About Us

About Trying Counts

Hi, I'm Ali Asghar — the founder of Trying Counts.

I moved to Germany several years ago. Before that, I was fit, toned, and exercised regularly. But after migrating, everything changed. The stress of building a new life—finding my way, learning a new language, managing everything that comes with a fresh start in a foreign country—left no room for working out. Exercise wasn't even a thought. And over time, I gained a lot of weight.

When I finally wanted to get back into shape, I fell into the trap so many of us know: all or nothing. For a while, I trained brutally hard, overtaxed myself—and then everything collapsed; I couldn't stick with it. I wasn't consistent. And worse still: I constantly compared myself to others, forgetting that I have my own path, my own pace, my own story.

For a time, I honestly believed I couldn't do it—that I might never feel at home in my own body, my own mind, my own life again. I felt left behind. As if the hurdles before me—a new country, a new language, the quiet fear of being a stranger in an unfamiliar place—somehow made me less worthy than the people around me.

But slowly, something became clear to me: progress comes in small steps. You don't need a marathon. You need 500 meters. Then a kilometer. Then a little more. The real victory was never the result—the result is just a byproduct. The real victory is identity: the decision to be someone who shows up. Who moves. Who keeps trying, no matter how slow, no matter how far behind they feel.

And this is where something important comes in: This brand itself is proof of this idea. Building Trying Counts was my own small step. With a migration story behind me, a language I'm still learning, and all the fear that comes with being new in a foreign country—I still took the risk. I still started. This business is my own first pull-up, my own 500 meters. It exists because I decided that trying counts—for me too.

That's why Trying Counts is meant to be more than just clothing. It's meant to be an example. If you've ever felt disadvantaged, left behind, or simply not enough compared to everyone else—if you carry your own story of struggle, distance, or doubt—then know this: Your small steps count too. You can still start. You can still move. You still belong.

Trying Counts is not for elite athletes or perfect transformations. It's for the person starting anew, who has given up, who is afraid they're too far behind. For everyone who just needs to hear that imperfect showing up still counts.

Because it does. And so do you.

— Ali Asghar, Founder of Trying Counts