For Dhwani Saraiya, combining sports and artwork is nothing new. Her foray into sharing her artwork on social media came back in 2020. But a lot has changed since then.
Saraiya has collaborated with multiple Philadelphia franchises and has her artwork displayed at Citizens Bank Park, working with the Phillies to design a mural of their City Connect jerseys. That was one of the hardest secrets of her life to keep.
But nothing compared to when the Philadelphia Flyers reached out to her back in July. Saraiya has designed plenty of artwork for other teams. However, she has never been fortunate enough to work with a team on a giveaway item.
"A giveaway at a game has been one of my goals for a really long time. I've done a lot of cool stuff in the past, but something like this I've been wanting to do," Saraiya said in an exclusive interview. "So this is perfect timing. And I hadn't worked with the Flyers yet, so it was kind of like the best of both worlds."
And this wasn't something that just came together quickly. Saraiya and the Flyers have been working together since the end of July. The two sides worked together on the designs for almost two months, with the final piece being sent in mid-September. So keeping a secret that long wasn't easy.
"They just sent me an email. They were like, 'We want to work with you on a project. Would you be interested?' And they didn't say what it was at first. I didn't really know what to expect. I thought it would probably just be illustration or something for social. And then I spoke to them on the phone, and they were like, 'We want to do a t-shirt giveaway for the home opener and have you design them. I'm on the phone, like trying not to freak out."
The design features Sean Couturier, Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, Matvei Michkov, and Trevor Zegras in front of the Philadelphia skyline. It combines the "Brick by Brick" aesthetic of the Flyers' branding with Saraiya's comic book style work.
The process of working with a team on an item like that includes making sure their branding is front and center. So certain aspects of the shirt needed to be a specific way, such as the logo and how the jerseys looked. But the Flyers gave her plenty of creative freedom in how the design turned out as well.
"I didn't feel constricted at all. It was very kind of free-flowing. The back and forth was cool, seeing it from their perspective and them telling me, 'What if we do this or this?' My little confetti that I love putting on players, they let me do that, so that was fun."
It allowed Saraiya to dive into a sport she didn't know much about before. Hockey is something that she has always wanted to get into, but never had the time to do so. Being able to not only design the shirt but attend the game as well was truly the best of both worlds.
And it's safe to say the Flyers have a fan for life now.
"Hockey is an awesome sport. When they were lowkey fighting each other, I was like, this is great. More sports should do this."
It wasn't just the on-ice aspect that drew Saraiya in. It was everything the organization did behind the scenes to make it a night she will never forget.
One of the biggest surprises came as the Flyers were walking into the building. Couturier pulled up, and Saraiya just expected to say hello to him, and he'd walk inside. But when he pulled a plaque out of his car, she knew something was about to go down.
"I honestly don't remember what he said because I was just in a panic, and I was like, 'What the f*** is happening?' I didn't know what to do with myself."
For any artist or person in media, seeing a player with something you worked on is a surreal experience. And that's the best way Saraiya could describe the night. Couturier finished the game with four points, and the Flyers took down the defending Stanley Cup champions. Not a bad time for your first game.
Saraiya later admitted that imposter syndrome is something she struggles with to this day, so going through all of this fanfare has been a different experience. It also gave her a chance to reflect on everything that has happened and how what she has done to get here has all been worth it.
"As a South Asian person with immigrant parents, every time something cool like that happens, I'm like, you know what, this is for my people. It makes my parents really proud too, which I'm happy about."
And if anyone of a similar background can see Saraiya and what she has been able to accomplish, she hopes they are able to realize they can do the same. It doesn't matter if it's in the sports world or whatever career a person wants to pursue. If you put your mind to something, you can't be stopped.
In the end, Saraiya is incredibly grateful for all of the support and considers her followers to be "my close personal friends" rather than just people who view her art. Because if it wasn't for them, she wouldn't be where she is today.
As for dealing with everything that comes with it, Saraiya left it nice and simple.
"I try to keep it chill. I post art, I post music, and it's just good vibes over on every channel."