"LIBERATE CHICKENS" x HOMERUN NYC

You never know what you might see.

A group of us were standing on Conselyea Street, easing into a warmup before a group run led by Colin at HOMERUN in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I had my camera on me and was snapping photos of the group when someone yelled out, “Take a picture of that!”. I turned around to face the direction they were looking, I was looking aimlessly down the street trying to make out what they were pointing at, hoping I could get my camera in focus in time. That’s when I saw what they were looking at, a young guy was walking on the sidewalk directly towards us, caressing a live chicken in his arms. You never quite know what you might see in a city like New York, that’s the fun part of having a camera on you in this city, things just jump out at you that make quite a memorable photo.

For some reason there was a recurring theme forming in Williamsburg that I couldn’t escape, my friend Greg Larkin and I had met up for coffee the day before he gave me a walking tour of Williamsburg, explaining the history behind all of the various development projects that shaped this area into a booming residential and commercial hub. When we got to the end of his street, he pointed out how a poultry slaughterhouse used to be next door to his children’s playground. He told me how chickens used to escape, and you would find them running down the street. I could visualize the juxtaposition of this setting in my mind, kids chasing live chickens around screaming, and we laughed at the proximity of those two realities.

Back on Conselyea Street, our warm-up had completely dissipated. We asked the guy holding the chicken, “What are you going to do with him?”

“I don’t know!” he said. All the locals rattled off various veterinarians and organizations that may be able to help rescue the chicken.

We all laughed.

This chicken won the lottery, he was hours away from death, making his grand escape, and coming across this guy who had enough compassion to scoop him up and take the time out of his day to ensure that he was spared. This isn’t the pace or way that most New Yorkers move, for the most part most New Yorkers keep to themselves and move at a hurried pace. We all gave the chicken a pet, scratching its head like he was holding a puppy, and we all snapped a group photo.

We finished our warm up and our group set off on a run down the block. As we ran, we followed Colin’s lead, he led us down a variety of streets, weaving through a myriad of side streets. New York to me is such a sprawling landscape, visiting from Austin, TX, a city where nothing really surprises me anymore, but in NYC with each turn I feel like I am witnessing a new culture, with so much history, even if that is just imagining all of the working class truck drivers or tradesman that make this route their daily commute. Bringing a side of the city to life, that may not be a destination, yet, but feeds the underbelly of the city in a way that is grounding and gritty. Colin navigates these streets in a way that can only be learned by putting feet to pavement, and the group follows close behind. Our group is made up of creatives, artists, muay thai fighters, and marathon runners who will probably put in another 12-15 miles as soon as we wrap up our group run. It’s a chill group, and we all chat as we run along, my right hand freezing around my camera body in the wind.

We stopped by a basketball court for a quick pushup and squat ladder in Greenpoint, before making our way across the Kosciuszko Bridge that connects Brooklyn to Queens. I was blown away by the sheer size of the cemetery that was waiting for us on the other side of the highway, it was quite a sight, connecting the dots of just where all the bodies go in a city with a population and history like NYC.

HOMERUN has brought something truly special, and relatively simple to the community in Williamsburg. Colin has been building his brand for decades, long before the storefront. The original HOMERUN logo was hand drawn on paper.

We were standing in the shop when he told me, “You know how it goes with logos, they get recycled digitally and lose that analog feel. We purposely hand draw ours so it never loses the feeling of being done by hand.”

He said they never want to lose that edge. Logos tend to become too perfect over time. It may seem extra to some, but I understood. I respect when people protect the finer details and, no matter how big the brand gets, don’t forget where they came from.

For HOMERUN, that’s markers, blotters, and spray cans.

These two worlds, graffiti and fitness, haven’t always had a bridge, and HOMERUN has become that bridge both in the city and online. Influencing young street artists, skaters and night dwellers to take their health seriously. Moving your body has a way of clearing your mind that can’t be replicated. Once you dip your toes in, you start to realize that these two worlds do have more in common than most would expect.

Colin and his team are the best kind of leaders to hold it down in this arena, they have an attitude like, “Hey man, we’re just going to do what we do, and if you want to jump in, the doors open”. I left New York feeling inspired. I want to introduce my own sort of “third space” concept to Austin, and eventually more cities so I can travel seasonally and collaborate with creatives in cultural hubs around the world. Yet, this term, “third space”, has become trendy and overused in recent years, often missing the mark. HOMERUN is an example of just how natural a space like this can feel, you should be bringing the outside culture in, give the community a space that they can identify and align with. It’s not craft cocktails, pilates and a co-working space. It’s more inviting, there is no menu, less transactional and the energy has a chance to speak for itself. I know I still have a lot of work to do when it comes to building this brand, but I am grateful to continue to have the opportunity to have my mind opened and to be inspired by individuals like Colin and his team.

The next time I am in New York, I will definitely be joining the crew for another run, and I have a feeling it will feel like I never left.

That night I was riding the train home, when we hopped on a car to Bushwick, we had about a 10 minute wait before it took off, the two doors in our car were open, and on the rooftop just outside the train was a a big roller tag that said two words, “Liberate Chickens”, my friend Matt (@mattru22) and I got a big kick out of that after I had told him the story of the chicken that had escaped. That about summed up the day, and is truly a movement I can get behind.

So yes, LIBERATE CHICKENS!

Written & Photographed by Evan H. Duvall