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Rey Rey Rodriguez (13 March 1978) is an American photographer, visual artist, and
entrepreneur. He is known worldwide for his celebrity, street, dark, and combat sports
photography. He was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, and moved to South Florida at a young age. He is the founder of the brand and company The Mind of Rey Rey, a multimedia and branding platform that incorporates his diverse range of artistic capabilities. Rey Rey’s artistic style is widely inspired by his troubled childhood, life experiences and surroundings, and encapsulates the essence of human emotions like pain, despair, lust and anger.
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Quick Facts
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| Birth Name |
Rey Paul Rodriguez
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| Born | March 13, 1978 |
| Age | 46 years |
| Birth place | Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico |
| Height | 5’9 |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, Influencer, Photographer, Founder of The Mind of Rey Rey |
Early life
Rey Rey Rodriguez was born on March 13, 1978 in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico but he moved to South Florida with his family. He has studied in Miramar High School.
Education
He enrolled in Broward Community College in 2003. Rodriguez earned a bachelor’s degree in Film & Video and a minor in Photography from the Florida Atlantic University in 2009.
Career
Journey
Rey Rey Rodriguez began creating horror photoshoots and short films as a hobby, and uploading everything on social media. He then started working as freelance and pro bono photographer while building his portfolio.
Connections
His connections to non-mainstream, underground circles and individuals such as outcasts, thugs, fighters, alternative lifestyle communities, private events, fraternities, piercing and body modification groups, and several other people that enjoyed a taboo lifestyle, allowed him to shoot a mix of controversial artwork ranging from experimental, avant-garde, erotic, taboo, horror, macabre, and morbid photoshoots and short films.
Ban
While his unorthodox collections were banned in many places and online platforms, he grew a massive loyal underground following within a community of people he likes to call, “dark and artistic weirdos like myself.”
Work and Success
The creative stories behind the imagery, and the masterful methods of capturing the shots, combined with his unmatched marketing campaigns quickly gave rise to a new celebrity photographer capable of reaching a star status beyond the art community.
Style
With increasing popularity Rodriguez soon brought his aggressive style into the world combat sports, revolutionizing the industry by combining fine-art photography and photojournalism into the world of (UFC) Ultimate Fighting Championship, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ).
Beginning of The Mind of Rey Rey
By 2014, Rey Rey was collaborating with celebrities, athletes, musicians, combat sports fighters, politicians, activists, major companies, and public figures of all kinds, and soon his company and brand The Mind of Rey Rey was born.
Underground Art King
Rey Rey Rodriguez remains sought after for his renowned commercial, fine art, street, dark, and combat sports photography. Although he is mentioned amongst the photography greats, he is most proud of his “Underground Art King” title. His multimedia and branding / marketing firm The Mind of Rey Rey, helps other people, brands, and companies grow their brand and online presence.
Award
- Irene Fischley Award
Did you know…
- Rodriguez is best known for his artistic style that dwells on a darker side which is inspired by his life experiences and surroundings.
- His work got featured in HuffPost, The MMA corner, The Hype Magazine, Vogue Magazine, This is 50, and more.
<<<Facts about Rey Rey Rodriguez>>>
- Rey Rey Rodriguez has over $132k followers on his Facebook account: @themindofreyrey
- He was a High School dropout, and decided to get an education at 25 year old.
- He was awarded a GED, two associate's degrees, and a bachelor’s degree.
- He was awarded The Irene Fischley Award for Excellence.
- Rey Rey worked as a paramedic for over 14 years.
- While working as a paramedic on TV shows sets, he was used twice to act as a paramedic.
- On Shaq’s Big Challenge starring Shaquille O’Neal, and on Caso Cerrado alongside Ana Maria Polo.
- His favorite sports to watch and practice as a child were boxing and martial arts.
- He suffered from asthma as a child, but lost it soon as a teenager when jogging became a daily hobby.