Little Black Stretchy Pants | Chip Wilson

We can only think of the future based on what we know from our past. When we don’t focus on the past, and the future is eliminated, all that is left is the present. The present is where all life really occurs. This was the origin of “The meaning of life may be living in the moment,” which became a key part of lululemon’s Manifesto (more on that later). I have my eccentric father to thank for introducing me to it. 

Billy kind of took me under his wing, and whenever I did something correctly—some task, repair, work, or whatever—Billy would say, “Fine as wine, partner, fine as wine.”       

Billy’s motto, fine as wine, stuck with me after that and became something I mentally connected with quality craftsmanship.

I was officially unemployed. After Mercantile and the banks took their share, and after our original debts were covered, each partner took home about $1 million (or $800,000 after taxes). For as long as I could remember, I’d been grinding it out, working long hours, constantly travelling. Having this new financial cushion was an indescribable relief. For the first time in a very long time, I could breathe.

I’ve long noticed how most people never give 100 percent in their relationships, business, or commitments. Personally, I’ve always been afraid of failing because I haven’t given something 100 percent. I’ve been fearful of someday lying on my deathbed, thinking, “God, if I’d just gone for it”.        

That experience taught me about importing, shipping costs, and sales. Because I had been on a couple of age-group teams at the national level and was a good swimmer, I also noticed that others started to follow what I wore. I couldn’t afford an on-deck tracksuit, so I wore torn, beat-up, loose jeans and graphic t-shirts. That ensemble was emulated and soon became standard swim meet gear. Nike later realized the power of tastemaker athletes and changed the sports business model with sponsorships.      

From then on, I only wanted to buy cars I knew were reliable, would seldom break down, and wouldn’t cost much to run. A Honda Civic, for example. I also promised myself I would only buy houses I knew were built with solid craftsmanship. I would always make sure the windows were double-paned to keep winter heating expenses down.   

Swimming was also a great activity for us because it was affordable. All you needed was a bathing suit and a pair of goggles, and you were good to go. Despite that, I managed to find something I so desperately wanted but couldn’t afford—the perfect swimsuit. The only swimsuits available in Calgary at the time were made by Speedo, and they were all solid colours. In fact, when Speedo introduced simple stripes on their suits, it took the swimming scene by storm.       

One day when I was eleven or twelve, I saw a suit at a swim meet that was totally different. The material was a colourful flower pattern. I wanted it immediately. 

We brought in the bathing suits, and they sold like crazy. We’d purchased the suits from the supplier for maybe thirteen dollars, then sold them for double that. They were something no one had ever seen before—something new. Since they weren’t available in Canada, their exclusivity gave them an additional appeal. As I had negotiated with my mother, I got my own suit for free. It was a small but powerful success.       

In life, there’s no performance without action.  

I promised myself I never wanted to owe banks money and be under their control. However, I loved a quote that came from the circumstances: “If you owe the bank $2 million and you can’t pay up, you are in a lot of trouble. If you owe the bank $20 billion and you can’t pay up, the bank is in a lot of trouble.”  

I was officially unemployed. After Mercantile and the banks took their share, and after our original debts were covered, each partner took home about $1 million (or $800,000 after taxes). For as long as I could remember, I’d been grinding it out, working long hours, constantly travelling. Having this new financial cushion was an indescribable relief. For the first time in a very long time, I could breathe. It was an education that would prove far more valuable than the $800,000 I walked away with.        

I am out to live a great life—and to be great, one must have a point of view.

I believe every person in life has a different genetic makeup and unique expertise that the world needs.       

It became clear that my company Westbeach Snowboard wasn’t going to pay the mortgage or feed my family. There was too much product for too few snowboarders.       

From then on, I only wanted to buy cars I knew were reliable, would seldom break down, and wouldn’t cost much to run. A Honda Civic, for example. I also promised myself I would only buy houses I knew were built with solid craftsmanship. I would always make sure the windows were double-paned to keep winter heating expenses down.

   

We can only think of the future based on what we know from our past. When we don’t focus on the past, and the future is eliminated, all that is left is the present. The present is where all life really occurs. This was the origin of “The meaning of life may be living in the moment,” which became a key part of lululemon’s Manifesto (more on that later). I have my eccentric father to thank for introducing me to it. 

That experience taught me about importing, shipping costs, and sales. Because I had been on a couple of age-group teams at the national level and was a good swimmer, I also noticed that others started to follow what I wore. I couldn’t afford an on-deck tracksuit, so I wore torn, beat-up, loose jeans and graphic t-shirts. That ensemble was emulated and soon became standard swim meet gear. Nike later realized the power of tastemaker athletes and changed the sports business model with sponsorships.      

I didn’t want to “buy” the snowboarders on the Westbeach team. A strictly financial relationship felt inauthentic. Whenever I saw a sponsored athlete from Nike, my mind screamed “fraud” as I thought they were bought to promote the Nike brand without an authentic belief in the product.     

For amateur athletes, the money was a godsend. I wanted to make technical clothing for the sport and have these young guys test it. This gave me an early taste of focus groups composed of my ideal customers, an important methodology I would use with lululemon.        

I also got clear I was going to die, and I was tired of a “fine” life. I wanted an “extraordinary” life.

The viruses in my brain were:

Managing lies I have told, so I don’t get caught. 

Repetitive complaining.

Not taking responsibility for my actions (i.e. selling a lemon of a car).         

Acting inauthentic so I “looked good” to others (pretending to be what I was not)  

A trend’s move into the street presented the opportunity to do a lot of business. For instance, if I’d just sold surf shorts to the world’s four thousand or so surfers (or slightly larger number of hard-core skateboarders), there would have been no business in that—not on any profitable scale. But, I’d been able to sell sport-inspired streetwear to people who wanted to emulate the sports they admired, if not actually participate in them.