Please help in reacquiring my stolen sound system

My name is Collin. I am a small business owner in Los Angeles, CA. On the early morning of November 19th, I had my Uhaul rental truck stolen with my entire business - everything I've worked for throughout my life - packed in the back.

Since my first introduction to DJig at 13 years old, I've been entirely in love with the world of dance music and the culture around it. Seeing the potential of music to bring people together, evoke emotions, and create impactful and lasting moments in people's lives. So as soon as I could start working at 16, I began saving my money and investing in DJ/Pro audio equipment. I started DJing school dances, house parties, and anything else I could do to share music and bring people together. I recognized that this was my opportunity to make a positive impact on the world. I decided to give my all to this passion and move to LA to study music production and work in events. I continued to work as much as I could in the field of event production. I worked as a stage tech in local venues, worked for a company contracted with Live Nation to tour around the country, and worked on some of the biggest music festivals in the world. I did anything and everything I could to get my hands on with event production.

Throughout this experience, I also recognized the massive importance of high-quality sound at music events. The music itself could be amazing, but if the sound system is subpar, it will inhibit the music's ability to translate to the crowd and move them the way it's meant to. I was already intrigued with audio, having retrofitted my cars and home with high-end sound. But I began to take this further and learn everything I could about Pro Audio sound systems. I would spend massive amounts of time reading white papers published by top companies detailing the physics behind their designs. I would dive deep into audio forums to learn everything I could about different enclosure designs. I'd watch youtube videos from world-renowned sound techs talking about various configurations of subwoofer deployments and more. The more I learned, the more I was fascinated, and the more I wanted to get my hands on gear. But this was always the biggest hurdle for me...coming from a relatively low-income background, the potential for me to invest in my own sound system was always out of reach. At least that was the case until last summer, 2021.

The world was finally coming back after Covid and live music was starting to happen again. It was at this point when I recognized that I HAD to make something greater happen with my life. I had to find a way to acquire my own system and start providing sound for the events that I always loved attending. But I didn't just want to do the same thing as others. I wanted to do something different, something better. So I went back through all of my research and remembered a small company in the UK that was doing exactly that. Their focus was on musical fidelity, sustainability, and providing the best experience possible to the end user - the people dancing in front of the speakers. This company is Traction Sound. I reached out to them requesting a quote for a selection of their speakers. I began a conversation with the CEO of the company. We talked for a while, and then by the end of our conversations, we had made a deal. I was officially the proud owner of the first Traction Sound system of this scale in this part of the country.

Since I've had my system, I've given everything to building this business. Doing everything I can to provide the best acoustic experience to as many events as possible throughout my area, regardless of their budget. I do this because I love the music, I love the culture, I love the people within it. This community has become my family, my support system, my life. As I said earlier, being able to provide sound for the events I love is my way of making a positive impact on this world. This is more to me than a business. This is everything to me. And in one morning, some thieves stole it all from me.

I was working an event through the night of the 18th and arrived home around 6:30am. I parked the truck around the corner from my house in Echo park on what I always thought was a safe street. I walked to my house and slept for a few hours. When I woke up and walked back to get the truck, I discovered that it had been stolen, along with my entire sound system packed in the back. My whole business was in there. Everything that I invested my life into and use to support myself. It was all gone. Stolen from me.

I've contacted Uhaul and they're no help in recovering the truck. I filed a police report, but there's not much more they can do. At this point, they told me the best we can do is wait and be on the lookout for my equipment if it show's up for sale somewhere. But who knows if that's going to happen.

Any contributions to this fund will help me reinvest into replacement gear so I can get my life and business back and also help me stay afloat while I'm out of work until that happens.