Lion Bar.

We went up the elevator, super packed and entered the bar. Immediately the music entranced up onto the dance floor. It is interesting. The vibes in Japan are so pure, most of the time you do not need alcohol to heighten your experience. Simply the curation of the music, the intentionality of the designed space , and the energy amongst the crowd was intoxicating, yet so clean. We danced to the Bee Gees. We danced to Moody Man. We danced to Ice Cube. We danced to Pharrell. We were completely free and open and loving.

At one point in the night, we turned around to see a young kid with a video camera- an old VHS. His energy was undeniably lit. He pointed the camera at us and we began to go off. We jumped and spun and freaked. It felt like we were in a music video. This went on and on and on until the night was over. What a guy. We did not exchange any words, but we were friends. We all left to go to the Japanese convenience store, Lawsons, to get food and drinks. As we were eating outside, the kid with the camera and his friends came to us. He introduced himself as SkrMa or Kanta. We started talking and luckily he spoke English. He was so kind and gentle, yet so energetic. We exchanged instagrams and I asked him to send us the footage when he could. This would be great material to look back on one day. After a couple days, he sent me the footage and boy was it epic (please see the documentarian work of Kanta above). After we exchanged words of gratitude to each other, I thought to myself.. I have this Slug with me in Japan, and it would be so cool to make a campaign here, and how our friendship began, I think it would be great to have him be in it ! So I asked him and he agreed. Let’s Go.

A Solid Plan.

A week later, we planned to shoot the campaign. Over the week, I was looking for places in Tokyo that would work well with the brown color of the Slug. As I was riding on the subway, early in the morning on the way to the denim factory, I found myself in all wooden train car. This was the most unique train I’ve seen in Japan. Most of the cars were gray, silver, with splashes of color representing each line. This one was completely wood paneled, and very soft. I took a picture of the train, line 3, Ginza. This is where we would shoot the campaign.

The day arrived, and Kanta met me at my Airbnb in Akihabara. He was right on time. I welcomed him into the apartment lobby, and walked him up a quick fight stairs and into my room.. I barely had anyone in my Airbnb over the two months because of how small it was. It was literally a bed and a bathroom - no kitchen, a small fridge and a shelf… no closet. But by Japanese standards, especially in Tokyo, this was completely normal. When he arrived, we literally just continued the conversation from the other night. We spoke about music, clothes, creativity, colors. He asked me if I listened to the new Gunna album. It was on this day June 30, 2023 that my friend Kanta from Japan put me, an American on to “fukumean” by Gunna. I went absolutely crazy. We began to style the shoot to this song. I showed him the brown Slug which he immediately loved. He understood it completely. Very natural, very effortless. Very expressive. Very Japanese. I brought out a pair of baggy BS sweats, black BS denim jacket, black BS two tone long sleeves, and an Aime Leon Dore yellow quarter zip. He put it on and it all fit him perfectly. He then brought out his shoes which complimented the outfit also perfectly. He styled the fit with black Clark’s Wallabies, a beige bucket hat, and semi translucent glasses. Wow this was it. He felt so comfortable. He was a poet, a basketball player, an explorer, a guru all at once. I grabbed my camcorder, my two film cameras, and we went off. 

Akihabara, Akihabara.

We immediately made a left, down the street of my block. The street was under construction and had many vending machines. Random but setting the scene. We made a right and walked through Akihabara, which is the anime district of Japan. As we walked by stores and people dressed in costumes, we started talking about creativity, and soon found out how much of a  student he was of the culture. He knew not only Japanese designers and artists like Nigo, Comme Des Garcons, junya watanabe, but also American designers. At age 20, we were very similar. I was in Miami and New York obsessing over the same thing. We found commonality. We entered into a big shopping plaza filled with electronics. I simply captured him walking around looking at things, laughing. Effortless. 

Ginza.

We decided to take the train to Shibuya on the train that I saw a week ago. We got on the train to many people on it. I tried to capture the moment. It was exactly what Tokyo felt like - crowded for a moment and then quiet. As the stops went on, and the people started to disperse, it was time to start shooting. We flowed to the movement of the train. From the seat to the wall, to the handlebars, to the doorways. We shot around the people standing and sitting in stealth mode. The only thing you heard was the shutter of the camera. We spoke in headnods and energy. Color, proportion, passiveness, directness. He knew what the shoot was and we barely discussed it. We got our shots, we got off the train, and we entered Shibuya. 

Community Goods.

We walked around Shibuya for a while. He wanted to take me to a very special streetwear store, blue room, one which I likened to Lower East Coast in Miami, Procell in New York, or Starcow in Paris. It was a community headquarters. We walked into an amazing curation of sneakers and T-shirts, jackets and hoodies. As we walked around, you could feel the coolness and the specialty of this place. He knew where to look, but I came in with a different perspective. I was looking to buy. I found a t-shirt that was very different from the rest. It was thermal-heat touch. This meant wherever you put your hands, your fingerprints would show in saturated colors. Kanta absolutely loved it and I knew this was something I couldn’t pass up, so I purchased it. We went on with the shoot.

Through tunnels, over bridges, in parking garages, we found the right places that fit the vibe of the Timbo Slug. We did little thinking and a lot of chilling. At one point, while walking, I asked Kanta to tell me how to say “my name is Ben” in Japanese. After the 10th syllable of the sentence, I had no chance lol.

Two Brothers.

After several hours, we went back to my apartment. Back on the Ginza line, we spoke very personally about the trajectory of our lives. Kanta lives a little outside the city center and is super passionate about exploring his perspective of the arts. However, not always is this seen as practical in Japan. I told him to pursue what he loves for that is what makes life worth living. Our passion will lead us to create a better world. He to me to keep going, to keep pushing, to not stop with creating the Slug. That one day it would be in Japan. Wow, that was special. 

Kanta and I were not planned to be in each other‘s lives. We were two people from two completely different sides of the world. Yet, we did. And when we did, we were supportive of each other from the instant our energies crossed paths. 

This all felt like a dream. I never wanted to wake up. It is the magic of life to be supported by strangers. To be humans, together in the world. When it was time to go and he was about to leave, I threw him the thermal shirt. The gratitude stretched across both of our faces.

“Bye big bro.”

“Bye little bro.”