Meet Shunji Hironaka | Founder of Always Busy Dreaming

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shunji Hironaka and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shunji, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
It all happened when I was 16 years old, living in Los Angeles as a high school student from Japan.

One day, my friend Ethan and I came up with an idea of starting a clothing brand together back in 2015.

He designed our first logo, and I found out about a silk screen printing kit.

We would come up with different designs and we were printing by ourselves in the dorm room.

It was just for fun, I wasn’t doing it because I wanted to start my own “business”.

I remember the day when I felt like it could actually be a “business” was when I was back in Japan for Christmas break for 2 weeks.

In December 2016, I’ve set up a one day pop up shop in the city called Hiroshima which is about an hour away from my hometown.

I brought back the hoodies and sweatshirts that I made in Los Angeles with me and sold those at the pop up.

At the end of the day, I had about $1200 in my pocket from the sales.

For me, it was a lot of money back then, from that experience, I decided to keep doing more stuff like that.

I just ended up owning a “business”.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
Always Busy Dreaming (ALWAYS) isn’t just about clothing; it’s a vibrant community fueled by our passion for creativity and connection. Drawing inspiration from various sources including art, culture, nature, and everyday life, we channel these influences into our designs, decks, videos, and events. What truly sets us apart is our diverse and supportive community of skaters, photographers, videographers, DJs, and artists who come together to create something special. Our journey hasn’t been without its challenges, but we’ve learned to embrace the process and grow from every experience. As we continue to evolve, our message remains simple: Keep Dreaming. We believe in the power of dreams and the importance of taking action to bring them to life. Our aspiration is to inspire others to chase their dreams and turn their passions into reality.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
In Yamaguchi, or Hiroshima prefecture, I’d take them to Itsukushima Shrine, explore the city a little bit, grab some food at this restaurant called Irori Sanzoku, eat some authentic Japanese food. At night, we could meet up with our friends at local restaurant or something, we can drink Japanese sake and just hung out.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Shout out to my friends & family, Shout out to ON-1
Shout out to Harukin, Aoi, Circletree, Z’keyus, Max, Rentaro, Paul, JJ, Darian, Logan, K-Man, Yea-Man, $OLA, JANGO, $hadow, Takumi, Tamaki, Peace, Taiyo, Taichi, Manato, Tora, Rui, Yoshi, Yu, Miku, Jimi, Justice, Hiro, Rachel, PAX!

There is way more,
but shout out to EVERYONE.

Thank YOU guys.

Instagram: @alwaysbusydreaming

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@always124

Image Credits
ON-1, Shunji, Aoi