Our Story
Vince’s Story
Hailing from The Ville (Fayetteville, North Carolina), Vince grew up with a range of athletic, academic and artistic talents. As a youngster, he had hoop dreams but he eventually cultivated a strong passion for cutting hair during his freshman year of college (don’t get it twisted though, just give him one month of practice, and he’ll dust anyone on the court!). In 2015, he set his sights on The City That Never Sleeps and has continued to place his stamp on it. Today, you can find him getting his clients fresh at his barbershop, The Standard Grooming Co., or designing a new collection for his streetwear clothing brand, Never Settle.
Ribka’s Story
Anyone who knows Ribka knows that, at any point in time, she’s likely to be laughing with her family and friends, throwing down in the kitchen, or biking around Brooklyn. Ribka loves to vibe out in nature (be it the beach, mountains, or rainforests) to balance out the woes of NYC livin.’ Born a curious child (and a proud New York native), she’s always been driven by community organizing and committing her life to advocate to radically change the world around us. She currently leads a food-policy advocacy campaign to improve food in NYC schools, hospitals, senior centers, homeless shelters, and jails. One of her most recent joys has been launching Homecoming Dining Experiences, a curated event series that’s dedicated to amplifying the beauty of Black culture and showcasing how African-Diasporan and African-Descended foods are delicious, nourishing, and healing.
Our Story
Vince and Ribka’s love-story is their favorite one, but they know they could be biased though ;) They first met in February 2019 at a beloved music lounge in Brooklyn, NY (that has since closed) called Ode to Babel, where they chatted about everything imaginable over the course of a few hours. While they’d run into each other quite a bit throughout Brooklyn that year, an entire global pandemic hit before they’d be reunited. In 2021, Vince had his eyes set on reconnecting with the woman he’d fallen out of touch with two years prior. He reached out in February and while they’d agreed to dinner, just days later, they’d run into each other unexpectedly at the place they first met back in 2019: Ode to Babel. They knew this wasn’t a coincidence and they’ve been on a love-filled adventure together ever since! Vince and Ribka can usually be found vibin’ out cracking jokes together, hoppin’ on a plane to explore somewhere new, catching a basketball game, or hittin’ up one of their favorite music artists’ concerts. They center care, communication, consistent love, and laughter in their relationship and have continually committed to showing up for one another. They value growing as whole individuals and as a unit, and will always champion one another through this journey called life! They are so grateful to be starting their marriage with their closest loved ones here in Costa Rica!