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Over the last few years, I’ve sort of become Not For Sale’s official photographer. Given my love for abolishing slavery and my hatred for real evil, having the opportunity to give back as a photographer and shoot for them is a true joy of mine. Even though I play the smallest role imaginable in the larger NFS (Not For Sale) picture, it’s a role I am grateful to play. Here is last year’s Global Forum I shot for them and here is last year’s Montara Circle, if you’re interested.

Last weekend I flew up to San Francisco to shoot the 3rd Montara Circle for NFS. Despite popular opinion in the west, slavery didn’t end when the US freed black slaves. Slavery isn’t a thing of the past. In fact, I believe the number of slaves in the States during the civil war was something like 25,000 (going off memory here) and now there’s some 27 million slaves around the world. An anti-slavery like NFS movement has never been more necessary.

Montara Circles invite 50 of the greatest minds to tackle human traffiking. CEO’s, producers, directors, CMO’s, law firms, artists… The room is filled with some of the greatest minds on the planet and it is so fascinating being able to watch the project from the outside as I shoot it. These are busy, busy individuals and they put a stop to their schedule for a couple days to end slavery.

For two days, everyone comes together to create a new approach to combatting slavery. Last year, they came up with REBBL tea: premium tea sourced from communities vulnerable to human trafficking in Peru. REBBL tea helps lower the risk of human trafficking by offering opportunities for dignified employment and committing to reinvest a portion of profits back into those local communities.

Moniker did all the set up/design/branding, by the way. They always kill it!

The guy above in the middle is Dave Batstone. One of the founders of NOT FOR SALE. To the left of him is Matthew Mahan. Vice President of Social Impact for Facebook Causes.

Kindley Walsh Lawlor, VP at GAP for social and environmental responsibility.

Stanley Winokur, MD, played a key role last year in developing REBBL tea. Shown here is everyone tasting the new tea.

Talking about the Free To Work app. Download it now!

Greg Galle, Executive Producer and Co-founder or Future, explaining how the brainstorming process will begin.

Matthew Mahan, Vice President of Social Impact for Facebook Causes, setting up the REBBL tea Causes page with Dave Batstone.

Dave and Scotty O’Hara, CMO of AllSaints fashion.

Once each group pitched their ideas, everyone was given one hundred $1 bills ($5000 combined). Every person chose what ideas were worthy of their money. The idea with the most money would be the idea that NFS would commit to implementing.

A major apparel executive committing a percentage of sales to NFS. The reaction below illustrates the magnitude of the donation :)

If you’re looking for a non-profit organization to support, NFS is a great one. They are committed to ending slavery in our lifetime and they have real, solid solutions to make that happen :)

To all my friends at NFS. May God bless you for all that you are doing.

Bobby

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Not For Sale. Oh how I love this organization. How could you not? Honestly, is there anyone out there reading this who isn’t vehemently opposed to the idea of someone being a slave — whether for work or sex? It’s something that everyone can unite under. Democrats and republicans. Religious and non-religious. Canon shooters and Nikon shooters :P

I was fortunate enough to have been made aware of slavery and sex trade a little over 10 years ago (back when Lindsay and I were full time non-profit workers) — and since then I’ve always been excited to help any way I can. One of those ways now is to shoot for Not For Sale whenever they need me. Having shot several events for them, I’m genuinely grateful that I can play some tiny roll in their big picture.

This took place last weekend up in the Bay Area. As usual, I left completely inspired.

Our dear friend, Allie, senior director of communications at Not For Sale, talking with Matt Mahan Vice President of Social Impact for Facebook Causes.

This is my pal, Bob Goff. We flew up to the Forum together and, as usual, I was completely blown away with how kind this man is. How little he cares for recognition. This is Bob telling Roger’s story — a child slave in Uganda who was enslaved by a witch doctor, had his genitals cut off, and a whole host of other things. As Bob puts it, he’s a “recovering lawyer” and uses his skills with his organization called Restore International. Recently, he flew out to Uganda (he goes every 2 or 3 months to visit all of his kids :) to put his lawyer skills to work — and he, along with little (I think 10yr old) Rodger taking the stand, convicted the witch doctor to imprisonment! Even more awesome than that, he shared that Rodger has his visa and papers to come live in the States — and that Bob got a call from one of the leading surgeons on the planet saying that he could fix Rodger for free :). People like Bob… If only there more people like Bob… He’s a genuine inspiration.

Mira Sorvino tearing up as she recalls stories that sex slaves have told her. Heart wrenching stuff, to be sure…

Mira bringing hope in the form of instructing everyone what they can do about the problem. There are real solutions :)

Daniel Beddingfield made a little surprise performance.

I’m a huge spoken word fan (when it’s excellent, at least) — thanks to my admiration of guys like Sage Francis. NomiS blew me away. Come to find out, we live right around the corner from each other. Here he is on the big screen.

Mike McCarthy. Similar to my general distaste for celebrities (not necessarily individual ones — just the whole pie) is my distaste for journalists and media. The sensationalism. The fact that the vast majority of what you see/read from them is unimportant. But then you have guys like Mike McCarthy, producer at CNN and the man who leads up the Freedom Project — a CNN series dedicated to reporting specifically on slavery. A great place to get informed.

Giants pitcher, Jeremy Affeldt, cracking up Dave Batstone, president and co-founder of NFS, and Karen Silverma, of Latham and Watkins, while talking about his idea that birthed REBBL tea (coming out soon). This was the idea pitched at the Montara Circle earlier in the year and it will be a business created for a cause — as opposed to an established business looking for a cause. Fascinating stuff.

Former prisoner and slave, Cecilia Flores-Oebanda. Talk about a warrior of a woman. Manny Pacquiao is heavily involved in fighting human trafficking primarily because of her (which is, again, a main reason he ran for senate… because she convinced him too!).

Man… Paul Colman is a funny, funny guy. Here he is making up a song on the spot for Dave, Jeremy, Larry Wu (CEO at Headwaters Natural Products and former Director of R&D for Starbucks) and Sarah Ferguson (Fergie), the Duchess of York.

Allie talking about how the way information is shared effects society with Dave Morin, Former VP of Facebook and co-founder of Path (which turned down googles hundred million dollar offer, by the way). Dave made a fascinating point about the printing press being outlawed in the Arab world — and that he believes it was the printing press, or the way the printing press enabled a new way to share information, that was largely responsible for many uprises and movements that progressed the west to where it is today. And that now, with the middle east getting a large flow of information via smartphones, the internet, facebook, etc., we are seeing things shifting over there at a rapid pace. Very fascinating stuff…

My friend, Mark Wexler, director and co-founder of NFS, talking to Toos Heemskerk, NFS Amsterdam coordinator, about how they are enabling eastern European women who were trafficked into Amsterdam to be able to flee their captors.

Dave channeling his inner Steve Jobs :)

That night, NFS had a beautiful gala to raise money for a few different projects…

Aloe Blacc was the entertainer for the evening.

Levi’s has partnered up with NFS and is ordering certain things directly through NFS’ Cambodian factories (again, these factories employ freed slaves — empowering them to remain free). Dave auctioned off 3 jackets and raised thousands with the auction :)

Here’s Dave trying it on and then Jeremy checking how it would fit him :)

Once Allie threw some charm in there, Fergie could no longer hold back…

…and here she’s insisting that she gets a date with Allie, as well…


Allie agreed and the Duchess won the auction :)

——————–

The great evil of our time isn’t processed food, Columbus day, or capitalism. The great battles to be fought by honorable soldiers aren’t against Wall Street or Walmart. It’s slavery. We can’t forget that when we overstate micro problems we will often indirectly understate macro problems. We have a finite amount of energy we can put out there — where are you fighting with yours?

If you want to help, there are tons of things you can do. For starters, go to the Not For Sale website. Then download the new free2work app which allows you to scan barcodes and see if what you’re buying came from slave labor or not! It’s a free app so download it now ;) And I just bought this shirt from the NFS store which directly helps free slaves! NFS has a factory in Cambodia, and you probably know about my love for that nation, which employs people who have been saved from the slave trade — ensuring that they can stay out of slavery completely.

If we all help, we can re-abolish slavery.

Bobby

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Last week I had the absolute pleasure flying out from Nashville to shoot a private event for Not For Sale in San Francisco. Not For Sale is an amazing organization I’ve been involved with for a while now that is dedicated to stopping slavery. Despite popular opinion in the west, slavery didn’t end when the US freed black slaves. It isn’t a thing of the past. In fact, I believe the number of slaves in the States was around the civil war was something like 25,000 (going off of memory when I studied the issue years back) and now there’s some 27 million slaves around the world. An anti-slavery movement has never been more necessary.

The event was called the Montara Circle and it was at an amazing location overlooking the pacific at Half Moon Bay. They invited 50 of the greatest minds around to tackle human rights in a region of Peru. CEO’s, producers, director’s, lawyers, artists… This room was filled with some of the greatest minds in the nation and it was fascinating being able to be a part of the project. Hearing these people brainstorm was absolutely inspiring. These are busy, busy individuals and they put a stop to their schedule for a couple days to end slavery. So inspiring.

Setting up on day one.

The location. Not bad, right?

The awesome guys at Moniker did all the design/setup for the event. Killed it.

Dave Batstone. One of the founders of Not For Sale.

Mark Wexler. Another one of the founders of Not For Sale.

Kique Bazan. Another one of the founders of Not For Sale.

Setting up on day two.

Me with two of my dearest friends, Josh (shot with me), and Alli (Senior Director of Communications for Not For sale).

My favorite two people I met at this event. Producer/director, Aaron Boyd (on the left) and man of the century, Bob Goff. Aaron’s immediately cool because he’s a fellow BJ Penn fan :) and Bob Goff might be the most kind human being I’ve met in my lifetime.

Brilliant minds from all over the world hard at work. Inspiring.

This image sums up one of the things I absolutely love about Not For Sale. I’ve spent years in non-profit orgs and, unfortunately, the most generous people don’t always have the best minds when it comes to gameplanning. The goal of this event was to come up with real ideas that would be doable. It sounds so simple and obvious, but it’s often overlooked in non-profit (usually unknowingly).

Australian, Hugh Marquis, CEO of Network Neighborhood and founder of STOPStart enterprises, runs a factory in Cambodia (which many of you know is extremely close to my heart) where women who are freed from being sex slaves are able to work. It’s one thing to be freed — but it’s places like this that offer work that really keep the women free. The CEO of Levi’s was present and committed to buying jackets from their factory — an incredible thing to do in the fight against slavery.

The brains at C2, Greg Galle, orchestrating the mind mixing.

Different groups brainstorming their ideas to pitch for the one great idea of the event.

CNN was there doing interviews on the topic of slavery — here is, I believe, the CEO of Levi’s being interviewed.

Hugo, a main source of information on the seven villages in the Amazon that is the focus of aid, giving context on how the only way the local villagers will accept help is by us outsiders maintaining respect for their ways and their environment.

Everyone pitching their final ideas. The last image is one of the pitchers of the Giants (recent world series champs), Jeremy Affeldt.

In the end, I left this place amazed at what Not For Sale is doing. These days, now that I have a son, I don’t leave my family unless I’m being paid quite well or unless it’s for an amazing non-profit org that I believe in. Not For Sale definitely fits the bill in the second category :)

Bobby

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I can’t say enough good things about this organization. Not For Sale is hell bent on abolishing slavery. What a cause, huh?

Think of the worst part of your life. The absolute WORST thing that you’ve had to deal with in the last ten years. Now imagine how that problem immediately seems about -> this big literally enslaved. I’m serious. Actually think about it. Being owned by someone else.

We’re so incredibly free that it’s almost easy to overlook something like this. Like we can’t even imagine how insane being a slave is so we just move on, you know?

Thank God for people like Dave Batstone and the Not For Sale gang. They’ve been put on this earth to shake people like me and you into realizing that human beings should not be for sale. The forum was thought to have a couple hundred people and ended up having over 600! Success :)

The movement.

David Batstone kicking off with an incredibly inspiring talk.

The keynote speaker -Lou de Baca. He’s the US ambassador for stopping human trafficking.

Anuradha being interviewed about her incredible work on stopping sex trafficking in Nepal. Her stories made me cry – yet she reminded us to “live in hope,” as she put it.

There were breakout sessions throughout the day with different topics and speakers — the attendants would split up and go to see the panel/topic of their choice. I loved hearing little bits and pieces as I photographed everything.

Frank saves slaves in Cambodia. Not many people can say that, can they?

I like this picture. Jon Foreman of Switchfoot warming up. His proud dad watching from across the room :)

Robert Levon Been of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club warming up.

More warming up backstage.

Jon Foreman playing for everyone.

Our dear friend, Allie, enjoying up in the sound booth. She’s all sorts of awesome :)

Peter from BRMC.

Jon Foreman talking about his opinions on slavery.

Peter doing the same.

More breakout sessions. I’m telling you – I was so inspired hearing everything I did!

David Arkless giving an incredible speech on corporations and the necessary role they play in the abolitionist’s movement.

I’ve got to be honest – I’m skeptical of pastors of big churches. Throw in a book that has a ton of success? I’m more skeptical. As Francis Chen started speaking, I became even MORE skeptical. But then I found out that he signed over not most of the rights to his successful book. He signed over ALL the rights. My skepticism ceased.

The workforce.

My new friend and seriously ripping cinematographer – Russell Brownley – getting all up in my business.

Some candids before the forum’s end.

I love this image. David Batstone – one of the founders of Not For Sale – kissing Anuradha Koirala on the cheek before she heads back to Nepal. Love it.

I honestly loved every second of this two day forum. The work they are doing is incredible. Truly.

Bobby