We had the good fortune of connecting with John and Nic Manako and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John and Nic, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Thought process behind the company was stradegy , how to move, how to brand, how to attack and execute and find quality. We take everything we have ,blood sweat and tears into our buisness we will never give up and we are going to continue to push until TruOnes is a worldwide name.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What sets us apart from others. WE ARNT AFRAID. we aren’t afraid to put pieces out that might not sell, we take risks in everything we do because that’s how much we stand by our product. you can’t be afraid to showcase your art for example the piece that we are most proud of is our main Logo which is the TruOne Horse. I designed that piece when I was in a dark place in my life. See the horse represents how strong we are but the wear and tear of it shows our struggles, pain, exhaustion that life has put us through but we overcome it by the strength we have in us. Where we are professionally yes we are blessed with a store front for our brand we have a website which we provide our product internationally we have the biggest support system but this has never been easy and still isn’t easy we have struggled, sacrificed and lost so much we have also grown so much from this experiance as individuals anybody would have quit already but THIS IS WHAT WE WANT! this is our dream and no matter what it brings we will over come every obstacle put in our way to achieve this.What we want the world to know about the brand that its just not any other brand TruOnes is a tile. A title to represent you and your life stories and what you stay TRU to.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
“The Community”

the community played a big roll in what I was doing. my goal was to make sure our consumers buy not just a piece of clothing, but a brand and a title that represents themselves, represents their stories their strives and etc. so i shout out the Tongan and Samoan community, the black and brown community. I thank every person who spoke and support the brand.

Website: www.tru1s.com

Instagram: official.truones

Facebook: Truones BeyondReal

Image Credits
our TruOnes photographer that takes all our pictures: Marley Lino instagram: @kauasiphoto Girl model : Losehina Vaipulu Guy model: David Cooper

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.