Jun: Hello! What’s good man?

HS: Not much at all, you?

Jun: Good man. We’ve been busy here with the shops and brand.

HS: Let's talk about that. I think I'd especially like to get a sense of Aloha Army and what surrounds that side of the brand.

Jun: Well, Aloha Army was a concept we wanted to bring to Hawaii. Similar to what we did with in4mation and skate, with Aloha Army geared to the surf. We all grew up surfing and skating. That is how we all learned about music and fashion it all came hand in hand.

HS: Sort of the universal story of this culture, in a way.

Jun: Yeah , it’s kind of crazy, but I really think our culture just happened on its own. The movement of information didn’t pass as quick as today, so how did a kid from Hawaii have the same mindset as someone on the East Coast? It just happened.

HS: What were your primary channels of learning growing up?

Jun: Again, I think a lot of us learned everything from skating and surfing. Learned how to interact with people , learned how to travel and see the planet by doing these things.

HS: Do you think that sense of adventure that comes with all that has disappeared with the web?

Jun: Well, in a way it has and hasn’t. With the web people are learning and seeing what’s out there to a point. But it does seem like most people just check and recycle in4mation to where its almost like your limiting yourself to what’s out there. I have to say and truly believe that you can never replace real life experiences. For example my friends and I went to Indonesia right after 9/11. People were telling us "oh its a Muslim country . they gonna kill you . blah blah and so on." We’re driving on an small island in the middle of nowhere, our tire pops, no spare the whole village came out of nowhere to help us. Dudes with the caps , women covered with only their faces showing the whole deal. That’s an example of learning from seeing things with your own eyes. People just living thats it.

HS: Most certainly. Coming around to the brand, In4mation is both a global brand and a very local one. Tell a little how you guys work to get the right balance. I can experience what you do from a far, but still not really get it.

Jun: Our story is very unique as we started as a small skate shop in the middle of Oahu and we just provided products that we were into, never knowing it was gonna be such a boom. Soon, we outgrew our shops , then moved into Honolulu where it got more serious. We have always been a family business where everyone’s doing everything. It’s a dynamic that’s hard to explain, maybe it’s from all of us having the same dream and the desire to grow that keeps us going and growing. From the beginning in a very "local" area we created a base and a felling of "ohana" which means family in Hawaiian. everyone has been a part of our growth and I hope to say we have made them proud to be part of what were doing.

HS: Was there ever a feeling that, being in Hawaii, you were a bit on the outside of it all?

Jun: Well, not really. We have always felt we have an advantage of being from hawaii as everyone knows and loves Hawaii as much as we do. We have people from around the world that come to the shops and help spread our name. Again, naturally it all came together, that’s where Rhandy our art director comes into play. At first we would design our shop only tees and people just loved it. They had to come to hawaii and get it. We would (and still) trip out when people come to the stores from all over to get our stuff. I think it all has to do with Rhandy’s design and art direction along side all of us doing what we needed to do to make it grow. Soon other retailers worldwide wanted to carry our line and that’s how it all expanded to a full brand