最佳实践：与Ghetto Gastro的发射艺术
Editor's note: We could all use a little inspiration and light during these strange days. Enter Best Practices, ayabo sports官网 采访系列我们分享领导者和创意者如何在大流行期间面临前所未有的挑战，同时仍在个人和专业发展。
乔恩·格雷（Jon Gray），皮埃尔·塞劳（Pierre Serrao）和莱斯特·沃克（Lester Walker）比蓝色原始火箭发射台更忙碌。
仅在过去的一年，三人组就背后Ghetto Gastro, a culinary, art, and design collective from the Bronx, have launched a wireless耳机与Dre的Beats合作。他们出现在杰伊·Z（Jay Z）的新大麻公司的苗条亚伦（Aarons）风格的广告中会标最近的合作与一系列时尚的小型电器合作，CRUXGG, at 1,792 Target locations. Next up: They're taking the Ghetto Gastro brand to Tokyo withBurnside，由Snøhetta设计的日间和餐厅，酒吧和休息室，由厨师驱动的休闲咖啡馆和餐厅。
这trio built their reputation on one-of-a-kind international events, but the pandemic clarified their focus. Their blend of community activism, culinary chops, and mixed media experience has put them in the room with major companies looking to align with Ghetto Gastro's mission to empower underprivileged communities. Every new product launch includes a give back program to support their community. For the Target line,CRUXGG，这意味着5％的利润将直接用于努力消除粮食不安全的非营利组织，包括丹·科伦（Dan Colen）的成立亚搏电竞天空高农场和纽约的组织Project Eats, as well as many other organizations around the country (and in Minneapolis).
"Our name is Ghetto Gastro," says Gray. "It's definitely a polarizing thing that forces you to think deeper and see what's going on, or at least makes you want to know more. We're unapologetically who we are. Honestly, that reputation precedes us before we take a meeting."
After selling out of waffle makers with their first small appliance line, Ghetto Gastro developed their own consumer packaged good with Wavy, awaffle mix由来自南美洲的木薯，来自墨西哥的Amaranth，高粱，小米和非洲的坚果制成。接下来，糖浆。称其为垂直的华夫饼干操作。
格雷说：“我们必须给您三角洲，让您为成功的反种族主义早餐做准备。”“我们认为自己是全球南方的嘴。我们拒绝[美食]全都是欧洲的想法。您如何将这些其他大陆带到亚洲，美洲，非洲，并讲述这些烹饪故事。”
I recently spoke with Gray and Serrao over a video call to talk about their creative process, how they build buzz for new launches on Instagram, and why mental health breaks matter.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
I saw your new CRUXGGappliances at Target last weekend on the end cap. How does this line reflect the core values of Ghetto Gastro?
灰色的：首先，回馈对我们非常重要。当您进入家用电器类别时，我们只是觉得我们挖掘的东西没有表达地点。因此，就像我们如何创建Ghetto Astro的方式一样，我们看到[厨房里]有一个差距。我们弄清楚了如何填补这一空白。我们创建了一些有不同颜色的东西，感觉有点光滑，并且具有良好的振动。
Serrao:我们想确保在使用和设计方面，这些产品具有家庭厨师可以用来变得更好的功能。使整个仪式围绕烹饪更加愉快，并让人们以[我们如何看待]的思想思考。当您查看像无烟烤肉的东西时，我认为这是唯一可以达到500°的室内烤架厨房设备。您可以烤[食物]并正确地弄清亚搏电竞这些纹理。
灰色的：You don't got to rock a bubble down to grill in the winter, you know what I'm saying?
如果没有5％回馈粮食不安全非营利组织，您可能不会做这条线，对吗？亚搏电竞
Serrao:We're not really doing anything without a give back, to be honest. Since day one that's always been something that's been baked into our business model. It's always been the core mission at GG. The community is the foundation that lifts us up. As much as we are champions of these different institutions and organizations, the people on the ground are putting in that pain. Delivering packages of food to people and doing that labor. We wanted to make sure that they were recognized as well.
灰色的：We don't want to take up space from people doing the real, on the ground activism. The hands-on work. We just want to be able to provide a platform, and then also capital and resources to help amplify that work that's getting done. How do we create pipelines and do business in a different way that really has multiple benefits? It's not just a payday.
我们是我们的身份。
当您与Target这样的合作伙伴在房间里，这会是什么样？他们会立即理解您的价值观，还是进行多次对话？
灰色的：我认为可能在过去很具有挑战性。尤其是当您想到世界和人们更加密切，并且可能不关心黑人和有色人种时。在大流行之前，在2020年6月之前，我们只是把它保留了一笔钱。没有隐藏。我们的名字叫Ghetto Gastro。这绝对是一件两极分化的事情，迫使您更深入地思考并了解正在发生的事情，或者至少使您想了解更多。我们是我们的身份。老实说，在我们开会之前，这种声誉先于我们。想要参加会议并希望与我们开展业务的人有这种理解。
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告诉我有关Ghetto Gastro的群体动态以及您的创作过程的样子。您如何做出决定？这是民主吗？讲故事可能是一个混乱的过程。
灰色的：Shit is definitely a dictatorship. Pierre, they call him Fidel Gastro. We're working on overthrowing that regime.
Serrao:Good luck!
灰色的：We definitely all bring our heads together when it's time to make big decisions. We're so aligned, for the most part, we've been doing this for a decade. So, we know what's a no, and we know what's a yes. Also, what type of massaging needs to be done to make a no a yes with other partners that come into an understanding.
就我个人而言，我的责任是因为我没有像我的兄弟们那样在界线上有才华或没有在线上做的工作，所以我更像是首席执行官/艺术总监。每个人都有商业想法。每个人都在这一点上都有创意，但这就是为什么他们称我为“洗碗机”的原因。我负责冲洗口袋。运行它。
Serrao:业务的每个方面都需要不同的大脑和关注水平。无论是谈判合同，还是为电视节目或音频系列写出格式，还是写书，还是回馈社区。我认为我们所有人之间，我们将工作量划分。像许多小型公司一样，我们仍在研究一切如何流动的内部结构。
灰色的：As we look at going to the next level and developing more business units within the Ghetto Gastro world, it's going to be about recruiting and finding excellent leaders. All of us pretty much lean on a right-brain side, so we definitely need those left-brained counterparts who are thinking about how we maximize efficiencies while maintaining authenticity, and just being who we are. I'll just use Marc Jacobs or Tom Ford as an example. I should find better examples than two old white men. But they were always the creators and they had their counterpart that really was focused on growing the business. So, as we build and want to be able to reach more people, those are the spots that we're going to be looking at adding to the team.
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让我们谈谈华夫饼。首先，您制作了在商店中售罄的华夫饼铁。现在，您已经有了华夫饼干。您也在研究鲜奶油吗？
灰色的：去听三个6个黑手党，UGK和PAT PAT。无论他们是什么aipping上面，我们接下来要来了。那个Sizzurp - 我们有一些嘶嘶声来了。我们有打印机。这华夫饼铁is the printer. We got the paper (waffles). Syrup is the ink. We've got to give you the trifecta to set you up for a successful, anti-racist breakfast. So in the waffle mix we're using ancestral grains from the motherland cassava from South America, amaranth from Mexico. We're looking at sorghum, millet, and tiger nuts from Africa.
我们必须为您提供Trifecta，以便您准备成功的蚂蚁种族主义早餐。
我们认为自己是“全球南方的嘴”。我们拒绝[美食]全都以欧洲为中心的想法。您如何将这些其他大陆带到亚洲，美洲，非洲，并讲述这些烹饪故事。利用这些成分来创建新浪潮（无意），因为华夫饼是波浪形的，但这就是能量。大共鸣。
华夫饼很美味。最重要的是总是风味。您可以讲一个很棒的故事，但最终，狗屎的味道不错。我们总是专注于风味，并思考如何创新和做一些不同的事情。
With something like the waffle mix, who in GG runs point?
灰色的：It started with R&D and the design as well. We tasted a lot of waffles to dial in the formula. We're still working on the formula. We have a gluten-free, plant-based version, but we want to keep thinking about it kind of like a software company. How do we keep getting better versions? Taking feedback and being able to iterate based on the feedback.
Serrao:当涉及产品的配制和品尝产品时，我们正在共同努力。我们在实验室里一起品尝这些华夫饼。品尝混合物，无论产品是什么，我们都可以一起品尝，分享笔记，然后来回弹跳，直到我们满意的东西并感到符合标准为止。
You guys were in the Cayman Islands during lockdown before you got approval to come back to the States. How did everything that you went through during the pandemic, what the world went through, what the Bronx went through, how did that sharpen your focus for Ghetto Gastro?
灰色的：P and I were together in the Caymans so we got a lot closer. We created a new show. We got really focused because there were no events during the pandemic.
我们知道社区或系统水平很低的ically oppressed. Something like Covid happens, we knew, "Damn. This shit's going to fuck the [Bronx] up." We were paying attention to what was happening on the ground. We saw the work thatLa Morada[a mutual aid kitchen in the Bronx] was doing. We saw how they pivoted their mission, and we were like, "All right. Let's get some resources, Let's do what we know how to do," which is secure a bag. Let's get that bag in the right hands and work on feeding families. When it was all said and done we fed upwards of 100,000 families during the height of the pandemic.
Serrao:Pre-pandemic, a lot of our energy was spread thin. We were collaborating with other brands and clients, but it wasn't necessarily serving Ghetto Gastro and us. When the pandemic hit, we took that time to think about what we want in the long term. Ownership. What ownership looks like for us, and generational wealth, and being able to build businesses that are hundred-year companies.
乔恩，我想问你你在Family Reunion。您正在谈论创造价值并捕获该价值。您还说：“如果袋子去了一个黑人妇女，它将延长10人。”告诉我这两个想法：捕获价值以及黑人妇女的滴滴效果。
灰色的：我想成为一个有创造力的人,在我们communities, where we come from, the resilience, just the spirit of Black and brown people. We create. Look at the music industry, and you look at the artist versus the owners. Who is capturing the value from the royalties, the publishing, or even in visual arts? You don't see a lot of [gallery owners] that are Black or brown. But now, especially now, Black artists are super hot so the market is opening up.
We're really focused on building an infrastructure so we can, basically, own our royalties. Own our rights. Create the value, but also capture it. And be able to disperse it in ways that we see fit.
就黑人妇女而言，这是最终的创意来源。地球上的所有人类都从那个地方开始。妇女更容易分享和照顾。我是由所有黑人妇女抚养长大的，这就是我一生中所有知识和最伟大的事情的来源。我们只需要向前付款并保持周期的移动。
Talk to me about bringing the Bronx to the world and what does home-grown growth look like versus gentrification in the Bronx.
灰色的：Man, it's hard to even say what home-grown looks like because ...
Serrao:你看不到。
灰色的：Like I said, capture the value. If you're doing something cool in the space, it'd be a good thing to own that space. I look at Theaster Gates and what he's done in Chicago, and what Rick Lowe's done with Project Row Houses in Houston. In New York period, I think with the way real estate works, we don't have that opportunity to grab property at prices where you can do something creative and try new models. You've got to move in making money. The first iteration of us [bringing] Bronx to the world is us bringing our bodies and our spirit and our energy.
A lot of people think of a particular thing when they think of the Bronx, and it's poverty, it's poor. We wanted to be able to be like, "Yeah, we're coming from that environment. We speak that vernacular. That's the vibration. We're not ashamed of where we started but, make sure we demand respect for the energy that we're bringing."
布朗克斯是现在为地球提供动力的许多创造力的摇篮。
布朗克斯是现在为地球提供动力的许多创造力的摇篮。
Serrao:When you think about it on a grand scale, the world revolves around America. America revolves around New York. New York revolves around the Bronx. Bronx to the world.
这re's an art to the drop, the way you create energy and buzz behind a new release or product onInstagram。It's something you guys seem to have mastered.
Serrao:对我们来说，这确实是关于我们是谁的真实性，并在语言和讲故事的情况下找到和创造这种美学，可以对我们有效，并传达我们的观点并传达给社区的信息。我们不想让事情感到花哨，我们不希望事情感到过度生产。
在产品方面，我们尝试出售单元。我们希望人们获得产品并为社区提供支持，但我们也不希望人们觉得我们只是在给他们买东西。我们走路是一条紧身的绳索，但是与我们一起，我们生活和呼吸了这些东西。归根结底，做我们做的事情是非常自然的。幸运的是，我们在相机面前很舒服，我们都对我们的舌头浮出水面，因此我们可以考虑一毛钱，对我们所说的话引起人们的吸引力和有趣。
When you're in it, you don't see how big the world is. When you go on the moon, you can see everything.
显然你们照顾你们。do you do to feed your soul while you're feeding others?
Serrao:Everything starts within. Meditations and exercising daily. Eating good, eating clean. The majority of my diet is based around plants. Exercise, hydrate, mind your own business, meditate. Check in on your loved ones. Just slow things down a little bit. It used to be really, really, really fast. Going everywhere around the world, doing this, doing that. Once we slowed it down, things started coming a lot more naturally.
我们尝试每年至少进行三次团队旅行，我们将花几天的时间去像今年早些时候的棕榈泉一样，拍摄了我们为Jay-Z公司Monogram（广告）进行的。我们最近才去墨西哥，我敢肯定，我们可能会在今年年底（假期时间）浸入某个地方。它使我们能够相互重新连接，并专注于手头的任务，并保持这种友善和家人的感觉。
Not getting lost in the sauce with all the things that we have. We take time to sit back and reflect on what we've accomplished, especially because while you're doing things in the moment you don't necessarily understand the impact. When you're in it, you don't see how big the world is. When you go on the moon, you can see everything.
对我们来说，我们借此机会只是从所有混乱中走出来，询问彼此之间的情况。确保我们每个人，我们的家人，我们的伴侣，每个人都健康。这种只是转化为业务和我们所做的其他一切。当我们好时，我们知道我们周围的其他人都会跟随并在这里和那里捡起小宝石。我知道，因为我们的管理团队和其他靠近我们圈子的人肯定会遇到这些心理健康休息。
We demand it too, because it's like, "I need a few days to just go and not be on my phone and not have to answer messages and answer calls and show up, and do this, and do that."