Meet Mackie's Biggest Fan (...Or One of 'Em, Anyway)
Known as “Mr. Mackie,” by his friends and colleagues, Rui Valentim of Johannesburg, South Africa claims he has the “biggest and oldest collection of Mackie swag in the world.”
“It’s something I cannot explain, I just must have it,” Valentim says of his collection fetish. A product specialist for MIDI Music, Valentim has a huge glass case devoted to his hundreds of pieces of Mackie swag. And if that isn’t enough, he has just branded his second personal truck with the Mackie logo on all sides.
Valentim was first introduced to Mackie in 1999 and began collecting swag because of Mackie’s one-of-a-kind humor and wit. He owns everything from Mackie cleaning kits to our personal favorite…Mackie condoms.
Of his whole collection, Valentim says his favorite swag item is his Mackie leather jacket. “I have been offered ridiculous amounts of money for the jacket,” he says. “Not even a million U.S. dollars will buy you my leather jacket—it has sentimental value.”
Mackie’s products cannot be surpassed according to Valentim, whose first purchase was a 1642 VLZ six years ago, which he says still works without a hitch. He even flew to Seattle in 2004 just to meet the Mackie employees and Mr. Greg Mackie himself.
Valentim says friends and colleagues know not to mess with Mackie products or displays when he is around. And says that he will be “a Mackie freak till he dies.”
Thanks, Rui Valentim, for being as crazy and freaky as the rest of us here at Mackie!
