LA Roots, Puerto Rican Soul

Stay Tru carries both LA energy and Puerto Rican soul.

My story starts with family.

My parents were born in Puerto Rico and came from families rooted in Puerto Rican culture, music, pride, resilience, and love. They were high school sweethearts, and both sides of my family carry that island connection deeply. My grandparents and the generations before them were from Puerto Rico, and the culture I grew up around shaped me in ways I still carry today.

I was born and raised in California, the first generation on my side of the family born here. I grew up throughout Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood, and eventually purchased my first home in Santa Clarita. That mix of places became part of me. LA gave me the edge, the hustle, the creativity, the street culture, and the drive to keep building. Puerto Rico gave me the rhythm, pride, family, flavor, resilience, music, and soul.

Those two worlds live in everything I create.

I studied digital media, web design, interactive media, and graphic design at The Art Institute in Santa Monica, then continued my education at The Art Institute in North Hollywood. For more than 15 years, I have worked in creative fields, building brands, websites, visuals, campaigns, and design systems for other people and companies.

But before Stay Tru became what it is becoming now, the vision was already there.

I started Tru Designs in 2011, creating designs for businesses, friends, family, and anyone who needed something custom and creative. In 2012, I bought my first DTG printer because I wanted to create apparel, art, and products of my own. Life had other plans for a while. I focused on raising my twins, working, learning, surviving, building stability, and using my creativity to help other brands grow.

Now, years later, I am coming back to the dream with more experience, more purpose, and more truth behind it.

Stay Tru is the product side of that story. It is where my art, culture, lessons, family pride, LA roots, and Puerto Rican soul come together. It is not just about clothing. It is about creating pieces that carry meaning. Pieces inspired by music, movement, streetwear, art, family, resilience, and the feeling of staying true to who you are while building where you are going.

This brand is personal to me.

It is for my family. It is for the culture that raised me. It is for the creative kid in me who always wanted to make art people could wear, collect, and connect with. It is for the years I spent creating for others while quietly holding onto my own dream. It is for anyone who knows what it feels like to come from somewhere, build from something, and still move forward with pride.

Puerto Rican culture brings rhythm, color, history, family, and strength into my life. LA brings grit, creativity, street energy, and ambition. Together, they are the foundation behind Stay Tru.

Every drop is a chance to tell a story.

Some pieces speak through bold graphics. Some are more minimal. Some carry cultural pride. Some carry reminders to keep going. But they all come from the same place: create with purpose, move with confidence, and stay true to who you are.

LA roots. Puerto Rican soul. Built from the grind. Made to Stay Tru.