MARITIME

When I teach classes at Parsons and NYU, one lesson I always instill is to treat everyone you meet in life with equal respect. That's something i learned very early on. It doesn't matter if you're the CEO of a million dollar corporation or the janitor. I will deal with you in the same respect. A perfect case example of this is my good friend Mari Koda (who just stopped by after shopping at Reed.) I met Mari while I was attending NYU. There's a little Japanese restaurant on campus called Marumi. She used to wait tables there and when I'd go there for lunch, we would just chit chat. Man....that was like...11 years ago! (fuck, again. I am old.) Anyway, she was an aspiring dancer and if you ever talk to a waitress, they typically are an anspiring "something". Anyway, I just liked her energy and spirit so we just always kept in touch over the years. Fast forward to 2005 and now this aspiring dancer has been in motion pictures, music videos, was the opening act on the MTV VMA's, is a VIP Charter member of the Rocksteady Crew, does commercials for national TV ads and travels to Japan on the reg to teach and showcase her boogie. But we treat each other the same now as when she was a waitress and I was a student. Before I even had an inkling of what Staple Design was...we was cool. And we're still cool. People like that priceless. Look out for Mari in the latest Best Buy commercials.