Dumb Love
Role: Creative & Brand Strategy Assistant (Internship to CEO)
Dumb Love is an Austin-born apparel brand rooted in court sports and built on a singular ethos: "Casually Athletic, Socially Competitive." As the founder's sole assistant, I operated as a hybrid strategist, creative director, and operations partner, bridging high-level brand strategy with day-to-day execution during a crucial period of retail expansion and product growth.
In a crowded activewear market dominated by hyper-performative, high-intensity sportswear brands, Dumb Love needed to build distinct brand equity and drive direct-to-consumer sales without losing its relaxed, community-driven Austin identity.
Traditional activewear focuses on competition, performance metrics, and extreme sweat. But modern court culture - pickleball, rec tennis, and social sports - is about community, style, and post-game hangouts. Dumb Love wanted to own the space between athletic gear and everyday streetwear. Frame the apparel not as fitness gear, but as a uniform for the "casually athletic."
Product Drop Strategy: Developed narrative angles and mobile-first ad concepts to launch new product collections, including the Flag T-Shirt line.
Performance Creative: Created story-format social ads for Instagram optimized for mobile feed scanning, driving both brand awareness and direct conversions during key seasonal pushes.
Brand Operations: Worked side-by-side with the owner across operations, retail partner alignment, and creative direction to ensure every customer touchpoint reflected the brand's core positioning.
Results: Story spots launched during summer 2025 and remained in active ad rotation due to strong performance metrics and clear brand alignment.
