Season 2 of HBO Max’s The Hype officially came to a close on Friday, October 7th, with the release of the show’s final three episodes. For those unfamiliar with The Hype, the show features a season-long competition between prominent up-and-coming streetwear designers. Season 2 of The Hype featured six different episodes, each of which included a different challenge for the designers to face. Judging the competition are The Hype’s A-list Co-Signers: Offset, Marni Senofonte, and Bephie Birkett. The TV series’ host for both season 1 and 2 was Speedy Morman, who we sat down with StockX to talk about all things The Hype.
Speedy Morman is a host, journalist, and producer from Queens, New York. He’s well-known for his editorial and hosting work with Complex, which has launched him into show-hosting for Jobs Unlimited, Spotify’s flagship morning show The Get Up, his work with HBO Max’s The Hype, and more. An expert interviewer, Speedy’s talked with everyone from Cardi B to Barack Obama.
Tell us about some of your favorite moments from hosting The Hype?
One of my favorite moments is less of a moment, it was just an episode. Episode three with the Skateboard Challenge at Venice Beach. There’s so much skate history in streetwear, so to be able to have a skateboard episode of the show was fire.
We got to go to the iconic Venice Beach and link up with some of the most talented skaters on earth, legendary skaters like P-Rod and Christian Hosoi. And so to see the designers make custom outfits for the best skaters and then watch them actually skate in them at Venice Beach was a moment that I thought was amazing.
As someone who’s been very present at the intersection of hip-hop and streetwear cultures for years, how do you feel like a show like the hype is contributing to the culture as a whole?
For me, the reason I was so excited to be a part of the show is because I really had high hopes and expectations for The Hype. And I think everyone who is a part of it does too, and that we really want to crown the next big streetwear designer for real. This isn’t just some show shit. We really want people who come from The Hype to go on and be incredibly successful.
We’ve already seen that with contestants from season one and season two already, who are now designing for some of the biggest artists in the world, some of the biggest rappers, and some of the biggest athletes. Just to be a stop along their journeys is a beautiful thing and I’m honored to be a part of it.
What were some of your favorite design moments from the show?
One of my favorite design moments was the hoodie that Barth made in episode one that won him that challenge. He turned a bunch of $5 ski masks into a hoodie. I’ve never seen that done before in my whole life. I would’ve never imagined that. I just thought it was one of the coolest things I had ever seen.
I also really loved Khan’s episode three look. That was the skate challenge that he made for Ish Cepeda. He also made a skateboard bag, which I thought was cool, the perfect size of a skateboard that coincided with the fit. That was another one of my favorite looks.
Could you speak to the significance of the judges panel? What do you think it means for cultural giants like Offset, Beth Birkett, and Marni Senofonte to be The Hype’s co-signers?
Our three cosigners are no stranger to success in any regard. Offset, obviously, multi-platinum recording hip-hop artist. He’s made some of the biggest cultural moments, made records that are the anthem for a lot of people’s lives. Also one of the flyest to do it in the game. From a credibility perspective, it’s there. He’s super fly and everybody knows it.
And then Marni, she’s the creative director of Ivy Park, Beyoncé’s brand with adidas, and she’s also styled some of the biggest people on planet earth including Beyoncé, Kendall Jenner, Diddy, and more.
Bephie is the co-owner of Union, which is one of the most significant streetwear stores and brands our culture’s ever seen. They have collaborations with Jordan Brand. They’ve done Dunks and Cortezs. And then Bephie also has her own brand called Bephie’s Beauty Supply and that’s wildly successful as well.
So yeah, we really got the best in the business for this.
Has your experience on the show shaped or changed the way that you view streetwear and its presence in this community?
It certainly made me appreciate the creativity behind pieces a bit more. I think that we sort of take certain things for granted, particularly the design process. I come in and I watch a roll of fabric on a wall become an outfit the next day. That shit is crazy. Watching them do it so flawlessly and seamlessly and in such little time, it’s some of the most impressive shit I’ve ever seen.
And when we watch the show back, we’re really only seeing a few minutes of each person and there’s hours of work that go into it. So watching the show, you don’t get as great of an understanding of just how much work they’re doing in such little time.
How would you define your style?
My whole brand is about being comfy. My whole existence is, I like to call it comf, C O M F. Basically I like to wear comfortable clothing. So I don’t wear jeans. I haven’t worn jeans in years. I don’t do formal wear, so I don’t like to wear suits and shit like that. I’ve only worn a suit maybe two or three times in my whole life and one of them was my mom’s wedding. The other one was my prom. And then I don’t even remember what the other one was for. I really only wear activewear, sportswear, streetwear and casual wear.
If you had to participate in one of the challenges from the show, which one would it be and what would you present?
My favorite challenge is Tunnel Vision. It’s the episode about sportswear. We got an NBA player that is known for his style and the episode’s premise is to make a look for an NBA player who’s coming to a game. You watch the guys in the tunnel. The tunnel’s kind of become a runway of sorts, and so people want to get fly so they can get their pic taken in that tunnel and shit. So yeah, that is my favorite challenge because I’m a big sports guy, plus I just think it’s a good idea.
And what I would’ve made is a sweatsuit. Like an upscale sweatsuit or tracksuit because I, A. have to stay true to me and B. it’s on brand, it’s sportswear.
Is there a pair of sneakers that you would’ve paired with the tracksuit that you made?
Yeah, probably Air Max 1s. Or white Air Force 1s, white on white Ups. We call them Ups, but white on white Ups or Air Max 1s or maybe like Air Max 95s.
