Nothing Has Changed. #4
A Journal of Sound and Vision
Nothing Has Changed. #4
Goats are everywhere on this island…
Today is October 9 and in 1964 I entered this beautiful world.
My career has been long and awesome.
I started my career working for a record company in 1984 and worked there til the end of 1993. That was an incredible experience and I loved every minute of it.
Most people think the record industry is probably all fun and games and it was. We were told to destroy hotels with bands by our president at the time and go all in on that.
So we did.
While it was fun, it was also serious business with managing inventory and marketing budgets. That part was very strict.
Numbers had to be hit and financial responsibilities were real. I was in sales for a long time and learned from the best managers how to dig in corners and hit your quota no matter what it takes. We had forecasts which were monitored closely every month. I learned at a very young age how revenue targets are measured and it was a serious challenge sometimes. But you always found a way to get it done.
As I sit here today at 62 years old I look back and think to myself how life went by fast.
Very fast.
I’m here in Kona for the Ironman World Championship and I realized that all 3 of the brands I’ve created literally began their life here.
Rip N Hammer came to me in 1989 when I was here on the pier.
My old golf company came to me here in 2001 and I flew back home and got it off the ground.
Foreign Rider came to me in 2009 (first at the Giro) and later that year I raced here in Kona fulfilling a life long dream. I left here with the idea to build a company around post-ride comfort in natural materials since I was really looking to move away from synthetics.
Today marks decades of being an entrepreneur and building brands formed from ideas / thoughts while here in Kona.
I think Kona is a truly magical place and the Big Island has energy that is hard to explain. The smell of the air when you get off the plane is one of my favourite things in the world.
The black lava. The rawness of everything.
I think different here and it gives me incredible clarity.
Getting into your 60s is an interesting period because you realize how short life really is. You never imagine being this age when you’re younger. You just think it’s fucking old. But it’s actually not.
Reaching this age means you’ve discovered who you truly are (good and bad) and also what you’re really good at...and not good at.
Knowing what you’re good at and not good at allows you to make decisions with an unbelievable amount of confidence and curiosity.
Most guys my age want to retire.
I want to build.
I want to ride.
I want to be in the outdoors.
I want to talk to people which is surprising because I’m actually very introverted and was never like that.
You also realize at this age that you’ve made a lot of mistakes.
Mine were all about a lack of staying true to my gut.
The fucking fork in the road. Which way do I go when incredible opportunities present themselves. I have turned down the wrong path 3 times.
I took the wrong path with RNH even though we built an amazing following but I didn’t follow my gut. I did however get the trademarks back and I’m deciding when to relaunch it. One of the reasons I’m in Kona is to see where RNH fits into this sport —one which I know so well and still absolutely love. I will always be a tri-geek.
I really, really followed the wrong path with my golf brand and chased business I had no right to be going after. My intent was to build a pure golf brand. Not a fucking lifestyle brand and add tons of categories. I had no idea what path I was going to go down when I wanted to grow its footprint globally.
With FR. - this is where some of my biggest mistakes were made as massive opportunities presented themselves which I felt at the time that I needed to explore. So 6 months ago we took FR. back to its roots of natural materials and managing production in a few countries. You can see now very clearly what we are doing; building product the right way. This will ultimately get this company to where it was meant to go and be worn by people who appreciate what we’re building.
Everyone should have a place that inspires them. A place you can go back to when you need to think clearly and with focus.
I am here to observe, speak, listen and be grounded with the land. To have clarity to finish what I have been trying to build since 1993.
Hawaii and Kona is that place for me and FR.
1989 - 2026 .... A long journey in business.
1964 - 2026 ... A journey in life.
Kona - Hawaii - gut instinct.
It’s never EVER wrong.
Nothing. Has. Changed.
Thanks for reading -
Peace from the Big Island and to my friend Paula Findlay who is racing here tomorrow - Rip n Hammer out there, but remember it’s just a race and racing is really fun.
- ralph | fr.