Artist and entrepreneur Johnny Haiki knows a thing or two about pursuing your passion, showing up for yourself and your craft, and doing things your way.
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Artist and entrepreneur Johnny Haiki has been shaped by his experiences, and his motto “Keep Pushin'” is the perfect encapsulation of his life journey. As he navigates the shifts and tides of living a life of creativity and endless possibilities, Johnny vows to persevere, no matter what.
Born in Taipei, Johnny grew up in Manila and went to college in the States, his background just as diverse as his pursuits. From music to modeling, painting to marketing, the young creative has dipped his toes into plenty of things—but one thing about him is that he’ll give his all into whatever he does.
Johnny is the founder of Haiki.Studio, a lifestyle and apparel brand featuring the creative’s own artwork and designs. Haiki Studio was “created for those who dedicate their life to their craft.” It’s an ode to the creative journey and to the people from all walks of life who never let up on their aspirations.
Coming home to Manila for a bit, Johnny Haiki chats with NYLON Manila all about exploring different pathways in his career, his growing relationship with art, and his relentless pursuit towards his dreams.
CHANGING TIDES
Johnny’s explored and worked in several different realms of art and creativity in his life. He started out as a photographer before being scouted to be a model, going into DJ-ing, and eventually finding his niche in painting and visual art. Although he spent a couple of years as a model, Johnny knew that it was not the career path he wanted to pursue full-time.
“I never relied on my creative outlets to pay for my bills,” he remarks. Having graduated with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Business & Marketing Analytics, Johnny acknowledges the need to balance creativity and practicality.
“Understand whether you want to do art for yourself or you’re going to see it as a job,” he says of the first step in pursuing art as a career. Though many have succeeded in making a living out of a creative pursuit, there’s still plenty of uncertainty involved. So knowing yourself well enough to discern what you want in life is pretty important. However, if you’re apprehensive about turning your passion into a living, don’t go stifling your passion for art. “Find an outlet that’s, one—for your finances, and two—for yourself.”
It’s not uncommon for creatives to pursue full-time jobs that often don’t have anything to do with what aligns with them creatively—because a simple truth many of us believe in is that there is no money in the creative industry.
It’s been drilled into people’s heads forever in many forms—the “starving artist” is an archetype in and of itself. Definitely a stigma, but in an ideal world, everyone can pursue whatever they want in life and not worry about paying the bills.
A catalyst for Johnny to venture into art and design was actually because he could not afford any other art to put into his apartment. “I think the first painting I did was just of Jordan 1s,” he recalls. He’s a big fan of sports, which you can see from various pieces he posts on social media. “I did it for myself. I was so proud of it.”
He posted a photo of the painting on Instagram, and his friends immediately asked for him to paint for them as well. In the midst of COVID-19, it was an unexpected blessing. “That was a full-time job for a year.”
But this new pursuit eventually came with some challenges. “I didn’t want to give away all my paintings,” he shares. He wanted to hold on to the things he created and have them for himself—totally understandable, especially to artists. But to be able to keep up with demand as well as his finances, and still hold on to the original piece, Johnny started printing his artwork on apparel, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Now, Haiki Studio is a brand dedicated to creatives who dream and work hard for those dreams, uplifting Asian artistic excellence and reminding everyone to keep pushin’.
CHANNELING STRENGTH
Growing up as a Chinese-Filipino around different people and cultures, Johnny’s experienced it all—the good, the bad, and the ugly. But he’s been able to turn it into something good.
“Never feeling like I was strictly part of one group allowed me to grow more as a person,” he shares. From differentiating how Filipino titas would tease younger kids in the family from how Chinese aunties would to being surrounded by friends from all cultures and walks of life, Johnny’s been able to broaden his horizons and widen his perspective as a person and an artist—a privilege not everyone is afforded. For instance, if someone only had people agree with them or tell them everything they’re doing is right, it’ll get harder for them to open their minds when things go differently. And in this life, things will 100% go differently.
“Growing up in a culturally-rich community—you’re able to take so much criticism. I was used to being judged and criticized by different tongues.”
Through all the noise, Johnny believes it’s important to have a strong sense of identity. Whether that means being secure in who you are and where you come from or being sure with what you want to do in life, it still takes some work. But as he says, “Life is a work in progress.” Being open to everything that comes our way, being able to take it on the chin, and use it all to keep pushing towards doing something great is something we can all work towards.
CHASING PERFECTION
Although working towards “something great” is something we’re all want to do, a trap we often fall into is trying to be some sense of perfect—whatever that may mean for us. Students, artists, writers—everyone often feels dissatisfied with the work that they do. But Johnny’s come to let go of that notion of “perfection” in terms of things like quantified success or universal acceptance and admiration.
“I don’t chase perfection anymore,” he reveals. “I just want to be present every day for the things I’m truly passionate about.”
Holding on to what matters has allowed him to successfully navigate a journey that can be pretty tough going. His passions lie in painting, in inspiring others, in exploring all the possibilities available to him. It took a lot of grit for him to get to where he is now, and he’s not letting up. There’s still plenty of dreams to chase, plenty of people to meet, and plenty of work to do. But he does it all because that’s what he wants.
“You have to really want to do it for yourself,” he says. “It’s not really about what other people want. But whatever I do next, I’m going to do my best.”
CHOOSING YOUR OWN PATH
Balancing creativity and practicality also involves acknowledging the nitty-gritty that comes with the pursuit of dreams. Johnny warns, “Don’t expect a successful career in the 21st century if you’re only going to be one-dimensional.” It’s a tough pill to swallow, and tougher conversations must be had regarding why art is so difficult to make a living off of in this society and economy. But to Johnny, understanding what it takes to make a name for and provide for yourself is necessary to live a fulfilled creative life in this reality.
Being a creative in this day and age means being open to exploring the different facets of art and creativity—and recognizing that it takes more than just love for your art to be able to achieve your dreams. “You can’t expect to be a successful artist if you’re not willing to do the work that you may not want to do, but which needs to be done.”
Turning to selling his artwork as apparel rather than letting go and selling the pieces he loved is an adjustment that he had to make after realizing there was demand for his work. Taking the leap and starting Haiki Studio involved more work and commitment than just making art, and he gave no less than 100%. All of these efforts and steps are part of the journey, and all one has to do is to hold steady and march on forward.
On the Haiki.Studio website reads a message all artists and creatives should see: “Life can be tough, the creative journey can be slow, and solitude can often be your companion. But we encourage you to dig deep and find that unyielding spirit that first sparked your artistic journey.”
Images courtesy of Johnny Haiki.
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