Today we’d like to introduce you to Tony Torre
Hi Tony, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am a child of the 80’s who grew up on the pop culture of the time, heavy metal, Mad Max & Red Dawn. I grew up during the cold war, the Mariel boat lift and the Mc Duffy riots. All of which were very influential on my burgeoning interest in martial arts and survival subjects. Both subjects I started taking much more seriously after the devastation I witnessed after hurricane Andrew. In the mid 90’s I managed a very popular nightclub.
Later I became a bail bondsman, moonlighted in executive protection, and became a martial arts and tactical training instructor. These influences ultimately merged into what became my company Urban Survival Craft. Originally a side project for my martial arts students and later into a business of its own when my business partner Mark Barros came on board.
Here’s a video explaining the origins of our company
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?
It’s been anything but smooth. Lots of pivoting as we learned what mattered and what didn’t. First thing we noticed was that things we took for granted as common knowledge weren’t, and that survival meant different things to different people. Over time we integrated the various subjects we teach and ultimately found a way to smoothly teach what once looked like competing interests. For the record we’ve integrated survival, preparedness, first aid, and self defense into a holistic approach to total survival.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
While many believe what we do is something that’s pretty concrete I see it as a process. It is my artistic nature that has allowed me to see the connecting threads between the various things that we teach. We started off as a school teaching survival. We later became a store as people kept asking us where to get the gear we were recommending. Now we are becoming a lifestyle brand as our practice evolves into a lifestyle.
What are your plans for the future?
We are moving into the digital world. We will soon be offering online classes and courses. Ideally someday we will have a brick and mortar space where we will have the shop and the training space.
Pricing:
- All prices can be seen on our website too many to post here comfortably
- We can accommodate most budgets
Contact Info:
- Website: https://urbansurvivalcraft.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urban_survivalcraft/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064811223925
- Twitter: https://x.com/urbn_srvlcraft?lang=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=urban+survivalcraft
