Turning trials to triumphs…Gary Hill comes out of retirement to help the Dowe Twins

The Dowe Twins are no strangers to overcoming adversity. Princeton and Brazil are 12-year old twins from the Bronx who were born prematurely, coming into the world with a combined weight of less than four pounds. Back in July of 2016 the twins created Water 2 Kids (W2K), a brand with the goal of promoting and educating children on the importance of water. In the midst of running their new venture, the twins were diagnosed with Auditory Processing Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Unfazed, the twins began to reshape their brand and expand its message.

Upon learning about their unidentifiable disabilities, the twins decided to place a new emphasis on spreading awareness. They created a documentary, The Dowe Twins New Faces of Disabilities, where they were able to effectively share their story and explain their experiences as children with unidentifiable disabilities. They also created a workbook series entitled “Think You’re Smarter than the Dowe Twins, Learning Through Trivia Activity Workbook Series” in order to exemplify that disabilities do not affect intelligence, rather, they simply change the way that you learn. The twins are working not only to spread awareness, but also to remove some of the negative stigmas around having disabilities.

Water 2 Kids would prove to be one of their most difficult ventures. The business of bottled water, as described by their mother Alina, was very difficult (and expensive) to get into, “it’s not just the financial backing…it’s not just what you know but it’s also who you know.” W2K had been placed in a few different local locations for sale, including a certain indoor trampoline park. In February of 2019, the park was bought out, and in turn shifted from W2K to a larger, cheaper brand of bottled water. In early 2021, after sharing their frustration, the twins were introduced to Gary Hill.

Gary had been in the water business for over twenty years. Upon hearing about the Dowe Twins’ struggles to enter the business, he decided to come out of retirement to help them grow and expand W2K. Gary has a niece who also has an unidentifiable disability, and the twins’ efforts to educate alongside attempting to grow their business was inspiring to him. He wanted to personally work to help the brand expand while also teaching the twins how to run a successful business, effectively passing his knowledge down to a younger generation. With his assistance, knowledge, and connections, the twins were able to secure a water manufacturing plant as well as to establish a sales channel distribution. W2K is now on pace to reach their goal of selling 150,000 cases of W2K water by the end of 2021.

“I’m going to see this all the way through” Gary emphasizes. Gary’s decision to come out of retirement to help the twins is truly touching, but his dedication to ensuring that his efforts lead to success for all parties involved, is absolutely amazing. With Gary’s mentorship and industry connections, W2K has gone from a local brand to one that has the potential to fulfill the twins’ dreams of becoming a household name. Ultimately, the goal of the brand is to educate children on the importance of drinking water and valuing it as nature’s most important resource. As W2K expands, so does their message. The Dowe twins have been remarkable since the day they were born, and with Gary Hill’s help, it’s only a matter of time until Water 2 Kids is a brand beloved by children and parent alike, across the globe.