#FEELGOOD: SA engineer leaves everything behind to follow fashion dreams
Sometimes you have to take the leap and follow your dreams...
We just love deserving people who thrive, especially if they’re proudly South African!
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So you already know that as soon as we heard Athenkosi Gexa’s story, we couldn’t help but clap our hands.
The 27-year-old Capetonian is a qualified electrical engineer. He started studying at Northlink College in 2015 and was convinced that his chosen field was what he was meant to do for the rest of his life.
Working in various engineering companies to make a living so that I could afford to put food on the table for my family was the main priority. Life becomes very challenging when you become the only breadwinner in the house.
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However, he soon realised that he might not be cut out for the industry:
I was stressed, depressed, hurt and lost hope that I would make something of myself in the engineering world. I just knew I had to make a change in my life.
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But what would he do now?
He decided to risk it all and follow his heart, which was set on fashion design.
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He hung up his hard hat, swapped it for a sewing machine, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Athenkosi creates all his designs in his bedroom and in November 2020 he established his clothing brand, Truth.
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He borrowed money from his brother to start his business for which he designs patterns, does the grading, cutting, sewing, embellishments, trimming, and packaging.
Since then he’s been nominated and won awards and has started making his mark in the SA fashion industry.
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You can find his designs at Truth Gexa Designs on Facebook.
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Main image courtesy of Truth Gexa Designs/Facebook