HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
by JAFFRY JAN MALLARI
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Hey everyone!
It’s September 5, 2024 – 1:56 PM. I’m currently 10,680 meters in the air (I have no idea how many freedom units that is) on my way to NYC for the weekend. I haven’t written a blog in forever, but since I’m bored, I figured I might as well start again.
LET’S DIVE INTO MY LORE AND HOW I GOT TO WHERE I AM TODAY!
It’s been almost 8 years since I started my journey with fashion. Back in high school, I was always that nerdy kid who wanted to go home and play video games all day. Let me paint a picture of my go-to school outfit back in 2014:
- Wired RAZER Kraken Headphones with a retractable mic (NEON GREEN)
- Abercrombie and Fitch blue zip-up hoodie
- Straight-cut Levi’s jeans
- Black Puma soccer shoes (cleats)
You probably can’t imagine that this kid with questionable fashion choices is now making clothes that people actually love to wear—LOL.
Back then, I was a YouTuber under the alias iKineticah (the channel is still up if you want to cringe with me). I was a huge fan of PewDiePie, FaZe, and Optic Clan, so naturally, I wanted to be a YouTuber. I started making videos and creating gameplay montages synced with unlicensed EDM music. If you’re familiar with that era of YouTube Gaming, you know how big graphics were—channel logos, thumbnails, video intros, and even channel backgrounds (yes, that was a thing). I had to learn graphic design through trial and error. Eventually, I realized I enjoyed making graphics more than the actual videos, and also.. the landscape was changing at the time where creators were incentivized to make long form vlogging content. Those videos typically took less effort than the content I make at the time.. so I quit YouTube.
Fast forward a year, and puberty hit me hard. I started taking an interest in girls and, of course, realized I had to step up my fashion game if I wanted to get noticed. With the little money I had, I saved up to buy new shoes and a pair of Adidas 3-Stripe pants just to fit in. I started taking care of my hair, too. It worked, but I was pretty much broke, so I needed a new hustle.
That’s when everything changed. I noticed that the popular kids at school started wearing a specific hat, and more people were following suit. After some research, I found out that one of the popular seniors was making his own custom hats. The design was just two anime eyes embroidered on a dad hat with a small logo on the side. People were paying $40 CAD for it, which blew my mind. I let my ego get the best of me and thought, “If he can sell $40 hats, I can sell $25 hats and sell even more.” That’s how my first brand, NGHTPRWL, was born.
Why was it called NGHTPRWL (Night Prowl)? During high school, I had really strict parents and couldn’t hang out after school, so I often snuck out. Sneaking out became a lifestyle, and that’s how the brand name came to be. Yeah, I was a sneaky kid. Sorry mom and dad if you’re reading this! Hey at least we got a new house. :)
For the next 6 months, I focused on improving my Photoshop, photography, marketing, and sourcing skills. My parents weren’t supportive of my venture, thinking school was more important than making “stupid” hats and shirts, so I kept it all low-key. I made two shirts, two hats, and one hoodie design through Printful, a print-on-demand service, so my only upfront cost was ordering a few samples for photos and promotion. Confident in my efforts, I set up a BigCartel website, integrated Printful, and launched the brand.
I remember it like it was yesterday. I was at the gym, using the chest fly machine, and was so excited about the sales I was sure would roll in. I launched the website and waited. Five minutes... fifteen minutes... three hours... six hours... Finally, I heard a “ding”—I made a sale! But my excitement quickly turned to disappointment. Despite hyping my brand to friends, who all promised to support me, the only sale I got was from a random internet dude (shoutout to him!). My heart sank. My parents were right; I’d poured so much energy into something that earned me just $10 after fees and shipping.
I shut down NGHTPRWL and refocused on getting better grades and working part-time to pay bills. Unfortunately, my grades weren’t great in my final year of high school, limiting my options for post-secondary education. Growing up in a first-generation immigrant Filipino household, I felt the pressure to pursue a high-paying career like nursing, medicine, or engineering. So, I applied for a Bachelor of Communication in Information Design at Mount Royal University. It was a competitive program, accepting only around 200 students. I was confident that my skills with Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects would get me in.
After a few weeks, I got a letter. But instead of an acceptance letter, I was put on a waiting list.
Once again, I was disappointed and angry. YouTube didn’t work out, NGHTPRWL failed, I hated my part time job, and now I wasn’t accepted into the program that felt like my last chance. With limited options, I applied for a two-year diploma in Geomatics Engineering Technology at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology—not because I was passionate about it, but because it had “Engineering” in the title, which I knew would appease my parents.
Fast forward to late 2017, I was fresh out of high school and starting college. I hated the program. The class was small, and I was the youngest. Most of my classmates were in their late 20s to mid-40s. I knew right away this wasn’t for me, and I panicked. I didn’t want to work for someone else—I’d been overworked at KFC during high school and promised myself I’d never be in that position again. That sentiment haunted me. Was I going to live my life working tirelessly for a small pay check..? HELL NO! So, in January 2017, I decided to start a new brand: RESURGENCE.