About ThatsPositive
Formed by a group of close friends in Connecticut, ThatsPositive focuses on playing a positive role in community and bringing people together to achieve their goals, create art, engage and promote in conscious and help each other however we can. The members of ThatsPositive believe strongly in setting personal goals and using networking and collaboration to help each other. ThatsPositive embodies the motto, Together We Can.
While ThatsPositive involves collaborations with many great individuals and organizations, its three creators and leading members are listed below:
Mike Martinez
I’ve always set goals for myself to see how far I can make it. Sometimes I reach them and sometimes I can’t. Life is about working hard for what you want to achieve and accepting what you can’t change, and that’s what I’m working on in life. I’m a believer that you need your mind and body on the same page to make a positive impact in your own life. When you take care of one, naturally, you’ll want to increase the quality of the other. That’s why my two favorite things to do in my spare time are boxing and meditation. It gives me a certain balance that my soul craves to thrive and be successful. “That’s Positive” has been the greatest and most creative group I’ve had the pleasure of working with. These guys keep me on track with my goals as well as open me up to new creative ideas I never thought I’d be a part of such as puppet shows for children, fashion shows, writing scripts and working on making videos.
Nick Morrett
Nicholas Morrett, recreation coordinator, professional pooper with big poops, fashion artist
His prom tux was made (and paid for) by P Diddy and he was a finalist for a spot on MTV’s The Real World (more on those later), but Nick is carving out a niche of his own as a sneaker artist. He started by painting the rims on a totaled car (he was rear-ended) and said to himself, “If I can do that, let me paint shoes because I love shoes.” After that, he took a year to do some custom work on sneakers (he started on old shoes but has moved up to fresh canvas) and COVID gave him time to really dive into his craft. Originally from Philadelphia, he moved to Manchester from Hartford late in fifth grade, finished that year at Waddell then attended Illing and MHS (Class of ‘05). He caught on with Parks & Rec last summer after Christiane OBrien, the town’s artist in residence and the Rec on the Run coordinator, found him and his sneaker art at WORK_SPACE. Her program was in need of some creativity in the heat of the pandemic and Nick had “the qualities and was a natural fit to help make it a successful,” says OBrien, who adds that Nick has energy and passion for creative expression and goodwill that is a treasured asset to the program. In high school Nick was a wrestler and loved playing the tuba (“it’s an endangered instrument and I think playing music helped me socially”) but how does a kid from Manchester get a tux from an international rap star? It started when MHS sent a busload of students to New York as a reward for academic prowess and one of the stops was the set of the long-running MTV show TRL (short for Total Request Live). Nick said they were looking for kids to participate in a speed dating segment and “we were mic-ed the whole time and long story short, I guess they had fun with me on that section.” MTV called him a week later and asked if he wanted to participate in a prom segment with Diddy and they called him back again a few years ago to audition for The Real World, a process that started in New Haven, moved on to NYC and eventually LA. “It was a wonderful experience,” says Nick, despite not getting the part. “I met so many wonderful people.” In between MTV stints, Nick worked as a special education para and camp counselor in Vernon and started a community based project with a friend called ‘That’s Positive’ to address bullying and promote positivity. Nick lives in East Hartford and still visits extended family in Philly (and roots for the Eagles) but he’s right at home with Rec on the Run, which offers arts, crafts and more and features a different theme each week (painting, string art, etc.). “I look forward to coming to work every day,” Nick says, “and running around like the kids.”
Scott Hughes
Scott Hughes is the creator of OnlineBookClub.org, a website with over two million members. He was born and raised in Manchester, Connecticut, where he lives today with his two children. Connect with Scott on Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/thescotthughes