Tag: teamfp
A popular collaborator within the Nike line up, Union LA are back once again with Nike to take on the ever popular, Dunk Low.
Eye-catching visually thanks to the reimagined upper, the usual leather upper have been stripped back and in its place they’ve opted for a durable ripstop with a synthetic grid pattern that’s finished in a s mash up of Purple and Yellow that can only make us think of the iconic colours of the Lakers.
PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ THE BELOW!
The London in-store draw is now CLOSED!
All online draws are now housed over on the Footpatrol Launches App, CLICK HERE to download!
To enter, you’re required to sign up via the above forms, these WON’T be available in-store to sign up on.
In-store winners will be contacted via email informing them of their win. Within this email, winners will be given a set of dates in which they must collect their win from our London store. To collect, you will need to provide the winning email and a valid photographic government ID matching the winners name. NO ONE can collect on the winners behalf. Failure to provide this, or failure to collect within the given dates will mean failure to purchase your win.
To sign up to the Online raffle, you will need to download the Footpatrol Launches app and complete a pre-authorisation payment of the retail price of the product plus shipping costs. This will be held until raffle completion. Those successful will have their raffle win posted out to the address entered during sign up. Those unsuccessful will see a return of their funds, this can take up to 5 working days from when the winners have been drawn. The raffle is limited to one entry per household! Multiple entries will be cancelled!
Where to start with our latest Frequent Players guest mix… High energy maybe?
Stepping up to take us on a journey through a variety of genres that’s cemented with a mix of underground club music alongside a playful blend of hard-hitting rap classics that feeds off the energy she brings to her nights out.
Now just in time for the weekend and to celebrate the recent launch of the adidas NMD S1, the London based, Californian born DJ brings her flow to Frequent Players.
Footpatrol: Ludo, it is always great to see you! On this occasion though we are putting all the focus on yourself, so before we get ourselves into everything we always like to start off with a nice and simple, how are you?
Ludo: I am wonderful. The sun is shining and I’m feeling mad grateful for the things that are happening in my little ecosystem. With all the chaos that comes with being alive in 2022, I’m trying to practice gratitude and recognise how lucky I am.
FP: Kicking things off then, could we get a bit of insight into who you are and what you do?
Ludo: I am many things, like a lot of people in the music industry. Initially this mix was caused by not fully knowing what my main interest was, combined with the need to have multiple streams of income to get by. I am an artist manager, record label honcho, music marketing consultant for labels and brands, radio and club DJ, host and presenter. These days I’m focusing especially on repping the Keep Hush crew by day and club DJing by night.
FP: Anyone that has seen you host on the Keep Hush channels and also in your sets know you bring the happiest energy that rubs off effortlessly with the crowd. How did you get yourself into DJing?
Ludo: I always try stuff out on a whim. I see things or activities that I find cool, interesting, challenging or edgy and i’m like – let me see if I suck at this or not lol. And that ranges from painting, different sports, skating, languages, music production, at one point I was even writing bars (no I will not share them with anyone lol). More recently I started going to comedy school just to train my brain to think in a different way. So the same thing was for DJing, I wanted to see if it was something my brain could work with. I also particularly love picking up activities which I predominantly saw guys doing – it made the challenge even more interesting.
FP: What was it like coming up as a young, female DJ within the industry?
Ludo: With all the challenges and bias I faced, I still was and am privileged to be a white woman in an industry full of racism. Having said that, at the beginning of my career I was getting loads of token bookings to be ‘the girl on the lineup’. I also had promoters assume or publicly state I was queer because of my work with the label I used to run, all so that they could tick multiple boxes in one booking – mental. These days it feels like things are changing, promoters seem to actually care about change (or maybe i’m in an echo chamber?). We’re lucky to be blessed with so many amazing selectors in the scene who are non-male and single-handedly pushing sounds forward. Look at Mixtress, Manuka Honey, KG, Nia Archives, DJ Priya, Giulia Tess, Chloé Robinson, Sherelle, I could actually go on forever.
FP: We know you do a lot for upcoming artists and DJs, why is this so important to you?
Ludo: I think sometimes humans can be inherently flawed by greed, having this instinct to accumulate resources when by sharing them, there is more to gain for everyone involved. This is why it’s so important to open doors and share opportunities, resources, contacts, knowledge, education – because it pushes us forward as a community and individuals both.
FP: Could you tell us some of the ways you have been able to do this over the years?
Ludo: The whole reason why I wanted to run a label was to push forward thinking sounds & talent and I was lucky enough to work with incredible artists at earlier stages of their career such as Ariel Zetina, India Jordan, Ehua, LCY, Anz, Badsista and more. It was and still is important to me to showcase someone’s art by using any of my tools or experience repurposed for someone else. It’s all circular. What I learned or physically own can help progress another person.
Same thing at Keep Hush, our motto is ‘back the underground’ – meaning every initiative we do has to spotlight artists and create value for them.
Finally with DJing, my radio show is very much focused on talent I am a fan of, at whatever stage they might be. And whenever I speak to promoters for my own bookings, I have the habito of sending over lists of DJs who should be on their radar. And it’s usually very well received.
FP: One thing we love about you is the amount of work you do behind the scenes to help upcoming talent make their way into the industry. What made you want to do this?
Ludo: It’s the future of culture and the future of our planet. A stagnating culture is saturated, bored, tired and bitter. I don’t want that.
FP: Is there any advice you would give to the next generation of DJs/artists to help make their first steps?
Ludo: Treating everyone with kindness and having zero snobbery, such a vanilla answer but I think what’s helped me in my career – and also made me thoroughly enjoy it – has been creating meaningful connections with staff at any level and at any stage of the music business. Example – whenever I play a gig I make sure I introduce myself to anyone that’s at the venue – from bar staff to gaffers. Sound engineers to runners to security to promoters, everyone has a story to tell, and often they’ll let the booker / promoter know how great it was working with you. But if someone is a dick by all means let them know or ring me up, i’ll come and slap them up.
FP: It’s a pleasure to be interviewing a Saint such as yourself! But before we let you go, we like to allow our interviewees the chance to sign off the interview in any way they please. So without further ado, Ludo is there anything you would like to share?
Ludo: Real Gs move in silence like lasagna, but also IG is life, so check out all these talented individuals:
@d.lish_, @emmakorantema, @myamehmi_, @taliaadarling_, @freshta, @helenastardj, @deejaypri, @gaia_ia and @jjess.mp3
A few of you may remember, we recently paid a visit to father and daughter duo Chirs Bramble and Freya Bramble-Carter in celebration of Nike’s Air Force 1 High Sculpt. To take this celebration further, we invited a handful of friends and family down to test their on skills on the pottery wheel.
Whether it’s within the realms of footwear design, architecture or even painting, everything starts with and idea within the mind so we challenged those who attended to get creating much like the Air Force 1 Sculpt. Effortlessly sculpted, Nike have created a soft approach to Air Force 1 High with the removal of the ankle strap and the tumbled leathers.
Check out our previous interview here and shop the Nike Air Force 1 ‘Sculpt’ here!
To truly capture MJ’s history within the world of basketball, you have to look at his strength and desire to always be the best. In the efforts to capture these qualities in their latest Jordan silhouette, the brand look towards the ultra clean Air Jordan III.
Among one of the most iconic models within the Air Jordan signature line, the Air Jordan III for many makes a case for being one of the most desirable. First released way back in 1988, it became a shoe remembered by most for MJ wearing the AJIII in his 2nd Slam Dunk contest win from the 3-throw line, becoming synonymous to the basketball icon.
Fast forward however to the present day and the Air Jordan III has faced many many iterations and collaborations which has only further cemented its status. For this latest take however, they lean more towards the strength and durability of MJ’s career with the use of a subtle cream heavy duty canvas upper with a contrasting cement grey upper. Take a closer look at the ‘Muslin’ below and make sure to get your entries in for your chance to purchase!
PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ THE BELOW!
The London in-store draw is now CLOSED!
All online draws are now housed over on the Footpatrol Launches App, CLICK HERE to download!
To enter, you’re required to sign up via the above forms, these WON’T be available in-store to sign up on.
In-store winners will be contacted via email informing them of their win. Within this email, winners will be given a set of dates in which they must collect their win from our London store. To collect, you will need to provide the winning email and a valid photographic government ID matching the winners name. NO ONE can collect on the winners behalf. Failure to provide this, or failure to collect within the given dates will mean failure to purchase your win.
To sign up to the Online raffle, you will need to download the Footpatrol Launches app and complete a pre-authorisation payment of the retail price of the product plus shipping costs. This will be held until raffle completion. Those successful will have their raffle win posted out to the address entered during sign up. Those unsuccessful will see a return of their funds, this can take up to 5 working days from when the winners have been drawn. The raffle is limited to one entry per household! Multiple entries will be cancelled!
3.26… A date that is now etched within the sneaker community, of course, it means its Air Max Day!
Each year that passes, it seems that the Air Max franchise grows from strength to strength. Whether that’s Nike looking back at the history of certain silhouettes, revisiting famed colour ways or exploring new and exciting ways of utilising Air like when they launched the ultra-futuristic Air Vapormax.
To celebrate this year’s Air Max Day, not only are we celebrating by co-hosting the Give Fresh Air: The Game Show, but we also caught up with four individuals within the sneaker scene that live and breathe Air. Whilst catching up with each person, we challenged them with bringing down their favourite Air Max within their collection…
Take a closer look at each person’s pick below… who are you siding with?
Ikechi Amaechi / @kech_kicks
From her eclectic partnership with Sheaker Mag to creating Black Sneaker Chic – a platform that is dedicated to the evolving sneaker savvy female audience, Ikechi Amaechi’s enthusiasm and passion for the sneaker culture never fails to impress. A highly coveted favourite for Ikechi is certainly the Air Max 98’s ‘Gundam’ iteration – it’s bold, colourful and invigorating, mirroring a true reflection of Ikechi’s personality.
Skreech / @papaskreech1
Sneaker enthusiast and founder of ‘Mini Kicks’, Skreech has always found ways to integrate his love for sneaker culture into a wider community. A doting Arsenal fan, Skreech’s must-have pair is the Air Max 1, securing 5 pairs of the iconic silhouette. With a standalone favourite being the ‘Varsity Red’ OG – representing his devotion to the Gunners.
Sam Le Roy / @lleumass
The man behind the ingenious Hart Copy, Sam Le Roy love for sneakers has continued to inspire the masses with his social writing platform. With the Jeff Staple Air Max 90 ‘Navigation Pack’ being his treasured favourite, with its block-by-block map of NYC. The 2004 gem was the first pack Nike ever dropped on a wider commercial release with laser etching.
Jules / @crown_juelzz
South London born photographer and co-founder of Sneaker Sisterhood, Jules is a certified gem in the sneaker industry. Representing status and her inner-city London identity Jules would say that her favourite of Air Max is certainly the Air Max 95 ‘Neon’ colourway – a staple pair within the UK and arguably too good to be worn.
ASICS once again tap into their history and look to a relationship that once was the creation of a standout iteration within the history of the GEL-LYTE III.
When it comes to ASICS and AFEW, it all started back in 2015 with a rendition of the GEL-LYTE III known as the ‘Koi’. Once teased across the web, it had the sneaker community asking many questions and caused a sense of desperation for people to get their hands on a pair, resulting in multi day camp outs. With such fan fare surrounding the release, this ended up resulting in the duo revisiting the ‘Koi’ with the alternate ‘Orange Koi’ a couple years later.
Fast forward to 2022 and we see this successful duo team up once again to bring a new set of ideas to the GEL-LYTE III. Dubbed the ‘Beauty Of Imperfection’, this latest take focusses on the mindset and ideas of the Wabi-Sabi philosophy, a philosophy that finds the beauty within imperfections. In an effort to Make these ideas become a reality whilst also adding a sense of personalisation to each pair, the ASICS Stripes come equipped with a ‘wear away’ upper that allows each person to add their own imperfections… A great sense of encouragement to wear this latest iteration and to really make it your own.
Make sure to take a closer look at the AFEW x ASICS GEL-LYTE III ‘Beauty Of Imperfection’ below and make sure to be ready to grab your pair, launching in-store and online at Footpatrol on 25.03.22, priced at £150.
The YEEZY 450 is the first YEEZY model to be made in Germany featuring a unique design language with an industry-leading technology that uses advanced automated manufacturing throughout the production process. The one-piece premium knit and sock-like construction provides an adaptable fit with exceptional comfort. Meanwhile, a soft PU injected midsole compound offers high-performance rebound and cushioning, delivering an innovative, one-of-a-kind aesthetic.
The YEEZY 450 ‘CINDER’ is made with a series of recycled materials, and at least 50% of the upper features recycled content, this product represents just one of our solutions to help end plastic waste.
PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ THE BELOW!
The London In-store draw is now CLOSED!
All online draws are now housed over on the Footpatrol Launches App, CLICK HERE to download!
To enter, you’re required to sign up via the above forms, these WON’T be available in-store to sign up on.
In-store winners will be contacted via email informing them of their win. Within this email, winners will be given a set of dates in which they must collect their win from our London store. To collect, you will need to provide the winning email and a valid photographic government ID matching the winners name. NO ONE can collect on the winners behalf. Failure to provide this, or failure to collect within the given dates will mean failure to purchase your win.
To sign up to the Online raffle, you will need to download the Footpatrol Launches app and complete a pre-authorisation payment of the retail price of the product plus shipping costs. This will be held until raffle completion. Those successful will have their raffle win posted out to the address entered during sign up. Those unsuccessful will see a return of their funds, this can take up to 5 working days from when the winners have been drawn. The raffle is limited to one entry per household! Multiple entries will be cancelled!
When it comes to collaborations, Concepts and Nike go hand in hand. Having teamed up on numerous silhouettes throughout their history, the duo return once again for an eye-catching rendition of the Air Max 1 that sits perfectly with their usual statement collabs.
Often one to focus on a story telling concept, Nike have let the Concepts team delve into the history of mid-20th century festival goers and the self-expression, youthful and decorative energy that flowed throughout the festival scene.
Using a multi-layered upper, each panel focuses on a different print ranging from acid wash denim, Paisley all the way through to the camo that stretches around the mudguard.
PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ THE BELOW!
The London In-store draw is now CLOSED!
To enter, you’re required to sign up via the above forms, these WON’T be available in-store to sign up on.
In-store winners will be contacted via email informing them of their win. Within this email, winners will be given a set of dates in which they must collect their win from our London store. To collect, you will need to provide the winning email and a valid photographic government ID matching the winners name. NO ONE can collect on the winners behalf. Failure to provide this, or failure to collect within the given dates will mean failure to purchase your win.
Continuing our lineup of anniversary collaborations, we had the pleasure to join creative forces with Manchester based artist and sneaker illustrator Steph Morris on an exciting apparel project. Steph Morris is renowned for her unrivalled realism and portitature of sought after sneaker silhouettes. Starting out with a faithful passion for drawing sneakers in University that quickly turned into a career venture for Steph.
Creating something fresh, stylistically conventional but a true emblem of our brand, we tasked Steph to illustrate something a bit different from her norm. Landing with a hyper realistic rendition of the pound and euro coin that pays true accolades to both our stores. To provide an extra sentiment to our anniversary year, we have also decided to incorporate a 2002 version of the pound coin and euro as this signifies the year that our Footpatrol store first opened.
The Steph Morris x Footpatrol tees arrive in a 260gsm heavyweight 100% cotton construction with ‘Steph Morris’ branding accented to the chest keeping things simple. A coin graphic coats the reverse including Steph Morris signature details. The t-shirt comes available in Black & White options.
The hoodie iteration arrives in a 100% Black loopback cotton construction with ‘Steph Morris’ branding adorned to the front chest and drawstring hood ensures things are well adjusted. The fit is finalised with the respective pound and/or euro coin graphic detailing coating the reverse complete with Steph Morris’ signature details.
Since 1906 Mizuno has become a household name known to many across the globe by producing top quality products to help improve all-round lifestyle and sporting performance. From baseball to athletics, the Japanese outfit prides itself on quality. Getting to know the story behind a particular piece of footwear is something we love to find out at Footpatrol. From the initial concept, through to the development stages and finally the finished article… But how is this achieved? Recently, we chopped it up with the man behind the legendary Mizuno Wave Rider, Tuan Le and took a dive into his life and career as a design specialist within an ever changing, fast paced industry.
Footpatrol: Tuan we want to thank you for giving us the time to speak to you! How are you?
Tuan Le: I’m good thank you, I am also very honoured to be able to speak to you guys. You are my type of people, all we want to do is talk about shoes!
FP: Before we talk about your career let’s kick things with a bit of an introduction on yourself, who you are and you found yourself getting into footwear design?
TL: I was born during the craziest time of the Vietnam war of which we lost, I later moved to America when I was 15 years old when the war ended. My communication to the war around that time was through drawing, I am really good at drawing and it became my way of expression to anyone around me.
I went to college to study and after a little bit got asked to join Reebok for about 8 years. I joined at just the right time too, it became hugely successful off the back of the little thing called Aerobics! It even became bigger than Nike at the time. [However], my career at the time wasn’t in line with what I wanted to do, I didn’t want to be a fashion designer as such, but more of a function/practical designer where what I produce has purpose. On the back of [my early successes] I received many recruitment phone calls from many brands but, one brand stood out for me and that was Mizuno. Mizuno were known for their technical product and that’s what I wanted. I wanted to help come up with comfortable and technical cushioning devices to avoid injury etc… Mizuno asked me to move to San Francisco and strangely enough it snowed in Boston that winter. That snowfall was the defining moment that I packed my things and moved over the West Coast.
It ended up being a 30 year partnership between me and Mizuno and to this day I love to work with them! I absolutely love what I do, it turned into a career of which I could have never imagined. I hope I will get to this forever even if it’s just through my love for drawing.
FP: I love that whole story! One thing I love about Mizuno is that they have dominated nearly every sport since they were founded in 1906, the best part about it is that they never feel the need to rave about the success because they know what they do works.
TL: I agree!
FP: Just to talk about your role itself. How has the job developed over the years? We read that once upon a time you were known as a graphic designer as sneaker design roles weren’t really a thing.
TL: [When I started my career] you had a factory, the shoe maker and a pattern cutter who designed the uppers for the shoe, so there was never a need for shoe designers as such within the industry, it was like they never heard of it. It was a whole thing of a foreign office working with far away factories. I would sit in the office and make a design with input from the marketing and sales teams, that would then go to the factory to be made, the sample returned, I’d make the corrections and then send it back to the factory again. What I didn’t realise at the time 30 years ago, is that this way of work would become the way we design shoes today. No one in the offices ever goes to the factories, we sit at our far away desks, draw a beautiful drawing and then email it over to the factory.
FP: You are known at Mizuno for designing the legendary Wave Rider 1 and also the lesser known Wave Rider 2 model. How did you conceptualise the Wave Rider 1?
TL: It was around the late 80s when Nike dropped the first Air Max trainer with the big Air unit. Mizunos shoes at the time were going downhill from the back of it and were struggling with sales. Mr. Mizuno himself even said to me, you got one more chance or we may have to close the whole shoe department! So we went away and had a think and came up with the idea of rather than having a really big air bag like Nike, why not create a super thin piece of mechanical that goes down as its compressed and springs back as its released, so we then drew the Wave plate into the midsole, I felt it was the perfect shape to create this effect. When we sent the ideas to the factory to try, they had never even attempted anything like that before so it took many attempts before we got it right. By the time we released Wave Rider 1 it ended up being a big failure and no one cared about it! When you put EVA and plastic together you need to create enough open space for the Wave plate to be able to contract and expand as it’s worn to create that energy return. At the time it was something our factory couldn’t quite get. By the time we released the Wave Rider 2, we figured it out, the Wave Rider 2 was really the groundbreaking model for Mizuno Running. Even Mr. Mizuno came up to us and said you guys got it, I’m not going to close the shoe department anymore!
FP: Knowing that you are a very keen runner. Is the running part of that your mental prep for the day?
TL: For many years I found a certain kind of click that makes my mind work. Every morning I go out for a run and whilst my mind thinks about living and eating healthy, I think to myself about how I am not here to train for a marathon but here for a lifelong marathon, I want to be able to do it for 50/60 years. So when someone comes up to me and says I have the crazy idea, can you help me, I always say yes because I am constantly mentally prepared for these things.
FP: Speaking of pens actually! As the industry has developed, have you joined the paperless world or stuck to the classic pen and paper?
TL: Pen and paper always! I read a study from some scientists once, that as you draw and the outer part of your palm touches the paper as you’re resting your hand it sends signals to your brain and gets your ideas following! I never want to give that feeling up.
FP: Tuan What is the perfect shoe for you?
TL: I don’t know if there is one yet. I tend to spend the winter time in my house in Florida and usually only take one pair of shoes. Within one month I will throw them out because I am always running. I need shoes to be light, simple and last longer than a month, I need them to last at least 6 months!
After a while of wearing EVA although it has its benefits, after a while it gets so compressed that it loses those benefits. So as for the perfect shoe we haven’t made it yet but we are always striving with the industry to produce it.
FP: Something I wanted to ask you that I saw on your website was the Mizuno car design you had. Did that ever become a real thing?
TL: Back in 1990, Mr. Mizuno said we have sponsored a Porsche for the 24hr Le Mans race, can you draw up a graphic. I said with so much excitement yes! I did the design and they ended up placing 8th on the day. I think there is even plenty of footage out there if you want to see it.
FP: We’ve heard you had or have a Mustang too. Have motor sports had an influence on your designs?
TL: I do yes, I have a 1966 Mustang red with 2 racing stripes down the middle. A friend of mine sadly passed away and his family sold it to me after his passing to look after it, so I have a duty to make sure the car is maintained. I’ve always been a big fan of motorsports, the history of car design on how they have got to where they are now fascinates me, my favourite example of this is the Porsche 911. The way they have kept refining it over the years is what makes it the best car in the world to me, it looks the same as it did when it first came out. Same with aeroplanes, there are lots of planes that are produced but like cars they look the same but they make adjustment after adjustment to make it perform better. I can’t help but appreciate the thought process these designers go through to be able to do that.
FP: Now the real focus of this interview is actually Mizuno Mujin TL. The upper that you once designed and never came out. Could you tell us the story of how it all came about and why it got held back until now?
TL: If you ever find yourself in Portland, Oregon I will show you. One of the easiest conversations I had with our guys in Japan was about a bunch of drawings that I have stacked up in boxes. When I say boxes I mean boxes! You could stack them up and they would be taller than me. They asked me if they could come over and see them. So the team from Japan flew over, we laid out all the drawings everywhere and they all took a stack each. Some of these drawings I believe will be coming out in the not too distant future!
FP: Did you intend for it to be a trail based shoe? I know the sole unit is from a Mujin 8.
TL: So the idea actually came from Saito-san, when he came over to go through the drawings, he saw the upper and thought this would be cool to do on a trail shoe. I naturally agreed simply because I always run on trails. When I first designed the upper years ago though I don’t think we planned for it to be a trail based shoe though.
FP: If you had to do a special edition Tuan Le colourway how would that look to you? What would be your ideal look for it?
TL: As long as it looks fast I don’t mind. Fast and bright colours!
FP: Take a little side step now. In your opinion, how would you compare the past, present and future of Mizuno?
TL: The way I was attracted to the brand is the true sense of what Mizuno does best. Functional, well made product that doesn’t need much marketing because of how good they are. There have been times over the years where Mizuno have tried to take a different direction and failed. So we felt that for Mizuno things need to stay the way they always are because it works and it’s what they do so well at. The times where they have tried to compete with brands like Nike and try to be them and later realised we are just too different and need to stay in our own lane. We need to focus on providing functional footwear in the best materials and the best technology. That’s why I love it here because Mizuno still does just that.
FP: What about the concept of 3D printing shoes? Giving consumers a space to see their purchase come to life in front of them.
TL: I love the idea! I think it’s amazing, we had a few products in the works aiming for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which would have allowed the customer to see the shoes made whilst they were waiting. Unfortunately that never happened due to the circumstances for the Olympics. I would like to do more of that, I think it would really help out with the sampling process too in design saving the wait from the factory.
FP: Tuan just out of interest did you have any influence on the Mizuno Right Here Right Now releases?
TL: No, I wasn’t a part of that project. I have been working with the Advance Concepts team in Osaka though and some of the things we did in that got passed down to that project.
FP: Tuan I want to reiterate our thanks for sparing us some time to speak to you. It’s been a real pleasure to talk to the man behind some of Mizunos best shoes. Before we let you go, are there any words of advice you can give to any young enthusiasts trying to make their way into the industry?
TL: Your own personality is key. If you are a designer, find who you are as a person, maybe you are special, that will naturally pass through into your designs and drawings. You will be able to continue this for the next 30/40 years because you are being who you truly are. Throughout my career I genuinely feel that because I have stayed true to myself, and because of that has given me a truly amazing career.
