Tom Lawrence – Overseas Series

Name: Tom Lawrence

Age: 31 years

Years lived in HB and where? 18 years – Hastings based

What schools did you go to? Raureka Primary, Heretaunga Intermediate and Hasting Boys High

Who was your favourite teacher/s? Hastings Boys – Clive Alderton

Where did you study for further education? Weliington – Victoria and Massey breifly (uni wasn’t for me)

Were you a member of any clubs or teams? Rugby for Old Boys University


Did you think you’d be doing what you’re doing now? Never!

Who influenced you growing up? Young age – Brothers. 18 + Family, Tony Robins, Warren Buffet, Richard Branson

What do you miss the most about Hawke’s Bay? Chilled vibe, landscape and friends/family still their

What reminds you of Hawke’s Bay where you live now?  Wine

Where have you been employed in HB? One high school job for about four weeks at Pac n Save, and the classic working in the vineyard during holidays 

What are you doing now? I run Swanky Socks, a retail fashion brand and supplier of custom socks to the corporate market

Example of your work:

Swanky Socks retail brand
Swanky Socks retail brand
Our corporate collab – this one with TABCorp (horse racing)
Our corporate collab – this one with TABCorp (horse racing)

Advice for young people of Hawke’s Bay?

To all the young in HB, do what ultimately makes you happy. For me it meant travelling at an early age, living abroad and seeing what the world has to offer. It’s only then you realise how great we have it in NZ and how beautiful HB is.• Do what makes you happy (Break down your life into simplicity of what’s important to you and what is not)• Don’t give up on what you believe in (you need to truly be passionate about what it is you believe in)• Give back (I made it a purpose to always give back through business. To date we’ve donated over 76,000 pairs of socks and raised hundreds of thousands for charities)

How can people connect with you?
LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-lawrence-49939732/ For emails – hello@swankysocks.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *