After graduating from West High in 2011, alumnus Sumner Mahaffey has journeyed worldwide in his quest to highlight Filipino culture, from a Mormon mission trip to the Philippines to his boy band, Hey Joe Show.

Mahaffey was first introduced to Filipino culture through his mission with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2012. Though he only recently became passionate about spreading Filipino culture, Mahaffey’s faith has been an integral part of his life since his childhood.

“Sumner’s dedication to his religious beliefs has simply been a way of life for him since he was very young,” Mahaffey’s mother, Jeanette Mahaffey said. “His faith has always been his strong-suit.”

This was one of the primary reasons why S. Mahaffey was excited for the chance to go on a mission trip to the Philippines;  The other was to experience all that the Philippines had to offer.

“I made a goal to fully immerse myself in the culture. I wanted to become Filipino. I wanted them to see how much I loved their country and language and food,” S. Mahaffey said.

S. Mahaffey arrived at the Philippines later that year in June, sharing his religion with the Filipinos, teaching lessons and baptizing new believers. He also did weekly service projects, helping people with jobs, from farming to participating in the cleanup of the areas affected by the Bohol earthquake and the Super Typhoon ‘Yolanda,’ hitting Central Visayas three weeks apart in 2013. Through these experiences, he embraced the country’s culture and customs, and in return, he met interesting people there.

“There is no way for me to describe how much I love the Filipinos and their culture,” S. Mahaffey said. “I love them because they are always so fun and love to laugh. They are the kindest people in the world and they taught me so much about being humble and grateful for what you have.”

Upon returning home from the Philippines two years later on June 2014, S. Mahaffey united with his friends that he had served with on this mission trip to celebrate the Filipino culture through a Youtube channel they called the Hey Joe Show. The name of the band was inspired by their experiences in the Philippines— young children would often shout, “HEY JOE!” when they saw an American pass by. — Making videos ranging from entertainment to music, no one expected the immediate success the group has received.

“We thought it was a clever idea, but didn’t really think it would go anywhere—and to be honest, I’m not sure the five boys even realized it would be as big as it has been,” J. Mahaffey said. “In fact, all the boys, including Sumner, were enrolled in Brigham Young University—each planning to pursuing degrees that were separate from the Hey Joe Show.”

After posting their first video, Amerikanong Bisaya, on Oct. 1, 2014, Hey Joe Show was discovered by Filipino news stations, and the increasing number of fans led the group to continue making videos. Their success continued, with one of their original songs, “My Morena Girl” becoming a number one hit song, surpassing even Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars.

“As we started gaining more and more fans, I realized what an amazing opportunity it was to make people happy. It made me happy to read all the fan messages about how our videos made them proud to be Filipino and how it helped them get through hard times,” S. Mahaffey said.

However, they did not have an easy road to success. As part of Hey Joe Show and also as  missionaries, S. Mahaffey and his bandmates had to learn the Bisayan language so people could better understand them, and also to break down the cultural barriers between the American missionaries and the Filipinos. It took S. Mahaffey three months to understand the language and six to be fluent in Bisayan.

“I knew it would be hard because it’s an Asian-Austronesian language and I had no experience with that. So I practiced daily by speaking to the Filipinos around me, full immersion. I carried around a little pocketbook and whenever I heard a word I didn’t know, I’d write it down,” S. Mahaffey said.

S. Mahaffey’s family continues to support him by watching their videos, listening to the newest song and spending hours searching the Web for information, clips or stories about S. Mahaffey.

“It feels really cool to have an older brother who’s very famous. He goes to the Philippines and goes on tour there a lot, so it’s been so crazy to hear about his success, and my family is really proud of him, of course,” S. Mahaffey’s sister, sophomore Jaina Mahaffey said.

S. Mahaffey is grateful for the leadership skills gained from clubs such as DECA, LoCo and Peer Teaching.

“I’m really blessed that I was able to go to West and I feel really proud of my school,” S. Mahaffey said. “Going there gave me both skills and experience that I used in running Hey Joe Show.”

Although school and work have prevented S. Mahaffey from posting videos in Hey Joe Show recently, his mom feels confident he will continue chasing his hopes and dreams.

“Sumner has always been a person who has carved his own path with the tools that have been given him,” Jeanette Mahaffey said. “He seizes the opportunities before him, and lives life to it’s fullest. We will just continue to enjoy the ride.”