I left school at 15 and I came to America at the age of 19.

15歲輟學 19歲來到美國

Well, eight weeks ago I didn’t know what a TED talk was,

直到8個禮拜前 我才知道TED這玩意

and to be honest, I don’t know why I’m here today.

老實說我不太知道自己為什麼在這

But I do appreciate the opportunity to be with you guys

但我還是很感謝有機會與大家分享

and share my story, my journey, my hopes and my dreams.

我的故事、人生經歷、希望和夢想

And I, having left school at 15, you know, for me I didn’t really have any future.

一個15歲的輟學生 沒未來可言

Well, I came to America 28 years ago

所以28年前我毅然來到這裡

and that represented the land for opportunity for me.

在我心中 美國是塊充滿機會的樂土

And in those past 28 years I’ve been able to build 3 things,

28年裡 我建立了三家成功企業

a successful clothing company,

一家服飾公司、

a film location business,

電影場景出租、

and also a restored raced driven and collected quite a lot of classic Porches.

改裝車子、蒐集許多經典保時捷

A Porsche is a passion for me

我非常熱愛保時捷

and I’ll talk about that in detail in a little bit.

這件事待會再詳細說明

But all 3 of those things share one common bond,

這三項事業有個共通點

I had no education in them and I didn’t really think I would end up in that particular field.

我對服裝、電影都一竅不通 也沒想到會在這三個專業闖出名堂來

I didn’t really know where I was going.

當時我一切都毫無頭緒

But all three of those things have a common thread, a common bond.

但它們的確有個共同特徵

And that common bond for me really is freedom.

在我看來 那個共通點就是自由發揮

Freedom to do whatever I wanted to do

想幹嘛就幹嘛的自由

and dream sort of to be able to,

盡可能地做夢

I suppose, uh, live my life to the fullest and do whatever I wanted to do.

大概跟「把握光陰、及時行樂」的意思差不多

So, coming out to America really was a journey, and I’ll start my journey in 1977.

飛來美國是場精彩的冒險 這趟冒險始於1977年

1977 in England was sort of a special year.

1977年對英國人來說有著特殊意義

We had this, uh, punk rock thing going on

龐克搖滾是那個時期的標誌

and we also had this Royal Jubilee thing going on.

皇家大赦也是同一年

But for me, it was the start of a very memorable moment.

那年對我來說則是生命的轉捩點

My father took me to the London Earls Court Motor Show in 1977.

我爸在1997年帶我去參加倫敦伯爵宮車展

And back then I fell in love with this car, it was a white Martini Porsche.

當時我就被這台白色馬丁尼保時捷迷住了

Now, any kid growing up anywhere in the world in the late 70s early 80s,

70後或80初年代的小孩

chances are you probably had a choice of 3 cars on your wall:

房間牆壁上可能會出現以下其一:

Porsche Turbo, Ferrari Boxer, or Lamborghini Countach.

保時捷、法拉利、藍寶堅尼

For some reason I chose Porsche,

而我獨鍾保時捷

I even wrote a letter to Porsche when I was 10 years old.

10歲的我甚至寫了一封信去他們公司

And essentially said to them, hey, I want to design for Porsche,

表明自己想為保時捷設計

And they wrote back to me and said, well call us when you’re a little bit older,

得到的回覆是：「等你長大一點再說」

which I thought was pretty funny and they sent me a sales brochure

還附贈一本銷售指南 實在很幽默

and 35 years later they’d end up writing me a letter back,

35年後 換他們主動寫信來了

but I’ll get to that story a little later on.

不過這個也之後再談

So I’m this young kid growing up in Sheffield.

我在雪菲爾長大

Sheffield was a grim northern steel town as shown by this picture right here.

雪菲爾就像照片上這樣 是個位於北方的陰鬱鋼鐵小鎮

You know, there wasn’t necessarily many Porsches on the road,

當時路上跑的沒幾部是保時捷

So I filed that dream away, I had the poster on the wall,

我的保時捷夢是那時萌發的: 牆上貼車子海報、

and I was watching Motorsports as a kid also in 1977.

觀看動力運動(註: 以集團形式使用機動車為主的競爭賽事)

England had the James Hunt, he was a Formula 1 world champion.

看著英國車手詹姆士˙亨特在1997年贏得F1冠軍、

And we also had Barry Sheene, he was a two wheel motor GP champion back then.

貝瑞˙薛尼在大獎賽(註: 賽車比賽中賽道最長的賽事之一)拔得頭籌

So even though I didn’t grow up with any sort of fancy cars,

雖然成長過程中 沒什麼接觸酷炫車子

my father was a salesman, I grew up in a working class background.

老爸是業務員、又生在勞工階級家庭

I did have this dream early on, and somehow this dream involved Porsche.

我卻很早就對保時捷之類的跑車有了興趣

I also, back then, was a pretty competitive middle distance cross-country runner,

我以前是中程越野賽跑的佼佼者

sort of a solo sport guy, and I used to love getting out there and running.

別人眼裡 我是個獨來獨往的運動咖 喜歡往外跑

I became quite competitive. I joined this club called the Ellen Show Harriers.

我越跑越好 之後加入俱樂部「艾倫越野競走」

They had this guy called Sebastian Coe set quite a few world records,

裡頭有個傢伙叫賽巴斯汀˙寇伊 有好幾項金氏世界紀錄

and ran at the ’80 and ’84 world Olympic games

還是1980和1984年的奧運跑者

and he was sort of inspirational to me.

他是我的靈感來源

Around that same time, I also fell in love with something called heavy metal music.

同時間 我開始瘋重金屬音樂

Now growing up in Sheffield there are a lot of rock bands you know, may it being a sort of slightly depressed grim, northern city,

我的家鄉雪菲爾 有很多搖滾樂團 雖然那裏陰沉、灰暗了點

but there was a lot of music and a lot of fun.

卻也是個充滿音樂與樂趣的北方小鎮

So, fell in love with Porsche, doing some middle distance cross country running,

喜歡保時捷、越野跑

fell in love with heavy metal music,

還有重金屬樂

and I decided at the end of the 5th year I would leave school.

我決定讀完五年級 就不再唸書

I left school in 1982, basically with 2 O-Levels and no real future.

1982年輟學、沒受什麼教育 前途是一片茫然

By that time, I’d also figured out I could go drink in a pub.

那時想過去酒吧喝到爽

So for some reason that was great for going to clubs and having fun,

想找樂子的話是個不錯的選擇

but wasn’t so good for a middle-distance cross-country runner athlete.

想繼續越野賽跑就不太適合了

So that sort of faded away,

所以我最後打消那個念頭

but there was the little thing that stuck with me was the passion and sort of the drive

但熱情和驅使我前進的力量一直存在

and I think till this day, those memorable moments from earlier on are still with me.

年輕時候的珍貴時光也烙印在我心中

I’m still running around, I’m still chasing around, I’m still running after my goal.

過了這麼多年 我還是四處跑、追尋目標

So, I bummed around on the dole for a little bit,

輟學之後我無所事事、領救濟金度日

doing our jobs and stuff like that.

自由自在地生活

And, uh, I started to hear this comment quite a lot – cut your hair and get a real job.

然而這些話開始一遍又一遍出現: 「去理個髮吧，找份正當工作」

Well I was on the dole working construction, living at home, no car, taking the bus places.

我打零工、領救濟金 住在家裡、沒車代步 唯一選擇是公車

And for a year or two, that was okay.

一兩年或許還可以

By the time I turned 17 I decided okay,

但17歲時 我也開始想:

I’m not gonna cut my hair, but maybe I should think about getting a job.

「頭髮是不可能剪的，但或許該考慮找份活兒」

So I actually took a year longer in leisure and recreation study course sports management at a college.

所以我鬼混了一些時日 又回學校上課 念為期一年的運動管理課程

And I heard about this thing called “Camp America”. Well what was Camp America? I didn’t know,

聽人們說起「美國夏令營」 那是什麼? 我也不知道

But apparently Camp America sent kids to work at a summer camp in the United States of America.

顧名思義 應該是把小孩送到美國的夏令營去

Growing up as a kid, of course, I watched a lot of American TV.

小時候看了很多美國電視節目

Most of the shows I loved centred around action and cars – Starsky and Hutch, Dukes of Hazzard, CHiPs.

我喜歡的都跟汽車、動作有關 例如: 警網雙雄、正義前鋒、CHiPs(註: 動作犯罪影集)

So I had this American dream and it involved Evel Knievel .

所以我的美國夢還包括依維˙卡尼爾(註: 摩托車特技人員)

And long story short I took a leap of faith and I applied to Camp America.

長話短說 我鼓起勇氣報名了「美國夏令營」

It was a little bit of a strange feeling, and I had these strange feelings in the past,

以前也有過這種難以名狀的感覺

and somehow when my gut tells me to do something it generally is a good thing.

但直覺總告訴我預感不會錯

Go on your gut feeling.

就放膽去做

So by pure luck I suppose I was accepted into Camp America, got on a,

大概運氣太好 申請成功了

a flight to New York, took a Trailways bus from New York,

我要飛去紐約 搭上紐約的Trailways巴士

that’s the bus I took, to Detroit. Now Detroit was great, it was somewhat similar to Sheffield,

巴士開往底特律 底特律是個很棒的城市 和雪菲爾有點像

former industrial city, also happened to the sort of, automotive hub of the United States.

從前工業都市 變成現今美國汽車工業中心

But I wasn’t in Detroit, I was

但我目的地不是底特律

30 minutes north on a summer camp working with, in a city,

而是底特律北方 30分鐘車程的一個夏令營

underprivileged kids, that happened to be from Detroit.

和一群剛好來自底特律的弱勢小孩朝夕相處

Now that was a big culture shock for me.

對來自北雪菲爾的重金屬樂迷來說

Cuz you know, I’m this heavy metal guy from Sheffield, north of England,

真是個不小的文化衝擊

I’m sort of in the middle of nowhere,

在那鳥不生蛋的地方

I had to adapt pretty quickly.

我必須快點適應狀況

So I adapted pretty quickly on this summer camp

而我也很快就讓自己進入了狀況

and when that camp was over, I got back onto that Trailsway Bus,

夏令營結束後 我再度搭上Trailways巴士

and took that bus out west.

往西駛去

I landed in Los Angeles, 1986, Union Station, 4am in the Morning.

在1986年某天的清晨4點 降落在美國洛杉磯

You know, I’d watch all those TV shows but I found myself being awakened on a park bench at 6am in the morning

電視裡的洛杉磯讓人如此神往 我的親身遭遇卻是: 洛城警方在清晨六點

by a LAPD guy who told me you can’t sleep here.

把我從公園長椅上挖起來 叫我別處睡去

And I was sort of a little bit disappointed, I’ve seen all these shows in and around LA but where are all the beautiful people?

我有些失望 電視劇把洛城塑造的這般美好 但可愛友善的人們呢?

Where are all the rock stars and movie stars?

搖滾歌手、電影明星呢?

That wasn’t happening in downtown LA.

在洛杉磯市中心全都不見蹤影

But quickly I found my way to Hollywood and uh, over the next couple of years,

但我很快就找到往好萊塢的路

you know, I sort of did a few odd jobs,

之後做了幾份臨時工

but there was one pivotal moment that happened within 3 days of being in Los Angeles.

不過真正扭轉我人生的事 卻發生在抵達洛城的三天內

Found myself at this YMCA hotel right off Hollywood Boulevard.

我落腳在好萊塢大道上的青年旅館

I went shopping on Hollywood Boulevard and I saw these great PVC Alligator Print pants are on sale for $9.99.

逛街時發現了很棒的仿鱷魚皮紋長褲 促銷價只要9.99美元

So I bought myself a pair but didn’t really fit good.

我給自己買了一條 但不太合身

So went back to the youth hostel, bought a sewing kit and sewed them inside out,

回旅館買了縫紉工具 將褲子剪裁一番

and decide I’m going to go to the street that everyone was talking about called Melrose.

再返回那條家喻戶曉的街－Malrose

So I ended up going down there to Melrose and walked into this shop that was called Retail Slut.

Malrose街上走著走著 進入了一家店「Retail Slut」

It was a punk rock shop and there was a guy working there that was in a band called Faster Pussycat.

服裝特色為龐克、頹廢、地下潮流 當時正好有個工作人員 他是樂團「Faster Pussycat」(1986年成立於洛杉磯的重金屬樂團)的成員

His name was Taimie.

名叫泰敏

Pivotal part to a story here.

故事的重點來了

Taimie says to me,

泰敏和我攀談

he realized I was from England, struck up a conversation,

知道我是英國人後 打開了話匣子

and said “where did you get those pants from?”

他說:「你褲子哪裡買的?」

I said, “Hey,you know, I got them from England.”

我回他: 「英國買的

I had to think quick on my feet.

確切地點我可得好好回想一下

I said, “Why? Do you want to buy them,” just sort of jokingly

怎麼了? 你也想要一件嗎?」我只是在開玩笑

and he said, “Sure. Yeah, how much are they?”

他卻認真了起來: 「對啊! 我也想買一件 多少錢呀?」

So this point I hadn’t thought about selling these pants but I said first number that came to mind, 25 bucks.

之前完全沒想過有朝一日會賣褲子 但我還是脫口而出腦中第一個數字: 25美元

He said, “Okay. I’ll take eight piece.”

他說: 「好，我要買八件」

So I ran right up to Hollywood Boulevard, bought eight pairs of pants,

所以我跑回好萊塢大道 買了八條回來

went back down and sold them to him $15 profit per pant.

全賣給他 一條淨賺15塊

I realized in that one hour transaction, I’d made more straight away, literally within being in LA for three days,

我發現這一小時的交易更好賺 洛杉機才待了3天

than I made in a whole week working construction in England.

就賺到一個英國工人7天的薪水

So I thought, oh, maybe LA is a place for me, seems pretty easy.

我心想: 「哇塞 也許這裡就是我的歸屬 謀生不困難嘛」

They speak English, a lot of rock and roll.

人們都說英文 到處充斥著搖滾樂

It was Guns N’ Roses, Motley Crue.

還有槍與玫瑰、克魯小丑樂團

It was a great time over the next few years.

之後幾年我也的確過得很愜意

Fast-forward to 1989.

咻一下來到1989年

I’m selling second-hand clothing on the Boardwalk in Venice,

威尼斯海濱步道上賣二手衣、

going to Yard sales, buying old Levi’s, cowboy boots, Western shirts.

庭院拍賣、批舊牛仔褲、牛仔靴、T恤來賣

I am in the clothing industry now.

我正式踏入服飾業

Venice Beach back then was a major tourist attraction, lot of European people coming through.

威尼斯海灘當時是觀光勝地 很多歐洲人都喜歡去那度假

And little by little this grew into a business, which became known as Serious Clothing

我的小本事業一點一點開始茁壯 後來開起「Serious Clothing」(服裝以搖滾為特色的網路店家)

and we ended up outfitting everyone from Alice Cooper to Madonna and everyone in between.

幫名人設計衣服 包括埃里斯˙庫柏(註: 美國搖滾歌手)和瑪丹娜等等

We started wholesaling a small chain called Hot Topic.

我最初從一間小連鎖店批東西來賣 那家店叫「熱門話題」

Back then Hot Topic had five stores and would grow to over 500 stores.

當時還只有5家 現在已有超過500家分店

So we sort of went from making a little amount of clothing to making thousands of pieces of clothing.

東批一件、西批一件的小買賣越做越響亮

Well, in 1994, we realized being in Venice wasn’t so easy for a clothing company.

在1994年的威尼斯 服飾業並不景氣

We moved downtown and rented a loft in a warehouse for the next six years.

所以我和妻子搬到市中心、租了閣樓 一住就是六年

Serious Clothing then started doing a lot of music videos

而Serious Clothing的衣服、鞋子和配件開始出現在許多MV裡

and also a lot of outfits for magazines and stylists who call in all the time.

雜誌服裝、造型設計的邀約從不間斷

Serious Clothing had its own unique style.

Serious Clothing的風格獨樹一幟

We took fabrics that were not necessarily garment fabrics for use in car seat fabrics and made them into jackets and things like that.

我們的衣服材質不一定是傳統布料 有可能用車子椅套的材料 做出夾克之類的來

Non-conventional materials thinking outside the box and basically doing what we like to wear.

用非傳統織物 跳脫框架來做衣服 想穿什麼 就做什麼

Well, by 2000, we realized we paid two people’s mortgages and we needed, hey, let’s buy our own building.

2000年發現負擔了兩人房貸 所以想買一棟自己的大樓

So we ended up finding this building.

就是圖中這棟

Oh, that was me back then, forgot that little picture.

這是當年的我 都忘了有這張照片

So that was me pre-beard, that’s sort of circa 1994.

我大概是從1994年開始留鬍子