A brave new world
You mentioned injuries, what happened and where did it leave you?
To be a professional sportsman you are trained from an early stage to perform, and this can give you tunnel vision. But everything changed for me in 2018, when I broke my ankle and then tore the medial ligament of my knee. I was off the pitch for over a year in what should have been the prime of my career, which was devastating.
I noticed immediately how agents and people who I thought were my friends stopped calling me. This was a tough period, but it helped me to focus on life after football. I noticed how hard it was to get back into the “beautiful game” and, when I finally did by joining Paphos in the Cypriot First Division in 2019, my return to football stalled within months by the arrival of Covid-19.
No longer in the top tiers of the Premier League or Bundesliga, and feeling rather alone in Cyprus, I had to face up to the reality of looking for a career beyond football. I started to work on my self-development by reading books and taking time to assess the things I have always valued.
During this time in the ‘wilderness’, Gary Vaynerchuk invited me to speak on his podcast series about my time in the UK when I had my first major injury. While the Pandemic was sweeping across the world, I realised the fashion industry would enable me to use my network from being a footballer and capitalise on my passion for fashion. I‘ve always been drawn to people who express themselves through fashion, so I took the next step and founded my own fashion label in 2019.
"No longer in the top tiers of the Premier League or Bundesliga, and feeling rather alone in Cyprus, I had to face up to the reality of looking for a career beyond football."
Why did you choose the name "Beautiful Struggles" for your label?
I founded my label in 2019 when I was thinking about my life after football. One day, I was on a sunny terrace in Cyprus and was struck by how life is a beautiful struggle. On the one hand I struggled as a person, being uncertain about my future beyond the world of football. On the other hand, I was in Cyprus, a beautiful island. For me the two words "struggle" and "beautiful" have a biographical context and it is the story of my life captured in a brand.
Source: YouTube
Source: TenDaysinParis (from the Paris Fashion Show fall 2021)
Source: "LifeAfterFootball"
Creating your own fashion label sounds like a lot of work. What did you experience in this process and what did you learn?
I had to learn to be more patient. In fashion, the designing process takes time: first you have an idea in your head which you must translate on paper. Then you must speak to your design team and incorporate feedback and changes before producing a first sample of the item in a factory. Once the design and quality of the piece is ready, you head for production. This process takes at least three months.
Of course, it varies with each item. It’s easier to design a piece, such as a hoody, with less shape and which can't be changed much. In contrast, it takes more time to create pieces that have a precise shape, such as a jacket.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
My most important source of inspiration is travelling. I observe trends and absorb my surroundings as every location has a different energy. My third collection was inspired by Cape Town, where I spent a considerable amount of time in 2020. I combine the brown and earthy tones of Table Mountain with blue and light colours from the ocean. Hence, the jackets of my collection have colours such as taupe, blue and grey.
Besides my own inspiration and creativity, I listen to my design team who keep an eye on what is trending on the catwalk. As we approach more and more department stores, the catwalk shows are also important for us to see the current zeitgeist from other perspectives, which we translate into our own language. At the end of the day, fashion is a form of art and expression.
My winter 2021/22 collection focuses on more casual pieces, such as hoodies, jersey wear and sweatshirts, as most of my customers still come from the football and sports worlds. These are also our key product groups which we started the brand with. I particularly love mixing hoodies and T-shirts with fashion pieces like an overcoat.