It’s late on a Sunday evening and I’m sitting on the sidelines of the Vermont Sporstlink courts, patiently waiting for my game to start. I finish rolling my socks up and observe the game before mine being played. These teams are familiar to me, it’s last against 2nd and the result should be a formality. I watch on and in a moment of unknowing brilliance, whilst attempting to clear the ball, the goalkeeper blindly hoofs the ball from inside his D and as the world and time slows down, I follow the ball as it sails over all 8 outfield players, over the opposing goalkeeper and lands at the back of the net. A moment passes, the stadium stunned, before the last place team players erupt, scream and bombard the keeper in celebration as the scoreboard changes from 9-0 to 9-1. The passion in their celebration reminds me of the time I was watching our Head Designer Kui score his first international goal for Timor Leste against Myanmar. That step over down the line before the left foot rocket into the top corner as he dropped to his knees, both fingers to the sky and the game changer for his country, in that brief but extraordinary moment.
Ordinary is such a vague word, it can mean everything and nothing at the same time. It means different things to different people but at the end of the day, the concept of Ordinary is just based off a person’s mindset. Scoring a tap in goal can seem “Ordinary” for some, but for someone coming back from a 12 month ACL injury, the same accomplishment is extraordinary. From the start, the team and I always saw ourselves as a brand that celebrates and supports peoples journeys and lifestyles towards better, acknowledging that different people are at different parts of the journey. Simple things are underappreciated, such as balancing a 9-5 job in amongst living a healthy lifestyle and training for a niche sport, to weeks and weeks of recovery from a knee injury to come back and kick a ball competitively.
Our Never Ordinary campaign celebrates the things that make people never ordinary and highlights the achievements that we miss when we’re too focused on the end goal. Over the coming weeks, you’ll hear some of the AKU team’s and our customers “Never Ordinary” stories and help highlight how the brand is committed to self improvement in everyone!
Ruz Roslan, Founder