The signs showed very early in his life. Fashion design is and always has been his destiny. His first encounter with fashion, or fashion product development to be specific, was at the age of seven. Thato Chai used to make soccer jerseys from 25 kg Iwisa maize meal sacks for himself and his teammates back in the late 80’s in the dusty spaces on Vosloorus. The process involved cutting out the arm holes and neck opening.

The branding process followed there after. They’d all choose their favourite jersey numbers and designs that Thato Chai would hand draw on each and every one of them with Bic ball point pen. This was during the time when Kaizer Chiefs was sponsored by Iwisa. Thato Chai was a strong Kaizer Chiefs suppoter at the time so the influence evident.