Robb Report - 08.2019

(Darren Dugan) #1

ROBBREPORT.COM 65


What have you done recently for the first time?
Last year I attended the Monaco Grand Prix as special guest of Ferrari and aces Kimi
Räikkönen and Sebastian Vettel.^1 We spent time in the pit with a front-row view of
these world-class pilots taking their incredible machines to the technical limit.

Name your favorite designer.
Sergio Pininfarina, who conceived the bodywork of almost every Ferrari. He under-
stood the elements of great design—good harmony, classic style, proportion and grace.
This sense of graceful proportion—exceptional power clothed in a sensual body—
has led many experts to regard the Ferrari as one of the most beautiful objects ever
produced.

First thing you do in the morning?
I love to take a four-mile precision run and then slipknot into my favorite nuclear-
strength mocha cappuccino from Quartermaine Coffee Roasters in Bethesda, Md.

What advice do you wish you’d followed?
DROOM: Don’t Run Out of Money. If your business runs out of money, it’s game over.
Identify exactly how much money you need in reserve. Raise money when you can get
it. Be scrappy. Focus on keeping your costs low and driving revenue.

What do you do that’s still analog?
Measure time. I’m fascinated by watch companies such as Patek Philippe that have
taken micro-engineering to its technical conclusion.

What in your wardrobe do you wear most often?
I love Berluti sneakers and their take on casual elegance. On a recent trip to Paris, I
dragged my wife on a Berluti-store tour, picking up the Palermo sneaker in every color.

Do you have a uniform for certain occasions?
I love black tie and like to mix it up. I have a collection of tuxedos. I’ll find any excuse
to wear my white jacket and recently purchased my first shawl collar.

What do you most crave at the end of the day?
Time with my family. I travel 15 to 20 days each month, so we have mandatory family
dinners every Friday night with my three kids.

The most recent thing you regret not buying?
Dorothy Lichtenstein gave my family unfettered access to Roy Lichtenstein’s studio—a
tough get. We pulled our kids out of school—a big deal for us—and spent the day in the
studio playing with Lichtenstein’s Ben-Day dot stencils. Dorothy gave me the opportu-
nity to purchase one of the works, but I declined. Mistake...big mistake.^2

Which are your regular tables in New York, LA and London?
All my business lunches are at the St. Regis New York’s Astor Court. I have the same
table every time—the back left banquette. In LA, I stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
It’s the McCarthy salad at the Polo Lounge for me. And high tea at the Dorchester in
London, of course.

If you could stick at one age, what would it be, and why?
Forty. Life begins at 40.

If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?
With all five members of my family, plus my mom and dad, trapped on my boat some-
where in the Mediterranean.

What’s always in your hand luggage?
M-61 PowerGlow Peels.^3

What is the car you are most attached to?
My Ferrari GTO.

Do you still write letters?
Yes. I think it’s a lost art. I handwrite all my notes on personalized Smythson stationery.

Dylan or Bowie?
Bowie. “Ashes to Ashes” is currently stuck in my head.

3
These cult-
favorite peels are
Bluemercury’s
best seller.
According to the
company, one
pack is sold every
eight seconds.

1
Vettel ended up
taking second
place in the 2018
race; Räikkönen
came in fourth.

2
Indeed. Like New,
an early Ben-Day
dot painting,
sold last year
at Sotheby’s for
$5.9 million.

Read the full interview online at robbreport.com/beck.

ROBBREPORT.COM 65


What have you done recently for the first time?
Last year I attended the Monaco Grand Prix as special guest of Ferrari and aces Kimi
Räikkönen and Sebastian Vettel.^1 We spent time in the pit with a front-row view of
these world-class pilots taking their incredible machines to the technical limit.

Name your favorite designer.
Sergio Pininfarina, who conceived the bodywork of almost every Ferrari. He under-
stood the elements of great design—good harmony, classic style, proportion and grace.
This sense of graceful proportion—exceptional power clothed in a sensual body—
has led many experts to regard the Ferrari as one of the most beautiful objects ever
produced.

First thing you do in the morning?
I love to take a four-mile precision run and then slipknot into my favorite nuclear-
strength mocha cappuccino from Quartermaine Coffee Roasters in Bethesda, Md.

What advice do you wish you’d followed?
DROOM: Don’t Run Out of Money. If your business runs out of money, it’s game over.
Identify exactly how much money you need in reserve. Raise money when you can get
it. Be scrappy. Focus on keeping your costs low and driving revenue.

What do you do that’s still analog?
Measure time. I’m fascinated by watch companies such as Patek Philippe that have
taken micro-engineering to its technical conclusion.

What in your wardrobe do you wear most often?
I love Berluti sneakers and their take on casual elegance. On a recent trip to Paris, I
dragged my wife on a Berluti-store tour, picking up the Palermo sneaker in every color.

Do you have a uniform for certain occasions?
I love black tie and like to mix it up. I have a collection of tuxedos. I’ll find any excuse
to wear my white jacket and recently purchased my first shawl collar.

What do you most crave at the end of the day?
Time with my family. I travel 15 to 20 days each month, so we have mandatory family
dinners every Friday night with my three kids.

The most recent thing you regret not buying?
Dorothy Lichtenstein gave my family unfettered access to Roy Lichtenstein’s studio—a
tough get. We pulled our kids out of school—a big deal for us—and spent the day in the
studio playing with Lichtenstein’s Ben-Day dot stencils. Dorothy gave me the opportu-
nity to purchase one of the works, but I declined. Mistake...big mistake.^2

Which are your regular tables in New York, LA and London?
All my business lunches are at the St. Regis New York’s Astor Court. I have the same
table every time—the back left banquette. In LA, I stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
It’s the McCarthy salad at the Polo Lounge for me. And high tea at the Dorchester in
London, of course.

If you could stick at one age, what would it be, and why?
Forty. Life begins at 40.

If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?
With all five members of my family, plus my mom and dad, trapped on my boat some-
where in the Mediterranean.

What’s always in your hand luggage?
M-61 PowerGlow Peels.^3

What is the car you are most attached to?
My Ferrari GTO.

Do you still write letters?
Yes. I think it’s a lost art. I handwrite all my notes on personalized Smythson stationery.

Dylan or Bowie?
Bowie. “Ashes to Ashes” is currently stuck in my head.

3
These cult-
favorite peels are
Bluemercury’s
best seller.
According to the
company, one
pack is sold every
eight seconds.

1
Vettel ended up
taking second
place in the 2018
race; Räikkönen
came in fourth.

2
Indeed. Like New,
an early Ben-Day
dot painting,
sold last year
at Sotheby’s for
$5.9 million.


Read the full interview online at robbreport.com/beck.
Free download pdf