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Beyond Hope | Hassan Sheheryar Yasin | TEDxPIFD


[Music]
and I can’t tell you what a journey it’s
been but the speaker before me wonderful
congratulations you speak so well and so
invigorating and I probably might be
able to do that for you today but I will
tell you a story the way he started the
story which is of my first memory I want
you to remember what all these guys said
today we talked about discipline we
talked about Drive we talked about
direction we talked about fears we
talked about successes and failures we
talked about being able to have stigma
but most importantly all of it comes
across as one singular subject for me
and that for me has been hope life is
about hope and the moment you lose hope
is a moment that life is over I’m gonna
tell you a story and it’s a very
personal story and I wasn’t really
thinking of telling the story I want to
be very honest with you guys I love
speaking to I like the sound of my voice
I’m sure everyone else does too but I
wasn’t ready for this today because I
quite frankly had forgotten I was
supposed to do this today today is 24
years of me being in fashion I’m
celebrating today 24 years and also
today I’m standing very proud because
we’ve just started a new initiative
called the Knights initiative it’s a
time where women are at war asking for
what is rightfully theirs not raising a
voice because have always had it but
asking for that voice to be heard that
they deserve the respect and the courage
and the honesty and the same rights that
all men do
that we started a night initiative today
which we’re raising funds at our store
hoping to build a school for
impoverished women so this couldn’t be
in a better data standard you know my
own school to be able to talk about this
but that’s not why I’m here and that’s
not what I want to talk about I want to
talk about my life I’ll start with this
and you might not like you because
they’ll come off slightly arrogant I’ll
say hi I’m HS why there are obviously
different intonations that you’ll think
of that but let me start by journey with
what he had left off what is my first
memory this will be personal and I
apologize if anyone thinks this too
personal to explore but I think it’s
important my first memory is of crime my
first memory isn’t of laughter my first
memory is of people fighting parents
throwing things at each other my first
memories of a two-year-old being taken
out of the house from the backdoor by my
mother and then my only sister to run
away from what is not considered right
in those times which is a divorce my
mother and father are first cousins and
I have to say that my mother and father
both come from very well-to-do
backgrounds but I didn’t grow up that
way
not at all my mother and my father when
they separated my father at that time
was the youngest politician youngest M&A
chief flip of a big political party and
a minister my mother was of the American
school background in a spoiled brat and
probably hadn’t worked a day in her life
but she took us for a better life
outside this country
my first few years are spent in a
woman’s hostel as where my mother could
not have children my first three years
of my life I don’t think I even uttered
a word because we were snuck in and
snuck out of the window of a women’s
hostel where we would live with my
mother on a single mattress our
television was nothing my sister now
would draw it on it on a wall and
pretended it was there I didn’t have
closets we used to have a little Hitachi
de box which used to be our television
screen our closet our refrigerator
you name it I used to not understand
what being in silent was because I knew
exactly how to live in silence that
lived in my world in my imagination if
that wasn’t hard enough and it doesn’t
change you that wasn’t just the only
thing that life would throw on and I
want you to keep counting these because
I want you to know that there was only
one way that you’re gonna come out of
any of those it’s the first word that I
told you we moved to London I was eight
years old we moved with my sister and my
mother and we didn’t move to London and
oh we’re going to London or go to
Harrods and sexy fish in Hakkasan and
all of the cool things no we were in
horrible side of London where my mother
worked three jobs at the age of eight I
used to walk to school very far away and
unfortunately we lost custody of my
sister who I would never see for the
next ten years of my life
moved back to the bike where my mother
worked again at the age of eleven I got
my first job at the age of eleven I used
to help her out in a grocery store and
put away the items honest in while she
would work not allowed what we would do
it at the age of twelve we moved to the
United States and at the age of twelve
we started our life all over again she
went she used to have four jobs
she used to pump gas and a petrol pump
she used to babysit children I used to
teach English because that was the one
thing that I knew how to do and I used
to put books away in a library it didn’t
bother me I was to go to school where
all the best kids went to school because
my mother made sure that I got message
ocation but I didn’t go in a car
I walked running a bike after that my
sister came back and I found my life
again
I was 16 years old at the top of my life
living in the United States and suddenly
ours back to normal working two jobs my
mother was working four jobs
my sister was working two jobs my father
was rich my family was rich it didn’t
matter
I was never angry I was never upset came
back to Pakistan for four days only four
days at the age of 16 life all set all
normal everything done and came back to
get our green card it was how it was
done you came back to the country of
origin to get your green card to go back
to the United States of America came
back for four days not knowing a word of
her to not understanding what this
country was because you have to remember
I left when I was one years old had
blonde hair with hair down to here with
a big flip I was like yo what’s going on
man this is like a cool city well I love
it so my cousin’s loving him but four
days later we go to the American Embassy
and by that time they found out who my
father is and they take our passport and
they cut it into half and they tell us I
cannot go back to the United States for
the next ten years I’m in Pakistan no
job no education no future my mother
gets a job here and I’m 16 the job paid
or four thousand rupees a month see that
with that job she went and wanted to put
me to school not a single school would
take me the family wanted to help but my
mother is a proud strong independent
woman she was brought up with great
luxury but she told us that we must work
for it
so no school would take me we couldn’t
afford American school I couldn’t afford
any school so I walked over to a school
that I’d seen down the street where all
my cousin’s went there not so rich ones
the super rich ones went to Elias and
the semi rich ones went to this
beautiful campus in defense called
beacon house I found out where the head
office was I walked in didn’t have money
to go so you have to understand in those
days the office used to be in Goldberg
and we used to live in a small level 5
Marla upstairs one bedroom space that we
used to share with two families and I
walked there and I walked into the
office of miss Monica Suey and I said my
mother’s inside and they let me in and
when I walked and I closed the door and
I put a chair in front of it and she had
her choice and she’s like what’s
happening people are banging on the door
and I said I’m here my mom is amazing
I’d like to think I’m amazing I have no
future here but I have to study
education is key my Nana was the
principal of central model school for
nearly 20 years and education is for 50
years my grandmother my mother’s nanny
went to Oxford at the time when women
don’t educate themselves and my mother’s
nanny was the first lady doctor of India
education was in our blood and I knew I
had to educate so I said look you have
to let me go to school I have to go to
school you have to let me go and this
has happened that’s happen so she said
that’s fine she believed in me and I
have to say this experience you’ll find
you must speak your mind because some
people will believe in you and she did
and I got a new beacon house
two months later I was the head boy of
the school rest no debate Society
president Dramatic Society I was the
king
it was fantastic next year I go into
Lucas Lucas gives me immense pleasure to
go to because they they find out I did
straight A’s and my old levels I go to
LA cos I’m now again press no debates
president dramatics everything’s going
great
it’s Ramsar imagine it’s raining I’m in
the debate Society we’re learning to
beit’s
everyone’s hungry I say okay listen I’ve
got it all together I’m gonna go get
food for everyone so we were on to this
place called pea kabob do you all
remember playing a kebab record player
could kebab with my best friend’s
driving in the car and it’s raining and
pouring outside and we had these bunch
of kebabs in our hand and I ripped the
kebabs open because asan starts
happening and I’m starving and I like to
shockingly enough I really like to fast
because it makes me feel happy and I’m
quickly put the kebabs in my mouth and
what gets fogged up and suddenly our car
swerves off the road hits a barrier I
fly through the windscreen and I become
blind for a year
up
down up
done
doesn’t matter I lose my sight the
doctors mess up instead of taking the
glass out they compress it first and all
the glass was inside my face and I get
400 stitches on my face
I lose my eyesight I lose my eyelids and
I lose all sight completely doctor say
I’ll never get it back
I give myself to this gorgeously amazing
medical facility facility that now I
love so much and they do 16 surgeries on
me 16 I want you to remember what one
surgery feels like you get a surgery you
heal it hurts you become okay they cut
you up again it hurts you he’ll do it 16
times and now do it on your eyes it’s
not fun I didn’t speak I was very upset
with God but I didn’t lose hope and I
continued and after a year year and a
half I got my sight back I got my sight
back and the first thing I ever saw is
that one thing that all of you guys are
right now flooded with is the color red
if you’ve noticed in my all my
collections I always do a red red is the
color of life for me it’s the only thing
I could see for maybe three months after
that when I did finally get my sight
back and I realized that I was this
horrible mutation of a man which my
friends when you get lose your sight I’m
gonna tell you something when you lose
your sight the worst thing that happens
to you is that your ears your hearing
becomes insane you can hear your mother
crying for down rooms down you can hear
your friends calling you Frankenstein or
Frankie let’s just quickly go check out
Frankie and leave remember I was a
popular kid I was the head boy school I
was president dramatics this that the
other
now I had nothing so I wasn’t all that
much of a hot property for one few weeks
I was fun to go visit but after that no
wanted to come and see Frankie he was a
quite boring guy didn’t matter to me but
because of my hearing was so solid I
told my mother that I hear my own inner
thoughts and my inner thoughts tell me
that I know you want me to be a lawyer I
know some house everybody was blue be a
politician and I want to make you proud
mom I really do I want to make you proud
so let me do what I really want to do I
want to design I want to go to fashion
and I want to do what all designers do
make beautiful things I don’t want to do
fashion because I wanna be famous I
don’t want to be a designer because I
want to have the most likes on Instagram
I want to make beautiful things because
I haven’t had I had been in darkness for
too long my mom was amazing she said yes
I went gave a test to Pakistan School of
Fashion Designers it was called an
Buxton Institute of Fashion Design and I
got in and I apply for scholarship and I
got it for the first month after the
first month the scholarship was taken
away the government did not have money
for scholarships and working at that
time was not allowed
I secretly thomason ateva found out
later on Gus is to tell her had four
jobs in Pakistan School of Fashion
Design I used to be a checkout boy at
case and has to put the stuff away in
the bag and hand it to people I used to
be a painter ie a painter and bricklayer
who used to stand at main market where
the pickup workers and Shalaka miss on
the weekend and I used to hold the
bricks and I was one of the people who
put the bricks down when peace was being
built and besides that I used to go and
glue bags together at a glue factory for
leather wear I would wear a mask and I
used to be so nauseous that I used to be
vomiting the entire day and the school
used to think that I was perhaps on some
kind of chemicals myself I don’t have
the guts to tell them that I was
inhaling so much fume that I couldn’t
keep my face straight I graduated at the
top of my class at the IFT and I gave
the valedictorian speech with my best
friend my Encarta Ellie it was an
amazing moment then what happened now
I’m famous because by this time I’m all
redirecting shows i’m hsy
in the sense of the word that people
know me i have graduated with best
honours from an amazing school fashion
is booming no one would hire me I’m a
guy in a world of fashion where
designers were just still trying to go
around there either fragile egos or a
business they didn’t want anyone in my
best friends wouldn’t hire me because my
mother didn’t have the money and
whatever Ani I had made which I had made
quite a bit in those four years mind you
I got my sister married off so I was
strapped but it didn’t matter
I had 2500 rupees left
2500 rupees left of the last thing in my
bag wallet and a zookeeper not even a
Jew key rocket key machine without a
machine in it I told my mother on 5th
December 2000 57 mm by that time we burn
already know me as h sy but I don’t know
brand I said I’m gonna start a brand so
I took this machine went to Anarkali
on a rickshaw came back Twitter didn’t
cost me two thousand rupees with the
rest I bought threads and big kimchi and
some rulers but I had no money for
fabric I cut up every single fabric
there was sheets my mother’s curtains
you name it I cut it all up and made the
ugliest five clothes in the world – then
what were the most beautiful clothes and
I got this beautiful lady who wanted to
be a model who was a friend of mine who
I just met in some kind of shop
her name was Amana Lee and she said I
want to be a model and I said he has a
great idea you you’re beautiful I said
I’ve got two amazing friends my sisters
friends once called uh Turin one
squashes are then we should do it a
shoot because they have a camera and we
did that shoot and it was the start of
HS line since then
we’ve had lots of trials and
tribulations
and I want to now see again today HS
live is zero debt zero lung zero
investor we are one of the largest
brands in the country we’ve never taken
a single penny we hire more women than
any other company in the pie in the
country today I am the spokesperson and
gift site to 350 people through help of
LR BT we build schools have just adopted
a village to be able to take care of
improper schwimmen and I am hsy
what does that mean hope is everything
so with that note I don’t want to
depress you and would I excite you I
don’t want to put you down and leave you
with a tear I want to tell you this none
of it has broken me none of us made me
feel I’m less or I’m more I don’t have a
superiority conflict as much as it being
seemed to a lot of people I’m just shy
I have no inferiority complex because
I’ve never felt that inferior to anyone
I believe in only one thing which is
what I think everyone is spoken about
from the amazing gentleman who flies and
still rides a bike and talks about going
to journeys at the age of 62 to the
amazing boy who I’ve worked with Hashem
who truly knows no impossibility the
gentleman here who spoke about having
addictions of like ability or not like
ability but still stands here like what
the world was likable personalities ever
come across in so long and the gentleman
who could make us laugh by talking about
shy the free these oh and still get us
going what all do they have they have
hope they have hope for a better life
and they have hope that they can be
better so on that note I tell you this
you are the future of our country you
are the future of this industry we work
really hard to build it now you have to
take it on forward don’t worry about if
you have talent don’t worry if you have
good enough or not just worry that you
always have Oh
thank you [Applause]
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