Florida Foundations

Before branding and forums, Ricky came up in the Florida Crippy era, where secrecy was survival and credit rarely moved clean. His path stretched from Virginia Beach to Orlando, then west into California chapters in Sacramento, Grass Valley, Lake Tahoe, and Oakland. The throughline was always cultivation and preservation, not hype.

The Tattoo Shop Grow

In late 1992, back in Florida, Ricky opened a tattoo shop. Looking for Afghani, he asked a tenant in the same building where to find it. The answer was simple: “You got a spare bedroom?” That spare room became a grow, marking the shift from buyer to cultivator.

The Triangle Crew

Ricky became an early member of the Triangle crew alongside Dax and day-one homies Matty, Pagan George, Marty, and Craig. Inside that circle, “Triangle” was a crew stamp first. It signified lineage and trust long before it was ever treated as a marketing label.

The Triangle Wave

Through the 1990s, the Triangle cut, later labeled Triangle Kush, moved through his circle as true Florida gas. Loud, sharp fuel that reshaped local smoke culture. While others lost cuts or moved on, Ricky held the DNA steady, preserving what many now consider foundational Florida genetics.

The White and Swamp Boys

In 2005, Ricky partnered with Krome, the Florida grower tied to The White. Together they formed Swamp Boys Seeds with a focused mission: lock Triangle and The White into the same foundation lane, protect core traits, and build forward from that Florida backbone.

Breeding in the Swamp

Early breeding split responsibilities between Triangle Kush for fuel and backbone, and The White for resin weight and structure. From that base came lines like Georgia Pine, McFly, Summer Breeze, First 48, and African Orange. The approach was preservation first, expansion second.

Westward Without Dilution

As California’s Prop 215 era reshaped the ecosystem, the work moved west without dropping Florida roots. Alongside Krome, Plum Bob, and Nick Valliere, Ricky continued pushing Triangle and The White through new rooms while maintaining the original character of the cuts.

Hall of Fame Recognition

In 2017, High Times Magazine inducted Swamp Boys into its Seed Bank Hall of Fame, recognizing their role in strengthening community genetics and long-term preservation.

A Legendary Catalog

OBT, Layer Cake, Gilz Nilz, Triple Crown, Lemon Royale, Meowzers, Animal Style, Slayer Cake, Lemon Vuitton, Gnarbarian, Lemon Maraschino, GMO TK Skunk, and more trace back to that same Florida axis.

The Axis

From Florida bags to California shelves, one truth holds: the grower matters. Triangle Kush and The White are not side notes, they are the axis. Preserving genetics, the people, and the Florida conditions that shaped them remains the core.

In memory of Chris, an original Swamp Boy and a quiet foundation behind the scenes. The kind of supporter who kept the stoke alive and the crew moving.

YOUTUBE VIDEO

— Nugg Notes

SOURCE:

CORNBREAD RICKY