Celebrity Life

In this instalment of Startup Life, we speak to Jason Yau of Zyphr about activewear, the power of sport and the importance of mental health.

A young brand rooted in innovation, Zyphr was founded with the intention of combining science and high performance fabrics. Most importantly, millennial founder Yau is committed to building a local community that fosters social change and inclusion through sports.

Name: Jason Yau
Profession: Founder of Zyphr
Industry: Sportswear
Company Size:  10 people
Startup Since: January 2018

When did you launch your company and why?

I launched Zyphr in January 2018. Being a sports fanatic myself, I've always felt that in Hong Kong, we never had a sportswear brand that was truly born and breed locally. This inspired me to be the first one to try and make that dream a reality.

We are currently working with over 100 professional athletes in 12 different sports. They help us to test our materials and push our fabric quality to the next level. I wanted to create a brand that allows our professional athletes to have a voice and showcase who they are as people, while inspiring others.

What's Zyphr position in the activewear and wellness industry?

We are a life-performance wear brand. The concept is to blend lifestyle with high performance fabrics that excel in sweat-wicking and breathability. Hong Kong’s weather is extremely humid and hot, especially in spring and summer, and this is why using excellent sweat-wicking and breathable materials is key to our product development. Making it accessible to everyone is also important for us.

What were your main goals when you first started?

To develop products that I love and finding materials that are extremely comfortable to wear casually or during training. At the time, I felt that there were not many sportswear brands to choose from in Hong Kong and the quality was often compromised. I wanted to create my own version of life-performance wear and to build a community around the brand.

What's the inspiration behind your company's name?

Zyphr comes from Zephyr, the name of the Greek god of the west wind. He represents freedom, which aligns with our slogan, #DreamFearlessly. We believe that each human being is unique and special. Being fearless doesn’t mean that you are not afraid; it simply means that you are accepting that fear but you keep pursuing your dreams because nothing can, or should, stop you.

Have you always wanted to be an entrepreneur?

To be honest, I’ve always wanted to become a professional footballer growing up. I had the opportunity to study abroad in England and the United States and within those ten years, I’ve played high level rugby and football for my school and university. But while I was working for Reebok at their headquarter in Boston back in 2016, I had this inner feeling that starting my own company was the right step for my career... I was 23 and the rest is history!

Tell us about the main milestones and challenges of your startup journey.

We came a long way since we started back in 2018. From reaching out to the fitness trainers and gyms to promote our products to working with over 100 professional athletes across the world including Olympians and some of the top Hong Kong athletes, like Sasha Palatnikov in the UFC, Russell Webb and Max Denmark in Rugby 7’s and Dudu Klein and Wai Wong in Football.

Opening our own popup store this year was also a massive step forward for us to engage and speak with our customers directly. The next step is to expand globally and our team is working hard to make that goal a reality this year.

Starting a company is the hardest thing I’ve done in my life and It doesn’t get any easier, but you just get more experienced with time. Mental health is a key topic these days and I think it is very important to talk about it as you will definitely experience a roller-coaster of emotions and struggles as an entrepreneur because of the uncertain nature of the business. You must build a strong support system around you and have close friends and family to talk about the issues you are facing. It is ok to admit you need help and have the right people to guide you through the right path.

What are some dos and don’ts of starting your own company?

When you are starting a company, you have to develop the skills and the ability to read situations on a macro-level. You have to have your own vision, be honest and be direct with the people you are working with. We tend to run away from uncomfortable conversations, but that's not possible in business.

Good things do take time. It is important that you test your idea out on a small scale to then develop something bigger. Do not dwell on your failures because failures are the key lessons for you to be mentally stronger.

What's next for Zyphr?

2021 was a great year for us. We learned a lot in terms of how to deal with the changes brought by the pandemic and to adapt to a new life. We opened five popup stores across Hong Kong and that was very helpful as a learning process as well.

The next step is to continue to push the brand to the next level by expanding our offerings, working on our online store and building an even stronger community and set of resources for youth in Sport. We are currently working with Nation Soccer, a Brazilian Football School in Hong Kong, AS Football Centre and Azzurri Football Club in the Yau Yee Division 1 League. The goal is to help kids and amateur football players to gain new skills to support their future career endeavours.

The post Startup Life: Jason Yau of Zyphr on the Unifying Power of Sport appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Best known for fashionable, well-cut men’s swimming trunks with prints that often nod to its Hong Kong roots, Māzú has shown agility in surviving a few tough years in the city’s fashion scene. After mass protests followed in quick succession by a pandemic, British-Chinese founder and CEO Adam Raby says that “it’s not been easy on anybody, especially a brand like us that relies on travel, and is very seasonal and niche-market”.

With travel stalled, cities are refocusing the lens on the local. Māzú has likewise gone back to its Hong Kong nautical roots, while ensuring its consumer base in this city is happy. Design notes nod towards the lush coastline, and Chinese seafaring culture and fishing heritage – a new print in the spring/summer 2021 collection is “inspired by an old Chinese nautical map of islands in this region”, Raby explains.

The local focus has also resulted in Māzú’s latest collaboration, a sophisticated Mandarin linen shirt with Atlas The Brand. A markedly more grown-up departure (Māzú is also known for its best-selling bamboo T-shirts, which work well in humid climates), this new collaboration taps an essential Asian style for a dapper summer look fit for the beach. Think a more thoughtful Māzú gentleman and less beach bro. And more new designs are coming soon, Raby promises. “As we progress as a brand, we’ll offer more resort-wear styles in the future,” he says.

For the Mandarin linen-shirt campaign images, shot in The Verandah at The Repulse Bay, Raby enlisted his friend, Hong Kong actor Carl Ng. “Simon Van Damme introduced us quite a long time ago, and I’ve always liked his look,” says Raby. “I’ve always wanted to do a linen shirt. With Carl’s long hair, it’s quite a wise look and just the right style we’re looking for.”

The development is an interesting one. This boutique men’s swim-, beach- and resort-wear label has been a local favourite since it hit the scene eight years ago. Lightweight, carefully crafted and technically minded (key for men’s swimwear), Māzú is most famous for its stylish classic swimming shorts. This summer they come in two new designs – Distant Shores and Blue Harmony – both of which are inspired by Hong Kong’s maritime history and nodding to that blend of East and West. Better yet, both are sustainably made from recycled plastic fabrics.

Sustainability has been at the core of Raby’s vision for Māzú ever since he founded the business. He recalls that back then, the options for finding good-quality recycled plastic materials were practically non-existent.

“There wasn’t much available and the quality wasn’t good enough,” Raby says, so he decided that initially the brand would donate proceeds to the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society. But with plastic being one of the biggest water pollutants, it made sense to work with that in some way.

“It was just finding the right fabrics that met my high standards and quality,” says Raby. “The one we’ve got performs extremely well in water and dries quickly, and I’m very, very proud of it.” The next progression for Māzú is to become even more sustainable. Raby says he hopes the brand transitions its entire range to recycled plastic by 2026. “I’ve always wanted to help ocean conservation,” he explains. “I’ve always had a deep relationship with the water. My grandfather was in the navy, my father was also an avid sailor and I grew up on the water as well.”

We’re at a moment where fashion is looking to future-proof itself, and this niche local men’s label is no exception. Although the eco angle might cover some environmental bases, there’ve been clear commercial challenges too. Raby talks about having to downsize the team to survive during Covid and the all-important big amp up of the online business to drive sales.

“We’ve been spending more wisely and making sure we spend right – and that’s mainly been towards the online business.” With Asia generally being slower than the West to re-open borders at this stage of the pandemic, Māzú’s traditional summer-holiday rush buys have obviously stalled, just as its European competitors are experiencing a small boost from the re-ignition of Western travel. Since 80 percent of Māzú’s sales still come from Asia, business remains reliant on the opening-up of this region for travel. Raby also says that operating in the Hong Kong fashion industry poses challenges.

“I always think to myself that if I’d done exactly the same things in the last eight years, but done it in the US or UK, this business would be far more established than it is now,” he admits. “It’s definitely difficult.” So would Raby ever move away to up his competitive edge in fashion?

“It’s a good question,” he says. “Maybe … eventually. At the end of the day, the business is based here and Hong Kong, obviously pre-pandemic, is still a central hub when it comes to travel and business – and I hope that it gets back to normal soon.”

Adapting to this moment has presented Māzú with several sink- or-swim situations. Although Raby was initially reluctant to follow a trend by adding facemasks to the product line-up at the height of the pandemic, after researching how hundreds of millions of disposable masks were polluting the sea and land, he decided to lean in.

“We worked with another Hong Kong company to produce reusable face-masks that are also made from recycled plastic. We now sell them all around Asia,” says Raby. “I guess it’s a good example of adapting to the times.”

The post Adam Raby of Hong Kong Brand Māzú on a New Exciting Collaboration appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.