Meet Terrence Watson
Terrence Watson is a Portland-based journalist, copywriter, content producer, and co-founder of streetwear and sneaker culture festival The Colorways. A native New Yorker, he has an impressive résumé working with notable brands such as Nike and Adidas, along with celebrities such as Kevin Durant and Jeezy. We chat with him about being from the Big Apple, his creative journey as a writer, and what he thinks makes a good stew.
Campaign copy for the LeBron 16 for Nike Basketball
We’re curious to learn more about you as a copywriter, and how you started. Was it something you knew you wanted to do or was it something you fell into? Can you tell us a little bit more about that?
I kind of stumbled into copywriting, honestly. My background is traditionally in journalism. I went to school for it and got a job working at the Westchester Journal News by my junior year in college. As my professional writing career started to develop, I got a chance to write for a few magazines in the city. The cultural icon Bobbito Garcia had a magazine/blog about playground basketball and its surrounding culture called Bounce. A friend of mine named Randy Millard wrote a weekly column called “The Brooklyn Report,” highlighting players from the aforementioned borough. He let me guest blog once or twice and Bobbito read my work, called me and asked if I wanted to join the team.
From there, I got more opportunities and more credibility as a writer. Bounce was a sister publication to Dime magazine, and Justin Leonard, the owner and founder of Game Seven Marketing, was the publisher of both magazines at the time. Game Seven was an emerging experiential agency and pretty much handled everything that involved Nike Basketball’s eastern territory—from NYC, to Miami to Chicago. Jus’ saw my talent and started including me in projects. Every summer from around 2010 to 2015, I was a part of the Nike Basketball initiative. I didn’t know it at the time, but he was giving me mid-level copywriting jobs. That’s how I got my start.
In the course of our research (and also seeing that your Instagram handle is “lowereastscribe”), we realized that you’re born and bred in New York City. Has growing up in the Lower East Side influenced your writing in any way? What parts of being a New Yorker carries over to your creativity now that you’re in Portland? And what are the influences and inspiration you draw from being in Portland?
Growing up in LES influences everything about me. And the era of LES I grew up in does, too. I like to say that since NYC is the melting pot, clearly the people are that delicious, tasty stew. Well, when is the stew at its best? Two or three days after it’s made. When the seasoning has settled into the veggies and the meats. That’s what LES is like. All the best parts of New York’s culture can be found there.
I was just surrounded by so many voices, cultures, sounds, foods, styles. Wild amounts of clashing things that I had to make sense of. It gave me a sense of worldliness by age 12 that most people don’t experience, even if I had to leave the country (LOL). Creativity was just the norm. Whether it was being clever and descriptive when making fun of your friends, picking kicks others didn’t have in order to stand out, learning Chinese calligraphy in fifth grade, learning the piano. Visiting museums. Rap taking over the airwaves. I just absorbed a lot in my formative years.
How it relates to Portland really shines through in my work. I know I have an advantage that others just don’t: I was there for the experience. So many of the brands that are revered now, I was going to as a teen or even pre-teen, seeing the pandemonium. Like that infamous Staple Pigeon dunk riot happened walking distance from my crib. I used to go to Supreme and not buy anything cuz they treated people like shit. So I was there to see how everything formed and because of the internet age, I was watching just how much we were influencing other places.
That said, I can also see the shift happening here. I got to Portland at a good time. The people who are from here who have the sauce, so to speak, are mixing in with the transplants from NYC, L.A., Chicago, Miami, London, Tokyo, etc. It might be a small city but the creativity it houses is major. You see the shops and activations popping up and if you know what you’re looking at, you can tell something big is on the way.
Copy and concepts for Nike SB’s 15 Years of SB Dunk, including the archival site which won an Awwward Site of the Day
In your career trajectory, you’ve worked with prominent brands (Nike Basketball, NikeLab, Nike Court, Jordan Brand) as well as with sport celebrities (Kevin Durant, Chris Paul) and hip hop artists (Jeezy, Pusha T). How did you get to this point in your career with this spectacular experience and résumé? Was there any turning points in your career where you felt this was something big? What is the driving force to push yourself with your work?
I think I’m really good at coming up with and executing on big ideas. I can do day-to-day things, but I make my money on the big things. I’m a home run hitter. But even a home run hitter needs people who can get on base first to make the big hits count and the team to win. This is a very long baseball analogy—hahahaha.
I’m saying that to say, the best thing about working with big brands and names is the resources and reach. When the budget is there, I can make some REALLY dope shit happen. But trust me, I’ve made a lot happen with little to no budget. I had a conversation with a friend who’s a well known industry creative and we were talking about the Young Jeezy x Jay Bilas video I produced. I’m walking him through how I made it happen, and he asked me what my budget was and he was shocked when I told him there wasn’t one. He just kinda shook his head and laughed like wtf.
ESPN’s Jay Bilas and Young Jeezy are united here through music and through Terrence’s concept produced for Vibe Magazine
That was the first thing I produced from concept to the content going live. It gave me something to stand on and a lot of confidence that I could do just about anything. Especially when I’m surrounded by the right people. Not to get all sportsy on y’all again, but I played point guard growing up. So my job was to get people in the best position to score, so we all win. In order to do that, you have to know other people’s strengths. And you have to trust and believe in them, almost more than they do themselves. That mentality has never left me. When I trust and believe in those around me, the work comes easy. I’ll put us in position to win.
When you’re taking on a new client, how do you determine what goes into content and that you know will resonate with people? What are the elements? Where do you start?
This is a very deep question. I can’t give you a full answer cuz that’s how I make my money hahahaha. I’m just messing around. Honestly, it goes back to me being a journalist or even a writer first. A writer’s job is to make you connect to the story, no matter the subject matter. I approach everything that way.
Audience has to connect to it. Especially now. There’s endless amounts of content, so why would you stop at mine? I have to figure out a way to make you stop scrolling. Visually. With the copy. Something. That’s always goal number one.
For the other elements, agency folks reading this, feel free to hire me 😎
When it comes to storytelling or the content how do you balance both your client’s expectations as well as your perspective?
I’m going to be real honest here: sometimes you can’t. I’m going to try. I’ll fight for it. But at the end of the day, client wants what they want. No one will say that out loud but I will. I actually had to learn that myself because it is a balance. I like to create with passion like the content’s mine, but remember that it’s technically not. Do I try to find the sweet spot? Absolutely. And more often than not, I can. But you do get the occasional client that’s so hellbent and fixated on something that you have to hand it off to them and keep it pushing. Sometimes it’s bigger than your direct client too. Could be a whole department. A higher-up. Who knows? I do my best and let it go.
Do you write for yourself? And if you do, what kind of writing? And do you have an audience in mind?
This year is the first time in years that I’ve even had the desire to write for myself. For a few years, writing was my job and no longer something I did because I loved it. But that feeling is coming back and I’m excited about that. I started journaling just to get creative juices flowing in different ways. As far as the audience, it’s just for me. That’s kind of how I’d like to keep it for now.
The Colorways All Girls Club panel with (from left to right) Reina Koyano, Alissa Nevita, Terrence Watson, Tamara Dhia, Megan Ann Wilson, and Shani Storey
Photo by Megan Ann Wilson
We’d love to learn more about your project Colorways, a streetwear culture and sneaker community festival. What moved you to create this project and how did it take the form of a festival? You’ve also mentioned that it’s expanding into a digital platform, including photoshoots and editorial, could you tell us more about that?
Being out here in Portland, I’m surrounded by some of the best creative minds in the industry. Literally, we wake up everyday and figure out the content, strategy and art direction for some of the world’s leading brands. Figured we should use some of that energy and insight to create what we want to see, on our own terms, for a culture that we pretty much fuel. And it’s just about fun. The whole reason any of us got into this in the first place is because it’s fun. All of us working in footwear are shoe salesmen at the end of the day, but we take it so seriously. Let’s have some fun.
As far as the editorial. I kind of want it to be done and out before talking about it in full, but it was something that kind of happened. We couldn’t do the event this year because…well, you know. This year’s been wild AF. There was a two week period where we literally couldn’t see the sun because of forest fire smoke. And that’s on top of the ongoing pandemic. Another Zoom event sounded like a horrible idea. I mean, the last thing I want to do is make people jump on another Zoom.
But this new wave for Colorways will be centered on highlighting the PNW’s streetwear scene. We have an incredibly talented team and we’re making something for the community. Hope folks like it (and share it, and comment on it and follow us—haha).
Speaking at the African American Footwear Forum
Recently you hosted a conversation around the exhibition Black Power is A Color between the 3 artists Christine Miller, Danielle McCoy, and Kareem Blair. We listened to the panel, and had a lot of feelings about it :) We really appreciated Christine creating the space and also seeing the work of Danielle resonated with us.
How did you come to be involved with the show? We would love to hear from your perspective what you think of the theme, the 3 artists’ works, and their inspirations.
So many feels about that show. Christine, Danielle, and Kareem did a phenomenal job with the artwork. I got involved simply because I came to the show. Christine put it out and I made my way to see it, and it was so timely. Everything just resonated with me. The pandemic had just kind of started, but people were still able to get to the gallery. As I was looking at the works, Christine asked if I’d write some corresponding copy for it.
A few weeks later, Christine told me Portland Art Museum’s Contemporary Art Council was hosting the discussion, and she asked if I’d moderate the panel. I was super honored to share that space with her, Danielle and Kareem. Mostly because I was humbled that they’d think of me to be a part of something so impactful and dear to them. And how important it is. It’s truly important work. That and I guess I’m so used to others seeing me as a sports or sneaker culture guy, that I’m a bit shocked when they notice other qualities. I appreciate art and while I’m not classically trained to decipher it, maybe that’s the point. I wasn’t classically trained to be a copywriter either, and I’ve been cooking for nearly a decade. Sometimes the untrained eye is needed because you’re not stifled by the expectation of knowing. You’re just feeling. And you can’t fake that.
Their works intertwined around one core thing: liberation. I know it’s called “Black Power is A Color,” but power and liberation go hand in hand. Liberation through wealth, the freedom to “just be” and to feel seen and acknowledged through the gaze of your own people. That’s largely what I took from it.
Text by Terrence Watson
Interview by NSC