This story originally appeared on the Gents Cafe Newsletter. You can subscribe here.
Meet Christopher Crossley (@mrcrossleysir), a Luxury Lifestyle Professional living in Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago.
1. What are your main passions and how do you cultivate them?
Something always drew me towards the Arts, whether it was dance, music, drawing, writing, photography, or acting. I never considered myself a “creative”, but as someone who curates experiences I get to mood design using fractions of each, and it keeps me in a place of constant discovery so it never gets old. I’m also addicted to collecting vinyl – and when I can’t find a record store to physically crate dig, I’ll do it virtually.
2. Describe your morning routine and how it sets the tone for your day.
My morning routine has changed a lot over the years, however, since Covid it has been walking through my backyard with my dog: getting some early morning fresh air and sun always feels good. I would have my first cup of coffee right after while watching business videos or listening to an audiobook. Something to get me inspired to push through the day because as much as I enjoy what I do, not every day is enjoyable.
3. How do you find time to unwind and slow down?
Finding the time to unwind and slow down honestly has always been a challenge. As with most things, I look at the white space on my schedule. I’ve learned to schedule downtime for myself and to spend time with my wife.
4. Where do you primarily draw your style inspiration from?
Growing up, I didn’t have real world examples of people who dressed well, not even at church, so my style inspiration always came from characters in movies or TV shows that I felt connected to – characters like James Bond, Jay Gatsby and Hannibal Lecter (the Mads Mikkelson version). Yes, I said Hannibal: you can get a couple style lessons from his character and not just his recipes! As for social media personalities, Terry Corbett, Angel Ramos, Michael Thomas, Guillaume Bo, and Carlos Dominquez are a few gents I grab a lot of inspiration from for their effortless style.
5. Is there a particular item in your wardrobe or accessory that holds special meaning for you?
Yes, the very first watch I bought when I started working, a gold Citizen Eco Drive. I was an office clerk for one of the larger law firms in town and though the watch was about 4 times my monthly salary at the time, it called my name. Twenty-two years and 3 services later I still have it.
6. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received and who gave it to you?
When I first got into business back in 2013, I fell into a bit of brand confusion trying to be of service to everyone, and like many newbies I did not want to leave money on the table. I soon went from serving everyone to serving no one because no one was sure of what I did anymore. I had a conversation with fellow sartorial gent Grant Harris, and he told me I had to be laser-focused on my service and who I wanted to cater to. He made me look at the top businessmen in the world at the time and showed me how they were good at one thing, they did that one thing extremely well and only later on they diversified. So that’s what I did: and it completely saved my business and my sanity.
7. What do you value most in a conversation?
I value sharing knowledge and listening to someone’s story. I don’t know what I don’t know and I’m always open to learning from others. We live individual lives and often think we’re experiencing things alone, but we don’t realize how many of us are going through similar things and what we did to navigate those times can help others, so though some things may be personal, we really should be open to sharing more. Especially as men, we need to share our stories with each other more.
8. If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and why?
The emperor, stoic, and philosopher, Marcus Aurelius. His quote “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” He has helped me through many periods when life wasn’t making sense: I would remember to be present and be thankful for being alive when so many have been removed from this plane of existence. I would appreciate hearing the stories about life during his time, and I wonder if he would see life as we live it now as history repeating itself – maybe in ways we don’t even realize.
9. How do you define success and what motivates you to achieve it?
Being able to live life on my terms and not having to exist within boundaries set by society, be they financial, academic, or otherwise. To have the freedom to try different things, living in different places – and if it works out, great, but if it doesn’t, also great. To not feel like the consequences would be dire if I decided to take a risk doing something that I believe is worthwhile.
What motivates me to keep trying to achieve it is simply because I know it’s possible: I personally know people who live that way and experience their own personal happiness. It’s not easy but they get to live it. As Frank Sinatra sang “I did it my way.”
10. Can you share an instance when someone exemplified the character of a gentleman in a memorable way?
The only instance that comes to mind happened while I was in New York. I was on the subway heading to a class, and if you know the NY subway it’s almost always crowded. A middle-aged man noticed a visibly pregnant woman standing uncomfortably, holding onto a handrail. I was actually wondering why he didn’t offer his seat. It wasn’t until we got to one of the stops and the pregnant lady swayed a bit, he immediately stood up and offered her his seat.
As he moved to stand, there was an elderly man with a cane also struggling to maintain balance. The man gave a bit of a nudge to a teenage boy sitting next to him: it was a conversation without words, but the boy understood: they discreetly arranged for both the pregnant woman and the elderly man to sit comfortably. This happened back in 2005 and I cannot think of something more recent: that says a lot in terms of the examples of being a gentleman may not be seen often.
11. Describe an interesting trip you’ve taken. What’s the next destination on your bucket list?
My first trip to the US: back then I was a DJ, and apart from being at the scratch academy I attended a DJ expo and got to meet a lot of the DJs and hip-hop artists that were heroes in my eyes growing up. I met Public Enemy and DJ Jazzy Jay to name a few, but what made that trip memorable is that when the organizers found out I travelled all the way from Trinidad and Tobago, they upgraded me to VIP and I got access to all the industry events. The next destination on my list is the UK: hopefully, I’ll get to be out there for Concours on Savile Row in 2025.
12. What are your three favorite books?
Books that helped along my personal development journey and understanding my thought processes as a man are The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, As A Man Thinketh by James Allen and King, Warrior, Magician, Lover by Douglas Gillette and Robert L. Moore.
13. What are your three favorite movies?
This is a hard one, but I’ll have to go with Apocalypto, Red Dragon and Skyfall.
Christopher is a regular contributor to the Gents Cafe Newsletter. You can find all his articles here.
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