Anouar el Jabli

I absolutely love technology! When I was 6 years old, I would spend hours fixing cassette- and video players, trying to understand the logic behind a television and playing every computer game available. Technology for me was like a force that is always in flux, constantly pushing its boundaries and making its way into my life. I was sure that when I grew up, my profession would be in technology.

When I started my career, I first worked in various other industries but nothing really spoke to me like I thought it would. I couldn’t shake that exciting feeling when thinking about working with tech. That is why I founded Twisted Reality two years ago.

My very first experience with Virtual Reality dates back to 1996 when a Nintendo game console, called the Virtual Boy, was released. I knew at that point that VR had a future. Years later I bought my own VR headset after trying it out at a friend’s place and was really excited about its possibilities and potential. That’s when I started Twisted Reality: a community to talk and discuss Virtual and Augmented Reality. It has grown to be a tight online community with a lot of active users, developers and content creators. I became close friends with two of those users, co-founders of REVEL, our new fashionable VR-headset André and Kai. We talked about the lack of qualitative headsets that were also easy to use, comfortable and, above all, fashionable. We decided to make our own headset, just then & there.

We were lucky to work with some amazing people like architect and product designer Tobia Repossi who helped us bring our vision to life. REVEL is not your average plastic headset; REVEL is rebellious and exciting. It’s the first VR headset of its kind and the first to successfully combine function and form, the latter being a very important aspect to me. Since I was 16, I’ve really been into fashion designer labels such as Prada, YSL and Dior. I was always the one trying out new fashion trends. That is what I wanted to achieve with REVEL as well; to make it extremely wearable and very fashionable at the same time.

I truly believe REVEL builds a bridge between technology and fashion, and combines the two effortlessly so VR can be made accessible on a daily basis. REVEL reframes an extremely technical device as an inherently wearable technology — a VR headset is essentially something that you wear, and is therefore linked to your personal style. We want every part of your outfit to look as good as you.

REVEL is successful because of the way our team, including André and Kai, works together. André is the backbone of the company’s communication in North America, he takes care of the business and market analysis as well as the user experience approach. Kai is responsible for the overall design of the company, the technical aspects and the communication in Germany. We trust each other, have healthy discussions about our product and our future and foremost, we can rely on each other. We respect each other’s visions and, most importantly, we have a lot of fun with what we do!

Five years from now, I see REVEL being a success and a stepping stone for us to be established tech-entrepreneurs, creating amazing new hardware and experiences. I want to help push Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality forward by normalizing and ‘de-nerding’ the image of this new technology and introducing it into everyday life. Technology never looked so good!

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André Berthiaume

Entrepreneurship has been in my blood since third grade. At 10 years old, I started my first business at school. Back then, slinky’s were wildly popular but they kept getting tangled up. After finding a technique to untangle them fairly quickly, I sold my services for a dime at the school’s playground. The year after, my classmates developed a taste for gums. I bought them in huge packs at the supermarket to then sell them again by the unit, until the school put a stop to it. Back then, I didn’t know these little inventive games would result in me becoming an entrepreneur.

Being raised with deep spiritual values, I believe in life`s signs and I look for them throughout my career, whether it’s starting a new business or competing in an entrepreneurial competition. I received such a sign when I met Anouar and Kai through their Facebook group. We were halfway across the world from each other, but I immediately felt a strong connection to them. I really enjoyed the interactions of the group, that felt different from other tech-groups; users were actually interacting with one another, hosting contests and giveaways. I contacted Anouar, telling him his community was simply extraordinary.

From then on, a single day didn’t go by without us talking to each other online. We started not only discussing VR and its possibilities, but also life, values, conflicts and other subjects I didn’t even talk about with my friends. Small talk isn’t usually my cup of tea, but with Anouar and Kai, I felt a deeper connection because we share a vision and the same passion for VR. I never thought I would join Twisted Reality as a partner but before I knew it, I quit the start-up I was previously working on and fully jumped into this opportunity. Building out our community was great, software and hardware developers liked us, I never before got so many views on blog posts; I was happy with my partners, at last.

A few months later, during one of our many discussions about VR headsets, we expressed concern about VR’s future and low-quality headsets. We talked about using our expertise to create a high-quality and fashionable headset. Until one day, Anouar told us, “Let’s just do it!”. In that exact moment, without hesitation, we started working on developing our vision; it wasn’t a matter of ‘if’, it was a matter of ‘how’ and ‘when’. That vision would become REVEL, a qualitative fashion tech VR headset with a fantastic look & feel!

Our weekly chat became a daily chat that turned into weekly calls and then daily calls and we’ve managed to work that way ever since. Our ideas do not always align perfectly but that is how we are able to challenge each other and ended up with a headset that exceeds all our expectations. Essentially, REVEL is about giving choices to its users while keeping the experience simple and mainstream. Just the way we imagined it to be!

Now that we are so close to finally revealing REVEL to the world, I am really excited to see the potential impact it will have. I see REVEL as an absolute game-changer! REVEL will not only change the way we use VR in everyday life, but also significantly improve our work conditions and productivity. It will also play a major role in education, making it even more accessible. Being part of this bigger picture, of such purposeful and essential changes, helps me to keep going in difficult times; that exciting feeling is what really makes me thrive!

Kai Detmers

Ever since VR entrepreneur Palmer Luckey presented his prototype of the Oculus Rift in 2012, and me backing it on Kickstarter, I felt like a VR-Evangelist. Even though it was only the first Developer Kit, I saw the initiate reaction of people, which was strengthening my believe in VR even more.

Still I was waiting for the first consumer ready VR-Headset. That happened to be Samsung’s Gear VR. Unfortunately, being a student meant I had to save up for quite a while before I had the chance to buy this headset.

I started using Oculus Social with my Gear VR, an application that allows users to socialize in a virtual environment, and immediately made a friend. We chatted for quite a while, before he invited me into a VR Group on WhatsApp. I knew a lot about the technology behind VR, so I was able to help others with tips & tricks and hands-on information on that group. After a week of doing this, Anouar contacted me on WhatsApp, asking if I wanted to be a part of Twisted Reality.

From the start, I was really excited about us working hard to make Twisted Reality a successful movement. At that stage, our team still consisted of five members; we worked on exclusive game and app reviews and helped developers improve their creations. We even did some interviews with industry experts like Dr. Shafi Ahmed, the first doctor who ever broadcasted a live VR surgery.

Meanwhile, our movement, Facebook group and support was getting so big that it was hard to manage just by ourselves, especially since a few of our original members dropped out. Andre Berthiaume was incredibly active in our group and both Anouar and me felt a good entrepreneurial vibe between us, therefore we asked him to be part of our team which he was more than happy to do. He added the manpower and VR expertise that we needed at that point, making Twisted Reality a known entity in the Virtual Reality ecosystem.

A few months after establishing Twisted Reality, we started gathering ideas about creating our own, unique headset. Having built our own brand from the ground up, we had already gained the confidence to move forward quickly and to get a head start on a design that would be completely different from anything else available on the market. Made for technology aficionado’s but with fashionista’s in mind, we created REVEL: a stylish VR headset that fits any outfit, day or night. We are bringing fashion tech to a new level!

We have a clear vision; the first prototypes have been made and we believe that with REVEL, we’ve created a product that will not only change Twisted Reality’s future, but also the entire face of Virtual Reality