When Moss Randy Ortega was growing up in Paradise Hills in the ‘90s and early 2000s, his mom gave him words of wisdom that shaped his approach to clothing and design.
“We didn't grow up with options of, we can go and pick out something new every weekend or something like that,” Ortega explained. “Because of that, finding a solution to a problem (meant) … What do I have in my closet that I can kind of alter?
“My mom would always tell me that, use your imagination.”
For Ortega, this phrase isn’t a platitude. Imagination wasn’t only for dreams. She meant it practically — reimagine what he had.
“I just knew that I can use my imagination and create something for myself and wear it,” Ortega said.
He remembers high school as a space to experiment with design and clothing. He’d wear his shirt inside out. He’d paint it. And he’d share it.
“I remember I did five sizes in high school at lunchtime and people wanted (them).” He recalled people asking, “Can you make me one?”
“It was just those little moments really triggered, as I was getting older and wanting to know what I want to do,” Ortega said.
Ortega now has about a decade under his belt of using his imagination to create innovative clothing design — from hats to shirts and more. He launched his brand, Original Goodstock, in 2017.
But before landing big collaborations with well-known companies and organizations, he learned the basics of sewing from a seamstress not far from his home. His appreciation for clothing also grew through collecting vintage pieces. He compared that experience to collecting Pokémon cards.
“I come from an era where Pokémon cards were like starting and it was a big boom and then I learned how to collect and I learned how to trade and it just became a thing,” Ortega said.
That experience helped develop his eye for curation and finding unique pieces — an approach that would eventually inform his own designs.
He had his first big break selling hats at a shop in Plaza Bonita called Rerun.
“I was 24 at the time, right? Didn't make much money,” Ortega said. “I worked at Domino's — 17 an hour, 16 an hour. Going to make a hat and making a run of them was very expensive.”
He paid for his first batch of embroidered hats with his pizza paycheck.
“And people loved it and I ended up selling out all my hats,” Ortega said.
People would ask him what he’d do next, and at first, he wasn’t really sure what to say. He knew he was onto something, but he also knew he didn’t have to become a big brand overnight.
“What if I just be more unique and concentrated and like give people something they don't really have?” he asked himself.
His early work eventually led to a technique that’s now quintessentially Moss Ortega: distressing. It’s his own spin on intentionally “defacing” a logo or embroidery to give it a different look. He tested the first batch of distressed hats at Rerun.
When Ortega first started selling and wearing his distressed designs, people would stop and ask him questions, like, “Why does that look messed up? What is this?”
“It's an art form. It's almost like a graffiti artist to a wall,” Ortega explained. “I want to show you guys something you've never seen before on a hat.”
That’s also evident in his approach to his designs that speak to his cultural identity. Ortega draws inspiration from his own Filipino and Mexican roots.
“I come from like the good times and the bad times of like learning how to be mixed, learning how to be accepted,” Ortega said. “And so a lot of that too like inner trauma … I translate that into art, the best way I can.”
He uses Original Goodstock’s eye-catching old-English font and pairs wordplay with distressed embroidery that he hopes makes people feel like they’re home.
With phrases like “you had me at hola mi amor mahal kita” and “better together,” he speaks to that mixed experience.
He said it was daunting at first to highlight his identity in his designs, but he credits his upbringing and his dad for the phrase “Better together.”
“I draw from that and like with me being Filipino and Mexican,” Ortega said. “Regardless of how far or how close similarities could be, dude, it's always better together.”
He also sees “better together” as a way of life that’s rooted in his faith beliefs.
“With faith it's like, you start to see things in a different perspective,” Ortega said. “You start just loving on other people or you start just caring for other people's interest rather than your own, thinking of ways you can collaborate.”
Getting past the uncertainty of how audiences would receive his designs required a shift in perspective. Instead of asking himself how he could enter the design space, he thought more about: “Can I be a brand to add to the space? How can I add to what the community needs?”
Ortega’s designs include a reimagined Mexico soccer jersey inspired by the Filipino barong for the World Cup. He did three drops of the jerseys and sold out each time.
He’s also made distressed gear for San Diego FC. He handmade the design on each hat for the fútbol club in 2025.
This summer, he collaborated with A Shop Called Quest on limited-edition shirts at Comic-Con.
But the throughline in each of these designs is a connection to where he’s from.
“I choose to stay in San Diego for now because I would love to see my city be celebrated in those levels — in terms of how LA is celebrated, how New York is celebrated,” Ortega said. “I would love to see the day when we’re celebrated for fashion and for our cultures.”
He described his brand as a family or home. That’s part of what made his collaboration with San Diego FC so special.
“It touched my heart so much ‘cause it's like, dude, I get to represent my own city,” Ortega said. “Like I wasn't born somewhere else and then coming here. I was born here and I get to do the thing I love to do. And that's enough for me.”
Reflecting on that moment, he says he thinks a lot about the next generation of designers getting started in San Diego, like him.
“And I want everyone and every young creative to see this, because this is what it's about,” Ortega said.
Ortega has more collaborations on the horizon, including a panel event in September for Mixed Asian Day, presented by Mixed Asian Media. To stay up to date on Ortega’s work, follow him on Instagram at @originalgoodstock.
