But Nando knew that he needed the freshest gear to get the ear of the Nuggets. Finally, he found the necklace, put it on and went back to DC10.
The necklace did the job.
Ten years later, his interests were more expensive.
As a young teen, Nando Mondragon was into lowrider bikes.
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As he walked by, Carmelo Anthony noticed Nando. He came up to shake Nando’s hand, and Nando slipped him a card. Then someone else in the crowd came up to Nando, whispered something close. “I always see the same people coming up to me, saying they’re going to come get their grill done,” Nando says, “but those are the people who never do.”
I’ve sat on the sidelines watchin the game. Never really cared too much about gettin’ on the field but honestly I believe its time for my city to get exposure and be respected in this Hip-Hop Super Bowl. I may not be the most recognized person in the 303 or even close but I’m certified for many reasons. So what my plan is based on is respect....
As a condition of Nando’s parole being switched to Colorado, he was not to leave the state. But the first weekend in January, he and his girlfriend took a trip to Vegas, of all places.
Nando had been cheating on his girl, “making up for lost time,” and the couple got into a heated argument in their room at the MGM Grand.
“We got loud, and I think it got a little exaggerated,” says Nando’s girlfriend. “The neighbors are the ones who called the cops. I never would’ve called them.”
When the cops came, Nando knew he was going back to jail, probably prison. They asked Nando if his girlfriend had been fighting, too, and whether they should take her, but he told them no.
Nando was booked into the Clark County Detention Facility on one charge of assault, with a hearing set for February. In the meantime, he’s violated his parole in Colorado, and his parole has been switched back to Nevada. He’s not sure how long it will be before he can return to Denver; it could be years.
“I’m back in the same place where I started,” Nando says.
The same physical space, but Nando has come a long way in the last year. So the first thing he did when he was locked up was sit down with a pad and paper and start planning his next move.
“Basically, where I’m at right now, it’s huge, it looks crazy, it doesn’t make sense — but even if I go all the way to 2010, people are gonna hear from me when I get out,” he says. “Certified Customs is going to be all over the city. You can’t give up your dreams.
“This is not my regular life; I don’t fit in jail,” he continues. “Last time, I got used to it — this was my life. Now I’m running a good business, something that kids can look up to instead of looking up to drug dealers. The sky’s the limit. I want to keep reaching for other kids who grew up like I did to have something to look up to. I don’t belong here, but I took the rap. I’m still from where I’m from. People may say I’m hard-headed, that I’ve got too much to lose, but this is who I am, this is how I was raised and brought up. It’s not over. I’ll go to court, I’ll do my time, I’ll get out and keep working hard. I’m just looking at this as a minor setback.”
So if you never heard of King Soopers, never hit Feds on a Sunday night, or hit the 16th Street mall when the Broncos won the Super Bowl, then its hard to get a feel for my city. So here’s my tiny contribution. I’m opening my racks to anybody that is reppin for Colorado. Whether you rap, wanna sell some graff you got on canvas, mixtapes or a video of you break dancin in ya garage, I got you. So represent and express your style in your way... be different. Don’t be afraid to stick out. Because at the end of the day we are on this side of the wall and basically if you’re not tryin to be unique, I know thousands of guys right now that would love to trade places with you and would love to wear some pink, orange and lime green Certified Kickz at the drop of a dime!
