CRUZLIGHT: WORSHIP NO ONE

“I’m Marlo Luces, the Founder and Artist of Cruzlight Apparel.”

How was life growing up?

“I grew up as an introvert kid who cares a lot about arts.”  

When did you first begin to witness you had creative talents?

“Since I was a kid, I draw a lot of stuff, mostly weird things, skulls, demons, etc. some people call it “satanic” but I don’t care. I was a painter before I learn graphic design. And then I started to have ideas of putting my arts on t-shirts, and that’s when I started dreaming of starting my own clothing line.”

How did the name Cruzlight Apparel come about?

“Cruzlight came from my name. “Cruz”, my middle name, and “Luces”, a Spanish word means ”Light”.”

Why did you decide to choose making clothes your medium of choice?

“I was inspired by other local brands and started to think that I also want to make art through shirts and I have the ability to do that. Also, I think it would be great to have my arts printed on shirts and see people wearing it.”


With starting a brand, there’s always adversity you face in the beginning. What difficulties have you faced so far?

“Cruzlight apparel started on the year 2014, I was 1st year architecture student. I don’t know that much in starting a clothing brand. The first time I’m about to release shirts together with my friend, mark, we tried to print shirts on our own, we tried to do the silkscreen printing. The result was not that good but we sell it on a low price. More than 30 people ordered our first release which is not bad for starting brand. But the next release is hard because of our first bad product. The hardest part is that we have to gain more customers and trust.” 


There are a lot of brands out right now. How do you look to set yourself apart from them?

“I just do artworks that is different from other brands, that’s why cruzlight is still running, if I don’t, people will just go for other brands. Cruzlight has its own identity and I don’t go with the trends and I’m comfortable with that.” 


You recently drop snapback, what inspired this concept?

CRUZLIGHT SNAPBACK 

“Some of my customers and friends asked for it. It’s inspired by our brand concept itself. It is embroidered with our rebellion logo and our slogan “worship no one” at the back.”


What could we be expecting from Cruzlight Apparel as the rest of the year rolls out?

“More heavier designs, new products and possible collaborations with other brands or bands.”


As a company, where do you see Cruzlight Apparel going?

“I see cruzlight apparel going not just in Philippines but in other parts of the world.”


What you’ve learned over the years with Cruzlight Apparel?

“I’ve learned that If things doesn’t turn out to be good, just keep on going. There will be always hindrances and struggle in trying to achieve “success”.” 


When it’s all said and done how would you like to be remembered?

“Cruzlight will be remembered as a brand that inspire people to be different and independent. Also with our slogan “worship no one, free yourself” that promotes freedom against beliefs and religions.” 

Lastly, big advice to small brands.

“Running a brand is not easy, there will be a lot of struggles and hindrances, but don’t let these things bring you down. Just keep on going and keep on dreaming.”

INSTAGRAM: @CRUZLIGHT

FACEBOOK: @CRUZLIGHTAPPAREL

SOM1: UPLIFT SOCIETY AND THE CULTURE

Kumusta Kaibigan! I’m Sophiya Misha Salud or Somi for short. I capture engaging experiences, tag my name everywhere, and pull spro shots.   



How was life growing up?


“My bittersweet journey was packed with both exciting and unfortunate experiences that helped  me grow as a creative, friend, sister, daughter, and a person in general. I was very much stuck at  home but I knew that if I wanted to learn, I had to put myself out there and experience  everything but always making sure to have people I trust throughout my journey.”  

When did you first begin to witness you had creative talents?  

“My parents would always say that I’d started having a serious eye for photography way back  when I was four years old when we were on a trip in Hong Kong. Personally, I knew I was  inclined in the arts around that age as well when I’d always draw or make some artwork for my  parents as a gift before they’d come home.”    

How did the name SOM1 (Someone Saw Me) come about?  

“SOM1 is heavily rooted on the works of street artists such as CVTY Collective, Pilipinas Street Plan, Dirty Kid South Crew (DKS), Christian Cresencio (Moks), Rai Cruz, Geloy Concepcion, Quatro  Los Baños (Hapimeel), Jules Tan Cardoso (Pedro), and many more. Back in 2015, everything  started out on my frustration of wanting to become a street artist just like those whom I’ve  mentioned. Being connected on Facebook (and in real life for some), I’d ask their advice and  learn from them on how to improve my handstyle and such. Moks, in particular, helped me come  up with a name. I started out as MS which stands for Misha Salud. Then my friends said that I  should change it since it was a name of a gang - MS-13. So we went back to conceptualizing  until “PISO” came up which evolved from Sophiya to SOPI to PISO. Unfortunately, it was too  confusing and quite generic until we came up with “SOMI”. While practicing different handstyles  for SOMI, I experimented heavily on the “I” to make it look like a “1” so whenever people would  ask, I’d say, “It depends how you want to read it - whether it’s SOMI or SOM1”. It was only this  2018 when I’d realize I should make a wordplay out of it since it fits my philosophy behind it.  Whenever you’d see my slap or brand somewhere, it means that Someone (You) Saw Me.”

With starting a brand, there’s always adversity you face in the beginning. What  difficulties have you faced so far?

“Conceptualizing, brainstorming, and organizing everything together is tedious but always  worth it especially if you know that your work speaks for your philosophy or movement. Also, it’s  challenging to have ideas and concepts in mind but not having the talent, skills, money, or  resources to have it done.     

There are a lot of brands out right now. How do you look to set yourself apart from  them?  

More than just being a brand, I see Someone Saw Me as a movement to recognize and empower  creatives, entrepreneurs, and anyone who is passionate on their craft may it be traditional,  digital, musical art, or even something totally different such as brewing coffee. Whenever I’d  feature people, they’re not necessarily from the street culture or the creative industry. They could come from different walks of life and various industries. The movement is also aimed to uplift the culture 

by empowering them to make their mark by contributing something positive to  their growth as an artist and to the society as well.” 

Your latest sticker release, what inspired this concept?  

“Xin Nian Kuai Le: Chinese New Year was coming and I wanted to release something related to it  in celebration to the event. I initially thought of doing fortune cookies and chinese take out  boxes but a friend told me it didn’t fit our Filipino culture. I then thought of tikoy but it seemed to  simple for me. Later on, I said why not Hen Lin since it’s still very rooted to the local culture and  because my mama always craved for their siomai back when she was pregnant with me. Of  course, I had to make it more personal so I decided to make it look like me since people knew me  for wearing the polo from the F***ING PROBLEMS Collection by Quatro/Hapimeel and Pr()blem  Studios as well as the fuchsia beret I normally wear in shoots or events. I also chose Hen Lin  since my friends from Korner would always tease me by calling me Hen Lin!     

SOGO: For Valentine’s Day, I wanted to try something I don’t normally do or design so I thought  that having something inspired from Sogo would be pretty fun. Since Sogo and Somi already  shared the first 2 letters, it was a lot easier to recreate. I still added my flavor by making the lady  look like me by adding the glasses and changing her skin tone plus adding my other slaps. I was  actually really close to not finishing it since I only thought of it during the wee hours of the 14th  but I told myself to still go for it!”

What could we be expecting from SOM1 (Someone Saw Me) as the rest of the year rolls  out?  

“I honestly have no idea since I could simply change my mind in a snap. However, I’d definitely  want to be collaborating with various artists, brands, and creatives to create different forms of  artwork may it be through slaps, clothing, bags, etc.    As a company, where do you see SOM1 (Someone Saw Me) going?  I honestly am just riding the wave of life and seeing where this movement goes. Hopefully it’s  something big and positive that can impact people’s lives for the better.    What you’ve learned over the years with SOM1 (Someone Saw Me)?  Enjoy the process of learning new things while connecting with people. Appreciate, recognize,  and support those who deserve it. Open yourself to experiences and opportunities that will help  you grow and hone your skills. The movement is a lifelong process and journey of exploring my  own purpose and helping others understand themselves more too. Not everything will be  instant and so we have to trust the process and keep working for the better.”

When it’s all said and done how would you like to be remembered? 

“I would like to be remembered as someone who made her mark in the world by empowering  anyone to be better in their craft to help them uplift society and the culture.”    

Lastly, big advice to small brands  

“Know your passion. Find your purpose. Work consistently on your progress.”  

  

  INSTAGRAM: @SOMEONESAWME/@MISHALUD

FACEBOOK: @SOM1SAWME

SET SAIL: EXPLORING YOURSELF

Vocalist of SAVE THE DYING HOPE/FRAGMENTS

“I’m Niko Cezar, I am a freelance multimedia artist (not the bullshit multimedia artist seen on local tv) also a musician at some point.”



How was life growing up?

“My Life growing up is just the same as other people we experience ups & downs through our school and personal lives.” 



When did you first begin to witness you had creative talents?

“I don’t know to be honest. I was just trying to  do what my “inspirations” are doing whether it’s graphic design or photography, I’d never thought that I would be where I am right now back then.”



How did the name SET SAIL come about?

“The name set sail has no meaning at first. It’s just a word. But time passed and I’m slowly learning and growing from experiences for me set sail is “sailing” or exploring, exploring yourself, your potentials and discovering new things.” 



Why did you decide to choose making clothes your medium of choice?

“This started when I first discovered nick automatic back when I was in high school, they have the best branding identity and cool gore-y/cartoon-y designs which I loved back then. I said to myself that I will take up fine arts or multimedia arts to learn more about designing and using software and branding that pretty much started everything up.” 



With starting a brand, there’s always adversity you face in the beginning. What difficulties have you faced so far?

“Production delays are the worst. 80% of the problems that set sail encounters is from the production of our shirts.” 



There are a lot of brands out right now. How do you look to set yourself apart from them?

“We’re not that different. I think the brand is pretty much diverse because we don’t constrict our market to a certain types of people, we wanna be the brand that everyone will wear that they would look cool or proud when they're wearing our brand.” 



Your latest collection, what inspired this concept?

“The latest collection is a mixture of grungy, traditional art and photography. It inspires from band merch, tour shirts, photography, and death metal aesthetics.” 



What could we be expecting from SET SAIL as the rest of the year rolls out?

“Expect a lot of shirts ahaha. Jk. We’re releasing shorts, tie dye shirts, windbreakers and hoodies this year.” 



As a company, where do you see SET SAIL going?

“Set sail is currently sailing as of now. We’re sailing smooth and we’ll never stop sailing.
We will get better in producing high quality and authentic products that everyone would wear and enjoy”



What you’ve learned over the years with SET SAIL?

“A lot but committing to this brand is a lot of work. So I guess my passion and my commitment to this brand is what I’ve learned along the way and  I’ve also learned and got better in designing because of set sail.” 



When it’s all said and done how would you like to be remembered?

“I want people to remember the brand’s legacy.”

MAD MONKEY: BRINGING THE OLD TO NEW

 “Enrico Mangadap. They call me Ricom. Not a made up street name. MC, Hiphop purist, street entrepreneur.”


How was life growing up?

 “Fun, sometimes may hardtimes. Minsan may sobrang okay. But it was all fun. Namimiss ko pa rin lahat ng taong humubog sa’kin na ‘di ko na nakkita.” 


When did you first begin to witness you had creative talents?

 “Architect si Papa. And he had lots of things na pang design. Nasanay ako using speedball and inks nagagamit ko mag practice gumawa ng calligraphy. Especially The Old English. But, before that, I used to do letters sa wall ng bahay namin mga 4 years old ako. Sabi ni Papa masasanay ako gawin yun. Until nahuli na ko bumobomba sa City Hall dito sa Isabela. Nung pinanganak nga pala ako, yung inunan ko hiningi ni Papa binaon nya yun na may kasamang technical pen.”

How did you come up with the name Mad Monkey Brand?

 “Mad is a slang term for big or huge. Not literally MAD. The monkey, it came from Korn guitarist Munky Shaffer. Gustong gusto namin s’ya ng tropa ko. So, mala classic Hiphop same first letters like JAZZY JEFF, FAB FIVE FREDDY etc. I made MAD MONKEY.” 

With starting a brand, there’s always adversity you face in the beginning. What difficulties have you faced so far?

 “I have tons of ideas na pwede ko i-release as in madami. I got dough but not enough to make a blow!” 


Your latest or recent collection, what inspired this concept?

 “I was never a member of gang in Manila. I was a founder of gang in Isabela. OG [original] collections from shirt to stickers to jersey.” 

Baron Geisler wearing GHETTO jersey by Mad Monkey Brand 

What could we be expecting from the Mad Monkey as the rest of the year rolls out?

 “Expand distribution, currently maliban sa Metro Manila, I have bit sa Davao, Nueva Ecija, UAE, I’m working for more.“ 


As a company, where do you see Mad Monkey going?

“BE THE BEST HIPHOP/GANG WEAR! Badman’s Closet has the street and Hiphop for youngsters, I’ll go for more older dudes.‘Di napaguusapan yun. Some might think we have same market but it’s not, yet we compliment each other.” 

Ra Balingit owner of BMSC 

 What you’ve learned over the years with Mad Monkey Brand?

“How to handle shittty inquiries, LOL. Learned how to forecast the entire collection, from sales to distribution to inventory and knowing how to sell ice to an Eskimo.” 


When it’s all said and done how would you like to be remembered?

“The owner of the brand who brings back the OG’s. The baggy; the loose.”

@madmonkeybrand

New interview every week so stay tune..