MIGHTYKILLERS®

san francisco

2015

Lifestyle, Travel.Comment

What's your goal each year?

 

You may have a resolution that you've set to accomplish or you may just want to live each year to the fullest. Whatever the objective is the end result is always the same, to be better than the previous year.

For MIGHTYKILLLERS, 2015 was HUGE. The #MKEXPLORE hash tag grew from 50,000 posts in the beginning of the year to 777,000 as of today! We even had the opportunity to connect with people from around the world through our MKEXPLORE meets. As we made stops all over from Mumbai, Tokyo, Shanghai, Pacific Northwest, Sacramento, Boston, Toronto, and the list goes on and the support grows with it. Being able to host meets across the U.S. and internationally has always been a shared dream by everyone in the company. This wouldn't of been possible if it weren't for the community and the support you've shown.

Not only did we get to connect with individuals, but with companies as well. Collaborating has always been a huge part of our core beliefs, so it was exciting to work with many industry leaders from Jaguar Land Rover Motors to SanDisk, and even other creatives such as Duarte Inc. We can’t thank them enough for letting us bring our own sense of style and touch to each project, and we look forward to any new projects in the future.

Many may not know, but MIGHTYKILLLERS first started out as a clothing brand. We may have evolved a bit from a basic clothing brand, but our roots are still very much in fashion. We believe that everything is connected from fashion and styling to photography and travel. This year, we pushed out even more product while designing each piece with high quality materials that we wear everyday. The amount of support we’ve received from each drop has been incredible. For the next year, you’ll be sure to see more releases with the same dope designs.

 

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Now for me personally 2015 is probably best summed up into one word, unexpected. If you told me in the beginning of the year that all of these things would happen I probably wouldn’t believe you. That’s not to say that I live a boring life with no excitement, but rather it’s a justification as to how amazing the year was. It definitely had some rocky times and moments of uncertainty but honestly would life be any fun if it didn’t?

One thing that stayed pretty consistent was my group of friends who've stuck with me for sometime now. Year in and year out they have always been there for me, and always continue to push me to do better. Whenever I see my friends/family succeed it always fills me with a sense of pride, and this year was a testament to that. From passing the California attorney bar exam to getting married, I’m pretty sure all of them had it covered. It was a big honor to not only see two of my best friends get married this year, but also be apart of their special day.

I had the opportunity to travel a lot this year; not just with a group of friends but also by myself. Up until this point I never realized how life changing traveling alone can be. If you haven’t already, I highly suggest just taking a trip by yourself somewhere. It doesn’t have to be far or expensive; just get out of a familiar surrounding. Every time I went away, I found out something new about myself, and improved on something old.

Within these last few months, it really started to hit me that I'm getting older. I realized that people come and go in your life, but when some people come in they really make an impression and help you see things in a whole new perspective. Those are the people you really have to thank because a fresh new perspective will always give you a whole new outlook. So with that, I'm excited to be looking towards whats in store for 2016.

Cheers.

 

EXPLORE 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Events.Comment

#MKEXPLORE was built around the idea that seeking inspiration through exploration should always go hand and hand. The Mighty Killers have always been a supporter of pushing boundaries, sharing ideas, and building relationships within a community. 

A year later, we would never expect the community to span to a global scale and the hashtag to reach over 500k post. The response from the community has been incredible, and has allowed us to reach out to individuals around the world. This wave of positive feedback has been the catalyst for why we chose to expand our EXPLORE meets to a global scale. We not only want to give back to all the individuals who have been with us from the start, but also those around the world who continue to contribute and offer a perspective that many have never seen. We can't thank everyone enough for all the posts they've contributed, feedback they gave, and overall support they've shown. 

So, for this one year anniversary meet we wanted to do something very special and give back. We've partnered with arguably one of the best and most well known flash memory manufactures in the world, SanDisk. They were nice enough to bring out some of their top of the line products to give away, as well as contest prizes (check out Instagram for contest rules). It's very dope when a major company shows its support to a small community, and we are truly appreciative. If the giveaways weren't enough, the horrible sunsets that've plagued EXPLORE meets in the past were no where to be seen. This year we were stoked to receive an amazing sunset that hit the beach perfectly, causing a mirror like reflection. Overall, we were juiced to see old faces and meet new ones, all while enjoying a dope view. 

Thank you to everyone who came, especially those who drove great distances just to make it out. We definitely appreciate everyone who continues to support #MKEXPLORE and the Mighty Killers! 

Cheers to another great year! 

California Coast

TravelNick Carnera | @nickcarneraComment

Last week the girl and I made the drive down to SF for a couple days. After we checked into our room I found out that my good friend @jakechams was staying in Santa Cruz at the moment. So we decided to make the drive down and meet up for a sunset shoot at Big Sur. Once we got to Santa Cruz to grab Jake I realized that I left my battery for my DSLR on the charger in the hotel room back in SF... I was furious. At this point Big Sur was still another 2 hours away and there was no way we would make it in time for sunset. Jake recommended a spot just outside of town called Shark Fin Cove. So we went to Best Buy and grabbed a new battery and we were on our way. In the end we made the best of what we had and that's what you gotta do sometimes. 

INTO THE WOODS

Travel.Comment

Ever get done shooting and realize the place you were just at could be in a movie?

That was the feeling I got after we got done shooting Muir Woods. We walked into a misty fog filled forest where the light rays were beaming through the trees overhead. Everything looked like it was taken right out of Disney's Into the Woods.

The morning didn't start out the best, it was raining and nothing spectacular was catching our eye. As we made our way through the forest, the rain started to clear out and the sun beamed through; this is when things started getting interesting. Until this day, I've never been able to catch good light rays, but once the sun burst through the tree tops it just took things to another level. The tourist and families a around us were even trying to get in on the action. They were scurrying along trying to get to the front of everyone to get the best shot. We continued aimlessly into the woods and it was almost like Mother Nature knew we were getting bored, so she brought in some fog to mix things up. 

We ended the day with sunset at Mt. Tam, which wasn’t the fog filled rolling hills that we’ve hoped for. But I think today was all about mixing it up 

Mt. Tamalpais: the REAL gem of the Bay.

TravelSam Graves | @thesamgraves3 Comments

I begin to crave it, being above the clouds and the feeling of walking in a dream. It has become an addiction and one that I'm profoundly satisfied with. This is my place. This is where I find my peace.

Overshadowed by the more widely known and mainstream tourist locations in the Bay Area like the Golden Gate Bridge, Mt. Tamalpais sits at 2400 feet and hovers above the northwestern coastline of the San Francisco Bay. With everything in sight. Hence my addiction.

One of my favorite things is having the opportunity of playing tour guide and bringing people up to Mt. Tam for the first time. As we begin to creep above the cloud line; their reaction is priceless. Every time. On this day, it was my long time Instagram buddy Dexter who had come to visit and had yet to meet in person after corresponding via social media for the past two years. Naturally, I wanted to show him my favorite place as he's from New York and doesn't get to see this kind of nature....ever. In the same moment that I was deciding the logistics of the trip, I received a text message from my good friend Alex Tavani telling me that a group of photographers were going up to Mt. Tam and that I should meet up with them. Perfect.

There are few things better than experiencing this place with a group of people who have two common interests: friendship and photography. And this is where the fun begins....


Tour of Heaven

TravelMarvin King | @MIGHTYKILLSComment
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So this is heaven? I can definitely get used to this. Had to have been one of the most surreal places I had ever been to, some of the most surreal views I had ever witnessed. You know that feeling when you stare out the airplane window, and you're just gliding above a huge fluffy blanket of clouds? And before you know it, the view sucks, or you're inside of the clouds, or it's clear, and you never had the chance to really just soak it in. Partly because you're in a congested plane, with a piece of glass pressed against your forehead, the experience really just sucks if you really think about it.. but this... this was breathtaking. We sat up there for a couple of hours and waited for sunset. It was crazy watching the fog take over and surround us completely and trap us at the top. The sweeping views of fluffy white clouds just floating around was probably one of the most relaxing things I had ever seen. I wish I could just wake up to it every morning...

Treasures of Treasure Island

TravelMarvin King | @MIGHTYKILLS2 Comments
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I believe that one of the greatest things photography and Instagram has done is the ability to bring us all together. Photography has been around forever, Instagram hasn't. And if you have been into photography before Instagram, then you would know that getting together with other photographers rarely ever happened. Everyone either shot on their own; or had a group of friends to shoot with, but never was it so casual to just hit someone up out of the blue and say, "yo. I'm in town this week, lets link." I think because of Instagram, it's broken down that wall and allowed us all to share with the world, and it's amazing. What used to be weird and awkward (and typically ended up being ignored) for some stranger to hit you and ask to link, is now an opportunity. An opportunity to collaborate ideas, share stories, gain experience and learn, to teach, to build relationships, meet new friends, the list goes on. It's been such a dope experience to see all of this change and happen in my time, and to experience and really take advantage of it. 

This past Monday, Nikk and I had the opportunity to be reached out and to shoot with young gunner Antonio Jaggie, a.k.a. @KOSTENNN. Such a chill, talented and humble dude. Not really sure the extent of what I can say about the whole project and filming so I will just leave all of that part out till it actually happens. It was Kosten's first time out in San Francisco so it was dope to show him around the spots. Some definitely a lot harder to get to than others.. Having to military crawl through a 2' by 3' hole was not what I had expected but we did it anyways. Our first stop was Treasure Island, of course. Some of the dopest views are right on this island, however, definitely been over saturated in the past few years but the challenge to shoot this original location in a new creative perspective was fun.

Next stop... Mount Tamalpais.