"New York City Eats Its Young"

image courtesy of HBO.com

Recently one of my good friends got me hooked on a new HBO series: How to Make It in America. The series stars Bryan Greenberg (as Ben) and Victor Rasuk (as Cam) as two best friends trying to make it in New York City. This leads them to the idea of starting their own premium denim/lifestyle brand: Crisp. 

The main attraction to the show is that it depicts the life that many 20-somethings are embarking on right now. There's a wave of young adults living this lifestyle - the one when you don't necessarily know if you'll have a paycheck next week, but you're still out there trying to make an impact somehow. Pretty much, we are trying to stay alive in this city! I've had this conversation with friends - about pursuing the creative/entrepreneurial life; leaving current jobs behind (which I've already done) and becoming, I don't know - assistants or working random side jobs, until we can launch our own business. Essentially, it's going with the theme of "fuck the man until we are the man" (as Cam likes to say).

I love that the show involves fashion and design -- visits to sample makers and the John Varvatos studio; references to Barneys and Nylon Mag. Quickly we find out that $3,000 will buy you serious yardage of premium denim, $1,500 will get you a pattern and sample and that Japanese buyers like vintage t-shirts saying: New York City Eats Its Young.

The other bonus is the great soundtrack for each episode, including the theme song by Aloe Blacc - which proclaims "I need a dollar, that's all I need" - and a melange of new and old school artists like Phoenix, Hot Chip, Broken Bells, Bag Raiders, the Rolling Stones, and Otis Redding.
 

The first season is over, a mere 8 episodes, but BOY, do I look forward to a second season! 

The show also stars Lake Bell as Rachel (Ben's ex-girlfriend), Eddie Kaye Thomas as David (Ben's nerdy hedge fund-connected friend), Kid Cudi as Domingo (Ben and Cam's friend) and Luis Guzman as Rene (Cam's ex-convict cousin).

Some of my favorite lines from the show:

"Fuck the man!" -Cam

"I'm just a hard working man trying to get by" -Ben

"I didn't know you creative types got up before lunch" -David Kaplan
"You know I get my philosophize on every once in awhile" -Domingo
"The secret is not get rich quick - the secret is to get rich slow and appreciate it" -Kaplan
"Don't trust no one Donald. For real. Not even Mickey" -Wilfredo


Watch this behind-the-scenes clip below from Nylon TV:

video courtesy of Nylon TV