The Brotherhood of the Hoching Clan was founded the fall of 1996, when Peter Kang and Welton Chang envisioned an organization that would combine the strong bonds of friendship with a business mindset that would allow a group of middle school students to maximize their skills and talents. They began with a simple website which soon became a hit with their peers due to the humor and rich content.
The group, which began as a partnership between two close friends, began to grow as new members were enlisted. Warren Chia became a nominal member who helped to instill a hip, cool reputation. Ken Chen, Andy Ni, Kelvin Li, Jason Fan, and Samir Ruparel later joined and became important contributors to the numberous Hoching ventures.
In the summer of 1998, a year after failing Goldstuff.com, an online magazine for Asian teenagers, the members of Hoching collaborated to create Hoching Content, an online monthly that covered various teen-related topics. The magazine was hosted on a Xoom server and received over 40 unique visitors each day. After the 1999 academic year, Hoching.com was created to give Hoching Content more credibility. For the next two years, Content received over 5,000 hits a day. The site was was sustained by generating revenue from ad banners and affiliate programs.
During their four years at John P. Stevens High School, Hoching was known by peers as an innovative group that provided a wide range of services and products. Some products manufactured and marketed by Hoching included downloadable study guides for students in honors classes, greeting cards, mixed music CDs under the Hoching Music label, school textbooks, and bundled application/game suites. Services offered included test preparation and consultation and the homework aid program.
As the Hoching members began to wrap up their high school education, the focus of Hoching shifted from online content creation to local event programming. Hoping to make the best out of their last year in high school, the Hoching Basketball Association was founded in December 2000. This league, which furnished each player with uniforms, was funded by Hoching revenue from its products and services sector. At its peak, the league had over thirty players and a support staff of five people. A fundraiser party for the league also took place at the home of the youngest member, Reggie soang, on April 14th, 2001.
Entering college in the fall of 2001, the members of Hoching dispersed to attend their respective universities. Hoching.com soon became an online community for the members to keep each other updated about their college lives. Personal pages were created for each member as well as a message board to help facilitate on-going communication. The members of Hoching still maintained fresh content as they revamped the Foo Fighter's fan website in the summer of 2002 and also created Low Budget Studios, an effort to create low-cost film productions. Hoching also continued to provide programs whenever the members and their high school peers returned home. The Hoching Bowl has become a yearly tradition in which Hoching members play a game of tackle football with their friends at John Adams Middle School. The HBA was also kept alive as the HBA Reunion in the summer of 2002 brought together former league members for a BBQ and a day-long tournament.
Hoching, while no longer called "The Brotherhood" or a "Clan," still espouses the idea that strong friendships should last. While it is no longer a for-profit organization, its purpose is clearer than ever: to help maintain the strong bonds and to be an active part in the lives of its members. Hoching hopes to evolve into a pre-professional network for its members as well as a mentorship group for younger Asian Americans. Made possible by dedicated members and loyal supporters, Hoching embodies a community spirit strengthened by brotherly bonds.
