My dad gave me my first bike at 16. I soon fell off and was in a wheelchair for weeks. I haven’t fallen since.
At five years old, I became the man of the house. When he left, my dad let me know that. It put a certain drive in me that I can’t explain.
Especially in front of my dad, I don’t like being weak. I don’t like crying in front of my dad because I don’t want to make him cry.
I was really, really shy. My dad used to drive me for an hour and a half to go training. I used to finish school, jump in the car, come back, and go to bed. I missed out on socialising with my friends when I was a shy child anyway.
I grew up in Des Moines. My dad had a house full of books, things like P.G. Wodehouse books and ‘Wuthering Heights’ by Emily Bronte.
President of the United States is you know, our boss, so you know, the President and the First Lady are kinda like the Mom and the Dad of the country. And when your Dad says something you listen.
I grew up playing basketball and baseball. I’ve always been active because my dad played professional football, so sports and working out have always been a part of my life.
I’m left handed, but my dad taught me to play guitar right-handed.
I grew up in the GOP sandbox. My dad took me, age 7, to meet Herbert Hoover, in his apartment at the Waldorf Towers. He gave me a silver dollar. Being a young Republican, I spent it on comic books.
It’s not a born-again thing; it was a peaceful, really, really cool moment where I just felt that I was no longer the dad anymore. I actually had become a son, and it makes things much easier from a day-to-day perspective.
Whenever I’d go anywhere with my dad – in his 1980 burgundy Dodge Ram – he’d always listen to mix tapes of country-music stars like Garth Brooks, Clint Black and Willie Nelson. Those were the first songs I ever learned the words to.
My mum is West African, from Senegal; my dad is from Grenada. There was a huge controversy about them getting together.
If you ask my dad, I’m always the person that found the little bird out of the nest and is trying to put it back or take care of it.
My mother’s proud of where she’s from, and her history, and her past, and same with my dad. I have roots in Africa. Like, I am from Africa as well as from Germany, and I am very proud of that.
If you met my dad, I think a lot of things would be put to rest. Because my pops is a pretty silly guy. But, Coldcut, they’re based in the U.K. I’m a big fan of jazz music, so American music has had a big influence on what I listen to.
Overcoming my dad telling me that I could never amount to anything is what has made me the megalomaniac that you see today.
My dad didn’t graduate from high school, ended up being a printing salesman, probably never made more than $8,000 a year. My mom sold real estate and did it part time.
My art teacher told me I’d be suited to graphic design, but I just couldn’t, because it was what my dad had done.
The biggest lesson I learned from my dad is to support children even if they’re doing something that is unorthodox.
I did a term at Cambridge University studying medicine, so I could potentially have followed in Mum and Dad’s footsteps and become a doctor.
I’ve never played for my dad. I played against my dad actually in high school. That was fun, but he taught me how to play the game the right way. Respect the game, give it all you’ve got and regardless of what happens, have no regrets.
After losing Dad, there was the idea that none of us have forever. It really affects you. It makes you want to live each day as if it’s your last.
I get on fine with my mum and dad, but if they want to see the grandchildren, they come to me.
Mom and Dad are truly my heroes. And I have to say, so is my little brother Robert. He’s 11, and he’s just the most amazing boy. He’s so much like Dad sometimes, it’s a bit scary.
When I was a kid, my step dad started this business and would go out and get lost cows and stuff. He was part-time truck driver, farmer and cowboy. He taught me how to ride from an early age.
