For most of us, life didn’t turn out exactly the way we had planned as children. Your GearCrave editor just knew he was going to be a rock star, or maybe even President. Friends of ours were to be famous athletes, hero firefighters, a-list actors. While many of us may not have achieved the dream jobs we had as children, GearCrave knows a few who have. For the first in a series of interviews with inspiring people who did achieve those dreams, GearCrave sat down with Astronaut Clayton C. Anderson.

Out of 95 active-duty Astronauts in the US, not many actually get the chance to go into orbit. There are as few as one shuttle mission per year, three or four at best. Astronaut Clayton C. Anderson has earned himself quite a distinction: in 2007, he spent 5 months in space aboard the International Space Station. For those who shared Clayton’s dream of space flight as a child, you’ll find his story quite engaging and inspirational. Continue reading, GearCravers, to see life through the eyes of one of America’s heroes, NASA Astronaut Clayton C. Anderson.

(image courtesy: coneee)

“It is strange place, Liberty City. It sometime remind me of back home, in some places. But this American Dream is alive in very ugly ways, yet I am fixed to it as much as the next thug.” We’d hardly call Niko Bellic a thug. The star of Grand Theft Auto IV is a smart, humble, no-nonsense guy with a surprising touch of heart. While Niko does carry a heavy history, his wisdom and optimism carry him through a bold, new world of glitz, glamour, crime and punishment. For those who have spent some time with GTA IV, Niko is instantly engaging and fun. GearCrave sat down with Niko Bellic for a one-on-one interview to discuss his new life in the streets and alleys of Liberty City.

This week, GearCrave is running a giveaway with DesignByHumans.com for 25 free t-shirts for GearCrave readers. We sat down with DesignByHumans co-founder Jason Gutierrez to talk about DesignByHumans, its inspiration, and a little bit about the man behind the business. Read on, fellow GearCravers, for some sage insight into one of the fastest growing t-shirt companies on the web.

For the uninitiated, describe the wonderment that is DesignByHumans.

DesignByHumans (DBH) is an online t-shirt design contest, community, and store where artists and graphic designers from around the world submit designs for a chance to win lots of cash and other cool stuff. Submitted designs are voted and commented on by the DBH community members to help decide which designs will be printed and sold in our online store. Each design has a chance of winning up to $3,500 in cash and prizes plus an additional $10,000 cash in royalties. A new winning design is announced each day of the week (Monday-Friday). Think American Idol meets t-shirt design.

Continue reading for much more about Jason Gutierrez and DesignByHumans.com!

Jackie Chan and Jet Li, the two biggest martial art stars in the world, finally make a movie together. “The Forbidden Kingdom”, set to open nationwide on April 18th, is an action-adventure movie taking Boston teenager Jason Tripitikas to ancient China where he learns the art of Kung Fu from mismatched teachers, Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) and the Silent Monk (Jet Li).

GearCrave loves Kung Fu, and especially loves Kung Fu movies– so we sat down to have a chat with Jackie Chan about the Forbidden Kingdom and Jet Li. Continue reading after the jump for more Jackie Chan goodness, and the details on his latest film, “The Forbidden Kingdom”.

For anyone who has been paying attention, this has been quite a storied year for the sport of pro basketball. This year, NBA fans have seen referee scandals, blockbuster trades, new rankings leaders and a Western Conference so competitive that a 50 win team may not reach the playoffs. Arguably, this could be the most storied season for the NBA in recent memory…

Amidst all of this hoop hype, three guys from Toronto, Ontario get together every weekday morning to talk basketball. Skeets, Tas and JD are the founders and voices behind one of the top sports radio shows in North America: The Basketball Jones podcast. 292 smart, insightful and hopelessly funny episodes later, the boys with the jones for basketball have become a staple in the NBA.

With the 2008 NBA playoffs just over a week away, you’re going to want to tune into TheBasketballJones podcast. We sat down with Skeets and Tas for an interview on the inspiration of the show, their take on the state of the NBA and the ever popular “lightning round”… Keep reading, GearCravers, to learn why the leaders in sports new media should be your top destination for NBA playoff coverage.

Continuing GearCrave’s Spring t-shirt bonanza, we sat down with NerdyShirts co-founder Jacob Fatoorechi for a fun interview. For those who know NerdyShirts by their clothing, now is your chance to get to know the story behind the story… Continue reading below to learn more about the beginning of NerdyShirts, their t-shirts of choice, their favorite t-shirt artists and more. And don’t forget about our Nerdyshirts t-shirt giveaway!

As we closed our Vintage Red giveaway yesterday, we had a chance to speak to Vintage Red’s designer, getting some insight into their brand and its Spring ‘08 collection. GearCrave sat down with Elisa and talked about how the design came together, its inspirations, and why our readers will want to take note… Continue reading for more!

Turn up your speakers, GearCravers, you’re going to want to hear this. The freshest face in hip hop promises a bold new direction for the genre. Why haven’t you heard of him? He doesn’t hail from Brooklyn, Long Beach or Atlanta. Adam Tensta is the number one hip hop artist in an unlikely setting– the great nation of Sweden.

Adam’s most noteworthy trait is not his Swedish heritage, but the fresh, vibrant sound he delivers in songs like “My Cool” and “They Wanna Know“. Where American hip hop is increasingly stale and cookie-cutter, Adam Tensta revises the script completely with refreshing, pounding electro beats and powerful vocal delivery. Beneath this bold new sound is a man who decries the misogynist-thug language common in hip hop today– and instead brings a positive and infectious message.

GearCrave sat down with Adam Tensta to get to know his history, his influences, and where his future may take him. Keep reading, GearCravers, we’ve got Adam’s latest videos plus a giveaway of Adam’s debut album to one lucky GearCrave reader.

This week, GearCrave asked Bill Keyser of GoodCans.com a few questions about headphones. We absolutely love our music, but we needed expert advice on how to get the most out of our audio experience. In other words, our standard iPod earbuds aren’t cutting it… Bill Keyser is one of the top names in audiophile headphones on the web. We gave Bill the GearCrave soap box to share with us his take on some good, better, and best headphones available from his own store. Wisely, Bill suggested we move past names like Sony, Sennheiser, and AKG for this one and take a look at one of the top boutique headphone manufacturers on the planet– Grado Headphones. Continue reading for Bill’s sound advice on audiophile headphones.

Where sitcoms are becoming a thing of the past, “sit.comedies” are a growing trend on the web. Sure, you can catch new episodes of shows like “The Office” on NBC.com– and many other broadcast networks are following suit. But then there are these new “sit.comedies”, low- to no-budget short-length shows focused around the stories of a comedic cast. Among our favorites is JakeAndAmir.com. Why do we love it? Think “The Office” meets “Perfect Strangers”. GearCrave sat down with Amir Blumenfeld, 1/2 of JakeAndAmir.com and a regular star on the hilarious CollegeHumor web videos…