Last night LVHRD and Veer welcomed table tennis pro Wally Green, Upnorth graphic designers Steve Green and Justin Kay to the New York Table Tennis Foundation for BIFOLD SPORT.

Hosted by Mark Nardelli, Creative Director of 5boro skateboarding and original NYC skater, we went underground in Chinatown to explore the intersection of sport and design.

credits: Settlement Heart for LVHRD

NYTTF Members

Work up a sweat before BIFOLD SPORT. The sound of balls was deafening.

When we showed up at the NYTTF the members were still in full-on practice mode: the wicked ricochet of ping pong balls sounding especially explosive reverberating off the low-ceiling.

We filmed the action for a bit, orange plastic balls whizzing by our camera and accumulating on the floor. They scoop the balls up with pool skimmer nets.

credits: your pal Matt

New York Table Tennis Foundation

Wall-to-wall basement ping pong action.

By the time the guests arrived we had cleared the ping pong tables, although some of the players stuck around for the presentations. People filtered down the chili-scented stairway into the basement where DJ King Creeper was on the decks, to the bar setup in the table tennis cafe, serving Brooklyn Brewery and Fred.

Nardelli called the meeting to order, directing our attention to the entries in the Veer Football Franchise Competition. LVHRD asked three designers to create logos and wordmarks for a fictional NYC football team. The winning design will be decided by a vote on LVHRD.ORG.

credits: your pal Matt

Upnorth on the next big thing

You'll have to go to Wisconsin for it, though.

Steve and Justin, founders of Upnorth Graphic Design, took the stage first and discussed how hip hop, punk rock, and skateboarding led them out of Milwaukee and into NYC where they work as guns for hire, designing apparel, logos, and especially typefaces for everyone from Zoo York to MTV to Mark Ecko.

credits: your pal Matt

Q&A with Upnorth

Huey Lewis meets Black Sabbath.

They were frank about their skills as well as their limitations, emphasizing the importance of taking on jobs within their capacity as a small design studio, as well as being engaged with projects creatively, “because let’s face it,” said Justin, “we can get mad and do angry work for lots of people, but then what’s the point?”

After the intermission Wally Green regaled us with stories from the world of professional table tennis. He got into ping pong at age 19, late for a sport when most players literally step up to the table before they learn to read. In a few years he was competing internationally: “It was like going from playing junior varsity in middle school to the NBA,” said Wally. “I got beat so bad.”

credits: your pal Matt

Wally in a Japanese print ad

He says this is the gayest picture of himself he's ever seen.

A little older and a little wiser now, Wally has found his niche in table tennis. He brings Brooklyn attitude to a sport known for the way it crushes free spirits and brings players to heel under Stalinist coaches. Wally’s mission is to make ping pong cool–to put a passionate face on a sport that he credits with saving him from certain “extracurricular activities.”

credits: your pal Matt

Wally Green demonstrates spin

He can serve the ball so you will hit it off the table in whatever direction pleases him.

Following his talk, Wally lived up to his reputation and played a game for the audience with his cell phone. He won, with no shortage of pomp and flare. He showed us how, with different types of serves, he could make his opponent hit the ball off the table in any direction he wanted. “Basement players don’t understand about spin,” said Wally. “It’s what separates the pros.”

credits: Your pal Matt

Nardelli on his toes

Even skaters have to ping pong.

Wally’s demonstration led into open-table ping pong, everyone getting in on singles and doubles matches, with Wally posing for pictures while playing one-handed.

Thank you to Steve, Justin, Mark and Wally for making BIFOLD SPORT an amazing event. It has the distinction of being the only BIFOLD we left with autographed pictures of the talent.

credits: your pal Matt

Wally Green in the NY hat

He will use your handshake as a paddle.

Thank you as well to Veer for sponsoring the Football Franchise Competition, to Brooklyn Brewery and Fred for supplying various hydrations, to Zipcar for getting us to the event, to Turntable Lab for hooking up DJ King Creeper, and to the NYTTF for opening their grounds to LVHRD.

We hope you had a blast. Remember to vote for your favorite football design in the Franchise Competition this week, and check back later for photos of BIFOLD SPORT in the LVHRD Gallery.