Streetwear Brand • Shop small: T-Shirts, Wu-Wear, skateboards, kicks • Live from: Castleton, Staten Island

“When we first spoke about having a shop here it was essentially to serve as a creative outlet for us (Tariq Zaid & partner, Reggie Noble aka Redman) and for the creative community...Cool sneakers, t-shirts, hoodies and hats; it's at the foundation of what we do here. But ultimately, it's a business that has lots of other components. We host poetry night a couple of times a month for the writers' community, we rotate artworks on the wall to provide a platform for local artists, and we had a video release the other day too. It's all about celebrating culture and arts as it pertains to New York City; It's our soul.”

“We want to be remembered as the shop you go to cause we got the fresh t-shirts and kicks, and because we support all the things that are important to community growth and development.”

“We have very Staten Island-centric products and there's a pride that we exist out here where there aren't many places to get cool wearables from Staten Island. Tourists come in all the time looking for Wu-Tang stuff...It's a humbling experience to have somebody from the other side of the planet say 'hey I found you guys online because I was looking for Wu-Tang gear'. This year we'll have some in-store meet and greet with some of the members of Wu-Tang. We want to continue to do all the things that matter in terms of cultural cultivation in our neighborhood.”

“It's important for the locals to stay interwoven in that process of development so that we don't lose that thing that makes us New York. When we opened the shop, we saw opportunities to be creative and to have an offering. You want connectivity with the old and the new. We don't need saviors (on gentrification in Staten Island), we are the people who have been cultivating the community before the glitz and glamour. That's New York. We're expert lemonade makers.”

Most Memorable: Method Man buying some local kids skateboards..