nike – lifeofacitygal

All-Star Weekend LA

As we all know, all-star weekend took place in Los Angeles, CA this past weekend. This is the biggest event for the NBA organization and I was elated to participate in some of the festivities. My first all-star experience happened to be in New York and I thought to myself, now what’s going to be able to top when I met Paul George. There were a number of events going on that weekend so you had to make yourself an itinerary and stick with it; discipline is key people. Trust me on this 😊

To kick off the all-star weekend, I went to see Black Panther. Although this has nothing to do with the actual all-star event whatsoever, the fact that it was released during this weekend meant I had to go and see this. I mean, I think everyone put this on their agenda for opening weekend. Now back to the NBA. I had the pleasure of meeting both Andre Drummond and Lou Will at the Kia Loft space. Their setup was cool as you could take on a match of NBA 2K, try to beat the escape room within the 10 minutes allotted or post to your social using their hashtag and get an instant Polaroid printout of that picture. Pretty cool stuff, right? I also was able to check out the American Express event in partnership with Shaquille O’Neal. It was cool to see the converted bank safe that stored a few of the Lakers prized possessions including and autographed Shaq’s jersey, a replica of the championship trophy and the king’s chair with the crown made perfect photo ops. Not to forget the infamous slam dunk gif that I had way too much fun with.

Of course, there were events like the rookie game, the dunk contest and celebrity basketball match-ups. I was able to catch the celebrity game at the convention center which was cool to see people with other talents showcasing their basketball skills or lack thereof lol. Overall still something cool to catch to be a part of the festivities. In addition to that, I was also able to stop by an event sponsored by Spalding that showcased customized basketballs and featured Demar Derozan and my favorite, Damian Lillard aka Dame Dolla, in a 2K match.

As if the sporting events weren’t enough, there were also a ton of exclusive releases happening as well. From the Dame 4 Bapes that dropped at the Adidas 747 St Warehouse, to Russell Westbrook’s pop-up featuring his new fashion collection ‘Inner City’, to the Kobe Protos made available at Nike’s own ‘Makers of the Game’ and even a pop-up from the NYC-flagship store, Kith; soon to have a home in LA as well. If you’re a fan of the NBA, all-star is definitely something you would want to experience at least just once. Checkout some of the shots I was able to capture during this LA All-Star weekend.

ComplexCon 2017

I had the pleasure of attending the 2nd annual ComplexCon event held at the Long Beach Convention Center this past weekend. This was my first time going to this so I had no idea what to expect. I looked online to see all the brands that were listed to be there, looked at people listed to be on the different panels, researched the food trucks that were slated to be there, backed by “First We Feast”, and lastly curated a schedule in line with all the things I wanted to do that weekend.

I attended the expo on both days and neither day disappointed. I will admit on Saturday I was a bit overwhelmed. There were over 150+ brands there, a number of panels I wanted to attend but start times overlapped of course to keep the crowds regulated, food trucks near the main and back entrance towards the arena, and a ton of exclusive releases just for this event. The highlight for me on that Saturday was attending the “We in Here: Injecting the Culture into Hollywood” panel with Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler. Both spoke about their individual journey taken in the film industry, how their involvement in the industry has paved the way for other successful projects and key takeaways on following your dreams and creating your own path/way to what is that you want and are passionate about. After this panel, I saw tons of people just walking around like myself and being a part of “the culture”; whatever this means right lol. I mean celebrity sightings went on for days. G-Eazy casually walked through the crowd and stopped occasionally for pics, Andre 3000 relaxed in the center of an art exhibit and hand drew a portrait of a fan, Pharrell strolled through and admired a few art exhibitions, Jaden Smith signaled his entourage to his booth after a great live performance on the Pigeons & Planes stage, Superduper Kyle had a dance off with his dad in his booth, Big Sean walked to Puma to show off a recent sneaker collab, Gary Vee dropped free gems to people seeking advice on their own ventures and Virgil Abloh personally customized an Air Jordan 1 , instantly creating a 1 of 1 on the spot. I mean what more could you ask for.

I just knew Sunday would be more chill and sightings would be few but boy was I wrong. Sunday may have been equally as eventful. The highlight of Sunday in my opinion was the iamOTHER #begreat party hosted by Pharrell. Up and coming artists opened the show and later the audience was surprised with guests such as Kap G, 2chainz, Ty Dolla $ign, Wiz Khalifa, Lil Uzi Vert and Migos. The schedule did say surprise guests but whoa I didn’t expect anything of this magnitude. I decided Sunday would be catered to picking up a few items since most things were designed and sold only here at this event. PUMA was celebrating their 50th anniversary and released some dope kicks; specifically, a gray suede pair with a floral design. Unfortunately, those weren’t for sale until 2018 and were only being displayed to heighten the anxiety for people like myself. I did snag a tee from Wish Atlanta that I’d been eyeing for 2 consecutive days; the shirt lists all of the zones of Atlanta. Definitely wanted to support the home team. Overall, Complexcon exceeded my expectations. I left inspired and excited to be a part of an event designed to blend people of all over with similar interests and like minds. I will definitely be back next year to partake in these festivities and I can’t wait to see how it evolves over the years. Fantastic job Complex! Checkout my gallery below.

AirMax Con

Nike hosted AirMax Con during 3/24-3/26 in which they showcased all Air Max and their influence on the sneaker culture and footwear industry over the years. This was a pretty epic event, especially if you are into sneakers. They were a number of reputable people there including Mr. Flawless, a custom jewelry designer and Matt Senna, who’s craft includes casting and bronzing sneakers. Kith made a statement by offering Kith Treats creatively named to correlate with the Air Max theme. If you wanted to get a nice touch up on your sneakers, Jason Markk had a team there to get your shoes back spotless using their custom cleaning solution which can pretty much remove any scuffs or dirt from your shoes. Trust me; I saw this firsthand. Of course you could buy sneakers or make a custom pair to add your own flair to a new set of kicks. I happen to like the Air Max 95′ and the Air Max Thea myself. Check out some of the things I was able to see at the event below.