We have been following Between Us Boys, founded by Rusty Beukes and Mohamed Elashy, for a long time now. With no fixed rules, a tight-knit community, and a deep connection to culture, it has always been the kind of platform you don’t just scroll past. Over the years, its founders have become more than familiar faces — they have grown into close friends of The Sandy Times.

All of this makes the next chapter especially exciting. Between Us Boys are about to launch a new drop, TRADE. What does it include? How long has it been in the making? And where does the project go from here? We spoke directly with the founders to find out.

— Before we dive into the upcoming drop, could you briefly remind our readers what Between Us Boys is about?

Mohamed: Between Us Boys is a cultural platform and creative studio working across publishing, art, fashion, and experiential storytelling. It was created as a way of documenting culture through drops, each one centred around a specific subculture or idea.

Rusty: Every drop is conceived as a collectible moment in time, supported by storytelling, visuals, and context. The focus is on flexibility — allowing each release to take a different shape without being confined to a single medium.

— What does the current drop represent, and how did you arrive at the name?

Mohamed: The drop TRADE is also a multimedia project that explores social dynamics and coded forms of masculinity across Afro, Latino, Arab, and South Asian communities. The word felt instinctively right because it travels across cultures. Literally, it refers to work and labour — effort, skill, grit — but it also speaks to quieter ideas of masculinity: how men see themselves, how they are perceived, and what is projected onto them.

Rusty: TRADE brings this approach to life through heavyweight T-shirts, alongside caps, jewelry, and a zine that captures the wider cultural world of the project. The aim wasn’t simply to name a collection, but to build a shared narrative around a single word.

— How is the idea of TRADE reflected in the designs you created?

Rusty: Workwear was the starting point and informed many of our design decisions. We chose heavyweight 350 gsm T-shirts because they feel durable and grounded. The caps have a slightly sun-faded, worn-in quality, as if they have spent time outdoors, while the jewelry uses brushed silver rather than polished finishes, giving it more texture and character.

Together, these elements reflect how TRADE looks and feels across different environments and cultures — not as a fixed aesthetic, but as something lived-in and experienced.

At the centre of the project is a 40-page exclusive collectible zine featuring familiar faces from across the creative communities. Produced as a physical object, it is designed to be handled, archived, and returned to over time.

— So, once again — should this be seen as a fashion collection?

Mohamed: Not really. It is more accurate to think of it as a capsule within a broader cultural platform. Between Us Boys isn’t a clothing brand in the traditional sense. This drop happens to include clothing, but future releases may not. Storytelling always comes first — the objects are simply one way of engaging with that story.

— The launch took longer than expected. What led to the delay, and how long has this project been in the making?

Rusty: We have actually been sitting on this capsule for about a year — it has been ready for some time. The delay mainly came down to how we work together. One of us is more detail-driven and perfection-oriented, while the other works more instinctively and prefers to move quickly.

When two people share the same vision but approach it differently, things can take longer. We spent time revisiting decisions, refining the visuals, and adjusting the direction until we both felt it was the right moment to release it.

Mohamed: Another important factor was making sure the storytelling felt genuinely inclusive. TRADE draws from Middle Eastern, North African, African, Latino, and Southeast Asian contexts, and we wanted to honour those influences properly. Shooting only in the UAE didn’t feel enough, so the project became more hybrid — including travelling to Spain to continue the story.

The zine also needed time. It was important for it to feel complete and considered, not rushed. For us, it was never just about timelines, but about doing the story justice.

— What could future drops look like, in terms of scale and format?

Mohamed: Think of it like a concept store — the format is always open. One drop might be something you wear, another might be an object, an experience, or something made for a specific moment. There are no fixed rules, and that flexibility is intentional.

Rusty: We have already explored different formats, from a co-branded candle with Dastaangoi to Flowers for Boys — collaboration with Urartu Gallery, a bouquet project that existed purely as an experience. All of these sit under the Between Us Boys umbrella, even though they take very different forms.

— The project feels rooted in masculinity — even in its name. Is the drop gender-specific?

Mohamed: Everything we do is gender-neutral and inclusive. While TRADE leans into traditionally masculine codes, it was important for us to include women within that universe as well. We don’t want to box ourselves in creatively, and we don’t want to box people in either. The T-shirts were shot on women, and women appear throughout the visual narrative. Masculinity is part of the conversation — but it isn’t exclusive.

— Is there anyone you can’t imagine wearing this drop?

Mohamed: Probably someone who is a bit boring — or someone who sticks too closely to the rules. This project is really for people who are curious, open-minded, and comfortable stepping slightly outside what is expected.

— How do you see this capsule fitting into Dubai’s fashion and creative landscape?

Rusty: For us, fashion can’t be separated from art, design, or music — everything overlaps. We are living in a moment where people are drawn to multi-sensory experiences, not things that sit neatly in one category. That is why we resist boxing this into “fashion” alone.

What we love about Dubai — and the UAE more broadly — is how interconnected the creative community is. You have young creatives from different disciplines constantly crossing paths, supporting one another, and building things with real entrepreneurial energy. That kind of openness is rare.

Mohamed: Dubai is also one of the few places that truly supports multi-hyphenate creatives. You can be many things at once here — and actually make it work. That sense of possibility is a big reason this project could exist in the way it does.

— You worked with a large and diverse cast for this drop. Can you tell us more about that?

Rusty: The cast was intentionally diverse, spanning Middle Eastern, North African, African, Latino, South Asian, and even Russian communities. When we reached the limits of who we could cast locally, we travelled in order to continue telling the story. That level of representation is essential to us, even if it means taking more time.

One name we can share is Karim — a skater and close friend who has been part of the project from the very beginning. He really represents the spirit of Between Us Boys. On the women’s side, someone like Parvané has also been there since day one. Those two faces truly embody our immediate community.