5 Minute Q & A with Rhys Jones & Mr Hicks
“It’s more important than ever to be an honest person.” Rhys Jones 2021
When did you leave Archbishop Beck Catholic College?
I left the college at the start of 2015.
What does your occupation entail?
I own a Bespoke Tailoring company with stores based out of Liverpool City Centre and Chester.
We travel throughout the country and internationally to visit clients. Sometimes our work takes us to clients in the South of France and Liechtenstein.
Our clients typically are extremely wealthy individuals with a Net-Worth of over £25 million and as a business we have tailored for Premier League Football players, World Champion Boxers and Executives in some of the country’s biggest companies.
What do you value in people?
Honesty. I believe that many people simply overlook this very important attribute. In today’s world it becomes more difficult than ever to have this quality. I think it’s also more important than ever to be an honest person in today’s society. As Edward Snowden said, “The most free person in the world is the one with nothing to hide.”
What barriers and challenges have you overcome during lock-down?
As a business, it truly cannot get much more disastrous than being legally told to close overnight. We had twelve months worth of orders suddenly in jeopardy and staff whom I had the single responsibility of continuing to pay wages. Fortunately the governments Furlough scheme came in which secured all staff members jobs.
Straight away it was inevitable that we would be closed for the foreseeable future which if we only looked at positively, gave me the time of which I would never get back. I could focus on pushing the business forward more than ever before. By the end of 2019 we found, refurbished and launched two new stores. This not only gave the business a guaranteed prospect of generating more sales but it also put the business in a much more stable position then it was at the start of the pandemic.
What has been a highlight of your career to date?
Even though I couldn’t be less interested in football, it is possibly hand-crafting the Suit that Sir Kenny Dalgleish wore at his knighthood ceremony.
What are you most proud of in your career?
Being able to push through all of the challenges that launching a business entails. Of course, I am not even at the start of the adversities that will I am sure appear but I struggle to believe it can be worse than the challenges of COVID 19.
What do you like most about your job?
I really love dealing with clients. Guiding them through the process of making them a truly one off piece of clothing that is made for them. It is a privilege.
What are your memories of your time at Archbishop Beck?
It was great, the good times and bad. A secondary school is a bizarre time in a persons life where you are suddenly submerged into the real world and have the responsibility in yourself to choose the direction you wish to push your life in.
It wasn’t always easy but I always had the incredible support of staff to get me through it.
I actually went on the colleges “Lourdes Pilgrimage”. At the time, I probably went for a “holiday” but looking back it was one of the best experiences of my life and one which I will never forget.
What advice would you give to your teenage self?
Relax! I don’t think we realised in school that there were jobs nobody even knew existed and not every successful person followed an academic route. It is all about following a career of which you truly love. If you do that alone then success is almost guaranteed.
What is your favourite film?
Good Will Hunting
What is your favourite book?
“12 Rules for Life, an Antidote to Chaos” by Jordan Peterson
It has been a real pleasure to catch up with you Rhys, the college community are very proud of your achievements,which I am sure will be a great inspiration to present members of the student body. Very best wishes and many thanks.
“When you buy a new suit, take the time to get it tailored, and you’ll thank yourself every time you put it on.” Michael Bastian
