A BYUH student shares his early experiences in art that turned into a clothing business
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Born and raised in Hauula, Hawaii, Ocean Tuia, a freshman majoring in graphic design, said his love for the arts paved the way for him to start his own clothing brand called “Solid Vibez Only.” He said the brand aims to cater athletic, skate and surf-style garments to local, international teens and young adults. Ocean Tuia said his early experiences in art helped him discover additional talents and skills. He said he was able to use art in a way to express his wants and desires and, at the same time, to make some profit. “Being a student, entrepreneur, and father is challenging and stressful to balance all three, but being gospel-centered in our family made it easier for me to go through life every day,” he said.
The decision to start a business
Ocean Tuia said he was raised in a loving family where his parents worked hard for him and his siblings. He said his mother worked at the Polynesian Cultural Center for 30 years, while his dad worked and still works in maintenance for BYU–Hawaii. “I attended Laie Elementary and finished high school in Kahuku. I am pretty well versed in the community and know many people,” he said.
Ocean Tuia said he was the youngest of four and all three of his sisters are BYUH alumni. By the time he finished high school, he said he applied to the university and had served a mission in San Diego, California for two years, where he said he created many memories. He said after a few short months, he started dating Peyten Facemyer and they eventually got married and sealed in Utah in 2022. “Right after my mission, I became excited to fulfill my dreams, and I am sure that marrying in the temple was the first step of achieving my passion and dreams,” he said.
Peyten Facemyer, an alumna of BYUH from Utah, said Ocean Tuia’s desire to start a business started when they were dating. She said he was already making stickers for a company and car owners. “When he was printing and selling stickers to customers, I told him to create social media accounts and a website that would allow him to reach more people and potential customers,” she said. Upon doing so, she said his desire to just stick with the clothing brand elevated, and little by little, she saw immense progress.
Ocean Tuia said his wife has played a huge role behind the scenes by keeping him up to date, organize orders by tracking and responding to their website and social media. “Besides keeping things organized, she also helped me to have a better perspective with my female customers. She helps me determine which style women might want and create stocks specifically for them if many like the idea,” he said.
Using available resources
Ocean Tuia said the idea for his brand, besides early experiences in art, came when he started doing side hustles in his childhood. “Back in elementary, I used to sell gumballs to other students for school allowance and at the same time to save up money. It happened for quite some time and it evolved to selling musubis when I was in Kahuku High School,” he said.
Ocean Tuia said his early experience earning money by himself created a spark of an idea to help him to be independent. “After high school, I was busy preparing for a mission and the thoughts of making a business around expressing art remained,” he said.
After finishing his mission, he said his passion and desire to start a business grew. So after a few months of returning from his mission, he said he immediately started creating art to get into business. “While I was doing construction, I would spend most of my free time creating graffiti and other art on my iPad. I found out that my sister had a Cricut machine and it started my thoughts of getting into the sticker business,” he said. He said he started printing stickers for the construction company he worked for until it evolved to having several customers.
Ocean Tuia said his sticker printing business was on the rise at first, but he felt something was missing. He said he explored the idea of making a shirt from the designs he creates and decided to try it. “I thought about switching my sticker business into a clothing business and found out my older brother owned a screen printing press so I tried printing my designs on a shirt,” he said. Manu Tuia, Ocean’s cousin from Laie, said he admired his passion for his clothing brand and staying consistent with it. He said the resources were already available for him to execute his clothing business.
Ocean Tuia said when he tried printing some of his logos and art on blank shirts, it inspired him to shift his focus from stickers to a clothing line. “When I first used the printing machine, it was as hard as I thought it would be. I had several shirts rejected because of the poor quality and at times, it messed up the print pattern I created. It was difficult, but it did not stop me from keeping going,” he said.
Ocean Tuia said after a few months of trial and error he finally became convinced of making a clothing brand. He said his drive and endless efforts in perfecting his prints on garments led him to finally start his brand. “Apart from being excited, the drive that I had in mind pushed me to get into the clothing business immediately,” he said.
Manu Tuia said his initial reaction to Ocean’s clothing brand, in the beginning was being proud. “I can still remember the time when our grandma used to bake and sell cakes as a side hustle. I am sure there is inspiration to grind and earn from there as well,” he said. Moreover, he said because of his clothing brand increasing in orders, he offered help by being a model to his clothing line as he continued to work hard for it.
During the early months of operation, he said his inspiration for patterns and designs came from what he loves: skating, surfing and athletic brands. “Since then, I have decided that my target audience is teens and young adults. Because those demographics are prone to following trends, it is easier to market my products to them,” he said.
Ocean Tuia said he supplies custom basketball and football jerseys in Kahuku. “I get a ton of inspiration from famous brands that I know most of my customers are aware of. I try to revolve in the same quality and design but affordable for everyone,” he said. After much success, he also became a brand partner for athletes. He said he had players sign an NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) deal where he sponsors them with the clothing brand. “I know athletes have major effects when it comes to brands, so I have one sign from the University of Texas, Utah Utes, Utah State Aggies, a USA team rugby player and two potential signings from other universities. I am positive that this will ultimately help my product reach nationwide customers and not just here,” he said.
He said because of the increasing demand for products, he reached out to people overseas and built a strong relationship with them. He said he started printing and designing clothes at home and now he has suppliers from China, the United Kingdom and Pakistan. “Now that I have help from overseas, my job has become easier due to the high demand for clothes, mock-ups, product testing, inspections and more. I became busier,” he said.
Ocean Tuia said before supplying and creating the clothes, his company goes through a series of processes. He said his workers overseas contact him most of the time to talk about the quality of the products they are creating. He said before they send it over to him, they usually send video snippets to give an up-close look at a specific clothing line. He said it takes a while to see the overall quality of the product, and it takes around two weeks for it to be shipped to his place.
Returning to the aina
Ocean Tuia said after the success he experienced with his clothing brand, he felt something was missing. He said after conversing with his wife, they decided to go back to Hawaii and continue his education at BYUH. Upon submitting his intent to enroll in school, he said he was able to get in easily. “Moving back to Hawaii was not easy, but with careful consideration, I am bringing my wife, baby and my clothing brand back to the aina,” he said.
While in school, he said he struggled for a bit balancing his time from his brand, family, studies and the construction company he was working for. He said it was hard to balance everything in a day but thanks to his wife, he was able to do it. Moreover, he said a challenge for him was whether to keep his employment at the construction company or just focus on his brand. He said after fasting and praying, he let go of his construction job and focused his whole attention on the brand.
Facemyer said, “I would encourage him to continue elevating his business but at the same time to take longer breaks and focus more on his education at this moment.” Ocean Tuia said his future plans for his clothing brand is to stay a consistent brand owner and at the same time a disciple of God. He said the only way to get his business going is to put God and his family first. “I am positive that my clothing brand will be fine and will exist as long as I stay true to myself, my family and to God. Right now, I feel positive and calm knowing that if I do my part everything will fall into its proper place,” he said.
Apart from his family and devotion to God, he said he is still pursuing NIL deals with college athletes across the nation. He said he planned on signing two potential candidates right now and many more in the future. “Besides the NIL deals, I wanted to make school an important key in my success,” he said. Ocean Tuia said in order to make his brand international, he needs to make early networks and connections with people around campus. He said after finishing school, his next goal is to make his clothing brand known around the globe and to be able to provide jobs for people to assist him in his clothing line worldwide.
Ocean Tuia’s website: https://www.solidvibezonly.com/
