Saudi Gazette

Disturbed at what he perceived was a lack of appreciation for Saudi culture, 23-year-old Riyadh-native Yazeed Abahussein set out to inspire young Saudis to influence each other through creativity and passion.

After spending four years of studying marketing at San Diego State

University, the young graduate came back to the Kingdom and grew tired of hearing that Riyadh was boring due to a lack of activities.

“This was before the country opened up to entertainment but even so, stereotypes can continue because the ‘boring’ label is stuck in the minds of the people,” he said.

“I love Riyadh very much. We, as Saudis, have so much to offer.

However, I feel that we are not doing enough to show that Riyadh is one

of the most beautiful destinations in the world. Not only Riyadh but

every city of the Kingdom, duo to the diversity in customs, traditions,

cuisines, etc,” he added.

Yazeed believed that there are different ways to show people locally and

internationally that living in Riyadh is everything but boring.

“We don’t have to change ourselves or follow people from other cultures to be cool. We are cool in the way we are. That was the reason behind me starting my brand and name it Not Boring to impact people to see and do things differently in Riyadh,” he explained.

Yazeed believes that it is important to show people how to embrace

culture on one’s own terms and how to modernize traditions.

“Giving our daily routine a twist is what makes it Not Boring.”

Not Boring has many segments to cover all parts of lifestyle. Cooperating with his friend, fashion designer Yazeed Alshehri who is the creative mastermind behind Izy Design, the duo produced three different jackets and named each after a landmark in the Kingdom.

“We tagged each jacket with the name of a landmark and a brief description to make it a whole experience. We made fur jackets which

already exist in our culture but ours are trendy and appeal to the younger generation,” he said.

Considered heavy and dated, fur is shunned by most in the Kingdom. To make it more appealing, the duo made special cuts and integrated different fabrics with different designs and colors to achieve their goal.

“We made it free size. So that all people can wear the same size and piece. It was not easy but we delivered what we wanted to deliver, which is adopting something from our time-honored culture and modernize it so it appeals to the younger generation, “he added.

The duo is exhibiting their designs in in Dubai and Kuwait and hope to leave the region and exhibit in London and New York in the near future to “show that our designs and culture can be seen internationally and loved by everyone.”