And you thought it was easy being the king?
Big Shipwrecked Tanker With a Smiley Face Anchor from Francesco Thilo Sili on Vimeo.
Ex-professional Luke Stedman has left the glamorous world of contest surfing for the even more glamorous world of high fashion. His brand, Insted We Smile, is equal parts chic and playful. I want almost everything he makes and someday I will have it. Being so in demand, though, is equal parts exhausting and fancy. Tuck in to a day with Luke and then go buy whatever you can afford (here).
4:30 A.M. I never really sleep much and often start my day at this time. When I am very lucky and sleep through the night, I might get up at 7:00, but that is rare. The first thing I do when I get out of bed is weigh myself. I do this every morning, and if I have gained more than two or three pounds, I try to eat fruit and vegetables exclusively for a couple of days until my weight is back to my ideal. I make myself a tall glass of iced espresso (I don’t like warm drinks), get into a hot bath, and slowly sip my drink as I come to life. Often I lie in the tub for a half hour and just let my mind wander. I find a bath meditative and usually prepare myself for the day in this manner. Once out of the tub, I throw on my gym clothes.
8:00 A.M. Typically, I answer my e-mails. On average, I get about 100 per day. Then I do a bit of work before working out with my trainer at 8:00. The home page on my computer is set to StabMag.com’s While You Were Sleeping, Bite Sized! section, an excellent summary of the news of the day from different surf publications around the world like BeachGrit and The Encyclopedia of Surfing. I work out at a gym at home with Pilates equipment, cardio equipment, and free weights. I usually do about 30 to 45 minutes of cardio and then a half hour of crunches, push-ups, stretching, and other exercises using my own body weight, as I can tend to bulk up quickly if I use weights more than occasionally.
9:15 A.M. After working out, I have a breakfast of whole-grain muesli or bran cereal, half a banana, and several slices of pineapple. Then I take another bath, this time with soap, and wash my hair. Naturally, I use my own beauty products; I wash my face with either my cream cleanser if my skin feels dry or gel cleanser if my skin feels particularly oily. I then trim my beard and brush my hair into place. I use my daily moisturizer and take my small makeup brushes to touch up any skin blemishes or dark circles with stick foundation (color no. 7). I put on my “uniform”: a white shirt, a dark tie, a gold collar pin, a black or dark-gray single-breasted peaked-lapel suit, and black cap-toed shoes. I wear a variation of this look every day that I am in a city. (My other uniforms are for Santa Fe, Mustique, or a ski resort or Venice, California or Bondi, Australia.) I carry my computer and other work to the office in one of my black leather bags. Because I rarely walk in Venice, I never wear a coat. Actually, I tend to walk much more in New York. In L.A. and Santa Fe, I drive. I have a driver in London because I am slightly dyslexic and cannot drive in the U.K., even though I am Australian. After all, the traffic runs the opposite way to that in the United States. I think. An International Herald Tribune is always waiting for me; I find it the perfect newspaper for me, quite condensed with a quick global perspective on the news. Reading, or skimming, the paper usually takes me precisely the same time that it takes for me to get from my house to my office. I don’t carry a phone with me because I hate talking on the phone and especially hate talking on cell phones. I do have an iPhone, but I use it primarily for music and as a camera. In an emergency, of course, I use it as a phone. I am not really even sure what my number is. I have an iPad but use it just for reading books or screenplays, and I carry my MacBook Air with me everywhere.
10:00 A.M. I usually arrive at the office by 10:00. I have a weakness for doughnuts and often completely ruin my diet by eating a doughnut or two when I arrive. As president and CEO of the company, I spend a good bit of my day in business and design meetings. These might be women’s ready-to-wear fittings, men’s fittings, handbag-prototype reviews, footwear fittings, jewelry-design meetings, cosmetics meetings, or eyewear meetings. I tend to work on several different product categories on the same day. My executive team is scattered around the world, in London, New York, Los Angeles, Milan, Florence, Hong Kong, and Tokyo offices. Consequently, our meetings are often via Skype.
1:00 P.M. I hate going out for lunch during a workday because it slows down my pace and ruins my rhythm. I prefer to eat at my desk. Actually, I wander around the design studio with a plate in my hand as I dine on, for example, salmon sashimi and a salad of tomatoes and mozzarella. I often have a bit of dark chocolate after lunch.
6:00 P.M. Most nights, I work at the office until anytime between 6:00 and 8:00, depending on whether or not I have to go out to dinner. If I do have to go out at night, which I do about four nights a week, I try to take a 45-minute nap, have another hot bath, and put on a clean shirt.
8:00 P.M. I am not someone who likes cocktail parties or large dinner parties, but I have to attend them often. I much prefer very small dinners with close friends. I eat at the same restaurants in London most nights: Scott’s, No. 35, J. Sheekey, Mark’s Club, Harry’s Bar, or Cut at 45 Park Lane. If I am meeting someone for drinks first, I always like to go to the Fumoir at Claridge’s. My favorite evenings are actually spent at home. My lady is a great cook, and I love dinner in the kitchen with just the two of us and the dogs.
10:30 P.M. When we come home from a night out, my lady and I walk the dogs around Grosvenor Square and then head up to bed. Believe it or not, I usually take another hot bath and wash my face. Then we watch a bit of television (usually things we have recorded) or read and go to sleep. I don’t wear anything in bed. In fact, I rarely wear clothes at all when I am at home.
MIDNIGHT I am usually in bed and with any luck will get a few hours of sleep!
insted he waste water
Oh thank fuck we don’t have to watch him surf anymore!
Luke ‘Patrick Bateman’ Stedman
dude doesn’t bath enough, or have a comprehensive cleansing program.
this is the kind of hard-hitting journalism that i have come to expect from beach grit. but the question is begged: is four baths in a day enough to cleanse one of the film of pretense and the scarlet ink of quarterly reports?
Man I am falling off by going into work after a session with only a bucket of water rinse and a fresh coat of deodorant, but then again I am just heading under the bridge.
I’m glad that you appreciate the true stories orbiting professional surfing’s sun. If we don’t tell them who will? Who will?
What about his daughter?
Seriously though. I like the Chas Smith brand of pretentious narcissism because he does throw in a dollop of self awareness from time to time. Steds on the other hand seems like he might have a narcissistic personality disorder. Steds no one is going to care how many baths you took or how close you were able to stay at your ideal weight when you die. You will however be remembered for how you treated your daughter. Does Da Hui prevent you from seeing her or something?
I pity his Girlfriend if she dares put the toothpaste in the first draw instead of the second.
But what happens to the other half of the banana?
My old lady has a really bad habit of eating half a banana, and it drives me nuts…or bananas?! God made that GMO fruit as a perfectly portioned snack, by eating half you are going against her will!