Lululemon founder Chip Wilson says the biggest issue facing Vancouver is ‘a severe lack of Uber.’JONATHAN HAYWARD/The Canadian Press
For this feature, Globe B.C. borrows from Marcel Proust (and other media who have popularized the French author's questionnaire) as a way to get to know notable people around the province.
Here is Chip Wilson, founder of the yoga-inspired clothing company Lululemon Athletica Inc., who has, more recently, launched a portfolio of companies called Hold It All Inc. whose component businesses include Low Tide Properties, now involved in development in the False Creek Flats.
What is your greatest fear?
A child of mine dying before me.
If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what would it be?
My wife. I can't imagine a better person to come back as.
What is the best line you have ever written?
An entrepreneur is someone too incompetent to work for someone else.
What restaurant have you eaten at the most?
Nelson the Seagull.
If you could be a fictional character for one day, who would it be?
Dagny Taggart.
What is the greatest issue facing Vancouver?
A severe lack of Uber.
When and where were you happiest?
Here and now.
What is the best book you have read this year?
Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success by Matthew Syed
Least favorite holiday?
I'm not a fan of birthdays. … Everybody has one so there's too many to remember.
Personal trait you most despise?
Inauthenticity. Specifically, people who use social media to boast about a life they're not really living.
An object you still own from your childhood?
Competitive swimming album full of ribbons and memories.
What was your first paying job?
Tearing down delapidated barns west of Calgary for $5/day at the age of 14.
If you had $1-million to give to a charity, what cause would you select?
Education in Ethiopia, because Ethiopia is investing in its own future. Ethiopia's leaders have demonstrated their commitment by investing 25 per cent of the country's annual budget in the education sector. We recently merged our family charity, Imagine 1 Day, with We.org. They're changing the world.
What life lesson have you learned this year?
That I can use social media to engage in authentic and meaningful conversations, unencumbered by a traditional media filter.
What is Vancouver's greatest park?
Stay tuned!
If, thanks to a time machine, you travelled back to 1975 and had the floor at a city council meeting, what advice would you offer?
Plan and build an amazing rapid-transit system and allow massive density around stations to tax and pay for the system.
What advice would you offer your 20-year-old self
Time is a non-renewable resource (...or as my Dad said to his 20-year-old self: Do it now. Do it right …now.)
What is your current state of mind?
Peace love dove and Hare Krishna all you groovy cats!
Bike, walk or drive?
Bike or walk!
What is your motto?
Life occurs in the moment.
Ian Bailey