Meet Nurallah “rel” Yassin | Founder/ Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nurallah “rel” Yassin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nurallah “ReL”, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
When I was in college as a freshmen I would paint and customize shoes, hats, and t-shirts. That was my first time doing something like that and I loved it. Years later I started to have t-shirts printed up with my designs that I thought of. I would walk around different places and cities where people would ask; where did you get that t-shirt from? That sparked the idea to take my hobby to the next level. The dream of having and running my own business has always been an empowering endeavor to me for a long time. I just didn’t know what exactly.

What should our readers know about your business?
WIth my company ( The ReL Clothing Brand), it was a longtime coming. I enjoyed creating and customizing and to see my ideas come to life was a great experience for me. Everytime I drop off blank garments to my printers and pick them up it’s like opening up a brand new present on chrismas. This company was started by saving up and communicating with vendors and printers months before launching. It was nerve-wracking during the weeks before my first day selling my art since I always want to do well in anything I do. I would have my girlfriend with me and that helped a lot when I sold out of my stand at Lake Merritt. I sold at that location of Lake Merritt for years and it taught me a few things along the way. I learned how to communicate with customers far as which words to say and stay away from when before making a sale. It trained me on how to work with serious deadlines. People have different styles and would make requests for certain products all the time. That let me know I needed to have a variety of products for people that have unique tastes. My brand is a representation of me and my love of graphic T-shirts and painting on garments. It highlights my ideas and beliefs which promotes fly street fashion wear that is made with good sustainable quality fabric.

I myself was born in Khartoum, Sudan a country in East Africa. My family and I came to America in ’93 and from then I fell in love with hip-hop culture which is Black American culture. You can also add my love of basketball which is my favorite sport. At the time I was six years old and I would park myself in front of the tv watching rap videos after school. Of course I loved the music but the fashion of the artist caught my eye. I would pattern my clothes and even hairstyle after hip-hop artists. For the first six months in America we lived in Dallas then we moved to Oakland to be with family members from my father’s side. As I got older I became more serious about my fashion choices and wanting to always look fresh and clean. That mentality stuck with me forever and always wanting anything that represented me to be fly and fresh.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
One of the best parts of Oakland is walking around Lake Merritt during the weekend and checking out all the vendors. We have food, clothing, jewelry, and natural healing remedy vendors that would set-up their stands around the lake from Friday until Sunday evening. You can have yourself a nice picnic without worrying about cooking since we have food vendors that make different cuisines. My favorite restaurant to go and sitdown for a delightful and exquisite meal is Y’s Choice located in the Jack London area of downtown Oakland. From lobster to lambchops this is my preferred choice when I want to treat myself. If you’re looking to hangout and walk around then you should come to downtown Oakland on a first Friday of every month. There more vendors at First Friday and every establishment along Telegraph is open for business. If you’re into spicy food you should check out Enassaro Ethiopian restaurant that’s also in the Lake Merritt Area. The food is onpoint and so are the drinks. The waiters and bartender treat you like family and it’s evident when looking at all their interactions on instagram.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My girlfriend and the mother of our beautiful baby deserves a big shout out. Her name is Jamicia Scoggins. She has been there every step of the way and was supportive from the inception of my business. From modeling my brand to coming to screen printing workshops she is an amazing partner, person, and I probably wouldn’t be here without her.

Website: https://WWW.THERELBRAND.NET

Instagram: THERELCLOTHING

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/RC-BE/100085651230932/

Other: WWW.TIKTOK.COM?@THRELBRAND1