• Home
  • About
  • Work with Me
  • SUBSCRIBE!
  • BEST ONLINE SHOPPING
  • Contact Me
  • Baby Boomster Tours

Baby Boomster

Active Women Over 50

  • Read About >>
  • Fashion/Beauty
  • Travel
    • General Travel
    • Los Angeles Travel
  • Wellness
  • Fitness Over 50
  • Lifestyle
  • Recipes
  • Interviews
You are here: Home / Baby Boomers - Women Over 50 / Career-reinvention-retirement / How a Rocker and Sock Company Are Giving Back to the Needy
Privacy Policy This post may contain affiliate links for products I recommend. If you purchase, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.

How a Rocker and Sock Company Are Giving Back to the Needy

September 2, 2020 by Rebecca Forstadt-Olkowski Leave a Comment

Billy D Graziadei IV, also known as Billy Bio, is the founder of the rock band Biohazard. He has teamed up with Angela and Edward Davis, both teachers who started a new company called Cru Sox. Its mission is to give back to those who are disadvantaged. I interviewed them about their cause.

Watch both interviews on video below:

Partners at Cru Sox

Billy D Graziadei IV

Billy was born in Boston and raised in New York to an Italian Irish family. He now lives in Los Angeles. Ever since the 90s he’s been rocking and touring with his band Biohazard, which is known for its socially conscious lyrics. He also started another band called Powerflo with Cypress Hills singer Sendog and goes solo as Billy Bio.  

So why would a rock musician get involved with a sock company? I decided to ask him.

A lot of people he knows with business savvy have smirked and asked, “Why would you want to do that?” After all, he’s an artist and not a business person. The way Billy sees it “Business is the way to grow the bank account. But, sometimes in life, it’s not always about growing the bank account.”

Growing up in New York in the 70s and 80s with four brothers, Billy’s mother was always darning socks. Times were rough. The seams in their worn-out socks gradually got bigger and bigger and moved to the front and underneath. 

When he was older and went on tour, he always bought a bag of socks – 10 to a bag, and it became a thing with him. “Most people have a sock and underwear drawer. I had a drawer that was just socks and most of them were mismatched.” 

His wife couldn’t understand why he had so many socks, so he told her his mother’s story. To help him get over his sock obsession she suggested he start donating them.

Making a difference in the world

Billy and his Cru Sox partners, Angela and Edward Davis all have a passion to make the world a better place. Even though the businesspeople Billy knew didn’t understand why he wanted to become involved, his socially conscious artist friends got the idea of giving back to the community.

“The success of the company is based on how much free stuff we can give away.”  Much of the company’s support has come from artists and others who believe it’s worth the effort to put a smile on someone’s face. Besides helping the homeless, they’ve been working with people from Crazy Town (another band from the 90s) who supports drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

Cru Sox’s give-back philosophy runs the gamut of people who are down and out. They’ve been talking to organizations that help those from broken homes like misplaced and homeless teenagers who want to make their lives better and are still going to school.

Even during the pandemic, Cru Sox geared up their donations for the holiday season.

We discussed how more and more companies like Toms and Warby Parker are adopting give back marketing as a part of their selling points.

Spreading kindness

Billy was raised by good parents and was a Boy Scout. All his life he was taught to always do good. Even when he meets fans, he wants to make them feel special. He’ll stick around and shake their hands, say hello, and talk about music. He doesn’t charge his fans for autographs or to record a voicemail and even sends birthday messages to people he’s met along the way.

When he meets with his fans, he wants them to walk away feeling great knowing that he took the time to talk to them even if they were in the middle of a crowd.  He believes in spreading kindness every day whether it’s helping a person across the street or bagging their groceries. Recently he took his son to In & Out Burger and paid for the food of a young teen behind him just to put a smile on his face.

Cru Sox have street appeal

Cru Sox are designed for the street and feature aliens, Christmas socks, airplanes, socially conscious ideas, and more. The company also designs socks for other bands and artists.

Cru Sox Designs

Angela and Edward Davis are the company founders

Angela and Edward are both teachers who are always trying to find ways to motivate their students and teach them to treat each other fairly. On one occasion, a guest motivational speaker was at their school and talked about going out into the world to do great things. Edward said he got even more out of it than the students did.

The speaker remarked, “You can be a talker, or you can be a doer.”  Edward spoke to him afterward about his goals. He suggested giving socks to those in need because they are the most sought-after items for people down on their luck. Edward got to thinking that his students were always wearing crazy looking socks. So he turned to Angela and said, “I think we missed the boat. We should have probably started a sock company”

That was about 5 or 6 years ago. Later, he thought, “We’re always doing things to help the community and get people involved like food distribution and other volunteer activities. Why not start a sock company that gives back to those in need?”

(Edward tells the story about going to a dance with his former students who were then in high school and how they put a fire under him. Please watch how he describes it in the video below.)

After the dance, a light bulb went off in Edward’s head. He told his wife to take notes. “This is the name of the brand. It’s going to be called Cru Sox.”  He also envisioned the logo. Then, it all started to click.

The next day, they were at school and a student asked Edward to check out his socks with sharks on them. Edward saw this as a sign that it was time to go for it!

I’ve worked with several entrepreneurial organizations in the past and know that many people who work 9-5 never get out of that box. For teachers, it’s hard to teach their students about starting a business unless they’ve done it themselves. What Edward and Angela are doing is not only valuable to them but also to their students.

In today’s world, many people are looking outside the box for alternative ways to make extra income. That’s why the gig economy is so big for all age groups right now. Students are especially feeling the angst of not knowing what the future will bring. If they can learn to be a self-starter they may be able to survive and thrive without a traditional JOB.

Once Cru Sox was launched Edward retired from teaching to work on the business full time. Angela still works at a charter middle school teaching 8th-grade math but also puts a great deal of time into the business and works on the designs.

The Davis’s are looking forward to being able to get back to doing give-back events and donating their time to help others.

Hooking up with Billy

Edward was a fan of Biohazard when he was young and used to listen to their music when he was cutting lawns as a teen. He saw them in concert a few times. The couple had the opportunity to go to one of Billy’s shows where they live in Las Vegas. Edward used to tour with bands, so music was always a big thing for him.

After the show, they were hanging out and Billy came by. They got into a conversation with him, mentioned they were teachers, and told him about their idea of launching Cru Sox. Billy has teachers in his family and thought it was a great idea. He told them to keep him posted.

Once Cru Sox was launched, they sent Billy some socks, and not long after Billy got in touch with them. “You nailed this thing. I definitely want to be involved.” From then on, they have been partners.

Cru Sox also does custom socks for bands and businesses.  The image below is their give-back formula.

The company also helps bands so they won’t get ripped off by those who sell their merchandise. They make it affordable and let the band sell socks on their own platform. That way the band keeps the money in their own pocket rather than licensing where the profits go into many pockets.

People think rock stars are all rich. Some are, but most are struggling, especially now that songs are cheap to purchase or are free on streaming services.

To learn more about Cru Sox and its mission, visit its website here.

Share this post:

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest Share on LinkedIn

Filed Under: Career-reinvention-retirement Tagged With: business, charity, interview, Rock and Roll, VIDEO

Post Updates

See my favorite books on Amazon here!

Listen to popular audiobooks without subscription fees with Chirp!

Leave a comment and tell us what you think Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome to my blog!

Rebecca Olkowski

I’m Rebecca a Los Angeles-based travel and lifestyle, blogger

I created Baby Boomster for active women over 50 who are not ready for a rocking chair, but ready to ROCK! Aging is an attitude. It’s all about how you choose to react to it. Read more about me here

  • Rebecca@babyboomster.com
  • Let’s Collaborate
  • Writer’s Guidelines
  • Subscribe to Post Updates Here
  • Read these books on Amazon

Los Angeles resident or traveler?

Visit my new blog BoominginLA.com here.

best online shopping for women over 50

Latest Posts

  • Best of Boomer Blogs: Flowers That Bloom in the Spring Tra La!
  • Are You a Woman Who is Planning a Solo Trip in the Future?
  • The Glutathione Revolution: Interview with Author Dr. Nayan Patel
  • Vessel Health Review: At Home Testing for Wellness
  • LaDuora Duo Hair Care Device Review
  • Homemade Granola
  • Do You Feel Like a Bionic Person Yet?
  • Chinese Coleslaw with Bok Choy
  • County Fair: A Coffee Table and Recipe Book You Will Love
  • What Are The Best Airlines to Fly in 2022?

Thinking of starting your own blog? Read this first.

Contact Info

  • About Baby Boomster
  • Send a message
  • Media Kit
  • Writer’s Guidelines

…………………………………………..

Rebecca Forstadt Olkowski
rebecca@babyboomster.com
Los Angeles,  CA 91001

Honors and Awards

Top 100 Baby Boomer blogs

Top Boomer and Senior Blog on Knewze!

Search for a topic

Legal Stuff You Need to Know

  • Disclaimer
  • Disclosure
  • Please read my Privacy and Cookie Policy

Rebecca Olkowski is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to BabyBoomster.com. Other affiliations are listed HERE.

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK |  LINKEDIN |  PINTEREST |  TWITTER |  YOUTUBE | IMDB


BabyBoomster.com is a travel, food, wellness, entertainment, and lifestyle blog for Baby Boomer women over 50. | Los Angeles, California

Copyright Ⓒ 2011 - 2022  | BabyBoomster.com  |  All Rights Reserved

Privacy and Cookie Policy