It’s always been my dream to make t-shirts for a living.

But it didn’t even start with fashion — it started with music.

Back in high school at Colegio De San Juan De Letran, most of us wanted to start a band — not a brand. Even if you didn’t know how to play the bass, guitar, or drums, you’d still be eager to learn — just for the sake of it.

Me? I was a self-taught drummer — with a little help from my musician mom. I wasn’t great, but I could hold a beat.

OPM music ruled our world.

Friends bringing guitars to school, me carrying a beatbox, someone with a CD or MP3 player — those were the days.

Being in a band was cool.

Cover your favorite songs.

Jam at Lazer, SM Manila.

Perform at school gigs.

But beyond the music?

I wanted to wear something different.

Something unique.

Something that represented me.

People from school would always ask where I got my stuff.

Of course… I gatekept them.

But the idea stuck.

“What if I created my own?”

 

The Grind Before the Brand

College came.

Culinary Arts was the plan.

I thought it meant no math —

I was wrong.

Business math and economics? I failed them enough times to call it a hobby.

But while I was in school, the hustle started.

Reselling sneakers.

Buying tees, bags and watches from Divisoria and Quiapo, reselling on Multiply.com (That was the side hustle before FB and IG shops existed.)

I was doing meet-ups left and right — Vito Cruz McDo, LRT stations, Army Navy, TriNoma — name it.

No after-school parties with friends. No late-night gimmicks. It was just school, meet-ups, repeat.

I met a lot of people — small talks with customers, quick hustles — but that’s how the dream started getting bigger.

2012 — graduation year.

But the real moment happened back in December 2011 — when I finally passed everything.

All the math subjects (after struggling hard), the major classes, the final internship — done.

Then reality hit me…

“What’s next?”

I knew I wasn’t chasing the culinary route like my classmates.

So the question was — do I keep reselling?

Or is this finally the time to go for the ultimate dream — to build our own brand?

Me and Emil talked a lot about it.

We’ve always had that bond, that trust, ever since day one.

I told him,

“Siguro ito na ’yung time para simulan na natin ’yung brand.”

My brother was real with me.

He said reselling’s good, but we can’t do that forever.

If we’re thinking long term, building our own brand could be something different — exciting, fulfilling, and ours.

Back then, there were already a few local brands making noise — Gnarly, Nick Automatic, THE, just to name a few.

But let’s be real… it wasn’t really the thing yet.

Starting a brand wasn’t as common as it is now.

We weren’t doing this to ride a wave or chase hype.

We were just curious — curious if we could build something of our own.

Curious where this could actually take us.

Back then, “streetwear” wasn’t even the word.

People just called it a “clothing line.”

But to us?

It was the start of everything.

We brainstormed for weeks.

The name had to mean something.

It had to be bold.

It had to be us.

We were both in our room, tossing around ideas, searching left and right for the perfect brand name. My brother was scrolling through YouTube, looking for inspiration. Then out of nowhere, he stumbled upon an old Lil Wayne vlog. In it, Lil Wayne said, “I shouldn’t blame the kids… it’s okay for a kid to look for inspiration.”

That was it.

Right then and there, my brother knew —

Don’t Blame The Kids was born.

We were all in.

Everything we earned from reselling — we poured it back.

Silkscreen machine, printer, ink — the whole setup.

A hundred blank tees.

₱100,000 invested — no promises, no guarantees.

I pictured it so clearly —

Mac Miller playing on the PC,

Ice-cold Cobra by our side,

And us, printing tees.

Reality?

Frustrating.

We had no background in printing.

Out of 100 tees…

70 were defects.

Only 30 were good enough to pack.

The dream?

Almost crumbled.

But we didn’t stop.

We finished those 30.

We called our mom.

“Mama, picturan mo kami… DBTK is now open for business.”

We actually had three designs ready for the first launch:

The Mayan Triangle Tee, Droopy Tee, and Need Time to Make Dime Tee.

But the very first tee we printed and made?

The Mayan Triangle.

That design wasn’t just random.

It represented the trifecta of our message:

1. Don’t Blame The Kids est. MMXII

2. Won’t Be A Kid For Long

3. Just Fillin’ the Needs

We wanted the first design to say it all —

What the brand stands for.

What we believe in.

What we wanted to show potential customers.

Funny enough?

Those same quotes — they’re still part of DBTK today.

That’s real consistency.

Whenever we design for DBTK,

We go back to that message.

The reminder to inspire the youth.

To push forward.

To chase your dreams —

Even if you don’t know what the f you’re doing.*

And yeah, even now —

Our designs evolved.

But the message?

Still the same.

The Rest? History in Progress.

We’ve come a long way from that first batch of defective tees.

But the feeling?

Still the same.

Hungry. Curious.

Still ready to print the next chapter.

— The Kids at Don't Blame The Kids