Entry #1
Something that occurred to me the other day was,
It's not Coffee Dude, it's Coffee, Dude!
I used to HATE coffee! Shocker, I know! But I loved the burnt smell lingering in the air mixed with my grandmas breakfast tacos in the morning. A few blocks down on my way to school was a big coffee production facility where they roasted every day. As I got closer to school the smell in the air grew stronger and stronger, engraining the scent into every childhood commute memory.
At around the age of 13~14 I picked up my first can of spray paint after seeing some guys across the street painting a giant Houston Rockets mural on the Pink Panther building. Another scent that played a pivotal role of my youth. Different brands of paint had their own specific scent. And no, I wasn't that kid huffing paint. Instead, I lived in a cloud of it every time I bombed a new wall or painted a new mural. Graffiti was life.
Then came streetwear. The toughest shirts that stood the test of time as I painted and painted were the corner store shirts. I'm pretty sure they were Allstyle knock-offs. I wanted my own shirts, then my own brand. Copp One was born! A mix of sneakers and streetwear and graffiti, the mascot grew to become a walking spray can with big eyes looking for the next blank space for a quick tag.
Coffee, DUDE! Let's get some and I'm sure you'll wake up! Said my friend at 2am on a weekday night before our big presentation. Architecture school was rough and coffee still sucked.. But everyone was drinking it and I knew it was at least a little healthier than those energy drinks. So there it goes. One coffee, a dance party, sugary crash on the way home, a red eye (a red eye is an espresso shot in a cup of coffee) before our presentation, and one hyped up college kid. Wow that woke me up, my chest was beating, and my eyes darted left and right, aware of everything. The same feeling I get when I'm excited about something!
The OG Coffee Dude was an idea for the longest and as reluctant as I was to re-release it, it was only because I'm a doubter. I'm afraid things will fail so I hold back my ideas and rarely follow through. But this has become a game. Keep Creating! I always say to myself. Like when I used to play baseball, you can strike out even without swinging so why not swing and see what happens?
I hope you've enjoyed this journey! As long as there's coffee in my life I'll keep creating.
Hope you enjoyed your coffee today.
Cheers!
