Spotted: Mac Miller in our Bal du Motivation T-Shirt

A few weeks back, Mac Miller & Wiz Khalifa had 2 back-to-back shows in Pittsburgh to help open up a new venue there called Stage AE. Mac was wearing our Bal Du Motivation t-shirt throughout the performance in front of over 2,000 people! Check out some pictures below -- thanks to Skavenger Brandon for some of the pictures.

Cliff Skighwalker is back with CliffSkighwalker.com!

I've BEEN meaning to post this up, but our friend Cliff Skighwalker of Burn Rubber is back with a new site and blog at CliffSkighwalker.com! The site has actually been live for about a month, and some of you are probably aware of this, but its all good. His old blog was one of my favorite blogs to go to daily, and this one is just like it...except better! Make sure you bookmark it to stay up to date on happenings in Michigan that you actually want to know about, hip-hop, fashion, and Cliff's opinionated views on life.

PS I was told Teyana Taylor cunningly stole Cliffs hat shortly after the picture below was taken....if anyone would like to donate theirs to him Im sure he will gladly give you an autograph and a shout out on his site!

Big Shan - I Love U (Video)

Checkout this new video by Big Shan of WeMaejor for his new single I Love U. Its pretty nice and the chorus on the song is classic, I could see it getting big in the clubs. Whattup King!


Big_Shan iLOVEU™  @Sir_ShAnimal from Reel Illusions 42 LLC on Vimeo.

Motivation New Years Holiday Hours

We want to thank you for an amazing 2010 here at Motivation and hope you have a safe and fun New Years celebration welcoming in 2011! Here are our retail location's Holiday hours for New Years:

Wednesday 12/29: Noon to 7PM

Thursday 12/30: Noon to 7PM

Friday 12/31: CLOSED

Saturday 1/1: CLOSED

Sunday 1/2: CLOSED

We will re-open for normal business hours on Monday, January 3rd at Noon. Our online store at http://www.mtvtn.com is always open!

Fanmail: Grant from Michigan

Grant from Detroit, MI has already been featured once on our Fanmail section, but he sent in these pictures of his hat collection and we had to feature him again! He has just about every one of our Motivation Ornate M New Era hats and his fitted collection is pushing 100 hats overall. He is also an aspiring artist and took some promo pictures in our Motivation apparel too. Check out some of his music HERE, and check out the pictures below.

If you have pictures of yourself wearing Motivation clothing, email them to info(at)mtvtn.com with 'Fanmail' as the subject and we will post them on the blog. Or, add us on Facebook and tag us!

The Hundreds & Jim Davis: Garfield Meets Adam Bomb (Video)

Check out this video that Hypebeast just did interviewing both Hundreds owner Bobby Hundreds and Garfield creator Jim Davis about their Garfield x The Hundreds collaboration. It also features footage of the Garfield x The Hundreds pop-up shop/gallery opening party in California and more.


Bobby Hundreds & Jim Davis: Garfield Meets Adam Bomb from hypebeast.tv on Vimeo.

Mac Miller In-Store Meet & Greet RECAP!

About a week and a half ago, Mac Miller was in town here in Ann Arbor for a show at the Blind Pig -- it was his last show of the first leg of The Incredibly Dope Tour.  We were supposed to have an in-store meet & greet with Mac at 5PM at the store, however, Mother Nature wasnt co-operating and it was looking like this outside:

Mac and the Most Dope crew were driving in this same snowstorm from their show in Illinois to Ann Arbor, and throughout the day we ended up getting almost 8 inches of snow here in Michigan. Needless to say, the snow was really slowing them down on the highways, and we ended up having to push the Meet & Greet back to 7:30 PM, right before the show was scheduled to start. We gave out numbered tickets to everyone who came by the store at 5PM and told them to come back at 7:30. Despite the snow, we had just over 90 people show up, which I think was crazy because of the horrible weather! Some people drove 4 hours to get here, some people drove from Canada, etc. -- Mac really has a dedicated fan base for such a young artist.

Anyways, its getting closer to 7:30 and I get the call that there is a highway closed and they aren't going to make it in time, and can't swing by the store because of sound check, etc. BUT since Mac really wanted to meet his fans, what we were going to do was hold the Meet & Greet AFTER the show inside of the Blind Pig and not at the store. Only people with the numbered tickets would get to stick around and Meet him. Disaster averted!

The show as dope and it was sold out with 200-300 people there -- in the middle of a snow storm! He put on a dope, energetic set and did tracks off his KIDS and High Life mixtapes, as well as some classics.

Afterwards the staff at the Blind Pig made sure everyone who still stuck around and had our numbered tickets got to meet Mac, and everyone left happy and probably at least slightly buzzed haha.

A big thanks to the staff at the Blind Pig and of course the Most Dope crew - Mac, Treejay, Q, Sean, Dj Clockwork, Tolly and Will - for making the Meet & Greet happen despite everything!!

Happy Holidays from Motivation!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from our Motivation family to yours! We hope you enjoy your holiday and if you spent over $500 with us this year lookout for your Christmas card carton of cigarettes arriving in the mail soon!

Dj Mo Beatz - Behind The Scenes at WJLB (Video)

Our fam Dj Mo Beatz hits us with another video blog, this time giving us a peek at the WJLB radio station,  where he has his weekly radio show on Saturday nights. Check it out below, looks like a lot of hard work going on there!


A day at clear channel radio (WJLB) from Dj Mo Beatz on Vimeo.

Air Jordan 'Black/Cement' 3 Retros Confirmed

We already know that the Cement Grey Jordan IIIs will be released this January, and now news just broke that the Black/Cement IIIs will be returning in 2011 as well. No word on a release date yet, stay tuned for that -- but it looks like 2011 will be another expensive year for all you Jordan fans!

Dante Marshall $10 Photoshoot WEDNESDAY December 29th!

Our fam photographer Dante Marshall is having his 3rd annual $10 photoshoot this coming Wednesday December 29th from 4 to 9PM at his studio! If you are in the Detroit/Michigan area, this is where you can get your photo taken by Dante for only $10 (when normally the cost is much higher!) and it is also a great networking event. This only happens once a year so don't miss it. Who knows we might even see you there!  Check out the video below for all the details:


#10DOLLARPHOTOSHOOT from Dante Marshall on Vimeo.

The photoshoot will take place at:

The Art Direction

STUDIO D

2732 Yemans St.

Hamtramick, MI 48212

Spotted: Bun B in our Mishka x Motivation Snapback Hat!

Check out hip-hop legend Bun B wearing our Mishka x Motivation 'Scum Bowl' collaboration snapback hat! He sent this picture to us via Twitter, and much respect to him for supporting us. The hats are all sold out, but we still have the collaboration shirts available HERE. Also, if you haven't copped it already, make sure you pick up his most recent album, Trill OG, which is in stores now!

Motivation Holiday Hours!

All of us here at Motivation hope that you and your family have a great Holiday season! Here are our retail location's Holiday hours for Christmas:

Wednesday 12/22: Noon to 8PM
Thursday 12/23: Noon to 8PM
Friday 12/24: CLOSED
Saturday 12/25: CLOSED
Sunday 12/26: CLOSED

We will re-open for normal business hours on Monday, December 27th at Noon. Our online store at http://www.mtvtn.com is always open!

Burn Rubber x New Balance Release Party RECAP!

This recap is a bit LATE but about 3 or 4 weeks ago, Burn Rubber held a friends and family release for their New Balance Collaboration at a bar/restaurant called D'Amatos right by their shop in Royal Oak, MI. Phil, Indra, and myself went up there and got to cop the shoes early, and here is a little recap and some pictures we took from the event.

First off, our friends at Corporate got the invite too and decided to make the trek all the way from Cincinnati for the party/release. Matt from Corporate is one of my best friends in this industry so of course he had to stop by us at Motivation and check out the store in person. It was nice finally meeting Sneaker Dave too! We did the obligatory dinner at Pizza House then headed up to Royal Oak...

(Sidenote: Matt made me edit out his unreleased Jordans in the above pic...SMH)

The party/release was held at a nice restaurant/bar up there and there were a ton of people in there, many of whom I knew through the store. It was obvious everyone knew this was a big deal and came out to support and show love to our friends at Burn Rubber. We got some love too and I definitely got some hate for my vintage Penguins sweater...hahah...AZ whattup!

 The men of the hour, Rick & Ro. 

  Shoes in our hands, a beer in Cliff's hand, ha!

Teko from Sole Survivor Detroit...he was already planning out his video review of the shoe at the event.

As we left the event, Rick took us real quick by his shop so Matt could see it while he was in town and we all got to check out Burn Rubber's clean new look.

Overall it was a real nice event, and thanks Rick and Ro from Burn Rubber for having us -- and congrats once again on the success of the shoe! Ill end with a few professional pictures that the homie Gerard Victor snapped of us while we were there.

Play Cloths Holiday 2010 Drop 2 Now in Stock!

We just brought in the second drop from Play Cloths for the Holiday 2010 season! If you love their Jack logo design (and who doesnt?) then this drop is for you. It features three colorways of the 1 Hitter Jack tee, along with the same design on a pullover hoody, and the Run This City New Era in three colors as well that match up back to these items. You've also got a lot of nice accessories in the Cardinal Skully in Heather Grey, and the already popular Liston Coin Pouch and Cassady Backpack, both in Caviar Black leather. In addition, the Hard Candy duffel bag is up from the Fall shipments, as it was never before placed online. Check out all of these items now below before they are sold out!

Available now at our retail location and in the online store.

Play Cloths - 1 Hitter Jack T-Shirt Caviar Black
Play Cloths - 1 Hitter Jack T-Shirt Heather Grey

Play Cloths - 1 Hitter Jack T-Shirt Formula One Red

Play Cloths - 1 Hitter Jack Pullover Hoody Caviar Black

Play Cloths - Run This City New Era Fitted Hat Black

Play Cloths - Run This City New Era Fitted Hat Grey

Play Cloths - Run This City New Era Fitted Hat Red

Play Cloths - Cardinal Skully Beanie Heather Grey

Play Cloths - Liston Coin Pouch Caviar Black

Play Cloths - Cassady Backpack Caviar Black

Play Cloths - Hard Candy Duffle Bag Red

Mitchell & Ness x Motivation 'Script' Snapback Hats Releasing FRIDAY!

We linked up with famed sports apparel manufacturer Mitchell & Ness for a set of four 'Motivation Script' snapback hats. The hats feature our brand name in a custom script font embroidered across the front of the hat. On the side of the hat is our slogan 'A dollar and a dream' and the back of the hat features the Mitchell & Ness trademark logo. The hats are limited to 72 of each produced and will retail at $32. They release tomorrow, Friday December 17th, at our retail location and Online Store, as well as select Motivation stockists.