{"id":312563,"date":"2013-07-11T16:46:20","date_gmt":"2013-07-11T21:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/?p=312563"},"modified":"2022-09-16T16:41:50","modified_gmt":"2022-09-16T21:41:50","slug":"back-in-the-day-stalley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/back-in-the-day-stalley\/","title":{"rendered":"Back in the Day: Stalley Recalls Working at ALIFE"},"content":{"rendered":"

MMG artist Stalley<\/a> is the July Guest Editor for NiceKicks.com. As Guest Editor, Stalley will contribute to the site in a number of columns. Today, Stalley kicks off our <\/em>Back in the Day<\/strong> segment with a narrative of his days working at the famed NYC sneaker boutique ALIFE.<\/em><\/p>\n

ALIFE Rivington Club<\/strong> was top tier and still is. It was one of the first sneaker boutiques in New York City, let alone the world. With details like the carpet, the finished wood, the sliding ladders, the leather sofas and the glass chandeliers, ALIFE Rivington Club was one of a kind. It revolutionized the sneaker game.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve worked so many jobs. I was working at Sharper Image and it was going out of business. The last day we were packing up the store to leave, I get a call from one of my friends at ALIFE. They knew me there and knew that I always came there to shop and kick it. They were like family before they were family. [My friend] called me and was like, \u201cYo, you looking for a job?\u201d and I was like, \u201cthe funny thing is, I\u2019m just leaving Sharper Image. This is my last day, I have no job, so I am looking for a job.\u201d I went in the next day, and met with Trey and the rest of the owners. They told me that they wanted me to manage the ARC Sports store that they were opening across the street.<\/p>\n photo by adamcrooklyn\n

Knowing that I had a sports background, they wanted me to manage that store, merchandise it, and come up with cool ideas to bring in not only cool sneakers and do collaborations, but to work with brands that were specifically made for sports performance. I brought in Newmans batting gloves, and we did collabs with Saucony, Nike and New Balance. It was stuff like that that ARC was all about. That was really how it started. They reached out to me just knowing that I had style, that I was a part of the culture, that I had influence within the scene, and they wanted me to help manage and build up the store.<\/p>\n

The owners of ALIFE knew not only about the artist and music side but they knew that I had a history playing sports. They knew that the knowledge that I had would help them cross over to the athletic customer. We\u2019re all into sneakers and a lot of us get into sneakers because of sports. A lot of us like LeBrons because of LeBron. A lot of people really like Jordans because of Jordan. I think that they were really trying to put together a performance shoe that looked good when you were going to a nightclub but you could also run in or play basketball. They knew with my knowledge and my background that I could put them in that direction in terms of comfort but still have enough style to make it look good since\u00a0I\u2019ve always had my own personal style. I\u2019ve always been somebody that always did my own thing.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

During my time at ALIFE, I was a part of the \u201cTennis Ball\u201d Reebok Pumps, Rivington Club x ASICS Gel Lyte IIIs, the Saucony Shadow 6000s, the New Balance 1300s and 576s [Editor\u2019s Note: The 3M 576s were cancelled due to production issues], the Nike Dunk High, and the Air Force 1, which was a classic shoe embossed with stars with the gum bottom. A New York City classic shoe at that. Those were just a few of the collabs that I got to see there and have some input on. Of course, the head designers and the owners have the last word, but we all got to have our opinions in helping with the designs and colorways.<\/p>\n

Every time we had a special release, we had lines of people camping out down the block. Every release was special. The most memorable release was when the Questlove x Nike 1WORLD Air Force 1s came out. They were red, green and gold with the elephant print on them. We actually had Questlove come spin in the courtyard and sign autographs. We had about 100 or so pairs. There was a line around the corner for like two or three days. I used to come open the gate and\u00a0see the same guys waiting there. You know, somebody might have their girl come swap out for them for a couple hours while they go home, shower, do what they gotta do and come back. I remember standing there next to Questlove, ringing everybody up when they came into the store. We\u2019d let like three or four people in the store and Quest was right next to me signing their boxes or their pairs. That was one of the most memorable events.<\/p>\n