Skate to where the puck is going to be
Billionaires like Jeff Bezos did nothing more than skate to where the puck was going to be, against all odds.
In the early 90s, a neighbourhood friend called Tom Wambua used to give me and my friend Boniface Sila casual jobs in his t-shirts’ gig. Tom used to get t-shirt orders from shops in the city that sold touristy gear.
He bought plain t-shirts, tie-dyed and did batik on them, then supplied the items the shops. Sila and I would help in the jobs, with instructions from Tom, who had a diploma in garment technology.
I never took this gig seriously. To me, it was just one of those part-time jobs I did as I waited for something bigger and better to come along. Sure, I saw Tom was making big bucks. But I did not feel like this was something I wanted to do fulltime.
Tom went on to do great things with his hustle. Last time I checked, he was globe-trotting on the wings of the same hustle he started in the ‘hood.
Right around the same time I was getting gigs at Tom’s hustle, I checked on Hykie, a dreadlocked kind brother, who we lived with in the same hood. He had a small screen-printing machine, which he used to print t-shirts. I don’t know, but I just felt I would make a living out of screen-printing t-shirts.
Dancehall king
This was when dancehall king, Shabba Ranks was ruling the airwaves. I bought a plain black long-sleeves t-shirt in Gikomba. Then I had my cousin, Maurice, who was an artist, do a picture of Shabba Ranks on the t-shirt. Guys used to ask me where I bought the t-shirt. I knew I could make money out of what I wore; I just did not know how to monetise it. That’s why I spoke with Hykie, as I wanted to gain some knowledge in screen-printing and, if possible, buy my own machine. But I never followed it up.
That is why I advise young men to, as they say in ice hockey, “skate to where the puck is going to be, not where the puck is”. Ice hockey is a high speed game, where things change in split seconds. A puck is a black disk made of hard rubber, which is the focus of ice hockey players. The saying means one should always focus several steps ahead. In the game of life, a player should always be ahead of the puck and pack.
In the last 10-or-so years, screen-printing on tees and hoodies has taken off. I did not know it then, but with Tom and Hykie all in my neighbourhood and within easy access, I had the resource persons I needed to skate to where the puck was going to be.
Himalayan blunder
Sometimes, as men who want to get our hustle up, we look outside our environments, taking for granted what we have. We look up to the big shots who are playing in the big leagues, and ignore the home players who are giving us access to their pucks.
Most times, we make this Himalayan blunder because of an acute shortage of men(tors) and “trend prophets”, who can analyse the game and give upcoming players valuable insights to help them make correct decisions about where the puck is going to be. If you have the best ice hockey gear money can buy, and you’re the fastest skater in the rink, but you don’t have a clue where the puck is going to be; frustration, fumbling and failure will be the order of your game.
Listen, bro. Have an instinct where the puck is going to be? Skate there, bro. Don’t listen to what haters and other players are hollering. Take the risk. It’s a win-win situation. If you are wrong, you learn. If you are right, you earn. Billionaires like Jeff Bezos did nothing more than skate to where the puck was going to be, against all odds. Look where they are at now.
