High Five! Part One - Mark Whitfield

Happy New Year! Hope you had a great NYE, are at least partially recovered by now and raring to go in 2014. Only three hundred and fifty-six more days until we're doing it all again.

So I've asked a few of my friends to help me kick start my blog for the new year. Some of these good folk I've had the pleasure of actually spending time with, and others I've followed closely in appreciation and respect of who they are and what they do.

I've asked each of them five questions that came to mind when I was choosing who to include. These questions should therefore be based on the person's attributes, as well as their online persona.

First up is photographer Mark Whitfield. We have similar interests and were virtually-introduced by a mutual friend (photo #2 below). Collector of more bespoke AF1s than you could fathom, and lover of North London. More specifically N7. More on that later. Genuinely one of the nicest guys you could meet, but outstandingly miserable in photos (Northerner stereo-type). Due to this fact, I have used his photos of or at least including rather brighter subjects, I hope he doesn't mind!



From his blog profile -

i'm a photographer, i live in london, collect sneakers, drink too much coffee, i like nicknames and postcodes but i don't like capital letters.


B> What constitutes 'sock-game'?
 MW> Sock-game is just a person's socks. A stupid term to make it sound grand. Instead of saying "Look at my socks" or "I like your socks" it's more "Check out my sock-game" or "Your sock-game is on point today Sir" you know the story.

B> What would you like to come of your N7 hobby? 
 MW> I would like to stay out of jail and not be sued by the New York Yankees. I would also like to see as many people as possible wearing a piece of N7 apparel, to like wearing it and also to send me photos of them wearing it. I'm not doing it for the money. I'm doing it because I like it.

B> If you had to choose a shoe other than the AF1 what would it be and why? 
 MW> I have four pairs of HTM Flyknits. They are soooo comfortable. I also think they look good with shorts and with long trousers. If I lived somewhere warm I'd say HTM Flyknits...but I live in cold N7 and the bad thing about Flyknits is, they let in the cold. they are almost like being barefoot. I kind of like Nike Air Max 1's but nowhere near as much as AF-1's. 
 So if I lived somewhere cold and couldn't choose HTM Flyknits I'd have to say the Converse Chuck Taylor. Because like the AF-1 it comes in many, many variations or styles each year. The First String releases are incredible. I have a pair of Missoni chucks which are one of my favourite sneakers. You can get them in lightweight or heavyweight feel. 
 Yes I'd go for the good old chuck (even though like my sisters in law, they are uncomfortable to be with after more than 30 minutes.)

B> Favourite place to visit for work and/or pleasure? 
 MW> Tokyo. I always used to think New York but nowadays it's Tokyo. You know why? Well apart from the great coffee joints and liking the fashion and style, I would sum it up in one badly constructed sentence... Tokyo is the friendliest city I know full of friendly and most importantly polite and honest people. It's all about good manners to me these days. I love London. It's the best city in the World. But it is full of rude people. Tokyo is friendly. It's nice.

B> What (if anything) makes Mark Whitfield smile? 
 MW> Chips.

I'd like to thank Mark for his honest and entertaining answers! You can see his work on his WEBSITE, or catch up with his endeavors via his BLOG. Photos taken from Mark's Instagram account (without permission and are not a representation of his professional work). Also please note I corrected the small to capital letters in ALL of his answers.