By: Kelsi Bowen
From the gritty streets of Brownsville, Brooklyn to serving time in both juvenile detention, and eventually 10 years in a federal penitentiary, these were only steppingstones for entrepreneur and successful businessman Rahiem Robinson.
"You either gonna be the predator or the prey; pick which one, that's all I'm gonna say," Rah says. Robinson, stated he didn't join the Bloods for protection. "All gangs are not bad," he says, "It's just how you use the gang that makes it bad."
Rah says, "We started off as a family that protected our own." By 'own,' he's referring to other Black inmates in Rikers Island who established the East Coast Bloods.
"When you have a street reputation, that reputation follows you into Rikers Island or whatever facility you go to."
"Sometimes people misconstrued what [the Bloods] is," he says. "You have Blood members who are very active in deterring the gang violence. I’m one of 'em."
As Rah release date, grew closer he knew he had to make a change.
"I knew I couldn't do that by being actively involved [in Bloods]. My son who was a young teen at the time said, 'You do more for your Blood family than you do for your real blood family.’"
This was a turning point for Rah. "I made the decision that when I was released out into these streets, I was gonna make a difference. Be a more active father and leader."
In 2016 while still in prison he started his company Bklyn Made an online clothing store selling male and female street apparel. "I'm from Brooklyn and I feel like Brooklyn made me who I am," Rah says. "I knew anything I wanted to do, Brooklyn had to be a part of it." A year after starting his business he got his LLC. He hasn’t stopped at just clothes.
"As we got more popular it gave me the idea of starting another company: Bklyn Made Entertainment." He credits his involvement in the entertainment scene for garnering attention for his apparel. Through his presence and advertising in night clubs, he was able to network and eventually host his own parties.
"As we're doing that we're growing," he says. "A lot of people started wearing the brand; it popped off."
"Then I had a couple of celebrities wear it and it popped off even more," Rah says. These celebrities include Maino, Busta Rhymes, Don Quan, and Fabolous who held up the shirt during an event.
Rah has since been able to grow his businesses with the help of his oldest son who has taken over Bklyn Made Apparel. "I'm very confident that he's gonna take the brand and make his designs more universal than I did," Rah says. "Bring something different to the table that will be more for his culture."
Under Bklyn Made Entertainment, Rah continues to host parties and has a podcast with Dking Ny called YKTFV_Podcast. He brings young entrepreneurs on to talk about their businesses, as well as anyone interested in sharing their perspective in a raw, unscripted conversation.
Rah's piece of advice to anyone who hears his story: "Never let anybody tell you what you can't do. If you have a vision make the effort towards it."
You can shop his apparel at bklynmade718.com and connect with him on Facebook at Bklyn Made.
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