After running by the office to grab some tees for the X-Large crew, I jumped into the car and sped off down the 101. Of course, I hit traffic as soon as I got into the valley. Traffic at 10:30 a.m on a Tuesday!?! I saw this dude riding his custom bike and had to take a photo. I was hoping to get a better pic, but as I was driving, this was the best I could do. His front tire is super small and skinny while the back tire is HUGE! He had some strange low handlebars, and the whole bike made me laugh. このバイクは本物じゃないにゃ～！笑！I’m curious what this set-up is supposed to be good for…
Once I finally made it through the traffic to the X-Large store in Los Feliz, I got my first surprise of the day. It turned out that Ricky Powell, famed NY photographer and Akomplice fan, was going to be snapping the photos! If you don’t know who Ricky Powell is, go to his website right now, search him on YouTube and get it straight. You can see Ricky sporting his Akomplice NY Crimes hat in the classic Navy/White.
Yohsuke Watanabe, from Ollie Magazine was there as well taking some photos and video of the shoot. I lived in Japan for 3 years and love the country with all my heart. I don’t get a lot of opportunities to speak Japanese here in Santa Barbara, so being able to converse with the X-Large crew for a couple of hours was a blast! Not to mention I was also able to talk to Ricky Powell, one of the world’s greatest street photographers one on one! Ricky has seen his fare share of the world and I only wish I had more time to sit and talk to him about life and all the amazing experiences he’s had.
After the shoot we grabbed a bite to eat at the local Greek spot near the X-Large store and got another surprise when Ricky’s friend Bob Mack showed up to say hi. Bob is a writer who caught his big break touring with the Beastie Boys. Search him, read him. I truly felt honored to be in the presence of two great creators of our time. What a day!
Once I was done with lunch, I bid farewell to the X-Large crew and Ricky Powell and cruised over to Pacific Splash to check on some summer prints. I can’t reveal the pics of the new summer looks yet, but everything was turning out great and ya’ll are gonna be hyped when you see the new summer tanks!
After a couple of hours at Pacific Splash I was back on the 710 to the 5 to the 101 North. It’s always fun to go to LaLa land for a couple of days. The driving is crazy and nerve-racking, the women gorgeous, and the sunshine beautiful. Thanks again to the X-Large Japan crew, Hayden at X-Large LA, Ricky Powell for the shots and advice and Pacific Splash for printing like the pros they are! -Matt Masciocchi