Geo and MusiCares
FULL CIRCLE
Written By Timothy Fairemont
Photographs by Raz Azraai
Partnering with actor / painter, Booboo Stewart, L.A.’s Geometro created an entire collection of items, ranging from clothing to skateboards, and gave proceeds from sales to the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund. This fund provides financial aid to out of work music creators and workers during the pandemic.
Los Angeles, USA
Ebb and Flow
This time last year, The GeoMetro Party was gearing up to host its flagship live event in Los Angeles which was set to entertain over 2000 attendees. Founders Jarvis and Charlie were fully engulfed in the hustle required of a production of this scale as they went through the usual motions of booking special guest music performances and making last minute additions to the elaborate party set when suddenly the world ground to a halt ceasing all live events. Not only was the LA party postponed indefinitely but so were the imminent launches of The GeoMetro Party in New York and Mexico City.
The landscape shifted immeasurably due to the COVID- 19 pandemic but the GEO brand ebbed and flowed with the turbulence effecting live music around the world. Finding its footing early on in the pandemic as a resource for good, Jarvis and Charlie wanted to partner with a charity of which they had personally witnessed its effectiveness and impact. "GRAMMY MusiCares had been brought up in conversation with us several times by artists near and dear to our hearts who quickly received a grants after applying”, Charlie Cosser illuminated. Quite serendipitously, actor / painter and GEO-fan Booboo Stewart (X-men, Twilight) contacted the guys and immediately dove into a brainstorm session which produced the Booboo Stewart designed, GEO X BOOBOO Musicares Charity Clothing line. The team was solidified.
THE ROAD TO the $10,000 DONATION
With the major pieces in place, The GEO X MusiCares collab kicked off and went into full swing, involving close to a hundred of the best new music artists and creators wearing and promoting the charity collab pieces on their influential social media profiles. These included the likes of platinum songwriter, Jesse Saint John, new Tiktok sensation, Mothica and legendary filmmaker and choreographer, Kenny Ortega. Booboo, Charlie and Jarvis would then become accustomed to going live on Instagram to inspire fans from all over the globe to come together once again through GEO, but this time everyone would be giving to help those badly in need. "I never would have thought we would raise over $10,000 for MusiCares. Its' truly inspiring and powerful to see people from all over come together and lend a helping hand. I am so thankful to my brothers at GEO and our partner at MusiCares for all they do", reflected Booboo Stewart.
The IG Live drives that the guys would do got so popular that Thai company, Singha Beer, took notice and made further drives possible through donation. "The GEO guys and Booboo are so innovative with whatever they do and because we care so much for the needs of music workers and creators it was a no brainer to partner with them. We have certainly been a proud sponsor" -Charles Chaicharee– VP of Business Development @ Singha US. Singhas’ contribution covered costs of manufacturing the clothing and incredibly, the addition of skateboard decks to the list of charitable items.
KEEP ON ROLLIN'
As the campaign grew in numbers, it became clear that the goal of $10,000 raised would be hit with the generous donations of so many hundreds of people. Jarvis and Charlie saw further use for the exciting online store they had built (GEO-SKATE.SHOP) to handle charitable sales. Indeed, they pounced on the chance to follow their roots back into an arena they had always loved and respected - skate. "The skateboarding community has always had a strong presence within the The GeoMetro Party, and now we are fully dedicating our operations to build what has always been percolating; a revolutionary skateboard company with a profound footprint in female skate”, Jarvis excitedly explains. Now armed with relationships with quality manufacturers in both skate and apparel, GEO is launching skateboard collabs with music artists like Lauren Sanderson (over 200 skate decks sold already) and building out their next collaboration with live event giant, Emo Nite. Dusting off their incredible production skills, the GEO guys set off to create a new way to create content for these collabs, while keeping the GEO spirit alive.
fREE THE STrEETS: a limited PHOTO/FILM invite
One could say GEO's journey through the pandemic has come full circle with the addition of the fREE THE STrEETS limited invite. Focusing on what GEO does best; bringing people together, this safe and socially-distanced gathering sees the best female skateboarders LA has to offer come together for a day of empowering skating. Most recently held at the private skateboard facility of OC RAMPS, FTS meetups have already become ground zero for community building in female skate and invites are highly coveted by those who are selected. Attendees can expect to walk away with incredible content and bagfuls of GEO swag at each limited invite. And just like their original GEO event this new gathering is now open up for sponsorship requests after companies began inquiring if they may be the right fit to become involved. It’s no surprise that fREE THE STrEETS is creating quite the buzz in both the music and skate world as seemingly the only safe socially-distanced gathering happening that has commercial appeal and is just downright fun AF.
TEN THOUSAND THANKYOU’s
Jarvis, Charlie and Booboo would like to send 10,000 thousand thank you's to all who participated in the MusiCares campaign and to the countless people who messaged encouraging notes on this wild journey toward a donation that we are most proud of. "We encourage anyone thinking of giving to a noble cause to choose MusiCares Charity. We have seen them help. We love MusiCares!"
