Fast Talk: The Brand Called Me

Keep It Real

Tony Hawk

Professional skateboarder
Vista, California

Some people consider me an ambassador for skateboarding, but at the core, I'm just a pro skater. I've grown up with skating as a huge part of my life, but I'm past any wild days and out-of-control partying. I'm a dad. I have other responsibilities. I'm not trying to present some alter ego.

If I do have some kind of ambassador status to the nonskating world, it's because of the video games that use my name. Several companies approached me about doing one. But they either weren't sure what they wanted, or they already had something and they just wanted to slap my name on it. I really wanted to get involved from the ground level. I didn't want to direct it, but I wanted to lend my expertise to it instead of just tweaking something that already existed.

I mulled over a couple of different offers and just felt like Activision was on the best path for making something that was fun to play but that also had the integrity of skating involved. Yeah, there was a slightly higher-priced deal somewhere else. And I wasn't really in a position to turn down much at that point in my life. But it wasn't so much that it was worth the compromise.

I think the bottom line is that whenever I'm doing something that involves my name or image, I make sure that the skating aspect is authentic. It can't be exaggerated or goofy. It's got to be very much based in reality.

Tony Hawk is synonymous with skateboarding culture, thanks to product lines ranging from skateboards to video games. In addition to skating at "Tony Hawk's Boom Boom HuckJam" events, he hosts his own radio show on Sirius Satellite Radio.

The Person Behind the Brand

Nigella Lawson

Food writer and cooking-show host
London

I'm not altogether comfortable with the notion of becoming a brand. I feel absolutely fine about having my name associated with cooking and the home when it's with my readers and viewers, because they get the point of me -- someone who simply enjoys food and cooking and who is interested in the role food plays in our lives. But I get uncomfortable when I'm on some show and the announcer says, "We have with us the domestic goddess." I just want to cringe because that's not what I am. I guess it's my own fault.

I find it very odd how the world craves an expert so much that they want to turn you into one even when you're not. Somehow, in this hallowed world of TV, everything goes right. But in reality, that's not true.

I don't pretend to be an expert. For example, in How to Be a Domestic Goddess, I very stupidly call a recipe "easy almond cake." When we were doing the book shoot, I ignored the recipe, which says, "let stand for 20 minutes." I didn't, and the cake broke. The photographer asked if I wanted to make it again and reshoot. I said, "Don't be mad! If you have people coming for dinner, what are you going to do, make another cake?" So I just put a lot of powdered sugar and a few raspberries over it and shared this story in the book. I certainly believe that if you cannot cope in life with a cracked cake, then it's not just cooking you're going to find hard. It's the whole of life.

Nigella Lawson is the author of five cookbooks, as well as the host of several cooking shows in the UK and the United States. She writes a column for The New York Times and has her own line of kitchen tools.

Mix Up Your Muses

Todd Oldham

Designer
New York, New York

It makes no difference to me whether my name's on something or not.

I just like to design stuff. My style is an amalgam of inspirations that come from spending part of my childhood in Tehran, where I strolled the colorful bazaars, mixed with a cowboy culture from Texas, where I was born. Somehow, my designs come out in a way that has become a signature. But I never forget that the appropriateness of the end product is as important as the design.

For every expensive blouse I made as a fashion designer, it was as much fun to appear on MTV's House of Style and show people something for 99 cents. To keep my brain attached, I had to always have that balance between high fashion and mass culture. Being on MTV allowed me a different presence than a lot of designers have, and it made it so that people wanted my name on stuff.

My friends burst out laughing when I partnered with La-Z-Boy last year to produce a line of products. But while I don't relate to their traditional furniture -- and it's important to remember I wasn't hired to relate to it -- they've been super supportive of what I want to do. As a result, we're experiencing first-year sales that look more like third year.

Situations like these are always a balance. I urge everybody who asks my advice not to sell your name. There are lots of deals where you can lose control for a more profitable offer. I had an intense experience where I lost control over my name and let's just say I was extremely happy when I bought the rights back. Now I have 100% control over anything with Todd Oldham on it.

Todd Oldham has a new book, Handmade Modern (Regan Books), coming out this month, and is designing a new hotel in New York. He has also created several lines for Target.