History in your hands: An avid collector’s memorabilia exhibited

'Brace Yourself' displays items of heroes from the fields of sport, music, culture


A football signed by football player Lionel Messi (bottom left), football player Cristiano Ronaldo’s signed shoes (top right), a bat signed by cricketer Zaheer Abbas (bottom centre) and other memorable pieces from basketball player Michael Jordan (bottom right) and singer-songwriter Freddie Mercury (top left) on display at Pearl Continental Hotel in Karachi. PHOTOS: AYSHA SALEEM/ EXPRESS

KARACHI: From autographed tee-shirts to memorabilia football and shoes of legendary heroes from the fields of sport, music and culture, Titans Autographs and Memorabilia launched 'Brace Yourself' — an exhibit of unique pieces — at the Pearl Continental Hotel on Thursday evening.

Titans' collectible items at display included a football signed by Lionel Messi, cricketer Zaheer Abbas's signed bat, and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo's signed shoes and other memorable pieces from the likes of footballer Pelé, basketball player Michael Jordan, tennis player Serena Williams and singer-songwriter Freddie Mercury, among other items.

"All these giants inspired us. If they can do it, so can we. Titans believes in dreams and turns dreams into a reality," 18-year-old founder and president of Titans, Yusuf Amanullah enthusiastically told The Express Tribune. We need to brace these legends who have fascinated us, excelling at what they did best, be it as a music lover or a sport maniac, said the young man, who plans to study business management at the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom this fall



"Sports requires speed, determination and grit," said Amanullah, citing various examples, including an infamous quote by boxer Muhammad Ali, "That all you got, George?", which Ali whispered into boxer George Foreman's ear in a late round clinch during the historic boxing fight between the two, 'The Rumble in the Jungle', racing driver Ayrton Senna's narrow-margin win in a 1991 race and racing driver Michael Schumacher's speed on the track.

Amanullah, trying to maintain a balance between his passion and studies, was seven when he first became inspired to collect such items - his first one being a piece of paper with Schumacher's autograph, given by his teacher.

"One needs to struggle and overcome the challenges they are faced with in order to never be second-best," said Amanullah, adding that his collection is authentic to the core and the codes on each item can be double-checked from the place of inception or via the internet.

The exhibition continues in the lobby area of the hotel till Sunday evening.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2016.

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