Edited on 4/21/26 at 2:30pm
LOS ANGELES- Combining his love for football and his passion for clothing, Chris Magalong’s football culture brand has grown from an idea to a full-time job. Magalong, a sophomore finance major with a business law minor, took on Strap Mob when he was a senior in high school.
“It was the perfect time to start it,” Magalong said.
After he graduated from high school in 2024, he used the summer to learn more about being a business owner and grow the brand. “I learned from whatever I could, watching podcasts, collecting so much information,” Magalong reflected.
Strap Mob embodies football in its purest form of grit, toughness and the brotherhood it brings to young players. “What makes [Strap Mob] a brotherhood is going through everything in football with your people beside you…Friday nights, you’re going out there with your brothers and competing against other teams. You can’t be a good football player without having good players around you. Like I said, iron sharpens iron,” Magalong said. Not only has he experienced brotherhood as a football player in high school, where he played as a defensive back, but also at LMU.
In January of this year, Strap Mob hosted its second Defensive Back Retreat at Huntington Beach High School. Magalong talked about it as their biggest event to date, with 120 attendees. He was supported by his friends from Isang Bansa, LMU’s Filipino culture club, that day, where they worked as staff during the retreat.
He met Strap Mob’s current videographer Koto Blas, a freshman from Guam, during fall orientation.
Blas recalled how they clicked that day, and a month after they met, Magalong took a chance on Blas’ creative ability with a camera for Strap Mob’s Fall 2025 Drop. Since then, the brand and its marketing have gained the attention of football players. “Working with Chris not only kicked off my journey as a creative in California, but also gave Strap Mob the image it was missing,” Blas said.
The aspect of brotherhood continued when Magalong signed his first two official Strap Mob athletes this year, Dorian Franklin and Dillon Davis, junior DBs at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif. “They’ve been sticking with [Strap Mob] for a while, and I feel like they deserve their flowers,” Magalong said. Their connections with Magalong started organically. He and Franklin met for the first time at USC visit with Trillion Boys while Magalong and Davis replied to Instagram story for Strap Mob. After meeting the young business owner, both athletes told their Bosco teammates about the brand, leading them to wear it during practices and games.
“When it comes to the values and ethos of the brand I saw alignment between them and us so it only made sense to bring them on as some of the faces of our brand. They also carry themselves very well and I really do value that when I consider the athletes I work with.” He added.
Strap Mob has only had a handful of events, such as two DB retreats in 2024 and 2026, DB University (Strap Mob x Hellstar), Route Wars (Strap Mob x Always Open), and NEXT Exhibition by Trillion Boys. They are also the official DB partner of the Trillion Boys, a 7v7 program. Strap Mob has also expanded to Strap Mob Media, where football players are able to get media coverage during any events. A football player even gets the chance to take over Strap Mob’s Instagram and show viewers their day throughout the events through their eyes.
Within two years, Magalong’s brand has grown through the support of a brotherhood as Strap Mob continues to cultivate the authenticity of football.
Website- https://strapmob.com/
Instagram: @strapmob and @strapmobmedia
