‘Tis the season.
Teamed up with the good people of @wilsongolf to tell a story about originality. Momentum. Fleeting moments. Choices becoming chances. #Golf #RespectTheShooter 📸
New York basketball. You either feel it or you don’t.
Iron sharpens iron on these courts. I was on the sidelines for some of those moments before the season began. Watched a team that had something to prove, performing long before the bright lights came on.
The result was on display this weekend.
First Sweet Sixteen since 1999, won on a buzzer-beater. Only the strong survive. 🗽
#StJohns #MarchMadness #RedStorm #RespectTheShooter #LetsGoJohnnies
Point God @cp3 Congrats on a legendary, inspiring career atop a generation of floor generals. Thank you for letting me into the family as a fly on the wall to document how you’ve pulled folks up the ladder as you were climbing it yourself. I loved being in the huddles, the film labs, the workouts, setting up portrait stations, the first pitch, the bowling alley, and on the sidelines to many great moments. Salute! #RespectTheShooter
Breaking into the field is hard. Building a sustainable career doing what you love behind the lens is even harder. Over the past two decades I've built the career of my dreams working on and in my business behind the lens. My workshop starts October 4th, 2025. Hit the link in my bio to learn more. There are only 10 spots total and just a few remaining. #RespectTheShooter
📸: @stevencounts
The Gersh Park exhibition of Bring Your Name: the Sean Bell All-Stars was a blast and the period on a four-year journey. Hard to express what all of that feels like here in a few words or pictures. Big shouts to @ddnseanbell11 , coach of The Program, @gershpark , @streetlab , all the homies who came out + the people of East New York. One Love.
This one’s gonna be special. Friday, 8pm, be sure to stop by our photo and film exhibition @gershpark for the Brooklyn premiere of the short documentary and companion photo exhibit Bring Your Name: the Sean Bell All-Stars, featuring @ddnseanbell11 .
Bring Your Name was produced by @jonlopez13 and @raafirivero and is presented by @unarmedco
After 5-0 murdered Sean Bell, @ddnseanbell11 renamed his squad after his fallen friend and has since caught rek in every tournament they’ve played in. Two dear friends of mine, @raafirivero and @jonlopez13 , co-produced a short about the legacy, and if you a b-ball head like me who also cares about social justice, this project is a freegin must to support, yo. Presented by @unarmedco , a premiere of Bring Your Name: The Sean Bell All-Stars goes down Friday 6/20 at @gershpark , 8pm. This the type sh#% that makes me proud to be a part of the NYC summerball community. Wooord
Connected with @unarmedco@raafirivero@gershpark@ingershwetrust_dp and the inimitable @ddnseanbell11 to help bring this story to fruition. This one means a lot in part because of the intersectionality of my passions and our community. #BiggerThanBasketball
Film by @raafirivero
Photos + connected dots by me
In the summer of 1999 I hooped all over New York City. From Peligro in Washington Heights to the NBA at Henry Street Settlement (that’s the Neighborhood Basketball Association, let’s be clear) on the Lower East Side and most of the courts in between. I was going into my junior year at Norman Thomas HS where I met Charlie Merchan. I’ll never forget the day he pulled up to the gym while the squad was having spring runs. Charlie was heavy, he didn’t fit the description of an elite hooper and most of the guys in the gym laughed at his audacity for even showing up. That didn’t stop him. Nor did any of his matchups. After every release he would shout, “Twap!” His version of what that glorious sound of a net’s swoosh sounded like. That summer he and I played in 15 tournaments together from the Boogie Down to Brooklyn. We didn’t have cell phones or social media so we would call each other on the land line the night before to go over what games we had the next day and where to meet first. My pregame meal was a Cuban sandwich from Cibao. I remember offering Charlie half of it and him lecturing me on how pork was basically going to kill me. From that moment on I would offer him a bite every single day and when he declined, I would say more for me. It was an August night that summer I called, but no one answered. So I figured I’d just meet him at West 4th for our first game that next morning. For the first time all summer, Charlie was late. In fact, he missed the game. Then I walked over to Hamilton Fish for our second game that day and asked around if anyone had seen him. But Charlie was nowhere to be found. It was there that a friend informed me that my brother Charlie had been killed in a car accident the previous night. Although he was not the first teammate I lost to that point in my life, it hit me hard. I had to post this before this August went by. It’s been 25 years since I’ve had any pork. Rest in power to my brother Charlie and all my teammates holding down the runs beyond the pearly gates. If you knew him, please share your stories in the comments. I would love to read them. Unfortunately we didn’t take any pictures together. Cameras weren’t as ubiquitous then.
In order to appreciate the culture, you have to show love to the culture. That’s what we did for two of the dopest photographers in @noemadnyc and @jonlopez13 as we gave them their flowers by having event goers enjoy some of their amazing work they done in the past while ping pong matches are being played. From shooting greats like @kingjames to rap icons like @50cent , these two elite shooters brought authenticity in the form of photography that embellishes the Paddle of The Sexes experience. #paddleofthesexes #hard2guardent #events #pingpong #photography #explore #explorepage
Back on top! Teamed up with the legend @killlahcam & the good people of @slam@wslam for one of the most unforgettable shoots. Congrats @gamecockwbb !!!
#RespectTheShooter #NationalChamps
