From Rock Bottom to Run Crew – How Ricky Is Building Community Through Movement in St. Louis - The STL Bucket List Show

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_04 (00:00):
I had been going, going, going my whole life.

(00:02):
I, for the first time, I likesat down with myself, my mind,
and my realized I was depressed,bro.
I was super depressed, um, superanxious in a dark spot.
And I think I don't remember howor why, but I guess my athletic
history kicked in.
I just went for like a or I ranout the house and I just started
to run.
Yeah.
And it made me feel better.

SPEAKER_01 (00:28):
If you wanna hear about St.
Louis, tune into the Bucket Listshow weekly.
Hear what Marissa and Luke say.
It drops every Wednesday.
Got a dope new guest everysingle week.
Buckle up for the ride.
Who's it gonna be?
Who's on the show today?
They rap St.
Louis.
What to do in the loo on a latenight?

(00:49):
I maybe what to do on a datenight.
Yeah.
Bucket list as you covered, theyknow what's going on.
What's going on?
They'll give you 18 differentthings to do on 19.
If you need one more to choose,yeah.
The city, city, city is a placewe call home.
A place we call home.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 (01:05):
St.
Louis.
Welcome back to another episodeof the STL Bucket List Show.
I am your host, Luke Farrell ofthe STL Bucket List Show.
We're recording live here inMaplewood, Missouri.
Julia on the ones and twos, ourproducer, putting out episodes
each and every other week.
Um, the show's been growing.
We've been having goodconversations.
We do this every singleWednesday.
Um new episodes come out, so Ican't wait to share one with you

(01:27):
today.
I got my guy Ricky.
I mean, I want to tell a story.
So I met Ricky down at the 314day.
Uh, this was probably like fouryears ago.
We were in the dugout, we weretaking a picture.
Yeah.
And and I didn't know who youwere at the time, but you had
this infectious energy.
You saved my life.
Did I save my life?

SPEAKER_04 (01:41):
Remember, I fell back and you like caught.
And that's how I met youactually.
You saved my life.
That's how I met you.

SPEAKER_02 (01:46):
So we were all in the dugout at Bush Stadium.
First of all, it was an amazingexperience.
I know 314 days evolved.
If 314 Day is like, I mean, hugenow compared, like that was like
the beginning of when thingswere starting to roll, when like
the whole community would gettogether, and and this past 314
day was on a Saturday, just allall the stars aligned.
Um, but when I met you then, Ididn't know Run Crew wasn't even
a lot.
Was it there?

(02:07):
Or there wasn't a brand behindRunning.
You were running early.

SPEAKER_04 (02:10):
I was running, but I don't think I had credited Run
Crew yet.
I think I credited Run Crew likea few months after that.

SPEAKER_02 (02:15):
So I want to learn a little bit because everybody
knows you as Run Crew Ricky now,but there's so much more to you
than that.
So I want to kind of learn aboutyour upbringing, kind of, you
know, where you're from, whatyou were doing before running.
Um, you know, we we talked alittle bit off air about all
these different evolutions ofmusic and production and all
these things that you've done.
So, you know, just to givepeople an idea, but you know,
besides running, you know,before all that happened, like

(02:36):
what who was Ricky at thatpoint?
Man, that's a good question.
That's a tough question.

SPEAKER_04 (02:39):
No, that's that's a good question because it's funny
because people do know me aslike run crew Ricky now, which
is only like three years of mypast uh of my life so far.
But I born in Jennings, uh grewup, me and my uh my younger
sister Leslie, uh, grew up inJennings.
Uh I was like an athlete kid.
Like I played football,basketball, and track.

(03:00):
Humbly said, I'm a statechampion in basketball and
track.
Nice.
And uh I just love sports, butalso I loved like the
entertainment piece of sports.
So I play um a football track.
I went to uh Missouri SouthernState University.
I play uh football in college.
Um right around that time, Istarted doing music at that
time.
Um, this is this could go awhole bunch of different ways,

(03:22):
Luke.
But uh, I was with a productioncompany at the time called D's
Beats.
All right, it was me, Lowdy,Tim, Phil, Isaac, Tess.
And at the time, we were some ofthe most popular producers at
the at the time.
So I was kind of teeteredbetween like um football and
music.
I'm going to read southern, playfootball, got hurt, transferred
to Mizzou, uh, where I kicked itway too hard.

(03:45):
And I was a little too close toSt.
Louis.
So I was keep kept coming backto a point where I had an hour
and a half drive coming homeevery weekend.
And then I ended up, I never, Imean, I brought my clothes home.
My mom's like, Oh, the clothesyou gotta wash.
I'm like, no, I'm actually backhere.
And I started doing music fulltime.
We went to Atlanta, and that'sthat's a whole like chunk.
So I was doing music for awhile, a while, a while, a

(04:07):
while.
Yeah.
And then I navigated towards outof music is just kind of like
was swallowing me up.
I was just like outside, way toomuch, a lot of like addictions,
like drugs, drinking, like themusic, just the environment, the
lifestyle was like eating me up.
I left, and in between that, um,my wife, uh Valerie, we we dated

(04:33):
for a while.
Ended up getting married, havingkids, and started running.
And that was like a nutshell oflike how I got here.

SPEAKER_02 (04:41):
So, like this evolution.
I know you kind of sped throughall those years and stuff like
that.
So you you and your wife, whendid you guys meet?
Were you guys young?

SPEAKER_04 (04:49):
Man, I knew Val in grade school, actually.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
So we went to like rival, likeprivate schools.
I went to a Salem Lutheran, shewent to uh Emmanuel Lavette.
So I knew her family, but wedidn't start dating until like
college.
Yeah, or I was at Mizzou and shewas there for our Mizzou party.
And we met and well, wereconnected, and then we just we

(05:13):
dated.
Yeah, and obviously I fell inlove and got married and had
kids and the whole wholeshebang.

SPEAKER_02 (05:20):
Wow.
So I when did running, so youmentioned running, you were
always an athlete.
So, you know, track obviouslyran, you know, football, you
know, and basketball, all thatinvolved running, but you never
probably looked at runningitself as what you're doing now.
Like, when did that, when didthat evolution of STL run crew,
like what was that origin story?
Did you just start gettingpeople out and just running?
Because it seems like you're asocial guy.

(05:41):
Yeah, you don't want to run byyourself.
You're like, let me get somepeople to come motivate me
probably to get going.
So tell me about that story.

SPEAKER_04 (05:46):
Yeah, so I started running first in the in the
pandemic.
It's like 2020, 2020, 2021.
I start, I worked for BJC.
So I worked in public health,but we were working at home,
remote.
Yeah.
So I had never like, I mentionedfootball, basketball, music,
media, all these things.
I had been going, going, goingmy whole life.
I for the first time I like satdown with myself, my mind, and

(06:09):
my realized I was depressed,bro.
I was super depressed, um, superanxious in a dark spot.
And I think I don't remember howor why, but I guess my athletic
history kicked in.
I just went for like a I ran outthe house and like just like
died so quick.
Because I I I was I ran like100, 200.
So I wasn't a sprinter.
I wasn't running any longdistance.

(06:31):
Um, right around that time, merealizing I'm depressed, one and
knowing I need to move my bodyin some way, shape, or form or
fashion, my Aubrey happened.
And I remember seeing the video,I went and bought an Apple Watch
that day.
And I worked at BJC, so we wouldget like a 60% off ASICs because
like the pandemic, likehealthcare worker.

(06:51):
So I remember I bought a wholefamily pair of ASICs, the whole
family, my dad, my wife, mykids, and Apple Watch, and I
just started to run.

SPEAKER_05 (06:59):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (06:59):
Um, and it made me feel better.
And then I realized, dang, like,this is super dope.
I didn't know what a run clubwas.
Yeah, I happened to go to LA andI went to Detroit for something
totally different.
Met Run Cruz, saw what theculture was with the run clubs,
and it changed my life.
Um, I was in LA with this runclub in LA, uh, keep it 100, and

(07:23):
I was in Detroit with We Run313, and I'm like, dang, this is
crazy.
It's a run club.
I had never heard of it.
And then I came to St.
Louis and like, dang, there area bunch of run clubs.
Yeah, but I just feel like Ididn't um uh fit in.
Right.
So um I didn't want to start arun club, right?
I asked, well, I did, but I knewit would be a lot.

(07:45):
So I asked Val, can I start arun club?
She was like, Yeah.
I was like, for real?
She said, Yeah.
So I still didn't want to starta run club.
So I created something calledRun a City Tour.
I chose five places Jennings, UCity, South Side, North Side,
North County, created a flyer,threw it up, like, okay, let's
do a test, a pilot.
This was like November,December.

(08:07):
The very first one in Jennings,nobody came.
The second one, one person came,Janice, and then four, then
seven, then eight, and then I'mlike, okay, this is something.
January 15th, I started a runcrew.
So that's kind of how ithappened.
Like depression, Amai Arbreerealizing like run clubs, also

(08:28):
realizing I didn't really feellike I fit in in the run club
culture in St.
Louis.
Um and I credit run crew.

SPEAKER_02 (08:38):
First Community Credit Union is the official
banking partner of STL Bucketlist.
They've been serving St.
Louis families for 90 plus yearswith 40 plus local branches and
over 400,000 members frompersonal credit loans to
mortgages to kids and teenaccounts.
They also have a partnershipwith the STL Blues.
You see, Louie here if you'rewatching on YouTube.
Uh, we're proud to use FirstCommunity.
I use it for my own family andmy own business.

(08:59):
Um, we're excited for them to bethe official banking partner of
STL bucket list.
So now you're creating space.
So, like, you know, the originstory kind of taking it back to
you wanted to create a groupthat you saw in Detroit, that
you saw in LA, but they didn'thave that in St.
Louis.
So that's when some of thesebest things happened.
But so I guess was that the mainproblem you were trying to solve
when you created Run Crew wascreating space for people that

(09:21):
that you felt like didn't fit inin some of these other run crews
and and inviting them out andthat that you were kind of
strategic about what areas thatyou guys were starting these
runs into.

SPEAKER_04 (09:28):
Yeah.
Uh I that's that's a goodquestion.
I think I just wanted to createa space for people to move their
bodies and meet other people.
Like when you're an adult, uh,it's hard to meet people.
And I knew I was changing, mymind was changing.
I felt like running was helpingme become a better husband,
father, community member.
And I wanted to create a spacewhere it wasn't about speed or

(09:49):
running.
It was like diverse, not only inlike age, race, gender, but
ability too.
A lot like running can beoverwhelming.
Like you got you got Garth oryou're racing.
I got homies to this day, youknow who you are, that'd be
like, I'm I'm getting ready tocome, Ricky.
I'm I'm training to come.

(10:09):
Like, no, like you gotta show upbecause like running is almost
secondary at this point.
Like it's community first.
And I wanted people to feel likehow I felt, and specifically,
like, you know, the health umdisparities in like the black
and brown community uh with likehypertension and high blood

(10:29):
pressure.
And like sometimes movement isthe catalyst to kind of create a
healthier lifestyle.
And that's what I wanted to kindof create.
It sounds all polished now,Luke, but originally I was
depressed.
I wanted to run, I wanted to runwith other people, and then in
that I found like that God wasreally pushing me into running.
Like running completely changedmy life.

(10:50):
And now I'm Ricky Run crew guy,which is crazy because I hadn't
run a mile in my life until2021, 22.

SPEAKER_02 (10:57):
And it opens up all these doors.
Like running, like youmentioned, is it's not even
about running.
It could have beenweightlifting, it could have
been like uh run it back, likethe track meets that that Stasi
does and like all likeeverybody's it's just movement.
And we're seeing this in Austin,we're seeing this in Nashville,
like all these younger cities,like people are moving to places
where they want to be involved.
And instead of going out to thebar, they want to wake up early
and do cold plunges and theywant to go out and work out.

(11:18):
So you kind of rode this wavethrough the pandemic, but like
you mentioned, none of that wasintentional, like the branding,
all that's evolved since you'vedone it.
But it seems like, you know, inin you know, you creating an
environment, you know, in in allthese stories and all these
friendships that have beencreated there.
But this is more of a socialmovement.
I don't even think of it as run,like you mentioned, like skill
does not matter.
You guys make everybody feelgood, whether it's their first

(11:39):
time running or they're with yourunning marathons.
Because you guys also do youguys got some serious runners
there, but you also got somepeople that might not even be
able to run a mile yet.
They're walking, they're powerwalking.
I see some of your sister'sstuff on social media, like
she's teaching herself how torun and now she's running these
big races now.
Yeah, she got into it, and thatyou had a you played a part in
that.
So, like that's just one smallexample.
But is there any aha momentsduring the journey of like

(12:00):
people that you can touch on oflike how you've seen their life
change through Run Crew?

SPEAKER_04 (12:04):
Man, so so many.
And I also got to give ashout-out to like our leadership
team because I would have burntout quick.
Like when it was one, fivepeople, it was cool.
But when it's like 200, 300, andwe got multiple runs on each
day, and we got races out oftown, like our leadership team
has really like allowed me thebandwidth to like be not only an

(12:26):
executive director, but like aproject manager.
I'm a project manager by trade.
So I fell in love with runningand I treated like a startup
because I love it and I want todo this like for the rest of my
life.
Um, but to answer your question,like I see that all the time.
Like the newest one is Val.
Like, Val, I'm putting her onthe spot.
Oh, okay.
She's running a 10K and I'mcoaching her to run a 10K.

(12:48):
And she was not with therunning.
Like, she's a like in the gym,getting fit.
And what happened was themarathon weekend this weekend,
this year is on her birthday.

SPEAKER_05 (12:56):
Okay.

SPEAKER_04 (12:57):
So she was like, Oh, I'm not cheering.
I'm running.
Like, so we're gonna be cheeringfor her on her birthday, uh,
running the uh her 10K for theGreater St.
Louis marathon.
And that's an aha aha moment forme.
Like, yeah, that all runninglike is just super special.
But we got stories of folks thathave lost 100 pounds.
We got our first uh um I runcrew baby we just had.

(13:18):
Shout out to uh Chuck and Myeshajust had a three baby.
Well, they just connecteddeeper.
I mean, we'll take it fullcredit, but they are obviously
we're all already married.
They're already married before Irun crew.
But uh my homie uh Jonathan, uhSolomon, and like Chuck, like
bigger body folk that youwouldn't say is a runner.

(13:40):
He doesn't look like I look likea runner.
Like, look at me.
You know, I look I'm thin, I'mI'm in shape, fit, or whatever.
But like it's the folks thatdon't look like runners that are
really gonna like change lives.
And that's who I want to empowerand push.

SPEAKER_05 (13:54):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (13:54):
Like through the mass is like you don't have to
look like the stereotypicalrunner to be a runner.
We're all runners or movers toyour point.
Yeah.
We do yoga, we do boxing, we dotrail walks, trail runs, we do
cold plunges, we do all thesedifferent modalities because
running might not hit for you.

SPEAKER_02 (14:12):
It might be something else.
Exactly.
You know?
Exactly.
So move and connect is all overyour website.
It says nothing about running,it's moving and connecting.
And you've been able to buildthis culture with hundreds and
hundreds of people, you know,just looking at your website.
Like uh one of the things thatI'm so attracted to is the
branding, the, you know, thebrand partnerships that you've
been able to bring into that.
Was there a certain brandpartnership that made you kind

(14:33):
of sit back and be like, wow,like we did this?
Was there a certain momentduring your journey?

SPEAKER_04 (14:37):
Probably the Nike.
Of course.
Yeah.
So I was gonna lead that up.
The Nike one was so sad.
Yeah, you teed that old greatfor me.
Um, but what's crazy is likethat wasn't just like a that was
like a community impact grantthat.

SPEAKER_05 (14:48):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (14:49):
So it was really dope for Nike to recognize an
international brand to likereally support us with the work
that we're doing, the build-outprogramming for like the youth
mainly, but also just St.
Louis in general.
Like, so that was like that'skind of like thing.
Like I grew up like a Nike kid,like the Nike's and for it to be

(15:11):
like you know, a partnershipwith Nike and like really them
to kind of believe in what we'redoing was was dope.
But also like it's the otherpartnerships like Great Rivers
Greenway, like the local onesthat like you know really allow
us to like show folks likedifferent spaces.
Like we do like trip, we do likea trail run walk um meditation
with uh Great Rivers Greenwayevery year.

(15:33):
So that's also special too.
Like the big like splashes aredope with Nike, but also like
the local partnerships willallow us to like really pour
into St.
Louis because we run everywhere,like St.
Louis Run Crew, we runNorthside, Southside, uh North
County, West Side, the County,Brentwood, Clayton.
We literally run all over St.

(15:53):
Louis, showing folks that like,you know, running can be diverse
also in where you are movingyour body to show people that we
can run all over the city.
Right.
Um, and we have a lot oftransplants too, that this is
like their kind of introductionto St.
Louis, and we say pride in justrunning all over St.
Louis.

SPEAKER_02 (16:11):
For over 150 years, SSM Health has been providing
hope, healing, and opportunitiesto the St.
Louis community.
With over 40,000 employeesacross four states, they're not
only delivering exceptionalcare, they're one of the
region's largest employers,shaping the future of
healthcare.
We're proud to present SSMHealth as the official
healthcare partner of the STLbucket list show.
If you've dreamed of a careerwhere you're truly making a

(16:33):
difference every day, SSM Healthcan help you take that to the
next step.
Learn more at their website inthe link in the show notes.
That's a good point because likea lot of these people like, you
know, you mentioned meetingpeople is hard, um, dating
people is hard, like all thesethings that are difficult in a
city like St.
Louis, where you're from thecity, I'm from the St.
Charles side, but like I knoweverybody from growing up.
And it's different for thesepeople that I know that move

(16:54):
into the city and they're like,man, I don't know where to where
do I go to meet people?
Where do I go?
I can't.
They don't want to just go to abar.
They don't want to just go to aclub that are like, hey, if I
show up on 7:30 on 314 day, I'mgonna meet 300 other people that
like to do what I do.
Yeah.
You know, and and they like torun.
But scaling is hard, and you'vescaled this so much over the
past three to four years.
But what have been some of thosehardest parts of scaling?
You mentioned the bandwidththing, is because this isn't the

(17:16):
only thing you do.
You're a dad, you're a husband,you're a community leader.
I work, I'm a job, you have ajob, you have all these other
things going.
This is just one, although thisis people think this is your
whole thing and your wholepersonality, like you have so
many other things.
So you mentioned your team.
Um, I wanted to kind of talk toyou about some of those harder
parts of scaling because thishas got a lot bigger than you
probably ever thought it wouldbe.

SPEAKER_04 (17:36):
Yeah, for sure, man.
Um, because it was God that didit.
Like for this to happen out oflike a dark spot to be here, I'm
just super grateful for that.
Which why, which is why I havehad a lot of just like
excitement and like commitmentand dedication to it because I
know it's bigger than me.

SPEAKER_05 (17:56):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (17:56):
Um, but yeah, the burnout, like, man, like it's
gotten because I I coach now andwe got multiple runs a day.
Like work with brands, I'm anambassador, uh, you know, all
the behind the scene things too,like getting people that people
don't see, like getting thesigns made and QRL codes and
like writing grants, uh,apparel.

(18:17):
I'm sorry, I actually got you ahoodie too.
Oh, did you?
Yeah, and we really lean in.
Shout out to Bob Schuster, yeah,our creative director, uh,
director of creativity, whoreally takes our uh apparel to
the next, next level.
And like we just kind of lean inon all sides.

SPEAKER_02 (18:31):
You guys lean into everything.
Like what attracted me to youguys was the content, the
photography, the branding, thecolors, the purple, the greens,
like all these different colorsjust felt different than your
typical run crew.
Like you just when you think ofrunning, it growing up, I'm 30
now, but like back when we werein high school 12, 15 years ago,
it's like running was always theworst, last thing you wanted to

(18:52):
do.
Even if you were an athlete,like punishment.
It was punishment.
So if in baseball, if if youguys had a bad game, we'd run
around the field.
And in wrestling, if we, youknow, if somebody didn't make
weight, we're all runningbecause that one person didn't
make weight.

SPEAKER_06 (19:03):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 (19:03):
But now it seems like running, and I never
thought of it, I knew runningobviously was always a sport,
but now more than ever, we'rewatching the Olympics.
I'm seeing watch parties forthese runners and these
individual athletes when it usedto be the sports, the basketball
players, the football players.
Now these runners are on thatsame level.

SPEAKER_04 (19:18):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 (19:18):
Um, and we just it just has changed so much in the
last 15 years.
And I think you guys are a bigpart of that in St.
Louis.
And I think you guys haveprobably inspired other, you
know, different groups.
I mentioned running back.
I sponsored that a couple oftimes.
I thought that that was anamazing event.

SPEAKER_04 (19:31):
It's my cousin, Stasi.
Oh, is she?
Yeah, I'm so proud of her.
She's doing it.
Um, and I'm sorry, I mean cutyou off, but like I'm I'm hella
proud of Stasi and like creatingspaces because you know concept.
Yeah, the the the idea is thegoal is to get more people to
run, like get more people tomove their body and like, yeah,
running was punishment, butwe're making it cool, to be
honest.
Like we make we're makingrunning cool, we're making it

(19:54):
um, you know, more than running.
Yeah.
We're also making it like a wayfor folks to like meet new
people.
And I think that's why like itis a special spot for St.
Louis.
Like all the Nike stuff, theapparel, all that is cool, but
we're really changing lives.
And uh we're also creating aspace for people to like move
our body.

SPEAKER_00 (20:14):
If Loving Where You Work is on your STL bucket list,
you should definitely know aboutSerendipity Labs in Clayton.
We are more than just acoworking space.
We're an upscale,hospitality-driven workplace
with coworking, private offices,team rooms, and meeting and
event spaces that don't feelsad.
It's all wrapped up in anincredible community.
Real networking, fun events,legit coffee, and fruit-infused

(20:36):
water that might ruin regularwater for you forever.
If you're building something inSt.
Louis, come work somewhere youactually want to show up.
And as a listener perk, enjoy20% off meeting and event space
or one free week of coworking ora day office.
Serendipity Labs, basically it'swork, but better.

SPEAKER_02 (20:53):
And it's just the beginning.
I mean, although you've had allthe success, like this is just
the beginning of something veryspecial.
And like there's gonna beanother generation and 10 years
of runners under you, and you'regonna keep continuing to build
and cultivate.
And that's why those localpartnerships are so important
because those local partnershipsdon't allow you, don't just
allow you to grow the you know,the brand itself, but it allows
you to get into more spaces andto get into more rooms.

(21:15):
And yeah, I love seeing yourguys' videos of like, I can't
wait for the marathon this yearbecause like I don't know, are
you running it?
Are you just gonna be running?
You're just gonna be running onthe side and be filming again.

SPEAKER_04 (21:23):
You're gonna be filming it.
Yeah, filming.
We got a chair station, we gotlike you're more coaching,
you're in your coach era now.
I'm in coach era in like St.
Louis.
Like we host like um we host runclubs now from across this, the
the country.
So actually we do a partnership,um, I guess uh a project rather
with um uh go St.
Louis to like host and like wewant to make St.

(21:45):
Louis a tourism spot.
Of course.
And running across the countryis like super big, and some
races are like bigger, and we'retrying to just bring folks to
St.
Louis for that weekend.
So we host like a uh shakeoutrun, a cheer station, like an
after party that we can call uhrunning.
City weekend.
So no, I'll be hosting,cheering, just entertaining
people that are.

(22:05):
We're gonna have when I'll sendthem over a hundred folks
running uh go St.
Louis uh uh the race from the5K, 10K, half marathon,
marathon.
And they'll all be wearing theyeah, we uh yep, they'll be
wearing uh the apparel we got.
And we man, we really love likeI won't say like a cult
lifeline.
So we only drop apparel inperson.

(22:26):
We don't do online anymore.

SPEAKER_05 (22:28):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (22:28):
Cause it just like, not only does it sell fast, but
it just like looks good, man.
Humbly said, like I think wejust really like appreciate the
brand and like the creativityand like it's intentional.
Like even like small drops inperson.
Small drops, like small likecapsules, like where we only
create one line or something,that's it'll never come out
again.
Yeah, I love that.
Um, and like even like the thegreen, when when me, me and Bob

(22:49):
are going over the colors, likethe lime green was intentional
because we want to be seen, likefrom uh um being uh visible from
like a safety spot, but also tobe transparent, like me being a
black runner, when I firststarted running, I would wear
all lime green.
Yeah, because I wanted folks toknow I was running, uh, not to

(23:10):
have any questions, oh, what ishe running?
Like, what's he running from?
Usually you're running fromsomething, yeah, or you're
running to something for danger,or you're like running from
danger.
So I was running, run limegreen, neon green all the time
to like show people like, hey,if something's gonna be a good
thing.
Not just to look like a runner,but you're like, I need to be
seen.
It was a safety um element.
So if something happened to me,like it's no question.

(23:32):
This dude had on all lime green.
He wasn't he wasn't on nothingcrazy.
Exactly.
So we kind of bled that intolike the you know, kind of the
the colors of being seen, butalso from like a safety element.
We we run the street, we run thecity, so we want to make sure
people see us, we're visible,and you know.

SPEAKER_02 (23:48):
So I want to do a little STL bucket list rapid
fire with you.
Okay, so I'm gonna ask you a fewquestions.
Uh, how many miles is your idealrun?
Oh, ideal run?
Like what's your daily?
Sweet spot.
I say five.
Five miles.
Five is a cool little what isone word to describe STL run
crew?

SPEAKER_04 (24:06):
Big hyphen energy.
Big energy.
I love that.
Yeah, that's one word.

SPEAKER_02 (24:10):
That's the one word.
Um night runs or sunrise runs.
Sunrise for sure.
Always, yeah.
Um favorite STL running route.
Oh, favorite views.

SPEAKER_04 (24:25):
North side.
Okay, past the past.
We run from west side to thenorth side, come back, boom,
north side all day.
Okay, why?
Yeah, especially now, like Ithink we we run on the north
side, it's like post-tornado.
Like an area where like that'sour way of like energizing the
area and letting folks know thatwe're still there's still hope.

(24:48):
We're not scared to run to thenorth side.
We all like we had on three andfour days, we had 150 people at
7:30 in the morning running downthe north side.
Yeah, it's it.
You know, and it's also a lot ofpeople be like, dang, it still
look like this.
Yeah, it still looked like that.
Yeah.
So we we run from past to passonce a month intentionally
because we want to continue tomove our bodies on the north
side.

SPEAKER_02 (25:06):
I love that.
Yeah.
Go to post-run food or coffeespot?

SPEAKER_04 (25:10):
Coffee.
Uh coffee spot?
Dang, I'm like already coffee.
Oh, you just caught me.
Coffee post-run hits the yeah,dang.
I can't, I don't know.
Like, we depends on where you'reat.
Depending on where I'm at.
We do like a coffee tourSaturday.
So we also like to promote smallbusinesses.
So we like, man, we we bedropping some bags at these
coffee shops, but I ain't gonnalie.

SPEAKER_02 (25:29):
Uh my favorite coffee shop.

SPEAKER_04 (25:32):
Dang, I can't get or favorite coffee drink.

SPEAKER_02 (25:34):
Like, what's your best?

SPEAKER_04 (25:36):
Yeah, latte, uh, caramel latte, oat milk, hot.
Hot hot in the winter, cold coldin the summer.
Yeah, no, I like that.

SPEAKER_02 (25:43):
That coffee does hit different after the run, not
post-run.
You don't want to drink thatcoffee pre-run.
Some people do, some people liketo, but I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_04 (25:50):
I'm gonna say past the past coffee, man.

SPEAKER_02 (25:52):
Yeah, you just said past the past.

SPEAKER_04 (25:53):
Because that's my favorite.
Because also like good energy inthere.
The community, they're even liketheir branding like sick.
Like, I mean, they're doingother stuff.
I mean, they're selling DJ, theysell a bunch of clothes, it's
just like the community.
Like, they we jail well withthem because it's not just about
coffee with them, it's alsoabout like community with them.

SPEAKER_02 (26:12):
Yeah, so you love being able to bring, you know,
50 people in there after a runand just bring business that way
because even though thosecoffees is five dollars, it's
like you bring 50 people inthere, that changes their whole
afternoon.
Yeah, for sure.
Um, it's such a big impact.
What is the biggest myth aboutrunning?

SPEAKER_04 (26:28):
The biggest myth about running, it would be cool
to say that is not hard, but itis.
Like, I don't know if Inecessarily like enjoy running
all the time.
Right.
I enjoy how it makes me feel.
The biggest myth about runningis I'll say this that it hurts
your knees.

(26:48):
That is scientifically not true.
A lot of times it hurts yourknees maybe because you're not
strong in the hips, core, orglutes, might be the wrong
shoes, might need to just pushthrough the sore.
Yeah, some people might havesome knee issues, but the
biggest myth about running isthat it hurts your knees in
actuality, it strengthens yourjoints.
Yeah, and doesn't people mightsay that because they don't want

(27:10):
to run.

SPEAKER_02 (27:10):
Yeah, it hurts my knees.
It's like it's more healthy towalk.
It's like yeah, it's easier towalk though.

SPEAKER_04 (27:14):
But also, walking is cool.
If you look at our page, it saysit's SL run crew, but underneath
the first line says and walkcrew.
Yeah.
On Tuesdays, we might have 300people, a hundred are walking.

SPEAKER_02 (27:26):
Right.
So connecting, and then maybe 20of them are sprinting and
running, and then 20 of themare.

SPEAKER_04 (27:35):
I walk with my daughters, and you mentioned
about like the legacy ofrunning.
Like my daughters are in therunning, they love run crew.
My daughter Violet asked me, canwe celebrate her birthday at Run
Crew?
Yeah, I'm like, yes, that's avery cheap fun way to celebrate
her birthday.

SPEAKER_02 (27:48):
Let's let's do it.
And one more other thing.
And the community of all thosepeople that she's like the
community, like all the kids areinvolved in it.

SPEAKER_04 (27:54):
The kids, we got the kid crew, we have 20, 30 kids,
we got the we got SL run crew,SL Walker, and SL Stroll Crew.
So people out there with theirstrollers.
Uh my family is there.
Like you mentioned, my kids, mywife, my sister, my aunt, uh, my
the TTs.
Uh, my dad was coming at thetime.
Uh my dad actually passed uh ayear ago, but he was big in the

(28:16):
running.
Like he ran his first 5K at thetrap run, and it was like
through his old neighborhood,and that like was life-changing
binding for us.
Um, my sister, who I have to,I'd be uh I'd be remiss if I
didn't mention she actually rana half marathon in like 2010.

SPEAKER_05 (28:33):
Oh wow.

SPEAKER_04 (28:34):
When I had to Google how long a half marathon was and
act like I knew how long amarathon was.
At that time.
At that time.
So, but you fast forward 10years.
I think you had a wrong crew,got her back act like it.
But she is Leslie is uh a truepioneer in running, and I'm
gonna put her on the spot too.
Yeah, no, that's dope.

SPEAKER_02 (28:49):
The STL bucket list show is proudly sponsored by
Suede Dispensary with 11Missouri area locations.
Suede does so much for the St.
Louis community.
We've been working with thisteam for a couple years, back
since Medical was here, andwe're excited to support their
new product launches, events,and community initiatives.
We couldn't be happier to workwith this premier cannabis
brand, and we're excited forthem to sponsor the show.

(29:11):
Enjoy the rest of the podcast.
Isn't she is she gonna berunning the Go St.
Louis this year?

SPEAKER_04 (29:15):
Yeah, she went she wanted to have, she won a half
marathon, I think.
Okay, yeah, yeah.
She ran uh Manson, Arizona.
She outside, she all over theplace.

SPEAKER_02 (29:22):
Yeah, I remember that.

SPEAKER_04 (29:23):
Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 (29:24):
We've had her and and your wife on the podcast
before.

SPEAKER_04 (29:25):
So shout out to Frizzfest.

SPEAKER_02 (29:27):
Uh, we had them on twice.
Or we had the Frizzfest ontwice, your wife, um, the first
time, and then we had some ofthe guests from Frizzfest.
But yeah, I mean, you guys areyou guys are so embedded in the
community because you know, bothof you guys are in this
nonprofit work and both of youguys are community leaders, and
it seems like your family is.
Is that something from yourupbringing, or is that something
that evolved maybe with yourgeneration of you and your
sister?

SPEAKER_04 (29:46):
Man, I think me and Melissa have always been super
close.
But I think like uh we alwayshave been like just
community-driven, like St.
Louis, like love St.
Louis.
Like, yeah, no matter where youtravel, no matter where we
travel, like I mean, and it's socool because people really love
St.
Louis.
Um, and I think us championingSt.
Louis also allows us to likerepresent something bigger than

(30:09):
ourselves, a city that isoftentimes known for something
negative.
Yeah, and we're talking aboutFrizz Fest, which is arguably
one of the biggest, best feudalfestivals in the country, to run
crew, which is arguably one ofthe biggest, best run crews in
the in the country.
Like, and not to say that inlike a braggadocious way, but to
show people like St.
Louis has like I could name, Icould go off the list of like

(30:32):
amazing artists, creatives,yeah, spaces that are being
created right now in St.
Louis.
And it's a special time in St.
Louis.
So we are very intentional onlike pouring into St.
Louis, uh, me, Leslie, and Val,because man, our kids growing up
here.
Like we grew up here.
So we want what's best for ourkids and our and then the
younger generation.

(30:53):
It's almost up to us to createthat, you know.

SPEAKER_02 (30:55):
And give those opportunities and show that it's
possible.
And I always I have the quotewritten on my desk, but it's
like, if not us, then who?
If not now, then when?
So if you aren't going to do it,nobody's gonna come here and
start this.
It's not from the city.
So it's like it's on you.
And I think that's a pressure,but it's also a privilege to be
to have that torch.
Like the reason you get you wakeup today motivated to come do
this podcast is because youknow, this is a chance to be

(31:17):
able to tell more people aboutthe brand.

SPEAKER_04 (31:18):
Hell yeah.
You know, so I was excited tocome here, and what's crazy is
like I haven't done a ton ofinterviews, and I I don't know
that that by design, but youknow, I just have been like when
I mentioned like I've been inthis industry of this, I guess,
uh entertainment for uh like 20years.
Like back when I was signed toHuey had a manager named Big

(31:45):
Angie.
Big Angie was managing two R'sat the time.
It was me and Huey.
Really?
So like and I just say that tosay, like, I have been around
St.
Louis entertainment and musicfor a minute, and I love that
people don't know that.
Yeah, but I'm gonna say it herejust so people also put the some
respect.
Yeah, Ricky being around, butjust to say, like, I've seen

(32:08):
evolutions from like being ontour with Huey to being an
artist myself to like uh runcrew, all the different waves of
like entertainment and art andlifestyle.
And now is a very special time.
I was around when it was Hueyand Jibs and Kwan, and we were

(32:32):
uh in the studio with Murph.
This was in like this was inlike 20, like 2006, bro.
Damn.

SPEAKER_02 (32:38):
Like we were in the studio with I was talking to
Rimrod and he was telling mesome stories about that time
too.
Oh, I've been on Rimrod.
He was here, he was here about amonth ago.

SPEAKER_04 (32:44):
Yeah, because Rimrod, me and Rimrod went to
high scholar.
Yeah.
Uh Rimrod actually shot my firstmusic video in like 2009, bro.
Yeah, he's been doing he'sevolved and now he's doing the
small business stuff.
That's my yeah, it's my dog.
So all to say, like this St.
Louis has been popping.
It kind of goes through waves,but now um is a very special.

(33:09):
I haven't seen it as unified asI see now and feel now.
Yeah.
So I'm very grateful to havebeen able to kind of evolve
through my career to be here andbe able to like witness this
special.

SPEAKER_02 (33:23):
And you have that experience because there's not
much different.
Like music, obviously, thatlifestyle is different than
running, but getting people toshow up to a show is is just as
hard as it is to show up in themorning to run.
And it's it's we do differentthings.
And it's now it's you can feelgood about, you know, because
you mentioned the parties andand the the habits that you had
at that time.
Yeah.
And now you mention the habitsthat you have now.
It's you're on the completeother side of the the spectrum

(33:46):
of as far as habits.
Like you have healthy habits,you're teaching your kids
healthy habits, you're presentwith your kids on all these
things.
So like, you know, and then you,you know, you've but you've got
to see that side of the music.
And I was seeing Huey because Iknow there was a big three-one
four-day party, but like, youknow, he obviously passed in
2020.
And then, you know, all theseother music that came out of St.
Louis and Murph is still active.
And and and uh I just saw thatthey're doing the Battlehawks,

(34:08):
the the Murph is in the St.
Lunatics are back, and it's likecool to see like, and then
Chingy, who actually lives, Ilives right near me.
Um, you know, he's one of myneighbors.
It's like, you know, getting tosee him still perform.
He was just in my, I was talkingto him, he's like, Yeah, I'm
still performing.
I'm in Miami.
It's like the music that he made25 years ago is timeless.
And it I feel like what you'recreating now with Run Crew, you
know, is like, you know, it'stimeless, whether you're at the

(34:30):
helm leading it or so you putsomebody else in as a leadership
role.
Because eventually, you know,because I I wanted to ask a
couple more questions about theleadership is like, what have
you learned about being a leaderby running this crew?
Because you've worked in allthese leadership roles in the
corporate world, but this isjust it's a community, this is a
little bit different.

SPEAKER_04 (34:44):
Yeah.
Um that's a great question.
I think it really becausegetting like so managing and
leading folks that aren'tgetting paid, because I'm not,
I'm yeah, I'm just now makingmoney with Run Crew, to be quite
honest.
Like, we have like a all themoney that we make goes to Run

(35:05):
Crew, of course.
Sustain programming and appareland like events, and like we
have some big goals that arecoming up.
But so just being able to likeum show up and lead by example
as well as helped me and alsoshow me like how much I need
leadership and how and how muchof being a leader is empowering
other people to lead, where itdoesn't have to always go

(35:28):
through a Ricky where I givefolks uh autonomy to make
decisions, give them creativecontrol, which can be not easy
for a leader, you know.
And I've been there where like Iwant to make the the last
decision, final decision.
Like I don't need to talk toanybody about my decisions, but
it's it's helped me be a muchbetter communicator and also

(35:49):
helped me just realize howimportant a team of leaders are
and not just a leader, likeleaders is very important.
And I'm super grateful for ourleadership team, man, because
you know, they make it where wehave we can we've had multiple
events on on a day before, youknow.
And you can't be in all thoseplaces, you can't be in all
those spots, and I I I can't dothat.

(36:10):
You travel a lot sometimes, andlike you have to make sure that
this thing runs without you likeI got a family, I got kids, like
my kids might have a dance orlike recital, and like I miss a
lot.

SPEAKER_02 (36:19):
This, you know, so yeah, yeah.
And then you mentioned thevolunteer aspect is like it's
not like you're paying thosepeople to be there.
It's like they are volunteeringtheir time and and to lead
people that way is is sometimeseven more difficult, but that's
because they share the samevision as you, and they share
this vision of the bigger thatrun crew gets, the more
opportunities that St.
Louis gets, the moreopportunities that we can get.
So my last question, just tokind of tie everything together,

(36:41):
is what are some of those big,big goals that you can share
with us?
I know some stuff you're workingon behind the scenes, but like
looking ahead to this year,obviously it's still it's just
now warming up, so we're gonnastart getting out more.
But like this year and beyond,like, what are some of those big
goals that you have personallyand uh professionally for a run
crew?

SPEAKER_04 (36:57):
Okay, okay.
I'm gonna say some stuff that'sgonna manifest some stuff.
Let's go.
Uh I want to get a spot.
Yeah, a spot where we can host,run from, have yoga, have
meetings, have our apparel, justhave like a hub.
Yeah.
I've never said that out loud uhon especially no interviews, but
I know words are powerful, so uhI do and manifest, and we are

(37:22):
working on a spot.
Uh just more like strategic,like programming throughout the
city.
Like I want to get everybodymoving.
Um from the young, um, the youngkid to Murphy Lee.
I actually text Murphy Lee theother day and told him I want to
coach him for a five game.
I ain't gonna say what he said,but let's just say we all.

(37:46):
No, I mean just a wholespectrum, the spectrum.
Like, you know, young kids tolike the folks that have may not
be in the running, but I justknow what I want to empower
people that are gonna um empowerother people.
Yeah, uh, so I want to work onprogram.
I want I want to do runs allover the city.
Um, whether that be a race, um,that might be uh a

(38:07):
foreshadowing, whether that islike um yoga, boxing, like I
want to create a hub ofprogramming throughout all St.
Louis to get folks moving andgrooving.
And uh that's what I share rightnow.
But obviously, like running hadcompletely changed my life.
It uh, you know, brought me froma dark spot, helped me find

(38:28):
community, made me a betterhusband, father, community
member.
And I'm just excited aboutwhat's to come.
And I'm excited what God isdoing through me, with with me,
and through our um through ourteam and through St.
Louis.
And we'll be back Tuesdays,March 31st, Tower Grove Park.
Uh, if you've been lurking, ifyou've been like, dang, I'm

(38:50):
gonna come one day, yeah.
This is the year to pop out.
Uh we back Tower Grove Park,March 31st, 6 p.m.
That way.

SPEAKER_02 (38:59):
This episode is sponsored by Upshot Coffee,
three St.
Louis area locations inCottleville, Break Shop in St.
Charles, and their new hi-filocation in Clayton.
I personally use Upshot Coffeeevery day at my espresso machine
at home, and I try to visit oneof the shops at least once a
week.
They source the beansresponsibly from local farms all
across the world, um, and theytake care of their staff and
they take care of the community.

(39:20):
Let's get back to the show.
And then besides like showing upand besides buying the merch,
um, how can like we have a lotof business owners that listen
to our show every week?
How can the business communityget behind what you're doing?
Like, what are some of thosethings that they can do to be a
part of what you're doing orhelp in what you're doing?

SPEAKER_04 (39:36):
Uh, I would say uh we are about to start a um a
farm raising campaign.
So that'll and also if there'slike a synergy with like what
you do and what we can like helplike find that uh synergy,
whether that's um or find a wayto partner, like find a way to
like raffle, or like if youwanna, if you work at a business

(39:58):
and you want to do like a healthand wellness day, like um we can
come out and run with you, youknow, get the folks moving.
We've done that.
I've actually done that for alot of a few like um corps and
stuff, corporate conferencesdowntown where like they I come
out and I'll lead runs, which isshowing me a whole nother lane
of like being a run coach wherelike I'm running, like leading
like conferences to run downtownprofessions.

(40:20):
Yeah, yeah, which is which is adifferent vibe.
Which is really I'm really, Ididn't have a blueprint.
So I'm really just kind of likecreating my own blueprint as I
go, but we love to work withsmall businesses, we love to
work with St.
Louis.
Uh we love to find a way wherethere may be something that's
never been done before, right?
You know, so like we're open tolike finding ways to like create
um authentic and organicpartnerships to ultimately like

(40:42):
empower the city, man, andempower people.

SPEAKER_02 (40:44):
Well, Ricky, man, I appreciate you for coming on.
I'm glad we made this happen.
I do also believe aboutmanifestation too.
When you speak these things intoexistence, they really do
happen.
And a lot of that stuff hashappened in my life as well.
So if you guys are looking tosupport STL Run Crew and support
the mission, go to STLrunCrew.com.
Um, show up on those Tuesdays.
Um, if you can't make it, sharethese events, share these things

(41:04):
for people.
But I've been watching what youguys have been doing for a long
time.
I really love everything aboutyour guys' organization.
And I I love you as a person, asas far as somebody that always
has good energy when my familysees you and and really, you
know, somebody that's a amegaphone for St.
Louis that's been in St.
Louis for a long time.
So I appreciate you for makingtime for coming on the show
today.

SPEAKER_04 (41:23):
Thank you, Luke.
I'm on bucket list, man.
We outside.
And I I and I put you, I wantyou the family to come on.

SPEAKER_02 (41:28):
My kids are they're walking now, so they're ready.
They're ready.
I've been a stroller too.
Yeah, I'll bring the dad throughit.
Yeah, I need I need some, I needsome other dads, you know, with
little kids, man.
That's that's been that'sanother challenge when you when
you evolve into a parent.
Yeah, you you have to evolveyour your groups into parent
stuff.
You know, a lot of stuff we dois you know from nine to noon on
a Saturday.
My other friends might be goingout from midnight to 3 a.m.

SPEAKER_04 (41:47):
I don't call it late anymore.
We make that joke all the time.
I'm up at running at four andfive.
I was getting home at four andfive a few years ago.
So we we know we we're flippingthe script, man.
We're flipping the script.
I appreciate you, bro.
Thank you, Lou.
I appreciate you, brother.
Bucket list, big bucket listthat way.

unknown (42:04):
St.

SPEAKER_02 (42:04):
Louis, thanks for listening.
Everything we do here is abouttelling the story of this city,
and that doesn't stop with thisshow.
On the Bucketless PodcastNetwork, we're diving even
deeper into the people, places,and moments that make this city
what it is.
Meet Me in Music with NeilSalsit captures the sound of the
city, past and present, endingeach episode with a live
performance.
For my foodie lovers, the saucewith Lauren Healy brings you

(42:25):
inside the restaurants thatdefine our culture every
Tuesday.
Gateway to Growth with JamalCornelius highlights the stories
behind the people that make St.
Louis work.
And every Thursday, Bryce breaksdown your weekend with This Week
in St.
Louis.
More stories, more voices.
Explore the full bucketlesspodcast network wherever you
listen.

All Episodes

From Rock Bottom to Run Crew – How Ricky Is Building Community Through Movement in St. Louis

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

Dateline NBC

Hey Jonas!

Betrayal Weekly

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}From Rock Bottom to Run Crew – How Ricky Is Building Community Through Movement in St. Louis