Inside The Box: A Story of Starting Over
It was June, and on paper, life looked mapped out. I’d handed in my notice, lined up a new job, and was ready for the next chapter. But within weeks, the rug was pulled from under me. The role vanished overnight due to “restructuring,” and my old job was no longer an option.
That left me with two choices: scramble for another safety net, or finally bet on myself.
Inside The Box Clothing had existed for a while, but always on the sidelines. It was the “one day” project. The late-night sketches, the ideas scribbled down on scraps of paper. A brand that carried my perspective but never got the space to grow. Losing the job was a shock, but it also cleared the table. No more “what if?” No more waiting. It was time to go all in.
The first weeks were about rebuilding the foundations. I tore down and redesigned the website, built a rhythm with social posts, and began releasing new collections. Each telling a story, each made-to-order so nothing goes to waste. Then came the Alibi 001 backpacks, which had their own bumps (production delays, the usual chaos behind the curtain). It hasn’t been smooth, but progress rarely is. And in the middle of it all, burnout lurks. The line between passion and overdrive can blur quickly. But strangely, even in the hardest weeks, I’ve felt something I hadn’t in years: alive. Like this is the thing I was meant to be doing.
Of course, there’s still that voice. The one whispering “what if you’re wasting your time?” But I’ve realised that voice is just proof I’m pushing past the comfort zone. Proof I’m learning, stretching and growing.
Inside The Box Clothing has never just been about clothes. It’s about people who don’t fit into neat categories: the dreamers, the skaters, the football fans, the creatives, the overthinkers. People told to “think outside the box,” when in reality, everything they needed was already inside it. That’s where the name comes from.
Maybe that comes from me too. I grew up in Kazan, Russia, before building this brand in Wales. Two very different places, but both shaped me. From Russia, I carry grit and resilience. From Wales, a sense of community and belonging. Both filter into every design. It’s why a hoodie isn’t just a hoodie, or a football shirt just a football shirt. They carry stories about rebellion, about resilience, about identity.
This journey is still only just beginning. I don’t know where it will take me. But I’d rather give it everything now than one day look back haunted by the words “what if?”. This is Inside The Box Clothing. Not just a brand, but a reminder the most important things aren’t found by escaping who you are they’re already within you.