About
The phrase, "Oh What A Good Day" came to my mind when I was in a bit of a slump, as everyone gets from time to time. I said it sarcastically, at first, but the saying became more of an attempt of me trying to manifest better days as time went on and I couldn’t shake the slump. The phrase stuck with me, and one day I figured that it'd look kinda cool on a t-shirt. I made my first shirt with a cardboard stencil and some spray paint.
After a year of doing nothing with the concept, I was doing laundry and saw the original shirt in the hamper. The first shirt was pretty rough, but in making that shirt I realized I had the opportunity to do something really cool. I realized that I wanted to build this brand and make it something that I can be proud of. I felt this drive and motivation that had been absent for a while. It felt good. I put in a few months of research, planning, and design to make the first few shirts.
My grandfather was a merchant, selling textiles in Pakistan for the majority of his life. My father grew up as one of seven of the merchant’s sons, working for his father in his early life. My father eventually moved to the States and settled in Texas when I was no older than four. He opened up his own furniture store in Austin in 2004. I grew up a merchant's son, not unlike my father, spending most of my early life in his store. However unlike my father, I grew up in Austin, Texas. I was shaped by its interesting people, wonderful sounds, and vibrant culture. Those influences made me want to be a creative, but at the end of the day I am a merchant's son, so I had to find a way to connect my artistic drive and my heritage, and that's what OWAGD is.
Given that OWAGD is rooted in mental health awareness, I want to donate to a charity that works towards helping people with mental health issues have good days. At the end of the year I plan to donate 15% of sales to the Brain & Behavior research foundation. I believe this is a trustworthy organization with the true intent of helping people. It isn't funded by pharmaceutical companies like other similar organizations, and it gives grants for actual research into psychological conditions and mental illnesses.