Sleep.
Wake up. I have three
young kids who are my
life. I had to make a
choice: I was going to see
them in the morning or in
the evening, but I couldn’t
do both. So I try to get
home for dinner every
night, and that means I
get up early. Then I check
my phone and take a
quick cold shower. There’s
this undeniable endorphin
rush, a good natural
energy boost—and I like
the idea of starting the
day by doing something
challenging.
Drive to Starbucks in
the same car I’ve had for
18 years, a 1996 Toyota
Tacoma. I listen to an
audiobook using Audible
or my iPhone. Even if it’s
just a car ride, I try to do
something that’s either
personally or professionally productive. Today I’m
listening to “Let My People
Go Surfing,” by Patagonia
founder Yvon Chouinard.
Trying to bolster an industry that has not been in its
strongest shape the past
40 years requires passion
and love and care among
everybody in the organization. Patagonia has
done a good job of imbuing its people with a sense
of purpose and mission.
It’s an interesting corollary
to our company.
Coffee at Starbucks in Mission Bay. This is the backbone of my day: I have no
distractions and I can really
think. I go over my master
lists, answer emails, get my
day planned out. I bring my
laptop and I’ve got headphones on so I can zone
in—typically I’ll listen to
classical music, but if something requires a little less
focus, I’ll put on some kind
of rock ’n’ roll. Which probably indexes toward Bruce
Springsteen.
Work out at World Gym
nearby. Getting to the gym
is really important to me
from a psychological standpoint—I’ve got to kind of
vent that energy. I do a split
of cardio and lifting.
Quick breakfast at Sally’s, the
café across from my gym. My
current routine is scrambled
egg whites, a side of turkey,
and a side of avocado.
Arrive at American Giant
headquarters. My day is
mostly meetings. First
is a catalog pagination
meeting—we look at all the
product that is coming for
our summer book and think
about how we’re going to
bring it out and the stories
we’ll be telling.
Fall product discussion.
We’re finalizing the details
in our products, such as
making calls on trims. Then
I have a few wide-ranging
product meetings at which
we review things like whether
we’re running into any problems on the factory side,
and whether we’re happy
with the action of the zipper
on our new hoodie—is it
catching at all?
Go get lunch and eat it at
my desk: romaine salad with
;
RISE AND GRIND
; From top: A gray dawn in San Francisco;
Winthrop already at work in Starbucks while the
city is still waking up; striding out of World Gym
after completing his morning workout.
