Meet Farouq Gidado

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Farouq Gidado a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Farouq , we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

I grew up thinking confidence was something you were either born with or without. So I always assumed if you were born without, then you were out of luck. I slowly learned just like most things it’s a learned trait. My confidence started to increase the more I put myself in uncomfortable situations, forcing me to practice what it felt like to be confident, even in moments I didn’t necessarily fee confident. The more I attacked situations that scared me, the more I realized on the other side of those situations, I had nothing to fear. For me that was the fastest way I was able to develop my confidence and self esteem. Do the scary thing.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I own a clothing brand called ABAS (always be about something). The brand actually turns 10 years old July 2026. The brand was created as a means to motivate, inspire and truly uplift those that wanted more for themselves. I’m especially excited for the community building that we’re focusing on! We’ve been doubling down on creating value for our tribe. Something that I feel has been special would be the amount of life lessons this brand has truly taught me and that I can then apply to all other parts of my life. As far as upcoming events, we have a drop coming before the end of the year as well as creating more community events all throughout 2026. We’re calling it the year of the villager, we want to hyper focus on creating an outlet for our community to show up not only for us, but for each other!! In order to have a community, you must first be a villager.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I would have to say, being a student is one of, if not one of the most important skill in my journey, along with having thick skin and lastly the ability to pivot/think quickly!

I genuinely accepted that I knew nothing when I first started, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t learn. I used to and still do 7 hours of studying a week, what that looks like is 7 hours out the week, I consume content, look up ads, and just look at how other brands I look up are moving or even how they’re conveying their brand message to me. This isn’t something I started off doing right away, I wish it was, but it’s something I tell anyone when asked advice. I’ve always loved the concept of “you don’t have to reinvent the wheel”

Secondly having thick skin is a must! I learned early on that things will not always go your way, and your ability to take what’s happening and not internalize it as failure but more so lesson on what doesn’t work. Also having thick skin in the sense of being not being upset when ppl don’t support you, you have to accept NO ONE OWES YOU ANYTHING, I see a lot of ppl get upset and mad about “their friends” shopping here or there and not supporting them. Something I’ve learned is if I want the support of ppl, how well have I created a brand that directly competes with those that already have their attention.

Lastly the ability to pivot is so vital! Being able to receive feedback, not take it personal and adjust in real time so you can be successful.

What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?

The ability to take accountability! The past 12 months have taught me when things work out, it’s due to the work I put in, when things don’t work out, it’s due to the lack of work I didn’t put in. I understand other factors might have a hand in a person’s success. The people you come across, the rooms you put yourself in etc. The most valuable lesson I’ve learned is people like to help those that help themselves. And once I decide to not run from doing the work. I was able to see more growth and community! And that started with accountability from myself. Accepting that I was where I wanted to be because I wasn’t doing enough or I was refusing to stop doing what wasn’t working.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Shopabas.com
• Instagram: @abasclothing

Image Credits

Haki Humphrey

@iamhakihumphrey