Today we’d like to introduce you to Torrence and Thurman Thomas. Their story is shared below:
11 years ago, Louisiana-born recording artists Torrence and Thurman Thomas (aka THEBROSFRESH) were inspired with the idea to give underprivileged children the ability to learn how to swim – a basic skill that could save one’s life – Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1-4. As professional musicians and creatives by trade, this was a daunting and rather unfamiliar task. THEBROSFRESH decided to do what most musicians know to do; sell band merch! The proceeds from their TANK-tops were utilized to help bring their mission to life: making kids “drown-PROOF”, and then “Tankproof” was born.
Tankproof’s focus is on providing swimming lessons and food security to the kids who need it most -almost 80% of children in households with incomes less than $50,000 have few-to-no swimming skills. 1 year later, the organization has given the life-saving skill of swimming to over 3,500 youth, and counting! From its humble beginnings in rural Louisiana, Tankproof has taken its program all over the country (8 markets in total) with its hub now in Austin, Texas. Most recently Tankproof has been featured on many media outlets, most notably: CBS Evening News, NBC nightly news, MSNBC, Vogue.com, Esquire, and the Kelly Clarkson Show.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest challenge is always awareness, the “stereotype” in general, and the limited access and closing of public water spaces nationally makes teaching this life skill even more difficult.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Professionally, we are known as recording artists, musicians, and creative producers under the moniker: THEBROSFRESH. We are most proud of the community work with Tankproof and the amazing waves we’ve made nationally, but more specifically in Austin, Texas. Within Entering this market, we’ve played at some of the most historic and vibiest venues in town including: Continental Club, a 2-month residency at C-boys, Scoot Inn (for ACL nights) ACL Live, Lambert’s, Empire Control Room, Cheer Up Charlies and a few more! The differentiators between us and other artists are our unique sound, style, and work in the community. There may be artists that possess one or two of these qualities, but having all three, plus the natural likeliness of being twins is rare, we have a few things “in our bag.”
Contact Info:
- Email: contact@thebrosfresh.com, pr@thebrosfresh.com
- Website: www.thebrosfresh.com
- Instagram: thebrosfresh
- Twitter: twitter.com/thebrosfresh
- Youtube: YouTube.com/thebrosfresh
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2O4TjZZ1qnlJWQRHyMXt3H?si=BTK_x1pzRjeBKg1r31EfrQ
Image Credits
Hannah Koehler
