Rick Cao Owner of Ps & Qs

For our weekly series, we’ve interviewed our favorite Philadelphians ... the theatrical geniuses, entrepreneurs, boutique owners, photographers, designers, collaborators, models, and creative friends who have inspired us greatly and have worked with us to tell our brand story over the last 13 years. They've each played a BIG part in our storytelling with their unique work and abilities. Every week, we will feature and introduce another one of our favorite folks to you.

  Rick Cao is the co-owner & Creative Director of Philly streetwear heritage shop P's & Q's on South Street, which has just celebrated its 8th anniversary! Alongside his brother Ky & their incredible team,Rick has cultivated a cult-following at P's & Q's (& at his first shop Abakus Takeout in Chinatown) with a curated selection of hard-to-find indy streetwear brands, their eponymous exclusive P's & Q's capsule collections, & socially-conscious collaborations like their Say Their Names & Fight The Virus Not The People collections with proceeds supporting important causes.

@psqsshop

1. How long have you lived in Philly?
 I've lived in Philly all of my life since coming here as (1-year old) baby from Hong Kong.

2. How do you describe yourself in THREE WORDS?
Angry AKA Hangry, Respectful, Modest

3. How would your best friend describe you in THREE WORDS?
Funny, Weird, Outspoken

4. How did you start your career?
Started my career with Abakus Takout. Which was Ky and I first store with our partner/friend Fu.

5. Who’s your mentor?
My mentors are my father and Mel Williams (Director). Both men have a strong presence in my life. My father has always been encouraging and tough. Same with Mel. People don't know this but I went to CAPA for drama and Mel encouraged me to pursue it in New York where I went to Marymount Manhattan College for Theatre.

6. What do you fantasize about?
Zombie attacks. For whatever reason, I watch those land of the living dead films and I would fantasize getting attacked by zombies.

7. What keeps you up at night?
Stress!

8. How has the pandemic affected you? It's been 50/50 for me. Sad part is that I don't get to see family and friends often. But the good part is that I don't see a lot of people LOL.

9. How has the BLM Movement influenced your life and your work?

We need to make a change. And as a community store, we are responsible for people's voices to be heard. It's important we talk about race. I think we need to have a dialogue, so we can try to establish something. We may not agree with each other, but there should at least be dialogue. The saying goes "Man fears the unknown". I think people in general if they don't know one another, they tend to make assumptions. Some dialogue maybe can ease the tension, instead of sweeping it under the rug.

10: What's one thing most people would be surprised to know about you? I went to school for Theatre.

BONUS Q: What's your favorite spot in Philly? Any place that can brew some good ass coffee! But if I had to pick one place, it would be FDR Park. I go running a lot and during spring/summer time the Cambodian Community set up shop for beef sticks, papaya salad etc. Ask Justin of Ubiq. I took him there and he didn't know it existed.

Rick we love you and hope our readers have an insight into your uniqueness & amazingness in this series.