Neil Metal Fabricator + Surfer
What’s a beauty non-negotiable for you?
Well, the thing I use the most is sunscreen because I surf, so I’m in the sun a lot. I’m usually the guy covered in white zinc oxide, even the top of my head. Skin cancer—don’t want it. You go surfing for three, four hours at a time. I grew up in Huntington Beach, California, and as a kid, I lived at the beach all day long. I’d be there eight hours a day or whatever. Come back super tan, but now I’m old. I don’t feel like getting sick.
What product do you always have on hand?
I always have a lip balm on me. My lips get chapped a lot, and in the summer, they’ll get burnt and blown out. There’s usually a lip balm somewhere in my jacket. If not, there’s about seven of them laying around the apartment and another three laying around my shop.
What’s your ideal morning?
Well, if my girlfriend gets up first and makes coffee, that’s the best. Get up, have coffee, hang out with my cats, read the news, go to work. Pretty simple. Usually, no matter what, I make it a point to get up early, so I can have an hour or two to myself. The idea of waking up and running out the door to work seems horrible.
What have you learned living through the past year?
I can’t speak for the rest of the country, but for New York, it’s been interesting to watch. Some people stay. Some people leave. Some people, unfortunately, dreamt of coming to New York to start a business or a store, and it’s been kind of a bummer to see people lose it. But you’re also seeing that the dream of New York, of moving to New York, is still alive. The storefronts are starting to fill out again. There’s been construction the entire time. The idea that New York is going to come back, you can see it coming back. A lot of people may have left, but there are a lot of people who have a good idea and think they can come to New York and make it happen, which is really cool. It’s pretty exciting to see all these people start new businesses and new stores. Everything is starting to turn around.