The good folks at Open University has blessed us with another project. This time it features the collaborative efforts between, Matty Slims, Opski Chan, and I-L Twice; which make up “The UN.” The 10 track tape has re-playability and will be a great addition to any summertime chill session. Take a listen below and dont forget to download!

Charlie was born in South San Francisco and moved to Hayward when he was only 9. He lived with his aunt in San Francisco and left to Hayward to live with his mother. He grew up watching his mother work three jobs and take care of three other siblings. Charlie’s Father passed away in ’99. Despite all of life’s obstacles he went through high school and found the love of his life at the age of 17 and is happily married today. From that point on he committed himself to pursue is dreams. Charlie was never fond of working for anyone else for he only had two jobs out of high school and quickly decided he wanted to start upon his own ventures.

If you have ever been approached (for those who live in the Bay Area) by someone to try their assorted colognes, perfumes or roses, it was more than likely one of Charlie’s associates. Charlie started to hustle at the street level and quickly expanded his business.   He has been involved in various other start ups, one of them he is still involved in is real estate. One of the diverting ones was a start up for a barbecue sauce. Entrepreneurship runs through out his family for he and  his wife have ran a restaurant as well.  Imperium is just one of the few business Charlie  conducts with Justin. Imprm headquarters also doubles as their co-owned record label which is home to their in house artist Erk Tha Jerk.

Charlie for IMPRM is the man behind the scene. Partly why he didn’t let us take too many photos of him. Charlie even though is not the direct face of the label, he still works very hard and lets nothing stop him, he says ” I will never retire, because I love what I do”.

Curious to see the art work we were lead through a series of inside alley ways and stairs. As soon as we reached the the studio we were introduced to a familiar face who we have met a few time before: Dean. Dean was gracious enough to give us the grand tour.

Along from showing who did what piece and what Haus of God Speed does, we were inspired by the variety of talent that was presented in this warehouse space. Almost everything was made or designed by hand, which is a dying craft in itself int the age of computers.

What makes art so special is that no one can tell you that it is right or wrong. One of my most revered form of art is mixed media which they had large selection of.

We arrived early than most people, they called this period of time the family time.

Apparently the roots are stronger and the leaves are greener if these plants are watered with alcohol? We are going to have to try it out for ourselves.

Before we knew it the tour was finished we were ready to take the trip back, but we were privileged to have experienced the art as well as inspired by the people behind it.

Shots: Salt

I wasn’t able to make it out to the 2010 World Series Parade when the San Francisco Giants won, so I kept my schedule open and took a trip up to San Francisco the night before the actually parade. Waking up six in the morning to catch the M-train towards Market st wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. By the time I got to Market St, people were already sitting on curbs or had camped out the night before to hold their place to check out the parade. I was lucky enough to capture some interesting images showcasing the madness during the event.

This Wheels N Meals had a special Halloween twist. Event goers came in costumes and their baskets ready for  Truck O’ Treating. Food trucks and vendors handed out candy and goodies to anyone who came in costume. Some vendors were also decorated in spooky fashions. If you had walked by our booth you would have noticed our skeleton prop wearing the PH x Scoops tee that was featured on the Wheels N Meals page.

There were two halfs to the event as far as cars go. Half of the show, which wrapped around the greater part of the building, consisted of domestics and the other half imports.

Wheels N Meals for the very first time had VIP parking. The VIP area got most of the attention amongst all event goers as well as the cameras.

This was not only loud in color and vinyls, it was horrifically loud to the ears as well. Boy did it rumble.

I personally really like this picture allot. If you look at what people are doing, it pretty much sums up allot of what Wheels N Meals is.

I guess she had a hard time deciding what to order from the food trucks!

PH would like to thank San Jose Mercury News and everyone involved with making Wheels N Meals happen. PH has been involved with Wheels N Meals since day one and will hopefully continue to be so in all future ones to come.

Shots: Salt

Headliners is a hat boutique located on Jackson Street in San Jose’s Japantown. They carry exclusive colorways for your favorite sports teams as well as brands such as Huf, Halloway, Clout, and many more. They also carry a few select shirts and hat accessories (cleaning agents, cases, etc.)

We chopped it up with My, a co-owner of the establishment, to hear the story behind the shop. My had the vision of opening up a hat store and shared it with a potential business partner, who backed out of the venture before it began. Nothing came about of Headliners and My continued his job, determined to revive the dream when the time was right. My’s friend, who is now his business partner, brought the idea back up and My was hesitant at first, but with persistence and determination in their hearts, Headliners was born.

The location was sought out for a long time and it took a game of cat and mouse with the landlord to secure the spot. The owners of Headliners proved that they were well prepared and ambitious enough to execute their plans for the space. After the space was secured, time and money poured in and the beginning stages of setting up shop were made. Their lives and routines changed because in conjunction with their work and families, they had a store to build. My was thrown a curve ball and his life changed. A loved one was admitted into the hospital for an emergency procedure. Although almost proving fatal, the person he loved was given a little more time. So between work, family life, and constructing the shop, My spent any sliver of time he could with that person. Many of us cannot comprehend the physical, mental, and emotional strain My’s situation can bring about, but he proved to be a strong-willed individual and pressed on. As time pressed on and Headliners was almost ready to open, My caught word that his loved one, his mother, had passed at the hospital. My endured the heart wrenching news with a store that was getting ready to open as well as prepare for the funeral service. The shop opened a couple of weeks after the funeral service and My considers it a blessing.

Hard work, determination, love, passion, and persistence were the key elements that pushed My and his business partners to continue on and open Headliners.

Headiners San Jose

205 Jackson Street

San Jose, CA 95112

Tue-Sat 11am to 8pm

Sunday 11am to 6pm

          Persistent Hustle visits the Halloway/Clout showroom to chop it up with Nathan of Halloway as he shares some of his experiences with developing Halloway and the things that inspired him. Nathan is the co-founder of Halloway alongside his friend Chris in a team of 5 unique individuals.

Nathan grew up in the East side of San Jose, in an environment where if you could not see the bigger picture, you were likely to fall victim of your surroundings; that would include drugs, money laundering, and guns. Nathan wasn’t too far from those things considering his father was dealing with the addiction that nearly took his life, and almost broke his family. Nathan knew that the life his father lead wasn’t the same one he wanted to follow. His father is also a source of inspiration to Nathan and taught him valuable lessons. Eventually his father turned his life around when they had almost hit rock bottom. Given a second chance at life, Nathan watched his dad recover from his addiction, inspired him to do the same, and he took valuable lessons away during those hard times. His mother was an inspiration to work hard, the value of money, and to never give up. Although his father was recovering from an addiction, his mother never gave up on the family. He took his dads experience, learned from it, and took the negative out of it and made it a positive learning experience.

Now with five collections under their belt, Halloway is in their second year. They moved into Cannery Park, sharing the showroom with Clout Graffiti Magazine.

          Alice Bui of Alicebmyphotographer has caught our attention with her passion for photography and her artistic vision. The story began with an old Nikon FG film camera which she fondly remembers her father using when she was younger. But the passion started when Alice took a photography class in high school in which she realized that she liked taking pictures of people. The beginning stages of her photographic passion was not staged; with excursions out with her friends just to take photographs. But as time progressed and knowledge of her craft was gained; Alice incorporated themes into her shoots which needed proper planning. Makeup, outfits, accessories, models, hair, location, and helpers was just some of the things that Alice had to take into consideration when she planned for a shoot. She hopes to one day shoot for magazines such as Vogue and Bazarr. She has tons of ideas and strives to think outside the box with the use of dramatic makeup and off the wall themes.

When Alice isnt doing her own makeup for her models, she got help from Amber Huynh, Tammy Do, and Trudy Pham which she would like to thank whole heatedly.

For more Alice, visit her FACEBOOK and check out her FLICKR

          We sat down with Cary of Scoops SJ to learn about his growingly popular ice cream truck, scoops, as well as his life. He grew up in the big island of Hawaii and now resides in California. Cary has traveled to many countries and loves the different local cultures that every destination offers. He would rather venture into the local hole-in-the-walls than go to the common tourist destinations. Cary recently started a consulting firm and operates an ice cream truck called, “Scoops.” Cary graduated as an engineer and has worked all over the world; so why operate an ice cream truck? Cary is a natural, people-person and with his new venture, he can interact with many people. Also, he explained that ice cream is one of those timeless goods that people of all ages and backgrounds can enjoy. It is a comfort food and makes people happy. It only makes sense that Cary has ventured into the mobile ice cream business. What makes Scoops special and not like the run-of-the-mill ice cream truck is the unique flavors they carry like; birthday cake, cotton candy, and fruity loops. Scoops also purchases their ice cream fresh from a local creamery.
It goes to show that sometimes the things you end up doing in life; you dont plan for and that you should take in consideration, the opportunities that presents itself.

          We first saw the Ocalaholics crew at an Andre Nikitina show at the Avalon in Santa Clara. Their lyrical rhyme schemes and raw lyrics intrigue us to learn more about them. Although the group grew up together on Ocala Ave. and have been friends for a long time; they’ve been a cohesive unit for three years. At the beginning stages of their endeavors; it was about recording and partying. Since then they have gotten in tune with their music and is taking their craft to the next level. Their mission is simple; to produce good music that people can relate to and grab inspiration from. Their future plans includes gaining more awareness of their projects and performing more. DJ Bboy Drift played a large role in their involvement in hip-hop. They’ve known him for over 10 years and has been their DJ during live performances. Although they cant compare with any other hip-hop group out there musically, they do identify themselves with the “family” characteristics of the Wu-Tang Clan.

We recently released their latest project titled, “The Intervention” download it HERE

“First and foremost God for blessing us with a talent and ability to share our stories through our music, our parents, T.S.K, Cannery Park in its entirty, Persistent Hustle, The Tracks 408, 80′s Babies – BBoy Drift (official Ocalaholics DJ), Breezy Excursion, and anyone who supports our music.”

-Nathan Gajardo