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BYU students' startup 'Booya! Blends' to start design submission program

Booya! Blends, a clothing company startup run by BYU students, has announced that it will start a design submission program for its upcoming clothing line in 2016.

The idea for Booya! started in 2011 with a group of friends 'not thinking about tomorrow and living in the now,' as vice president of media marketing Ben Hanson described it.

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Student Willie Griffith sporting a Booya! Blends T-shirt during The Warehouse Show in Provo last fall. Booya! Blends is having a contest to choose new designs, beginning next year. (Austin Terry)

In 2014, after returning from LDS missions, members of the group reunited and officially started Booya! Blends.

With many connections in the surf and skate world in Southern California, BYU students Trevor Reese, Reed Gubernick and Andrew Congleton, along with a select group of friends, began their journey to create clothing 'For the People, By The People.'

Booya! Blends has had a successful run since its inception, sponsoring events in Provo such as 'The Warehouse Show,' a punk rock concert. They also held a Laguna Beach 'Three Arch Classic,' where a large group of students, parents and locals participated in a surf competition in California.

Booya! Blends is currently preparing the release of its new line in the upcoming months. The company has been in contact with other groups, such as the Ponto Troll Crew, which is a large group of aspiring surfers and skaters. The PTC is sponsored by Booya! and includes surfers like Jordy Collins, who was in the running for this year's 'King of the Groms' contest.

Beginning next year, Booya! Blends will start its design submission program in which anyone, 'not just artists,' can submit designs for anything from shirts to bucket hats via its website.

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One of Booya! Blend's advertisements, featuring their signature baseball tee during a trip along the Oregon coast. The student-run company will hold a contest accepting designs from anyone — not just artists. (Russell Alboroto)
'We wanted to create this submission process because we were never given the chance to collaborate with our favorite action sports brands growing up and it's something that we think is important,' vice president Andrew Congleton said. 'We want to give back to the action sports community and help the kids out who were just like us.'

The creators of Booya! Blends, who were raised on brands like RVCA and Active, hope that anyone who is creative will submit designs that could then be produced. People who submit designs could also potentially win products for themselves and their friends.

'One might think we are targeting purely artists. False. We are looking for anyone with a creative mind,' Gubernick said. 'We have taken drawings from little kids and have turned them into designs on the apparel we currently produce.'

Whether you carry your sketchbook at all times or doodle on all your assignments when you are supposed to be taking notes, look for the design submission program on the Booya! Blends website at the beginning of 2016.