Dumba brothers' painted skates raising money for Minneapolis recovery

Kyle Dumba pulled an all-nighter between shifts at his day job, put in almost 20 hours of work and drove about six hours, but the custom painted skates he and his brother Matt dreamed up were done and delivered. And soon they're going to help change some lives for the better.

Kyle painted the skates, provided by CCM, based on a place and a cause he and the Minnesota Wild defenseman know well. The dominant color, bright blue, was inspired by the George Floyd mural in Minneapolis, and Kyle drew from recent events for the details throughout. The skates are up for
bid on NHL Auctions
with the money going to the Lake Street Council, a cause that is dear to both brothers.
"It's always been about giving back in our family, giving back to the community and knowing how fortunate we are to be in the position we are, especially with where Matt is now, to be able to give back," Kyle said.

Lake Street and its many small businesses owned by Black, Indigenous and People of Color, has become one of Matt's favorite places in his seven seasons with the Wild. Whenever Kyle goes to Minneapolis to see his brother, the lively thoroughfare is always part of the visit.
One skate features Matt's yellow Mustang that he drove down Lake Street after protests and demonstrations led to property damage. The scene on the skate also features a few of Matt's favorite restaurants and the tattoo shop where he and Kyle have gotten many of their tattoos. On the back of the skate is a street sign that says "Lake Street" and "Stronger Together."
"That's actually my favorite part of the whole skate," Kyle said. "It's small and subtle but to me that's what really ties it together."
Instagram from @matt.dumba: So many different feelings ran through my body the other day. Anger, sadness, empathy, empowerment, and strength. Seeing the resiliency of this community blew me away. I stand with you in this fight against injustice. Together is the only way through. #blacklivesmatter #restinpowergeorgefloyd #rebuildlakestreet Don't let this be swept under the rug and help me make a difference by donating at rebuildminnesota.com Link in the bio! ✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿@minnesotawild
The other skate has players of different colors representing all 31 NHL teams, Matt's logo and the logo of the Hockey Diversity Alliance, of which Matt is a founding member. Kyle had a design planned but went in a different direction after Matt's speech about anti-racism and supporting Black Lives Matter on the first day of Stanley Cup Qualifiers. Matt also became the first NHL player to take a knee during the "Star-Spangled Banner." He raised his fist in protest for the U.S. and Canadian anthems before Game 1 of the Wild's Stanley Cup Qualifier series against the Vancouver Canucks and he's vowed to continue to do so moving forward.
"It inspired me to change up the design, just because of how powerful that speech was and how moving it is with what he's doing with the NHL and HDA right now," Kyle said.

To finish it off, Kyle put "HOCKEY NEEDS MORE COLOUR" in bold black lettering on the side, "to be in your face."
The blade holders are painted in a brick wall design to signify all the work that still needs to be done to achieve racial equality. Both holders also have Matt's No. 24 and "BLM" for Black Lives Matter.
"I think it represents the rebuilding that has to happen on Lake Street in particular, but across a lot of different places in the U.S. as well," Kyle said. "To me it kind of helps tie the skates together. It's building blocks and building a strong foundation within the League and in Minneapolis and across our society today."
It was important for the brothers to incorporate Lake Street, not just because they enjoy going there, but because it has been at the center of the fight for racial equality after Floyd was killed by a police officer who held him in an unauthorized choke hold nearby. Matt's fundraiser for the Lake Street Council (
rebuildminnesota.com
) is helping local businesses that were damaged or destroyed during protests.
According to the Lake Street Council's website, the organization has raised $10 million from 70,000 donors, and of the 175 businesses that received the first $2.8 million in grants, 86% are owned by Black, Indigenous, People of Color or immigrants, and 85% were businesses with 10 or fewer employees.
Matt pledged to match donations up to $100,000 and received donation matches of up $50,000 each from the Wild and NHL. Part of the fundraiser is a raffle for a pair of Kyle's custom painted sneakers.
"I couldn't sit back and not do something or say something and be on the wrong side of history when it came down to that so I was looking for some way to do something and with Matt's platform, I said we could be the voice for all of our friends and everybody that doesn't think they have a voice," Kyle said.

Matt and Kyle talked discussed the story they wanted to tell with the skates last week and Kyle got to work on them. A goalie who recently finished his last season of collegiate hockey, Kyle took up painting a few years ago and started selling his work before combining his artistic talent with his love of sneakers. Within the last year, he's begun selling custom painted sneakers, but the skates have even more quirks to navigate, such as the material, which required a sanding down before paint was applied.
"To make that look clean and still represent the story that we're trying to tell with where the money from this auction is going to and making that story clear is one of that challenges of a skate instead of a flat canvas," Kyle said.
But the all the work will be more than worth it when the money raised makes a big impact. Getting involved in activism has come naturally for the brothers, who grew up with a diverse family, including several adopted aunts and uncles from different countries and a multicultural group of friends. Their father Charles is Romanian and German, and their mother Treena is Filipino. Because of their upbringing and their own experiences with racism, the Dumba brothers' devotion to fighting bigotry only grew as Matt gained more recognition as an NHL player. Matt is also a finalist for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is given annually to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.
"Yes he's a been great hockey player from the time he was a kid until now and it's gotten him to where he is, but knowing him as his brother and seeing how he's always been someone to stop and lend a helping hand or make a difference and want to see change for the better, it doesn't surprise me that he's taken this leadership role on and been so involved in this movement," Kyle said.
"It makes me really proud because it's what I've always expected from him and I think he expects a lot of that from me too and that's why we've been doing a lot of this together."
Bid on the skates at NHL Auctions:
Matt Dumba Custom Painted Skates - Minnesota Wild