Obsession, Inspiration, and Manifestation

Obsession: What started it

A simple drawing led to a hobby. Then a hobby led to curiosity. This led to questions that I started looking answers for.

I never really had an appetite for business. I just wanted to create what I want, express my ideas through these creations, and show people my inner thoughts and possibly relate these to them.

Remembering my first shirt, it was in 2014. My second year in high school, and it was for our class shirt. 

Photoshop was not really a thing yet at that time, and I was not an expert. The design was just a simple compilation of texts, with the center text just having a camo fill-in.

Looking at it now. It sucks. But I still remember the satisfaction of finishing the design, seeing your idea manifest, and feeling it on an actual shirt. On the back of my classmates.

I still have that shirt in my drawer. I still look at it from time to time. 

 

Inspiration: Why it started

Fast forward to 2020, during the pandemic. Most of us had no better things to do at that time of isolation and uncertainty. This was when my hunger for improvement really started.

I was studying design tools. Researching. Watching tutorial videos. Trying different art styles. Making mistakes and Learning. Procreate, Photoshop, and Illustrator. These took up most of my time.

The curiosity is still there.

That was when I also started looking at this hobby differently. Not just the art, but trying new things, making mistakes, and learning. Constantly improving myself.

Moving into my final year in college, 2022. Times were different. Civilization slowly got back to normal, and we were about to graduate.

We have a club in college. It was not a design or creatives club, but for our college course. 

And on that club, we had a yearly contest for that year's merch. Shirts, sweatshirts, lanyards, etc. Of course, with me yearning to see my designs worn, I started putting in work.

Sketching during my free time, discarding concepts, and starting all over again. Mistakes after mistakes, Sleepless nights, and frustrations.  

After all these, I did not stop. I had a clear goal in mind - to make my vision a reality. 

I enjoyed the process, and eventually. I finished the designs. Just in time for the deadline.

I created two designs - one was for shirts and the other for sweatshirts. I exported them, looked at them one last time, and submitted.

I was just happy to see them finished, not really thinking about winning anymore, but cherishing how I improved while designing them. 

To make the story short, both of them got chosen.

Again, at that time, I was happy that I won, but more so thinking that the designs I created would be worn across the campus.

The reward was not the results, but the process of thinking, grinding, and improving. 

The journey mattered even more than the destination.

 

Manifestation: How it started

Now, the next question - how can I create more?

This decision, like any other major one, was spontaneous.  

To start and create something. Logo, designs, and creatives. All from scratch.

But I did not start entirely from zero. I had my passion for the arts, my skills, and my urge to create and express.

I got to work. In between my shifts during my job, I was working on the brand. 

Sketching the logo, conceptualizing, and making initial shirt designs. It was tiring but fulfilling. I slowly finished everything, and it was finally time for our first shirts. 

It was named INITIATIVE, named after the brand itself, with the design centered on a stylized "Ni" kanji. It is the manifestation of my hard work and dream.

Desire became inspiration. Inspiration to manifestation. It encompasses the philosophy of the brand. 

With the help of some of my friends who were the first to believe in me and my vision. We released for the first time last September 2022.

Fast forward to 2025, and we are still building the brand. Still creating the things that I believe myself and other people can relate to. 

We had some major setbacks along the way, which are stories for another time, but we never stopped working for it until now.

We are still making history, and I never intend to stop soon. We are far from over.

So whatever you are afraid of doing now, just take the first step and everything else will follow, as long as you desire it and believe in it.