>> IN THIS DAY AND AGE it is no surprise to see young people doing bigger and grander things. While most of the older era look slightly down on their younger counterparts due to the deemed stereotypes of laziness and need of instant gratification, there are those who are helping to challenge those opinions and stereotypes of today’s youth. Enter Trung Vuong, 21, one of many young adults helping the younger generation shine in a positive light. He is the founder/owner of up-and-coming Texas based clothing brand, Loyal K.N.G. Loyal K.N.G., influenced by culture (like the shirt inspired by the Brain, the character from the old animated show, Pinky and the Brain) lives by the message: Culture is Knowledge. The brand is known for their knowledge conscious way of thinking and their eye-catching plethora of culture inspired graphic tees. The young brand’s members can be seen promoting the brand at various events from Dallas to all the way to Atlanta.
Despite his hectic schedule of designing new shirts for the upcoming summer season, traveling to different events to further put his line out there, and helping friends with their design needs, Trung took the time to chat and allow me to pick his brain and understand the man behind the brand.
Hey Trung, thanks for taking the time to chat with me. I very much appreciate it. I know you are busy doing design work for a client.
No problem.
For those reading right now who have no clue about your brand, why don’t we start with a little background over the brand? Where did the name, Loyal K.N.G. comes from?
Loyal K.N.G. is the essence of what I wanted the entire brand to be about, which is culture. Loyal K.N.G. is a brand about culture and our influences. Loyal by definition means “to be supportive of a cause”, while K.N.G. is an acronym that stands for “knowledge never goes.” Essentially Loyal K.N.G. means being supportive of knowledge that never goes. In our brand we take from culture the things we love and recreate it in a refreshing way so that its a reminder of all the things that gave us our knowledge. In essence, we are pushing our core message: “Culture is Knowledge.”
It is rare yet refreshing at the same time to hear a brand use the idea of knowledge in their brand’s mission. Kudos. When did the idea of creating the line come about?
The brand came about one day when I was in my college class day dreaming about what I wanted to do with my life. I took classes to go into the medical field, but it was grueling and felt lifeless to me. I had no passion in the medical area, and I knew I wanted something with more hands-on control instead of leaving my future to some professor’s red inked pen. I knew about brands like The Hundreds and Johnny Cupcakes, and I fell in love with their story and lifestyle. So I decided that I wanted to journey into my own path as a brand.
So you started a clothing line for the idea of creative expression?
Exactly, I wanted to create something that I could proudly wear and fulfill the visions I had floating in my mind. It was a way for me to dig my hands into all areas of art - writing, drawing, photographing, filming, and so much more that the brand motivates me to do and learn. Sometimes you need a reason to create something, and Loyal K.N.G. was my reason to fulfill that desire. Loyal K.N.G. represents all the things I, and I’m sure many other people, grew up with in a creative and unique way. I pour all my heart and passion into the brand, and it’s definitely what I would consider being a dream job.
What are some of your influences?
Culture, cartoons, street-culture, music, books, art, photography, films.
So, besides you, are there any other people involved with the brand?
In the beginning, the brand was completely ran by me. I went into creating the brand without knowing anything about making a website, using Photoshop or Illustrator, video editing, or photography. But I was stubborn enough to learn everything, and I spent numerous sleepless nights reading and studying all these things. To this day my job is to keep up with the blog design and posts, photography coverage of events, designs, back-end stuff like finding a production company to make the products we want, social media [Facebook and Twitter), and the creative direction.
Now that we are further in with the brand, we have a few different people contributing to the brand in different but important ways. Thien, who is frequently seen on our blog, is in charge of promotion, video editing, and blogging. We also have a separate crew of two of my friends, Tony and Ricky, who will be our second team of representatives at various shows around Texas. They are both responsible for documenting the event for the blog, and setting up the Loyal K.N.G. booth to showcase our line.
You are seen a lot in the Dallas area. Do you live in Dallas or somewhere else nearby?
We live in a small metropolitan city in east Texas called Longview.
Wow, to make it even into Dallas is like a little road trip huh? Any plans to relocate somewhere closer in the near future?
Definitely! Going to Dallas every other weekend is a very enduring drive, but usually it’s always worth going out to market ourselves and network with new friends. And as for moving closer to Dallas, I have yet figured a solid plan for that yet, so seems like driving is the way to go for a long while.
Describe your brand in three words.
Knowledge Never Goes.
It seems like there is a ton of street wear brands out there today. In your opinion, how do you differ from other brands, large and small?
There’s just so many brands out there large and small that are doing all kinds of things that it’s hard to find the contrasting points between our brands and theirs without going into the specifics. However, I can describe what we do that can help give you an idea of where we stand in the crowd of brands.
When I started our brand I wanted to create something that enveloped all areas of art, (photography, literature, film, design, creating, marketing, music, and culture. I worked hard to build a website that is updated daily with interesting pop-cultural news, along with coverage of the Loyal K.N.G. brand’s activities from events, shows, and daily workings. One of my goals when we officially launched our line was to go out to the events in Texas and document them through our blog via photography, write-ups, and filming. It’s evident that Texas is coming up in the street-culture game, and I feel fortunate enough to be stuck in the beginning of it all to see it all grow and flourish. I want our blog to be the go to place for all the happenings in the street-culture in Texas. It’s our way of spreading knowledge of the Texas street-culture to the people who may have otherwise been in the dark.
You travel a lot don’t you? Seems like all these events I hear about, Loyal K.N.G. is there promoting.
Yes, I definitely do. Whenever I hear news of a big event going down anywhere in Texas (Sneakend, Sneaker Friends, Sneaks Up, Sneaker Palooza, Notorious, Ritual Warfare 3, Street Jam), I plan my trip to document the event, along with representing for my brand.
Sneaker Palooza, Notorious, Ritual Warfare 3, Street Jam), I plan my trip to document the event, along with representing for my brand. One of the perks of traveling is that I get to experience the culture from a different area and environment that helps shape our brand. I always make great contacts with like-minded hustlers at these events. Just the fact that I make it out to so much of these events helps market Loyal K.N.G. to people who would otherwise not have known about us. I feel traveling is a very important aspect of the brand’s marketing.
I agree. Word of mouth is a very influential tool. It is always nice to be able to put a face to a brand. Makes it seem more personal I think.
I agree also that word of mouth is a necessity in becoming successful in these type of endeavors. And as to putting a face to a brand, that’s a tough aspect of our brand. I try not to give to much details of the people behind the brand, because I want the supporters and fans to understand the message, concept, and like the brand without having a preconceived perception that they might gain through knowing the creator. But I’m probably wrong about this. So in the future of Loyal K.N.G. I’m sure many things are going to change, and we may personalize everything even more.
Tell me about the best positive or uplifting moment the brand has had so far?
I can’t specifically recall just one particular positive moment that I would label best, but there have been many moments that I felt were very uplifting. I think some of the most positive things I’ve gained through the brand is the people that I meet and connect with, either people that I meet and connect with, either other brand owners, new supporters and fans, artists, like-minded street-culture fanatics, and the list goes on and on. We have really been blessed with open doors from all kinds of folks who are down for having us at their shows and events. I think moments like those really are uplifting to us..
You cannot have ups without some downs. What has been the biggest disappointment or setback so far? How’d you overcome it?
Some of my biggest setbacks with the brand are plateaus that I create for myself in terms of confidence in my designs. Often I will face self-doubt that keeps me from designing. It’s a weird feeling, but it’s akin to being scared of failing. I overcome this issue by blocking out all the self-doubt and working hard to make all my ideas come into fruition. And as time goes by, I started to realize that the key to overcome my problems were to stop worrying and start doing. At the end, it always worked out. I built faith in my self, and I continued to work at it.
Faith and believing in one’s self go along way. People always say your toughest critic is yourself. I wholeheartedly believe in that.
No doubt, I am definitely my toughest critic. And it has to be that way, because if you live in conceit of your work, than you are already closing off your chances for change and growth. I am also a overly compulsive perfectionist, or at least as close as possible. So when I begin to create a design, it has to fill the criteria of being appealing, having a story, a cultural connect, and true to the roots of Loyal K.N.G. I am no where immune to creating something wack, but I have to be honest with my personal tastes and ask if I would rock what I create. I usually go the extra step and show a small group of close friends to get their opinions on some of my designs. Everything has to be run through a malicious system of critique before we finalize and release to the public.
Let’s do a little futuristic daydreaming. Where do you see yourself in one year? five years? ten?
Honestly, I want to see the brand grow consistently every following year and gather a great team of friends to build on to the brand. As long as the brand never stays stagnant, then I will be satisfied of the brand’s progress. My best wish for the brand 5-10 years into the game is to exist. I have big plans to push the brand into a full apparel line and something much more, but that comes with time and progress.
Any other goals? Dreams?
One of my goal is to build Loyal K.N.G. into something that can support itself along with the people who have a helping hand in its progress. My dream is to have fun and do what I love. I also want to meet as many people as possible and spread Loyal K.N.G.’s positive message!
Everybody always likes advice. What has been the best advice you have been given?
Do it for the love.
And now to keep it going, what is your advice for others?
Have a lot of love for what you do; work hard everyday; and have fun doing it!
If you weren’t owning a line, what would you be doing right now?
I would probably be reading a college text book about biology, chemistry equations, organic and inorganic elements. Along with spending endless days and hours doing school work with no real progress in “real” life. It’s rather depressing when I spell it out like that. Hopefully the harder I work, the faster I can say those days are behind me.
Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Speak now or forever wish you had?
Just wanted to give a shout out to my friends who have a helping hand with Loyal K.N.G., the Dallas scene, brands like Fur Face Boy and Unkommon Kolor, supporters, and just shout outs to God for making it possible. ♦
OWNER: TRUNG VUONG
SITE: www.loyalkng.com
TWITTER: twitter.com/loyalkng
TUMBLR: loyalkng.tumblr.com/
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/pages/Loyal-KNG