Streetwear King and Pop Art Icon Bigboy Cheng Gets His Own Funko Pop Figure

Streetwear king and Pinoy pop art icon Bigboy Cheng has announced that he is getting his very own Funko Pop toy figure, which is set to be unveiled at the upcoming Toycon 2024 on June 14 to 16, 2024 at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City. Cheng, whose larger-than-life social media personality is as colorful as the ultra-collectible sneakers and pop art paintings he curates in his Secret Fresh Art Gallery was visibly excited to share on social media  that his Funko figure will be available in two versions: one in the limited Chase Edition and a regular version both under Funko Pop #274.    

Bigboy Cheng

In case you didn’t know, Bigboy Cheng is the scion to the country’s largest foam and mattress company Uratex. The family also has other businesses interests ranging from automotive original equipment manufacturing, real estate, textile, food packaging and others.

Bigboy Cheng Funko Pop

Cheng is also a very well-known toy and sneaker collector, with the value of Cheng’s shoe collection based on today’s estimates exceeding P50 million. One of the most popular shoes in his collection is the Marty McFly Nike shoes from Back to the Future and a pair of Air Jordans x Dior which he reportedly paid close to P1 million pesos right after it was introduced. 

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Cheng has also been collecting vintage and art toys for decades. When we asked him how much he got for a mint-condition single-box Popy Voltes V diecast toy set from the 1970s, he said it came to very close to seven figures.  

Bigboy Cheng Funko Pop 

While it is a great honor to have a Funko Pop made in your likeness, he’s not the first Filipino to receive the honor. Additionally, he’s also not the first Funko vinyl figure named “Big Boy.” Funko Inc., an American listed company that specializes in licensed and limited pop culture collectibles, is best known for its vinyl figurines and bobbleheads. Founded in 1998 by Mike Becker, Funko originally started as a small project to create various low-tech, nostalgia-themed toys. The company's first manufactured bobblehead was of the Big Boy restaurant mascot. 

Among Funko Pop’s recent Pinoy themed collabs are Jollibee in 2018, followed by another Jollibee in a Barong shirt in 2019 and Jollibee Champ Funko in 2022. Tthe collegiate mascots of De La Salle University and Ateneo de Manila University also got the Funko treatment in 2022. 

Trese

La Salle Green Archers and Ateneo Blue Eagles

Other fictional characters from Filipino pop culture that were also turned into Funko toys are Darna and Alexandra Trese, which is based on the graphic novel Trese created by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo.  US-based Filipino-American comedian Jo Koy and singer Jose Mari Chan also have their own Funko Pop figures.

Jo Koy

The name Funko is a portmanteau of the words “fun” and “company.” Funko Pop is the company’s most important brand of Funko figures based on the Japanese chibi concept dolls with exaggerated features and proportions but made to look cute and adorable with extra-large heads and a pair of large eyes, a small triangular nose and strangely, often with no mouths, making them instantly recognizable. The company has signed licensing deals with major sports and entertainment companies such as Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, MTV, NBCUniversal, Disney, Marvel Entertainment, and Major League Baseball. In June of 2022, the company was acquired by Monda, a high-end pop culture company and its sales for the year totaled over $1.3 billion.

The oriiginal Big Boy Funko Pop 

Jollibee Champ 

However, Funko reported last year that waning demand caused it to dispose of unsold merchandise.