If you've not been directly affected by this disease you may not know how devastating it truly is, not only to the person affected but to the people around them. We sure didn’t…

Ou father, Ken Brenner, grew up in Los Angeles, CA and was always interested in sports & athletics. In high school he became a stand out football player and then wide out at Long Beach State University, which led to an invitation to joining the AFL Chargers. Unfortunately, injuries took his football career away. When one door closes, another one opens, and in came his passion for art.

He moved to Berkeley, CA to become a hippie and explore the world as an artist. That is when he met our mother, Melissa, in school to become a teacher. While realizing they both could not be teachers and make a good living in California, Ken put his art to the side and went into a career in banking, rising to become a CEO. 

With an eye toward retirement, and after a nearly 40 year hiatus, art poured back out of him. He painting hundreds of paintings in a matter of months and he had once again discovered his passion. We put together art shows and exhibited his work in Berkeley, Palo Alto, San Francisco, and New York City.

He found his life after banking… make plans, God laughs.

This excitement to become a full time artist was clear, but his body started to slow down. At first we thought his old football injuries were just catching up to him (ruptured achilles, two herniated disks, etc.) but his progression was happening too quickly. The diagnosis came and all of our lives were forever changed. 

He lived for 18 more months after that diagnosis and art became his therapy.

"While I was painting, I didn't think about the disease," he said. "Doing something beautiful, like making art, really takes you to a different dimension of your own consciousness. It helped me find hope and a way to keep going."

His final series of paintings were some of his most meaningful, and the public agreed. Those works sold anywhere from $2,500 - $15,000 and in partnership with an ALS foundation we donated a portion of all the proceeds. 

Once Ken could no longer paint we wanted to continue his legacy, to create, to honor him and to continue raising money & awareness for ALS.  Artist Ledacy Standard was born, a lifestyle brand driving conversation around this incurable disease. Our mission is to play a small role in defeating ALS through the power of art, streetwear, culture, and community. 

Thank you for being a part of our journey.

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Our partner in this fight is The Martha Olson-Fernandez Foundation (MOFF) a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation that serves the ALS community with grant making capabilities. Their funding is annually distributed to national ALS research projects and ALS patient care outreach programs.