Yassine Saidi Traces His Career Path in Athletic Fashion at Second Creative Direction Credential Workshop Monday, September 21, 2026

The HXOUSE and Point Park University Creative Direction Credential Program returned Sept. 12-13 with two days of presentations and workshops with Yassine Saidi. Saidi is a senior advisor at Under Armour, where he previously served as their chief product officer.

Prior to Under Armour, he worked for Puma, where he created collabs with Rhianna, Big Sean and the Weeknd. Before that, he'd worked for Adidas and Salomon, in addition to founding his own creative agency.

In the opening session, Saidi shared his professional journey, starting with his childhood as the son of Moroccan immigrants living in northern France. His parents required him to participate in sports and excel at school, as a means of "keeping him out of trouble," and those foundational priorities set the trajectory of his life. 

Saidi's advice: "Do 100% of Your Work in 50% of the Time"

Saidi used his own life experience to teach workshop participants lessons that will help them succeed. One of those lessons is being willing to always go above and beyond what is expected.

When Saidi applied for his very first internship with Salomon, an outdoor sports company, he not only turned in his resume, but also wrote a 20-page essay on what he would do if he worked for them. That extra effort landed him the sole internship, beating out 59 other applicants.

Saidi has maintained that mentality in every role. A core principle he shared with workshop participants was, "Do 100% of your work in 50% of the time," which allows you to use the remaining 50% to exceed expectations and add value to your company. "Do more than you're asked to do," Saidi said. "I've applied this to everything, and to this day it works because people always appreciate the extra that you're doing."

As he mapped out his job history, Saidi explained how each role prepared him for something bigger. For example, when he went to Adidas, he was a product manager for accessories, such as hats, backpacks and socks. Though it was the smallest division at Adidas, he knew it would provide a chance to work with all of the larger divisions, including tennis — his dream job. He later landed that dream job due to his work ethic and relationships. 

"Not taking the big job to start is often the right thing to do because it gives you an opportunity to learn," he said.

But even dream jobs sometimes become repetitive, and in six years, when Saidi was ready for the next thing, he made a similar decision: take a job at the smaller of two companies where he could have more impact. That job, senior director of sales at Puma, led him to career-defining opportunities. 

When he realized that Puma as a brand didn't have enough leverage with young people, he built Puma Select, a collaborative arm of Puma that worked with upcoming fashion brands and later, musicians, to elevate the brand's status. Saidi applied the lesson he learned at Puma to an individual.

"When you talk about yourself, you lose value," he said. "When other people talk about you, your value goes up."

At the end of the hour-long presentation, Saidi left participants with six lessons and values to apply to their own career paths, including "act as an entrepreneur even within a corporation."

"When you consider yourself an entrepreneur, you put your money where it counts," Saidi explained. "If you act as an entrepreneur, you look at your day job differently because you own it. You are the CEO of your job."

Though Saidi talked a lot about wise decision-making and work ethic, he didn't overlook the importance of relationships in building a career.

"Be great to people, and you will attract great people," he advised.

Many of Saidi's points reflected those made by Charm La'Donna at the first Creative Direction workshop, including a willingness to go above and beyond and to treat people well. Students in the credential program are seeing some of the common denominators among successful creatives.

Workshop Sparks Momentum in "Dreamers and Visionaries"

Following the opening session, the cohort participants spent the afternoon and the following day in workshops, where they worked in small groups to complete tasks similar to those creative directors must do, such as creating a logo for a fictional brand. Students found the workshops inspiring and educational.

Shepherd Fourgson, a sports, arts, entertainment and music business major with a minor in screenwriting, hopes to one day impact the entertainment ecosystem in Pittsburgh. He especially appreciated the hands-on tasks. 

"Having the opportunity to work with others in teams was very beneficial," he said. "Learning about the concept of logo development and the language of advertising is knowledge that I will apply to my launching and marketing strategies in the future."

Fourgson also felt that he made some connections with other students that he expects will have future benefits. "Programs like this spark momentum in dreamers and visionaries," Fourgson said. 

Patricia Calero Irizarry, a public relations, advertising and social media major with a minor in digital marketing, is both interested in the fashion industry and athletics. She is a member of the Point Park volleyball team.

"Fashion and sports have always been two of my passions, but before this session I hadn't really thought about the intersection of them until hearing Yassine’s experience," Irizarry said. "One major takeaway from him is how important is the soul of a brand, even in sports. The soul of the brand plays into everything, and sometimes brands try to do too much, and you just have to go back to the beginning and what it stands for."

This was the second of four two-day workshops that students in the credential program will complete over a year, each featuring a different professional with expertise in other categories of creative direction, including fashion, music and live entertainment. The cohort of 50 students is made up of current Point Park students, educators and other applicants from around the country.

Get a Glimpse Into the Workshop

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