“For Everyday Wear” - Little Tokyo Table Tennis
In downtown Los Angeles, table tennis enthusiasts and fashion admirers congregate at Terasaki Budokan, a recreational center, for table tennis games and casual conversation.
Here, you can expect table tennis gurus battling to keep their spot at a table and people who want to bust out a solid outfit and have a place to talk amongst like-minded people.
A community center may not sound like a trending hotspot for such a diverse group, but Little Tokyo Table Tennis (LTTT) creates a unique space for everyone involved every Tuesday.
Founded by Los Angeles creative Jiro Maestu two years ago, LTTT was first a way to stay in touch with friends during the pandemic.
“I was living at my mom’s house and we had a table tennis table in the backyard so me and my friends would play during the pandemic. That was our bubble. We would just pull up to my mom’s house and we’d play for 12 hours a day.”
Maestu further stated that his apartment was near Terasaki Budokan and as the pandemic began to subside, Budokan was opening.
Maestu asked to have a table tennis club and they said no, but then proposed if he were willing to put it all together, they’d allow it.
“It was like destiny in a way, to have this place open up”, said Maestu.
Maestu is also the creator of the up-and-coming Los Angeles-based brand Poche. This has been another successful creative venture with close ties to LTTT.
A collection of different hats available for purchase at LTTT.
Maestu and his creative team have a line of merch tailored towards the LTTT event, which has gained a lot of traction recently.
Most notably with their LTTT Logo Cap, which champions an embroidered ‘LTTT’ across the front of the cap in a wide selection of hat colors.
And not to mention the signature Poche tag dressed outside the cap stating the phrase, ‘for everyday wear’.
Merch aside, LTTT is a place where individuals can show up on a Tuesday from 6 PM to 9 PM to enjoy table tennis and the company of others for an entrance fee of 5 dollars per visit.
Xun, who is a regular at the LTTT events, says it’s helped him reconnect with the game after years of hiatus.
“My dad was really into it when I was a kid and made me do it. I lowkey hated it at the time,” said Xun.
"He would drill me on ping pong day and night, I’d be crying n shit. Now as an adult, it’s fun to have something I’m good at. I feel like a kid again but I’m not crying this time.”
Friends immerse themselves in a game of ping pong.
LTTT encourages anyone and everyone to play a game of table tennis, regardless of skill level. People wait their turn while chatting with friends and when a spot opens up, it’s fair game.
There are also attendees like Ian Walley, who uses the event as a night out and something to do on a Tuesday.
“I’ve been following Poche for a while, one of my homies introduced it to me a few years ago. And then once I was following the brand I found out they created this community. It’s a cool little community, which I feel brings people together that you would probably never interact with, all in a collected single place.”
A basket filled with various LTTT-branded ping pong balls, ready for use on the court.
It’s incredible how it has managed to work out for Maetsu.
Maetsu has expressed that this sense of community has driven the brand beyond his expectations.
Furthermore, to be able to start something fresh off of something like the pandemic screams volumes about how well things seem to be working out for Jiro Maetsu and his team at Poche.
“It’s growing with the help and appreciation of the people that participate every week. I think it’s cool that the brand, the logo, and the message and energy are reaching far beyond the community. So, yeah, I’m kind of following its lead in a way. The people are generating this type of momentum and everybody feels that they are a part of it.”
