CONVERSE TEAMS UP WITH THE BEN RAEMERS FOUNDATION

In 2019, the global skateboarding community felt an urgency to shed light on mental health awareness following Ben Raemers’ passing, which led his close friends and family to launch the Ben Raemers Foundation. That collective sense of loss also motivated Converse to partner with the Ben Raemers Foundation to both maintain Raemers’ legacy and provide resources for mental health support across skateboarding.

In order to achieve collective awareness around the importance of mental health, the foundation partnered Converse with LivingWorks, a suicide prevention education and training program centered on empowering people to save lives. The goal is to educate members of the global Converse CONS skate team and the skate shop community, enabling skateboarders with tools to speak up and reminding them to take care of themselves and each other.

Converse’s partnership with LivingWorks is coupled with a $25,000 donation to the Ben Raemers’ Foundation, which is committed to eradicating the stigma around mental health within skateboarding. 

Additionally, with the two-year anniversary of Raemers’ passing approaching in May, CONS and The Ben Raemers’ Foundation are unveiling a limited-edition tribute sneaker in his honor, carrying on his legacy and love of blue One Star Pro Mid sneakers. The design is a celebration of Raemers’ favorite silhouette, a wearable ode to his legacy and continued impact. 

“It has been the most beautiful pleasure to work alongside Converse to make the creation of The Ben Raemers Foundation shoe,” said Lucy Raemers, Ben’s sister and co-founder of The Ben Raemers Foundation. “Meeting more of Ben’s friends at Converse has given me another feeling of being close to him with them all. Anniversaries are always tough but having this launch on his second one just shows the amazing things that have come out of us losing the beautiful human that was Ben and he really will shine on forever. The stars have his footprints now but so do we.”

“I have so many good memories traveling all over the world with Ben starting at such a young age for us both,” added Louie Lopez, pro skateboarder. “His loving energy and personality will forever be missed but will never be forgotten. I’ll carry his presence with me in my everyday life. Until next time my friend.”

Converse x The Ben Raemers Foundation product will be available starting May 14th at converse.com and select retailers.