First and foremost, I want to thank you for taking the time out your day to read this post. I don't normally blog a lot (my last post being nearly 1 year ago) so I thought this would be the right moment to use this platform to explain the change of name.

It was about 2010ish when I first came across the story of Atlas and the meaning behind this mythology. I was intrigued by the significance that Atlas has in the world. I share a deep connection with it and at times though-out the day, I feel the weight of something more powerful than me on my shoulders. Whether it is good or bad, I always feel like I am carrying a load to create a better world for myself, my family and the passion that I came to love back in 2003ish. So in 2013 I decided to start using Atlas as my "sneaker name" and thats where it was born. I used ALOT of names prior to 2013 when I first began but I'll leave that for another post.

Fast forward to about a year ago when my following on IG was picking up and people were supporting what I was doing (mainly in the Dunk/SB community), I noticed people started asking me "Where is your shop located? Is this Atlas? Are you guys going to have this shoe in your store?". Now for those who don't know, there is another Atlas store (@atlasskateboarding) and its core focus in on skateboarding and is honestly one of the best skate shops. I knew the store existed before, but the name was not chosen because of it. As mentioned earlier, I fell in love with the story of Atlas and quite honestly loved the name also. As my youngin's would say, "the name is DOPE"!

So now, I knew I had to change the name if I wanted to separate myself from them and continue, but the idea of rebranding to a completely new name didn't sit right with me. All of you guys/girls who are reading know me and the site as ATLAS and to change it would be like changing my identity. I couldn't do that. I needed the story and wisdom of ATLAS to live but I also needed to not associate myself with Atlas Skateboarding.

FOR "E"

They say in order for the world to function and move, there must be a balance. In order for good to happen, bad also must takes place. The whole concept of yin and yang. When my business picked up, it was a great feeling. I was gaining fans and support and creating new relationships with people. But then the balance hit...my brother died in late May 2019. This sh*t was a big f*cking punch to the face. I'm not going to go into detail, but it really hit me hard cause I was just starting to rekindle that brother to brother relationship with him. He was a #1 supporter of me doing my Atlas thing! 

After the whole death process and mourning finalized, I sat there in the room we both shared and I was just looking at the shoe boxes and just the overall room. I asked myself..."Should I continue? Should I sell everything and do something else?" you know, just contemplating on life and all the bullshit. Then I told myself "I'm going 10,000% for him". You only get 1 chance of this thing called life and I experienced death in my immediate family before, but this one was different. He was young and his name started with an "E".

THE PROCESS

I was looking for a lot "E" names that would work  and there were a few good ones (some I I still have written), but they all still didn't sit well. I wanted to continue this for him, but instead of changing the name completely...I started to look at the name Atlas more. Can I do something with this.

Atlas...E...atlEs...ATLES

Upon seeing the name, I knew then and there it would be ATLES from now on. Then I looked at it again and noticed the last 3 letters of the name...LES. For the few people who know me, know I'm from NYC but I was born and raised in the Lower East Side aka LES! This was the cherry on top!

Name Change Reasons (For Those Who Don't Want To Read But Please Do)

• 1. To not associate myself with Atlas Skateboarding
• 2. In the Memory of my Brother "E"
• 3. Lower East Side: Location in NYC where I was born and raised also known as LES.

Thanks again for reading this and would like to take the time out to thank EVERYONE who has purchased, shared and connected with me on Instagram or wherever you found me at. I truly appreciate you guys and will try to do the best of my ability to do more for YOU!

To the memory of "E"! I'll make sure to keep you posted on the latest films. FYI - The New Star Wars sucked! 

Shared by Christian