Small Celebrate Freedom recap

As many of you know, this past weekend I took Aphesis to Celebrate Freedom. My mind was so occupied that I hardly had time to take pics. There will be a small video coming soon that will give you guys a better idea, but in the mean time, here are 3 pics I took.

It was a very large crowd, as expected.

This was my view for 12 hours

This is Cameron, he stopped by early in the day to check out Aphesis. He was really diggin our stuff, but didn’t have any money. About an hour later he came back and asked for our Aphesis x 7 shirt in a size small. He then told me he had found $20 lying around. Coincidence? I think not.

Cameron was such a cool kid and all through out the day kept coming back to kick it with us. He also helped us tear down at the end of the day. Thanks Cameron, and thanks to all of you who purchased an Aphesis shirt, or simply stopped by to show us love.

A more detailed blog and video for Celebrate Freedom coming soon.

Celebrate Freedom, 2 days away!!

A few years ago I attended Celebrate Freedom for the very first time. I remember being there and thinking two things, “Man, it’s freakin hot, and this is an awesome event with so many people.” To be honest, at that time the thought didn’t cross my mind that I would actually be a vendor there one day. I had already started Aphesis, but it was at its beggining stages, selling out of the back of my trunk to everybody and anybody. Actually, I still sell out of the back of my trunk, and I still sell to anybody and everybody…but the point is, we are going to be a part of such an amazing and historic event this Saturday. Leading up to this day there have been a few obstacles I’ve had to overcome, the greatest being my thoughts and fears. Thoughts of, “This is a lot of money I’m investing in this event, should I keep going?” And the fear of, “Am I ready for this?” As Moses Uvere would say, “I’m just keepin it 1000 with you.” None the less, we are only 2 days away from the largest event in the history of Aphesis, over 100,000 people! And every obstacle that has come before me I’ve been able to overcome through the grace and strength of God. I have no doubt that Aphesis is supposed to be there, and this is perfect timing.

I am waiting for the ok to film and document the whole experience, so please pray that we get the ok. I would really love to bring something back to my blog for you guys to watch. I also encourage you guys to come out and show us some love this Saturday. It would be great to finally meet some of you in person, and be able to see some of you that I have not seen in a while. Click here for details. Let’s go!!

Raising Cane’s

A week ago a coworker informed me of a place called Raising Cane’s that specialized in chicken fingers. The thought of that was awesome and odd at the same time. Well, yesterday I had to go out and get lunch and guess where I went? That’s right, Raising Cane’s.

I drove up to a building that was very simple, not much to it. As you can see, the logo has a very classic feel to it. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, is a lot of places who are very simple in their design have done most of their investing on the quality of their product, or food in this case.

Let me start by describing the inside of the restaurant.

As soon as I walked in I saw it had a modern,industrial, sports bar feel to it.

One of the very first things I noticed was the cool vintage movie theatre like sign and the disco ball.

There were touches of stainless steel all through out the place. Something about stainless steel that gives a place a clean, smoothness to it.

I then moved up to place my order. The menu was very basic and straight to the point. Another indication that they are focused on being great at one thing, chicken fingers.

I went with a 3 finger basket. The breading on the tenders was just right, a good mixture between crunchy and tender. Taste was amazing! To top it off, my tenders were served with a side of Texas toast, and my favorite, crinkled fries! Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a huge fan of crinkled fries!

As if that wasn’t enough, they had crushed ice, also on my top faves!

Why am I dedicating such a lengthy and detailed blog to this restaurant? Well, number one I was very inspired by the story behind how Raising Cane’s started. It’s Todd Graves’, founder of Raising Cane’s, dream being shot down time and time again, yet his passion and vision for it kept him going till he saw it all come to fruition. And of course the fact that it had all of my favorite things was definitely a plus! I will be a customer for life, no doubt.

Dustin Cavazos album release show

I’m so late in posting these pics up, but I had lost my cord to upload pics to my computer from my camera, so here are a few pics of the Dustin Cavazos album release show.

Gallery Cat

Live orchestra

Dustin and JC Money

Moses Uvere

Ayiesha Woods

Dustin Cavazos on the keys

Aside from the great music, there were some great displays of art from Dustin’s twin brother Justin, and some art from Sour Grapes 13

And of course, Dustin’s album was available

Nerdy Fresh Release Party

This weekend I headed out to Centre at Mockingbird Station with my wife and baby for the release of Nerdy Fresh’s newest line.

There was a great vibe in that place, and it’s always great to see people show up and show love to local designers.

Had the opportunity to finally meet Thomas(on the left), owner of Nerdy Fresh, in person. Also had the privelege to meet Ryan, both very humble dudes, and both wearing stuff from the new line. They definitely have huge plans in store for NF.

Thomas said lots of those people were there because of the free food, but I choose to believe different.

I really admire the fact that you can tell Thomas is having fun with this company, which is key in a succesful t-shirt company. Thomas has been able to find a great balance between playful, street, and high-end.

Make sure to check out Nerdy Fresh, and show some love.

Aphesis in Papua New Guinea

Last year my good friend Ryan had the privilege to go to Papua New Guinea for a missions trip.

Ryan told me the story of when he was there how he met a man named Jordan from a tribe called Hula.  When Ryan first met him, he said Jordan asked him about his shirt and Ryan explained that it was a shirt a friend of his designed, and explained the meaning behind it. He said Jordan immediately fell in love with it.

As the days went by Ryan made an awesome connection with Jordan, and learned while being in Papua New Guinea that people give gifts of significant value to each other when a strong friendship connection is made. Ryan explained to me that he packed very light, about 5 shirts and a few pair of shorts, and didn’t really have anything of significant value and the only thing that came to mind was his Aphesis shirt.

Ryan knew that Jordan really liked the shirt, so when he went to give the shirt to Jordan, Jordan freaked out saying, “No way, this is the shirt your friend made you,” thinking that it was the only one in the world. Ryan then explained to him that there were others and it was ok to give him this shirt. Jordan then said, “I’ll be back,” and headed to his room. When Jordan came back he had in his hand a beautiful necklace as a gift for Ryan. This necklace was a necklace Jordan only wore when participating in Hula tribal activities, including dancing.

When Ryan told me the story, I was amazed at how God uses Aphesis to impact people not only in the U.S., but on the other side of the world. There have been times while observing the awesome things other companies are doing, where I feel tempted to simply design something that’s only attractive.  And every time I find myself there, I feel as if I’m walking away from the purpose behind Aphesis. It is when I come back and focus that I see there’s a greater purpose beyond anything I could ever do on my own.

I asked Ryan what were some things about this trip that changed his life, these were his exact words.

“A couple of things: when you witness to people here, referring to the U.S., it can feel like a chore,but there people are so hungry for hope…it’s like they have been waiting their whole life to hear what you came to say. The other thing was that my eyes were opened to the need for missionaries. It was what solidified the call of missions on my life.”

Wow.

Seth from Forney

Last week I received an email from Seth who happened to be driving and saw the Aphesismobile.

He immediately checked out the Aphesis website,while driving, which I don’t recommend, ha ha. Since Seth lived in Forney he asked if we could meet somewhere so that he wouldn’t have to pay shipping. Immediately I agreed to drive to Forney and meet up. If there’s one thing I love more than designing shirts, it’s being able to meet the people who love Aphesis.

Seth, it was awesome meeting you in person. Enjoy the shirts, and I know we will be in touch. Thanks for the pic! 

Biker Weekend

So a few weeks ago I took Aphesis to Biker Weekend at FCOP. I swear, every time you think you have everything organized and ready to set up as soon as you get there, something always goes wrong. When my wife and I first arrived we immediately started to set up the tent. Shortly after we realized that we were missing the most important part of the whole tent, which is a little round piece that connects all four corners. Fortunately we live about 10 minutes from the event, but it was crazy having to run back to get it. Then we ran into the problem of not having a table, forgetting another important piece, the grass being wet and muddy, and the heat did not help. At some point you have to tell yourself that everything is going to be ok and just pray for strength and patience.

We finally were able to set up and eventhough I didn’t have this set up planned, it all worked out and we got a table thanks to Garret.

The event was definitely the most different I’ve done, but non the less, I got to meet some awesome people and see awesome bikes.

Next event, Celebrate Freedom June 26 9 more days!

Tiger 2xl

So two weeks ago I was at my aunt’s house for a garage sale and as I was digging through boxes I found this!

Immediately this took me back and I had to ask my cousin if I could buy this from him. I was thinking that he was going to say, “No way, I grew up with that,” but to my surprise he said I could have it! The Tiger 2xl was one of those toys that I could never afford when I was a kid, and I don’t say this to be cliché, but it’s the truth. Anyway, I believe this is the beginning of my collection of toys I couldn’t buy when I was a kid. Check out this commercial for Tiger 2xl. Sorry for the crappy quality.

New Dustin Cavazos iPhone app

As if releasing a great full length album wasn’t enough, Dustin Cavazos continues to amaze his fans by now releasing his own iPhone app!

The Dustin Cavazos app includes four full tracks from his album, “I think in the shower, I dream on my bike,” aswell as a news section, and the ability to stay updated on any upcoming shows.  I think we’re all thinking the same thing, “What’s next Dustin?”