Branded Baron: Addicted 2 Sneakers Recap

Hey All! This past Saturday I was at the event "Addicted 2 Sneakers" expo up in Nanuet, New York. It was certainly something. I will say that the overall day was okay. There were definitely negatives and positives for this event and I know that the organizers will definitely tweak certain areas next time around. Let's begin the recap shall we.

I arrive early and the complex had two hotels and I find out that it was at the other after entering the wrong one. I found out that some people got lost and didn't know which spot it was at. I arrive early and start setting up, but it seemed for awhile that I was the only vendor there. Now, I was a bit disappointed that the other vendors didn't show up during the time needed, which pushed the event back from starting when it should. That really pissed me off, because it just makes the event look unorganized and amateur, which makes me look unprofessional just for being associated with it. The event starts and it just seems dead. I had my boy Chris help me out, but we were both just shocked at the turnout in the beginning. We were speaking to the vendor table next to us and just mentioning that this event is great for the Rockland County area, but it wasn't promoted as heavily as we hoped.

Time goes by and there are people who come in then leave and some more come in and leave, continuing this cycle. I was just happy people were coming in, it was still early and more people should arrive. I end up speaking with Derek from Alouidor&Smith who definitely gave me a lot of inspiration, especially since he's been in the clothing/t-shirt business since 1994. He seemed like a real cool and down to earth dude, who definitely shed some knowledge to me and I'm definitely going to use it. I absolutely appreciated the conversation and glad I spoke with him. Just after having that conversation, well I was in midconvo when I was told I had someone interested in a couple items.

Now things are rolling and I'm feeling good. Slowly more people are coming and it's starting to become an event worth checking out. I think maybe another 3 sneaker vendors and would've been good, but that's fine I think everyone was fine. My homie Jay Wise came through to support and he's a huuuge sneakerhead, so it only made sense that he would be there. He gave me his custom light up sneakers designed by Sole Swap to sell and they're pretty damn nice. Another person nobody expected to roll through was Ed Lover(look up Yo! Mtv Raps if you're not sure who he is). He and one of the people he was with purchased some Branded Baron tees. Also, NFL players and former Rutgers football stars Devon and Jason Mccourty came through and picked some stuff too. I think they might've came from their football camp that they have. There was a good amount of people in and I think it will definitely help out promo for the next Addicted 2 Sneakers event.

   After awhile we ended up getting tricked into a rap concert. Now, my only grudge with that is I dislike when any of the events have that, because it stops everyone from selling, trading, and buying when someone is performing. My other grudge which sometimes happens is when the performer(s) just suck. I get that there's a market for everyone, but sometimes when you suck you suck. I will admit there was one guy from D.C. who performed who was pretty cool, but the people before this guy, I'll just say I caught people looking at me and giving me that "Wow, they suck" face. It was cool to give some local dudes a shot, but we'll see what happens next time around.

   They did have a raffle for some Lebrons, so that could've been a nice prize to win if you won it. They also raffled off some tees(which included some Branded Baron) and snapbacks. I ended winning some 8&9 tees, who had their table next to mine and they won something of Branded Baron. The fact that 2 vendors won was because the raffle was fixed. Lol. Ok, so it wasn't, it was just a funny coincidence. After the raffles the event was done and everyone packed up.

   Overall the event was cool and has potential to be really good. I would do it again, because even though there were some areas that need a lot of improvement I firmly believe they'll be fixed next time around. The event did turn out to be well for me and I was able to meet new people and gain some new fans. I'm thankful that people support Branded Baron.

Stay no less than stunningly fresh,
   Joe

Here are some more photos from the event.