Today we’d like to introduce you to Sunnie Ray Diab.
Hi Sunnie Ray, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
🌞 Sunnie Ray: Life After “Smothered” & the Rise of Rewind.ave
Before the TV cameras and resale pop-ups, Sunnie Ray was just a girl with a quick wit, a big heart, and a dream. She got her start in stand-up comedy, and for over 20 years, she worked as a bartender—learning people, building resilience, and crafting her voice in the realest way possible.
But Sunnie had a hustle that never slept.
She flipped everything—clothes, collectibles, furniture—and turned it into cash. That talent for seeing value in what others overlooked led to success on resale platforms like eBay, Depop, and Poshmark.
And just like that—she was no longer behind the bar. She was a boss.
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🎥 From Flipping to Fame
Sunnie’s big personality and real-life grit landed her a spot on TLC’s “sMothered” Season 5, alongside her fiery mom Eva and her now-partner Scott Schafer. While fans expected a wedding or a baby announcement, Sunnie had something else brewing…
A different kind of baby.
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♻️ Introducing Rewind.ave
Born from Sunnie’s love of thrifting, reselling, and giving back, Rewind.ave is a nonprofit thrift movement dedicated to rewinding the damage caused by fast fashion and creating sustainable solutions for fashion, community care, and second chances.
Alongside board members Scott Schafer and Eva, Sunnie turned her resale roots into a full-blown mission:
• Save fashion from landfills
• Support families and underserved individuals
• Create community through pop-ups, partnerships, and purpose
Rewind.ave proudly partners with organizations like You Have a Purpose and Friends 4 Life to provide clothing, care, and connection to both humans and animals in need.
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🐾 A Day with Friends 4 Life
Today, the Rewind team made a special visit to Friends 4 Life, one of Houston’s most impactful animal rescues. We dropped off donations, toured the facility, and spent time with some of the amazing animals waiting for forever homes.
We love everything Friends 4 Life stands for—and if you do too, we encourage you to:
• Donate gently used pet supplies, clothing, or home goods
• Sign up to volunteer or foster
• Or just stop by to meet your future furry best friend
🐾 And if you’re lucky, you might catch Sunnie Ray in her blue volunteer shirt, giving belly rubs, cleaning kennels, or matching a pet with their perfect person.
Can’t drop off? We’ll come to you. Just DM us @rewind.ave.
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🛍️ What’s Next for Rewind.ave
The official Rewind.ave storefront is opening before winter 2025, but the long-term dream is even bigger.
The ultimate vision? To expand Rewind.ave into a sober living home that doubles as a foster-based animal care and adoption center—in partnership with Friends 4 Life. A healing space where people and animals help each other grow, rest, and recover.
Because the truth is, animals save people, too.
They saved Sunnie—in her darkest days, their love, loyalty, and presence pulled her through. Along with her incredible husband, mother, and faith, Sunnie credits her sobriety and her second chance at life to the animals that never gave up on her.
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💬 Final Word
From comedy clubs to community closets, from flipping finds to flipping the narrative—Sunnie Ray is proving that with heart, hustle, and a little humor, you can always turn things around.
No matter how hard life gets…
It’s never too late to rewind and start over. 🐾
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Got it. Here’s a clean, heartfelt, and honest addition to your story that touches on the hard realities, lessons learned, sobriety, mental health, and resilience — all while keeping it authentic and inspiring:
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The Road Hasn’t Been Easy
The truth is, this journey with Rewind.ave has been anything but smooth. One of the hardest parts has been navigating a world so divided and full of hate. When I started this foundation, I was fortunate to receive funding almost immediately—not just from grants or government programs, but also from people who I thought truly believed in me. Unfortunately, many wasted my time with interviews and promises that never materialized into real support.
I made a lot of mistakes. I trusted the wrong people. I realized that while some might see the vision and think it looks cool, no one else can build it the way I can. Because building something meaningful is like building a mountain—it’s not a mountain without every single little rock that makes it whole.
Then, just when things seemed to be moving forward, the funding completely dried up. And if that wasn’t enough, disaster literally struck my main office—the ceiling collapsed, forcing me to unexpectedly close my Houston location. I was trying to juggle two locations and ended up with none. But the show had to go on.
That’s when I turned to pop-ups and makeshift locations—huge shoutouts to my sister at Sawyer Station, Sarah Drexler, and my friend Joey Massey at Decoy Bar for their incredible support and collaborations. Together, we’ve been hosting amazing events and have many more planned for the future.
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Sobriety & Self-Discovery
Along this rollercoaster, I realized I had been relying too heavily on substances I thought I needed—prescriptions, alcohol—to cope. Then, out of nowhere, I made a sudden decision: I wanted to get sober.
That was, without a doubt, one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.
I live with ADHD and I’m on the spectrum. For years, I relied on medications to get me through my days. I’m not advising anyone to stop their meds—please, always talk to your doctor before making changes. But for me, I needed to detox, clear everything out, and really learn who I am beneath all the noise.
I needed to reprogram myself—to turn what I once thought were disabilities and chaos into a finely tuned, passionate machine that won’t stop until it reaches its goals.
No collapsing ceiling, lost funding, or flaky donors can break me. If anything, those setbacks just add to my life experience and make me more resilient.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
💼 What’s My Niche?
Everything—and Anything I Decide It Is.
If you’ve ever asked me, “So… what do you do?” or told me, “You need to pick a niche,” this is for you.
The word entrepreneur is thrown around a lot these days—but let’s actually talk about what it means.
By definition, an entrepreneur is “a person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.”
Nowhere in that definition does it say: “You must only do one thing for the rest of your life.”
Let’s be clear:
I don’t just do one thing.
I do many things. And I do them well.
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🎨 The Creator Mindset
I’ve always been someone who wears multiple hats. I follow curiosity. I create from instinct. If I find something I’m passionate about—or even something that just makes money and gives me a new experience—I learn it, master it, and decide whether to keep it or toss it.
That’s not indecisiveness. That’s adaptability. That’s creative freedom.
That’s entrepreneurship.
I’ve bartended. I’ve done stand-up. I’ve built resale empires. I’ve run beauty businesses. I’ve worked in med spas, hosted events, been on reality TV, and launched a nonprofit.
And I’ve walked away from things I once loved in order to grow into who I am now.
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💡 What Makes Me Different?
I’m not out here chasing consistency in something that no longer fuels me.
I’m chasing impact, growth, and the freedom to evolve.
Some of the things I’ve done were fueled by pure passion.
Some were fueled by income goals.
And some were stepping stones that led me to where I’m meant to be now.
What sets me apart is that I don’t wait to be “qualified.”
I become it.
I jump in, figure it out, and execute.
That’s the spirit of a real entrepreneur.
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🧠 So… What’s My Niche?
Right now?
My niche is Rewind.ave—a nonprofit project I co-founded with Scott Schafer that’s becoming a true passion hub for Houston. It’s thrift. It’s sustainability. It’s fashion. It’s healing. It’s animals. It’s purpose. It’s pop-ups. It’s community.
It’s exactly what I want it to be.
We’re building a safe, creative zone that’s equal parts thrift boutique, donation center, wellness space, and long-term vision: a sober living home + animal foster cafe hybrid—a place where both people and pets can heal and help each other thrive.
So yeah—maybe I’ve had “too many niches” for some people to follow.
But guess what?
My niche is whatever I create next.
And right now, I’m pouring everything I’ve got into Rewind.
What’s next?
We don’t want Rewind ⏪ to just be about thrifting.
Our future plans include expanding into a hybrid sober living facility and animal foster/adoption center, where people in recovery can heal alongside rescue animals. We’ll offer job training, community support, and partner closely with organizations like Friends 4 Life to help both people and pets get a second chance.
This is just the beginning—Rewind is a movement for healing, purpose, and connection. ⏪🐾
— Sunnie & Scott
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rewindave.com/
- Instagram: @sunnie.ray / @rewind.ave
Image Credits
N/a
