Patrick Starr
📍Portland, OR | Director, North America Consumer Strategy at Nike
📝 Editor’s Note
Recently, I met up with a friend at a local brewery, Little Brother. We had no idea it was trivia night but decided to join in. Little did we know that this was a very serious affair with regulars who were well versed in random trivia, including a deep knowledge of Harry Potter. We promptly got smoked. However, we had a lot of fun (we had a great moderator) and something I want to remember to do more often to when I am catching up with a friend.
In the spirit of random facts and trivia, I stumbled upon an article this week from Tom Whitewall sharing 52 things he learned in 2023. Sharing 5 of the most unique:
The US Defense Department earns $100m/year operating slot machines used by soldiers on their bases. [Gabby Means]
When Italy banned Chat-GPT, productivity of coders in the country fell by 50% before recovering. [David Kreitmeir & Co]
Fake belly buttons are temporary tattoo-style stickers. Placed a few inches above your navel, they give the illusion of longer legs. One Chinese reviewer described them as “the most successful invention of 2023.” [Yating Yang]
The top 10% of US motorists use more petrol than the bottom 60%. [Robert N. Charette]
Only 28 books sold more than 500,000 copies in the US in 2022. Eight of them were by romance novelist Colleen Hoover. [Jason Colvato]
Beware of the fake belly buttons this summer….
Without further ado….
Why Patrick?
Patrick is a buddy from grad school. I felt like every interaction with him was always positive as he is a super affable guy with cool interests (skiing, sustainability etc). I think most of my classmates would agree he has very distinct style that most of us were envious of (or in my case, couldn’t pull off). With that in mind, I decided to change it up a bit and prime Patrick to lean into his style as a theme for his recommendations.
Self-Description
Happy guy who loves his family, the mountains, sports, good music, & culture. Portland, OR is home. Born and raised in Atlanta.
Patrick’s Recommendations
Written in his own words…
Style
6 Rules
Rule #1 = be comfortable.
Rule #2 = be yourself (not who you think people expect you to be).
Rule #3 = versatility.
Rule #4 = cuff your pants.
Rule #5 = color coordinate (not the same as matching).
Rule #6 = sneakers.
Bonus rule = can’t go wrong with black pants, black shirt, black jacket + heat on the feet.
Wardrobe
Favorite Items
Pants. Levi’s 501 ’93 Straight Fit & Nike Golf Pants (don’t forget the cuff, 2 rolls)
Shirt. Nike Sportswear Premium Essential Tee (cuff the sleeves, one roll)
Socks. Nike Everyday Plus Cushioned (Crew, always crew, but don’t pull them all the way up leave a couple of wrinkles in the tube)
Shoes. All Nike, all the time: Space Hippie (01 & 03), AJ1 High ’85 OG, Dunk Low, Vomero 5, Air Max
Adventure
Skiing
I love a good flow state and I get it more often from skiing than anything else. If you’re new to skiing, bite the bullet and get a lesson at a resort. If you’re becoming an annual skier, then invest in 3 quality items—helmet & goggles (buy the best from Smith), & boots (find the right boot at a resort ski shop, then buy it post-ski season at an online retailer like Evo ). If you’re fully addicted, like me, then build out a 3 ski quiver (80-90mm groomer twigs, all-mountain sticks 90-106mm, and powder planks 110mm+). Finally, if you’re sick of the lift lines, take a level 1 avalanche course and get out in the backcountry! Bonus: get a matching pants/bib and jacket set to up your fit game on-mountain.
Relationships
Commit to Something Your Partner is Great At
Is your partner great at something? Do that thing with them. Consider a team sport. One of the best things I’ve done since COVID is play in a weekly co-ed soccer league with my wife. She is a former D-1 soccer player, while I never played organized soccer growing up. Not only do I get to respect and appreciate her skills and leadership in a new and different way, but we also get to have a fun “team” experience outside of the normal “teamwork” we engage in to care for our son and 2 dogs.
Personal Finance
Save & Invest at Point of Receipt
Money burns a hole in my pocket; I’ve had to train myself to become a saver. First, max out your 401k and never look back. Second, trick yourself into viewing stocks like products—something you covet and need to buy. And third, save & invest at the point of receipt. To achieve this, sum up your mandatory expenses each month, then add the amount of fun coupons (discretionary purchases) you want. Subtract that from how much you bring in each month (base the calc off 2 paychecks per month) and divide that amount by 2. Lastly, set up an automatic transfer on payday for that amount from your checking to your savings/investment account. If you don’t plan on using that money on a big purchase (house/car/education) in the short-term, invest the money. I recommend low cost ESG ETFs (check out ESGV) - this is not financial advice.
Music
Afrobeats
A genre poised to take over. Get in while it’s still early. Check out Burna Boy’s “Big 7,” & Fireboy DML’s “Yawa,” and “Finesse” by Pheelz.
Want to get in touch with Patrick? DM him on Linkedin.
P.S. My buddy Tom just binged, Griselda on Netflix staring Sophia Vergara. Similar to Margaret a few weeks back, Tom said it is a must watch….when I was living in NYC, I rode in an elevator with Sophia Vergara. Another woman in the elevator asked her, “Are you Sophia Vergara.” She stared at her. She waited 3 seconds and said, in a very thick accent, “No. I’m much prettier than she is.” I knew I always liked her for her wit.