For our April 2017 issue, we examine how creatives are remaking the Queen city.
Age: 30
Company: Corporate. When he was younger and working at Footaction, “I dreaded when ‘corporate’ would visit the stores. I never wanted that attitude in my shop.”
Job: Owner
The goal: Be the source for sneaker styles unavailable anywhere else in the city, and have fun. “We’ve realized work becomes work when that’s all it is.”
Portrait by Aaron M. Conway
The gig: Going back and forth between the Hyde Park and Over-the-Rhine shops, interacting with customers, and keeping an eye on the big picture. “I never realized how much bigger it would be than just being a shop. Being an example of what our city brings to the table is a great responsibility, and we don’t take it lightly.”
On the room where it happens: “We’ve been very fortunate to have kept a good name for nine years. This has led to us networking with many of the biggest names in the world. I’ve sat in the offices of Jay Z and Michael Jordan, them being filled in on Corporate and how it’s from Cincinnati. Oh, [and] we came across an artist who was starting out and looking to build his fan base…seven years later he’s known to the world as Big Sean.”
His advice: “Make sure you’re ready to sacrifice whatever it takes for the business to succeed. Starting off I didn’t have a nice car, a place that was my own, or collect a check for years. It was all about making sure this business had what it needed. Time will be your biggest sacrifice.”
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