The Broke Life

I grew up broke as fuck on a tiny little British island near France, with little to no opportunities.

I’d say I was as broke as a joke, only there’s nothing funny about it.

My father was an alcoholic, and a very absent parent.
My mother was physically abusive, and both emotionally & mentally controlling.
My sister is mentally disabled.

My home life was horrible, and growing up was hard.

As a kid, I got out of the house as much as I possibly could.

Being Broke Meant Getting Creative & Resourceful

I couldn’t afford to go anywhere my bike or skateboard couldn’t take me.

My mother didn’t own a car, so if my bike or skateboard broke, I had to walk. So, I learned to fix my own bike.

Having no money, anywhere I went had to be free.

Being so broke meant I had to be resourceful and creative, or I’d never have go anywhere or done anything.

That would mean staying at home.

That was NOT happening.

This resourcefulness and creativity has served me VERY well in many areas od my life (more about this later).

My First Lessons in Networking & Marketing at 8 years Old

With no money, and only a bike or my feet to get around, my options were VERY limited.

My mother wouldn’t let me hang out on the street where I lived, because it wasn’t a good neighborhood.

This challenged me to find alternative solutions.

I remember thinking ‘where do other kids go that doesn’t cost any money, but I can find other kids to hang out with?’

So, I either went to the local park which was next to a leisure center… or into town, which was bustling with all sorts of people, including kids my age.

I didn’t know at the time, but this is LITERALLY a marketing strategy.

I knew my target audience, figured out where to find them at a low cost, and put myself in front of them.

I ‘networked’ by making friends with all sorts of kids from other schools and areas, I might never have met otherwise.

I Failed School / School Failed me

I was bullied and beaten at school, had a mindset of absolute scarcity, surrounded by other just-as-broke people, with exactly the same broke mindset.

I sucked at school. It was too boring for me. To this day, knowing who Henry VIII’s wives were has NEVER been of any use to me.

I Left School at 15 Years Old

I decided I’d rather get paid to learn knowledge of value to me, than sit in a classroom being taught useless facts with no benefit to my future.

My first job was as an electrician, which I LOVED. I learned so many useful skills and knowledge in that job, that I still use daily today.

It was awesome, and I was loving life… until I got laid off in a recession.

There was no work on the island, and I was back to broke as a joke without even a hope.

This was my Life by Default

But then, outta nowhere… something changed.

The Pro Skater Life

At 19 years old, I started skating a weird type of skateboard, called a Snakeboard.

I got amazing at it, and turned pro within just 1 year, skating in the next world championships in Munich, Germany.

I was a pro skater.

It was WILD!

Next thing I knew I was in videos, magazines, and meeting many of the famous skaters, BMXers, and Snowboarders, I’d looked up to my whole life.

Video Editing & Graphic Design

I bought a video camera, started filming, and learned to edit so I could produce skate videos.

I also designed a skate team logo, my first ever graphic design / branding work

I soon outgrew the tiny island I grew up on, and moved to a big city in the UK.

Bristol, UK

Bristol had a world class skatepark, an amazing skateboard and BMX scene with some of the UK’s top pro riders, and was a rapidly growing city with an amazing nightlife.

It was an easy place to travel from, and had a lot more resources.

It was everything I needed.

It’s Not What you Know, it’s Who You Know

Growing up poor as hell on an island full of rich people, I learned early on in life that money, knowledge, and ability doesn’t matter.

Making friends matters more.

So, I networked, hard.

Just like when I was a kid, I figured out real quick how to meet people, and get to know them. I went to every event, showed up at every party, and got to know the top skaters at the skate spots. 

I got to know every top BMX rider and skateboarder in the UK. I showed up at EVERY event I possibly could, getting to know as many people as possible.

Soon, I knew everyone I’d seen in magazines and videos.

Personal Branding

I built a portfolio folder, which had all the magazine photos, and details of the TV / Video footage I’d appeared in. I also detailed audience numbers, event attendances, and video distribution numbers, so any sponsors could see my levels of national exposure. 

I got connected, met celebrities, shook hands, hung out. I soon got paid to do halfpipe shows, competitions, events, stunt work for TV, and even had an educational math show filmed by the BBC, based on my scores in a competition I won in the UK.

I gained sponsors, including Red Bull, a UK shoe company, and a UK clothing company.

For about 10 years of my life, I lived the life of a pro skater.

I even lived in Barcelona, Spain, for a year (the street skating capital of the world).

It was an insane ride.

My First Ever Business

During this time, in 1998, I started my first ever business. A small skate wear clothing brand, called ‘Darkside Clothing’.

Unfortunately, I didn’t understand marketing a small business as much as I understood networking and marketing my own personal brand.

I thought my skate connections and being well known would be a massive benefit to me, but it didn’t work out that way. I also didn’t own a car, which made everything A LOT more challenging.

Banksy also lived in Bristol at the time. He was just becoming known, and was also part of the Bristol skate scene.

I remember selling my clothing in the same small cafe / record store he sold some of his early work in.

Fortunately for him, his artwork definitely did A LOT better than my clothing brand ever did!