With people forced to remain indoors due to the coronavirus crisis, James Whitner, owner of several renowned boutiques including Social Status, has brought his community-focused beSOCIAL programming online. And the latest installment of its “Free Game” education series is geared toward helping people get their start in the industry.
The event, which will take place tonight at 7 p.m. ET and be hosted on Zoom, is geared toward helping young creatives get ahead by learning from the experiences of Whitner and the panel he curated. There will be a live Q&A with the panel and login info has been shared via Instagram on handles of all of the storeowner’s banners: A Ma Maniere, Social Status, APB and Prosper.
“All of us have more time than ever to get going. Once this is all over everyone will wish they done more or asked themselves how did they get better,” Whitner said. “My goal is to help them start a new idea or take the next step on something they have and have been sitting on.”
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The guests Whitner recruited include Sneaker Politics owner Derek Curry, Concepts creative director Deon Point, The Foundation co-founders Dre Hayes and Ari Langsdorf, Oneness owner Joe Staley and designer and collaborator Frank Cooke.
“I have access to a large network of people that the attendees of ‘Free Game’ wouldn’t have access to. All of the guys I picked had to self start, they weren’t backed by any large fund, they had to bootstrap their business and figure it out,” Whitner said. “It’s important for this group to share their story with our community.”
Although the conference with Q&A will be on Zoom, Whitner’s banners will stream the event via Instagram Live on their respective handles.
