Simon Loasby
Age:
When were you at Princethorpe?
1978 - 1985
What have you been doing with yourself since leaving Princethorpe?
I have been out and about in the world since 1985 when I left Princethorpe having had 7 wonderful full boarding years there. I was very lucky that I had a clear goal of what I wanted to do for a living when I was at Princethorpe and now do it...
I finished with good enough grades to both get to university and to be sponsored. Austin Rover, as it was then called, sponsored me to study Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College, London. I noticed my mistake immediately: wow that was hard work for an "arts" person like me...
Luckily I had enough "grey matter between the ears" to get me through and along the way to complete a portfolio to get me in to the Royal College of Art. The RCA was a goal I had had since the age of 15 to study car design.
With further sponsorship from Rolls-Royce and Bentley Motor cars I studied for a further 2 years for a Masters degree in Vehicle Design.... and car design had always been what I wanted to do!
Since leaving the RCA I have now worked in the UK, Germany and in China (where I currently live and work). I met my wife whilst on a business trip to Frankfurt in 1993, she is German but at the time lived in Taipei (having studied Chinese there). She moved to England in 1995. We have 2 awesome children: Anna is 12 and Tom is 9.
In 2001 and after 10 years with Bentley and many wonderful projects Volkswagen invited me to join them in Germany. What started as a 2 year contract turned in to 6 years before becoming a "local employee". It has been great fun pointing out the cultural differences between the UK and Germany to my colleagues... Of course we all joke about the Germans not having a sense of humor - well not true - they do ... It's just VERY VERY well hidden.
After a further 18 months in Germany I had a dream offer to move to China to look after Volkswagen's design activities there. Consequently we now live in Shanghai and I travel between Shanghai and Changchun looking after our two design studios.
My travel diary is a "monster" where I singlehandedly keep Lufthansa and the Chinese airlines in profit(!)...
Living in China has amazing benefits - as long as you are tolerant! It is amazingly easy to live in Shanghai and we have Asia at our fingertips... Not only do I travel a lot for work but we look for every chance to travel to see the world.
Actually I sit writing the piece in a hotel next to the ShaoLin Temple in Henan province in China... Those of you that have seen the film "Kungfu Panda" will know that this is the home of kungfu... Disappointed not to have seen any kungfu practising pandas here though!
Another benefit is that our children are now not only fluent in English and German, but also have a good Chinese basis too!
How did Princethorpe affect the person you are today?
Looking back I can only be amazed at how well Princethorpe set me up for everything I have done since. It really helped me stand on my own two feet! Princethorpe then had 500 or so students and there were around 120 full boarders.
What was the school like in your day?
What sticks in my mind were the fantastic musical performances, the great sporting facilities and the never-ending requests to collect money for the swimming pool!!! Did that ever get built?!?! Lou & Barbara Skiffington (art) and Barry Weenan were the staff who probably influenced me most during my time in school - I can honestly say that I still use many of the skills that they taught me! If I were do do my time again at Princethorpe then I would change one thing: The boarders showers!!! In my days the early morning trudge to the changing rooms by the sports hall was awful!!!!
What advice would you give to your teenage self?
Find the balance between fun & work, don't take no for an answer, go for the best (always) and never give up.... But most of all don't forget this is not a dress rehearsal! My proudest achievement since Princethorpe has to have been my Design involvement and input to the Bentley Continental GT. We had a goal, knew what we wanted, went for it and achieved it! I am lucky enough to have travelled a lot so far... Having said that I can think of no better place to be than "right here, right now"... with my family exploring unknown countries... However maybe, just maybe, another week a trip to the "Princess D'Annam" Hotel North of Saigon in Vietnam would be good too...
If you had to have one last meal, what would it be?
Starter: Pepper fillet steak at "Izzy's steak bar" in SFO. Main course: fresh tuna at the "Kitchen Club" in Soho NYC. Desert: Vanilla Chocolate Chip cookie dough ice-cream at any Coldstones outlet!!!! This meal would also include my favorite indulgence: travel!
What keeps you awake at night?
Not enough time to spend with friends and to see the world... But I keep trying!
What is your favourite TV Show and why? Difficult because I watch so little... But I do watch a lot of films - "21" and "The Hangover" must be 2 of my favorites... Can't stop laughing watching them - they keep me in a good mood!
Are you in touch with any other Old Princethorpians, if so whom?
Unfortunately I am not in regular contact with many ex-Princethorpians, however Facebook has helped bridge many gaps! Chris Sarno, Graham Exley, Rob Pesch and Philip Taylor ... Are amongst MANY others who, no matter how little we see each other, I will always consider as my deepest friends and together with the late Edward Enwonwu, are those who have influenced me from my earliest age to become who I now am... Thankyou!!!
Simon Loasby, China, 2011
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