Anyone who knows me knows one of my absolute mottos in life is, “I’m just happy to be here.”
More often than not, I do not go into a trip with a massive, step-by-step plan. Whatever happens, happens, and I am usually just thrilled to be experiencing something new. It also turns out to be the ultimate shield against disappointment. When you walk into a situation with zero expectations, you naturally learn how to balance the crazy highs and lows of life.
After returning home from Romania, I hit a sudden wall with some serious health issues. While stuck at home recovering with very little to do, I decided to channel my energy into a new creative project: recreating Chris Martin’s new Moon Music jacket.
I had first seen the original piece in person while standing just feet away from Chris during the feelslikeimfallinginlove music video shoot in Athens. When the lights hit that jacket, it blew me away. Unfortunately, we had to surrender our phones for the entire day of filming, so I could not take a single reference photo. I also missed the Budapest concert, which was the very first time he wore the new gear on stage.
So, sitting in my living room, I started trying to reverse-engineer each piece from scratch. It was a massive challenge. The early photos and videos coming out from the tour were not doing a great job of showing fine details, but I had plenty of time on my hands to reverse engineer it.
The Art of the Multihoop
Normally, my process involves calculating the exact placement and scale of every design element. Over the years, I have built a few personal tools for estimating screen-to-real-life dimensions. From there, I recreate the graphics from scratch and digitize the patterns for embroidery.
This specific jacket presented some serious technical hurdles. The design featured really long, continuous embroidered designs that required a technique called multihooping. People occasionally ask me if I can make them replica jackets, but if they saw the absolute precision required to line up a solid embroidered line across three separate hoop readjustments so it looks like one seamless line, they would probably take it back.
After a few months of intense work, I finally finished the jacket. But in my mind, it was purely a personal display piece. The band’s next performance was an exclusive album release event in New York City, and I had no way of attending.
An Unexpected Trip to Manhattan
During the week of the New York show, my kidney stone nightmare finally came to an end. As I was sitting at home, deeply relieved that the whole painful ordeal was behind me, a few friends called and urged me to fly out to NYC. I hesitated, but realized I had been cooped up for far too long. At the very least, it would be nice to catch up with friends and get out of the house.
I packed my bag, tucked the newly finished Moon Music outfit into my luggage, and headed to the airport. Once again, I had zero expectations of actually getting inside the concert venue. My entire plan was to hang around outside, listen to what I could from the street, and enjoy a mini-holiday.
The day before the show, I was walking through the city when I randomly bumped into a group of friends I had not seen since Athens. Just getting to reconnect and walk around the city with them made the trip feel like an immediate success.
The morning of the concert, I headed down toward the venue to hang out with more friends. As showtime approached, a few of us somehow managed to secure tickets. Being able to be present for another album release show was an incredible honor. The concert itself was an absolute blast, feeling less like a massive stadium gig and more like an intimate house party with the band performing right in front of us.
Early Mornings and Motorcades
The concert wrapped up while it was still daylight out, which was a pretty unique experience in itself. Immediately after, a lot of fans rushed over to line up outside the NBC building near the Today Show stage for the band’s scheduled broadcast the next morning. Knowing how these live television events usually play out, I knew things rarely go the way people expect.
I told everyone I was heading back to the hotel for a nap. Around 11:00 PM, I walked over to check out the line and could barely believe the chaos I was seeing. I headed back to my room, got some solid sleep, and told my friends I would meet them back at the plaza at 5:00 AM. No one had much faith in my strategy.
When 5:00 AM rolled around, I walked up and grabbed a clear, comfortable spot where I could easily watch the stage without fighting thousands of people for a view. As it turned out, the massive crowd that had been waiting all night was actually positioned in the wrong area, and eventually, everyone ended up filtering right behind where I was standing.
The morning broadcast was fantastic.
Afterward, I wandered over to the Puma store to check out some F1 racing suits and try out their simulator.
Then came another completely random sequence of events.
As I was trying to cross the street to head down to the subway, traffic was completely frozen. I ended up waiting about ten minutes for Vice President Kamala Harris’s motorcade to pass through. That tiny delay changed the entire trajectory of my afternoon. If that motorcade had not held me up, I would have been underground on a train ten minutes earlier.
A Surprise Acoustic Set
Instead, as I finally approached the subway entrance, something made me pause and turn into the Rough Trade record store right next door one last time.
I was on the phone when I glanced through the glass window. I immediately told the person on the line, “I have to call you back.”
Standing right there inside the small shop was the band.
I walked inside just as they were launching into a private, acoustic performance of feelslikeimfallinginlove for a tiny room of about ten people. I was still fully dressed in my handmade Moon Music jacket. As I walked through the door, Chris caught my eye, saw the utter shock on my face, and flashed a subtle grin. Sleep-deprived and stunned, I genuinely questioned if I was dreaming.
After finishing the song, the band said their goodbyes and headed for their exit. As I walked outside, Phil came up to chat for a few minutes. He laughed and told me Chris was convinced that if they hung around inside the shop, a fan would eventually randomly walk through the door. It turned out he was right.
What started as a zero-plan, last-minute trip to New York turned into one of the most memorable weeks I have ever had.
