Page 96 - Sorry, We're Not Hiring Any Visionaries Today

SORRY, WE’RE NOT HIRING ANY VISIONARIES TODAY
taught myself computers without the actual use of a computer. Since I was on disability, I could not afford a computer. So my parents bought me the Microsoft Windows manual and a mouse. And so, for about six months, I learned from cover to cover. I learned everything about a computer before I ever even touched one. I knew important stuff, but I also knew 80% of the stuff that was not that important but I didn’t know that. So, I took in everything equally.
Over time, I learned how to make web pages, and this was before anybody did that stuff. I started a server, and I began the process of recuperating. Thank- fully, I had income from all the people who had their websites on my server. I’ve had that server for over 23 years, and it pings quicker than Google’s!
I built a very high-end custom van during the Cal Streets era, which was the early 80s. The guy who customized this vehicle taught me how to take ordi- nary things and make them do what I want. I learned so much from this guy.
I am not so great at automotive, but I am good at wiring. My van, back in 1979, had a custom strobe light at the front from an ambulance that would change traffic lights to green. I had neon underneath my vehicle in 1980. Nowadays, it’s normal, but it was a big deal back then. The van had a full bar and a sound system. It even had a video camera.
Skateboard Central was the first shop in Vancouver to bring in Rollerblades. The inventor came in. I looked at him and said, “Are you kidding me? You know, I’m so used to seeing ice skates. We were the first snowboard shop in Canada. That’s because Tom Sims put me under his wing, and when I was visiting him one year, he took me up the mountain and showed me his snow- board. He said, “This will be the next big thing.” It didn’t have bindings; it was the first Sims snowboard.
One of the big things that helped me was when Tom said, “If you’re going to make it in this industry, you cannot be a pro; you have to be a businessman.” He showed me how to do that. He was my mentor. Tom gave me the distribu- tion rights to Sims snowboards for Canada. I was just 19 years old.
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