I met Rainey at the 2nd annual Toast N Flow show held last month in Danbury, CT. He was selling a table full of the same hats pictured here and it quickly caught my interest. Finally caught up with the busy man to find out more about the hats and about The Rat Collective. Check it out.
The Mad Bloggers: Tell me about The Rat Collective.
Rainey "Skates" Cruz: Well, The Rat Collective is a skateboarding initiative that delivers skateboard goods to underprivileged skaters in The Dominican Republic.
TMB: How was The Rat Collective born?
Rainey: It all started when I was re-visiting my family and the island (after a 15+ year hiatus) 3 years ago. I was just getting into skateboarding and I had decided to take my deck with me on the trip. It turned out to be one of the best decisions I made on the entire trip! The board (and skating in my village) became a magnet for so many kids and new friends. It was pretty amazing to see how interested other people were and how much we all started to share while "learning" to skate. That's what inspired me... I just said to myself "Wow, here I am, from the U.S. with access to so many things that the kids out here don't have access to. Let me start bringing some more stuff!" And so my second trip out, I wound up taking 3 decks with me. Then more, until eventually I just started shipping goods out to my friends to continue fueling their interest.
TMB: How did you come up with the name The Rat Collective?
Rainey: The name Rat Collective just derives from the initiative and skating. I thought Rat because sometimes skaters are called "skate rats" because they just run around so much and get into all kinds of underground things and adventures. Then I thought Collective because this is much more than just one person skating, its about groups coming together to share in a passion for skating. And it involves everyone's effort, from me finding goods, to people donating, to my friends out there receiving and distributing.
TMB: Who's involved with The Rat Collective?
Rainey: Initially the Rat Collective was just my solo effort, but recently it's gotten so much attention among my circle of close friends. Now I have a couple of close friends here helping me with a lot of the logistics and planning. They want to see this get bigger and reach more kids!
TMB: How long have you been doing it?
Rainey: The Rat Collective has officially been around for 2 years now. Since March of 2009.
TMB: How can they reach you if they have any questions or would like to find out more about The Rat Collective?
Rainey: They can check out our blog at theratcollective.blogspot.com or hit me direct theratcollective@gmail.com We're also on Twitter @ratcollective.
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