fredag den 2. april 2010

The Vagrant Experience

Being a big fan of Angel Gonzales (or better known as Vagrant/V.pistol) and his creative work on his endless Air max 1 iD collection, I could not refuse the temptation of writing this guy to hear him out on his thoughts on footwear today and learn a bit more about the mind behind the dedicated thinking on sneakers. I was not surprised to learn that Angel is quite an experienced guy when it comes to this, and it was a pleasure to follow the interview from the first answers. And as a special treat Angel decided to reveal his two latest iD's here on the blog the "Blue spark" and the "Yellow spark". He can now count an impressive 21 iD's in his colletion. Read on as he explain his thoughts on sneakers, Copy/paste blogging and future plans wrapped in some beautiful pictures. Enjoy!

1) For starters let us know how your interest in sneakers began? What is it about sneakers that appeals to you?

It began in August, 2008. I was a Manger at a Circuit City store and began to have a conversation with a employee named Justin about hobbies. Through multiple conversations about his hobby, sneakers, I started to look at them more and more online. He would show me his collection and certain sneaker websites he referenced. I took that and ran with it by ooking at different shoes and researching the history of particular models I liked. That's how it all began and and I haven't looked back...
I think that it was the color-ways. I'm an artist with a degree in Digital Media and always get drawn to really good color combos. Especially neutral colors with vibrant hues. Just take a look at my Nike iDs. If you notice, almost all them have a black or silver mesh (white mesh iD on the way) with vibrant colors. I also like the comfort and the look of certain silhouettes that are pleasing to my eye.


2) Your work on sneakers carries an ongoing theme of Nike iD's. While it might seem quite obvious to most people, Could you explain in your own words what it is about this option you find so attractive?

Well, the main reason is that I can have my own shoe. My one of one. Being able to make your own color-up and make-up is any sneaker enthusiast dream. Granted, you can't do it on Nike iD when you compare it to a shoe company x collaboration effort. There, you can pick any material, colors, sections. etc. Nike iD limits you, but there's nothing more pleasing to me then trying to come up with a great color-way from limited resources. That's a challenge all on it's own and stimulates creativity in my mind, as it should in others. The best part is when I get tons of compliments, especially from the general consumer. That let's me know I succeed in making something special. Remember, trying to make something you and your friends will like is inevitable, but trying to make something that the General Public will like is a pretty big statement.

3) Dare i ask? What is your favourite model?

LMAO! Dare I answer? I love the Nike Air Max 1 silhouette. I think the overall design stands it's ground today and will so in the future when we are both long gone. Though recent shape transformations have made a debacle of the OG shape, I have to live with what Nike offers me. Even with the two different shapes floating around on Nike iD. lol

4) Which pair from your iD collection are you most proud of at this time?

Mat, your asking me a difficult question right now. Especially since all of my purchase are pretty recent. I'll tell you though that I love every single one of my eighteen AM1 iD's. There have been efforts that I've failed in and returned, but my current iD catalog holds a very special place in my heart. If and that's a big iF. If, I had to choose one, it would be my Nike Air Max 1 "Nike iD" design. It is a simple shoe that works really well. Black, Grey, Orange and White are always solid colors to work with. It was also my most creative one. It's based off the Nike iD builder. If you go to Nike iD you'll notice all these colors are present on the web page.


5) We were told earlier this year that you had begun a closer relationship with Nike. Is this something you could enlighten us about yet?

Last year was a really big year for me. Not only did I get a new great job, but I started to write for TSG: TheShoeGame.com. Through my experience in writing for TSG and my old blog, I always thought," Who could I network with to get exclusive news ". Like getting news that other shoe sites didn't know about or by getting news before them. This got me going around NYC to see what I could find. One journey led me to the Niketown store. There, I started a really nice relationship with the Nike iD manager, Marty Carroll. I told him who I was and what I was interested in doing. He agreed to help out and that was the beginning of a fruitful relationship.

Fast forward a couple of months... My articles on the Nike iD news were very much liked by the Nike iD team. Marty was very syked about this because it helped promote the iD studio in a way that no other site had done before. With that said, Marty was offered a position in Nike marketing on the corporate end. He was taking over a position for 3 months while the other person was on leave. This new venture was all about promoting new products and events for Nike. He was asked, what outlets did he know of for public awareness. He thought of me and TSG as a viable anchor and asked if I would be interested in promoting other Nike news from that end. I obviously agreed because this was another step in the direction of getting exclusive news and not only promoting TSG, but getting my name recognized around Nike.

Now, I'm currently I'm working on a exclusive piece on the original 255 Nike iD Studio. I've been trying to get this information for months and it now seems that my persistence has paid off.


6) Many blogs nowadays are criticized for being a bit monotonous and containing a lot of repeated information. You mentioned a bit about your thoughts on blog material before, but what do you think makes a good blog today?

That's a great question Mat. There are too many blogs out there that are very C/P (copy and paste). So bad, they they will copy and paste the press release material. Not to mention anyone, but when they released the recent HTM2 TZ Run Boot, almost all the mayor sites just copied and pasted the PR info into the article. I couldn't believe it. A significant release, and you can't even put your own words together by gathering the info from the PR. Yet, my article was from my own words after reading the press release. I even had the right dates for the US and JP release. While others gave a different date, because they c/p'd with no research. That's just pure laziness and just adds another post for the day, which is what they want. Really sad on their part. What disgusts me more is that someone got paid to c/p that.
As far as to what makes a good news blog/site, good writers and original content. I say good writers, because a good writer, that's a fan, will always shine through more because he loves shoes. He/she will make the article fun and interesting to read. In the simplest way to put it, "They give good insight about what he/she is writing about". You know, a shoe enthusiast. Not a sneaker-head, Two different things. A word I personally dislike.

As a fan, and before I started to write for TSG:
TheShoegame.com and created my site, I visited many news sites and was always disappointed that they all had the same content. With that in mind, when I did start to write for TSG, I would try to find info before anyone else reported on it or try to find original content. As months went by, I was more focused on how I could bring original content to TSG. So, that's when I started to go into NYC and find news. That's how I came to do the article on the Reebok Ventilators 2010, the New Balance x Staple "White Pigeon" camp out and the recent NSW 21 Mercer Parra release to mention a few. That's what separates TSG from all the others. Original content; Always willing to do what it takes to bring something fun and different to the readers. That's not to say we don't report on the commons. We have to, because popular releases can't be ignored.

One more thing I should point out. That is, I only write about what I passion. Runners and trainers all day. There may be a few oddity articles that I may have written not pertaining to the runners, but mine will always be just that, runners/trainers.

2. You are also recognized for your photographic skills. What do you think makes a good picture of a sneaker? Do you use any specific guidelines for yourself when shooting kicks? And is there any technique you are working on at the moment?

Considering I just started to use a P/S camera in 2009, that's very flattering to say and ask. I do have a few guidelines and at the same time, these are the techniques that make them stand out. My top guideline is, I need to have the other shoe present in the photo somehow. Even if it's just the heel part sticking out a little, or some of the toe box saying hello. I have to have it in there. To me, it just looks weird to only have one foot showing. I know a few that can pull it off, but a lot fail doing that type of image. Another one is making sure I get some kind of background. It adds a great aesthetic to the image when captured correctly. Sometimes, I try to even get similar colors on my shoes to match the surroundings. That's always fun. The other important factor is always looking for different locations to shoot at. Though this winter wasn't a great one for me to shoot different backdrops, I think I'll do much better in the summer. So, look for some interesting images for Summer 2010.

At the moment, I'm working more with blur effects. I can't really get this with a P/S camera and the little I do get, I eventually enhance in Photoshop. The other, is perfecting my masking skills. I'm really getting in there when it comes to that for my black and white backgrounds. A good example is my recent Parra AM1. I really zoomed in to get the proper masking on the edges. Really happy with that finished image

One thing to note, I don't use anything else in that program. No lighting effects or anything like that. Mainly use it for masking, levels, saturation, color correction and contrast. We'll see how this changes when I get my first DSLR this year. Right now my top choice is a Nikon D90. I used a d5000 and liked it, but like the fact that I get more lens options with the D90.
3) Tough question here, where do you see yourself in 10 years? Still working in the same fields of interest as you do today?

Yes. I still see myself in retail. I've been working it for 18+ years and it has become a way of life for me. So much, that it has it's second nature for me to run any retail building and make it successful. As far as what I'm doing with TSG and shoes in general, I will always do that. If that leads into something bigger, which it should, then I will make amends with my current field and adapt to this new direction in my life. We all walk and need shoes anyway.

Before I leave, I want to thank you for having a interest in me and what I'm doing now. Big thank you to everyone on the Crooked Tongues WDYWT thread. It was their daily photo-journal inspirations and knowledge that got me motivated to find out about different shoes and take my images further. Also, can't forget my fellow ISS members. I have learned MUCHO from them in the R&T thread. ...and as a bonus, I have included images, only here, of my most recent Nike Air Max 1 iD’s called the "Spark Pack". I know how much hate there is for the horrid shape of these, but It's all fun for me. So enjoy or hate...

A big thanks to Angel for his great work on this interview, and for being a great person to work with! All the best in the future! Dont forget to check his own website at : http://vagrantsneaker.com/ and the news site he contributes to : http://theshoegame.com/

We are all looking forward to more great work from you in the future!

-Mattias

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