I think it is really important to have a sense of business. As a designer you can get so wrapped up in the design and fashion side that you forget the business side.

I thought, if I went into business I'd be able to control my own destiny.

My mother was kind and forgiving and would take in all the waifs and strays in our neighbourhood; we always compared her to Mother Teresa. She taught me a lot.

I was looking at people like Jim Morrison and David Bowie and Mick Jagger and I thought, Ah! I want to look like them.

I consider myself to be respectful, and I believe this is a main value for sports.

I looked at the rap community like street kids wanting their own brand. But now I look at that period with the rappers in the 90s as a trend of the moment. What it taught me was never to follow a trend, because trends move on.

I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to build some kind of lifestyle brand that was preppy and cool.