Since creating the C.R.U.I.S.E Brand in 2016, people often ask me, how I went from being a singer, to creating and building a clothing brand.
The answer is quite literally in the name itself; CRUISE.
Even though my career as a singer and prior to that, as a rapper touring with Vanilla Ice and other world renowned artists, was on land, it was when I went to sea in 2001, that I found an even greater passion than singing.
Even though I loved singing as a profession, it was when I was doing that at sea, that I was truly in my element. Not a day went by during over 1,500 days at sea, covering over 1 million miles, did I not get out on deck and wonder at the fact that I was travelling all over the world, getting paid to do what I love and without having to unpack.
On my first contract in 2001 in the UK, before we boarded the ship, our boss, gave us all hoodies with the company’s logo on them. These were essentially to keep us warm, during rehearsals, which went from midnight until 7 am during the first week on board.
The hoodies were a god’s sent and became my “go-to” item of clothing throughout the contract when out on deck in the cold Atlantic Ocean.
On my third contract which was my first with Princess Cruises, I was sat in the officer’s lounge on the beautiful Tahitian Princess (Yes, we were in Tahiti for 6 months), when the Staff Captain was explaining the company’s mission statement.
The mission statement was an acronym of the word “CRUISE”, which stood for, Courtesy, Respect, Unfailing, In, Service, Excellence. As I was digesting this information, an Indian galley staff member, who was sitting beside me lent over and whispered “No, it stands for Can’t Rest Until I’ve Shagged Everything“.
Trying not to laugh out loud, I quickly jotted this down, so as to not forget it, in case I ever needed to refer to it. Throughout my next few contracts with the company, this topic came up regularly and as a result, a few other versions were also born. They were: “Can’t Rest Until I’ve Snogged Everybody”, “Can’t Really Understand Italians Speaking English” and the one that became our signature logo, “Can’t Rest Until I’ve Sailed Everywhere”.
Of course, given the explicit nature of some of the logos, and the fact that not all cruisers are out to “shag” or “Snog” everyone, I am working out the best way to market these particular logos, but they will be available in the near future.
FYI: For those in the USA who may not be aware, “snogged” is an Australian /British term for kissing.
So far as the “Sailed” version, several years later and after publishing my book by the same name; C.R.U.I.S.E, the idea to turn these quirky logos into a brand was born. It was when I was sailing on a ship, and saw several groups of people all wearing the same shirts to celebrate their cruise, that it dawned on me that the “C.R.U.I.S.E” shirts would make a great addition to a cruise addicts wardrobe.
The concept was similar to that of the brand “FCUK” that was a huge hit in the UK, Europe & Australia. I remember walking around Sydney in 2002 with my FCUK shirt on and people looking at me like I had a swearword on my chest. I had been in the UK working on ships and bought a few of these shirts, but at that stage, the brand would not reach Australia for another year.
I remember thinking that I was quite the trendsetter (even though I probably wasn’t), but I knew the brand was about to become a huge hit down-under. It is this same concept that I wanted to create, when developing my own label.
The C.R.U.I.S.E brand, really is a passion project and all part of my grand plan to share the incredible world of cruising, with those who have not yet experienced it, (Yes, can you believe that some people have not yet discovered how awesome cruising is?)
For me personally, I wanted something that was cruise related, that I could wear on board a ship, in port or even at home. Something practical and comfortable, whether it be a shirt, tank top or hoodie.
If you too are cruise obsessed, like me and would like to check out or range of gear, head to our C.R.U.I.S.E page on my website.
