Be Your Authentic Self

Authenticity.. you either love or hate it. What I mean by that is, living to your truest self always makes you happier. Straying away from that is like a cat trying to be a dog. People hate what they see in the mirror, but only because they have a mask on.

I’ve had the mask on for most of my life. Seeking approval from people who didn’t know the real me. All they used to see was a guy without a past; swagger and a smirk. And for a time, it worked in my favor. I got what I wanted, but not what I needed. I chased riches, the freedom, a life with no strings attached. People bought the act and so did I.

The dream sold to most is; work a job you don’t like to buy things you don’t need. To put into perspective, life is short. Everything you want is only going to bring you temporary happiness. What I needed in my life was peace. The people I was attracting in my life was only chaos, and that’s only because that’s what I wanted at the time.

Rucking is a form of exercise people do to have better discipline. You carry a weight, and walk ‘till you can’t anymore. This inspired me to not only create the brand Ruck but also integrate the chaos in my life. I chose the weight and how far I go with it, I controlled the fire and turned it into a spark.

What Ruck is to me is owning up to your mistakes, and remembering who you were before all this. We like to fight it, run from it, or become numb to it. Facing your demons is like walking into the fire. What I needed to understand is that the fire was made to strengthen me. Every time I was hurt I chose to be alone and face the hurt in a way that not only I was able to prevent the mistake from happening again, but also being at peace with what did happen.

I see the new sweatpants as a manifestation of me in clothing form, as silly as it sounds I will explain. The flares at the bottom is freedom and movement, the waistline is rigid and structured, the way the pants taper from top to bottom is precision and discipline, the prints symbolize boldness and clarity with purpose. “Heal The World” by becoming your best self.

As much as I talk about looking in the mirror, it’s important to realize everybody has a different lens. You can’t guarantee everything will always be good but you can guarantee how you will grow. Take the first step, and the rest will follow.

- Aljerico