Back to School Bash in Union Avenue Park

Photo by Chris Sykes Winning Or Nothing Step Ahead clothing company co-owner Seyi Lusi, center, stands with his business partners, relatives and others who came out to Union Avenue Park on Saturday, Aug. 27, for the annual Back to School Bash.
Photo by Chris Sykes
Winning Or Nothing Step Ahead clothing company co-owner Seyi Lusi, center, stands with his business partners, relatives and others who came out to Union Avenue Park on Saturday, Aug. 27, for the annual Back to School Bash.

IRVINGTON, NJ — The Winning or Nothing Step Ahead T-shirt company on Springfield Avenue in Irvington sponsored its annual Back to School Bash community cookout in Union Avenue Park on Saturday, Aug. 27.

“We’re over here, just doing a community cookout unity and stuff, just like we did for the last few years,” Seji Lusi, co-owner of the business, said Saturday, Aug. 27. “We’re all about going forward and we’re all from this area. I went to school right here at Union Avenue School; I graduated from Irvington High; I graduated from Seton Hall University, so I’m definitely a product of Essex County. And I just want to let all of my people from Essex County know that we can go global.”

Lusi’s business used the bash as an occasion to roll out its latest designer T-shirt, which bears the likeness of the Pac-Man character from the 1980s video game eating a group of “ghosts” in much the same manner as the game, with the slogan: “We Eat Our Enemies.”

“My little niece she came up with the idea,” said Lusi. “Your enemies are your fears. That’s what we call ‘enemies,’ so don’t be scared or afraid of them. We eat them up.”

Miracle Osan Lusi, 8, is about to enter the fourth grade at Milburn Avenue School. But, according to her uncle, her design and fashion career has already begun.

“I don’t know how I came up with the design,” said Miracle on Saturday, Aug. 27. “I’m not ready to go back to school. I want more summer.”

“She came with it and we brought it to life,” said Seji Lusi. “That’s what we do.”

Godson Saintpaul is a longtime friend of Seji Lusi who said his friend managed to create a positive, peaceful atmosphere in Union Avenue Park on Saturday, Aug. 2, and said he was glad to attend the bash.

“It feels good to be out here, especially with my loved ones,” said Saintpaul on Saturday, Aug. 27. “This is my first time being out here, but I’ve known (Seji Lusi) for so long, it feels like I’m already home. That’s a good thing, because (the community cookout) keeps people off the streets and out of trouble.”