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Blog, Fashion, Photography

Departure

November 23, 2017

DEPARTURE from Keanu Kees on Vimeo

Departure

I’m excited to share this project! Departure is an editorial project centered around the creative male that strives to break away from the norm and lives to create and inspire. Departure aims to capture Seattle urban street wear through the lens of its male influencers. Departure will showcase five Seattle-based creative male influencers and how they aim to break away from the norm and stand out in this overly-saturated creative community in Seattle that is often female-dominated, especially in the world of blogging, modeling, podcasting and photography.

Art Direction: Allison Wagner Photography: Kamrin Olavarria Styling: @Doug_taa

Models: @antoniocdsmith @AnthonyUJR @Doug_taa @Andrewhoge @Nelson_yong

Blog, Food

Henry’s Tavern X Seattle Gents

November 7, 2017

Seattle Gents // Henry’s Tavern from Keanu Kees on Vimeo.

Henry’s Tavern X Seattle Gents

The Seattle Gents ( @SeattleGents ) met up for an excellent happy hour experience at Henry’s Tavern Bellevue. It was good night to catch up with new and old faces. Chef Sean Borst, personally came out to serve us street tacos, gourmet sandwiches and waffle fries with gorgonzolas sauces and more. Woo! Needless to say, it was good night to kick back with the fellas.

Bulk of images taking by Soul breathing Photography

REVIEW

BOSCA STRINGER BAG

September 5, 2017

BOSCA STRINGER BAG

Presenting the String bag from Bosca. I was asked me to try out there Stringer Bag from Bosca, and it passed with flying colors. To be honest I’ve never used a leather brief before so I was excited to try out a new opportunity.

Bosca is a fine Italian leather company that produces both men’s and women’s leather bags, wallets and totes, among other products. It is a 100-year-old, family-owned brand that prides itself on its passion to craftsmanship and quality.

What I like about the Stringer Bag is all pockets available for organization. I also enjoyed the quality of the leather which gets better with age. You can really tell the amount of craftsmanship that is put into each bag when you pick it up.

Blog, Entertainment

New Day Northwest: Hot Topics

August 31, 2017

New Day Northwest:Hot topics

The Seattle Gents and I were brought on King 5 to discuss current hot topics. Some of the topics were pretty funny. You might get a good laugh out of this one. I sure had a fun time being on the show!

Blog, Travel

Camp Rahh 2017

July 27, 2017

Camp Rahh 2017

Hey all, have you heard about Camp Rahh? Camp Rahh, is Seattle’s first all-inclusive and tech free summer camp for adults, starting August 24th-27th, in Port Orchard, WA. The camp is set on a picturesque lake with every nostalgic camp amenity imaginable. Camp Rahh creates a new standard for the ultimate getaway, especially for people working in the booming creative and tech industries that have become synonymous with Seattle.

DETAILS
Chef Brian O’Connor of the critically acclaimed Bok a Bok Chicken, and one of the original minds behind the Seattle staple, Skillet, returns to Camp Rahh for his third year. This year’s lineup of five musicians from the Pacific Northwest features alternative R&B singer songwriter, Shy Girls, headlining the camp’s live performance. Other artists encompass Naomi Wachira, Saint Claire, Otieno Terry and ParisAlexa. The music culminates on the final night, in a silent disco that features three additional DJ’s, mixing live, under the night sky.

Tickets for the four-day Camp Rahh experience are available online for $550.00, but if you use my promo code “thanksantionio” you’ll get $50 off your ticket. Ticket prices including round-trip travel from Seattle, four days of gourmet meals and snacks, cabin lodging, concerts, camp activities, t-shirt, and amazing memories!

How to get your discount.
Step 1: Go to Camprahh.com/register
Step 2: Select, “Enter a Password or Discount Code”
Step 3: Enter Code thanksantonio
Step 4: Select, “Show Available Tickets”
Step 5: Select Quantity and push, “Add to Cart”

Follow them on IG: @camprahh

Blog, REVIEW, Travel

Trumbull & Porter Hotel Detroit

June 29, 2017
Trumbull & Porter hotel

Trumbull & Porter

Trumbull & Porter

Trumbull & Porter

Trumbull & Porter detroit

Trumbull & Porter

TRUMBULL & PORTER HOTEL DETROIT

Let me start the blog by saying you must visit or stay at this hotel when in Detroit. Even though Detroit is where most of my family lives, I like to stay in hotels because it gives me a fresh perspective on how the city has grown. If you walk through the hallways Trumbull and Porter hotel, you can feel the positive youthful energy that’s happening in Detroit. The craftsmanship it took to produce such an aesthetically pleasing hotel is very evident when you notice their comfortable beds, color theme and common areas. One favorite of my things about this hotel is nearly all the work and supplies for the $9 million dollar project was sourced in Detroit.

This hotel is located in Corktown, which is in walking distance to restaurants and coffee shops. This hotel has been open since 2016 but they have made some of the final touches this year by completing a brand new outdoor stage for performers and opening the restaurant Red Dunn Kitchen. As an adding bonus Trumbull and Porter features a bike package where you can rent bikes from Detroit Bike to see the city. I plan on trying this the next time I visit.

Blog, Entertainment, Food, Life, Travel

Baseball in Japan with Ambassadors Japan

May 25, 2017
Ambassadors japan

Baseball in Japan

Hanshin Tigers
Hanshin Tigers
Ambassadors Japan

Cultural differences: Japanese baseball versus American baseball

(Yakult Swallows vs Hanshin Tigers )

Ah! Ambassadors Japan took me to see my first Japanese Baseball League game. I’ve been waiting to witness a professional Japanese Baseball League game since I collected baseball cards. Not only was I absolutely overwhelmed to enjoy Japan’s #1 sport but also I was excited about doing something somewhat rare for foreigners. In some ways, my pictures don’t give the match much justice but I’ll try to describe the game the best I can.

Let’s talk some cultural differences you might find during a Japanese baseball game versus an American baseball game. Most stadiums in the U.S. offer food staples like hot dogs, popcorn, fries or wings. At Japanese games you’ll find foods like takoyaki, udon soup, hot dogs or delicious katsu curry. Oh, did I mention there is a professional cheering section keeping the energy up during the game? The enthusiasm of this section is off the charts. If I had to compare it to anything I’d say the energy is something close to a U.S. college football or an English premier soccer match. Each cheer squad is constantly blowing trumpets, clapping cheer bats and banging on drums to support their team. Not only does each team have its own song, but also each player has his own chant. Woo, that’s a lot of singing! In the end, the Tigers won 7-1.

If you’d like more information about Japanese culture please visit Ambassadors Japan

Food, Travel

Quick stop for pancakes in Harajuku

May 3, 2017

Quick Stop For Pancakes in Harajuku 

Today I made a quick stop at Sunny Store & Cafe in harajuku for some of their fluffy pancakes. Pancakes have been really trendy over recently years in Tokyo. Culturally in Japan pancakes are consumed more like a dessert than breakfast. Sunny store & cafe’s menu is pretty simple; pancakes with strawberries, French toast with ice cream, Marshmallow lattes and bubble shakes. All choices will satisfy your sweet tooth.  

Blog, Review

Jord watch contest

March 15, 2017

Jord watch contest

So I’ve got a new contest featuring, Jord wood watch! Before I give you the details on the contest, let me tell you about my experience with the Dover series: Olive & Acacia watch. I’ve found the watch to be high quality, unique and make an interesting conversation piece. Before being shipped, each watch is sized specially to fit your wrist. After ordering, Jord will send you a printable ruler to measure your wrist, so you know it will be the appropriate size fresh out of the box. Another feature I really enjoy about this self-winding watch is it requires no battery. The natural motion of the wearer’s arm to provides energy to run the watch, providing energy to make it run. Here are links to Jord’s Men and Women’s shop. These watches are the prefect accessory for the spring/summer season.

All you have to do to enter the contest is fill out the Jord giveaway entry form here and you’re entered. The winner will be chosen 04/09/2017 to receive a sweet $100 off gift code toward one of their fantastic watches. Don’t worry if you don’t win because everyone else will receive a consolation gift code of $25 just for entering. Remember the contest ends at April 9th at 11:59pm so if you’d like to win, enter ASAP. Happy winning!