If you weren’t at Titan’s 1st year anniversary part + Deer Valley Titans release, you lucked out. I was there around 630 to oversee the crew’s coverage and to see the Titan faithful come together. Call me lazy or tired, I didn’t take a lot of photos last night. I was preoccupied the whole night and had to step out for a dinner I couldn’t pass up. But Titan FORT felt like Manila’s street and sneaker central with all the notable people in attendance. It was great to see friends, supporters, and clients all there to hang with Titan, UNSCHLD and SBTG (yes, he flew in for the exclusive release). I had a good convo with Mark and what he’s up to. For those who support Royalefam and SBTG, there’s so much more to look forward to in the coming months. Truly, when you’ve got a good thing going, people will follow and support.

Here’s a couple of photos of the footwear and apparel from the Deer Valley Titans line. Ofcourse the kicks sold out in a minute and everyone went home happy with their goods. You can still drop by Titan FORT today before they run out of the DVT apparel. For a better idea of what’s available, check them here.

Once again, Congratulations to Titan and for a great release with UNSCHLD and SBTG!

You’ve seen the teasers. You’ve seen the video. You’ve seen the Bag, Caps, Jackets and the Tees. Now you see the kicks. Welcome to Deer Valley, and welcome the Deer Valley Titans. The AJ III (22,000 php), Blazer Mid (19,995 php), and the Dunk Hi (19,995 php). I know, most of you will scoff at the price. But when you pick up an extremely limited pair (even less than Hyperstrikes), AND they’re done by SBTG, you’ve got something worth it. Just imagine, these aren’t mass produced. You’ll be only one of __ that’ll ever have a pair of these kicks. Sneakerheads from all over the world are alarmed and would die to be in town to pick up a pair.

Before you say “pass” or “overpriced”, think about it. Think long and hard. Regret is a mofo. See you all this Friday.

VARSITY BONES: DEER VALLEY TITANS from WYD Productions on Vimeo.

To celebrate its first year anniversary, TITAN has teamed up with local clothing brand UNSCHLD and world-renowned Singaporean artist, Mark Ong (SBTG) to bring to life a new product line called Deer Valley Titans. The clothing and footwear collection is the latest chapter of Varsity Bones, an idea conceptualized by Ong as a tribute to basketball teams that never made it to the big leagues. Varsity Bones eventually evolved into a product series that draws inspiration and stories from underdogs, misfits and outcasts as well as fictitious varsity teams and ghost colleges, including a colossal “What If?” shoe that was designed and created specifically for NBA superstar Kobe Bryant in 2009.

Its latest installment centers on the story of the Deer Valley Titans, a youth basketball team that is set in the near future. The fictional team draws inspiration from Titan co-founder Jeffrey Cariaso’s vision of the future: for Titan to eventually have its own AAU basketball team based out of the US. Cariaso envisions the core of the future amateur ball club to be comprised mostly of Filipino-American kids, who all share the same talent and passion for the game. The team will be a platform for Cariaso to share his knowledge and love for basketball with the next generation of Fil-Am basketball players. The team will also serve as the breeding ground for future talent who could one day have the opportunity to make the journey back home to play professional basketball in the Philippines.

The three-way collaboration is a first-of-its-kind in the Southeast Asian region, bringing together three distinct creative forces who all share a profound passion for what they do in their respective crafts. “We’ve always wanted to do something special with the UNSCHLD crew as well as with Mark,” shares Raoul Reinoso, Instigator at Titan, “so what started out as two separate collaborative projects early on, soon evolved into one big one. And what better time and what better reason to create something unprecedented like this than to celebrate Titan’s first year anniversary.”

The Deer Valley Titans collection will be unveiled this Friday, August 5, 2011 from 6PM onwards at Titan along Burgos Circle in Taguig. The first release will include DVT clothing by UNSCHLD and 3 custom sneaker designs by SBTG. A second release for the DVT collection has also been set for October 2011.

For more information on the exclusive release party, visit www.titan22.com. To see some of UNSCHLD and SBTG’s past works and collections, go to www.unschld.com and www.royalefam.com.

This Friday, all roads lead to Titan. You know it’s going to be a good one! Save the date, mark your calendars and just get your butt there.

Welcome to Deer Valley indeed. This should get your juices flowing. More info in the coming days.

Here’s a little something to look forward to. DVT!

JANUARY:

adidas x Star Wars

It was a treat to see the Three Stripes do something interesting on the lifestyle front. From bringing in Storm Troopers to launch the line to actually bringing in the goods (Yodas, SL72s, Superskate Mids to name a few), this was the best way to start the year. To see more, check the actual post here.

Zoom Kobe V

I hate to say it, but the man can sell shoes. With the success of the IV, people can’t wait to cop the Vs after seeing Mamba wore them on Christmas Day ’09. Release date got moved so many times but hey, they dropped. 2010 saw so many colorways of the V drop locally and almost everyone got theirs. Heads were happy, some rekindled their love with sneakers because of the V. All I can say is nice. Check out the Official Release info here from Januar 2010.

Nike Dunk High Premium, DJ Series “DJ AM”

I’ve said time and time again that I started shunning Dunks. But Adam was a sick DJ. Adam was a sneakerhead. Adam was a major player in the game. Having his collab with NSW drop here was simply amazing. Hideout had a field day with these. Shoe sold out in minutes. There was a raffle for the lucky ones. I, on the other hand, stayed home. Read more about DJ AMs release here.

FEBRUARY:

They Legendary

weLegendary’s been around for over 2 years and loyal patrons from up north and way down south would take the trip either on a Friday, Saturday, or sometimes midday releases for the heat they brought in. From PRods to Omars to Dunks and the infamous Janoskis, weLegendary took care of their peoples. Monthly drops (sometimes biweekly) got people scrambling for them, it was just a great way to meet fellow sneakerheads whenever wL had a drop. By November, the weLegendary crew opened their third store over at RONAC Art Center. Truly, having weLegendary on our shores made our sneaker obsession legendary.

MJ 25th Anniversary Releases

February’s all about MJ. From the release of the not so popular AJ 2010 to the Silver Anniversary joints, Nike and Jordan Brand celebrated Michael with a boatload of kicks throughout the year. Local sneakerheads had their fair share of Js- VIs (Motorsports, Oreos, Black/Reds, Sakuragis and Infrareds), Anniversarys, XIIIs (white/red, flint, altitude), and the Cool Greys to name a few. February 17 is Michael’s Birthday and the whole world celebrated the man, even here in the Philippines.

RIP- Alexander McQueen

The fashion industry lost another one in February. A few months after his death, Puma made it big by bringing in Black Station, the cat’s high end designer collection. Alexander McQueen, you will be missed.

SBTG x SOLE MOVEMENT

Ok, so I was the only one who benefited from this. But it was something that had to be known. World-Famous SBTG did a 1 of 1 for me and I loved it. Usually he would ask you what you want on your sneaker but for this one, I asked him to go organic. He was so happy and came up with this. Mark Ong, aka SBTG dropped by Manila in March for his Circus of Mutants line with DC Shoe. The man’s awesome, and so is this shoe. If you guys want something real bad, go for it. You won’t regret it. Even if they’re Obsidian Janoskis with brown laces.

MARCH:

Passing the Peace- Bunker’s 2nd Anniversary

Bunker celebrated their 2nd year and it was fun. It was a cool Sunday afternoon and friends from all around celebrated with Borgy and co. Bunker eventually moved to RONAC by the 3rd quarter of the year. Being one of the upstarts in the game, we saw a couple more stores pop up in 2010. Expect the scene to grow some more in 2011.

Reebok ZIGTECH

Reebok got back in the game with the global launch of the Zigtech. I was able to get a pair months in advance and was impressed. Funky as hell, the new technology from Reebok caught the eyes of a lot of heads and over the course of 2010,  we would see the Zig run all over town. Thank God the Zig revived the ‘Bok.

Nike Trainer SC 2010- Manny Pacquiao

March was MP month and we were all met with a new MP signature shoe. The Trainer SC 2010 was Manny’s 4th shoe in 2 years and was the shoe he used leading up to the Pacquiao-Clottey fight. Unlike the previous 3 releases, this one was a GR. After all, Manny is the People’s Champion, and the people needed their piece of MP.

APRIL:

mi adidas

With April being more of a quiet month. It was all about POPs for Basketball and summer kicks. But if you wanted extra flavor, you could make your own via mi adidas. I was able to make my own and along with other brand ambassadors. We all had a crack at making our own special pair from the Three Stripes.

Sample Sales

For summer kicks and limited releases, the local scene had their share via sample sales from the brands. Vans did a couple throughout the year via Trilogy and heads were happy. Bad thing about it? You had to be a sample size (9 for most brands) to fit the goods. Sucks, but hey, at least the practice of having sample sales are now upon us.

MAY:

adidas Originals Street Party

adidas had their Street Party in May and it was a good one. From all their Originals collection embodied in one street party, we had fun that weekend right before election day. In 2010, adidas Originals brought in a lot of kick ass collections to our shores- Star Wars, OT Tech, ObyO, Ransom, Fafi, Vespa, and Porsche Design to name a few. Fail? They didn’t bring the Mega Collection. Otherwise, adidas brought their a-game in 2010.

Manila, meet Jason Markk

I was fortunate enough to bring in Jason Markk- the premium sneaker solution- to the Philippines. I believe that true heads need premium kits to keep their kicks premium. Launched in Manila last May, Jason Markk is now available locally via Titan, Bunker, weLegendary and Commune. Stocks are extremely limited but are still available at Bunker. The new shipment is arriving this January. Be patient, people!

World Cup fever hits RP Soles

World Cup Fever hit the globe in June but as early as May, adidas and Nike brought in their special releases for the World Cup. From Dunk ACs to Lunar Rejuven8s, Nike had their Country collabs in while adidas had their WC kits and Originals Pack in tow. Spain won it all and adidas sold out on their ESP goods. Hopefully with the Azkals push this month was any indication, football can be a Philippine-loved sport in the long run.

Air Attack Pack

I’m an Air Max nut and learning about the Air Attack Pack hitting the scene, that got me trippin’. With a hilarious viral to boot, Nike reminded everyone why people love their Nikes. As much as I enjoyed the Pack, there was one shoe that I was patiently waiting for and it would come in later in the year.

Rebirth of the Boat Shoe

Boat shoes are back and with classic brands Sperry and Sebago back in the game, boat shoes are all the rage. I took a liking to Sebago as they had some slick colorways and even better collabs. Manila had their fair share- from the 40th Anniversary Docksides (above), 1946 Ltds,  and the Vane Collab, the brand recognized the sneakerhead’s fascination for the limited. Expect a lot more from the brand in 2011.

JUNE:

Comic Cameo

One of our followers emailed me this image from his comic. Sole Movement is now part of Pop Culture! If you look at the top right, the site’s name is now a store’s name. Could Sole Movement be a sneaker store? I’ve thought about it, we’ll see how things go in the future.

More Brands Hit the Local Sneaker Scene

With the sneaker scene growing, you don’t have to wear your Nikes 24/7. We had so many brands come in (or make a comeback)- Clae, Generic Surplus, Creative Recreation (comeback), Keep, Vael Project, Pointer, VFF, Barefootwear- just to name a few. More to look forward to? Most Definitely.

I GOT THIS

With the Kobe Vs being a hit all year long (I actually lost count on the number of Vs that released here), this was one of the few that everyone had their eyes on. “I Got This” was taken from Kobe’s Hyperdunk ad from 2 years back but made sense when Nike made a collab with Aston Martin. Having 72 pairs locally, heads were happy to cop this special release with the Mamba getting his 5th ring in the decade. With the lining lasting a good 2 hours, Kobe fans can do their own version of the Aston Martin jump via photo magic (aka green screen) during the event. With Kobe winning another ring, his V colorways jumped 3 more- a 5 rings, and the 2 Big Stage Vs.

World Basketball Festival

June also marked the start of Summer and the amazing program Nike Inc had in store for the World. Nike had their annual summit and launched WBF- World Basketball Festival- a bi-annual event to celebrate basketball. With the event happening at NYC, Nike Inc presented their three brand offerings for the summer to the media. This got heads excited as the packs were all great.

Six months into the year and so much has happened. I can’t believe we went through so much product in 6 months. But are we really complaining that products are actually reaching our shores? Thought so.

To be honest, I like these better than the first release from the Fly pack. The shoe’s been out for about 2 weeks already, so if you guys want to own a piece of SBTG art, DC’s got them in tow over at their Trinoma branch. I’m not sure if the SBTG pack is available at DCs other retailers. If you’re not so hot on the shoes, the Tees and the shorts are also available in store. Check and cop.

This is way overdue. We’re nearing the end of the month and Mark Ong aka SBTG was here around the2nd week of March. I met SBTG along with some sneakerheads while he was here and Miko asked him if he could do a freestyle on these uptowns. It was a long shot but he went for it. Mark acknowledged and asked him to bring the pair to his hotel. But he came through. Freestyle. Worked it. Rocked it. Oh, and he just worked this with a marker. What if we put in paints and prepped the shoe for customizing? Dang, SBTG is a legend. Thanks to kingcrux for the pics and for more info on SBTG and Royalefam, log on to royalefam.com and check out how you could own your own SBTG pair.