From Concept to Celebration: The Pop-Out For Sudan Launch Story”

Pop-Out For Sudan was born out of our ambition to break out of the mold that the world has put us in for ages. We recognized the need to stand up and beat the negative expectations that the world has for people from Sudan. This is for every Sudanese who has lost someone, who has been looked down on in one way or another. Pop-Out For Sudan is not just another company, it’s a statement; a statement of freedom, a journey back to the little places that have the most impact on our lives as we journey forward.

This is why we took our inaugural event to the crux of the city of Miami! A place that is imprinted in my heart because of its integrity, vibrant energy, and the bubbling spirit of its inhabitants. Miami is like a second home for us, so it was only right that Pop-Out For Sudan launched at the Miami Pro League (i.e. “Miami Pro”), the top professional-amateur basketball league in the city of Miami.

To plan out our event, we had to step outside of the box and put on our thinking caps. Together with my business partner, Azhari Abbas, we created a pitch deck to relay our pop-up shop concept to the Miami Pro team. While waiting for our efforts to bear their fruits, we went ahead and started cold-calling various fashion brands to see if they would like to partner with us.

The countless calls and discussions brought about some clarity that we didn’t know we needed. We got asked about our objectives and the reason why their brands should get involved with us, but after what seemed like thousands of calls, we got three streetwear brands to collaborate with us: Dalageen, Elrayah, and Sahid Garments. After we forged our partnerships with these incredible brands, we needed the sun to shine on us once more, as it was time to pitch our plans to Kyle “The Commish” Davis, the founder and commissioner of Miami Pro.

Tyler “Boy Wonder” Herro (Remy Workouts) warming up during the 2023 Miami Pro Finals.

The reception from Kyle was nothing short of amazing and in the space of minutes, we got a resounding yes from Kyle to hold our pop-up during the semi-finals of the Miami Pro playoffs. We were astonished at how much Kyle was willing to help us. Right away, I candidly expressed to Kyle, 'I thought you would reject us.' To my amazement, Kyle responded with a puzzled look, 'Reject you? What do you mean, Waleed? We're family!'" This was the light at the end of the tunnel for us, and despite having only a month to plan our event, we knew there was no turning back.

To kickstart our journey, I traveled to LA and NY to gather some much-needed inspiration. In both cities, I saw fashion brand owners embody art and creativity in their purest forms. Streetwear vendors in both cities used closed business walls as makeshift displays, cleverly securing merch with thumbtacks due to the cost constraints of traditional displays. Some even were selling merch directly from their car trunks. Ultimately, being in those environments taught me that the true essence of streetwear is maximizing every opportunity at your disposal, regardless of any obstacles that may be in your way. So with limited funding, almost no social media presence, and many more challenges that we were facing, we knew we could have a successful pop-up as long as we stayed the course.

After my travels, it was time to get down to business so together with Azhari, we worked on designing the banners and drafting Instagram posts to promote the event. Fueled by our vision and everything that inspired us, we made use of our graphic design tools and contacted locals who were willing to assist with the onsite management of our event. It was amid these precious moments we decided to go with a Miami Vice theme as a tribute to the city of Miami for their continued support of our team. With this joint effort and high energy, we were able to achieve everything we set out to do and more.

Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. stopping by our pop-up.

When Azhari and I drove from my parents’ house to Miami for our event, a moment occurred that I’ll always remember. As I was sitting in the passenger seat and scrolling through Instagram, Miami Pro announced on their page that the “It is what it is” podcast, hosted by Cam’ron, Mase, and Treasure Wilson, was going to host an episode at Miami Pro that day. “Yo Cam gonna be there, this gonna be lit!”, I yelled in the car. Just a month ago, I was reminiscing with my friends about how Cam’ron influenced our style growing up from our fascination with everything from Mitchell and Ness jerseys to bootcut jeans. Being so happy that he was going to be there, I instantly made Azhari play Diplomatic Immunity, the debut album from Dipset, from front to back, and smiled from ear to ear the rest of the drive knowing that the time of my life was about to come.

Shortly after we set-up our pop-up and began looking for potential customers, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a man who was a little taller than me in a black polo and some jeans. Almost instinctively, I noticed who it was and yelled “Yo Cam’ron” and he instantly turned to me and said “What’s up” and dapped me up. Eventually, his other team members passed by too, leading to another one of our most memorable encounters for the night.

The producer of the podcast “Bub” (@lil_bub) was passing by wearing the same Undefeated Air Force 1s as I was but in another colorway. I looked at him and said, “Hey nice Forces!”, and then went on to have a great conversation where I told him how much of an avid viewer of the show I was. At the end of the conversation, I requested an IG follow for our page and he obliged. It was moments later I realized that we didn’t get a follow from Bub but from the ‘It is What It Is’ page itself! This was another major win for us because their account only followed 129 people at the time and now we were one of them! Shoutout to Bub for helping make our dreams come true!

Not long after, we had another great encounter with Jaime Jaquez Jr., The Miami Heat’s first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, when he stopped by our pop-up. After showing him what we had, a few of our tees sparked his interest which gave us a much-needed boost of confidence. John Wall and Bam Adebayo stopped for a conversation as well, and as we wondered if we were going to land that big NBA player sale, it was like the universe said, ‘Hold my cup’. We were about to be reminded again that anything can be achieved when you put your mind to it.

Miami Heat legend Udonis Haslem stopped by our pop-up after the final buzzer of the second game. What made this moment really encouraging was to see a prominent figure like UD exercise patience with us, even when everyone left for the night and our POS system lagged heavily due to poor signal. He stayed back and went through our entire inventory before he finalized his purchase of a Dalageen “Bint El Sudan” hoodie. The intentionality and appreciation from people like UD whom I’ve been looking up to for a long time felt so surreal. Imagine your favorite NBA players rocking your pieces and making fashion statements with them!

So, in truth, Miami is home to Pop-Out For Sudan, and it was evident in the level of love and backing we received from the Miami Pro team and the rest of the Miami community. This was a huge win for both Pop-Out For Sudan and these brands and we couldn’t be more thankful for everyone that made our event a success.