The Hektik Collektive - Three craftsman. One bright future.

By Jilliann Ransom

Cade Conway - Hektik Media (20), DeAndre Rios - Chulo Studios (23), and Ivan Vasquez - Guapdidem (21) have recently teamed up in a creative effort to promote their various talents. They each have their own definitive style and medium- Cade currently works as a videographer, DeAndre designs and creates custom rugs and art pieces, and Ivan creates one-of-a-kind patchwork, metal-accented shoes.

Ivan Vasquez, more commonly known by his moniker Guapdidem, has designed and produced over 500 items. His most notable customer has been Gary Payton Jr., the point guard for the Portland Trailblazers, who continues to support his work to this day.

Cade Conway, operating under his media business Hektik Media, has released over 100 videos- including music videos, concert and event coverages, and advertisements. His lineup includes well-known rappers such as Waka Flaka, PNB Rock, Duke Deuce, Rick Ross, Cico P, and Sonny Digital.

DeAndre 'Dre' Rios, under his working title Chulo Studios, has completed roughly 300 projects. His favorite project is the multi-colored rug he made for One Voice Home, a therapeutic home for domestic sex-trafficking victims. He frequently works in tandem with Cade, helping him shoot his music videos. They recently organized 'Hub City Kickback', an event at Lubbock Brewery, Two Docs, featuring 25 Lubbock vendors and 12 local music artists.

Even in their individualism, they each boast a similar, contemporary, bold, street-style, a style one might find off an artsy street corner in Brooklyn. It was only a matter of time before their talent led their paths to cross in Lubbock, TX.

Locus Magazine sat down with the three creatives in December in Dre's modern loft downtown, huddled in tight a circle, still buzzing off the excitement and energy from the photoshoot we did for the magazine earlier.

So, how did you guys start off?

Ivan: I started with clothes first, it just moved to shoes. My first pair of shoes were in high school, I had a bunch of sharpies and some blank shoes. I did an A$AP Rocky x Louis Vuitton collab, I ended up selling them for like 80 bucks. I took a break from pursuing fashion for a while to attend college. I went for about a year...it really wasn't my thing. I wanted to pursue fashion full-time. I started off painting on shoes, then I moved to reworking clothing with that patchwork design. I experimented with the patchwork on shoes, and those became really popular.

Was there a lot of push-back from your family about dropping out of college?

Ivan: Oh, for sure. My family was always asking, "So...when are you going back?" I had to tell them, I'm not. They didn't know how I was paying rent for a while. They were convinced I was selling drugs. When they finally saw I was making money off of this, real, bill-paying money, they finally accepted that I wasn't going back.

DeAndre: I got interested in making art my senior year of high school. After graduating, I did a year of college before realizing I needed to be doing something else...so, similar to Ivan. After that, I started painting. I sold my first painting for $250. I had actually gotten fired from my job around that time so I needed a way to pay my rent. That’s when I was like, it’s time to start taking this seriously.”

Ivan: That's real. That's when you know it's real. When you can pay bills with money from your work.

DeAndre: Right! There’s a lot of artists that never get to sell anything. The fact that I was fortunate enough for someone to take a liking to my work and pay for it, it’s a different feeling. So, I got the rug gun for Christmas from my dad. It was a cool way to turn my sketches into something physical and no one else was doing anything like that in Lubbock. They gained popularity as soon as I started doing them, so I just ran with it.

Cade: My brother and I built up a whole YouTube channel around making skits, doing challenges, just goofing off. It was a lot of fun and it really started my love for video.

I knew I wanted to do music videos from the start. I used to shoot them for a couple local artists on my phone. One day my dad told me, "There's a lot of money you could be making, why don’t you get a camera and set up your business?" I’ve always wanted to run my own business and I had some money saved up from working summer jobs, so I bought a camera.

My first name for the company was ‘Don’t Speak.’ I came across the current name while we were on the way to shoot a music video. It was spray painted on the side of a train car, ‘Hektik.’ I wasn’t sure at first but it stuck with me.

Cade: I went to college too, for a little. I had to drop out to have a massive brain surgery, I took time off to recover. But that break came at the perfect time. My friend called me up and said he was renting out a studio space, and asked me to be a part of it. I agreed, and the rest was history. I never went back to school. I want to one day, for sure, but it will always be there. This is now, this is what I wanted to put my full attention to.

What is your favorite thing about what you do?

Cade: I mean, I wouldn’t limit what I do to just videography. My favorite thing about what I do is the people I meet, the relationships built along the way. I mean, just practicing your craft, you meet so many people on the journey. They're on their journey too. You come together, work together... I've met so many driven, like-minded people through this craft.

DeAndre: I mean, going off of what Cade just said. Creating memories with your team. It takes a team, even just two or three people. When people work in flux and they’re on the same wavelength, it just amplifies everything.

Ivan: Living out my dream. I’ve always known this is what I wanted to do. I've wanted to be a fashion designer all my life. I’m not fully there yet, but I’m doing it. Being able to do what I love and create the life I want, I can’t ask for much more. Everything else comes with it.

Follow them on Instagram!

Cade Conway: @hektikmedia

Ivan Vasquez: @guapdidem

DeAndre Rios: @chulo_studios