THE BIG STORY

June 2022: a return to the Clisson site after two years of cancellations. It’s time for a double-edition festival! Excitement is at an all-time high. All that’s left is to load up the truck and hit the road across France. Twelve hours later, we arrive at the site, and we can already feel that familiar buzz—the same energy as in previous years.

It’s a huge joy to see friends we only ever meet here, and best of all, we’re finally going to see bands play LIVE again! Actual concerts—hell yeah!

The team is fired up; setting up the booth is a breeze, and it’s not long before the gates open! Hellfest is showcasing plenty of new features; you’re here, we’re here, the bands are here—let the show begin!

Then comes Sunday morning, June 19th, and *the* unexpected phone call! Our friend K-Wouète—our PR manager who’s been liaising with bands for years—gets one of those "once-in-a-lifetime" calls. You can tell by the way his face changes color and his English accent—usually flawless—starts cracking and going up an octave! When he hangs up, he’s got a little smile on his face and his eyes are gleaming in the dark! He looks almost scary... Then the news drops: Roberto “Ra” Díaz, the bassist for Suicidal Tendencies, has been hired by Korn to fill in for Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu on their summer tour, and he wants to know if we have any gear to give him for his Mainstage set that very evening! Lol!

Wait, say that again! I think I’m hallucinating—and not just because I haven't quite slept off the drinks from the night before. Ra Diaz, Korn, Hellfest, Mainstage, that very evening? Is this a joke? But when you see Kwouete packing a bag full of clothes and accessories to go offer them to him, you realize it’s one of those little magical moments that only happen at this crazy festival!

We’d already been in touch with Ra Diaz about him wearing Hyraw gear with his band, Suicidal Tendencies. Since he was at *the* French metal festival, he thought it was the perfect opportunity to showcase our clothes!

The result: he played the entire Korn set wearing the Hyraw outfit! Shirt, cap, bandana... the whole works! The show was intense! The crowd went wild like never before, and we even shed a little tear...

Korn and Suicidal Tendencies are two bands we’ve had on heavy rotation since the 90s—long before we ever thought of starting this clothing brand. It really means something... 😉

A huge thanks to him!

Main photo: Ra Diaz on the Hellfest 2022 Mainstage, proudly sporting our gear (photo by Stéphane Masson).