There's a long story and a short story, but let's just simply say that through an old friend of ours (hello, Joselle!) we know Rich "Crazy Legs" Colon, an original member—and current President—of the Rock Steady Crew. We're talking some serious breakdancing roots from the heart of the Bronx in NYC (the overall illustrious gist of which you can learn more about here), but for now we're more concerned about spotlighting the phenomenal relief work he's been doing for Puerto Rico in the wake of destruction left by Hurricane Maria last year. Take it away, Rick!
Rick Kosick: When did your family migrate to America?
Crazy Legs: My father migrated sometime in the ‘50s from Puerto Rico. A lot of my uncles and my grandfather migrated at the same time. My mother was actually born in New York City, but she’s also of Puerto Rican descent.
Do you still have any family members living in Puerto Rico?
I have an uncle that goes back and forth. He has property there but also lives stateside. One of my great uncles was a two-term governor of Puerto Rico.
How did you feel when you heard the news about the destruction to Puerto Rico caused by Hurricane Maria?
During the time Hurricane Irma happened, I was supposed to come down here to do some preliminary work on my upcoming festival happening this year. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do it during that time, but I was still scheduled to come out here so I figured I’d go and do some relief efforts to try and support the community. But then Hurricane Maria came in right behind Irma, so I had to postpone my trip because there was no way I was going to be able to fly in at that point. I had another event I was doing in Holland, though, and while I was on that trip I was realizing the amount of destruction going on in Puerto Rico and losing contact with my friends. I was having people come up and ask for autographs and pictures, but my mind was all over the place and I wasn’t able to focus because I was seriously concerned about what was going on in Puerto Rico. Eventually it got to the point where I had to leave the event and go back to the hotel, where I was literally crying while looking at my computer.
So I reached out to Red Bull and basically said, “Hey, you guys are my most powerful ally and the only people I can go to with confidence. Can you please help out my people and what can we do?” And Red Bull—recognizing that I’ve been with them for a very long time, they know my heart is in Puerto Rico and a lot of their employees like to come to Puerto Rico to surf—Jeff Regis was like, “We need to help Crazy Legs and do our part to support him on this mission.” So they immediately set me up with Waves For Water, whom they’d recently done a documentary with. It was a big education for me, because I had no idea who Waves For Water was or what they did, but Red Bull had them teach me how to work these water filtration systems and then teach other people to use them so when I got on there we’d be ready to hit the ground running. And that’s exactly what we did. Since that point, whether it be water filtration systems from Waves For Water, Luci lights with MPOWER, or fundraising in general, we’ve been able to do a lot work more than I ever would have imagined I could make happen by one simple letter to Red Bull. I guess the authenticity and the emotion behind what I had to say resonated with them. It’s been an amazing ride.
Had you ever done humanitarian assistance before helping out with this situation?
Yeah, I’ve done things where Red Bull sent me out to Uganda, and before that just on my own in New York City, where I’ve done food drives and volunteer work, but nothing to this magnitude—not even close.
How did it feel to witness the destruction in person?
It looked like the whole island had been set on fire. Everything was brown. You’re used to coming to Puerto Rico and seeing everything looking lush—even when there’s a drought—but it looked like winter all over the island with a lot of heartache and pain… people feeling a sense of desperation because they didn’t know how to reach family members, they didn’t know what was happening with their lives or with their jobs. They weren’t able to access money from their bank and they were not able to get food or gas in a proper manner. People were going into survival mode and self-preservation. There was some crime, like there would be anywhere else, so there was an element of danger because people were getting desperate while waiting for supplies and someone to come help out—like the United States government or the FEMA system that taxpayers pay into over there—and it was nowhere to be found. People felt like, “Oh my god, I’m just keeping myself alive… I’m going to survive somehow even if I need to get a little grimy.”
So that was happening, and I was kind of concerned, too. I’m used to coming out here, they’re my people, but I felt like, “Wow, do I have to worry about my own safety?” But it was all good. We didn’t really need to worry. Red Bull chartered a flight and sent me down there with supplies and a camera crew to see what was going on and help with the situation. When we arrived, I found one of my good buddies at his home, where he was counting out the rest of his change on a table—they were gathering up change to survive. Since then, I’ve been back four times and it’s made a huge difference. From not knowing anything about what to do, I’ve learned about sustainable farming, the importance of how the deaf community has to be cared for, and a whole load of other things with the funding that we’ve done. We’ve donated over 20,000 dollars to independent farmers, because a lot of them are just waiting for help due to all the red tape and other things to be completed from other organizations that give them money. So we’re learning a lot and trying to make sure the moves that we make have a layered sustainable effect. It’s not just like, “Here’s a bottle of water and I feel good about helping and bye.”
Since the hurricane, do you think the people of Puerto Rico are getting the aid relief from America and other countries that they should be getting?
Puerto Rico, from the beginning, has never gotten what it was rightfully entitled to, and when it did arrive it wasn’t effective or enough. They weren’t moving swiftly to make a difference, and there was corruption on the United States and Puerto Rican sides, you now, government stuff.
For me, personally, I felt like I first came to Puerto Rico as a Puerto Rican concerned about his people, but based on the situation and when I left after my first trip, I felt like I went there as a Puerto Rican but I left as a human being. Because it’s greater than just being Puerto Rican—it’s about human lives. The politics of religion, no matter what your agenda is, should be put aside in a situation like this. So as humanity, how do we handle this?
I’ve read that Elon Musk’s company, Tesla, was going to send batteries and solar panels to install in the homes. Did you hear or see anything if they followed through on that?
Yes, we were actually doing an implementation of water filtration in Puerto Rico at this pump that was servicing about a thousand people, and Tesla was there to test one of their batteries on that specific pump because FEMA had dropped off a generator there that was too huge for a pump from the 1970s—it was decrepit, rusty, and seriously loud. So Tesla was going to replace it with something that was not only smaller but more effective and solar-powered.
"After my first trip, I felt like I went there as a Puerto Rican
but I left as a human being."
I’m happy to hear that Tesla followed though with their commitment.
Yeah, when they said they were going to do something, they did it. I think that’s a slap in the face to the US government for not being able to get their shit together in a timely matter.
You know there’s going to more hurricanes coming through the Caribbean in the future. How can the people of Puerto Rico learn from this disaster?
Number one—fight for an upgrade of the infrastructure, which was pretty bad prior to that, but you also need to be in a more powerful situation in order to do that. For this country to really be effective it needs to have laws like the Jones Act removed. The country needs to stop getting double-taxed on products. For instance, let’s say Tylenol is made here but it’s packaged in the United States. So when it leaves Puerto Rico, Tylenol gets an export tax from Puerto Rico. When It comes back after getting packaged, it gets taxed again because you are importing a packaged product. It’s crazy. And when it comes to produce, this country needs a self-sustaining agriculture, because Puerto Rico imports about 90-percent of its produce. There are so many things, but the United States has their foot on this country’s neck. They’re not able to thrive in those areas, because if you want to become a farmer they’ll put a tax on resale and try to discourage the farmers. Honestly, it’s one big cluster fuck of bullshit going on in Puerto Rico with the corruption going on with the United States and the locals over there. It makes it seriously hard for Puerto Rico to lift itself up.
If someone wants to make a donation and help out the people of Puerto Rico, how can they do that?
Just to be clear, there’s more than just Puerto Ricans here. There are expats, people from the United States that live here now and are not Puerto Rican but also affected. We help anyone, it doesn’t matter who you are. We use Go Fund Me—Rock Steady For Life. You can also reach out with a tax-deductible donation or reach out direct on Instagram at @CrazyLegsBx. I’ll respond immediately and help you out with how to make a donation. We’ve done a lot and the donation money goes right to the hands of the people over here. This is like no bullshit, no red tape. We are making an immediate impact.
(All photos courtesy of Red Bull Media House)
