I am a 24-year-old African from Hackney and it repulses me to think that I nearly let my love for reading and writing slip away. Growing up in an area seen as urban or the ‘hood’ can strip you of all your creativity and belief if you let it, think of it as a negotiation where you and the adversities that come with it battle it out for your integrity, emotion, time, and morals. I allow myself to trip over these hurdles, so I sympathise with people running the same race without the family and friends I have, its hard to conform to the normalities of life after seeing it from a perspective so minimalistic. I believe that different life experiences will enable us to see through a different lens, a more realistic one, perspective is the key to it all.

Thinking back to as early as school both primary and secondary, clothing and trainers were always a pivotal part of life, having the latest trainers or jacket could qualify someone for a jump up in the social hierarchy which is crazy if you think about it. I think this exact pressure of ‘keeping up’ has made a few creative diamonds who refuse to follow what’s in or what’s out, this is originality in its purest form. 1Figures exemplifies this in my opinion, man and brand, I have known the man for most of my life and time and time again he surprises me with his resilience and passion. When Chris came to me with the design and explained what it meant to him I thought it was an amazing idea and it has done exactly what he wanted it to do, unite the community. Family, togetherness and love is what it means to me, I see it more as a lifestyle before a brand. By influencing fashion, community and music Chris has placed his brand in a favourable position with endless possibilities, only time will tell where he will go with it.

What is to come for me in 2019? I plan on writing a lot more, making a career out of a passion of mine would be a dream come true and it can only happen through hard work and commitment. Creativity is a gift most effective around like-minded people so I would love to meet more people of similar ilk, but we shall see.

Written by: AP for 1Figures