Born in the heart of Wimbledon at St. Teresa’s Maternity Hospital on The Downs, off the Ridgeway [demolished in the 1980s] I am a true Wimbledonian. I have lived in Wimbledon for most of my life, and I hope to stay here until I am 100 years old, and still cycling my colourful bicycles of course.
When I was just five years old I used to wear bow ties everyday, and I would make tall top hats out of cardboard, painted black, to wear out in the streets…so I guess you could say that I am naturally an eccentric.
I was originally labelled with the name ‘The Golden Man’ back in Thailand because of the Shiny Gold coat that I used to wear whilst cycling, and also because my bike was covered in gold tinsel – this was at the very start, before I introduced colours and feathers to the bikes decoration.
The name James Bond again originated back in Thailand about 15 years ago. I am not a Bond fan at all, in fact I am only a Clint Eastwood fan. James Bond sounded very similar to my real name so it just stuck. Absolutely everyone knew me only as James Bond, from my close girlfriends right up to the Mayor and even the King of Thailand’s daughter!
I chose the name ‘Fantasycycle’ because I wanted a short catchy name that was to the point, but I prefer to be known as ‘The King of Bling’ these days.
I designed and made all my outfits and my two colourful bicycles myself, without any help. I am self-taught, and very much a one man band. Going back to its roots, I have always had a strong passion for decorative antiques. I was buying extremely ornate furniture and objects of art from Christie’s auctions in South Kensington when I was just 14 years old, restoring them to sell on. I later designed and made my own furniture, far more grander than I could find for sale in Christie’s auctions.
Everything I own must be ornate, and that is how my bicycle came about, I suppose it’s a sort of a colourful ornate throne on wheels. My outfits must also be highly ornate. I don’t copy any specific style, or country. I just keep adding more and more, until I am happy with it. I am a perfectionist, and that is a terrible thing to be, because it means that I take far longer to get it finished. We are living in a very plain world these days, where most of the cars colours are grey, but that’s okay, because I shine and stand out all the more. But I wish they would bring back the strong car colours of the 1960s and 70s, and Baroque architecture.
I have been cycling my colourful bikes for about 15 years now. 10 years in Thailand and 5 years here in Wimbledon and the West End of London. I am lucky that my passion for decoration has been met with worldwide approval. It’s one of the best things in the world to see people’s faces light up with warmth, happiness and admiration as I pass them by.
There is always a camera pointed at me, and I am always happy to be photographed. I would never dream of charging anyone for a photo, that would be a very ugly thing to do, and to be seen doing. It’s like one big happy family out there on the streets. My bikes have become a form of community bonding, people turn and talk to complete strangers about me as I pass them, especially at bus stops. The big bus stop outside the Town hall is my particular favourite.
By James Bond ‘The ‘Golden Man’ – Bonding the community of Wimbledon!
Follow: @bondwimbledon
Email: fantasycycle@gmail.com
