At The Hidden Opponent, we’re always inspired by individuals who blend their passions with meaningful advocacy. Halle, a former UCF volleyball player and the founder of Aren’t We Lucky. embodies this spirit by combining her love for sports with a mission to promote mental health and gratitude.
In this Q&A, Halle opens up about her journey as a student-athlete, the challenges she faced, and how those experiences shaped her life and the creation of Aren’t We Lucky. Read on to learn more about Halle’s story, the inspiration behind Aren’t We Lucky, and how she’s creating a community that celebrates vulnerability, positivity, and resilience.
Tell us about your experience as a student athlete. What challenges did you face and how did you react to/address them? What are some of your favorite sports memories?
Being a student-athlete definitely wasn’t easy, but balancing intense training, travel, academics, and everything else wasn’t the hard part. My program had a lot of turnover, with about 15 women coming in and out during my time there (not taking into consideration graduating players). That’s quite a lot for a team that is typically less than 20 people. Many of us struggled with feeling secure and confident in our roles, and it’s not surprising our mental health took a toll. While I understand the nature of sport and the inherent competition, our specific circumstances had us feeling not only pitted against each other, but also isolated.
For many of us, we grew up being among the best on our previous teams, so having to adjust to life on the bench as a freshman was a new challenge. Personally, I went through moments of burnout and self-doubt and felt like I couldn’t speak to anyone about it because it would just be seen as complaining. Athletes are supposed to be strong and persevere, right? This often meant we kept our struggles to ourselves. I am using “us” and “we” a lot here, because I recently caught up with my 2014 team and it was the first time we really broke down the barriers and had these conversations. To say it was eye opening to see how so many of these women were feeling the same, and yet none of us thought we could talk about it, would be an understatement.
Honestly, my favorite sports memories are all the laughs shared with the girls I was lucky to call my teammates. I reflect back on high school volleyball often, before any of it felt too serious. We could show up shortly before game time, hit a quick warm up, and beat almost anyone, while having so much fun. With friends and family in the stands cheering us on, we had the time of our lives.
What inspired you to write "Aren't we lucky" on your shoes? When did you think of that mantra, and do you remember how/why you originally thought of it?
I wish I could take credit for coming up with the phrase, but actually it was a friend who first said something about it to me in high school. Freshman year when I wasn’t seeing my court time, I wrote the phrase "Aren't we lucky" on my game day shoes as a reminder to focus on the positives, even when things felt tough. With each new season and new pair of shoes, I wrote it again. It quickly became my motto and has been an invisible thread throughout my life ever since, reminding me to always focus on all that’s good. It’s all about shifting the focus from what's going wrong to what's going right, from what’s missing to what’s already here.
How did “Aren’t We Lucky” start?
Aren’t We Lucky has been an on-again off-again project for many years. In 2020 I took my first official step and hired a logo designer. In 2021, I registered as a business. In 2022, I applied for the trademark, which I learned was approved in 2023. My perfectionism and fear of public failure meant I would invest a ton of time and energy on it, but I was too apprehensive to make any of it public. In 2024, I teamed up with my brother, who is the opposite of apprehensive, to bring it to life and it grew from there, with a mission to spread positivity and help others see the good in even the most challenging circumstances. Mark and I are very similar in some ways, but very different in many others. He is practically fearless, and perfectionism is hardly a word in his vocabulary. In some ways, he is the yin to my yang and if it weren’t for him, I’d probably still be working on it in secrecy.
What made you want to support The Hidden Opponent through Aren't We Lucky?
Someone found us through TikTok before we even had our first products in hand and told me she really wanted one of our hats for her boyfriend’s birthday - he had sustained a severe injury and “aren’t we lucky” had become his mantra. We provided her with one of our samples in order to have it in time for his birthday, and he followed up with the sweetest thank you note. I noticed a reference to The Hidden Opponent (THO) in his bio, clicked on a link, and listened to Victoria’s TED Talk. The rest was history.
It was true serendipity. I had known with Aren’t We Lucky, I wanted to do something to highlight mental health, and hopefully for student athletes. She was saying everything I had been thinking. I loved everything about her messaging and how THO is addressing the stigma around student-athlete mental health, something I wish had been discussed more openly during my time playing. Aren’t We Lucky is all about creating a platform for vulnerability and sharing stories, which aligns perfectly with THO’s mission of breaking the stigma surrounding mental health in sports. Partnering with THO felt like a natural fit.
We solidified our commitment to THO this past summer after posting a video soliciting preferences for charitable organizations, and THO was tagged multiple times. So now, a portion of all proceeds from our products goes directly to THO to support their mission!
What motivated you and your brother to create Aren't We Lucky? What do you hope to accomplish as an organization?
We wanted to create something that was more than just a clothing brand— a movement. Really, we wanted to create a community, a platform for people to share what makes them feel grateful. Both of us have seen firsthand how much mental well-being impacts everything, especially in the world of sports, and how vulnerability can bring us closer together. Whether hardships that have shaped someone into the person they are today, or just their sheer joy of living near a beach, we believe everyone has a story to tell and we wanted to create a space where people could feel encouraged to share while embracing a mindset of gratitude and positivity. Our goal is to build a community that values mental health and celebrates the wins, no matter how big or small.
What inspired your choice to spread your message through clothing?
We chose to spread our message through clothing because it’s an everyday way to keep the message of positivity and gratitude front and center. Clothing is something people wear and see daily, so it’s a great way to make a statement.
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