whotu
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A note on why we are here.
And what we want to make room for.

Fenced racket-sport courts in late afternoon light — illustrative stock photograph, not the fictional interview or club
Our beginning

It started with a nine-year-old and a love of squash.

Before she founded the brand, Connie Liang had spent years working in international trade. What drew her towards sport was something much closer to home: the change she saw in her son.

At nine, he loved squash. As sport became part of his life, Connie watched him become more disciplined. Its influence reached beyond the court and into the person he was becoming.

That experience led her to establish VELNUZ, bringing her years of trade experience into the sports industry.

Conversations with club coaches opened another door. Alongside teaching came the everyday work of arranging lessons and managing a club. Inspired by those conversations, she began developing tools to make that work easier.

Step by step, whotu took shape: sports products that make room for individual expression, and an app designed to help people connect and take part.

Squash was the beginning. The interest that grew from it is wider: how sport helps us discover ourselves, and the people we find along the way.

Connie Liang
Founder · Story based on Connie’s account

01–04 · Swipe to explore all four steps →How our mark took shape: 1. Connie’s first sketch; 2. Further hand-drawn exploration; 3. Construction studies and refinement with a designer; 4. The current official whotu logo.
Connie’s drawings, from early exploration to our identity. View full image

whotu Brand Identity

The name whotu carries two questions: “Who are you?” and “Who is your player two?” Together, they express what we hope sport can bring into your life: a stronger sense of yourself, and people to share the experience with.

A tennis player preparing a serve on an indoor court
01 / The individual

Who are you?

Sport gives you room to find out. What you enjoy. How you respond to a challenge. What feels like you.

Our products begin with that freedom: to move, to express yourself, and to become your own kind of player.

Two men laughing as they run together along a beach
02 / The connection

Who is your
player two?

Someone to play with. A coach to learn from. A place you look forward to returning to.

The whotu app is built around these connections, helping you find your people and make time for sport.

Our Blue

Youthful, clear and recognisable. Blue is part of our identity, with room around it for natural light, real skin tones and the colours people bring with them.

Two players arriving with a basketball beneath blue sky — illustrative stock photograph, not the fictional interview or club
Natural light. Open space. Room for life.

We want that identity to feel present without taking over every photograph or page.

Different lives. Shared ground.

A Different
Pair of Eyes

A player sees the next game. A coach notices a small improvement. A parent sees a child becoming more independent.

Sport looks different from each of these places. We want to listen to those perspectives, and let them shape what we make and the stories we tell.

Four friends walking towards an outdoor basketball court in sunshine
Everyone brings a different story to the court.
Our outlook

Taking sport
personally.

Sport, with a mind of its own.

Young people have their own voice.

We want to speak with young people, and leave room for their tastes, questions and ambitions. Growing up through sport includes learning what you enjoy and deciding what matters to you.

Culture happens between the big moments.

The conversation after practice. A familiar routine. The personality of a club. Our editorial direction gives these experiences time and attention, through individual interviews and the histories of sporting communities.

Personality belongs in everyday things.

Useful sports products can also carry colour, character and an individual point of view. Our design direction is to make room for that expression alongside the needs of everyday use.

There is more than one way to participate.

Different sports offer different experiences. We want our brand to welcome that variety. The website tells stories and presents products; the app is where our participation and service plans take shape.

An open chapter

What comes next.

There is work ahead: listening to the people we hope to serve, developing the products we want to use, and giving real sporting lives the space they deserve.

We want to document that work as it happens. With names, places, decisions and the people behind them.

That is how this story will grow.

Back to the beginning