Sometimes I put on a song and let it play on repeat all day… I did it once in college, I think I was kinda outta my mind that day anyway… my friend Dave still tells the story. I’m not sure if it perpetuates my insanity or just proves it… or maybe it’s just a regular thing. I’ve been listening to this one song for the last 3 days.


Anyway… I spent a lot of time with different friends for the last week. My birthday happened and all I really wanted was to see my friends a couple at a time and to ride my bike. I did both. I miss my family… I’m gonna see them this week.


I rode up the West Side in the rain at night to attend this thing my friend Vashtie invited me to… I rode back down in the rain and stopped to take a picture of the old Frying Pan… lotta memories there.


[FRYING PAN]



Singles, circa 1992, written and directed by Cameron Crowe… he’s a genius.


[STEVE DUNNE]



[BLACK FLAG / MINUTEMEN]



I saw this in the mid 20′s…


[STYLE IS THE ANSWER]



The Beastie Boys… Music is fun.


[3M TA3]



[UNCLE WAYNE]



I took this picture Up-State on the way to work on this video shoot… it reminded me of Route 6 in LaPlata for some reason…


[THIS IS REAL]



[ONE TO BRO ON...]



I was joking this week that I was going to get a Cabbage Patch tattoo on my left butt cheek… Xavier Roberts originally called Cabbage Patch Kids “Little People” and produced them in a converted Medical Clinic in Cleveland… creepy.


[XAVIER ROBERTS]



Justin Bieber is down with KR3W.


[KR3W]



This is the Chambers st. on the J & Z train at night. I like when V’s are used in the place of U’s…


[SVBWAY]



[UNICORN vs. VADER]



Chuck Norris is down with Fanny Packs and close hugs…


[FANNY PACKS STICK OUT ON DESERT CAMO...]



Rubano, Tyler, Sarah Sat. & Me went out for Birthday dinner… then we went out on Matt’s roof and talked about summer and summers past…


[EAST VILLAGE ROOFTOP]



This T-Shirt from Vashtie’s Brand VIOLETTE is RADICAL.


[VIOLETTE ROSE TEE]



Vans did the ill colorway of an Old School and released it as part of a Ray Barbee capsule… Joel has them and wears them all the time… color me jealous.


[VANS x RAY BARBEE]



My friends Mat & Colleen took me out to one of my favorite spots for Birthday Dinner. It was Colleen’s birthday this week too, she flew in from Chicago and, as you can see, she was super stoked on my restaurant selection…


[M & C & PASTA]



[ME & WILLIE B. BRIDGE]



Moishe is Oscar’s the Grouch’s Israeli cousin… Oofnik is Hebrew for Grouch.


[Moishe Oofnik]



Sitting at the diner, I looked up and had to laugh… sometimes life’s inside jokes don’t have to go any further than…


[HALF]







*17,452 People listened to FIRST PERSON
this week… WHOA SO RAD!





* THIS
is the song

My desktop is littered with random pictures, at all times, that inspire or provoke different kinds of thought… Welcome to my brain…


Here’s a picture I took at a recent Miniature Tigers show, Mercury Lounge NYC.


[BULLFIGHTER JACKET]



Robert Verde… what can I say… we’re riding the same brainwave my friend.


[HERMES VANS]



A painting by David MacDowell, acrylic on canvas 11 x 20 inches


[HEY HEY HEY LADIES]



Double Rainbow at Trader Joes


[WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?]



My friends Abbey Lynn & D.Celis came to visit this week… I love them.


[A & D]



CREEM MAGAZINE icon designed by R.Crumb for 50$ in 1969.


[BOY HOWDY]



99% of Companies & Corperations today do not understand branding… these guys do and I love it all.


[SATURDAYS SURF NYC]



Rich, Poor, Young, Old, Black, Yellow, Tan, Red, White, Thick, Thin, Tall, Short, Gay, Straight, Punk or Not, Male, Female… ANYTHING in between… the members, the family and the entirety of the band GALLOWS does not discriminate… one of the most inspiring forces I have had the fortune of coming into contact with. All love, No hate… well maybe a little dis-like for that which is deserving… I love these people.







Pow Wow Boot by Itasca Moccasin.


[POW WOW BOOT]



The only thing in recent SUPREME collections that I like are the hats…


[HATS]



I took this, in Mid-Town, at 7 a.m. this week.


[BATHTUB]



An early Birthday Present from the CEO of idobi industries…


[MADDEN MUG]



Manhattan after midnight, things get interesting, even on week nights…


[CHICK-IN-A-BOX]



I took this picture of my friend Sean P. of The White Tie Affair.


[SEAN PATWELL]



This is one of my favorite Tank Tops from Hurley, called the Rest Easy.


[REST EASY]



I’m not a car guy by any stretch, but I like this one.


[AUDI]



Rad Hourani is a stylist turned fashion designer. If fashion was a horse race, this would be my horse.


[RAD]



This is the Versace of waters.


[ACQUA PANNA]



Lincoln Hawk going Over the Top.


[OVER THE TOP]



I run 40 miles a week in these. These are the best running shoes money can buy… they aren’t expensive either.


[ASICS GEL LYTE 3]



This is a screen shot from a music video that isn’t out yet. It was made for 2K… good ideas outweigh dollars.


[WALDO WORLD]



This is one of my favorite new t-shirts from the brand PEG LEG… simple… perfect.


[USA]



“Frank, where ya goin’… where ya goin’… where ya goin’ tonight… some place exotic?”


[CATCH ME IF YOU CAN]



When you know people who’ve made something… anything… out of absolutely nothing… you feel proud.


[GC]



[SELF PORTRAIT]

I styled the Spring/Summer 2011 campaign for Kangol, shot by CAPTAIN RADICAL
himself, a couple months ago up at the Montauk Yacht Club… it was a totally cool couple of days to say the least…


This behind the scenes video was shot by Jay Buim… he’s awesome, the whole crew was awesome… in fact, I wish I could do this every day… in fact, we should do this every day…

Kangol Spring/Summer 2011 Lookbook from Beard Wizard on Vimeo.

*Thank you David, Marcella, Jens, Richard, Zach, Kim and everyone involved… I LOVE YOU GUYS.

This week, like most recent times, was a busy, full, fun week… let me begin with a little story…


A month or so ago I got a bike… I was riding non-stop for 10 straight days and on the 10th day, much to my dismay, I walked out of a dinner meeting to see another person, someone I didn’t recognize riding away on it. I looked down to see the lock had been cut, bolt cutters, and immediately ran full speed for about a mile behind the guy who eventually got away… I’m not an olympic class runner but I’m fast and I was mad… sometimes fast and mad aren’t enough. I was upset, but I made peace with the fact that I live in New York City and no amount of anger can change anything… so I let it go.


A few weeks later I entered The SoHo House to DJ the Monday night “SoHo Beats” party that my friends at Epiphany throw and was met by my friend Kurtis Peberton a.k.a @KP4SHORT
at the door.


[KP]


You can see, as exemplified in the picture above, Kurtis is a permanent grin kinda guy… soft spoken, always listening intently, I’ve never heard him say an ill word of anyone… I’ve known him peripherally for a couple years, always working, a real team member when it comes to anything going on in the community or anything Epiphany has got going on.
As I entered the SoHo House lobby I was greeted by KP who said, “Hey man… I been thinkin’…”

“Yeah? What’s going on… you good?” I asked.

“Yeah man… I’m good…” he said “…I been thinkin’ about how your bike got jacked and I wanna give you mine.”


I was really shocked… I still am… I walked across town to the Epiphany offices, a few days ago, and KP gave me his brand new bike… I’ve been mobile it ever since. There isn’t much I can say, except for THANK YOU, I owe you a million times over KP and I hope i can return the favor one day.

It’s weird how one moment a person can choose to take something from another… just the same way in a moment someone can decide to be giving… I try to always remember the latter, it’s hard sometimes, but it’s up to us to exist here together. Today I do my best to appreciate these lessons.


[Me & my NEW BIKE!]


Met up with a my buddy Frankie a.k.a EIKNARF
, on Monday, what an inspiring dude… at the young age of 22 he’s working with a bunch of really amazing people, writing a column for THIS RAD BLOG
and being heavily recognized by the art world’s finest connoisseurs. This generation of creatives is not only immensely talented but very positive.


[Frankie & Sarith]


Later that evening I hung out with Billy, an avid fan of video game weaponry and gaming related equipment… if you know where to find a Power Glove or anything like that, my dude is on the hunt.


[Billy & his weapon of choice]


Went for the weekly “Walk & Talk” with my buddy McInnes… found ourselves down near the courthouse where we ran into a mob of camera crews. We found out the “Russian Spy” was about to come out, but after 15 minuets in the heat McInnes was ready to roll. I was bummed because I had my camera ready… all I got was a picture of ol’ Beardy and staring at his Blackberry as always.


[McInnes]


Walking back up to the office we passed these German dudes carrying what I thought, from a passing glance, was a Bart Simpson tote bag… it wasn’t… double bummed. They thought I was weird for staring, so I had to take a picture of this grown-man-tourist and his tote.


[Tote Germans]


I headed out to Brooklyn, to see my friend Bethany, and saw this radical creation…


[i-bike]


Entering GRACELAND
I was greeted by Velvet Elvis and Band of Horses turned up to 11!


[VELVET ELVIS]


The shop is decorated exactly as I imagined… with a guitar on the wall, a record player (they play rad vinyls all day long turned up loud!), a piano covered with melting candles and pictures of Rock n’ Roll greats everywhere…


[CANDLE PIANO]


Coffee soda from down the street is the beverage of choice…


[Bethany's breakfast-lunch & dinner]

A few years ago my friend John Fewell introduced me to Bethany Paul… Bethany is one of those people that’s so cool you kinda wonder what band or movie you recognize her from… I meet a lot of people living here and sometimes there are just those people who are so cool, you meet them and just just kinda stare at your shoes.


[Bethany Paul & Me]


When I met her, instantly, I was just kinda quiet… I don’t go to get my haircut that often and I’ve always just gone to the barber. Getting a haircut from someone who seems like they should be a Rock Star, you just don’t know what to say. How do I want it cut? I dunno… I’m a geek, just do what you think is good.

Since meeting Bethany a few years ago, she left working for other people behind, she collected her favorite talent from around the city, found a rad space in BKLYN and made it into the ideal place you’d go to get your hair cut better. It’s not in Manhattan, I think if it was there’d be no way to even get an appointment… it’s one of those places where you can’t believe the “cool talented people” are also the “nice people”… those are my favorite places.


[GOT MY HAIRS DID]


I’m not one to think that a “cool new haircut” makes me any cooler… but I can say that for a guy who generally hates his hair, Bethany is the only person who can make my Irish-Jew-fro-nest look normal. Thank You Bethany & Graceland.




*If you go to GRACELAND, make sure to pick up some coffee sodas on the way.

I grew up knowing and respecting July 4th as a very special American holiday… living in New York City, I’ve learned that July 5th is a very special New York holiday… it seems that EVERYONE collectively decides to hit the beach.


Not to long ago there were grumblings of to Coney Island’s demise, the death of a landmark, the end of an era… like Jimmy Hoffa’s whereabouts and Alligators in the sewers, it seems that was just another New York rumor, a tall tale… see for yourself


[WONDER WHEEL]



[VIEW OF THE WHEEL & BEACH]



[SHOOT THE FREAK]



["SAME PRICE SINCE THE DAY WE OPENED!"]



[DREAM LAND]



Did you eat? He said, “Jew eat?”


[HEY JOEY!]



[HOT DOGS]



[DEEP FRIED OREOS]



[ALL OF NYC IS AT THE BEACH]



As I made my way out onto the crowded pier I heard a noise… sounded like a splash…
[JUMPERS]



The kids in the water were yellin’ “Kiki juss jump, I got you homie”… Lil’ man just needed a few minutes to contemplate the drop… then…
[LIL' MAN]



[JUMPOFF]



Remember when your parents reasoned “…so does that mean if all of your friends jumped off a bridge?” haha… Probably my most favorite picture taken to date.


[ALL AT ONCE]



[UPPPS!]



All kinds of people from all over the world coming to Coney Island… this dude was maxing in a speedo and his favorite hat.


[BEACH STYLE]



[BEACH LOVE NEVER DIES]



Win yourself a puppet…
[DON'T POSTPONE JOY]



Win yourself a politician…
[REGAN BUSH IN '84]



In New York we push Bumper-Rides…
[BUMP YOUR ASS OFF]



Eldorados to be exact…
[ELDORADO]



Lost and found? Let’s hope so…
[MISSING]



[ALSO MISSING]



[AVENUE J]





Round trip on the train will cost you 5$ and a bottle of water is a dollar at the beach, you’ll need a couple of those… I’ve never been to a tanning bed, but I’ll bet it costs more than 10 bucks and it’s definitely way less fun. Take a day off work and visit Coney Island… you’ll be glad you did.




*CONEY ISLAND BABY

This week was cool… literally, the weather was beautiful in NYC. Time to see some friends!


I stopped by the offices of Once in a Row Mgmt. / Modern Art Records to see McInnes and Ben Collins. Ben was hard at work on stuff for the new MINIATURE TIGERS
record so I just messed around the office and took pictures of his collected stuff and paintings, all the while asking to many questions…


[GIVE ME YOUR HAND]



[VOTE FOR PEOPLE]



[Watchin' Spinal Tap]



[Cad & Jeremy VS. Elvis]



Making my way back up-town I noticed that somebody had invested some time in letting us all know how they felt about Madonna, the Knicks and other assorted subjects… they might want to invest some time in planning and some spell check…
[EVERYTHING SUCKS]



Literal “Word on the Streets” is there’s been some partyin’ and spyin’ going on…
[PARTY SPY]



Some people treat they Metro cards like they was Dolla-Dolla-Bills ya’ll… I mean when you’re trying to impress, there ain’t no expense to be spared, that’s my word!
[MAKE IT RAIN]



Got the secret invite and the secret password to the secret Freelance Whales show… they played a new secret song…
[Generator 1st Floor]



Found a Doggie Dreamhouse… a Dogtown mansion.
[DECK DOGS]



Brooklyn Fireproof is rad… just be careful, Bushwick don’t play… every car on the street with outta town tags got the driver side window removed “broken glass everywhere” style, by a local, no kidding.
[FIREP ROOF]





*For some inspiration see THIS
.

Waking up in LA always means I’m up before everyone else, because my mind is always on East Coast time… I met with Petey Lee
and Claudine for breakfast.


[Coltrane:Love Supreme]



[Comme kicks vs. Blue Authentics]


Walking past this vintage shop I spotted Michael… it always seems he’s never far away…
[ON THE RECORD]



Stopped by Pete’s office for a visit with the KR3W
. There’s a bunch of little inspirations all over the walls…
[DRUG BUG]



[OLD GLORY]



Headed back out across town…
[CHRIST SCIENCE]



Made one more stop before the flight back to New York… had to check out Buddy Mark’s new store, after visiting I’d say it’s a must, if you haven’t been you’ve gotta stop by, there’s definitely something there for everyone.


The Cobra Shop
Hollywood and Highland, 4th Floor
[COBRA SHOP]



Back through the airport and on to the worst air line ever #NO-DELTA-EVER-AGAIN-PLEASE… looking on the bright side I will say they win the award for smallest pretzels ever, they’re hilarious.
[SMALL EATS]





*I’M BACK, BACK IN THE NEW YORK GROOVE
…

I flew to LA for a 36 hour visit… no amount of time is ever enough…


[NO MORE DELTA]



I caught up with one of my best freinds photographer
and fashion designer P.Lee.
[Lee "Scratch" Petey]



This visit I got to spend a good amount of time with our adopted little brother, the voice of @DCMA_Collective
and DCMACollective.com
. This guy works on many things… he’s the invisible man behind a lot of the exciting stuff that goes on in LA.
[TAL]



My favorite LA beverage…
[Kale Lemonade]



A wedding ring. A 7th Letter ring. A Blackberry. Always on this mans hands… family, family and married to the hustle.
[TASK 1]



In LA you’ll see a lot of stars, it’s true… None of them are as bright, to me, as my nieces and nephew. My niece Clementine found time in her busy schedule to drop by and catch up with me. She told me she’s been at the beach riding dolphins and boats… I love her.
[Starlet]



I hopped in a car and ended up riding all around town… We stopped at Will Rise tattoo studio and I met a guy who had the same tattoo as me, in the same place. The story behind these tattoos is they were done by two different guys who are good friends.
[Hooters]



Everywhere I went I saw Jarritos… If you’ve never tried one of these, you’re missin’ out.
[Jarritos]



We stopped by THE HUNDREDS
they have a brand new full of stuff that actually fits me… I like the store because the guys there are nice, there’s no sneaker-head-snobbery over there… good vibes.
[THE HUNDREDS]



I had to get a new jacket… like I said, perfect fit.
[New Jacket/Self Portrait]



[Bones Brigade]



This guy was around the corner, catching his own groove.
[Funk Soul Brother]



My home away from home in LA is probably one of my favorite places on the planet… it’s not my apartment, but it feels like it. The living room walls are covered with guitars and this Matchless amp sits by the mantle looking beautiful.
[MATCHLESS]



I’ve got a ton of pictures from this trip, it was quick but good, I’ll throw the rest on tomorrow…




*Hands down one of my favorite RECORDS
from the last 10 years.

Tomorrow I’ll be meeting some new friends… I can’t say much, but I can say I’ll be in my own private version of Disneyland or Disney World or whatever magical place you can think of. I’m stoked to be meeting some people I’ve been reading about, people who make things and do stuff that’s so radical to me.

All I can say is… for a kid from Southern Maryland, a guy who made it through college working a ton of jobs, loved his time working through construction jobs, retail, the 9:30 club in D.C. (always my second home), tours, dreaming up my own companies with my family & friends, offices, meetings, meetings, meetings, meeting so many of my childhood and teenage idols… I get to once again get on a plane and go meet some DO-ers. Please keep doing, keep on keeping on, stay in the game, don’t ever quit… DON’T YOU EVER QUIT… we all need to keep going. Things just get better, I promise.





Photo by my good friend MIKE DUBIN
.




*NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION. -Edison

Found some photos from a story I styled shot by the RADICAL photographer SUNNY SHOKRAE. I vaguely remember this day because I pulled an all nighter DJing and then packed up everything I had hunted for this story and headed uptown to Central Park as the sun was coming up…





I do remember how nice and easy Sunny was to work with… I didn’t even know she was the photographer until she started unpacking her gear…





You see… a lot of times when I’m working with people I deliberately, maybe subconsciously sometimes, try to know as little as I can about them, just so I’m not nervous about working with someone so great. I think I kinda also want to have as much of a genuine experience as possible.





I’d like to think that every time people come together to create, it’s a new journey… styling stuff remains fun to me that way. I’m glad I didn’t do any research on the team I was working with on this shoot, because I would’ve been really nervous and gone in trying to act cool or something dumb, I’m only human… and I’m definitely no good in the acting cool department. This was a really creative group of people and nobody had any kind of weird vibe or ego… such a solid team.





Thank you to everyone who was involved with this little project. I had a rad time and I’m stoked on the way the story came out.


*Photography: Sunny Shokrae

*Photo Assistant: Jeremiah Mandel

*Make Up: Erin Green

*Hair: Amanda Jenkins

*Stylist: Josh Madden

*SOMETIMES WE CREATE JUST FOR FUN.