One Micronesia Podcast: Bonefide Micronesia

[Music] guys and welcome back to another episode of the one micronesia podcast now this episode guys i'm excited i'm excited to sit down with um you know unfortunately his partner couldn't make it to the podcast and you know we wish him well and all the things that he's doing in in in serving uh but he's here and these are the two uh dudes who are behind uh one of the up and coming uh brands that are just uh just making the waves here uh in guam and all over micronesia especially over social media and i think that's where all the brands are are at if you were looking for something that's popping something that's new something that's fresh so these guys and i love the fact that um their brand is all about the concept of micronesia being we are micronesia a one micronesia and this is what the broadcast is all about being you know uh bringing together all the islands in so many ways through music uh through you know through art you name it and these guys with uh putting together a um a brand that that's just all about micronesia so that's awesome and also you know the guys who are behind the shirt who made this shirt so i'm wearing one of their with their awesome shirts it says we are micronesia we'll talk about the design which is so cool and we'll talk about the concept behind that the idea we'll get to that but until let's meet our guests guys uh ladies and gentlemen here with me on the podcast is the one and only david mullin from bonafide micronesia david brother welcome to the podcast man thank you thank you for having us on board anytime brother man like i said uh you know i reached out you know it's been i've seen this uh on social media i've seen a lot of people post it especially the the the young uh fas uh citizens here on guam they you know they they buy the product they they share shared on social media i've always wanted to reach out i just never gotten to the point to to actually hitting that send button and then just recently i just saw uh my buddy jake from uog uh he posted it and i was like i have to i gotta reach out and just see you know what the product is about so i reached out and then you know we got to that's where it all started for us so uh david again thank you so much for the merch man i appreciate it uh and and i love it i love both the the shirts that you gave and the stickers so again thank you so much man thank you thank you uh let's just start with um with you let's get to know you just a little bit before we get to um the brand uh you're from you were you born and raised here uh which island are you from uh i'm from uh water uh i was born and raised back home and i came to uog for college nice and what year is this what year did you move to guam i moved to guam in 2012 right after high school wow that's crazy so um you moved to guam and then uh you went into college are you are you still currently in school or are you just taking a break and then and i recently graduated in 2019 i think for i graduated with my master's in public admin wow man see that's crazy and i love that i love the fact that you know that um fas students who who fly all the way to guam or to any college in the states in hawaii in the states and they do really good they stick to the plan and just like you know uh grind through it all i know it's hard i mean graduating with a masters bro that takes a lot man i was a lot of uh hard sweat and and tears right there bro but you pushed through man graduating with masters and and uh that's crazy congratulations man thank you thank you that was the whole reason why you know basically bonafide helped us through college funds and stuff like that you know just to keep us afloat wow i was struggling with textbooks and stuff but we bonafide that that actually they play a big role throughout my college experience oh wow so this really changes everything so here am i trying to think that you it was school first for you and then the brand but just hearing what you said that's a that's a pretty good uh foundation of how you created a brand and a brand which literally helped you and your partner in college that's crazy so i'm guessing um so let's get to it how did it all start the with this whole idea of bonafide and to before we get there why bonafide of all words you guys chose bonafide why bonafide so we we went through like a lot like you know a lot of names went through our heads man you know we want something authentic or something really meaningful so i was just going through like you know might as well go through a dictionary and look up something something unique from there so i came across a bona fide which you know in every like when you go to a law or you know a bona fide citizen or micronesia or something like that so i was like oh wow this this is a cool name to put on like a brand bonafide micronesia which literally means genuine or real authentic true sincere or yeah wow that's basically the meaning so why not put bona fide micronesia together and make something like you know unique something different and man well well well you did and you know when did when did it all start when did how does how did it all start for you guys was it just you know just a boy stood around thinking like hey let's just make a shirt and then it happened well how did it all start for you guys so it all started in the dorms me me and wally we like to draw a lot so we started doodling on papers and stuff like that yo you know why not uh why not put this on a tattoo or something like that you know me i got a lot of tattoos so i was begging wally like hey tattoo uh tattoo me you know i want to get some some travel designs on so he tattooed my leg and right when we were doing that we were just discussing about it like you know it's tattooing is like a hard process and stuff like that you know you gotta get your license because we were just doing a backyard and i was like okay uh why not you know use our art and put it onto like a t-shirt and stuff like that and he was all on board like yeah let's go let's do it so that's that's where it all started starting like basically hey bro man all all the greats bro started somewhere you know in a dorm in a garage it's such a great foundation and it's really uh knowing where you started that it keeps you put it keeps you going pretty much you know for sure for sure yeah so uh i'm really grateful for our part my partner and our other halves uh me and my me and my wife she'll pressure me like hey come on time for our next design so it's just like basically a support group within our own little circle and i know tasha or wally's wife always pushes him too like you know let's cry and let's let's also uh same thing like when we get shirts we we just started putting on labels you know just to make it more like authentic and stuff like that so um i'm not sure if i have it let me let me open one let me open one package this is one of our streets i want workshops so um what we've been doing is you know we want to we want to change it up a little bit because every year we we had a we had our first logos like a triangle with a b and this year we came out with a different logo just a different look for bonafide so before we package them and just sell it but right now we started putting thank you labels just to make it you know just to give a customer like you know a feeling of oh man i'm a part of bonafide now and also we we wanted to we wanted to put labels where uh that's our logo right there we started sewing on all thanks to the hard work of our wives they're the ones who who would stay up late night late at night just sewing these on so wow it's like two-sided labels you have our logo and then modify micro using just so you know they they feel like they're a part of something wow that's what that's what we try to put in our shirts that's crazy because you know first things first you you're treating your customers like family when you put like thank you notes you're connecting you're only you're letting them know that hey we're here for you you know we're not just a company that's trying to sell stuff and just get it off the shelf you're somebody who wants to connect with their customers on a daily you know like say dm them and ask how they're doing pretty much building a a family and at the same time what your wives are doing is amazing and and and knowing that they have a part in these shirts and that are going out every time you guys do a release so that's that's something that's amazing and that's what micronesia is all about you know it's sticking together as one and in great things uh come out of it so wow that's that's crazy um before we get to some more of the the stuff that i got um lined up here let's talk about your partner real quick uh i know he's he he he couldn't make it on the podcast today uh let's talk about him uh where is he and you know what does he do just some quick information so people out there will know a little bit about wally wally is from kapina he's currently serving in the us army as an active duty uh they i believe they're stationed in seattle unfortunately he couldn't make it today because he's in the out in the field serving our country but yeah that's wally and tasha she's from kashray uh they have a beautiful son uh his name we'll call him our nephew yeah that's that's crazy man and you know wally being from ponpei and then you know you being from chuck and you guys you know definitely met and became friends uh at uog and now you guys pretty much became a family with what you're doing now and that's really the idea behind it you know you build a brand uh you know you build a brand just to sell stuff off the the shelves so that's another you know that's another concept but what concept you guys are building now is something that will last forever bro if you build a good foundation that's exactly what you guys are doing you're definitely looking at something that's gonna grow uh in the near and to grow pretty much to be honest it was just the family in the dorms they were the ones supporting us like hey let me buy shirts because you know we have all the fas uh students in the dorm so they're like yeah we're definitely support and that's when we're like you know our cus they're not customers they're family anyone that buys from one of clyde is basically family you know helping helping us stay afloat and you know helping us grow basically so like if you if you see our models they're basically they're just only like jake uh you got the uh he got the rng dawson you know the dorms do tick tock videos they also like to wear the brass stuff like that so so that's a perfect place to start a brand to build it around people who will support you pretty much all day every every day 24 7 for a very very long time so let's uh let's get to this one um where do you find um inspiration for your designs and i know you said wally was one of them the is the one that's kind of doing all the design so but i know you guys talk about design so where do you guys find your inspiration for designs uh so one of our inspirations uh basically not one but most of our inspiration comes from our culture basically um i i don't know if she's seen the mud life society you know we try to mix uh we try to mix like what's trending like designs right now and then to our culture you know incorporate something like that where like you have to you have to check out stuff like that you know pumpkins like to drink the sakau as a like a social gathering stuff so we we thought about that and then we did it and then state sidewalk that's a cookie's phrase for a strong healthy uh we're like oh you know because jaiwak is like a slime for chickies like hey how are you and he said i'm johnny i'm good it's like okay let's let's put that on a design states i look uh one of our most popular design was uh brought here by the waves it's uh the story behind that is from uh uh mao pi luke the famous navigator from uh from yap ireland so me being uh me being a savior i was like you know we're navigators uh islanders are navigators it's good you know uh also ties into the story where we come from so we have like that coconut that's floating behind the design and basically like we try to put in like stories within our design as well it really tells how you uh are branding yourself as um a brand from micronesia you know and one of the cool things that uh and i think i think you guys explained it somewhere is the shirt that i'm wearing this is the one the reason why i reached out because this shirt has a lot of things on it and people just look at it it's like oh it's just it's just one design but within this design i know you guys kind of broke it down and if you could kind of tell the people what the design is and what each part of the design is double uh let's start with the traditional uh traditional yuppies hut right right here sorry um so that uh one we wanted to put a design where all of uh all of my uh all of the fsm uh islands or symbols are on it so with yeah yeah was the most tricky one because we wanted to not exclude uh the outer islanders from uh from yap so instead of doing the stone money we came up with uh the local traditional huts because of course with micronesia our homes are always open and we're we're well known for hospitality i know for sure because you know savior going to savior have sponsored families that are always always there hoping with open arms you know that's where we thought about putting on the yuppies hut and then it comes down to the kosran dok which is like the stuff that they use to pound it's also on the christian flag right there uh that just it's we use that as a symbol of you know we're hard-working people we like to grind and stuff like that and the next one is the pompeii or something like that that's what they they serve they serve the pumpkins account uh reason beh why we chose that is because you know as micronesians we we humble ourselves and with this uh with the mermaid they use it for like social gatherings and stuff like that like basically family bondings and stuff and then lastly i take a lot of pride in the chip mask it's uh one of the symbols that we we use um back home uh it's basically some people they say it's a devil mask some people they say it's a war mask but the real real meaning behind this is they back back then they use the the mask to like it's it's basically like a scarecrow for like you know scaring off the evil spirits for from harming like you know they'll say they'll hunt the fruits of your trees or something like that and also just to wear off evil spirits and that's that's that's my priority here i mean fitting all those things into one design is is the hard part you know and you guys have to figure out what to use what not to use how to make it you know because you can just throw a whole bunch of stuff on a t-shirt and then you're just gonna be like uh but you guys made it so it fit and i think that's the cool part about me realizing and seeing this design is it fit and it looks beautiful you know because you can just like i said a stuff a bunch of stuff on a shirt it could just be one sloppy shirt this is not a sloppy design this is a design that people can just look at it for for days on days you know so what an awesome way and i know it took a while to kind of move stuff around you know when it comes to graphic designing you know that's the beauty of it you can move stuff around you know do your bat and i think you guys got the magic and you definitely did that on the shirt and it came out perfect dude and like i said i'm wearing it right now and i guess i'm gonna have this word to share for the next couple days bro wally actually was the mastermind behind that design right there he we came up with like so many i would say about like seven different designs they were just like oh man that's so messy that's too you know it's too all over the place like let's try and keep that uh keep it simple and keep it unique that's that's the our that's like our main focus because we like to keep our design simple and you know for people to easily understand what the meaning behind it and stuff like that so now we you guys pretty much got the four states the the federal states of micronesia now i want because i'm all about i love our four states and i'm all for our four states i'm all for the whole micronesia the whole micronesia meaning you start from palau and you make your way all the way to uh the the gilbert islands you know that includes the uh cinema guam all the way marshall islands there's a lot this is such a beautiful country how do you guys uh plan on or if do you guys have that in the works where you incorporate all the islands is that something that you guys are working on uh yes most definitely we we have a design that's coming up hopefully by this month or by towards the end of the month where we want to we want to make it universal it's not just about fsm but it's micronesia as a whole so it was kind of tricky to have that kind of like put the whole micronesia into one design so we we thought about something where everyone has like all all the micronesia has something in common which is where we're from or the village we were raised in so that's basically that we're like you know what let's do it you know instead of like drawing a design where it's so messy and stuff like that let's let's put it into words uh where like race from we're raised from the village basically you know anybody can wear it every everybody has pride in where they where they grew up because that's that's who you are basically the village is what raised you to be who you are oh yeah bro when you say village and you talk about islands people already know you know you wear a shirt and you think of your village you know you don't have to put their exact village on the shirt it is when they wear the shirt they think of it and when you send these off to the states bro these will mean a lot because each individual who will wear it from different islands will think of their own village you know they straight to their islands and think of where they grew up where it all started for them you know the grind was real that's where it started now this is where they're at so you know just one word the village is a lot when it comes to us islanders you know growing up in villages it doesn't matter what island you're from you you rep a village you were you started from somewhere and village is where it was thank you thank you all right so you know towards the closing here um what would you what would you tell younger gender the younger generation of micronesian uh kids who dream of something like this to make shirts or to put designs on a shirt what would you tell them um i i i would tell them uh you know doesn't matter where you start basically it can be anywhere like you said in your garage in your dorm room it all starts with uh with a positive mindset and a good support group you know when me and wally started you know we were hesitant at first like you know we don't want to put out a brand where it's just it's just uh like the basic stuff like you know just fsn that's it that's it so um to the future generation um right now you live in a day uh you live in a uh in a society or a community where everything is at a click of a button button not like before where you know you gotta you gotta plan it on you know right now you can just do designs right off of your phone and you know it's it's it's all on you um positive don't give up you can use that and use us as reference i know we had a couple of uh we had a couple of young kids uh dm'ing us on instagram saying hey i want to start brad can you help us like yeah most definitely we'll see how we can fit into our schedule you know just giving them like ideas on how to start and stuff like that we're we're all open to helping helping everyone grow uh so before we close out um where can people go find you guys um just drop the social media uh handles uh before we close out work or how can people uh reach you guys if you guys have an email um we have a facebook account called modify microneed micro and also our instagram is uh bonafide underscore fm all right so guys my personal win is our bonafide plug if anything oh awesome all right well um david thank you so much man before i let you go anything you want to uh anything you want to say uh before we uh close out here um just on behalf of bonafide would like to thank you for uh having us be on your podcast uh it's a pleasure uh just we're we're we're grateful to be a part of something different that's that's what we all that's what we aim for um you know try something new uh get out of your comfort zone i'm sorry but you know i keep saying uh stuff like that i'm just trying to get out of my comfort zone to be honest uh that's how that's how you grow same thing as our brand like you know we want to try something new not be afraid of you know putting it out there amen amen brother all right hey david thank you so much again and thank you for again for the merch for the last time i'm going to keep thanking you like i'll dm you another thank you again this is just an awesome thing uh you reaching out to me and you know giving some rich out i mean this is this is big man and i love the shirt and i love the design and i can't wait to see more of the designs come out man and i know you guys do shirts you guys do hats and guys follow them and see what they got and i honestly just follow them to support you know and i think that's key to show support for any brand in micronesia which island you're from if there's a brand let's follow them you know let's show support to that brand because you know the more we do the more we grow these brands in our microwaves we don't have to wait for people from the outside world to say oh look micronesia we in micronesia can make micronesia micronesia so um david thank you so much my brother and um good luck no i know great things are coming bro that's for sure so um good luck to you and to wally and the brand and to your families thank you all right there you have it all right brother all right there you have it guys that's pretty much a wrap for another episode of the one micronesia podcast we will see you guys at the next one peace

Channel: kuamnews

Views: 5,038

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Id: wdIkC2SP1k0

Length: 26min 38sec (1598 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 25 2021