“Whenabeautifulrosediesbeautydoesnot diebecauseitisnotreallyintherose. Beautyisanawarenessinthemind.”
AgnesMartin(1912 2004)
HeyLiem,yourecentlycamebackfromamonthtrip inEurope.Howwasthetrip?Itwasyourfirsttime thereright? Yeah,IjustcamebackfromEurope.Iwasthere with my mother and few friends. We visited Spain ,Germany ,Italy ,France, Austria Netherlands,SloveniaandSwitzerland.
Thatwasmydreamforsolong,travelling,skating thereandfinallywemadeit!
What was the main difference between your perceptionofwesterncountryandthereality?
Westerncountriesaresobeautiful,thenatural landscapes,thecities…Everythingisgoodthere!
Ijustwishtherewerelessracismthere.Atleast Ismileandtrytobenice toeverybodyImet [laughs]!
Whichplacewasyourfavorite?
Amsterdamisdefinitelymyfavourite.Itisa beautifulcitywithallthesmallcanals.Very peacefulthere,peoplejustridearoundtheir bicycleandeverythingiseasierforusbecausethe localsspeakEnglishverywell.
Onthecontrary,whatwasyourworstexperience duringthistrip?
InBarcelona,wealmostgotrubbedinthemiddleof theday.Hopefully,weweretoomanysotheyran away.That’ssomethingIdidn’texpectinadevelop country.
Sofinallyafterspendingamonththere,wouldyou liketoleaveinEuropeoneday?
IwishonedayIwillhavetheopportunityto developmybrandinEurope,movebackandforth betweenVietnamandEurope…Thatwouldbeamazing! Iwouldliketohelpthekidstoembracethe difference,tostopracismandcreateatight community.
Youarethecreatorandtheowneroftheclothes brand“HaveFunwiththeHomies”whichispretty famousinVietnam.Canyoutellusaboutwhen,how andwhyyoustarted?
IstartedmybrandbecausewhenIwasprettyyoung andbroke![laughs]Ialwaysfeelbetterandmore positivewhenIamwithmyfriend,skatingeveryday together.Sooneday,Ithoughtitwastimeto makemylifebettersoIstartedtodesignmyfirst jacketandsolditwiththenameHFWTH.Luckilyit workedwellfromthebeginning.Myfriendshelped mealotfromthebeginningtoo.SoIamvery gratefulforwhereIamnow.
Whatareyoutryingtoexpressthroughyourbrand? Itlookslikealotofyourinspirationisfromthe USculture.
Myinspirationcamefromtheskateculturenot specificallyfromtheUS![laughs]Iwatchedso manyskatersonYoutube.Ithoughttheylookedso coolwearingblackclothes.Soidesignedonly blackclothes![laughs]
Iamatypeofpersonwholovefriends,partyand havinggreatmemoriestravellingaround.That’sthe mainthingsIwanttoexpressthroughmybrand. Basicallyeverythingcomesfromskateboarding,my lifebeforeskatingwassadandbored.
Doyouhaveanysecretsfortherapidsuccessof yourbrand?
[laughs] My secret to success is just help everybody around everyday ,help all the old homelesspeople,bekindandsmiletoallyour friends,andworkwithyourheartwithoutthinking aboutmoney.
Nowadays,youaretheownerofclothesbrandwell establishedinVietnam.Whatsthebestthingabout beinginyourpositionnow?
Thebestthingsofbeingafounderofabrandis thatIcanweareverythingIdesign![laughs]
ButthebestfeelingisthatIcanhelpmymomto liveabetterlifenow.Shedoesn’thavetoworry aboutthefutureanymore.
HoChiMinhCityisahugecitybutwedon’thave any skatepark sadly. Most of the streets are guardedbysecuritysoyoucan’treallyskate.I willtrytobuildsomeDIYandmaybeonedaya skatepark… Andofcourse,Iwillkeepsupportingmyfriends untilthedaytheyallsucceedsoweallhavemoney totraveltheworldandskatetogether. It’sbeenmydreamfor10yearsalready.
