Got any life goals? I have.

01Build a house
02Snorkel in the Galàpagos Islands
03Restore a classic BMW

I’d always wanted a classic car for a restoration project. A few years ago, a 1983 BMW E21 popped up on eBay that was in an-okay condition, so I went to check it out. One test drive around East London and £1,500 later, I ended up driving the car up to Staffordshire where I would then sink a ridiculous amount of money into a true labour of love. Her name was Janice, and you can see her here.

04Live in Brooklyn
05Open a pizza place

I mean, who wouldn’t want to do this if the opportunity came along? Two lifelong friends and I opened Klay Pizzeria & Bar in 2016 and we slung those cheesy circles for a good few years afterwards.

06Produce an album
07Write a book

Ali Gitlow at Prestel gave me the opportunity to author my first sole publication, and in 2018, ‘Graphic Design for Art, Fashion, Film, Architecture, Photography, Product Design and Everything in Between’ was released across Europe and in the U.S.A. It contains analysis of some of the best work for the creative industries out there, alongside interviews with the studios, practitioners and clients involved.

08Drive across America

Route 66. 10 days. San Francisco → New York via Yosemite, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Oklahoma, St. Louis, Chicago, Cleveland and Washington. Had the best burger of my life in Amarillo, Texas. Drove a white Ford Mustang the whole way, and took the top down while driving through lower Manhattan.

09Run the big six marathons
10Learn calligraphy
11Play on the Old Trafford pitch
12Get a helicopter ride in Iceland

Went to Iceland across the New Year in 2018 / 19. Tried to catch the Northern Lights (but failed, twice!), and instead had to settle for a helicopter ride at sunset. We landed on a mountain top and while it was cold, it was pretty incredible.

13Learn how to tattoo
14Get a few tattoos

Ended up with more than a few… Arms ✅ legs ✅chest ✅ hands ✅ neck ✅. What next? Going for the full back piece with Luke Jinks in London. Looking forward / dreading it. They really hurt.

15Brand a charity
16Set a world record
17Run a design studio

I’ve done this twice, actually. Once alongside University buddy Alex Farrall with MayNinth in Manchester and the second time leading a team of six at Weather in Stoke-on-Trent.

18Brand a football boot

Working across the Pelé Sports account between 2011 and 2013, I got to lead on the visual identity effort for the jewel in the product-range-crown with the Trinity 3E.

19See all the seven wonders
20Help someone truly in need
21Finish the amateur tour
22Ride downhill in Whistler

For any mountain biking aficionados out there, you’ll know Whistler (in British Columbia, Canada) is the holy grail of trails for downhill riding. In the summer of 2019 I spent a week at the Whistler bike park with my brand spanking new Canyon Sender 9.0. Jumps, drops and hucks all day long 🤙

23Drive around Europe

In 2017 I drove from Paris to Geneva, Milan to Zurich, and Frankfurt to Amsterdam. The rental car broke down in Frankfurt which was no fun, and then I slept through my alarm in Amsterdam—it was too late to drive back to Paris (where I'd planned to get the Eurostar back to London) and instead had to drive back to Frankfurt, drop the new car off and then get a flight. Drama.

24Design a furniture range
25Trek through Antarctica
26Run an art gallery

As part of EN. Agency, Rob, Tom and I opened Upstairs Gallery. I led the curation effort until I stepped away from the company in 2019. I wrote and won multiple Arts Council England bids and we hosted some of the world’s best graffiti and street artists for exhibitions, murals and print runs.

27Live & work abroad

I moved to Luzern, Switzerland in 2017, as I got the chance to work at EF’s Global Creative Studio. Switzerland is nice — it’s clean, safe and the trains are almost always on time. Lots of great chocolate. Not a fan of Die Post, though. Sometimes things can be too efficient.

28Party in Tokyo until 5am

When I went to Japan in 2019, my ex-colleague Franziska Stetter happened to be out there at the same time. We ended up in a restaurant on the tenth floor of some building in Shinjuku, with a tablet on the table to order food and free drinks between 2–4am. It was a good night.

29Make a million
30Learn another language
31Paint trackside

Getting into graffiti, there was probably nothing more to get your adrenaline going than painting on the side of the train tracks in the middle of the night. You know, that’s what I’ve heard, anyway… 🤫

32Appear in a music video

I somehow ended up—for split second—as part of a clip in Kano’s This Is England video. I’m in the red jacket behind the go-kart at 00:31. Yeah yeah, it totally counts. You can’t take this away from me.

33Learn Countdown by Beyoncé
34Catch the Northern Lights
35Go whale watching in Alaska
36Marie Kondo everything

Being organised is my thing. Marie Kondo is my God. I Kondo’d my entire life. It feels good.

37Teach at University

Between 2013 and 2017 I taught design craft, art direction and self promotion fundamentals on the Advertising & Brand Management award at Staffordshire University. I also led the ‘Digital Experiential’ module, and a bunch of my students won multiple YCN awards in 2014 and 2015.

38Take a year sabbatical
39Win a D&AD black pencil
40Get a Man Utd season ticket

Stretford End. Second tier. Right behind the goal. In the 2014/15 season, I used to make my way up to Manchester every other week to support the reds. Just me, my rituals and routine. #UTFR 👹

41Learn to play the guitar
42Do a TED talk
43See the Terracotta Warriors

I travelled to China A LOT in 2019. In the September, I visited Xi’an and nipped in to see the Terracotta Warriors. Humbling to say the least. I don’t think I’ve ever been as impressed at anything else.

44Fly a plane

I mean, it wasn’t a Boeing 747 or anything, but when I was a teenager it was the ‘cool’ thing to join either the Army Cadets or the Air Training Corps. I went for the latter, and with freshly pressed trousers, berets and all, I went to an air base (somewhere) and had the chance to fly a small plane. The actual pilot took off and landed, and I played for a bit whilst we were in the air. Again, totally counts!

45Design a pair of Air Max 1’s
46Drink out of coconuts in Hawaii
47Open a clothing store

I’ve always had a thing for clothes, so when Rob and Tom approached me about opening a store filled with streetwear, graffiti supplies, sneakers and skateboarding hardware… I jumped at it. One of the best things I’ve ever done. Even if it did cost a lot of money, time, relationships and sanity... → 51–53

48Go to a World Cup final
49Paint a building sized mural

With Rob and Tom at EN. Agency, I painted a huge sports-themed type mural with the phrase ‘On Your Marks’ on a 60ft-ish building in the city centre of Stoke-on-Trent. Got to operate some heavy machinery, too. That was pretty fun.

50Celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans
51Learn to play basketball
52Give up drinking

On July 4th 2019 in Seattle, WA., I had my last beer.

53Learn to dance
54Hang out with David Beckham
55Get matching tattoos with my Mom

We both got pink butterflies. My Mom’s is on her shoulder, and mine is on my shin.

56Run beachside in Barcelona

Barcelona is one of my favourite cities. I went on a buddy holiday a few years ago and despite the overindulgence, managed to get up early for a 13km run at sunrise along the whole stretch of accessible beach. One of my favourite runs ever.

57Get all new teeth
58Master 3D design software
59Fly around the world

Zurich ✈️ Vancouver ✈️ Shanghai ✈️ Zurich. I travelled a lot in 2019, which included one full journey around the world.

60Direct a feature film
61Work on a global scale

Up until I joined EF in 2017, I’d worked on projects with an international reach. But nothing that has had the same impact as, say, the global brand guide for the entirety of EF. This affects over 300 creatives’ output across every continent. A truly global scale.

62Learn to use a film camera

I’ve practiced photography for a while, and got my first film camera in the form of a 1960’s Canon FT in 2015. Been playing and attempting to master it ever since. Some unedited examples of my shots here.

63Own a Kaws painting
64Live in the wild
65Have a moment of pure contentedness

Ever had a moment where everything felt just… right? I’ve had one or two, both in the past 2–3 years. Took me reaching 30 to get the first. If you’re not sure, you haven’t. It’s indescribable.

66See Eminem perform
67Design a building
68Compile a 💯 sneaker collection

I’ve got maybe 200–225 pairs overall. Nike will always be king, but I have plenty of Adidas, New Balance, Saucony, Reebok, Diadora, Puma, Asics, and Vans in there for good measure.

69Eat brunch overlooking Manhattan

At one of the more hipster moments in my life, eating brunch at Dumbo House, Brooklyn, in the summer of 2018 was pretty cool. Blistering hot day, amazing food, great company and an appreciation for everything I’ve been fortunate enough to gain in my life. Forever thankful.

70Learn a martial art
71Finish my portfolio