1) Can you start by telling us about yourself?
My name is Mudassir, and I am 22 years old. I am currently in my last semester at North South University, and my major is Marketing. I call myself an Instagram influencer, a content creator as well as an entrepreneur who dreams to be something big someday.
2) What inspired you to become ‘Minimal Mudassir’?
It was extremely random. When I started my university life, I was extremely fat. And I won’t lie, I always wanted to become famous and earn a lot of money. And the simplest way to get famous was to go viral on YouTube. People didn’t really use Instagram back then and we got to see Salman Muqtadir, Raba Khan, and many others on YouTube. And, to do something like that, you’d have to be spontaneous and have many gadgets. But, I’m not like that, I’m shy and feel suffocated in big crowds.
I had started to think about how to finance myself. I used to get money from my parents but there was always a budget restriction, as there should be. So, I started to tutor kids, but I was never fond of it as I saw myself as an average student.
During my 6th/7th semester, I had a mental breakdown that I’m not really helping out in the family whereas my sisters had been earning since they were 18. Then I met Naziba Naushin in her last semester at North South University. We became friends and I realised how much I loved fashion. We would get dressed up, go out to eat here and there and then post on Instagram. I made my account public with increasing followers and people started to ask where I got my shoes from, or my T-shirt from, etc. So one day, Naziba sent me a link to some Indian fashion bloggers, and asked me to start this journey with her. We started posting weekly, we used to plan that on Thursdays we’d dress up and go out to take pictures to uplift our Instagram profiles.
Naziba was very good in videography and used to experiment and all. And so, one day Apex contacted her to make a video for them. So, we did, and that was our first professional work. And after that, different small brands started to contact us and sent me their products to take pictures in. And small brands have a low budget, so I used to edit my photos myself before sending the photos to them to decrease their hassles.
3) What’s the reason behind the name ‘Minimal Mudassir’?
There are two type of fashion to me, ‘extreme’ and ‘comfortable’. You can wear something very normal and still be fashionable if you know how to accessorise it properly. So, I think I named myself ‘Minimal Mudassir’ because I don’t think you always have to choose extreme fashion to be stylish, you just need to have the right idea to fit in to be fashionable.
4) How did you come up with Studio MM?
About 2 years ago, a brand reached out to me and asked me to work with them as a visual assistant and handle all of their social media pages. And I did take that opportunity as I needed money and I wasn’t tutoring kids. I worked there for a year and I got to know how to run a business.
When I was young, I used to sketch designs as I wanted to be a designer and my parents used to be like ‘You want to work at a tailor when you grow up?’ and all that typical criticism. But I always wanted to create affordable fashion for people.
I started my journey as an Instagram blogger, worked behind the scene in the fashion industry, and even started modelling. So, I believe that since I’ve worked in these 3 different but relatable segments, I should move on to my next project as I’m someone that can’t sit around doing one type of job for long. And, since I thought that I had earned enough knowledge and it was the right time, I started something new.
‘MM’ obviously stands for ‘Minimal Mudassir’ but I named it Studio MM because I’d like to think of it as a studio where you get all sorts of fashion, the way you’d see me portraying. Hopefully I can bring it all under one roof.
5) How were you affected by the pandemic, both professionally and personally?
Honestly, I feel like I needed this break. I can actually sit at home and process out plans for the future rather than going out and working every day. I’m spending more time with my family as well as helping them. I’m learning how to make new dishes, and maintaining a healthier lifestyle. So, I think the pandemic is helping me to become a better person, to achieve things that I couldn’t in my usual lifestyle.
But, professionally, it’s different. It’s Ramadan now and Eid is the biggest event of the year in Bangladesh with the biggest sales and everything. I started planning for the Asir collection about six months ago. I went to India for all the resources and materials, and expected the collection to do better than the Studio MM casual-wear line. Unfortunately, the pandemic changed all our plans. Still, I won’t complain, the response has been amazing.
6) What precautions are you taking while delivering your products?
The packaging is not done by paper but a glossy material on which if you spray water or disinfectant, it won’t ruin the products inside. So, after packaging the orders, I would put disinfectant on it and then insert the package in a polybag for which the package can’t be touched by the delivery man. I used Koopon and Pathao and ensured the deliverymen were maintaining their hygiene and wearing masks and gloves while delivering the goods. I would put the package outside my house and the deliveryman would take it from there so that there is no physical interaction between us. And, what I’ve noticed is that the customers receive the products two days after it is delivered as most buildings have this new rule now because of the pandemic that you won’t be able to get instant access to the things you order. We even send our customers sanitizers because we care about our customers. I love them and this is the smallest thing I could do for them.
7) Are you trying to share awareness in any manner?
At first the pandemic seemed to have frustrated us all, that nobody was in the mood to work from home or even take it seriously. I’m sure you got annoyed by the change as well, everyone did. But we do have a decent number of followers, and we have a responsibility towards them. So, we worked on a campaign with Xomad agency, and the campaign was associated with CNN and National Bank. We created awareness posts and also created content to let people know how they could enjoy the quarantine since all other outlets were telling them the necessary steps to stay safe anyway.
I also worked on a campaign with Foodpanda, where they delivered groceries within 30-40 minutes while maintaining their hygiene, and I shared that information with my followers as much as I could.
8) If the pandemic goes on for a few more months or even years, how are you planning on dealing with it and running your business?
In the worst-case scenario, I’ll have to shift my business completely to an online platform. I don’t have a store, but I did do pop-up events or exhibitions where I sell my products in stalls. Since, the customers won’t be able to see the products upfront, I might have to show the collection online. I’ll have to give them one on one service and maybe even send tailor to their house to customise their products.
9) What’s the biggest difference you have felt between being an Instagram blogger and being an entrepreneur?
When you’re only a blogger or a model, people won’t see you as a threat and would easily hire you. But, when you have your business to run, a lot of brands hesitate to work with you thinking you might get inspired by their work and do something yourself. And, I completely understand why as I won’t hire people from another brand to work for mine who would get to know my thought process and my plans for my business.
I could work with whichever brand that had offered to work with me, but now since I have my own brand to make, I can’t promote others as it would conflict my interests in the long run.
10) Who has supported you the most when you decided to work on Studio MM?
I would say it was my mom because I remember the day I told her the idea. My parents have always told me to focus on my studies first, and then I could do whatever. So, my dad had completely dismissed the idea, telling me not to do it as I’m too young now. But my mom believed in me, telling me to do it if I really wanted it to happen. She even helps me pick the fabric and tells me what looks good and what doesn’t. And after a while, my dad started to help me as well with the garments and delivery.
Also, I have 3 best friends in different places who have been my biggest support system. They always push me to be the best version of myself. They’re the reason I went on with launching Asir even though I was really bummed out by the pandemic at first.
So yeah, it’s all of them with my mom being the biggest supporter yet the biggest critic in my life.
11) Have you become a TikTok celebrity during the lockdown?
I tried to haha I used to think that TikTok is very cringy but when I downloaded it, I got to see some really good ones. Besides, there is a limit to people watching educational videos, so I tried to be a little entertaining. And, maybe one day I’d tell my kids that during the pandemic, I became a TikTok star haha.
12) What are the 3 apps you’re using most during the lockdown?
First would be Instagram, second is Facebook, and then there’s a tie between WhatsApp and TikTok haha not because I create content, no, but because I’ll just sit and watch other’s videos all day as it is very entertaining haha
13) Who do you talk to most, besides your family, now?
I can’t really name one person; I’d say it’s a group of friends. When all 3 of them were in Bangladesh, we used to hang out every Friday as we used to be busy for the rest of the week. So, we had this one day where we went wherever we wanted and did whatever we felt like and since we got only one day together, we named our messenger thread ‘TGIF’ as in ‘Thank God, It’s Friday’. Now all of us are busier with our lives but we give 30 minutes to the group every day since this is the circle that we started our university lives with. We share everything with one another, and they are always there for me. And, since I have two sisters, they are the brothers I wish I had.
14) Did you discover any hidden talents during the lockdown?
I didn’t know I could cook this good. My sisters and I always liked cooking from a very young age and our mom always allowed us in the kitchen. Now, I’m making food like butter chicken curry or brioche buns. This is the first time in forever that I’m having all 30 iftars at home, and so I try to make something every day. I know someday we’d miss it, so I try to make the most of it.
15) Name one influencer that you love working with the most.
It would be the influencer I started my journey with, Naziba Naushin. She is the one who taught me how to deal with clients. When Chatime knocked me and Naziba to create content for them, they used to give us their monthly target and we started to handle their Instagram profile.
After that, we worked for BBQ Bangladesh and Savva, and now we work for Tapout Fitness. So, by now, we worked with 4/5 brands together. If I didn’t have Naziba, I wouldn’t have known how to deal with clients or create an invoice and stuff like that. So of course, I’d name her as she has been there for me since day 1.
16) With a lot of followers comes a lot of criticism, would you agree with that?
Oh, yes, I have a lot of haters haha I had shared my transformation photos recently and a lot of people are saying that I underwent surgeries. I have big lips, which are god-gifted haha but if you asked me about my two insecurities, I’d say it’s my lips and my thighs as so many people have asked me about them. They say that my lips look fake or that I had done lip-fillers. I’m always cautious as to what people might be thinking when they look at me. My family has the same lips as me, but still people question me so much that I’m starting to think that I’d just tell them that it’s super expensive and I have to re-do them every two weeks haha because they won’t believe the truth anyway!
17) What were the 3 worst comments that you ever got?
i) Are those lips real/what lip-fillers do you use? – Yes, they’re very real, and no I don’t.
ii) You look like Karan Johar. – I don’t know if it’s a compliment or an insult.
iii) Why are you lying about your age? – I’m not!
18) What are the 3 best things that your followers have said to you?
i) ‘I love your fashion; I follow you on Instagram. You inspire me a lot.’ – this happened 3 years ago, and I didn’t really have such a high number of followers back then. He was around 13 years old and it really touched me as I put a lot of effort into creating contents. It inspired me to create more and better content to encourage the younger generation to do something that they love.
ii) Comments regarding my weight loss and how people are actually taking my advice and it is working out for them. So, sharing the same plan and struggles with them is a very big moment for me.
iii) Whenever my family comments on my content or whenever they say that they are really proud of me. Your parents appreciating your work is the biggest achievement in your life, you know.
19) Your thoughts and advice to the young generation regarding following their dreams?
You can’t just sit there and keep on thinking that you’ll do this and that, you’ll have to take actions. You have to take the first steps in any way possible. When I started my journey, I didn’t have a DSLR, I used to take photos with my phone which had a low camera quality to those being used by the young generation today. But, I still did it because I was adamant to create content
You need to be open with your parents regarding what you want to do and make them understand your vision. Yes, sometimes they won’t understand and that is when you’ll have to be determined to prove them wrong and confident in your work to do it anyway. When they’ll see you putting so much effort into something, even if you don’t succeed instantly, they’d give you a chance to try your best and wait patiently with you.
You yourself need to be very patient, believe in yourself, and not give up. You need to set realistic goals to reach your dreams. Keeping a timeline may help you understand the urgency to make things work.
And the last thing I would like to say is that you should not give up your education when you start becoming an influencer or a model. I understand that you might not be as focused as before as you’d have so much more on your plate but your education would help you make better decisions in the long run, just like my major in marketing is helping me in my business right now.
20) What are your upcoming projects?
As we’re almost done with Asir Eid-Ul-Fitr, we’d be launching the Eid-Ul-Azha collection soon after the upcoming Eid. Also, we’d be launching the Studio MM Winter Collection as well. So, yeah, I’m very excited!
21) What is your life’s motto?
I think it’d be to work hard and party harder haha because I love to enjoy life, even the smallest things. If you don’t work hard, you won’t be able to enjoy things in peace.
