Happy Birthday, Ian!

By RJ | December 2, 2008

What’s up y’all! I know we’ve been quiet for a while. We’ve got some stuff lined up that we’ll clue you in on shortly. But this post is a quick note to say…

Ian

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IAN!

Topics: Tutorial, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Congrats to untitledplaylist for his winning submission “fresh.02“! He’ll be receiving $900 cash, $100 store credit, and a free copy of his hat. We’ll be debuting this in the store and interviewing him shortly.

Topics: Contest | 9 Comments »

Something New…

By RJ | October 21, 2008

Cork Fitted

So browsing through my daily periodicals (that is Strictly Fitteds, Hypebeast, and the Hundreds Blog), I noticed some really cool hats made of not-so-standard fabrics in out of the ordinary colors. It is pretty refreshing to see hats that are different. At Fitizen, one of our goals is to raise the bar as far as design and quality are concerned. But in order to raise the bar, we first have to know where the bar is. So I’m gonna open this up to you guys. If you see a hat anywhere that is exceptional, post it here. Does it have crazy embroidery? Is it made of plastic and horse hair? Do the colors change with your mood? Let us know about it. I’ll put some of mine too.

Topics: Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

How your TOP5 works

By Ian | October 15, 2008

Topics: Tutorial, Videos | 3 Comments »

The Steel Closet on our launch party

By Ian | October 15, 2008

Our friends at The Steel Closet did a write-up on our launch party, with pictures!

Topics: News, Press | No Comments »

Launch party reax

By Ian | October 12, 2008

Thanks to everyone who came out to our launch party!
The turnout was extraordinary. The club was at capacity by midnight, and there was still a block of people in line outside. All night I was told about the craziness outside. Pictures or it didn’t happen.
Sorry to everyone (especially our friends) who wasn’t able to get in. There was nothing we could do.
Sorry to those of you who weren’t supposed to pay but did. I’m finding out what happened.
Sorry to the 18-20 year olds who were discriminated against for their inability to legally purchase alcohol. Being <21 was like having leprosy. Being >21 was like having a FastPass and/or being a Jedi.
I rented a U-Haul to transport our caps to the premises. It was incredibly satisfying rolling down in a U-Haul to your own launch party. I recommend it. Even though it took me 10 minutes to figure out how to turn on the headlights. (Hint: pull the knob on the left of the steering wheel.)
Sorry it took a while for me to post this blog, but I was waiting for pictures. But it’s going to be a while before I get them, since we stupidly didn’t bring our own camera. I blame the bastard who stole my DSLR @ Green Valley Ranch, Las Vegas a year ago. And my iPhone’s low megapixel count.
Special thanks to Diane Padre, Amanda Arce, Pauline Isidro, Carlo Maclang, Jessie Ramos, Casey Callangan, Dante Marino, Dino Mayorga, Troy Phi, Team Millennia, VENT, and 4ONE.

Topics: News | 2 Comments »

Launch Redesign

By Ian | October 9, 2008

Welcome to the new look of FITIZEN.COM! Aside from the new look, these are the major features:

“TOP 5″ RANKING SYSTEM
Instead of the numerical rating system of the beta site, you now have a “TOP 5,” where you can put your favorite 5 fitteds on the site. Depending on where you put it (1st, 2nd, …5th), it gets a certain number of points, which we total at the end of the every month, when we choose a winner.
QUEUE
When you add a design to your TOP 5, but your 5 slots are full, the newly added design is added to your Queue. Keep in mind though, you can only hold 10 fitteds in your Queue at a time. Whatever fitted is on top of the Trash icon won’t be there when you come back.
FORUM
We finally got the forum integrated, so join or start discussion threads.

A few things:

Our ONLINE STORE won’t be open until Monday, so check back.
Let us know if you experience any problems by posting in our forum.

Lastly, a fond final look at our beta site.

Topics: News, Website | 1 Comment »

Interview with Dino Mayorga

By Ian | October 6, 2008

I first met Dino Mayorga at Sneaker Pimps LA a few months ago, where he was customizing kicks live. He’s going to be customizing fitteds live at our launch party this Thursday, which we’ll be raffling away to a few lucky folk. He was kind enough to take the time for an interview.

Thanks for doing this interview, Dino. Introduce yourself to the uninitiated.
Dino Mayorga! I’m definitely a slashie, but let’s keep it brief - Visual artist, dancer, nightlife VIP. [laughs]

How long have you been painting?
Well, I’d say since I was about 5 one of my neighbors introduced me to painting and building model cars, but I guess my family and I really took notice after I won 2nd place in a state-wide contest when I was in 2nd grade. [laughs] I kept entering and winning contests. Some of the prizes were actually pretty decent. As far as doing art on hats, kicks and gear, that started in the eighties for me. We would paint up our clothes with graff and write out affiliations and crew names. I would wear my custom kicks and jackets and people started asking me to do work for them. I guess I was my own walking advertisement. That lasted from the late eighties all the way through the nineties up until now. I started getting real busy in the early 2000s with the trucker caps and over the past few years with sneaker art.

How long have you been dancing?
I think ever since I could sit upright. [laughs] On the real though since 1982. I went to a funk jam with my momz and family. My mom’s friend was a funk DJ, and he was spinning at a local event. That day did it. It was on! That’s when I first witnessed some of the west coast styles of dance stemming out of the party scene at the time. Wow! 1982! By 1983-84 I was hitting mad circles at local functions and parties. Big ups to my older bro and sis for taking me everywhere with them. Also, respect to all of my east coast influences.

I feel fortunate to have experienced and contributed to the evolution of this real hip hop/ electronic music dance culture - breakin (b-boying), free style dancin, housing, street dance or whatever people wanna call it. It’s an expression. Incredible dance styles and when seen in its purest, undiluted form, it’s beautiful. We had our terms, lifestyle, and definitions, but some of it got misinterpreted, but that’s another story. We were just buggin out, hangin, wildin out, having fun and all the while creating a worldwide movement. That’s all. [laughs] I’m absolutely amazed by how much impact this style of dance has had on the world.

What else are you passionate about besides art and dance?
Teaching, making a difference, sharing knowledge, books, good parenting, all around well being, positive changes.

Tell us about your creative process.
First I kick my girlfriends (I have 2..) out of my studio. [laughs] On the real. I then attempt to get organized. Get supplies ready, music if any, and load up on organic snacks from Henry’s. Whenever I do get that creative surge I’m known to work day and night on something once I’m hooked. I do well under pressure with a deadline or just working for fun. Sometimes it’s spontaneous; other times it takes awhile to get into it depending on the job/project. Sometimes I go into the studio worked up like an MMA fighter, ready to fight, and other times I’m sippin on hot tea, philosophizing, and totally calm. Crazy..

Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration in many different things but mostly my inspirations kind of contrast. I’m inspired by nature, autumn season, wind, energy, motion, meditations. Anything beautiful to me, dance, music, martial arts, good design, fashion, underground movements/dance scenes, graff, sneakers, cars, my peeps, robots and the lovely ladies of course. Not all at once though or maybe..??

Do you wear/collect fitteds? Have any favorites?
Yup yup I do. I’m actually rockin one right now. No favorites though. I wear a few different styles of hats, caps, beanies, etc.. I’m definitely a hat person. I remember I used to rock some outrageous hats in the late eighties early nineties. [laughs]

Do you collect anything else?
As far as other stuff.. let’s see.. I let go of a lot of stuff from the eighties, and some stuff like the Hot Wheels and Star Wars collection from the 70s and 80s got stolen. I have stuff like old school hip hop/rave flyers/memorabilia, magazines, some vinyl, sneakers, T’s. Daang, I do wish I had kept my Transformers and Voltron from the 80s. Oh yeah, and my Pumas from way back when.

Describe your personal fashion style.
My personal style is whatever my sponsors give me… [laughs] just kidding. My style is a combination of my influences, living and being a part of certain fashion/music-inspired movements. Simply what I like to rock depending on how I feel and where I’m going although it only changes slightly. Rockin something original, natural and creative. Authenticity is important. Most trends are set from what comes up from underground movements and I’ve been on the frontline of a few. It has been like that since I was a kid. I came out of the generation, the scene that practically invented and inspired this whole streetwear thing. Other times it has to be functional for my dancing, etc. It just has to work.

Admire anyone right now?
I admire many people and I have many favorites too many to name individually. I’d have to say right now I admire and recognize the people that persevere and continue with their purpose in life. For example athletes who are redefining age limits or in my field dancers, artists, d.j.’s, musicians, event producers who are still doing their thing after so many years and who have always pushed the limits, stayed original, paid dues. I admire people that stick to their craft and give it back to the world. Artists, dancers, performers, visionaries, inventors, entrepreneurs, etc., etc.

What would you do with $1000?
Some art supplies and a mini spree for my kiddo.

Have any advice for aspiring artists?
Well I don’t give advice but I will make a suggestion. Be grateful for the gift of talent, work towards your life purpose and learn the business side of art.

What do you think about the concept of FITIZEN?
I was immediately attracted to the name and logo. I’ve always liked the idea of bringing like minded people together, building communities, creating movements. Word.

Where can we see/find more about you?
Well I’m working on my site now. It took me forever to even get online. I was never really computer savvy. I’m going to attempt to come up from being so underground. I’m just wondering how I’m going to make sense of it all, 20+ years in the game. Wow. I’m going to do my best to keep it simple. For now hit up the MySpace page. [laughs]

Any shoutouts?
Yeah. My family, my daughter Isis, Jade, and all my peeps for the support and motivation.

Peace to one of my biggest artistic and dance influences Divine Styler - the original Scheme Team. Peace to my Orange County b-boy peeps- Koolski Rock Steady Crew, West Coast Rockers and Killafornia. Big ups to the DunkXchange for putting me on as a featured artist so many times and helping to get my name out to the local sneaker scene. Big ups to Fitizen for making moves.

Also check me out at the Downtown Santa Ana Art and Music Festival happening November 15 in Orange County. I’ll be showing art, doing custom kicks and hats, and selling merch.

Peace.