home > feature sections > time out
“In many ways, my private passions and my work are one. I love creating things, I love food and eating out.
I was born in London and was on stage as an actor and singer from the age of four to 17. That was never really my thing, although it gave me good contacts to start a business. I’m interested in production, design and, as I said, food. In the late ‘80s, I put those interests together into a party planning agency where one of my biggest clients was Richard Branson. I created a special birthday bash for Richard with a Virgin 747 swooping over the guests … and that led to more events. In a creative field, networking and referrals play a very big part in new business. Building that reputation is important.
In my early 20s, I took off for the United States and ended up as an ‘imagineer’ at Disney before moving to Las Vegas, in 1994. For the last 10 years I have been designing a US$2 billion hotel and casino project called Pop Las Vegas. Now I’m developing a couple of new casinos in Macau.
I have no formal design training but when I walk into a building and space I can just see it and how it will be. I draw in my head and convey the ideas to others who put them down. Concept is everything. Being able to communicate that excitement to people has been crucial to my success.
Currently I’m working and living in Las Vegas, London and Sydney where I have a design business and started my burger outlets. Combined, my Australian businesses have a staff of about 80.
Finding new places to eat is my focus. I don’t cook. Ever. What’s in my fridge? Sparkling water, champagne, smoked salmon and bread. Sometimes I eat six meals a day – then do a cocktail party after that. In Las Vegas I head for the Cheesecake Factory and Nobu. In London, I like The Ivy.
I started Bite Me Burger Co last year in Sydney because I couldn’t find a good hamburger there. Now it’s in Paddington and Bondi and, soon, Star City. I hope to open other burger stores around Australia and in Hong Kong and Shanghai. In the planning phase is a Willy Wonka-inspired ice cream chain because there’s a gap in the market for a shop that’s interactive and fun.
Essentially, I’m an ideas person. Work is my hobby. I write all my ideas in a pad and then file in my office, and only sleep four hours a night.
I blew my first fortune, so now I surround myself with people who take care of the parts of the business I’m not good at, like cash flow. That’s not to say I haven’t learned a few things along the way. Apart from concentrating on areas I’m passionate about and only working with people I like, my top three are: innovation – always dream to the fullest, then pull back from there; variety – running several projects at once gives me a range of challenges; and, vitally, fun – if I’m not having a good time, what’s the point?”
