story

"I describe a visionary as someone who sees the bigger picture. Either through words, through writing, they don't have to see it to believe it. They actually already believe it. My name..."

"...is Angel Cartagena. Everybody calls me 'Fleezy' and I manage the 136th Street, Third Avenue location in the South Bronx.It started off as something that we wanted to have for our friends and family. We could go to, feel proud of, shop comfortably..."

"...also have in our communities. And then it became something that the people actually took over. My source of inspiration will have to be people around me. The people in my community, the street culture, the South Bronx of course. They got the style. They got the flavor."

"Morris Houses mean to me - the beginning. That's the first place I can remember my early childhood memories. That's where I remember first growing up. I lived in an apartment with my great grandmother, uncles, aunts, my mother, sister..."

"...father, probably ten of us in a three bedroom apartment. I moved out of the shelter at five years old with my mother. Moved to Walton Avenue. Kind of where my whole fashion journey started.Looking at those guys on a daily basis outside..."

"...seeing what they're wearing and just being influenced by that. Street culture in the Bronx - we the birth of Hip-Hop. It’s a whole different element out here. We're creatives. We never really fall in line with anybody else's trends. We stick to ourselves. We focus on our..."

"borough. Nowadays, everyone is tapped into what we're doing. I feel like music and dance does influence streetwear. We've always spoken about the gear we rock. When you see the B-Boys - freshest guys out there in the party. I think the..."

"...Air Force 1 is so special because of the culture behind it. This one right here is different, man. You got the translucent sole. I remember my first Air Force 1 was a gum bottom.So, it just brings back a lot of memories. The message I'll pass on to any future..."

"...sneakerhead is buy what you like, cop what you love. All it's about is being able to take somethin’, make it yours, go to a different level. The force behind the Air Force 1 is the people. Without the innovators who rocked it, pushed it..."

"...pushed the design, customized their own. The Air Force 1 wouldn't be able to keep going on the route that it’s going on, which is all the way up."

Visionaries: Air Force 1 '07 'Bronx Originals'