We’re all getting to the point where we’re losing interest in the initial things we were doing amid quarantine. We need a COVID check-in.
What can we say? We’re an easily bored bunch, most millennials and Gen Z are. So, of course, we asked our community what they’ve been doing during COVID lockdowns. Their answers were pretty varied and we love it.
Streaming our fave shows
The obvious answer that most would point to first is binge-watching. As the generations who created the phenomena, we’re no stranger to sitting through several episodes a day of our latest obsession.
Maybe you’re even like me and have several shows in the running at any given time. The complex drama, the light-hearted show, the guilty pleasure, it’s all about balance.
Altered Carbon on Netflix has been a favorite. With two seasons now available to stream, if you like sci-fi and complex narratives and good acting this is your show. It’s like Blade Runner 2049 visuals combined with some Matrix nostalgia and Black Mirror tech.
Narcosboth the original and Narcos Mexico have plenty of seasons for you to catch up on. Personally, I prefer Narcos Mexico. It’s shorter and you don’t really need the original to understand what’s going on. It may be a good gateway to starting the longer standing original too.
On My Block is the perfect dramedy. With four seasons to catch up on, there’s both humor and real-life consequences of a group of young teens growing up in a rough fictional neighborhood on the west coast.
The cast’s acting chops are recognized more every new season. So, if you wanna laugh AND cry this is the show for you.
A member of the KH fam pointed out that we have more time to peep new shows movies, and series. With this time in quarantine, we can give shows more of a chance.
Movie Marathons
So, we all love a marathon. While Harry Potter may be the most obvious and most nostalgic one for many, there are way more marathons out there. Finally, some of us have gotten to watch the Marvel movies.
Others are discovering Studio Ghibli. Still, more may be rewatching Wes Anderson films. The Star Wars saga, or even the Twilight Saga.
Go back in time and stream some of your fave childhood films. C’mon who doesn’t love a throwback episode of Spongebob?
YouTube Wormholes and Tutorials
It’s finally that time to actually pick up that skill you’ve been wanting to learn. With YouTube tutorials at your fingertips, why wouldn’t you wanna get better at photo editing for IG or play guitar?
Or perhaps you want to be inspired. Now’s the time to look into sustainable living practices, financial advice, and just learning more about other communities around the world.
Other unnecessary YouTube playlists are available too. Like home makeovers, top 10 lists, how to make your cat love you or stuff getting crushed in slow motion. It could be cathartic.
You could also take some time to get into guided meditation. More spiritual practices. Or just end up in a stream of YouTube videos about giraffes for no real reason.
You can also peep the KH channel. We have mad content on there.
Reading
Those of us who used to love reading in the past, or always wanted to get into it, now, have an opportunity to actually do it.
So if you’ve been accumulating books over time and never actually got to cracking them open. Now’s your chance.
The closest you can be to as many people at once is through social media.
You’re never really alone there. Even if you never really were into any given platform, now is your chance to get skilled at them all.
Get your Twitter game up, learn all about TikTok or just scroll through IG for inspo. The world is at your fingertips. Join our Discord server and gain a whole new community.
Don’t forget. The KH fam is always active on all platforms and ready to connect.
Billie Eilish has stepped into the limelight in recent years and grown rapidly in terms of fame and wisdom.
She became a known artist quite young and a hugely successful artist shortly after. Her music has often been described as depressing and at other times inspiring.
She’s also been known for “hiding” her body from the outside world, opting for oversized clothing and less revealing fits with ample drip. If only Billie Ellish would reveal her vegan diet…
Recently, she decided to remove some of those layers at the head of her tour in Miami. It was there where she expressed the unfortunate and frustrating scrutiny on her body as a young woman.
The message was lost among the several cheering fans who seemed to focus only on the unzipping of her hoodie and removal of her shirt.
This message of deep introspection and retrospection of Billie’s fame and notoriety is not the first. Billie has often spoken on issues that matter, offered advice to her fans and fellow creatives and stood up to the injustices she’s seen in the industry.
So at KH, we’ve compiled footage from some of her deepest moments on cam, where Billie inspired us to keep it moving.
Billie Eilish on mental health
Billie emphasizes maintaining happiness as not only a goal but a priority.
On the other side, Billie is open about having struggled with depression. She stands up to the notion that young people cannot be depressed.
Eilish states that whatever you think of her, the idea that anyone could accuse a young person of ‘faking their depression’ is disrespectful. Especially to all the young people who struggle with it every day.
She shows us that depression has no age.
On negativity
She also acknowledges that one cannot have the good without the bad in any life path. Success is not without its cons and every career has positives and negatives. It’s in recognizing this that we can move forward.
Billie has often received negativity. Haters often comment on her youth, mental health, body or her talent.
She makes it clear that while trolls and negativity are hurtful, criticism can be enlightening. And finding humor in the hate might be more productive.
And on communication
The important part is to communicate with one another about how we want to be treated. Because if you don’t ask to be treated better, the answer is always no.
But of course, Billie also emphasizes that pleasing others is not the goal. There will always be criticism. But if you like what you’re doing you can guarantee that at least one person is pleased with your work.
She also helps us realize that success is not always based on who you really are but rather how others perceive you. So defining your own success is likely better than any of that.
Billie Eilish doesn’t just share her talent and entertaining personality with us. She shares her wisdom, and thoughtful lessons she’s learned as she’s grown up in the expansive and limiting world of fame.
Finding a partner had already become different with the introduction of dating apps and the internet.
There are so many more ways to meet people and connect, you’re no longer limited by your own social circles. But here’s the thing, while many relationships can begin online, in order to make them last you need to feel that chemistry in person.
There’s only so much quarantine and chill vibes one can take.
Horny? You’re your safest sex partner
The NYC Health Department is definitely not playing around. In fact, they released a whole memo with sex guidelines of which one of their main points is just don’t have it.
The memo is way more specific than that though. First and foremost it’s asking you to masturbate. Then it moves on to say that your long term partner that lives with you is the second safest bet.
So, if you’re single or dating around you’re pretty much told to keep it to yourself as much as possible. The wilder part of the COVID memo is the recommendation to avoid eating ass.
Dating doesn’t have to stop
So what’s a single person to do? Well, you don’t have to just close yourself off from the world.
Virtual dating is now your only completely safe solution at least physically.
Anyone coming up with a social distancing dating app where it's understood there will be no physical contact? Call it OK Covid.
Now we’re not recommending a Love Is Blind type deal. You can still see your love interests. Just do it through a digital device.
There’s plenty of plugins to keep things interesting. If you both play games, you can go online and play together. Nearly every new game has an online option.
If you wanna quarantine and chill, try Netflix Party to stream a film with your date. You can try cooking a meal over video chat together. Cyphs over Skype can be dope too.
We get it, sometimes you can’t tell what the vibes are like if you’re not there in person. If you do decide to meet it’s probably best you avoid physical contact.
Take a walk outside together, have a picnic, just don’t share any food or touch.
We already live so much of our lives digitally. For many of us, this adjustment is not far fetched. It just requires you to focus more on the mental and emotional connection you have with love interests and less on “physical activities.”
As struggle times dictate, you need to cut some spending. You, of course, you cannot reduce your rent or basic utilities like phone bills and internet bills. So, what usually happens — you watch your food spending. Enter struggle meals.
A lot of us are familiar with the struggle of low funds, especially if you grew up in a low-income household.
So as COVID-19 restricts our access to income, our first response is panic but for many of us our second is “here we go again.”
So as Jabookie’s tweet asked, we compiled a list of struggle meals you can incorporate into your meal plan today.
The responses to the tweet included several wacky versions of Mac n Cheese, PB&J, and Hot dogs. Something called Hot Dog Octopus with spaghetti/macaroni is pretty jarring but to be honest, it might actually slap.
But most of the responses were overwhelmingly coming from POC and “ethnic” households.
Carbs
The basics for these cuisines are usually some kind of carb. Whether it’s rice in many African and Asian communities or arepas and tortillas in Latino communities or Na’an in Brown communities.
Lots of our foods have a basis in a good old carb.
cheese rice. pasta with butter and red pepper flakes. egg rice. beans and rice.
And sometimes when you don’t have a lot of bread, all you need is some.
For us it's oil and bread. Literally just olive oil with salt and pepper, and baguette style bread. You can use plain white or wheat bread, but it's not as good.
Dumpling soup! Any veggies you have + salt and garlic/onion powder, a Maggi cube if you’re lucky enough to have one, flour water butter/lard for the dumplings. And flour to thicken the broth. Feels very WW1 when eating it, but you won’t starve lmao
The name of the game when it comes to making tasty meals is when faced with fewer ingredients add some spices. But then there are the struggling struggle meals.
Minimal ingredients, minimal effort.
You can get real crazy and throw it in the microwave w/ a little butter
— Vic-Triol (Naturally Vaxed) (@Vic_Triol) March 18, 2020
As creatives, many of us are freelancers that rely on independent sources of income.
With the COVID crisis and limitations put in place because of it, creatives may be in big financial trouble along with dealing with the potential health risk.
Still, although we’ve all been affected by the Coronavirus pandemic our creative resources are here to help. So we did some research on what resources creatives have available to them.
Currently, one of the best lists for resources is Creative Capital’s List of Arts Resources. Creative Capital is an organization that supports innovative and adventurous artists across the country through funding, counsel, gatherings, and career development services.
Their response to the epidemic has kept safety in mind by continuing online workshops but also by compiling a list of resources for artists and creatives affected by the reality of the epidemic.
One of these top resources is CERF+. The Craft Emergency Relief Fund names itself the “artists safety net.” So, it’s only proper that it be available during COVID.
According to their website, CERF+ emergency assistance includes grants and/or brokered assistance, such as booth fee waivers and discounts or donations on supplies and equipment.
Another good resource was put together recently. COVID-19 & Freelance Artists offers a list of free resources for creatives who may be affected by the pandemic. From crowdfunding by state to country, resources for teaching and learning to actual emergency funding, there are hundreds of links.
There are also virtual events, including upcoming tax and finance workshops and emergency funding workshops.
The site also has a page dedicated to Interrupting Racism & Bias. The page details ways you can fight Racism and Bias with dialogue and action.
If you’re based in the New York area, another good resource is NYFA. The New York Foundation for the Arts offers emergency grants to affected creatives. The funding is available to multiple disciplines including Multidisciplinary & Project-Based, Literature, Media Arts, Music, Performing Arts, Visual Arts.
Many of these applications for grants are completed via online form or email. So apply ASAP to get your chance.
Funding from the Musicians Foundation is specific to musical artists of any genre. To qualify you must be a musician “in a time of acute need, due to personal, medical, dental, or family crisis, natural disaster, or other emergency situation.”
If your taxes can show that you’ve been a musician for at least five years then you might be eligible. For more information and to apply, visit the foundation’s website.
We live in an era where the conversation about female rappers has shifted. Many of us have had the realization that it’s unfair and limiting to pit female rappers against each other just because they are women.
We’ve understood that we don’t need to have just one big female rapper, there’s plenty of room for more. The Rap Sisterhood is growing strong.
So when Cardi B, one of the biggest Rappers on the planet period, shows support to fellow up-and-coming female hip hop artists and rappers, we take notice and we applaud it.
So here’s a list of female rappers Cardi B has shown love to.
You’ve probably heard her voice as the soundtrack to hundreds of appreciation video compilations for celebs. That song was “Beef FloMix” that she released in 2018.
Born Tamia Carter, the 20-year-old is from Mobile, Alabama. Flo Milli started as a member of the rap group ‘Real & Beautiful’ later known as ‘Pink Mafia.’ She dropped her first solo track “No Hook” at 16.
Her SoundCloud tracks “She Loves Me Not” and “White Girl Mia” have amassed over 200k streams each.
She has over 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify and over 12.3k followers on SoundCloud. Her style and talent have attracted the support of fellow rappers like Rico Nasty and Cardi B.
“In The Party” released in October 2019 has amassed 4.55 Million streams on Soundcloud and over 10 Million views on YouTube. Her latest release “My Attitude” is steadily climbing similar stats.
Rapsody
HarlemiteRapsody has made a name for herself. She has ascended to work with industry legends and giants like GZA, Kendrick Lamar, Busta Rhymes, Erykah Badu, and Mac Miller.
The Grammy-nominated emcee had been working hard on breaking through with her critically acclaimed album Laila’s Wisdom when Cardi B’s Bodak Yellow hit the scene.
“You had Cardi reaching No. 1 — that was a moment that should be celebrated. I also have this album that’s critically acclaimed and people love it. We can celebrate these two together at the same time, for totally different reasons,” she told NPR, “It happens with men all the time.”
Since then City Girls, Yung Miami (born Caresha Romeka Brownlee) and JT (born Jatavia Shakara Johnson) have met and worked with Cardi B on “Twerk” released on their studio album Girl Code. They also did vocals on Drake’s “In My Feelings.”
After jail time controversy, the duo has also worked with Moneybagg Yo, Quavo and Megan Thee Stallion. Their mixtape Period remains a fan favorite.
The duo’s success is built on friendship and female empowerment, it’s great to see that vibe across female rap.
Houston based KenTheMan has been on the scene since at least 2016. Her older SoundCloud work is filled with freestyles over known hits like Drake’s “Jumpman” and Kanye’s “New Slaves.”
But Ken’s original tracks are where it’s at. “Deserve” has 592k streams on SoundCloud and “You ain’t special” has 159k views on YouTube.
The artist well aware of the past when it comes to female rappers, telling 97.9 The Box,
“It made it a little easier right and once Cardi B came, it looked possible for a female to come out. It looked impossible for a minute because there was only Nicki.”
It’s important to note that while many female rappers have pointed to Lil Kim as the mother of modern female rap the support often stops there.
Cardi B took that support even further. She promoted Lil Kim’s contemporary music, as a current and contemporary fellow recording artist rather than a long-gone industry legend.
During these trying times, we can feel pretty scrambled to find a way to deal with the epidemic upon us.
So we asked our community how they keep faith and inspiration alive and what they would like to accomplish during this time of self-quarantine. These were our COVID coping answers.
Community
While many in our community and certainly others are freaking out about COVID and our collectively changed reality, there are those of us who seek to provide support and comfort. It’s sort of a human reaction to shared negative trauma or experience, to come together. Except maybe don’t physically do that in this instance.
Leaders often rise among us during times like these and encourage us to find strength in supporting each other. This support can, of course, be financial for those of us who can afford it, or political organizing (signing petitions and calling representatives to protect the most vulnerable among us) or emotional like staying connected to loved ones.
When it comes to our creative community, reaching out to freelancers looking for work like this twitter thread can help them keep afloat.
Are you an editor at a magazine/publication looking for articles/essays *not* related to COVID-19? Drop your @ in the replies so freelancers can find opportunities beyond pandemic coverage.
It’s important to stay on top of corona info, but we can care about many things at once!
We don’t know how long this will last but we can make sure we know we’re all here for each other while it does.
Gratitude
Some of us might be the worrying type, the kind who gets overwhelmed by situations like this, which granted can really be difficult. But for those people and others, in general, it’s important to take stock of the positives.
There’s something to be said about seeing the bright side of situations. Now, this does not mean seeing the selfish positives at the expense of others. I’m looking at you $19.99 flight taker to Puerto Rico.
What I do mean is consider your health. If you’re young, chances are you’ll survive this. If you have no underlying or previous health concerns you’re less likely to be affected at a dangerous level. So take a moment to be grateful for that, be grateful for your loved ones. Be grateful for those who have been able to stay away from harm.
Take a moment to be grateful for your financial situation. Like, if your job still pays you or whether you can work from home or not. Be grateful that you don’t need to be at risk of exposure because your employment doesn’t require you to interact with others.
Remember that there will be life after this. As Bojack Horseman famously said, “Life’s a bitch, and then you keep on living.”
Productivity
Living will be different at this time there’s no doubt about it. But as creatives, we tend to work no matter what. Productivity will be difficult but still very possible. Adjustments might include working from home or not working at all. So make sure you plan some productive activities. Learn a new technical skill, or get better at one.
This is a good time to take up coding, or editing, or personal branding. With Skillshare (we got a free trial for you), you can get good at various skills. So fill your days with your own curated online classes on us.
Self-Care
Many of us are ALWAYS grinding, which is why you see so much emphasis on self-care here at Kulture Hub. If we continue our gratitude practice into self-care we know that this can be the optimal time to practice. Self-care can be in-home workouts, at-home spa days, relaxation time.
Self-Care can mean finally watching that tv show you never had time for. Making your own meals is self-care. Spending time with pets is self-care. Rolling up can be self-care.
Self-care is also cleaning up your IG and Twitter feeds. It’s important to get urgent info about the epidemic but don’t make it your entire online consumption. Like always, choose who and what you follow based on their positive effects. Keep hope alive, and don’t let scare tactics defeat your creativity and mental health.
And those of us who are serotonin deficient, if really needed, practice social distancing while taking a walk in the sun. Always take the necessary precautions detailed by the CDC of course.
Recent posts continue to push the limits by adding wheels from different items. This design incorporates a remote control racing car with coca-cola branded slides.
Some of his work is for the sake of just trolling. Which honestly can be the most engaging. You need a sense of humor with creativity. He’s even got relevant kicks for the epidemic era.
The rest of the account shows Odessa’s photoshop skills. With nostalgic nods to iconic media like Spy Kids and appreciation for spidey skills, the account is equal parts weird, cool and creative.
Odessa also manages the CreatingOdessa account well by engaging with followers. Several posts encourage followers to select names or titles for the pieces, making it a collective creation in a small way.
Pushing the lengths to which art and fashion go with nostalgia and originality at its center, Odessa’s designs are worth the hype and honestly some of his designs are worth copping.
He gives let’s get this bread a different meaning altogether.
You’ve wanted a tattoo forever and you’re finally ready to make the jump to get one. But you don’t know how to go about it. Well, we got you.
It can be tough to settle into some ink. So settle into this guide for the tattoo virgin.
Research
Like any big commitment, you should do your research. And guess what, just by reading through this you already are.
Consider everything we discuss here, and add in some other self-insights. Do you have a low pain tolerance? Are you getting it as a response to a large life event? Do you have enough saved up for a professionally done tattoo?
Choose your design
Contrary to popular belief, not every tattoo needs to mean something. If you do have a meaningful design in mind go for it. But what is universal is that certain designs just last longer.
If you’re paying for something permanent you want it to look good, not just today but 10 years from now. So the main recommendation is that the simpler the better and the larger the better.
The main rule of thumb is that you want your tattoo design to be easily understood and recognizable. Most people don’t like it when others have to squint and guess what the tattoo is.
You’ve probably seen those stereotypical tattoos, they’re usually called “traditional tattoos.” Traditional tattoos make for good long-lasting designs. They’re bold, they’re large and they’re less likely to shrink into obscurity over time.
While there are more styles to choose from, of course, make sure to do your homework. Smaller or daintier designs are all the rage and may seem like an easier commitment. However, because they’re small they might blur more easily if they’re not done by an expert.
A thin tattoo can also get blurred easily based on your placement, which we’ll get to next.
Choose your placement
When it comes to where you get your tattoo on your body it usually boils down to two things: pain and longevity. Let’s consider the latter first.
If you’re paying hundreds of dollars for a tattoo you want it to last for a long time. So, the best places to get a tattoo are spots on your body that will see less sun and less overall friction. This means those cute little hand tattoos are far more likely to blur into something unrecognizable.
Hands also pose a second issue: pain. Along with being more visible to sunlight and (hopefully) being washed very often, hands are also one of the more sensitive parts of your body.
Other sensitive areas include the inner sides of your elbows, your face, around and on the nipple area, your sternum, genitals, and feet.
The general idea is that the less fat in the area the more painful a tattoo is. This can also explain why women are more likely to handle tattoo pain than men.
Overall though your individual pain threshold can only be measured by you. So you might find the pain more bearable than you thought. I sure did.
Something else you might want to consider with placement is whether you envision yourself getting more tattoos. If you do you might want to save larger areas like your back for larger pieces in the future.
And of course, depending on the style you choose you might not want to disrupt the chance at a lovely vined roses sleeve with a cartoon character on your arm.
Or maybe you do, I don’t know your life.
Consult with an artist
All of this said, always consult an artist. It’s important to choose your artist carefully. You want to make sure that not only they can do the style of tattoo that you’re asking for but also that you vibe with them well.
You don’t want to feel shy about asking them important things like changing the size of the tattoo or editing the shape. You want to feel comfortable enough to trust them by placing art on your body.
Most artists are skilled in creating that atmosphere of trust but also tattoo artists aren’t mind-readers. So, discuss your desires clearly with them, they just want to help you fulfill your vision.
Book your Appointment
So you know what you want and you wanna get it done. If you’ve chosen your artist well then your next step is to schedule an appointment.
This is also the time to discuss compensation. Make sure you can afford the art. And don’t scoff at the artists’ prices. There’s a reason they’re high or low. You should always take quality over price any day.
Many artists are open to booking through DM on IG, but many are not. So if they explicitly ask that you don’t DM them for appointments, DON’T DO IT. Email and other contact info will be provided for you to make your appointment.
You could also get a tattoo during a flash sale from an artist you like if you really want something done by them. The only thing to remember with this is that flash sales are for a limited time and they’re also limited to the designs the artist has already created.
So make sure you pick the one you want before anyone else or have a backup design on the sheet you also like just in case.
Whatever you end up doing, just remember, only you decide what goes on your body. Tattoo artists know that and will do their best to help you with your tattoo journey.
Recently, I had a chance to meet with Sam Asfahani, the founder and CEO of OS. As the only gaming center of its kind in the area, it’s activating the NYC gaming scene.
We bonded over Civilization VI and played a few rounds of Super Smash Bros cementing the power of connection through gaming.
I asked Asfahani how he got to this point, creating a space open to gamers and creatives alike.
Before gaming took center stage for Sam, he was a college athlete, and after graduating he continued to work at his university and stayed connected to sports in that way.
Working in sports after graduation was his dream.
“But the one thing that really gave me an itch for it was that I wanted to do it top level. I wanted to work in the industry.”
And his wish came true, after a few years of working he landed an entry-level opportunity at the NBA and stayed there for almost eight years.
There he spent most of his years working in the growing field of esports.
“I developed through the ranks, from marketing to merchandizing into managing our gaming partners. So, I tested our esports pilots across Europe and at that time we saw a lot of investments coming from NBA owners into the industry.”
The NBA 2K League
This led Adam Silver and the leadership team at the NBA to create a task force in esports.
Sam Asfahani was tapped to move from London to New York head office in order to build the NBA’s strategy for esports.
He ended up designing the NBA 2K League with his team and spent the first year operationalizing and launching it.
“I was their head of content and the executive producer on the first season for it, which was really good fun. And 2K is one of my favorite games and communites.”
While trying to grow the NBA 2K community in NYC, Sam saw a void in community gaming. There were very few places for gamers to congregate despite the huge amount of potential.
“It’s the biggest market in America, and there’s nothing for the community. Nowhere can you congregate. Nowhere can you create great content together. Nowhere can you game together properly.”
OS is born
After realizing this, Sam Asfahani found others that felt that there was an opportunity to positively affect the NYC gaming community.
Those people became his partners and they set out to launch OS, a home for gamers, content creators and the NYC community in general.
As a new pillar in the community Asfahani emphasized the need for inclusivity when opening up the space. Even though as a marketing expert, Asfahani saw the opportunity to generate a successful business, he also saw the importance of keeping the space accessible.
“Everyone knows that a great marketing campaign starts from the grassroots up. You build a community, and then it grows… Then you monetize at some point with different methods. But that wasn’t the vision for this place.
Sam continued,
“We wanted this place to be somewhere people feel safe, people feel accepted. It’s open to everyone and anyone.”
@Vargas.Visuals
Sam grew up as an inner-city kid in London, so he didn’t want to price out the kid around the corner from Confucius plaza.
Instead, he wanted that kid and eventually every kid in every major inner city to be able to afford hanging out at a place like OS a few times a week.
To make this happen, Sam Asfahani sought out partners and sponsors that supported this vision. Brands also activate at OS for events allowing for both monetization and affordability for the community.
“Our partners are people that allow us to keep it very affordable for everyday people […] You price them out, you’re cutting off a social circle for them. And our partners understand that and that’s why they support us and if it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t be able to do it.”
OS hosts an LGBTQ+ networking event once every month run by one of their staff members who wanted to give a home to the queer community in gaming.
The event is not just for socializing and playing together but also to allow members to discuss how to get into gaming for work, how to connect with other members in the industry.
Several women’s gaming events and gatherings also take place at OS.
Sam told me about a gathering that is run by successful female Twitch partners in the industry where they discuss gaming industry careers and how to support one another in that field.
OS hosts it’s own women in gaming night with the mission to foster a safe space for female gamers.
“We do it for women who just wanna talk gaming and be amongst like-minded people in a safe environment.”
Black Gamers
For Black History Month the OS venue manager couldn’t have been happier to shine a light on Black developers who released an indie game to huge success.
The event, sponsored by Playcrafting, was put on to highlight Decoy Games and their founders Khalil and Ahmed Abdullah.
“The thing that I love is that it’s all driven by our staff. I don’t want you to work here if you’re not passionate about it. And our venue manager was very passionate about it and he did the whole thing so we support him.”
He highlighted a community member that draws out a minimum of 64 people every Wednesday to play Smash Melee a game on the Nintendo Wii.
“Smash melee is ridiculous, right? It’s on the Nintendo Wii and it’s still going as a game, like people still play it. It’s insane the longevity of that game.[…] But he came to us and said ‘no one does anything for smash melee but people still play this all the time.’ So, every Wednesday night now he does it here.”
@vargas.visuals
All these events and gatherings are possible because of the space the OS has created. With nearly 50 PCs, 10 switches, 10 PlayStations and 10 Xboxes they’re able to run larger-scale tournaments.
“Pretty much every week there’s a tournament happening here, and that’s normally run by people in our community.”
Supporting Content Creators
The equipment also allows for creatives to do what they love.
With a streaming booth and webcams on every PC as well as an ElGato streaming deck, you can go live very easily from every single PC. The consoles are also connected to a broadcast studio on-site.
@Vargas.Visuals
OS is looking to the future of digital gaming in terms of content creation.
Asfahani shared that OS would like to support the content creation community by helping highlight them on their own platform as well as providing them a space to work.
“The future for us is as a content network. This means that if you’re here and you do something amazing, we’re gonna tell the world about you.”
OS is currently a physical venue but will soon connect with the digital world in a powerful way.
With the equipment and the vision for activating and connecting the gaming and creative community, OS stays true to Sam Asfahani’s philosophy on sports, esports, and gaming.
“The reason I love sports is the same reason I love gaming and that’s because it’s a great equalizer.”
This is particularly important to Sam because of what it meant and means to him as an inner-city kid of immigrant and working-class parents who went to an affluent university.
“My teammates were mostly white upper-middle-class English. But when you’re on a pitch you’re together and sports is an equalizer. Gaming is the same thing.”
@Vargas.Visuals
To keep this worldview alive, Sam emphasizes the responsibility that companies like the NBA take up.
“The NBA as a league believes it has a responsibility for social good for bringing people together. I was really proud of that mantra. And gaming has that same responsibility.”
OS is adamant about making sure that the space is available for various types of gatherings. Whether it’s getting a drink with some colleagues after work and playing some Smash or spending your weekend training to become pro.
“We have people that come in and they’re tryna become pro. So they just put their headset on and they just grind for six hours and that’s cool too. It’s designed to be multi-purpose but it’s designed to have the community at heart.”
In the end, the goal is to strengthen and grow the gaming community by allowing in-person interaction as well as online networking.
Asfahani emphasized that “It’s never real until you give someone a handshake.” The power of real-life connections will always be important.
Our own meeting marked this.
“It doesn’t matter your gender, your ethnicity or your background. We can vibe because we both love civilization VI and we both probably have completely different upbringings and backgrounds which is fine and civilization VI connects us straight away.”
OS will undoubtedly continue to be and grow as a hub for the gaming community, the creative community and the NYC community as a whole.
Contrary to popular belief, not every tattoo needs to mean something. If you do have a meaningful design in mind go for it. But what is universal is that certain designs just last longer.
When it comes to where you get your tattoo on your body it usually boils down to two things: pain and longevity. Let’s consider the latter first.
