Page 11 - MidWeek - April 19, 2023

APRIL 19, 2023 MIDWEEK 11
Most people do their best to avoid chaos — but not Ryan Pugal, who seems to run toward it. At any given moment, Pugal, who is also known by his stage name Ryan Lagup (Pugal back- wards), is running several businesses, including his lo- cal record label, Movement Entertainment; establishing collaborations with compa- nies, such as Lagup Shoes, a limited edition Italian footwear brand created with Alive Shoes; and operating side hustles, like selling des- serts and pickled mangoes in the community.
by Ginger Keller
‘Aiea Native Prefers Life In The Fast Lane
“It’s something I’ve al- ways had in me,” says the entrepreneur, who was born and raised in ‘Aiea. “When I was in sixth grade, me and my friends, just being neighbor- hood kids, were like, ‘What are we going to do today?’ And I said, ‘Let’s sell Kool- Aid!’ I remember we made $100-something and split the money. That was pretty cool. I would go house to house and sell cookies, and I would also babysit a lot.”
shoe, and it’s been awesome.” In his free time — if he ever has any — he also emcees and sings at private events, is a radio DJ/podcaster, and owns an estate sale business. But, his favorite project of them all is his lifelong love:
Working hard and keeping busy is just Pugal’s natural state of being. During the pandemic, instead of hun- kering down, he kicked into high gear (safely from home, of course) and established two businesses.
released four albums with his most recent, Ryan Lagup Beat Shop, earning him a spot on the iTunes Charts with 50,000 sales worldwide and nomina- tions at the Josie Awards in Nashville, Tennessee.
“I just went for it,” Pu- gal says about Lagup Shoes (check out aliveshoes.com/ brand/lagup). “It’s doing pret- ty good right now. I’m trying to get contacts with some schools so I can design shoes for them. The No. 1 shoe I’m selling right now is a skater
“My music style is differ- ent,” explains Pugal. “I could write a pop song, I could write a reggae song, but I would say it’s a blend of pop, R&B and dance. I write songs almost every day.
Ryan Pugal
PHOTO COURTESY RYAN PUGAL
I’m like, ‘Well, that’s what I know.’ I write what I know.’” Coming up this August, Pugal will release his next — and final — album, Lost in Space. Initially slated to debut next month, the re- cord was pushed back a few months to allow Pugal more time to perfect its sound. Fans—oldandnew—are welcome to join him April 30, though, for an early vir- tual listening party, during which he’ ll share the mean- ing behind each song and how the project came about. Pugal isn’t going any- where, though. The Moanalua resident will in- stead be behind the scenes, supporting and promoting other artists through Move- ment Entertainment. Cur- rently boasting six musi- cians, the independent label was born out of his 25 years of experience in the music
my own label. When you go with a major label, you could get benched, like I was,” Pa- gul shares. “I invested a lot of money in this. I thought it would be easier, but like ev- erything, there’s challenges to it. But to me, it’s worth it. You have to be dedicated to it. You can’t just say you’re going to do something and put it off. It’s really hard work, day-by-day.
music.
Since the late 1990s, he’s
industry.
“I’ve always wanted to do
“It sounds corny, but I was in a 13-year relationship, and basically, my songs are about that. It’s not totally about heartbreak or depressing, it’s fast and slow. But I need to change it up because a lot of people are like, ‘You write about breakups a lot,” and
“My family members would say, ‘You sure you want to do this?’ It’s very hard to support music, but I love it. It’s something that I know and have loved since I was young.”
Keep up with Pagul at officialryanlagup.info.