Apolis vs. Depravity

Marc Koska at Apolis:Common Gallery. Of course he's wearing the Apolis brand.

Once a flashpoint for punk rock depravity, the corner of East 3rd Street and the aptly named Traction Avenue in downtown Los Angeles made a shocking turn to boho gentrification. Think theater companies, niche restaurants and for the subject of this blog, the Apolis: Common Gallery store, which is run by socially conscious fashion brand Apolis at 806 E. Third St.

Instead of a surf or skate team to represent the men’s brand, Apolis puts its American classic style blazers, oxford shirts and chino pants on social activists.

On Jan. 23, one of their activists, Marc Koska, dropped by the store to give a brief talk on the global health risk of diseases spread by dirty syringes, mostly in developing countries.

During the talk, Koska showed a shocking video of a nurse in Tanzania who used the same syringe to give injections to a baby---and an adult suffering from syphillis. The heart-rending video underscored the finding from the World Health Organization that more than 1.3 people die needlessly each year from diseases spread by syringes used again and again.

Koska designed the Auto-Disable syringe, which locks after one injection. It prevents syringes being used over and over again, which he said saves millions of lives. Since founding U.K.-based charity The SafePoint Trust in 2006, he has campaigned for developing countries such as Tanzania, Cambodia and Uganda to use safer needles.

Before hearing this crucial talk, I made a visit to a punk rock past. Down the street from Apolis: Common Gallery is the site of Al’s Bar, one of Los Angeles’ notorious punk rock clubs. Once a graffiti scarred den where the likes of Beck performed, it is now the site of the well-appointed Archway Studio/ Theatre, which is devoted to staging classics such as MacBeth.

Since debuting in October, Archway’s Persian rugs and faux classic paintingsprovide the backdrop for a steady flow of shocked and flummoxed ex- punk rockers. The space they remembering slam dancing is nowzoned for Shakespeare soliloquies and yoga classes, said theater director Steven Sabel. I’m shocked. Shocked!

Raymond Y. Newton after a yoga class at the former Al's Bar stage area. Newton was a regular at Al's Bar. He has the pictures to prove it.

Some of Apolis' classic and socially conscious looks.