I hope you have asthma… Martins Pavasaris portrait. Black and white. Photo by Armands Virbulis

…or at least know someone who does, so this story makes more sense. I’m Mārtiņš Pavasaris, creator of the asthma-merch Breathtaking Life. In my oxygen-deprived mind, I realized something simple:

If a person has asthma, that person lives a breathtaking life every day

And then I wanted every asthmatic in the world to hear it, so we could enjoy a laugh. That wordplay became the starting point for my drawings, later unfolding into clothing and accessories. This brand is my personal exploration of what a breathtaking life really is, where it appears in everyday moments, and how to shine a light on it instead of letting it slip by unnoticed. Hence the slogan: 

Stage for Everyday

With every single product, you’ll find a story, another step in how this idea unfolds. For me, breathtaking moments are those when a big idea, something that already lives inside all of us or something funny is captured and condensed into a strong symbol and sharp text.

We are symbol-loving creatures

Tapping into that instinct truly takes my breath away. Especially seeing someone else doing it. The more this idea of a breathtaking life shows up for me, the more it allows me to explore paradoxes inside me. Like - I like running, I like smoking and I carry an asthma inhaler in my bag so I could do both. I want to indulge without explaining myself. OK? And it’s funny how often we know better, yet do worse. Breathtaking Life is also about accepting limitations and finding a way around them. Sometimes it's about doing what you probably shouldn’t, are scared of, or resist and somehow finding a way to enjoy it.

Oh, you’ve read this far? Here’s a 5% discount code for your purchase: READER5 use it wisely. I come up with ideas, write the texts, create hand-drawn designs, and extend them into clothes and accessories. I work closely with high-quality clothing makers from Portugal and Latvia and use premium materials, so it’s not just the ideas that are breathtaking, but the products themselves too.

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