Today we’d like to introduce you to Christian Gonzales.
Hi Christian , thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started fingerboarding in 2007 back home in the Philippines and quit around 2012 a few years after I moved in the USA. I came back to this hobby in 2016 and shortly after Kalye was born. Skateboarding is a passion I always wanted to keep in my life, but as I got older, I realized that I can’t risk my body as much as I used to. So fingerboarding kept that alive in me because that was a form of extension in skateboarding. When I and my colleague Jude Lugtu started Kalye, it wasn’t supposed to be a full-blown business. It was an idea to save money and just make our own fingerboards in house, At the time, fingerboarding was growing on YouTube and there was an influencer that was growing in numbers, his name was Jeremy pastor or “Chubymuffin” on social media. We decided to just send him a few boards to review on his platform. We didn’t know that we were making marketing moves that way because I didn’t grow up with any knowledge in marketing or business. We even went with a name in our language, Kalye means street in tagalog, we simply did not care, We wanted to show our culture, the culture we grew up in, the Philippine culture to the world. The attention caught on and our following grew exponentially on both Instagram and YouTube. That’s when we decided not to just make boards for us but make boards for everyone who was interested in them. A few weeks after our initial release, we decided to put Jeremy on our team and he marketed our brand well. I started becoming more active on social media to double the marketing and our brand grew even more. Fastforward to today, we are close to 47,000 followers on Instagram and almost 20,000 subscribers on YouTube. We added two more influencers on the team, Jake Simms and Chris Vargas. The team is just growing and we’re pushing it with full force this year. There is no ending or finish line to success, we just keep it pushing.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Imagine if it was for any business owners? Of course not! I do wish it was though. It was a lot of trial and error. I have no background in business, but as a kid I did buy surplus candies and sold them for more. I always had the mindset of a businessman without knowing much. Taxes, logistics, refining graphic designs skills, and working the business alone. I made mistakes but I definitely learned from them moving forward. I also needed to refine my marketing skills. From videos, ads on Instagram, I’m still working on improving them today. Thats a process I enjoy while running this business,
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I make miniature skateboards or fingerboards. Think about it like the skateboard industry but just smaller. Our brand identity is showing what we grew up on in the Philippines. From the art, culture, music, everything that we were when we were younger. We are known for being the Filipino brand in the USA. In 2018 I went back home and hosted the first ever Kalye event. This was the most I’m proud of because I was back home and I was with my people, a lot of fingerboarders showed up from different places around the country. I was proud to host an event that brought everyone who loved our hobby and community. Being the only Filipino brand in the USA, that’s what sets us apart from the rest. We are the only brand In the USA that’s focused on sharing the Filipino culture through fingerboarding.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
The industry is consistently growing, and it started reaching communities outside of fingerboarding. More brands are growing, and more products are conceptualized. Within the next 5 to 10 years, I believe that the industry will even grow more! I can see more products offered, newer brands, and will reach further scenes outside of fingerboarding. We’ve already seen celebrities, fingerboarding. Who else could it reach? The reach is endless.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kalyedecks.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kalyedecks/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kalyedecks
Image Credits
Jake Simms, Kevin Fernandez
