Be You. #SPEEDANDSPIRIT

Asha Harpers’s story:

Born and raised in London, England, Asha Harper’s favorite childhood sport was running, specifically, the 100 meter sprint. It’s no surprise then that she pursued sports shoe design as her profession, especially at PUMA, the brand that is FOREVER FASTER. A Junior Designer for Color and Materials in Sportstyle Footwear, running is still her go-to sport--the ideal way to clear her head and create positive energy.

Asha started her career at Dr.Martens in Camden Town, London. Then, intrigued and inspired by PUMA’s collaborations with Solange Knowles and Rihanna, she made the leap across the English Channel to Germany. Her work is project based and is dictated by trends. Each new project demands speed, but as a sprinter, this is no sweat for Asha.

“At PUMA, being yourself is a must”

Her advice to other young designers and creatives is this: Never say never. You just have to push for absolutely everything you believe in, even if you have to go out on your own. She goes on to talk about the fact that lots of ideas just haven’t come of age yet. Today’s crazy idea could be tomorrow’s million-dollar design. So, she says, if you are going to risk, risk everything and give 120%.

“It’s like freedom of speech but instead it’s freedom to create.”

At PUMA, being yourself is a must, Asha reports, individuality here is a plus. She talks about the doubts she had when she first started, You ask yourself constantly, “Is this right? Is this wrong?” But she explains that the more opportunities she’s gotten to create and present her work, the more she has realized that there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong,’ there is just you. This spirit of creative freedom at PUMA has produced a fearlessness in Asha that guides her work on a daily basis.

She waxes almost poetic when she says, It’s like freedom of speech but instead it’s freedom to create.