Mike Kryshak is the owner of Rebel Wipes, a disposable wet wipe manufacturer based out of Saukville. The company donates profits from their own Rebel brand to a variety of charitable causes. Since last year they’ve also been part of a coalition of local businesses and organizations that have participated in Southside Bicycle Day, an event that donates free bicycles, helmets and locks to the community. The event is happening Sunday, June 12 (in conjunction with Ciclovia MKE, a fest that celebrates bicycling) this year and also features activities, bike tune ups and repairs. The goal for Southside Bicycle Day this year is to collect 1,000 bicycles to give away.
How did you get involved in this? What does owning a bike mean to you?
When I was a kid, a buddy of mine lived up the block. He had a Stingray bike and I had a Stingray bike. We stole our mom’s sheets so we could put parachutes on our bikes so we could stop quicker. We were going to ride around and fight crime until the streetlights went on, like superheroes. Bike riding was kind of our first sense of freedom.
How did you get involved with Southside Bicycle Day?
A good friend of mine, David Waters (of Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers), started Bike Day a number of years ago; this is the fifth year and it’s being held this year in conjunction with Ciclovia MKE. It’s just a great cause we wanted to help support. Last year we were able to get about 265 bikes out there, and this year our goal is 1,000.
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Master Lock, Mr. Mover, Wisconsin Bike Federation, Milwaukee Bicycle Collective, DreamBikes, all the other bike shops that come in to help us fix these bikes are just some of the people involved. It wouldn’t be possible without all their efforts. It’s a nice group effort to get kids and adults who wouldn’t normally be able to get a bike on one.
What type of company is Rebel Wipes?
We’re a wet wipe manufacturer, and we make them for a lot of the main brand guys you see. What we decided to do a while back is come up with our own brand of products, so we have our own heavy-duty degreaser wipes, like mechanics use, shopping cart wipes, disinfectant wipes, and on all those products we sell under our own brand, locally, we give away the profits to various causes.
How can people donate their bikes to Southside Bicycle Day?
They can go on our website where we have a donation form or they can call the number on our website; we have a van that we can send to pick it up. They can drop bikes off at the Milwaukee Bicycle Collective or at DreamBikes, two great places to support. Donate your old bike you aren’t using, we’ll find a good home for it.
Donation forms and more info can be found on Rebel Wipe’s website, rebelwipes.com. Southside Bicycle Day/Ciclovia MKE takes place Sunday, June 12, 12-4 p.m., at Walker Square Park and the surrounding areas. For more information, visit es.cicloviamke.org.
