I MADE IT AND IT SUCKS

In certain parts of this world, dying isn’t even the problem. Being born is.

Self-help books are often written by people who tell you what to do, but have achieved little. This is a book by someone who has achieved a lot—but isn’t sure you should actually be doing anything. Or at least not just for the sake of doing something.

The son of an immigrant farm worker, Ramdane began life in the south of France with very little except the certainty that the lane chosen for him was unacceptable. The most hyperactive person you’ll ever meet, born in the most boring place in the world. If you’re born in the wrong place, you have to design a way out. Through sheer will, relentless curiosity, and total unreasonableness, Ramdane made his way through skateboarding, fashion, design, and luxury—eventually building an international beauty empire and selling it to the richest man in the world.

Along the way came kidnappings, homelessness, glorious failures, wasted successes, and half a century of fighting one uphill battle after another. When you’re not welcome anywhere, taking the hardest path becomes second nature.

This is an ode to accidents and imperfections, to curiosity as a driving force. Funny, provocative, and deeply personal, Ramdane shares what he learned from living a life no one could have predicted—and that more than a few people tried to stop. Not a blueprint for how to succeed, but an invitation to question the life you were handed, embrace the accidents, and design one that could only be yours.