This LA Entrepreneur Revives Beloved Childhood Toys While Fighting for American Creativity

From Laguna Beach to Downtown LA: The Entrepreneur Bringing Back Your Favorite Childhood Toys

Jonathan Cathey didn't grow up dreaming of running a company. He grew up in Laguna Beach, spending more time in the ocean than in a classroom, learning about art from his mother; a museum director who introduced him to serious institutional artists like Mike Kelley and Ed Moses before most kids his age knew what a museum was.

He wanted to play drums. He wanted to make art. Business wasn't part of the plan.

Today, that same kid runs The Loyal Subjects, a global toy and collectibles company based in downtown LA and one of the most quietly influential independent voices in an industry dominated by giants.

Nostalgia Is the Product

If you grew up in the 80s or 90s, you already know The Loyal Subjects' catalog. The company holds licenses for some of the most iconic properties of that era: M.A.S.K., Candy Land, Jem and The Holograms, My Pet Monster, and Popples and has built a business around bringing them back to life for the generation that grew up with them, and the kids of that generation discovering them now.

It's a business built on memory. On the feeling of pulling a toy out of a box on a Saturday morning. On the idea that the things we loved as kids still mean something.

Now positioned within the top 10% of toy companies globally, The Loyal Subjects has grown from a creative instinct into a serious player without ever losing the independent spirit that built it.

Building on His Own Terms

What makes Cathey's story worth paying attention to right now is the moment he's navigating. Small American manufacturers are facing some of the most significant headwinds in recent memory; tariffs, rising production costs, supply chain disruption, and an industry in flux. The brands with the deepest pockets are weathering it. The independents are fighting for it.

Cathey has become one of the most candid and authentic voices in that conversation. He doesn't sugarcoat the challenges of building something real in this environment. He talks about it honestly because he believes the independent creative entrepreneur deserves a seat at the table, and a voice in the room.

A Local Story Worth Knowing

He hasn't forgotten where he came from. The ocean kid from Laguna Beach is still in there, still thinking like an artist, still building like someone who never needed permission to start.

His company calls downtown LA home, right in the heart of the creative community that makes this city one of the most interesting places in the world to build something. And in a moment when that community is being tested, his story is a reminder that the most compelling businesses are often built by people who were never supposed to be in business at all.

The Loyal Subjects' latest collections are available at theloyalsubjects.com.