About 10 years ago, Antonio Sanchez, 34, Mack Moore, 30, and Felix Garcia, 28, decided to start up a band. They just wanted to create and play their own music, with little expectation.

But what started as a hobby became their whole life and a fulfilling career.

“We never talked about how big we wanted to be or making money,” said Sanchez, singer and guitarist. “We just wanted to make music that we could call our own and people would enjoy.”

They named their band Fusik and refer to their music as “soul funk” for the diversity of styles: hip-hop, soul, jazz and funk.

“People don’t want to hear the same thing or replications of other people’s work,” said Garcia, the drummer and youngest member of the band. “If you find an angle and create something original, the audience will always appreciate you for it.”

The band’s next performance is scheduled for 11 p.m. on Friday, June 14, at Gramps, a bar in Wynwood.

“The fact that they mix up beats and have an original genre is what makes them great,” said Richard Rendon, 30, regular at the Stage and a fan of Fusik. “They are the perfect band to listen to when you are enjoying a drink and letting the stress of the week go.”

Another fan, Nicole Rivera, 29, agrees.

“By the time they are done performing, it seems like they are sweating and the crowd is sweating as well,” she said. “They come with so much energy that you can’t help but get hyped up too.”

Sanchez, who grew up in Bronx, N.Y., was an environmental science major at Syracuse University before he moved to Miami in 1999.

“My life changed when I made that dramatic move,” said Sanchez. “I knew everything was going to be different, and I was ready for the transition.”

Sanchez was a baker at a local bagel shop when he first started playing with the band.

It was at this bagel shop where he and Moore met.

Moore was an elementary education major at Broward College. He originally played the guitar but ended up playing bass for the band.

Moore met Garcia, the third founding member of Fusik, while attending a hip hop youth center in Miami during the summer of 2003, then introduced him to Sanchez and the band was born.

Garcia, once a mechanical engineering major at Florida International University, was a break dancer for many years before suffering a knee injury in 2003. He then turned his attention to playing the drums.

Now, 10 years later, Fusik has become highly recognized and toured through Europe, but band members say South Florida is where it all started and it remains their favorite location to play in.

“The atmosphere in South Florida, especially in Miami, is what feeds our music,” said Sanchez. “This melting pot of culture has fueled the fire and has inspired us to create the music we do because we feel it coincides with the culture down here.”

Fusik plays regularly at Miami bars, such as The Stage, Blackbird Ordinary and Bardot Lounge.