As Ahmad Habshee continues to navigate Urban Salvation to the next level, nurture his team of talents and educate the importance of sustainability, one constant in his life has remained steadfast — his father being his greatest hero. As Men’s Folio celebrates the theme of Heroes in August, Ahmad pays a glowing tribute to his father as Father’s Day was around the corner at the time of the interview. Here, he also shares what it means to be a hero today, the self-starting days of Urban Salvation and his favourite material to work with.
HOW DID THE NAME URBAN SALVATION COME ABOUT?
It’s two parts — “Urban” stems from the urban culture of Singapore and “Salvation” is about educating people on sustainability and make beautiful furniture out of wood waste. I was from the entertainment industry where things like set designs were discarded after a single use; I salvaged those items when I first started.
DO YOU RECALL THE CHALLENGES YOU FACED WHEN URBAN SALVATION FIRST STARTED?
It was 2015, I only had myself and started with nothing more than an idea — not many investments and neither did I inherit the business. I started with a Carousell account and took it upon myself to make it a full-time job. I was lucky they [Carousell] wanted to promote me because at that time they were new and not many people were using the platform. From there I came up with more new designs; I was sure of what I wanted to do.
HAVE THESE CHALLENGES IN YOUR BUSINESS CHANGED TODAY?
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