'100% For What's Going On': Even After Sole Stage On Fairfax Is Looted, Owner Stays Supportive Of George Floyd Protests
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Sole Stage on Fairfax, a sneaker lover's paradise that had customers like boxer Floyd Mayweather and NBA player Devin Booker, is an empty shell of itself after being looted during the recent unrest in Los Angeles.
Protests on May 30 in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis started at Pan Pacific Park and spread into Beverly Hills, the Fairfax District and onto Melrose as the crowd grew. Stores along Rodeo Drive and Melrose were vandalized and looted.
One of those stores was Sole Stage. Footage from SKY2 that night showed Sole Stage's security gate up a few feet from the ground, with debris spilling out of the doors. In the street beyond, dozens of police officers surround protestors who sat on the ground.
But for Sole Stage's owner Saam Mobasseri, the loss of his inventory is a small price to pay for real change in this country.
"I could lose $100,000 worth of inventory. I have insurance and I could replace all that product," Mobasseri said. "These kids, this generation, they're being raised to look at what's happening and they can't change their outlook, they're being affected. Not only are lives being lost, but the outlook of what's going on, they don't feel safe.
"And that's not the right way to be, is waking down the street, and instead of having someone protecting you, it's selective. As opposed to someone sitting there saying, 'Hey. This is for all. We're all equal.' And until then, I'm 100% for what's going on, till there's 100% equal rights across the board, and not based on the color of your skin," he said.
Bobby Hundreds, owner of The Hundreds, expressed a similar statement. The designer has teamed up with the Billionaire Boys Club to raise money for Black Lives Matter.
Other stores that were also looted included Round Two on Melrose, Flight Club and Supreme.
