About the Owner/Artist

Aloha! My name is Jonathan, born and raised in the California Bay Area, but now call Maui home, and 100% pinoy. 

For years, I worked as a tattoo artist here on the island — but I found myself wanting to take my art somewhere new. I thought why not take some designs I made for tattoos (that were never used) and turn them into to shirt designs?

For Balut Boys Club I wanted a less polished feel for the designs, but I still wanted the brand to feel elevated. I came up a simple, clean, and bold blackletter style logo, which you’ll see over the heart on almost every shirt. As for the graphics on the back, I hand draw my designs digitally.

This brand is also part of a bigger journey: reconnecting with my Filipino roots. 

Growing up in the states, it was too easy to stray away from my culture. Since moving to Maui, I’ve met so many proud Filipinos, still Filipino to the core. This sparked something inside of me and I wanted to dive deeper. 

When you attend any Filipino gathering, you can’t help but notice one thing, Filipinos love laughing! I love laughing, I love all the weird food we eat, I just love all the little quirks that make us Filipino.

I wanted to bring that same energy to my designs — celebrating the sayings, symbols, the food, household items, and all little quirks that make us who we are. Every design is a fun little love letter to the culture.

My goal is simple: grow this shop enough to fund a trip back to the Philippines, so I can reconnect with where my family comes from, and give back to the communities in need. 

Salamat for supporting my journey.