When I was little I would frequently go into Concepts, a skate shop in Harvard Square, and bother Steve Costello who worked at the shop. Steve, along with Kevin Susienka, started Ready Amongst Willing (RAW), a skateboard and apparel company, in the spring of 2006. On one of my visits to Concepts, I remember Steve showing me the sample cards for the first batch of RAW products. This was months before the official launch of the brand and I was so psyched I probably went into Concepts multiple times a week to find out as much information about RAW as possible. The moment I knew RAW would be here to stay was at the City People 2 (a Boston skate video by Zander Taketomo) premiere in Davis Square in August of 2006. I'd say 80% of the people at the premiere had something RAW-related on.
I think one of the reasons people back RAW so hard is that Steve and Kevin have made an effort to get to know their supporters personally as well as it's humanly possible. Before RAW opened up its Brick and Mortar store in Somerville, MA, Kevin worked full time in Worcester. It just so happened I attended the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) at this time. Every week Kevin would drive up to WPI and we'd have a flatground session. This is just one of many examples of how Steve and Kevin have gone out of their way to get to know me and many of Boston's other skateboarders.
Steve and Kevin are not only the owners of RAW; they are also my friends and I'd like to thank them for linking me up on
Rad Collector:
Wheels Of The Future By Will Burstein
In case you haven't seen it Steve has a great part in the Coliseum 99' video amongst PJ Ladd and Ryan Gallant:
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