Two Years of Terribly Real

Two years ago, Terribly Real was just an idea I couldn’t stop thinking about.

Today, it’s… something I don’t think I could have fully imagined back then.

We started with t-shirts. Somewhere along the way, it became so much more than that.

It became stories. Community. Identity. Home.

And somehow, what started as a personal creative outlet turned into something people saw themselves in too.

Where It Started

Like most things, TR started small.

A few designs. A lot of overthinking. A lot of second-guessing. And honestly, no real idea of where this would go.

What I did know was this: I wanted to create something that felt real.

Not just trendy graphics on clothing. Not products for the sake of products.

I wanted to make things that meant something. Things that felt familiar. Things that made people pause and say, “Wait… that’s so us.”

As someone who grew up in the UAE, so much of my identity was shaped by this place. The little things. The everyday things. Karak runs. Neighborhoods. Shared references. Cultural quirks that people here just get.

Terribly Real became my way of turning those feelings into something wearable.

The Moments That Meant the Most

There were a lot of moments over the last two years that felt surreal.

Penn State Emirati Union

This one felt personal.

We got to create something around the idea of home, for people who were away from home.

That feeling of belonging to a place while physically being somewhere else… a lot of us know that feeling.

Getting to turn that into something wearable meant a lot.

Karak on an Adidas tee

Still wild to say out loud.

We put karak culture on Adidas.

Something so everyday, so local, so ours… on a global platform.

That was one of those moments where I had to pause and think, what is happening?

An order from the UAE royal family

We genuinely thought there was a mistake.

We checked. Rechecked. Triple checked.

It was real.

Moments like that remind you that people are watching what you’re building in ways you don’t always realize.

Meeting all of you at MOTB

This might honestly be one of my favorite parts of building TR.

Seeing the brand in real life.

Seeing people wear it.
Hearing stories.
Meeting customers who somehow felt familiar even though we’d never met.

That part hits differently.

House of Fast / Adizero

Being part of a global Adidas campaign wasn’t something I expected this early.

It pushed me to think bigger.

Not just about what TR is today, but what it could become.

The Hard Part

Year two was hard.

Really hard.

We weren’t prepared for a war.

Projects got cancelled.
Sales slowed down.
Plans changed overnight.

Some months felt heavy.

And not just from a business perspective. Emotionally too.

It felt strange trying to build, create, sell, and market while the world around you felt uncertain.

I don’t want to gloss over that part because it was real.

That’s also part of this story.

Year one feels exciting because everyone celebrates the risk with you.

Year two is different.

The excitement fades.
Reality kicks in.
And suddenly consistency matters more than motivation.

Year two taught me what it actually means to keep showing up.

Then Things Shifted Again

Right when things felt difficult…

Things started moving again.

Terribly Real x House of Porsche

Still feels unreal.

I genuinely did not see that one coming.

And weirdly, it came at exactly the right time.

A reminder that hard phases don’t last forever.

HypeSelection and Namshi

New spaces.
New audiences.
Bigger reach.

Slowly, momentum came back.

Not overnight. But steadily.

Adidas Neighborhood Collection

This one means a lot to me.

Jumeirah.
Deira.
Satwa.
Mirdif.

We turned neighborhoods into wearable art.

The places that raised us.
The places that shaped us.

There’s something deeply emotional about turning a place into a story someone can wear.

This project was personal in ways most people probably won’t fully understand.

What Actually Kept Us Going

You.

Genuinely.

Every tag.
Every message.
Every photo of someone wearing TR.

Those things mattered more than you know.

Especially during the harder months.

There were days when seeing someone post “Wore my TR today” genuinely changed my mood.

People often think brands are built by founders.

They’re not.

Brands are built by the people who choose to believe in them.

The people who wear them.
Talk about them.
Recommend them.
Gift them.
Show up for them.

That’s what built Terribly Real.

And We Kept Creating

Through everything, we kept making.

Football drops.
Neighborhood collections.
New experiments.
New stories.

Some worked.

Some didn’t.

But that’s part of building something creative.

You try.
You learn.
You evolve.

And you keep going.

Two Years Down

I don’t fully know how to explain what Terribly Real is becoming.

But I know it’s becoming more… Terribly Real.

Whatever that means.

To me.
To the team.
To everyone who has worn even a small piece of this journey with us.

Two years down.

Year three is loading.

And honestly… I think we’re just getting started.

What do you want to see from TR in Year 3?

Tell us in the comments.

We’re genuinely building this with you.