about collecting them, it’s also about the knowledge about it. I think through this event, we have manage to set a trend in this region. If I’m not wrong, besides the Philippines, no other country in South East Asia has done a sneaker convention. So it would be good that we can encourage our neighboring countries to have more sneaker events.
W: It is very surprising to see that our sneaker culture here in Malaysia is a pretty big one. A good kinda surprise. We had 500 plus registrations for the event, but from our crews calculations, they counted more than 1500 people showed up for the event. Right now, we definitely can see that Air Jordans are the biggest trend right now. But through the event we hope that collecting sneakers or being in the sneaker culture is not something that is just trendy, we hope that it cultivates a way of life for the people who attend. Like what Bee Tong mentioned, educating the younger generation and also cultivating a knowledge based culture.
B: From what I can see during the event, our culture is a pretty healthy one. Healthy in the sense that everyone is united and very friendly. Which is a good thing for us Malaysians. Seeing everyone coming together for one sole purpose, which is the love of sneakers, makes all the long hours planning the event, sleepless nights worrying whether it will go smoothly and all the preparation all worth it. Another thing good that I think came out from the event is that it provided another platform for the music scene to flourish. I foresee the event being a major gathering for the hip-hop music scene in the near future. Who knows maybe for Rock music too.
We know all of you are big Jordan fans, so if you guys were to meet Michael Jordan in person, and ask him only one question, what would it be?
BT: How long is your d*ck, nigga? LOL
W: When are you coming to Malaysia?
B: Have you ever read the manga “Slam Dunk”?
What would be your best advice to any budding sneakerhead? or even to the sneaker scene in general?
B: My advice would be to don’t just chase the trend and the hype. Don’t just wear something or a shoe just because Edison Chen wears it, or don’t just dress a certain way just because G-Dragon (or anyone) dresses that way. It’s good to want to be trendy, but at the same time it is also good to immerse yourself with it’s culture, the attitude and to know the roots and background of the culture. Don’t just jump from one trend to another, or chase the hype. Everyone has their own taste and style, so if you like the hip-hop scene you will dress like that, if you like the skateboarding scene you will dress like that, if you like the K-Pop scene you will dress like that. My point is, if you really fall in love a certain culture and scene, you won’t change how you feel about it so fast.
W: Yeah, I think I have to agree with Beeman. For example, if you really like AJs, don’t just buy it because everyone else is buying it. Like something because you really like it. Don’t succumb to peer pressure. Like what he (Beeman) said earlier, know your stuff! For example, simple things like knowing the name of the shoe is very important. Everyone has their own style, so buy shoes that are comfortable with your style. Also another thing is that a price of a shoe doesn’t determine how nice it looks. A cheap shoe doesn’t necessarily means that it is ugly and vice-versa. Also another thing to add, don’t buy fakes. NEVER buy FAKES!
BT: My advice is pretty simple, spread the love and hate less. Don’t hate on other people’s game, because it is their game, not yours. If you like a certain pair of shoe, lets say the Air Max series, study it, be passionate about it, love it, and ignore other people’s bullshit. Oh, and to all the resellers, its okay to resell, just don’t sell at rape prices. Be reasonable. At the end of the day, to both the seller and the buyer, they are just shoes that you are selling or buying. Don’t get too into it and fight over a pair of shoe. That’s just stupid.
Any last words before we wrap it up?
W: I think I speak on behalf of the team when I say that we need more female sneakerheads in the scene. Currently our scene is too much of a sausage fest! We promise that we will try our very best to include more vendors that has GS (Girls Size) in the next “Kicks On” event. So if you are a female and you are reading this, the Malaysian sneaker scene is calling!
BT & B: *Nods in approval
