Archie, 24, has already had quite a varied career in his short time since leaving school - from working with the likes of Ed Sheeran, George Ezra and James Blunt at a local recording studio, to managing a vineyard, and now opening a high street store with East Anglian streetwear brand HOAX. Outside of work, Archie is getting married this year and enjoys spending time on the coast kitesurfing with his family. He talks to Gina Long...
What is your connection to East Anglia?
I’m a Suffolk boy through and through! I was born in Ipswich Hospital but have lived in Woodbridge my entire life. During the pandemic, myself and my fiancee bought our first home together in a small village just outside Woodbridge. It’s probably one of my favourite places on earth.
What is your East Anglian heaven?
What’s not to love? The beaches, walks, picturesque countryside, trendy little market towns, coffee shops, cosy pubs. Not to mention we’re only an hour and 15 mins from London…
What is your East Anglian hell?
Without a doubt the distance from here to Cornwall - my second home.
What are your favourite East Anglian restaurants?
We’re not eating out much at the moment because we’re saving hard for our wedding in September, but when it’s business as usual, I’ll be heading straight to The Woodyard in Woodbridge for a Margarita pizza and a drizzle of chilli oil.
What’s your favourite East Anglian landmark?
It has to be Holkham Hall in Norfolk - we got engaged there during the first lockdown. It’s a beautiful place.
What’s the best thing that happens in East Anglia every year?
My mate runs a music school in Martlesham and every year they run their very own mini music festival called Planet In The Park on the August Bank Holiday weekend. It’s an amazing opportunity for aspiring musicians to get up on a stage and perform.
What's your specialist Mastermind subject?
Cooked breakfasts. No one makes them like my Nanny Tooty.
What is always in your fridge?
I’ve got a thing for fruit smoothies - mango and passionfruit and strawberry and banana are both on the weekly shop without fail.
What’s your simple philosophy of life?
If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
What’s your favourite film?
Wolf of Wall Street.
What was your first job?
If we’re not counting the two shifts I did at the Wild Strawberry Cafe, my first job was a tea boy at a local recording studio - Decoy Studios. My parents let me skip PE lessons at school to go and work there which allowed me to learn so much not only about the music industry, but a whole load of life skills too.
What is your most treasured possession?
My Ooni Karu 12 pizza oven. I got it on Boxing Day 2021 and spent the most of those winter months perfecting my pizzas. Come rain, hail and even snow, I was in the garden burning pizza after pizza. Despite feeling like I’ve mastered it now, only a few weeks ago I served my friends raw pizza. It’s a work in progress.
Who do you admire most?
My fiancee Anna. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me and I cannot wait to make her my wife in September.
What is your biggest indulgence?
My Molton Brown bath salts - Coastal Cypress and Sea Fennel (the blue tin). They are such a treat. The only problem is that I only ever get them for Christmas or my birthday, so right now I’m out.
What do you like about yourself most?
I’m a people person and I love making connections with different people from all walks of life.
What’s your worst character trait?
I’m an emotional Pisces and therefore I overreact at everything.
Where is your favourite holiday destination?
I have to say Cornwall. I’ve visited pretty much every year of my life and it will always hold a special place in my heart.
Best day of your life?
I’ll never forget the feeling of buying our first house. The achievement felt unreal.
What’s your favourite breakfast?
My fiancee made me the best stack of pancakes for my birthday. Don’t tell my heart consultant.
What’s your favourite tipple?
Some friends recently introduced me to a local bottled cocktails company called Edmunds. Their Elderflower Collins is absolutely banging.
What’s your hidden talent?
Believe it or not, I can actually hold a pretty decent headstand whilst doing leg claps just like Justin Hawkins from The Darkness.
What’s your earliest memory?
When I was really small I used to be fascinated by the bin lorry that collected our bin bags - every week the driver called Bruce always let me go and push the buttons on the side of the lorry to make it eat up the bin bags. Kind of gross really, and thinking about it I can’t believe my mum let me do it!
Tell us something people don’t know about you?
I love my own company.
What’s the worst thing anyone has ever said to you?
It was when we were buying our house, we went for a second viewing of the property whilst it was still being built, and when we were finished the agent told us that someone had just purchased it. My heart sank. However, we actually ended up buying the plot two doors down so all was not lost.
Tell us why you live here and nowhere else?
I have everything I could ever wish for here in East Anglia. I couldn’t think of a better place to live when the time comes to start a family of my own.
What do you want to tell our readers about most?
HOAX is opening a permanent shop in the Woodbridge Thoroughfare on August 13. Doors open at 10am, and later on in the evening there’ll be a DJ and free drinks from 5.30pm onwards. Come along and say hi, we’re a friendly bunch.
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