Essentials: Little Tokyo Snooker LTTT manager Jiro Maetsu shares essentials

In recent years, Little Tokyo Table Tennis (Little Tokyo Table Tennis LTTT) has been appearing on social media. Recently, things like LTTT have been revealed to be worn by AAA, the latest music label that the band HYUKOH has been collaborating with Sunset Speed ​​has become a popular symbol on social networks overnight.

But before LTTT became popular, this community-based sports club had already become unique in a neighborhood known as “Little Tokyo” in Los Angeles with its “quirky habits” and mix special of diverse people. Japanese-American manager Jiro Maestu is a fashion brand designer During the epidemic, he and his friends gradually became interested in table tennis, and gradually became the habit of gathering in the gym every Tuesday night for exercise. The resulting table tennis apparel, accessories and visual design have become LTTT’s hallmarks.

During this month’s Golden Week, Jiro, the manager of Little Tokyo Table Tennis (Little Tokyo Table Tennis LTTT), came to Shanghai to hold a Pop-Up at the invitation of the local community Standard Nerds Club. This time, Hypebeast invited Jiro to share his must-haves.

LTTT x Standard Nerds Club collaboration racket and standard ping pong table

Jiro: ToTo and I have been good friends for many years. When we thought about this collaboration, we hit it off and made a set of table tennis rackets and table tennis tables. But I don’t want to do too much of this ping pong table at once, so I plan to bring it back to LA to see the effects first.

Remake Mizuno sneakers and laceless shoes

Jiro: This shoe boot is like a caterpillar so easy to use people love it.

LTTT x Standard Nerds Club collaboration cap

Jiro: I don’t know how many people know that I started as a fashion designer. I used to design a lot of hats, which are also a LTTT thing that many people love. I think this hat can be used in many different ways.

LTTT racket covers and table tennis covers

Jiro: When I made this racket cover, I never thought it would be cool to hang on my bag as a daily accessory. With my usual table tennis cover, I can table tennis to play anytime, anywhere.

Interview with Jiro Maestu

Hypebeast: This is your second visit to China. Table tennis is the national sport here.

Jiro: I know that in China, table tennis has been very popular and a very professional sport for a long time. And in Los Angeles, the sport is relatively new and rising. Although some play well, the sport is still not that popular.

Although there is not yet a complete table tennis culture in Los Angeles like in China, there is a lot of room for us, and playing table tennis is not excluded by everyone. They may never have seen anything like this, so they may be curious, and sometimes there is no need to explain anything to them because the door is always open and you can join at any time.

Hypebeast: How often does LTTT host table tennis activities in Los Angeles? How was the atmosphere at the center?

Jiro: Our table tennis activities are very regular, every Tuesday night, rain or shine Many people know this, so we have a firm understanding that we can show up at the gym without any ties. We saw that everyone comes here just to play, rediscover the fun of this sport through communication through table tennis, and also really like the atmosphere of this club. Around 150 to 200 people come to play every week, and because the queues to play are so long, they get a chance to talk to each other and become friends over time. So we not only play table tennis, but also communicate and hit through table tennis, creating a cool group. Table tennis reaches many people and not just for certain groups such as fashion brands this sport belongs to everyone.

Hypebeast: I hope you can have a similar community feeling at Pop Up in Shanghai this time. Tell us about your collaboration and pop-up event with Standard Nerds Club Is there an interesting story behind it?

Jiro: This collaboration with Standard Nerds Club hit off right away. The cooperative hat is more like a symbol of friendship between us – mutual recognition, without designing any advanced products. We do not cooperate easily with others. Although LTTT has become a brand, it remains personal and represents a unique community. It’s great to be connected to the local community and cool people in Shanghai through Toto and Standard Nerds Club.

Hypebeast: You have gained more exposure and popularity over the years, such as your collaboration with the band Wu Hyuk Hyukoh and the collaboration with the AAA label Sunset Speedster Many fans have gotten to know you through the social media. What do you think of these effects? What are your expectations for the brand’s offline presence in the future?

Jiro: I’m really happy to see more people about us, which means that people have a chance to understand what we do. Because my friend had seen someone before with an LTTT hat but didn’t know what the brand was about – just because it seemed popular on social media. But I don’t want to be commercialized suddenly, because from the beginning we just wanted to play table tennis, not to create a brand. LTTT is more like a community, with a focus on fun and interaction.

In terms of offline, like this time we came to Shanghai to do a Pop Up, which was a big breakthrough. For us, being able to meet everyone and create a place to experience LTTT is more important. Over the years, we have our own offline stores and table tennis tables, and we have been gathering offline to play games and communicate.