En La Brega: Rudah Ribeiro

I had the pleasure of catching up with my good friend Rudah Ribeiro a few weeks back. Rudah is someone I greatly value for his tremendous understanding and respect for culture, both in theory and practice. His commitment to shedding light on marginalized groups who most often are the vanguard of emerging cultures is something I greatly respect.

We spent the fall afternoon going from the Nike NYC HQ offices where he works in influencer marketing, back to his home in Brooklyn for a deep conversation. He talked about the influence growing up in 1990’s Rio de Janeiro had on him, his parents, who are both world-renowned photojournalists, and his passion for music.

One of the more powerful comments he made was related to how he arrived at his position with Nike. Rudah spoke about not having a traditional career path that included a college degree and working his way up the career ladder. He touched on the importance of relationship building and carving your own path.

Truly inspiring. 

The night ended with some amazing Indian food at a spot near his apartment, and per usual, I asked him to put me on to more music from Brazil.  Nothing but love for my homie Rudah.