By Thomas K. Pendergast
In a shop window on Clement Street between Ninth and 10th avenues, a large blue robot stands guard over the entrance to the Heroes Club, with its fists in the air, ready to battle for right against wrong.
Its name is Gigantor, a veteran from the early days of Japanese animation going back to the 1960s, representing every little boy's desire for a big toy robot.
Hand built by Robin Kwok, it greets visitors and window shoppers at his store, which was recently honored by the City with "legacy business" status.
According to the Legacy Business Program, the designation is given to businesses that have been open for at least 30 continuous years. The business also must have impacted San Francisco's identity and must be dedicated to keeping its traditions alive. The program was created in 2015 to support historical businesses; members can receive grants, business and marketing help as well as recognition from the City.
Robin Kwok owns and operates Heroes Club, Inc. on Clement Street with his wife Angel. Their store was recently honored with legacy business status by the City. Photo by Thomas K. Pendergast.
Those who dare to step past Gigantor and enter are rewarded with a wall-to-wall pantheon of monsters, robots, weird creatures and, of course, action heroes, all of them given new life by Kwok, who hand crafts his products in his shop just beyond the far wall behind the service counter.
The San Francisco Office of Small Business, in its Legacy Business Registry Staff Report, said Heroes Club, Inc. is the only shop in San Francisco that specializes in Asian nostalgic science fiction and anime fine art collectible toys.
"Many pieces date from the 1960s to the 1990s and include out-of-print vintage model kits," according to the report. "The business was founded by Robin Kwok in 1989 … in the Richmond Neighborhood. Robin graduated from the Academy of Art University of San Francisco with a bachelor's degree in fine arts."
The report says the "Heroes Club has become the go-to destination for collectors and celebrities alike recognized for the unique and high-quality craftsmanship that goes into customizing each piece."
In her letter of recommendation, District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan said the shop transports science fiction and anime fans back in time.
"Being the only shop in San Francisco that specializes in Asian nostalgic science fiction and anime fine art collectibles also highlights the important role Heroes Club plays in introducing and preserving anime culture for the community," Chan said.
Kwok grew up watching sci-fi shows on TV in Hong Kong. At the time, Hong Kong was still part of the British Commonwealth, so he watched a lot of UK science fiction like the Thunderbirds, Stingray, Space: 1999, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.
Later he was introduced to Japanese live action like Ultraman, Godzilla, Spectreman and here in the SF Bay Area, the Captain Cosmic TV show.
After he graduated from art school, he worked as a shoe designer for Esprit, the clothing design company. He also painted billboards for the old Tower Records store on Columbus Avenue.
He built scale-model kits as a hobby, then one day he got the idea of opening a store to sell his models.
"It is a struggling business over the years because I see so many changes," Kwok said. "First we started in model kit, hobby; then, the market changed and people started collecting action figures, so I do a lot of custom painting, customizing action figures.
"In the past 15 years they switched everything back to more fine-art hand painting."
Although he makes his money pursuing his passion or perhaps because of that, running the business in what he calls a "niche market" requires his full attention and dedication.
"Well, I've been doing this all these years and I enjoy doing it, but it gets a little bit tough because not everybody appreciates and understands, so you really have to stay on it and then try to keep doing what you're doing," he said.
Yet there are other rewards of a different nature for him, like meeting famous celebrities who come in his store to shop.
One such customer was Robin Williams, whom Kwok met in the 1980s and eventually considered to be a friend.
The last time Kwok saw Williams was the day before he died.
Kwok said he seemed OK when he came in that day, but the next day the media reported he was dead. "I was kind of shocked."
Kwok also recalled the day he got a phone call from someone working for Michael Jackson, telling him that the great moonwalker and a security team would be coming by the store the next day.
"We closed the door and then he shopped around," Kwok recalled.
Kirk Hammett of the heavy metal band Metallica has also visited the store.
"He likes more the universal monster, and also he liked Godzilla, but Godzilla is more for his children. He likes more classic U.S. horror characters," he said.
For those unfamiliar with the term, universal monster refers to the more classic monsters like Creature from the Black Lagoon, Dracula, Wolfman and Frankenstein's monster.
Kwok built a Godzilla diorama at Hammett's request.
Actor Nicholas Cage has also dropped by to pick up some monsters.
"He ordered more like the Japanese Toho monsters. He liked 'The War of the Gargantuas,'" Kwok said.
The recent pandemic was a real challenge for Kwok to stay in business, especially when he found out he would not qualify for government assistance.
"We had no walk-in business. And then we tried to count on online sales, but it's very difficult," he said.
He and his wife Angel, who runs the business with him, applied for government disaster loans, but the City said their area was not qualified because it is not considered a "low income" area.
"They sent us a letter saying 'You are not in the zone of the low-income area. No, you are disqualified,'" Kwok said.
"I don't know how they determined that."
Luckily for him, they had savings to keep their business afloat and a nice landlord.
"During the pandemic, he gave me a discount on the rent. We're still paying rent, but he gave me a discount," Kwok said. "Some landlords were very understanding, so good tenants, they try to keep them to survive.
"Some landlords are greedy. They don't care. They still raise the rent," he explained. "I am very lucky. I have a good landlord, so I am able to survive here."
The Kwoks have three children: two daughters, ages 27 and 23, and a 20-year-old son.
Lately, however, he's had a different challenge and concern: crime.
"We're trying to recover. It is bad because many shops have been closing. People feel insecure to go outside and shop because of many car thefts. Also tourists get robbed."
Recently one man walked into his store and then ran off with a large Godzilla action figure, but Kwok grabbed a broom and chased him down the street with it to the See's Candy store on the next corner, where Kwok got it back.
These days he zip-ties everything to the walls, so people cannot just pick things up and run away with them.
Kwok now describes San Francisco as "Gotham City," so perhaps a Heroes Club is needed on Clement Street more than ever.
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