Bringin' in the new year with a Zumba sesh...

So one of my good ole college buddies,

Gave me a ring, asking me if I wanted to bring in the new year with a Zumba sesh this morning.  With me always being up n up on a new challenge I accepted her offer.  So my friend picked me up in her spankin' new Honda Pilot (beautious) and I went all ready and rev'd up to jam for my first ever Zumba class. 

When I got there, it was 95% women, lol, and I must say, there were some beautiful ladies there, damn!  And when I saw the instructor, I was like, double damn! 

So anyways, with my hip hop background I thought I'd be able to kick some royal Zumba rump...BIG NEGATIVE!  That instructor worked me over like no tomorrow with a steady workout that worked every inch of my bod, arms, back, legs, rump, you name it, we did it.  She was hella good, and very positive and motivating, which is what I liked best. 

My friend cracked the hell up as I did my impromptu hip hop in between some of the moves.  After our sesh, we hit it to Jamba, my friend got some yogurt granola thing and me, my fav, Razzmatazz (no bananas sub straw).  But ya, for those of you who haven't done Zumba before, you gotta try it jus' to say you did it, and for those of you folks who do Zumba, major props, cuz I know I'm gonna feel it tomorrow, haha.  Happy New Year peopz!

So what's up with the cap icon HaynMade?

You may ask,

So what's up with the cap icon HaynMade?  Cuz you see it everywhere, on 808orbit, on the Kidrobot forum, on Twitter, etc.  Well, I like it for different reasons.  For those of you who don't know, it's a special edition New Era cap, which were designed by two very good friends of mine.  This father and son team own a Hawaiian clothing (and accessories too) company called Sig Zane, named after the owner himself, Sig.

His son Kuha'o took it to the next level in reaching out to a younger audience and created this sick cap.  Along with this cap, Kuha'o did shirts, converse shoes and shirts, and followed up with other colorways and designs, which were hella popular when it came out.  Both Sig and Kuha'o are a powerhouse team in Hawaiian fashion.  Their Hawaiian wear is of awesome quality, and waaaaaaay above those tacky aloha shirts you see in Waikiki.  I really like wearing their shirts cuz they're comfortable and stylish.  Locals here know when someone's wearing a Sig.  The quality and comfort of these killer wearables are definitely worth the price in my opinion.

The thing that I really like about Sig Zane's clothing is that there's a story behind all of their designs, and I have an appreciation for people who have depth and stories behind their work.  The design in the cap icon I have is their 'ulu or breadfruit design.  In Hawaiian context, 'ulu represents growth and for many Hawaiian quilters like my grandmother will often use the 'ulu as their first design, because it represents that other works will "continue to grow" thereafter.  'Ulu also represents strength, the sap was used to glue canoe hulls, the leaves for sandpaper, the wood for poi boards and surfboards.  I'm sure that's what Kuha'o had in mind when he first chose this design as well.

So for me, the Sig Zane new era cap icon represents that growth for myself, personally and professionally.  Like the 'ulu, growth happens when you take care of yourself and help others along the way, and that's what I try and do in my everyday life.  Every now and then you get those peopz, that take advantage of you or envy what you do, but that's okay, like the 'ulu it's about staying strong and continuing to grow.  It also represents that you can survive and enjoy these urban times, while still keepin' it true to your roots and your cultural foundations.  Okay, damn, that was deep, take a breath now, haha.

But if you want to check out Sig Zane's killer fashion, check out their site at www.sigzane.com.

What started it all...

Many ask,

What started it all to my collection?  Well, it all started some 20 years ago back in my high school years.  During math especially, I spent many of lectures drawing in my notebook.  I drew all kinds of stuff, Tiny Tunes, Disney, Marvel, DC Comics, and the list goes on and on.  But one of my most favorite things to draw was this character called the Raggamuffin, which was created by Stussy.  I liked this character, because he didn't have a face and was simple in design, which I thought was hella cool.

Well, one day, as I was cruisin the malls, something caught my eye in one of the store displays.  There he was, Stussy's Raggamuffin figures in 3D form!  I was so stoked, I just had to have my hands on 'em.  I asked the salesperson how much he was and he responded "Sorry, he's not for sale, he's for display use only."  Man, I was super bummed.

Years later to nearly present day, what I hadn't realized was that there was this huge urban vinyl scene going on.  A few companies (at the time) were producing vinyl figures.  Also at the time, there were only two stores in Hawaii that were getting into the scene as well.  I stumbled upon these two stores nearly by accident, or as I think about it, divine intervention.

I quickly got absorbed into the scene super quick, starting off with small blind boxed figs and then moving on to bigger ones.  I also learned about the "culture" behind urban vinal collecting, that it's a must to meet and network with people.  To me, that's my most biggest joy, because I wouldn't nearly have the figures I have now if it wasn't for the many friends I've made throughout the past few years.  So as much as possible, I try and help people out, because it always comes back to you.

But there was a bunch of figs I always wanted in my collection, Stussy's Raggamuffins.  It took me FOREVER to find the ones I have in my collection, but I had to have them, because of the memories I had way back when.  Piece by piece, I was able to secure a bunch of 'em.

The holidays in the 808...

So today I booked it on over to my friends' crib,

For the holidays in the 808.  These guys go all out for Christmas, I mean all out, from decorations to gifts to food.  You'll see what I mean in my pics below.

Okay, kinda funny story, on Christmas Eve, my friend has her daughter and son write their wishlist on these plates she brings out every year.  On the plates they both know to leave cookies and milk for Santa.  This year, because we were hella tired from the football game, we didn't have the energy to bake cookies.  So this year, Santa had to be content with a an old leftover cookie, a slice of pizza and marshmallow chex mix, hahaha, friggen hilarious.

Gifts up the ying yang for the kiddies...

Das' some lucky bootay kids, I swear...

Hmm, I wonder who this is all for, lol...

This is my absolute fav pic, cuz we were all rollin' when we saw this.  So my friend's mom, for those of you who have been following my blog, the one up in Cali.  Well, every holiday season, she always sends my friends and their family their gifts in the mail, because her husband is usually coaching or attending a "football bowl" game.  Well my friend's daughter got a solar powered hand waving Royal Queen figure.  But what was even MORE hilarious was the note my friend's mom left for her granddaughter:

"Merry Christmas!  Since I can't be there to watch you celebrate Christmas, wanted to send a statue of me to 'fill in!'"

Hahahaha, when I saw this I was seriously rolling, especially when the hand started waving back n forth.  I swear my friend's folks are friggen hilarous and they're hella cool.  This year they hooked me up with a remote control helicopter, yesssss!

Hawaii Bowl advencha...

So today we hit it to the Aloha Stadium,

For some Hawaii Bowl advencha, UH against Tulsa.  A whole mafia of us went, my friends, their kids and my friend's brother and his family.  I haven't been to a UH game in awhile, my friends insisted that I go with 'em, lol.  Daaaaaang, it was hella hot!  I kid you not, when I sat in the stands, I stayed as still as possible, cuz my back was drippin'.  But all in all, it was hella fun to be amongst the fans even though we lost.

At one point of the game, I had a pretty nervous moment.  This drunk dude came by all obnox high fivin' peopz and what not.  I got nervous as he got closer to my friend and his brother.  The thing about them two is, they're super quiet, and the last thing you wanna do is piss 'em off.  There are many of stories where they knock out obnox dudes when they cross paths.  But thank goodness, it was all g, no conflicts, haha.  But ya, I got some killer picz...

 Near the entrance gate...

Brid's eye view of the half time dancers...

 Mountains backdrop...

The aliens are landing...

Watch yo step...

Kahumana grinez...

So my niece and I,

Got into the holiday spirit baking chocolate chip cookies, good times.  My good friend called and we hit to Kahumana Cafe, which is located up in Lualualei Valley near where I live.  Cuz I ate chocolate chip cookies for breakfast, all I could fit in my stomach was this killer ahi salad that they made, winners.

A night with the 'ohana...

So last night was a night with the 'ohana,

Cuz you know it's all about family, so we all meet up every now and then to get together and share laughs and food.  Whenever we go to my mom's for special occasions, the Martha Stewart in her comes out and she'll do the full sha-bang, table settings and all.  That night we full on chowed down on some Korean food and I brought cookies and milk from Cookie Corner.  If you've never had a cookie from Cookie Corner, you're missing out.  In true tradition, when we get together there's a game or two to be played.  So last night we played the Disney version of Scene It and Scrabble.  I totally got booty wooped by my mom, who placed first, my twelve year old niece, who placed second, followed by my sister.  Haha, and usually Scrabble is my game, what's up with that, lol.

Twins r Hawt...

Just another moment proving twins are hawt,

Within a few months, Erick Scarecrow came out with these two Soopa Maria GID Twins colorways, the first one being the pink one and the second one being the green one.  Side by side under blacklight,  these two figs look sick.

Rumpus n Son...

What's not to like about Scribe,

He has to be one of the most talented graff artists out there.  His control is just plain sick, if you see him paint in person, you'll know what I'm talking about.  Throughout the years Scribe has created a number of mostly animal characters, all which catch the world of whimsy but at the same note depicting life situations.  With such talent both he and Alyssa come from humble backgrounds, donate frequently to charity and overall are down to earth n cool people.  Here's a couple of pics I snapped of his OG and Resounding Field Guide mini Rumpus figs...

"The Talk"

"A Day with Dad"

 

Mist in Effect...

Gotta love Mist,

Another extremely talented artist in the graff and street scene.  Mist is known for his unreal bold color use and uses a combination of thick and thin lines and splatter to make some unreal art.  His figures (like his art) have their own trademark.  Below is a pic of his Orus (larger figure) and a mini figure from his Debils blindboxed figs...

Pico and Wilshire from the dark...

So today,

I got my package from Loyal Subjects in the mail.  I ordered me Joe Ledbetter's Pico and Wilshire lava colorway which made its debut at Designer Con this year.  Overall it's a pretty cool figure, where you can see Ledbetter's trademarked bold lines and flat-sided parts of the fig like in the trunk and the tusks.  This was a colorway I had to have much because of my attraction to black and silver, lol.  But here's a pic I snapped.

Time is ticking...

Time is ticking,

As ESC is near closing out his Soopa Maria line of figures, and it's been hella great, with all of the different colorways he's been pumping out.  This will be one of the most sought after figs once this particular line closes out.  This particular colorway is his Gamma colorway, and as I unwrapped the packaging, I thought to myself "Hmm, blacklight maybe?"  And here you go in all her glory under blacklight.

These Three Kings...

Today I felt the need,

To take some pics of my Panda Kings from Angry Woebots.  The lastest brown DesignerCon colorway arrived sometime last week, and I must say, I really really like this color, something about brown.  Brownies rule!  Haha.  So below are the three colorways that have come out thus far.

Wet-Suits undah blacklight...

As I kick it after a long week of work,

I decided to take some pics of my set of figs under blacklight.  These girls are from Erick Scarecrow and are known as his Soopa Maria Wet-Suit figs.  The first OG green colorway made its debut at NYCC.  Next up to bat was the reddish Maguma colorway which was an instant success here in the 808.  ESC's most recent Wet-Suit colorway is his Buru light blue colorway, which released in Japan.  So ya, the pics below are all in that order, enjoy...