MEET LTTT: THE COLLECTIVE CHANGING THE FACE OF TABLE TENNIS
Photography By Dean George
There’s never a dull moment in LA, but never did I think that meeting a community of super cool Table Tennis enthusiasts would be my highlight of the trip. When walking into the Terasaki Budokan sports hall, I was greeted with warmth by Little Tokyo Table Tennis (LTTT). Despite an evident range of abilities present, everyone's energy was aligned, creating a safe space to just have fun.
Fashion and Table Tennis are two worlds you wouldn’t normally associate with each other, but LTTT are turning that notion on its head. From their very own merchandise to the craziest Mizuno’s and Onitsuka Tiger’s on foot, every member uses their individual style to express themselves.
Desperate to learn more, I spoke to the man behind it all — Jiro Maestu.
“Everyone's very accepting and receptive to people — it’s all about that,” says Jiro as we chatted in the stands of the sports hall, the sounds of table tennis balls in the background. Frustrated by the lack of spaces for him and his friends to play, Jiro founded LTTT post pandemic in 2021. Speaking on the fashionable element embedded within, Jiro said: “I wanted the visual identity of the club to be very strong and recognisable and, you know, bring it all together. That's how LTTT was born”.
As time went on, the sports hall welcomed a steady influx of individuals - all radiating the LTTT aura. Although there were many engaging battles going on,everyone in the room was all smiles while engrossed in conversation. Speaking on the impressive growth of the community, Jiro explains “it's kind of just blossomed into this huge community with over 100 people and it's been going strong ever since”. Some may have preconceived notions on the type of people who join a table tennis club, but the LTTT community is varied to say the least. “There isn't that factor of intimidation, or hyper competitiveness, everybody wants to ‘play and engage’ with whoever.”
Speaking on the future, Jiro’s hopes and dreams are to “create a place where everybody can come — a programme for the community.” Rather than being concerned with growing the community in other places, he’s in fact adamant that “it never needs to go anywhere, no matter what we do, what the brand does, what everybody does outside of this.”
“It's like this [LTTT] is the foundation, everybody comes here, they know where we’re at; they know the energy that everybody's giving off, and that we won't go away.”