6 months ago I attended Pat Cruz's Monday Night Workshop in San Jose. I used to dance a lot back in high school, but never took it seriously post graduation. My homie Vino was dropping knowledge on me about the hip-hop dance scene (trust me, there's much more besides MTV'S ABDC crews) as he was currently participating on a team at his college. I instantly became a fan when he showed me Pat Cruz's work. I loved his conceptual style and knew he danced with much purpose. I didn't want to go to the workshop at first since I haven't danced in years nor taken any classes before, but Vino pushed me to give it a shot (luckily I did). I couldn't keep up with the choreography at all and learning pieces is much harder than it looks. Some things can look so simple, yet be so complex. Admit to fanboying, I approached Pat Cruz after class to take a photo with him. I handed him a business card and told him to hit me up if he wanted some gear.
The next day on Christmas Eve he e-mailed me about my brand. It was awesome getting compliments from a creative I looked up to. He fully understood where I was coming from by having substance and content behind my designs and not creating things unpurposely. I appreciated the fact that he took the time to read my product blurbs to get a sense of what I'm producing mentally. I sent him some gear, but he wanted to keep this relationship going in future somehow. We ended up deciding on making a collaborative t-shirt. After a few phone calls, a meet-up and numerous video chats, we nailed down on a design that fits both our work ethics, Complexity Through Simplicity.
It's crazy to think that one business card and one interaction with someone can not only lead to working together, but making of a new friend. Pat is one of the dopest guys I've ever met. It was a truly humbling experience to have had the opportunity to work with Pat since our minds really clicked on this one. I'm still in awe at the fact that Pat wanted to collaborate with me on his official t-shirt knowing he has other resources in the industry. He told me he could've worked with any one of those other companies, but the purposeful mindset we shared and our love for the bay made effulgence the right choice. Our collab tee is now available on our online shop. Read the tee's blurb to learn more about the design.
