With that being said, the culture around sneakers would not exist without their powerful, parallel relationships with art, music, sport and fashion; and this is perfectly encapsulated by another form of collecting – that of objects. We knew we had to call in someone who embodies this curating and collecting skill like no other; illustrator and street artist, Keith Vlahakis. What started as a plan to interview him, became an afternoon spent at Downtown Ramen, engaging in one of the most thrilling and reflective conversations around culture, community – and the grip that pop-culture, hip-hop and rap has had on fashion since the 1980s. Keith is a reservoir of wisdom and niche references around the culture that has been woven together by all these threads, and his passion for all the details that go into the most era-defining pop cultural moments is worthy of its own podcast episode – so much so that his own story is tempered by one such moment, which is further elaborated in the interview – all we can say is, imagine being a die-hard NBA fan and then you grow up to collaborate with the Toronto Raptors, in the midst of their heroes-journey from low-ranking to superstars? Keith is that homie who made that happen for himself – and who is really, just about to begin his life’s-work and legacy. Keith is a lesson to us all to dream bigger, do better and life will reward your efforts.

I am a street artist, pop artist, illustrator and letterer. The bulk of my creative work is designing custom, hand crafted typographic solutions for brands. Anything ranging from Film logo title design, streetwear apparel logos to large scale typographic murals. I’m obsessed with letterforms and their place in visual culture and communication. Besides the hand crafted typography and mural work I also create pop art and comic illustrations, inspired by my love for all forms of popular and mass culture.

I’m grateful for each and every big opportunity that has come my way , it’s hard to choose, but the biggest highlight is the work I did for the Toronto Raptors and the NBA during the 2019 NBA playoffs. I got to document the highlights of Raptors MVP Kawhi Leonard through my “lettering”. 

The project was based on the first ever game 7 buzzer beater winning shot in NBA history. It was April 2019, the Eastern conference finals, two teams tied at 90 points with 4 seconds on the clock, Kawhi hit a 15 foot buzzer beater winning shot in Philadelphia against the 76ers and sent the sports world into hysteria. The moment was termed “The Shot heard around the World” . The lettering I designed was also shown at the ring ceremony on the Jumbotron after the raptors won the NBA championship that year against the Golden State Warriors, Making them the first non-American team to ever win the NBA Championship. This job propelled my design career overseas and was a huge milestone. Forever Grateful.