La Shell 4ever

I lost my way. I started thinking quantity over quality. I wanted to open a shop. I wanted to fill it with basic tees because they were cheaper to make, and I just wanted niggas to have options when they dropped in. Problem is.. I’m not a basic nigga. My mind isn’t basic. And my gear should always reflect who I am. Not what I think will sell. I watched a documentary about Shawn Stussy, who is one of my biggest inspirations. He was less concerned about the money, more concerned about the impact. More concerned about the quality of the product. I lost my way. This shit means something to me. No more “basic” pieces.

Welcome to the city of La Shell. Home of the dreamers. 🌎

Give it everything, or just walk away from it. That old saying is true. “Dreams don’t work unless you do”. There’s nothing we want more than to be doing the things that we love to do for a living. And perhaps the ONLY thing keeping us from doing that.. is ourselves. We come up with excuses for not chasing our dreams. We literally talk ourselves out of the lives that we really deserve. YOU CAN DO ANY FUCKIN THING YOU WANT….. if you allow yourself to do it. It’s scary as hell, but your dreams are on the other side of your fears. A baby bird doesn’t know it can fly until it jumps out of its nest. I was on the right path. This time last year, I was fearless. I was surviving the way that I wanted to survive. I left a job and was scared for my life. But because I allowed myself to jump, I learned that I could fly. I remember talking to my mom who is STRONGLY against not having a back up plan (a regular ass job), and she said something that made me realize how powerful the mind and our words really are. The fear of failing was setting in, and I told her that I was contemplating getting a part time job just to make sure I stayed afloat. Normally she would be 100% for it. But on that day she looked at me and told me to think about it. She told me that if I asked for a job, that was what I was going to get. “Are you sure that’s what you want Corey?” Man instead of banking on myself, and doing things with more effort on my own.. I started lookin for the same thing I finally got away from. Sure enough, about a month later, I got a call from a job that I had applied for. Nothing life changing, just a below average call center opportunity. And because my faith in my own dream wasn’t as strong as it was before, I accepted the position. The job has been slowly stripping me of my dreams, and I find myself feeling the exact feelings I felt before I decided to fight for my own life. Who knows tho.. maybe I needed this. But the thing that I’m trying to stress is…. You get exactly what you ask for in this life. You get exactly what you put in. Success ain’t easy. But success is a result of faith, determination and persistence. Give it your all, or stop daydreaming about a dream that you aren’t worthy of. That shit can and will be yours… if you really want it.

If you don’t remember SHIT.. remember this. Happiness is a choice. Wake up everyday and choose it. Love 🤎🌎

At the beginning.. there’s doubt. Self doubt, as well as doubt from loved ones/future supporters. I would say it’s rather normal. Nobody loves you til’ everybody loves you. I remember talking to an associate about my brand, and about what I hoped to achieve. In the middle of expressing my aspirations, he stopped me and asked what my price list would be. I was going on my second drop, and at the time, I had my tees listed at $25. Then there was the face, and the quote that inspired this post lol. He said “Damn.. You think you supreme?”. Lol over $25. I won’t say it’s expensive, nor will I say it’s cheap, cause every human looks at things through a different lens. But I will say that what I charged at that time was about 60% cheaper than most Supreme tees. Made me wonder.. why are new brands/companies not allowed to be on a level of other prestigious brands right off? I understand blueprints and certain bricks that were laid before you arrived.. But Fuck being held hostage by the unofficial standards set by those before you. You’re brand is as valuable as you believe it to be. I say Charge $100 for a pair of socks if you believe in your heart that that’s what they’re worth. Believe in your product. So much so, that if you don’t make one sale, you know without a doubt that if you could Launch it again, you would. And know that everyone has to start somewhere, but not at the same spot. Set your own standards.

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Errbody gotta start somewhere. But don’t stay where you start. Plan it out. Map it out. Even if you move a lil slower than you initially planned, that’s ok. Just DONT stop movin. Goin into 2021 I saw a snow on the bluff meme. It was Curtis Snow talkin to the camera man. I don’t remember exactly what he said, but it was sumn like “No matter what happens, keep that mf rollin”. That guy that posted it said that that was his motto for 2021, and I thought.. That’s the realest shit I’ve heard in a min. Even tho he was simply referring to the camera man, that shit translates perfectly in every day life. 2018 was when I first came up with my idea to do this. 2019 I dropped my first 2 pieces. Some low quality t shirts, that actually sold pretty well. I was excited as hell, but I was in no position to successfully operate a clothing line. My debt was so great that it devoured any profit I had made. That’s where a lot of niggas would’ve prolly walked away. But that there is the difference between the successful brands and the ones that fizzle out. I was broke as hell in my moms basement, no cell phone, no car, laying across a mattress writing songs and mocking up clothing designs. I knew in my heart that this was something that I wanted to give to the world. I knew this was something that my city needed. That’s a permanent feeling, so whatever happens within my life.. just know it’s LA SHELL 4EVER. Passion. To me passion is what gives you the ability to “keep that mf rollin.” A lot of people THINK they love specific things or lifestyles, but the second that shit started to crumble, bags would be packed. Passion. Don’t do that shit unless there’s passion behind it. People can always tell.

La Shell was inspired by the city that raised me. But a lot of people tend to get that fucked up. La Shell was INSPIRED by the city that raised me. But it was made for every person that has faced obstacles. Made for the people that overcame. Made to provide a spark for people that might not see or understand their full potential. I want y’all to feel a sense of confidence when you put La Shell on. Feel good, look fly. Shelby is my city. Shell town. Tha Shell. La Shell. They always called us crazy. We didn’t have the resources that the bigger cities had. We were forced to make due. They looked at it as craziness.. we looked at it as survival. I played off the word Shell a couple different ways. Paying homage to home, and also highlighting the other meaning. Crazy. You know how hard it is to make it out this mf? We gotta do what we must. To you it’s crazy. To us.. it’s crazy enough to work. The pressure to survive in those smaller cities only creates a town full of diamonds. My dream is to put them on display. I try my best to handpick gems from tha city to represent the brand through photos. I advice them do whatever it is that makes them comfortable during these shoots. You wanna smoke? Roll up. Drink? Do that. Hell you can cry if that’s what you feel. But let your true colors shine. They doubt us as a whole. I feel a connection to my community. To all small communities. I want this brand to represent all of us. We don’t know exactly how we’ll get there. But we know we will.