Fugees affiliate and brilliant singer-songwriter John Forté is asking for support for his friend and legendary streetwear designer Alyasha Owerka-Moore. According to an Instagram post shared on Monday (October 17), Owerka-Moore is currently undergoing treatment for Stage 3 colon cancer. As a result, his family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with medical costs.
The description explains: "Alyasha Owerka-Moore was diagnosed with colon cancer in early August 2022, after a routine checkup. Treatment began immediately and a few weeks later Alyasha underwent a colectomy procedure to remove a cancerous mass. Post-surgery, a biopsy of the mass further revealed that the cancer had advanced into stage 3 and that testing of the lymph nodes would also be necessary. The oncology results confirmed that indeed cancer was present in a lymph node and that an aggressive form of chemotherapy treatment would be necessary.
"Just two months after diagnosis, ‘Aly’ has begun a heavy chemo regiment that will involve twelve, three-day infusions for the next six months. This is not going to be an easy road for him, but Alyasha is facing it with all of the fortitude, optimism, and humor that he can. The Alyasha trademark chuckle remains intact."
Owerka-Moore helped launch Russell Simmons' Phat Farm brand to notoriety in the early 1990s. After relocating from New York City to San Diego, he later found success with the streetwear brands Dub and Droors, American Dream Inc. skateboards, Assault skateboards, Alphanumeric, Fiberops and The Teen-Aged as well as Nike SB.
"I just feel like I need to get out of the city and there’s nothing really going on here for me, and my roots are in skateboarding," he told The Hundreds in 2016. "It was kind of the perfect opportunity."
Like Forté, many of his friends and peers are rooting for him. His GoFundMe has already raised over $84,000 with a goal of $125,000. Donate here.
