When COVID brought international travel to a standstill, it also brought my keynote speaking and consulting work to an abrupt halt. Rather than waiting for the world to reopen, I dug out the notes and half-finished projects from a fashion design course I'd started at TAFE the previous year and decided to teach myself the rest.

What started as a creative diversion quickly became a full-time obsession. I spent the next year learning every aspect of swimwear design and manufacture, eventually launching Pride™, a niche luxury label. I designed every garment, did all the photography, built the e-commerce website, managed the social media, and, most importantly, learnt to sew professionally on industrial machines rescued from a famous Australian swim brand after it moved production offshore.

I'm now preparing to relaunch the brand, with my most successful Men's One Piece entering offshore production while I continue handcrafting smaller collections myself in Australia.