EDSON SABAJO’S VISION FOR THE DUTCH CREATIVE COMMUNITY: UNITY

The creative industry we know and love, struggle and thrive in – if we’re being honest – has for a long time been run by the same type of people, coming from the same roots, and looking in the same direction. Though we talk about what's ‘fresh’ and ‘new’ everyday, real ingenuity has faded into a background of cascading templates, growth hacks and stakeholder reports. We know we need to build new worlds – but where does one start?

As part of our commitment to bring about purposeful change, earlier this year we invited Edson Sabajo, Co-founder of Patta, to be our inaugural ADCN President of The Year. The sneaker connoisseur, hip-hop ambassador, DJ, father, husband, community leader, cultural influencer and running fanatic – just SOME of his titles – is here to deliver a new perspective.

With Patta, Edson built a thriving business and at the same time nurtured a diverse community that continues to harmonize, encourage and rely on each other. Unity, creativity and community, the main components that birthed hip-hop, have shaped Edson’s outlook on life and business. His chosen theme for ADCN this year is ‘Unity’, and his aim is to cross fertilize the worlds he knows all too well with those he has yet to step foot in.

We sat down with Edson and spoke candidly about his drive, learnings, and the creative essence behind hip-hop – not just what the music symbolizes, but what the culture represents and how that can be linked to the challenges facing the creative industry today.

ADCN: Hip-hop has had a major influence on everything you do. What is it that inspires you in particular?

Edson Sabajo: Hip-hop is the cornerstone of my existence but also of Patta’s. It’s a highly creative form of expression and its philosophy forms the foundation of many companies and communities without them realizing it. It comes down to a celebration of doing things your way.

If we think about the history of hip-hop, it was born out of oppression. Back in the 70s in New York, the South Bronx was literally on fire, and not because of a hot 16 from a local artist, but because it was plagued by a wave of arson – committed by landlords burning their low-property value buildings and taking the insurance money. This was all fueled by the construction of the Cross Bronx Expressway by Robert Moses. As people were forced out, gangs and drugs naturally came in – thousands of families were displaced and communities were in danger – that's where the story begins in 1973.

An 18-year old Jamaican-American DJ by the name of Kool Herc was throwing a back to school party in the Bronx. Back then, Disco reigned supreme in the clubs, radio and tv. To hear anything else you had to be at a block party. Legend has it, the vibes were flowing and people were grooving that night, but one MAJOR thing happened. Herc played the full song but he extended the break part, he called it ‘the merry go round’ and noticed that people lost their minds when he was repeating the breaks.

Edson Sabajo: During these breaks, the amazingly named MC, Coke La Rock, got on the mic to not only hype up the crowd, but also make some public service announcements. ‘Heeey, Mike your car is double parked’ or ‘Ms Jones don’t forget ya keys to the house’. Due to these timely shout-outs and the fact that a gentleman was able to avoid a parking ticket and a woman was able to enter her home easily, that community feel from the music was well and truly established and from that moment onwards, hip-hop was born.

It grew into a powerful force: from the outfits to the lyrics, the MC, the DJ and tunes they selected for the block-party, the graffiti style of tag artists, down to the synchronized moves of the b-boy & b-girls, it’s all an impromptu celebration of your personal style and swagger in unison. Grandmaster Caz famously said, “Hip-hop didn’t invent anything, hip-hop reinvented everything.” That is the essence we’ve nurtured and what I believe all creatives can too. Rather than making a new world out of nothing, set yourself apart by uniting elements of what already exists into something more relevant for those around you. That can be the beginning of a style, an expression, a new world and community.

ADCN: Like hip-hop, Patta was doing things unconventionally – sparking an engaged community with a unique flair.

Today that’s led to people queuing for hours when a new drop is announced, the Mayor of Amsterdam to Hollywood stars wearing Patta shoes, and the word ‘Patta’ being inducted into the Dutch dictionary. What’s been essential in achieving this?

Edson Sabajo: Myself and my co-founder Gee (Guillaume Schmidt) are both of Surinamese descent, and it’s a large part of the brand’s DNA. We met in the 90’s at Fat Beats in Amsterdam and hung out at Cafe de Duivel where I would play records. Back then it wasn’t common to hear hip-hop in bars, and you sure weren't allowed to wear sneakers to clubs (not only the upscale joints). But we were making lifelong friends and connections through our love for hip-hop – and that same community became the foundation of Patta.

Gee and I wanted to wear and sell shoes nobody had, so we would go traveling to find special sneakers around the world, staying over with friends. When the Patta store opened its doors, all of our friends and family came by to celebrate and invest in us, and it was through our community’s word-of-mouth that Patta grew. Just like hip-hop, it wasn’t just about the fashion, it was the music, the parties, the flair, the community. We were taking and giving back; with each one, teach one. Today, we’re still moving forward with the same attitude, it's all in our slogan: ‘out of love and necessity rather than profit and novelty’.

ADCN: Patta has delivered hundreds of collaborations over the past three decades. From working closely with local artists while having multinationals on speed dial, to curating major exhibitions for the city together with your community. That’s clearly a key to its success. What makes a great collaboration?

Edson Sabajo: Working with people that click. There are no rules with intuition or working together but if there’s a genuine and authentic vibe, then you can build and make dope shit together. To follow your intuition you have to first know yourself. What are you good at and what might others do better than you? Look at how all of the different qualities in people fit together and trust the process. Instead of thinking ‘how can I be better than this person’, or ‘how can I achieve this myself to stay in control’, put the energy towards finding a situation where you can both be compatible – and learn from that other person or perspective.

ADCN: Staying on the theme of collaboration, how can the Dutch creative community play a role in building stronger communities?

Edson Sabajo: The world right now is based on structures that are more about taking and less about giving. We need to learn how to build businesses AND communities at the same time. To build something strong you have to know what’s important for someone else. The project manager, the book keeper, the designer and vice versa. These days we often work in silos, where one person or department has no idea what the other is doing. But there are many ways to break through that, to approach, combine, mix and match together, like what Grandmaster Caz was saying.

It also means the need to find common ground and go out of your comfort zone, to talk about the practical, less pretty stuff, and learn what inspires and gives purpose to those different than you. That’s what ‘Unity’ means to me, finding the strength in between the differences. If we can nurture that process, then over time new ideas will emerge and from them new communities will grow.

ADCN: What is most urgent for Patta right now?

Edson Sabajo: We have the Patta Soundsystem, a platform for upcoming and established talent but also anything music related so people can put their touch on it whether it's product or talent. We also have the Patta Running Team, that promotes physical and mental health with local running clubs in several countries and last but not least, the Patta Foundation. Helping raise money for organizations fighting causes we care about. It’s simple, we really just try to help people and kids have a better life. The focus for us isn’t who is the biggest talent with the Soundsystem or who has the fastest time in the running club, it’s about overcoming a goal together and helping each other on the way.

ADCN: And as the President of ADCN, what’s on the agenda? Where would you like to be at the end of your presidency?

Edson Sabajo: My vision behind ADCN and Patta coming together is to unite and to expand new worlds. By learning from each other. What's the strength of the Patta community that can be shared? What is it that ADCN can bring to the table? How can we give back to one another? That’s why I chose the theme ‘Unity’. There’s too much divide and conquer these days in terms of how people think and work, we should unite and conquer. Come together by connecting ideas and communities that we could never imagine combining – and see where that takes us, just like in hip-hop!

And there you have it, a unique perspective on how to grow in creativity and business using the principles of hip-hop from the master himself. Below is a brief outline on what to expect during the themed year of ‘Unity’ from our President of the Year x ADCN:

An open call for a Special President’s Award as part of the Dutch Creativity Awards
A Creative Night in Amsterdam celebrating ‘Unity’ (details coming soon)
Lastly, a Masterclass during the Dutch Creativity Festival

Portrait of Edson Sabajo by Martijn Kuyvenhoven