Farabi Khaleque on his brand, CLOUDZILLA and on mental health
Unsinkable Storytelling Author: Farabi Khaleque
Meet Farabi Khaleque, the 18-year-old digital creator and founder of the health and wellness brand, CLOUDZILLA. Despite his young age, Farabi has already made a name for himself in the digital world being an ambassador and collaborating with numerous big brands on social media. Through his work with CLOUDZILLA, Farabi has shown a passion for promoting healthy living to his growing audience. But he doesn’t stop there. With his deep understanding of the power of digital marketing, this young entrepreneur and trailblazer has also expanded his brand by launching his own successful online shop, CLOUDZILLA: The Official Shop. Farabi's dedication and entrepreneurial spirit have earned him a well-deserved spot as a rising star. Join us as we learn more about his journey and the inspiration behind CLOUDZILLA.
For those who aren't familiar, please detail the mission and focus of CLOUDZILLA.
CLOUDZILLA advocates for a better and healthier lifestyle. It amplifies diverse voices and it’s a community for people to become more accepting of talking about mental health in their daily lives as well as other important issues. My brand’s goal is to connect, educate, and empower people to lead happy, healthy lives while being their best possible selves.
How old were you when you started your brand & what inspired you to create it?
The idea for CLOUDZILLA came to me at fifteen years old when the whole world was quarantined. I started posting some motivational and wellness posts to give people hope during that awful time. To my surprise, people started engaging with them, and soon, my followers were increasing. It wasn’t long before I realized that if I took the time to perfect it and put in the effort, I could possibly turn this into something much bigger.
How does storytelling, or sharing lived experiences, show up in the work you do?
When people share their experiences, it's easier for us to relate to those situations when people describe them in the form of stories. We are able to sense and realize that we may not be alone and that someone else may have experienced something similar to us. With CLOUDZILLA, I make sure that those stories and experiences feel heard through its posts and content.
What has social media’s role and impact been in the development of CLOUDZILLA?
With the pandemic putting mental health and wellness into sharp focus, social media has given us a platform to open up and share our stories and experiences and this has become increasingly more common. The posts that CLOUDZILLA shares have the possibility of reaching more people than we could imagine and positively helping them because we never know who is struggling and whom it might help. I believe social media plays a significant role in helping humans communicate and raise awareness for issues like mental health or climate change and that’s exactly what CLOUDZILLA stands for. I hope its impact continues to be positive.
How has creating an online shop for CLOUDZILLA been like?
It's been great! I was able to create designs that truly represented CLOUDZILLA and its values. Prior to its launch, I held an open casting call online to find dedicated individuals to showcase its apparel and accessories. To my surprise, it received close to 300 applicants. With that, I had the opportunity to speak with some incredible individuals who were just as passionate about mental health and wellness and wanted to take part in something that genuinely promoted it. CLOUDZILLA: THE OFFICIAL SHOP had an amazing first drop in October and I’m excited for what the future has in store for it.
How do you envision CLOUDZILLA continuing to support and/or advocate for mental health and wellness in the future?
In the future, I think having an organization by CLOUDZILLA to help mental health as well as other important causes would be a great idea. I would also like to work with some experts, such as dermatologists, nutritionists and a few other specialists to create a line of helpful products benefitting mental health, wellness and hygiene.
How do you deal with setbacks in your life?
I believe our setbacks in life allows us to pause and reflect on certain situations. Whenever I experience one, it helps me to identify what i want or don’t want in this next stage or step of my life. It's important to not be discouraged whenever we encounter one, whether it’s in our personal or professional life. We should look at it as a valuable learning experience. I also see it as an opportunity to reassess our life.
How do you stay resilient and maintain a positive outlook?
Amid all the stress, assignments and workload I may have in a week, I still try to make time for myself, even if I’m experiencing a hectic one. It gives me an opportunity to get a positive outlook on my tasks ahead without it stretching my mental health to its limit.
I also try to look at my failures and mistakes as lessons to be learned from, and as an opportunity for growth.
Its important to never view our failures and mistakes as a negative reflection on our abilities or our self-worth. That’s what being resilient is all about. It’s our ability to bounce back and being able to adapt to situations that may have not gone like we planned. It’s not always easy to do so but the more we try, ultimately, the better we become.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently in the process of writing a book for CLOUDZILLA on mental health and which is essentially a guide with tips and tricks on leading a positive and happy life from everything I learned. If everything goes well, it should be available on Amazon soon. I’m also working on upcoming merch drops and new innovative ways to make CLOUDZILLA better. As for me, I’ve always enjoyed storytelling whether that’s in writing or in the entertainment field. I have some exciting projects in both those fields in the works.
You can find both Farabi Khaleque and his brand, CLOUDZILLA on Instagram:
Read Farabri’s story here!