GRIOTS REPUBLIC - AN URBAN BLACK TRAVEL MAG - OCTOBER 2016
In the October Issue of Griots Republic we cover GLOBAL DESIGN! From interior to sound design we plug into the subjects that interest urban travelers. Black Travel Profiles include: Brooklyn Circus Founder, Ouigi Theodor. Up In Air Life Founder, Claire Soares. Fashion Influencer, Jason Andrew and Blogger A.V Perkins of A.V Does What. This issue also includes interviews with International D.J., DJ Super Nova and street artist and designer Jerry Gant. This is Black Travel!
In the October Issue of Griots Republic we cover GLOBAL DESIGN! From interior to sound design we plug into the subjects that interest urban travelers. Black Travel Profiles include: Brooklyn Circus Founder, Ouigi Theodor. Up In Air Life Founder, Claire Soares. Fashion Influencer, Jason Andrew and Blogger A.V Perkins of A.V Does What. This issue also includes interviews with International D.J., DJ Super Nova and street artist and designer Jerry Gant. This is Black Travel!
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there.<br />
The kicks, which practically speak for<br />
themselves, are bright, bold and evocative.<br />
Definitely not for wallflowers. It is the antithesis<br />
of the minimalist chic, monochromatic<br />
look seen<br />
on street corners,<br />
rooftops<br />
and other social<br />
habitats<br />
around the<br />
country.<br />
The muse behind the<br />
shoes ... is a young<br />
man - African born and<br />
raised, who has left the<br />
continent to make a<br />
great life for himself.<br />
The muse behind<br />
the shoes,<br />
according to<br />
the 22-year-old<br />
recent college<br />
grad, is a young man - African born and<br />
raised, who has left the continent to make<br />
a great life for himself. He is unique in his<br />
style choices, personally conscious and an<br />
expert conversationalist.<br />
Butsu, a derivative<br />
of the word<br />
butsudan, means<br />
Buddhist altar or<br />
shrine in Japanese.<br />
Growing up in Africa, Chakauya had an<br />
intimate look<br />
into the bustling<br />
world of<br />
fashion due to<br />
his mother, a<br />
women’s clothing<br />
designer.<br />
His firsthand<br />
look into the<br />
industry as<br />
a youngster -<br />
which no doubt<br />
influenced his<br />
work today, included hanging around bustling<br />
factory spaces and seeing his mother<br />
design for beauty as well as practicality for<br />
her mature female clientele. At age 16, he<br />
was awarded a scholarship to complete his<br />
high school coursework as part of an International<br />
Baccalaureate program in Asia<br />
for three years, another markedly influential<br />
experience. There, he studied alongside<br />
students from over 90 different countries.<br />
He spent time in many of the continent’s<br />
major metropolitan areas and completed<br />
service projects in rural areas as well, all<br />
the while soaking<br />
in all that he could<br />
while also learning<br />
a valuable lesson<br />
in cultural awareness.<br />
“To be fair, from<br />
their part - many<br />
(Asians) have never<br />
seen a Black<br />
man before,” he<br />
said. “I used to go<br />
to the Great Wall of China, and that’s a<br />
tourist attraction but I would be an attraction<br />
as well. People I did not know would<br />
stalk me and ask me to take family photos<br />
with them. People would want to twirl<br />
with your hair because they’ve never seen<br />
hair like that before. Sometimes people<br />
would be scared.<br />
You would be sitting<br />
next to them<br />
on the train and<br />
they would get up<br />
and move because<br />
they were clearly<br />
afraid of you.”<br />
Unfortunately, his<br />
experiences are<br />
not unique. Much<br />
has been written<br />
about the Black experience in Asia as being<br />
at times very problematic. In a piece for<br />
National Geographic, travel writer Heather<br />
Greenwood Davis, describes her family’s<br />
month-long stay as one of the “hardest”<br />
visits they’ve ever made. She shared examples<br />
of her husband’s brown skin being