Yesterday I fulfilled some brotherly civic duties by going to vote. For those of you who don’t know, early voting for the Texas primary started yesterday. Though I try and vote regularly to support the democratic process, yesterday was a little different. This time around my brother was on the ballot. He quit his job in D.C. and decided his time would be better spent in local politics. He’s running for County Commissioner of Precinct 3, which if you’re unfamiliar with it… it’s a pretty damn big area.
We grew up in the Bel Air community, so it’s cool to see the possibility of my brother being able to make a “change” or whatever Obama-esque cliché you want to employ. The fact of the matter is I’ve hit an age where my generation actually starts to make a difference and it’s a strange feeling. In your late 20’s and early 30’s you begin to reap the benefits of some of your investments you made along the way. Whether it be education, family, talents, or whatever the case may be. It’s becoming apparent to me now, that every decision up until that point of life is unbalanced. Even though you might never be able to fully understand life, you’re at least seasoned enough to accomplish what you set your mind to. Right now at this point in his life, my brother has been able to set out and do something motivated by positivity, which is an accomplishment win or lose.
But really the competition is so…
umm……
“off-base” that if you live anywhere in that big ass green area, you should vote for Vince Perez.
…and Beto O’Rourke
…on the moon.
For being such an iconic and internationally renowned company, locals don’t seem to know much about Rocketbuster Boots. Tucked away at the edge of the Union Plaza (an area mostly known for nightlife and upscale restaurants), Rocketbuster designs, manufactures, and displays their hand-made creations in an old 1900’s warehouse.
I’ve known about this place for years, but never had a chance to make an extended visit. Luckily, a friend and neighbor, Deena Mustin, is one of about ten employees at the boot shop.
This is Deena’s Cadillac-inspired work area. She’s been an artist/designer for Rocketbuster Boots for just over a year now. Deena is also involved with the Critical Mass bike rides and a member of the Maintain crew that appears on this blog regularly.
I literally see the outside of this place every day since it’s half a mile away from my bedroom window. But the interior of the factory/display room is jam packed with interesting corners flooded with knickknacks and memorabilia.
Though I might be inclined to use some cliché like these boots are “made with love,” the fact that they put some much care and detail into what they do is obvious. ….and they seem to genuinely love what they do.
Rocketbuster Boots actually holds a Guinness World Record for the largest boots ever made.
Another one of my neighbors, Taylor, does a little bit of everything at the shop.
This is his dog Oliver who gets away with sleeping on the job.
I really enjoyed spending time at Rocketbuster and it looks like I’ll be frequenting the place more often. I’ve been working hard on the stardom.tv website and developing a series of mini-docs that will be airing exclusively on On Our Way to Stardom network. So I can’t give away too many details about the happenings of Rocketbuster Boots just yet, but rest assured this is not the last you’ll be seeing of them.
The other day I got a chance to swing by The Proper Printshop. It’s a fairly new screen printing crew that’s making a huge splash locally.
Mark is one of the owners who some people might recognize from Knuckle skate shop.
Another familiar face is this guy…
Stephen is the guitarist from The DA who is frequented on this blog. (visit stardom.tv if you haven’t see the video for “Pastels”)
The guys have a great thing going on that’s looking promising. We’ll most likely be working together on a wide array of projects so stay tuned for more…. until then, visit their site theproperprintshop.com
