FTX 65 – FTX 66 – FTX #18
Dear FTX Gang,
it’s been a long long while since i’ve written to you. our last event was over a year ago on September 11th, 2011 in NYC. it was an extremely powerful FTX and i was gifted with incredible people to help.
two of those people are Ana & Charles and it gives me great pleasure to welcome them into our family of friends.
i met Ana in 2009 in Morocco when i was working on (gasp) Sex & The City 2. we became friends out there but i have to say i had no idea how incredible a person she was until September of last year.
Ana not only coordinated almost all of FTX ♥ NY for me while i was in the UK for work but used her skills working in props to supply us with everything we might need (tables, transportation, where to buy challah bred – Moishe’s!) and even opened her home for my mom to sleep and stay in.
i believe no one really accomplishes anything on their own. FTX could not occur by myself alone. Ana was one of the handful of pivotal people that helped us on that historical sunday day last year to connect with people who felt drawn to a city still healing.
thank you Ana so much. we are honored to have you as our FTX 65.
i met Charles in January of 2010 when we were doing FTX Downtown 2 in Los Angeles. you may remember the size of those events where hundreds of homeless and in need people waited in line for a little FT & X. near the end of the day i noticed Charles and he asked me if he would be able to talk to me when i was done.
Charles explained to me that he had created an organization called United Steps.
http://unitedsteps.org/
it’s mission is to reverse the cycle of homelessness by speaking to people in a one-on-one conversation and in doing so connecting with them through encouragement, respect and listening. in the almost 2 ½ years since i’ve known him i’ve seen Charles do just that. approaching people as equals creates a bond based on the truth that we are all brothers and sisters.
i have been lucky enough to participate in some of the many events United Steps does in the Los Angeles area and i would recommend getting involved. i learned a lot about myself by doing them.
so please join me in celebrating him as our very own FTX 66!!
both Ana & Charles have inspired me as you all have. more and more i realize how powerful it is to be surrounded by the incredible people that make up FTX.
some of you may not know but since June i’ve been working in Namibia Africa on one of the goals of my life – a Mad Max film!!
on the first day of shooting i learned from director George Miller that he had been speaking to actress Zoe Kravitz about FTX!?! (i still don’t know how he heard about our gang!) Zoe was so inspired by our gang that she had her character renamed to my nickname of “Toast”!
upon arriving in Swakopmund, Namibia (with my grill in my suitcase) i learned of the huge population of orphans in the area. since the town i am living in is so small i realized that doing an FTX on the street would yield very few people indeed.
so within the first few days of arriving i decided to change our rules a bit and invite some *special guests* to FTX Namibia. 300 children from the local schools!!
it’s been three months since then and i’ve never worked harder on an FTX. in that time we got permission to legally do FTX at the nearby children’s park that is right next to the beach. (i’ve been told that many of the kids have never seen the ocean.)
the production company of this film has been the most involved i’ve ever had. not only have i had the fortune to meet great people but the company is offering up tables, coolers, trash bins, transportation of the children and even possibly Mad Max’s very own V-8 Interceptor car for the event!! (we’ll have to wait and see if it arrives on the day!)
i feel so blessed in my life and i truly don’t have the imagination for all the great gifts i’ve been given. i am thankful for all of you and your love, support and friendship.
on Sunday, September 30th, at 9am we will be going to the park and beach for our 18th FTX with an army of helpers, an incredible amount of food and a brand new music mix.
you can download it here and pop it in your “Compilations” folder on your computer. feel free to share the link.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/26813995/ftx%20namibia.zip
being in Africa it’s easy to realize no food goes to waste. if you are eating out and can’t finish your meal it is unheard of not to get it bagged up to go. outside you’ll find well dressed people who are working whether watching your car, selling newspapers or any other job. the gratitude i see in their eyes when i hand them my leftovers really hit home. like Charles with United Steps i see only another human, just like me. one who would like a meal. there is no real begging but more thankfulness. more equality in the action of giving and sharing than i’ve experienced before. it’s two people connecting.
just like FTX.
realizing how precious food is here i went overboard knowing none of my food would go to waste and ordered more than i ever have before!!
100 loaves of freshly baked challah bred (i had to print a recipe online since no bakery had ever heard of the Jewish bred in this German town!)
100 dozen eggs
20 liters of homemade gelato ice cream (cinnamon, coconut, chocolate & vanilla)
320 boxes of strawberries
20 kilos of bananas
40 cans of Italian whipped cream
60 bottles of maple syrup
and on and on and on.
if on September 30th you find yourself up at 9am our time (we are 9 hours ahead of Pacific Coast Time) and want to put on your gold and yellow FTX shirt and maybe give the new mix a spin i’d appreciate it.
i’m a bit nervous because i don’t want to let all these kids down. i know that might sound silly and i know when the event kicks into gear (V-8 INTERCEPTOR!) i’ll find my balance. but i have never had to rely on more people than with this FTX.
we’re two weeks away and my strongest feeling is gratitude. just as i felt in the power of sharing as equals with the people here in this seaside town i feel when i share with you.
my thanks to you all. i would never be here without you.
love toast
FTX 1