My name is Andrew Le and I’m what you call a ‘refugee baby’. My mom experienced the archetypal teenage pregnancy with a twist. Both my parents were just kids that escaped the Vietnam War. My father was from Laos and my mother from Vietnam. They somehow ended up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin acclimating to life in America and here I am.
I wasn’t aware that my normal life was that of extreme poverty. As children, we are blissfully ignorant and I was happy if I could just play. There was no real supervision and I can run around the neighborhood of my own free will. I remember moving from neighborhood to neighborhood renting various homes in San Diego that fit my grandmother, nine aunts and uncles, and all their children. I had a corner spot on the floor of a living room with a sleeping bag, pillow, and a laundry basket that held all my clothes: one pair of basketball shorts, two shirts, underwear, and a couple pairs of stinky socks. I had an alarm clock plugged into a nearby outlet making my spot premium real estate in the home. It woke me up to get ready for school and I just made sure to remember to alternate my shirt (as if that fooled anyone). That was everything I owned. Now that I have stuff pouring out of closets and garages, I find myself searching for that peaceful simplicity from my childhood.
I lived what my people consider an immigrant success story. I learned English, graduated high school, went to college, struggled a bit, but found a career in nursing that pays a good wage to live and support a family. I wanted to live a dream life and after spending everything I earned, I borrowed more to stay in it for as long as I could. What I borrowed to “live” during that time wasn’t money. It was my future peace of mind, time, freedom, mental and spiritual energy. And now I want it back. I want to start over. I want the freedom I had when I only needed to worry about alternating my shirt in the morning. All these emotions were warring inside of me for years and I found my answer in a backpacking trip my friend invited me to.
He lent me his old backpacking gear and he is, what I know now, an “ultralight” backpacker. It only took me one trip and hiking only 5-6 miles to realize that carrying a heavy backpack sucked. I ended up packing all my fears. I saw my friend with his fresh legs, excitement in his eyes, with energy to literally scout a mile ahead and walk back to us as we turtled our way through the trail. The feeling of victory upon reaching our destination just as the sun set was incredible. We finally made it! The whole experience knocked me out of the world of excess that I was living. After the trip, I instantly bought myself a set of backpacking gear because I wanted to go again. I loved it. I just don’t know anything about how to get permits, what trails to go, how to read a map, but who cares, I survived! I can do it again. That’s when my next problem came along. Finding time.
My work life doesn’t allow me to disappear for a week or two. At least with vacations, you’re in a place with phone reception. It makes doing work remotely more manageable. But the problem is completely disappearing and going off-grid where no one can reach you. That sounds more like a solution than a problem but I came face-to-face with the dirty truth. That we all need to make money to survive. So what is this brand really about? It is about the pursuit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I want to be financially free so I can disappear on trails for months and not have to worry about anything. So I got to work.
I decided the quickest way to create more trail time is to create products backpackers need or want. My first product is the ultralight tripod which is valuable for group photos without leaving anyone out and capturing landscapes with them in it. I understand how important weight is so I made it as light as I could at just 2 ounces and borrowing an idea from ultralight tents, use trekking poles or branches for tripod legs. All the “ultralight” tripods I find on the internet are over-engineered, overpriced, and way too technical to operate. This brand is abbreviated UI for ultralight ideas but I prefer to think of it as UI, user interface. Because it’s all about the person using it. I want to create things that are simple again with all the ‘extra’ removed until it reaches perfection. Perfection is when there’s nothing left to take away. I have so many ideas and I want to create something that solves a deep pain point we don’t discover until we’re out there experiencing it ourselves. I want to learn more about this community and hopefully add my own Asian flavor to it. I hope you’ll join me in the success of this brand. I have some big ideas in store. A hint is that the next product will be edible and I’ll share with you every step, challenge, and victory along the way. This mission is the entrepreneurial version of hiking the triple crown. One day, this brand will make enough to support people like you to achieve that goal, including myself. Happy trails.