Gil Vasquez [00:00:00]: Keith Keith is listen. For somebody who who hasn't been with us in the physical form in 34 years, he still resonates really, really intensely. It's not an accident. He set it up that way. He set it up so that, you know, his intensity would would continue beyond his own life. Reginald Ferguson [00:00:21]: Welcome to the Fashion Geek podcast. The show that helps you learn more about men's fashion and get some tips to help you dress your best. This is Reg Ferguson, fashion geek number 1. And I'm a men's fashion consultant here in New York City, born and raised. My mission is to help you learn more about men's fashion so you can become fashion confident. Reginald Ferguson [00:00:46]: Do you like hip hop? Do you know who Keith Haring is? What do Keith Haring and hip hop have in common? Knowing about them make you fashion confused, or will knowing about them make you fashion confident? My guest Gil Vasquez, aka g bro the pro, is here on the show because he's the president of the Keith Haring Foundation. One of his many tasks is overseeing the merchandise and brand that has been created from Keith Haring's art. So what connection do Keith Haring and hip hop even have? What does that have to do with fashion? Reginald Ferguson [00:01:26]: Hey. If you ever found yourself staring at the closet, not knowing what to wear, if the idea of shopping for clothes makes you feel physically ill, Wait till the end of the show and I have something for you. But for now, let's get to the show. Reginald Ferguson [00:01:44]: Yo. This is Reg Ferguson, Fashion Geek number 1. How are you? Welcome to the ride. Thank you so much for listening. I'm a men's fashion consultant here in New York City, and I help everyday men go from fashion confused to fashion confident. If you ever found yourself staring at the closet, not knowing what to wear, or if the idea of shopping for clothes makes you feel physically ill, then this is the show for you. My goal with every episode is to help make looking good feel easy. If you ever want my help, email me at reg@nyfashiongeek.com for a consultation. Reginald Ferguson [00:02:20]: If you have a friend who's looking to level up his fashion style wardrobe game, please share an episode with them. While you're at it, if you dig the show and haven't already left us a rating review, please consider doing so now. Your shares, ratings and reviews help us grow the show and help us get the best possible guests and help on men dress their best. Alright, guys. For people who are just hearing it and not seeing it, I am probably blushing, and gushing. I mean, and you're gonna understand why. Because today, we're gonna talk with Gil Vasquez, who's the Executive Director of the Keith Haring Foundation. And we're here in SoHo. Reginald Ferguson [00:03:03]: And we're not only just here in SoHo. We're in the very space, a very special space. And we're going to talk about something the everyday man should have an interest in. What was the influence hip hop had on Keith Haring? And what influence did Keith Haring Haring have on hip hop? Gil, Gbo the pro in the building. Thank you. My pleasure. Thank you. Thank you so much. Gil Vasquez [00:03:28]: Thank you. Now the pleasure is mine, man. Reginald Ferguson [00:03:30]: We've been working on this for literally 5 years. Gil Vasquez [00:03:33]: We've been talking about this for some time and here we are. Reginald Ferguson [00:03:36]: Yeah. I always get my man, but I mean, I don't know. I'm gonna, I'm gonna continue cheesing this. We've talked about this and how we met and actually big shout out to my friend Elizabeth Burke. Burke. Sorry, Liz. AKA Fizz, who made sure that we met in 2019 at the, Bonham auction. Auction. Reginald Ferguson [00:04:02]: And I'm gonna I'm gonna weave that in. That's that's how we met. And, here we are. I mean, I just Yeah. Yeah. So again, for people who see me, you see this. This will be like this for the entire interview. But for people who are just listening, I'm really on a cloud. Reginald Ferguson [00:04:22]: I I couldn't be happier. So, Gil, before we go into our topic, please tell us. So what do you do? So what do you, what do you do? Gil Vasquez [00:04:47]: So currently, I am the executive director and president of the Keith Haring Foundation. At the tender age of 19, Keith asked me to be a part of this foundation that he was creating. And my answer to him was, what's a foundation? Well, jean. 19. Right? 19. I didn't know what a foundation was. And he he explained that it was a way for us to continue his generosity, to expand his legacy, on his behalf and and and, you know, give grants to organizations that cared about kids, cared about people that were struggling with HIV. So 34 years later, that is essentially what we are still doing. Reginald Ferguson [00:05:41]: So ladies and gentlemen, the great thing about every time Gil and I have interacted, and I'm really curious to see how it gets translated into this interview, is our paths have sometimes mirrored, sometimes crossed because we're both native New Yorkers. And here we are. We are at 676 Broadway. So I'm gonna tell Bill something that he has no idea about. So first of all, I went to NYU. I went to Stern School of Business. So and one of my major buildings was 715 Grove. He knows and again, he's met a gazillion people like me. Reginald Ferguson [00:06:21]: I'm I'm a very big Keith Herrick fan. So when I went to the bottoms auction and, like I said, I'd like to talk about that hopefully eventually. I think this is a spin wheel interview. I know the topic, but I got a real funny feeling. Gil Vasquez [00:06:36]: We're gonna veer off all the time. I I got a funny feeling. We're gonna Reginald Ferguson [00:06:41]: veer off, I think. I had no idea that I was blocks away from my hero and that this is his actual studio space. Yeah. In addition, last night I was home and I'm a big movie guy and Saturdays usually dedicated movies, but Friday, I was home. I was like, I don't watch movie tonight. And I went into Max and they had this thing for TCM, Turner Classic Movies, 30th anniversary. I go in and I've always wanted to watch this movie and you can understand the significance because I know we are literally around the block and you probably have some reference to that too as I'm about to already go off go off on a detour. I watched Basquiat Oh. Reginald Ferguson [00:07:28]: Last night. I had always wanted to see it. Never saw it. That's literally around his studio working with Andy Warhol. That was his Around the corner. Gil Vasquez [00:07:39]: Around the corner. Down the block, which I know you know from here, the offices of Def Jam. Yeah. This was I mean, this was, this neighborhood was alive with with culture. Keith took this studio in 1984. Wow. He moved from the cable building which is on Houston and Broadway, which I believe he had a smaller, studio then. And he moved to into this one in 1984. Gil Vasquez [00:08:11]: I think the rent back then was something like $2,000 a month. And this is like maybe like a 35100 Square Foot Studio. And we were here, you know, I said 84. Right? So we're in 2024. So that's 40 years, essentially that we have occupied this this, space. Reginald Ferguson [00:08:37]: You know, we've talked about this, but hopefully the listeners will be appreciative of what I have to share and to add. I grew up just across town. I grew up in the Westville. And then I went to live with my late grandparents up in the Bronx with the people who are fresh. Mhmm. And I'm taking the train to go to school. And when I'm in Manhattan, I'm seeing these images on the black advertising paper. And you see my face and off we went. Reginald Ferguson [00:09:14]: I was like, who is this? What is it? And then I found out who it was and my love affair, my fandom from afar started there. So I I Gil Vasquez [00:09:25]: went to high school. I'm from originally from, Spanish Harlem. Right. Of town. Right? El Barrio. So I went to I went to high school in Brooklyn. I went to Brooklyn Tech. Reginald Ferguson [00:09:37]: You went to Tech? Okay. Gil Vasquez [00:09:39]: My first high school was Tech. I went there till my junior year and then I transferred El Banjo to Nevin Street on number 4 or 5, I saw like all these, black blank advertisement panels that were, you know, these chalk drawings were on them. And, you know, like as New Yorkers, we tune out a lot of stuff. Reginald Ferguson [00:10:08]: Yeah. Usually. Gil Vasquez [00:10:09]: We tune out advertisement, you know, like when we're walking, you know, there's not peripheral vision. It's like you're going to work, you're on your way and there's not a lot of distraction that you you have bandwidth for. But those those drawings, like, stopped you in your tracks. Certainly stopped me in my tracks. I didn't understand what they were. I didn't I didn't know if they were selling something. Yeah. Yeah. Gil Vasquez [00:10:38]: Yeah. Yeah. Something that you had to be. Reginald Ferguson [00:10:39]: I vaguely remember that as one of my Gil Vasquez [00:10:41]: Like something to be, like, in on. Like, you or like you had to be in on some secret to understand what was, you know, what it was because there were no words generally. So, you know, they were curious to me. I was like, what what is this? And and, you know, the more I saw them, the more intrigued I was. The more I enjoyed them, on my way to school. And fast forward years later, like I find out like, oh, this is Keith Haring and oh, you know, like he has the pop shop which is not far from here, which, was on Lafayette. Reginald Ferguson [00:11:14]: Yep. Gil Vasquez [00:11:14]: You know, for as much as Keith was an icon in art, icon as as far as, activism goes, as far as generosity goes, to me, he was one of the sort of godfathers of streetwear. Right? So as we bring this into fashion Reginald Ferguson [00:11:35]: I really need to talk about this. Gil Vasquez [00:11:36]: As we bring this into fashion, you know, Keith doesn't get really his due, like, in terms of being one of the fathers of streetwear. Reginald Ferguson [00:11:45]: That's why I felt, you know, when when Liz brought us together and I told you I had a podcast and, you know, you probably heard a hundred people say they had a podcast, I knew the angle I wanted. I knew that would set me apart because, you know, I have literally checked you out at speaker events talking about the legacy of Keith Haring, which I've enjoyed each one. But every time I went, no one's doing this angle. No one's doing Gil Vasquez [00:12:10]: this angle. Right. So it's very rare that people acknowledge that. So from a from a fashion standpoint. Right? And let's let's put hip hop and fashion together. Yes, please. In hip hop in hip hop fashion, what we have always done is we have adopted brands. Yep. Gil Vasquez [00:12:28]: Right? So Carhartt. Yep. You know, Carhartt was not marketed to us. Timberland, not marketed to us. Nope. Adidas, not ever marketed to us. No. Lee's, which was like the hip hop uniform in the eighties. Gil Vasquez [00:12:43]: Absolutely. They had no idea that we existed. Correct. They had no idea that this bubbling, this this burgeoning hip hop culture existed and they were just doing what they Reginald Ferguson [00:12:53]: do. Right. Gil Vasquez [00:12:55]: And we adopted fashion. It it didn't occur to us back then in the eighties to create. Right? We we adopted it. We we styled it the way we styled it. Reginald Ferguson [00:13:10]: Right. Gil Vasquez [00:13:10]: We were But we were not we weren't Reginald Ferguson [00:13:11]: creating it. Gil Vasquez [00:13:12]: We were not we were not manufacturing these things. We were not creating these things until, you know, the nineties came. Right. So that's the difference between, you know, adopting fashion, right, or adopting brands that become synonymous with hip hop. BVD, Lee's, Timberland, all the stuff. Right? And then Keith comes along. And at the end of doing these subway Unsustainable because now people are stealing them off the wall. Like people are literally going to the Astor Place and seeing, you know, the the the panel that's up there and literally ripping the entire panel, frame and all, off the wall. Reginald Ferguson [00:14:03]: I did not know that. Gil Vasquez [00:14:04]: So it became unsustainable to do it. Reginald Ferguson [00:14:07]: Okay. Gil Vasquez [00:14:07]: Right? Wow. So as an extension of that project of generosity, right, of of access, he created the pop shop. Right. It's like you know what? You want you want access to the art, instead of you know, for people that can't buy, then $20,000 painting, you could get a $25 shirt. And that was the beginning of his sort of extension of access to art. Art is for everybody was his motto. And that's exactly and that's Reginald Ferguson [00:14:41]: what I loved as I was growing up and learning about him. I would always tell people, and particularly a mentor of mine who was so kind to take you to the Queen's Museum when he had a future primeval. Gil Vasquez [00:14:53]: Yep. Reginald Ferguson [00:14:54]: I had that book by the way. Yeah. Yeah. So I was gonna bring it. I was like, that's probably too extra. So that's what I hope that's what I loved that this guy wanted to bring art and make it accessible to everyone. And as a kid growing up here in the city, not that I wasn't exposed because I was culturally, but I just found that to Gil Vasquez [00:15:13]: be so distinct. It it was distinct because at that point, you know, people thought about art as being elite and inaccessible. Absolutely. And only for people that go to museums and only for people that go to, galleries, right? So, you know, people like me would not necessarily feel welcome into a museum or into a gallery. We we we, you know, it's not that we weren't welcome. It's just that we didn't we we didn't feel it, you know. It's not something that we necessarily grew up, in our house in our households like going to galleries or museums like that. Not Uptown anyway, Reginald Ferguson [00:15:51]: you know what I'm saying? Gil Vasquez [00:15:52]: I'm not saying I'm not saying that that's No, no, I know. I know. That's not the case for everybody. But uptown is just was not necessarily a part of my world. And Keith Haring was the first sort of entry point where I felt like, oh, I can participate in this. Like I can, I can have access to this too? And this is very cool. So through the pop shop, it was like if you could buy a t shirt, you could buy a hat. Back then they had the the the long shirts. Gil Vasquez [00:16:20]: They're really long, like almost like dress length that had like a, like a almost like a totem, motif in the front. So Oh, yeah. It was just like all this like really cool stuff happening. And and it was a like I felt like I had access to art and it didn't feel snooty and it didn't feel like above me. It felt like right on my level. Right. So that that that is what the pop shop was to me. Reginald Ferguson [00:16:46]: Well, I love the pop shop. Prior to this interview, Gil knows. Well, first of all, it's just so funny. You don't know how people are checking you out. So I come in and I there were 1 or 2 coats I was going to wear today based on the weather. And the other one, it was going to be too light. I was like, what? It's 50 degrees. So I was like, alright. Reginald Ferguson [00:17:08]: I'm gonna wear this other coat. And he immediately sees that I have literally a golden button on my Hugo Boss M65 of the Radiant Chop. Gil Vasquez [00:17:21]: Yep. That's a OG button. It is Reginald Ferguson [00:17:23]: a OG button and I got it Yep. At the pop shop. That's dope. So and I also showed you another one. Also Yep. Like I said, I was fortunate enough, you know, it's here where I grow up. Right? You know, of course you have Gil Vasquez [00:17:37]: a backyard. Reginald Ferguson [00:17:38]: This was my backyard. So when that shop opened, I remember me and my friends we were so excited and we went in there and you remember the floor and just Yeah. It was that curve. Gil Vasquez [00:17:51]: The other thing too. Right beside gasateria. Yeah. The the other thing too was that, you know, for as much as Broadway was a shopping center, right, like we would shop at, Canal Gene. Canal Gene. You, Unique, Antique Boutique. Yeah. Antique Boutique. Reginald Ferguson [00:18:08]: And even your store that I told you. I remember the name. Gil Vasquez [00:18:11]: Aco Joe. Reginald Ferguson [00:18:12]: Yeah. Because I have a I had a Aco Joe button. Yeah. Gil Vasquez [00:18:15]: I used to work there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So back then, Lafayette was no man's land. Nothing? There was nothing on Lafayette. Nothing. So how retail exists there now is very much due to the pioneer Keith Haring. Reginald Ferguson [00:18:32]: Yeah. Gil Vasquez [00:18:32]: When you think about it. Yeah. The first Reginald Ferguson [00:18:34]: The first is the anchor. Gil Vasquez [00:18:35]: Cool clothing store Absolutely. That appeared on Lafayette was the pop shop. Reginald Ferguson [00:18:39]: Absolutely. The welcome supreme. Gil Vasquez [00:18:43]: Exactly. Everybody owes a debt to Reginald Ferguson [00:18:45]: The broken industries. Gil Vasquez [00:18:46]: All of y'all. Reginald Ferguson [00:18:47]: Yeah. For real. So, you know, I go to the store and like you said, there was something for everyone. I was a big button guy growing up. Like I think a lot of kids were. Gil Vasquez [00:18:59]: Yeah, I think we were. Reginald Ferguson [00:19:00]: Yeah. So that's that's mainly what I got. So now, like I said, here here we are. Here's the pop shop. Here we are currently. Around the corner is this, around the corner is that, down the block is that. I want to go back to Def Jam. Def Jam is literally was literally a block south. Reginald Ferguson [00:19:21]: Right? So, you know, I wanna as we're both doing, I wanna hone in on Keith and hip hop. Unbeknownst to me, I copped a 12 inch. Actually, it wasn't even 12 inch. It was a EP. And for the youngins, you could Google that. That's an extended play 12 inch. So because It's like Gil Vasquez [00:19:44]: a mini album. Reginald Ferguson [00:19:45]: Right. It's like a mini album. And I hadn't even checked to see if Apple has this on their screen. But I bought Malcolm McLaren's Do You Like Scratching with the world famous Supreme Team. And the album cover is cool and it's weird and it's interesting. Malcolm McLaren hit the airwaves here in New York. Yep. 98.7, which is now what ESPN. Reginald Ferguson [00:20:17]: We hit Buffalo gals. Yeah. We lose our minds. Gil Vasquez [00:20:20]: Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:20:20]: It's the banger of that summer. The fall enters and I cop that EP. And there's a boom box on there. Like a horn. Yeah. Yeah. Right. But the but there's these Gil Vasquez [00:20:36]: Right. And I'm like, is that the guy? That's the guy. So to me, that's my first entree of seeing him connected with hip hop culture. Right. So I feel that Keith he's originally from a very small conservative town in Pennsylvania. Yeah. Kutztown. Yeah. Gil Vasquez [00:20:57]: Kutztown. All the on the train, all the bombing that's happening in New York City, is super interesting to him. But that's not what he wants to do. He draws a lot of inspiration from it. The whole concept of getting up in graffiti is how you earn your respect. Yeah. Right? It's, it's if you're All City, that was like a badge of honor. Like if you're All City, like what? Like who gets to be All City? It's like you had to put the work in to to be Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:21:37]: I'm aware. Gil Vasquez [00:21:37]: Considered a king, Right? Yeah. A graffiti king. All City was like these these sort of these badges, these, these honorary badges difficult to earn respect. I think Keith, when he first got here, was considered, an anomaly and and a curiosity. Right? Because he's not using spray, number 1. He's not using markers. Right. He's using chalk. Gil Vasquez [00:22:08]: Chalk. So people are kinda looking at him like, and you're doing what? You're doing stick figures, bro? Like like so the the the community is looking at him like a like a curiosity more so than, you know, like one of them. Right. And as he progressed on this this art project of of of putting these chalk drawings in the subway stations, they were like, oh. As he became more ubiquitous, as he becomes All City, literally, then it's then the respect comes. Then it's like, oh, okay. This guy, he's not doing what we do, but damn, we respect him. And he's getting respect from all the top top, from the Futuras, from the Hazes Mhmm. Gil Vasquez [00:22:54]: From the, you know, Days, Doves, all those guys, you know, are like giving it up. People like Mayer, young, you know, young culture creators. Mayer is like 14 at the time and he's like dictating culture at a point, you know. It's it's you know, and Keith is is eager to earn their respect, but also careful not to do what they do. Reginald Ferguson [00:23:20]: Right. Gil Vasquez [00:23:21]: And he didn't give himself a graffiti name. He he stood Keith Haring. You know what I'm saying? So he respected what what was happening in street, but was not trying to do the same thing. There was no it was there was a no biting rule Yeah. At the time that was, you know, very strictly enforced at Reginald Ferguson [00:23:37]: the time. Gil Vasquez [00:23:37]: So, not only in graffiti art but also in hip hop. Absolutely. Hip hop was the sound of the times. Uptown culture and downtown culture were, melding and clashing and mixing. So punk rock and hip hop were, you know, often at the same place. People like Crazy Legs, and his Rocksteady crew, are coming downtown to perform, you know, for the first time. And people in the audience, there's photos where you see Keith and you see all these people that were like downtown icons. So, it was a really interesting, interesting time and Keith drew a lot of inspiration from, not only hip hop music, but hip hop culture. Reginald Ferguson [00:24:24]: I agree. What I noticed now as an adult, because I didn't really figure it out as a child. I'm not gonna be revision this. First of all, when you talk about the respect from the Graf community, I remember he he I know of one notable collabo he actually did in which, I guess, it was that mutual respect literally, you know, represented was with him in, Spaceman, Eric Orr. Gil Vasquez [00:24:50]: Right. Right. Eric Orr, he did a collab on a sub on a subway drawing, which is very unusual for Keith. And Eric Orr is is, OG, part of the history. Absolutely. Still active. Spaceman. Still doing his thing. Reginald Ferguson [00:25:06]: I love that too. 1st Gil Vasquez [00:25:07]: hip hop, comic book. Like, he he is, you know, a legend and still very active and, you know, still represents the culture fully, man. Eric is is is a G. Reginald Ferguson [00:25:21]: As I literally even as I look at this wonderful box that I have my notes on, this is the point I want to make. I think and you were literally there. I think, like you said, Keith comes to New York. Everything is bubbling. Right? He's there in the eighties, you know, as a young adult. Right? Versus me in the eighties as a little kid. But what I'm seeing here is literally the influence of a boogieing, a b boying. Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:25:50]: Yeah. Gil Vasquez [00:25:51]: I mean, all of it. All the cultures that were clashing at the time, there was new new things that were just burgeoning. I mean, Blondie appeared on SNL and brought the funky 4 plus 1 more as her guest. Reginald Ferguson [00:26:06]: I don't remember this. Gil Vasquez [00:26:08]: So you gotta pee the the YouTube. What? It was the first Funky 4 plus what? It was the first favorite movies. It was the first time that hip hop was on Saturday Night Live, number 1. And number 2, the way they were set up, the DJ was in the front. What? You know how the DJ plays the back in more shows nowadays? The DJ was in the front and the Funky 4 plus 1 more were behind the DJ. That's how important What? That's how important the DJ was in in hip hop culture and how it was structured. But Blondie, Debra Harry brought funky 4 plus 1 more onto Saturday Night Live. You gotta you gotta peep that. Gil Vasquez [00:26:48]: Yeah. You've totally wow. Gotta peep that. So there was a lot a lot happening. There was a lot happening where, you know, people like people like, Lady t, God, what am I? I'm Square Biz. Oh. Oh. Oh. Reginald Ferguson [00:27:07]: Tina Marie. Tina Marie. Tina Marie. Gil Vasquez [00:27:09]: So Tina Marie Reginald Ferguson [00:27:10]: Love to. Gil Vasquez [00:27:11]: Is dropping Verzuz. Reginald Ferguson [00:27:13]: Yeah. On Square Biz. On Square Biz. Great song. Gil Vasquez [00:27:16]: Classic. White Lady. Right. Reginald Ferguson [00:27:18]: We thought she was Puerto Rican on our side. Gil Vasquez [00:27:20]: White Lady. And when I have listened to this verse again, like today in 2024, I'm like, yo, somebody had to have written that for her because it it it is so good. Reginald Ferguson [00:27:31]: It's dope. Gil Vasquez [00:27:32]: It is so quality for 1982 that it came out. It's ghostwritten. I don't I suspect, but it, you know, I Reginald Ferguson [00:27:39]: don't wanna take No. I don't. Take credit Gil Vasquez [00:27:40]: from her because it is such a genius. It's such a genius piece of work. It's almost like saying like that. No. She couldn't have done Reginald Ferguson [00:27:49]: that. Let's give her her do. Gil Vasquez [00:27:50]: Let's give her her do. Great. Square biz was, you know, again, like one of these like hip hop was just people were trying things with it. It was new. It was it was like generally very positive still. You know, the gangsta It was party. Reginald Ferguson [00:28:04]: It was party right. Gil Vasquez [00:28:05]: Gangsta element really had not come into it yet. So it was just, you know, it was a lot of fun and and it was a way, it was a way to express yourself in many, many different ways. It was music, it was art, it was visual art, it was fashion. So it was it was language because, you know, slang kind of played a big role in in, you know, So it was a lot that was just really happening in hip hop at the time. And for somebody to come in as an outsider, from outside of New York to come into that, you know, his head was probably spinning and Absolutely. Just all the craziness that he was witnessing and, you know, lucky to be lucky to have access to. So what do you think is his first Reginald Ferguson [00:28:56]: outside of literally being out there in the streets, being out there at the clubs, you know, even being at galleries, I would presume. What do you think is like his like for me it was that Malcolm McLaren album. What do you think is like one of his watershed moments in which he literally is collaborating, you know, through hip hop? Gil Vasquez [00:29:21]: You know, that that might be that might be the first thing. The Malcolm McLaren thing might be the very first thing. The thing that that struck me the first time I saw it, it was when he did, a poster with Adidas and Run DMC. Run DMC. I'm a DJ. So I when I saw that, I was like, oh my God. And Run DMC was the top of the top, you know. Like like it did not get it did not get bigger than Run DMC. Gil Vasquez [00:29:51]: So to see his artwork with Run DMC like that was just like, wow, Reginald Ferguson [00:29:59]: you know. Yeah. I mean we're I know we're both Run DMC heads. I've heard you talk about that and people know I'm equal like I Yeah. Gil Vasquez [00:30:07]: Yeah. I'm a nut. Reginald Ferguson [00:30:09]: I'm not around the MC Gil Vasquez [00:30:10]: I am. Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:30:11]: Yeah. There's no question. So I've seen images of this poster. So that graphic is used for when they go on tour, when Run DMC goes on tour. Gil Vasquez [00:30:24]: Yeah. I'm I'm not a 100% familiar. Okay. You know, the other thing that that Keith participated in was the very first hip hop tour called the Fresh Fest. Reginald Ferguson [00:30:32]: Fresh Fest? Gil Vasquez [00:30:33]: So uh-huh, the the the backdrop of Fresh Fest was a Keith Haring, backdrop. Woah. Also, something to look up. Woah! Gigantic backdrop Keith Haring, Fresh Fest. Reginald Ferguson [00:30:47]: Fresh Fest? Gil Vasquez [00:30:48]: Which was the first hip hop tour. Reginald Ferguson [00:30:49]: Yeah, yeah, Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:30:51]: Yeah. Holy cow. How do you think this is happening? Because you just hit on something. Right? This is, this is a white guy from Kutztown. He comes to school here at SVA, School For Visual Arts. You know, he's finding his way. He's clearly accomplishing Gil Vasquez [00:31:10]: Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:31:10]: Doing that. But, like, who says to him, hey. We've got this group called Run DMC. We want you to Gil Vasquez [00:31:16]: artwork. Hey. Reginald Ferguson [00:31:17]: We've got this we've got this tour for rap. Gil Vasquez [00:31:20]: Anybody who is anybody who is paying attention. Like, if you're paying attention and who's moving and who's shaking, the guy is is working. The guy is covering every subway station with with his work and Right. He makes it hard for you not to notice him. So anybody who's anybody has to be like, yo, who's Keith? Bring him. Bring him. Let let's go. Like, you know, he's making it it impossible for you to ignore him. Gil Vasquez [00:31:51]: Mhmm. I think that's how it's happening. Reginald Ferguson [00:31:53]: Okay. Well, I did some research and DMC got interviewed about that backdrop. And he was like, Yeah. Keith was mad cool. And, you know Gil Vasquez [00:32:06]: I think it was done here. Really? It was done in this room. Wow. Reginald Ferguson [00:32:10]: Holy cow. Well, like I said, ladies and gentlemen, I come into this building. And first of all, I've never been in this building before for anything. I'm positive. And immediately I look up and I'm like, oh, man. This is really a setup for me. Gil Vasquez [00:32:28]: He took a ladder down, downstairs one day and just painted a mural on the on the in the lobby. Just one day, I randomly, just black paint. Just took a little, not even a bucket, like a almost like a, like a, you know, like a gallon of milk Mhmm. With the top cut off, black paint, Reginald Ferguson [00:32:46]: brush, and Gil Vasquez [00:32:47]: just that's it. And also in this building used to be Ruckus Records. Reginald Ferguson [00:32:54]: Ruckus was in this building. Gil Vasquez [00:32:56]: Ruckus Records was in this building. And back in the day, Platinum Island Studio was in this building. Reginald Ferguson [00:33:03]: I don't know that. Gil Vasquez [00:33:04]: So if you look at certain records from us from back then, from the eighties nineties, Platinum Island is was a big recording studio. So now in this building that there's a a hit factory recording studio in this building. Oh, I Reginald Ferguson [00:33:22]: didn't know that. Gil Vasquez [00:33:23]: So a lot of famous people record here. A lot of famous people record in this building. Reginald Ferguson [00:33:28]: Oh. Oh, it's Schmooley. You think that know that, ladies and gentlemen? Gil Vasquez [00:33:32]: This is, Slick Rick's favorite studio. It's it's Is Hit Factory? Is Hit Factory. Reginald Ferguson [00:33:37]: Oh, well. That's another episode talking about Slick Rick in fashion. So also, you know, we're talking about Run DMC. I just realized he also did the artwork for Christmas and Gil Vasquez [00:33:54]: Howl's. Christmas and Howl's, the Christmas albums Yes. Every year. Yep. He used to do. I mean, you know, Keith Keith is, listen. For for somebody who is no who hasn't been with us in the physical form in 34 years, he still resonates he still resonates really, really intensely. It's not an accident. Gil Vasquez [00:34:21]: He set up, he set it up that way. He set it up so that, you know, his intensity would would continue beyond his own life. So Reginald Ferguson [00:34:29]: Mhmm. Kudos. So I wanna still stay related but in a slight lane. We're talking about the culture, but also to me because his, I think his vision, I'm certainly not trying to speak for him, was to make art accessible to everyone. I found that it went beyond clearly music, meaning this. I'm gonna be very specific, and I'd just like you to discourse on it. Crack is whack. Crack is whack, Miro. Reginald Ferguson [00:35:08]: So, you know, meaning, like, he he is clearly cognizant and aware of what's going on in the city at that time. Gil Vasquez [00:35:16]: Right. Reginald Ferguson [00:35:16]: We know that crack cocaine as native New Yorkers was an amazing scourge in the city in the eighties. So my point is, you know, I came in here wanting to talk about, you know, hip hop culture and him. But we also I would be remiss if we don't just talk about overall culture. Gil Vasquez [00:35:34]: Yeah. I think, the eighties was a difficult time. Right? Nowadays, it gets romanticized. Reginald Ferguson [00:35:43]: It is as gross. Gil Vasquez [00:35:43]: Right? Because, you know, we think of all the amazing art and music and and beauty that came out of the eighties. Right? All the pop songs even. Even the pop songs were fire. Like, it it it was, you know, hip hop, you know, even the pop songs, all that electro stuff was like really amazing. But, you know, it was also the Reagan era. Reginald Ferguson [00:36:04]: It was Reagan? Why? This is Reaganomics. Gil Vasquez [00:36:06]: It was the Reagan era. Reginald Ferguson [00:36:07]: He hated New York. Gil Vasquez [00:36:09]: He was a conservative in the presidency who, came into office in January of 1981. Did not mention AIDS until 1980 5. Did not mention AIDS. So crack and AIDS were like the 1 two punch. Yeah. That were happening in in the, in this in the world really. Yeah. Yeah. Gil Vasquez [00:36:34]: But specifically here in the city, it was a huge one, 2 punch. People were people's lives were just ruined. And Crack is Whack, Keith painted that mural. It was a personal thing for him because he had an assistant who actually was struggling with crack. And he did everything, everything, everything to help him and to to to help, and there were very few resources that that were available, to get help. Thankfully, this person persevered and is is now a dad and now a promoter and and is a success in life and got over it, thankfully. But he was one of the few. You know, most people did not come back from from that. Gil Vasquez [00:37:25]: So Crackers Rack Crackers Whack was very personal to Keith. It was not it it it was an overall message. Reginald Ferguson [00:37:32]: Yeah. It was. Gil Vasquez [00:37:32]: But it was also a very personal one. Reginald Ferguson [00:37:36]: Wow. Wow. Yeah. And if I recall, there's like a PE video, a Public Enemy video and, you know, that group Chuck, he was he was hard on what was going on Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. With the community. Gil Vasquez [00:37:51]: I feel like Chuck and Keith were contemporaries. You know, I met Chuck not too long ago. Oh, wow. And, you know, he did not know Keith but they were fighting the same fight. Mhmm. You know, they stood up for, lots of things. They they they were the voice of the voiceless, you know. Keith used his his art to speak truth to power as did Chuck. Reginald Ferguson [00:38:20]: I now want to flip it from a very, very, very physical Gil Vasquez [00:38:30]: Foundation in merchandise. So Keith was very specific about what he wanted to do in terms of his imagery, like how he wanted his imagery used for commercial purposes at that point in his life. And he foresaw that the images that he created would be important. It was like a vault. It was like like all these drawings I did like in a vault because guess what? One day they're gonna we're gonna need to open that vault and we're gonna have to create stuff and we're gonna we're gonna we're gonna collaborate with brands and we're gonna license. This is something that was inconceivable inconceivable for a visual artist, a serious visual artist of of his time. Right. Reginald Ferguson [00:39:29]: He was so he was way ahead of us. Gil Vasquez [00:39:30]: He was way, way ahead. So Reginald Ferguson [00:39:32]: he articulated this? Gil Vasquez [00:39:33]: He articulated this. He wrote this he wrote this down and said that this is gonna be the most important thing, for the foundation to manage and and oversee how these things, how these images are shared with the world. You know, what was once a, you know, fair fairly decent, licensing business. The Herring Foundation now, I mean, you know, it we have the gold standard of art licensing in the world. We are second we are second to none. There is no other artist that has as as big, an art licensing business than does the Keith Hennig Foundation. So please explain Reginald Ferguson [00:40:25]: what does it require for you to say you're the gold standard for art licensing. What what does that mean? Gil Vasquez [00:40:33]: It means that there's not even a close second And and no disrespect to I understand that. No disrespect to anybody else that's doing it. It's just that that that Keith the head start that he had in thinking about his IP and thinking that this was gonna be a way to sustain the foundation. You know, we're not putting the money in our pockets. We're using that money to to give grants to organizations that that he cared about. Just the foresight that that takes is is incredible. So I say it's the gold standard because I can't think of another artist, not Andy Warhol, not again, Reginald Ferguson [00:41:11]: respectfully. Right. Gil Vasquez [00:41:14]: You know, there's no other artist that has the the the reach that Keith Haring does in the licensing world. Reginald Ferguson [00:41:22]: So what are the ingredients, the components to make such a standard? Gil Vasquez [00:41:28]: So when I when I say that, it's because of all the, the collaborations that we've been involved with. We've worked with Adidas. We've worked with Converse. We've worked with Coach. We've worked with Uniqlo. I mean, the list goes on and on and Reginald Ferguson [00:41:44]: on. Do they come to you or do you go to them? Gil Vasquez [00:41:47]: In some cases, they come to us. In some cases, we go to them. Reginald Ferguson [00:41:52]: When you go to a brand, what is their requirement? What is the baseline for you to go? This is a brand that we wanna talk to. Gil Vasquez [00:42:00]: Because it has to have a similar ethos to Keith Haring. So for example, access is important, Right? So we don't want something necessarily that costs $10,000 right? Because not everybody can afford that. Reginald Ferguson [00:42:17]: Right. Gil Vasquez [00:42:17]: So affordability is is a huge thing for us. Access, right? Right. Right. Accessibility. So it's like if if you make cool stuff and it's accessible, AKA affordable, it's some it's chances are we're gonna want to, do something cool. Reginald Ferguson [00:42:36]: AKA Uniqlo. Uniqlo is Gil Vasquez [00:42:38]: very affordable. It's very quality and it just has a similar ethos. And and and we've collaborated with Uniqlo now for, I wanna say, at least 20 years. Really? Only 25 years, at least. That's crazy. It's one of our longest running collaborations and it's still ongoing. And they're a great, a great partner. Reginald Ferguson [00:42:58]: When someone comes to you, how do you determine I Reginald Ferguson [00:43:02]: know you said ethos, but I Reginald Ferguson [00:43:03]: just wanna see It, you know to go Gil Vasquez [00:43:06]: to them. It has to be it has to be a good match, you know. It has to be a good match. Especially now, because now people are seeing the proliferation of Keith Haring in a lot of places. So some brands are like, Oh, me too. So it just has to make sense. We don't want to do the same thing that another brand has done. If they bring something different to it, they bring a different a different feel to it. Gil Vasquez [00:43:30]: You know, H and M is is a brand that we collab with because they do great stuff in in the in the fast fashion space. Reginald Ferguson [00:43:38]: Mhmm. Gil Vasquez [00:43:38]: And it's a for it's accessible. It's affordable and And it's just it just has a good feel to it. Reginald Ferguson [00:43:45]: What was the worst potential brand collaboration in which you went, oh, no. That's never gonna happen. The worst? I don't know. Gil Vasquez [00:43:53]: It's hard. I mean, there's been a lot there's there's been a lot of things that we've said no to. Okay. I'll just say that. I I don't wanna drag anybody. Okay. I'm not Reginald Ferguson [00:44:01]: saying There's a lot of stuff. I'm not saying you had to put any names with There's Gil Vasquez [00:44:04]: a lot of stuff that we that we have said no to just outright that it's just it just doesn't make sense for us. Reginald Ferguson [00:44:10]: Okay. Without saying any names, I know you're respectful. I'm equally respectful. But I think listeners are curious. Was there something that you just went, no? Like Gil Vasquez [00:44:21]: no? The short answer to that is yes. Reginald Ferguson [00:44:26]: Okay. Can you elaborate on this? Gil Vasquez [00:44:28]: I prefer not to go further. Okay. Fine. Reginald Ferguson [00:44:32]: I try, ladies and gentlemen. Gil Vasquez [00:44:33]: In the interest of diplomacy, I'd I'd prefer not to Reginald Ferguson [00:44:35]: I said no names needed to be uttered. Gil Vasquez [00:44:38]: No. No. I prefer not to go down that road. Reginald Ferguson [00:44:39]: But, you Gil Vasquez [00:44:40]: know, we we say no. We say no a lot. Okay. We say no a lot. You know, you have to because you're taking care of you know, when when we think about collaborating with brands, you know, the prevailing thought in my mind is always, is this good for Keith? Period. He's not here to make those decisions. So we have to make them on his behalf. And then, you know, you start to get complicated. Gil Vasquez [00:45:11]: Right? Is it 31 year old Keith or is it 66 year old Keith? Is it, you know, this guy is forever 31 in a sense. Right? Mhmm. So would he have evolved as a 66 year old man and been like, you know what? Maybe this is not the way to go. Mhmm. So you have to consider that. Right? And the way you simplify is, is this good for Keith? Is it or isn't it? And that's really the prevailing, thought in making the decision on whether or not to collaborate with any brand or anything really. Reginald Ferguson [00:45:51]: How does it feel, Gil, sitting there having to make that decision for your friend? Gil Vasquez [00:45:59]: It's intense. I'm lucky that I don't have to make all of those decisions on my own. With the clothing, yes. With the with the licensing, yes. It is it is mostly me that makes that decision, but there are other decisions that we make, as a foundation, as a board. There are 6 people on that board and, you know, who we give grants to is not, completely my decision. I have to, we have to consult a board and people ask us people apply for grants and there are 6 of us that make a decision based on expert, you know, we get we have expertise. To help us make those decisions. Gil Vasquez [00:46:48]: So, you know, we we rely on a lot of expertise, in order to make decisions. We're not just, you know, we're not just winging it. Reginald Ferguson [00:46:55]: Yeah. Right. Yeah. That was literally the word that came to my mind. Bragged about the gold standard. I respect your brag. Gil Vasquez [00:47:03]: It's a humble brag. It's a humble brag because, again, that money is not going into anybody's pocket. Like we're not just, you know, we're not just caking off and, you know, just putting it in our pocket. We are we are using that money to, you know, to give grants to organizations that that enrich the lives of of kids and people that struggle with with HIV still. You know, we we live in a time now where you don't have to necessarily die Right. From HIV in the first world, so to speak. The quote unquote first world. Understood. Gil Vasquez [00:47:40]: Right? You know, there are people that are in Africa that don't have access to these drugs that give you a life saving, you know, a life saving drugs. Right? So, you know, sometimes we partner with, for example, we we donated a print to the Elton John Foundation. Reginald Ferguson [00:48:01]: Oh, wow. Right? Gil Vasquez [00:48:01]: So Elton John Foundation, they do more work in places like Africa than the Keith Haring Foundation does. So instead of just limiting ourselves to New York, sometimes we can partner with, Elton John Foundation, give them money and they they do the work in those places where we don't generally function. So there's a lot. It's a lot. It's a lot. It involves a lot. There's a lot of cooperation. You know, it's it's it's for the greater good, you know, that we are we are trying to, you know, we're we're trying to do this on on Keith's behalf. Reginald Ferguson [00:48:43]: How do you make the determination? I understand about your criteria, but we're talking about licensing. And if you think about it, both New Yorkers growing up, we've seen brands literally I'll give you a great example. When we were growing up, Gucci was the gold standard but then all of a sudden they took a turn because their IP was on everything. Right. And that was a big thing in the eighties. Right. Not unique to Gucci but any any designer, right? But there came a point in which they would flood and it it soured it soured the equity of the brand. Gil Vasquez [00:49:30]: Right. Right. Reginald Ferguson [00:49:31]: How do you and the board because now I realize Gil Vasquez [00:49:33]: So it's interesting. It's not just me. Right? And, you know, we we have a, we have an agency. A licensing agent. Oh. Right? That helps us to to make these decisions. Right? So, you know, we we do it with care. We do it with care. Gil Vasquez [00:49:53]: Like you know, sometimes there are deals for example, that it's like Japan only or China only. Mhmm. You know, so we're very specific about what what places in the world we want to hit also. Reginald Ferguson [00:50:08]: Like a MFN. Gil Vasquez [00:50:09]: You know, like we want we want to, we want to be very precise and very strategic about where we place the work and, you know, we're we're careful. We do it with care. It's not we're not flooding. We don't, you know, it's antithetical to to to the brand because now Keith Haring is is a brand. Mhmm. You know? There's Keith Haring, the artist and and his his artwork and exhibitions Mhmm. Which which is one thing. And then there's the brand, which is, you know, we take very good care to not have that happen. Gil Vasquez [00:50:48]: You know, Keith was a he was very aware of Halston. Reginald Ferguson [00:50:52]: Do you remember? Yeah. Gil Vasquez [00:50:53]: That was that was my mom's guy. That was like so Keith was like very aware like, yo, like I Reginald Ferguson [00:50:58]: don't want that to happen. Right. Right. Gil Vasquez [00:50:59]: I don't want that to happen to me. Right. And you know, again Wow. For as much, you know, for as much, for as much as the the imagery is out there, more than it has ever been Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:51:11]: Because it's it's out there. Gil Vasquez [00:51:13]: More than it has ever been, we do take care that it is still cool. We do care that it's still cool. That it's not, you know, it's not gonna just be like pushed to the side. So, you know, we care about it and and we are strategic about when, where, how much, and and we consider that very carefully. Reginald Ferguson [00:51:33]: I wanna bring this back. We met at the Bonhams auction 2019. Now, you intentionally were there. What you don't know is I unintentionally was there. Gil Vasquez [00:51:45]: Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:51:46]: I was actually going to another event, at the Parks Department. I was aware of the auction because it was a big article in Times. I just happened to be cutting that way and the person in front of the auction house, I guess, thought that I was planning to go in. And this is why I always say, ladies and gentlemen, clothing is communication. It is. She I was just walking and I realized what it was. But I was like, oh, I'm gonna meet my friend Liz and and she kind of stopped me and she said, oh, are you here for the and I went, no, I'm not. She said, would you like to Gil Vasquez [00:52:24]: come in? Reginald Ferguson [00:52:25]: And I mean you see me. Gil Vasquez [00:52:27]: I Yes. Reginald Ferguson [00:52:29]: I would I would looked. Well, you can come in. She signed me in on it. I bet she had a tablo. I texted a great, you know I was in acquaintanceship. You know, I've really enjoyed it. I think Gil Vasquez [00:52:49]: you know Likewise, man. Reginald Ferguson [00:52:51]: You know, it's just been dope, you know, particularly because we do New York stuff. Gil Vasquez [00:52:55]: Yeah. Absolutely. We talk about Reginald Ferguson [00:52:57]: New York stuff all the time and compare notes. Absolutely. Gil Vasquez [00:53:00]: That was that was an interesting moment. Reginald Ferguson [00:53:03]: I wanna hear. Gil Vasquez [00:53:04]: I want to talk about that. I want Reginald Ferguson [00:53:06]: to talk about that. Please, please tell the audience. Gil Vasquez [00:53:08]: That auction took place because it's a a building owned by the Archdiocese of New York. Right. It's called, Grace House. Reginald Ferguson [00:53:25]: Grace House. Yeah. Gil Vasquez [00:53:26]: Right? And in this Grace House, Keith Haring painted a mural. Basically, all his classic figures, black paint on the walls. And and Grace House essentially was like a hangout for kids. It was like a place where kids can go to not be on the street. Street. And there there were some mentors there and and, you know, they kept the kids involved in activities and all this kind of stuff. And I guess somebody at that went to Grace House knew Keith, invited him to to paint the mural. Of course, Keith had no permission, painted it, and bounced. Gil Vasquez [00:54:06]: Right? Cool. So years later, years later, we we get into talks with this parish and not the archdiocese specifically, but it was a separate parish. Right? Reginald Ferguson [00:54:19]: At the local parish. Gil Vasquez [00:54:20]: And we get into talks with them about, you know, perhaps, getting someone to, buy the building so that, it can be used to house, gay kids that that were homeless, that were kicked out of their homes for being gay. That kind of thing. Right? Mhmm. So I suspect that the Archdiocese was like, nah. Like we we want no part of that. I suspect. Alright. Because what they went and did was they brought in some consultants, and had them consult on how to remove these murals from these walls. Reginald Ferguson [00:55:06]: Right. Our preservation outfit. Gil Vasquez [00:55:09]: So what they did because this particular parish was in debt to the larger archdiocese. Right. And they figured out that if you extract this mural for a $1,000,000, put it up for auction, you might come out Reginald Ferguson [00:55:30]: Ahead. Gil Vasquez [00:55:31]: Ahead in less debt to the Arch Diocese. And, oh, by the way, we're not going to tell the Keith Hannard Foundation we're doing this. Reginald Ferguson [00:55:39]: Oh, I didn't know that part. Gil Vasquez [00:55:41]: So they didn't they didn't tell us that they were gonna do this. And all the while, we were in talks with them like, hey, like, you know, maybe we can get somebody to buy this building and they were like, yeah, yeah. They were yessing us to death. And essentially, once the extraction happened, that's when Bottoms reached out to me. It's like, hey, you know, we have this mural and we're gonna auction it. And would you like to discuss and would you like to talk about it? Reginald Ferguson [00:56:07]: So you got okeydoked. In a sense, Gil Vasquez [00:56:10]: I knew I was we were obviously against it. But again, like it was very new. I was very new in the position. So, you know, I kind of wanted to, participate even though it was not something we were in favor of. Right. I wanted to have the conversation. I wanted to say to, you know, to these people like, you know, like I I I wanted I wanted to be, I wanted to for our narrative to be out there. I didn't wanna I didn't wanna be spoken for. Reginald Ferguson [00:56:48]: Do you understand? Gil Vasquez [00:56:48]: I didn't want somebody to assume that we were in favor of this because Oh. We weren't there. We just didn't show up. So I wanted to make sure, like, listen. We went out in favor of this, a. And b, you know, on some level, it's good that that the mural was saved. Right? It's almost like Keith was against people taking the subway drawings, but had someone not done that, they wouldn't exist today. Right? Yeah. Gil Vasquez [00:57:17]: So even though he was against it, the fact that some people did take them is a good thing because in in historical terms, we can still enjoy them. Same thing for the mural. It's the same the the mural was meant for kids and it was meant for the kids to kind of give them a brighter day. But now that these kids are no longer there, the building has been sold off and whatever whatever. The fact that these the mural still exist in some form is a good thing. Even though it's owned by some private person who we have no idea who it is. Still don't know. Still don't know. Gil Vasquez [00:57:51]: So you know, listen, it's, I don't know, it's complicated. I said it was a long convoluted story and that's the reason. It's, you know, it's in private hands. It's a, you know, it really shouldn't be. It should be for the public to enjoy. Right. But, you know, it is what it is. Reginald Ferguson [00:58:08]: I'm gonna tell you, Gil. You were pissed that day. Yeah. I was not happy. And I did not know you. Gil Vasquez [00:58:15]: Yeah. I wasn't happy about Reginald Ferguson [00:58:16]: You started telling me that, you know, I'm just getting to know you. And I'm like, who? What? What? You're like, this didn't have to happen. You were and I was I emailed from me. I'm gonna what? What do you mean? I don't understand. Like, Gil Vasquez [00:58:29]: what? Right. So, I mean, again, the reason I was there was so that nobody could speak for us. And I was the new I was probably not even the the director, the the executive director at the time. I was probably the acting director at the time. 2019, I was not fully in the position. Pursuit. And I was kind of learning learning Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:58:53]: Yeah. Sure. Gil Vasquez [00:58:54]: But, yeah. You know, it was it was one of those things. Reginald Ferguson [00:58:57]: Well, I do remember this outside of your ire. You had on some Coach, I thought they were Coach. Gil Vasquez [00:59:05]: Sneakers? Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:59:06]: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, The Coach What? They got took a photo of that. Yeah. I was like, hey. What what did you call those? Wow. Reginald Ferguson [00:59:17]: I couldn't be happier. This is it was just the way I hoped. Thank you, man. Gil Vasquez [00:59:23]: It was a pleasure. This was a long time coming. We had we had, you know, discussed this years years ago. Yeah. Then COVID happened and then Oh, yeah. You know, it was just a lot going on. Yeah. And I feel like this finally happened when when the time was right and and here we are. Gil Vasquez [00:59:40]: And I'm I'm really happy that that we did this. Reginald Ferguson [00:59:43]: Well, I'm in I'm in I'm in my I'm in my glory. So I have some questions for you. Yep. So why is fashion important? Gil Vasquez [00:59:54]: Fashion is important because it is communication. It is unspoken language. You're saying something about yourself. You're expressing something about yourself without words. And depending on your fashion, it allows you access to places, it communicates something about you whether or not you belong in a place or not. There's, you know, it has a lot of implications beyond looking and feeling good. It's it's another way to express yourself. It's it's communication, and it and you know, and it's fun. Gil Vasquez [01:00:39]: Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [01:00:40]: I agree. That's how we met. You granted me access. Yeah. What difference has fashion made in your life? Gil Vasquez [01:00:50]: It's interesting because I have a I feel like I have a dual life. Like I have these 2 different, very distinct parts of my life. I'm Gil Vasquez, the Executive Director of the Keith Haring Foundation. And I'm also Jibo the pro. That's my alter ego, which is like my my hip hop persona, you know, that I that I try to I try to keep away from guilt. But the more the more that I the more that time goes on, you know, they are becoming intertwined more and more these days. But hip hop, you know, like I feel like hip hop, my hip hop persona, is a very different person, fashion wise even, than Gil Vasquez is. And sometimes, he's, you know, it doesn't matter. Gil Vasquez [01:01:42]: Sometimes, you know, it depends on the place that I'm at. Right? I'm not I'm not rocking this to the, you know, to the gala, to the to the, Smithsonian Art Archive of American Art Gala. Right? I'm not doing that, but I could I could DJ in this outfit. Absolutely. So it's it's, you know, it it depends. I have to pick my pick my spots and sometimes it's fun to be dressed in a tux and just a beautiful suit. And then also, it's nice to, you know, feel comfortable and dress quote unquote down, in your in my in my hip hop uniform. Reginald Ferguson [01:02:22]: Yeah. Yeah. I totally agree. For people who are not seeing this, but just hearing this, Monday through Friday, as I think Gil has noticed, I'm suited and booted. But we are recording this on a Saturday. Yep. And I wanted to represent. So, I got my hoodie on. Reginald Ferguson [01:02:41]: I got my Levi's and I got my Nike uptown. Gil Vasquez [01:02:43]: Yeah. No. It's fun. The duality is fun. Reginald Ferguson [01:02:45]: It is. Gil Vasquez [01:02:47]: You know, I I don't expect people in the in the art world to know anything about Jibo the pro, the mixtape DJ from the nineties. You know, there is a book out called Do Remember. It's a Rizzoli book. And, they do they, you know, I'm telling a bit of our story, in that book. I used to DJ with this guy, Double R. And we made these, like, incredible tapes in the nineties. And I don't expect anybody in in the art world to know anything about that. They're so removed from that because Mixtapes was such a a subculture of hip hop. Gil Vasquez [01:03:24]: Yeah. You know, and and we made we were impactful in that. But again, it's very separate from from the art world. It's something that almost never comes up in my art world conversations. Reginald Ferguson [01:03:37]: Yeah. And understandable. I understand the whole thing about duality. Gil Vasquez [01:03:42]: And it's fun, though. It's fun. Reginald Ferguson [01:03:43]: Yeah. It should be. Gil Vasquez [01:03:44]: Yeah. You get to be a fly on the wall a little bit. Reginald Ferguson [01:03:47]: It's kinda cool. I ask this of all my guests. What is the top fashion tip you would give the everyday man so he could look his best? Gil Vasquez [01:03:55]: The top fashion tip that I would give to a man is to wear something that wear something that is comfortable, that is is in line with who you are. In line with who you are and sometimes in line with who you aspire to be. Reginald Ferguson [01:04:18]: Mic drop. Gil Vasquez [01:04:19]: Mic drop. Reginald Ferguson [01:04:20]: On. That was dope. Gil, I've said it numerous times, but it's always gonna be worth repeating for me. I really wanna thank you for having me for for me personally in this hallowed room and space. Gil Vasquez [01:04:34]: Thank you, man. It's a it is a pleasure for me to, share, Keith, with the world. It's it's technically my job. Yeah. But it is, something that I love to do because of how much that man gave me. Like how much he he how much wisdom he imparted, I'll never be able to repay him. Like never. So as long as I get to do this, it is it is going towards that. Gil Vasquez [01:05:04]: It is it is helping to sort of repay the debt. But he he, you know, he just he he changed my life for the better and and I I will spend the rest of my life trying to repay that debt. Reginald Ferguson [01:05:18]: Well, as a kid in the eighties, he impacted my life. And to bring this, you know, to my full circle, I just really wanna thank you. Gil Vasquez [01:05:27]: Thank you, man. Thank you. It's really Bro, you're ready. Appreciate it. My brother. Reginald Ferguson [01:05:38]: So you learn from Gil the influence that Reginald Ferguson [01:05:40]: New York and hip hop had on Keith Haring and how he in turn influenced hip hop. That's something to think about when you're rocking his gear and accessories. You can find Gil Vasquez on Instagram under his name. Or for those who love hip hop, gpo the pro. You can find the Keith Haring Foundation on Instagram as well. If you wanna level up your Keith Haring gear game, then let's make it happen. Take initiative and become fashion confident in 30 days. All you have to do is email me at reg@nyfashiongeek.com Gil Vasquez [01:06:14]: or press a button. Reginald Ferguson [01:06:19]: Well, that's a wrap. To my team of interns, past and present, who have helped make the fashion geek podcast what it is today, Reginald Ferguson [01:06:27]: I thank you. Always be fly.