Renowned artists Tommy the Clown and Coolaid the Clown Join the Movement of Clothing with a Voice by Break the Chain Apparel

by Laurena Marrone
(Los Angeles, Ca)

Coolaid the Clown and His Buck Dancers

When Krump and Buck dancing stars Tommy the Clown and Coolaid the Clown learned about the mission of Break the Chain® Apparel, they knew that the relationship was a fit: A company with a voice against violence and social issues, and two men who have saved the lives of thousands of young people across the Los Angeles area by mentoring them and teaching them to express their anger and aggression through dance, not gang-banging.

Coolaid created the slogan ?Don?t Bang, Just Buck? for the official Krump/Buck t-shirt, while Tommy gave input on color selection and overall look. Forty shirts were personally delivered to both Tommy and Coolaid so that their young dancers could have a new, fresh look for performances and dance battles. ?The kids just love the shirts,? said Coolaid, whose crew of dancers immediately put them on for some impromptu photos. Tommy?s group of dancers were equally as excited, saying ?This shirt is real, real nice. Thank you to Tammi Burns and Break the Chain® Apparel.?

Break the Chain® Apparel representative, Laurena Marrone Campos, delivered the shirts to and spent some time with both Tommy and Coolaid in Los Angeles. ?These are two incredible men, she explains with great emotion. ?They devote their time to helping kids who would otherwise be on the streets, selling drugs or failing in school. This is about much more than dance, Laurena explains, This is about saving lives and giving hope and a voice through dance and community to a segment of the population that society cannot or chooses not to help.?

The next step in this unexpected but perfectly matched relationship is to work with Tommy and Coolaid to continue to spread the word about Break the Chain® Apparel by selling the ?Don?t Bang Just Buck? t-shirt online and introduce its program, Project Chain Reaction (PCR) to inner city schools. In PCR, students come up with slogans such as ?Make a stand against an angry hand? and ?Meth = Death.? With a slogan in mind, students will begin developing art work based on their social issue. The winning design is chosen and Break the Chain?s professional graphic designer will work with the student to develop an edgy, eye-catching image screen-printed on t-shirts that will sell as the company?s latest apparel design. Students have used this project to address verbal abuse, underage drinking issues, self-esteem and gang awareness. Many of these design concepts are underway right now and will be produced this spring.

Break the Chain® Apparel?s CEO Tammi Burns describes her business as ?ordinary people making positive changes in the lives of others by creating clothing with a voice that inspires social changes.?
Break the Chain uses apparel as a tool to help fund social programs; a portion of the proceeds of all sales go directly to organizations that combat the social issues they address.