These are the products Steve Hindy, parks enthusiast and Brooklyn’s favorite beer brewer, can’t live without.
We caught up with Steve Hindy just after a whirlwind trip to Portugal, Norway, and Scotland. Hindy is a former Middle East correspondent for the Associated Press, the founder of Brooklyn Brewery, a well-known philanthropist, and an advocate for parks in Brooklyn. (While abroad, he managed to find some “green” at the famed St. Andrews golf course.)
Brooklyn’s favorite brew continues its international expansion. In 2016, the brand announced a partnership with Kirin in Japan to develop Brooklyn Brewery there. Hindy logged plenty of air miles to make the deal happen.
Platinum status for his golden brew. “I travel a lot for business. In 2017, I was in 19 foreign spots, including Tokyo, Kyoto, Sapporo, Seoul, Jeju Island, Stockholm twice, Amsterdam thrice, Glasgow and Edinburgh twice, London, Trondheim, Norway; Porto and Lisbon, Portugal; Toronto, Abu Dhabi, New Delhi, Paro, Bhutan. I don’t know how many miles that is, but I have Platinum status with Delta. It’s business travel, but the work is pretty fun.”
That first travel accessory. “My go-to shoulder bag is from a British brand called Billingham. I bought my first bag at a store on the Upper East Side called Hunting World. It was in February 1979, just before my first foreign assignment in Beirut. It’s really a camera bag with padding, and I’ve gone through four or five of them.”
Bright baby blue bag. “I use a Samsonite roller, in a bright baby blue. There’s no mistaking it, and I picked it up in Seoul for that reason. Black rollers are such a pain in the ass when you have to check a bag, and my last one broke a wheel. The Samsonite is small, easy to handle, and a lightweight plastic composite of some sort.”
The must-haves. “I travel with Bose noise-canceling headphones, an iPhone with Spotify, and Kindle. And of course, Advil, Imodium, and Claritin D.”
The in-flight reads. “I recently read The World at Night by Alan Furst on a flight to Florida. And on a recent flight to Denver, I read Barrel-Aged Stout and Selling Out by Josh Noel.”
A frequent flyer’s uniform. “I’ll wear J. Crew jeans, an LL Bean turtleneck or T-shirt, Paul Stuart vest or Northface fleece. It’s all weather dependent.”
Norwegian hotel laundry to the rescue. “I’m an economical packer, and I only travel with carry-on bags these days. It makes it challenging when you’re in different climates. On this last trip, I was in Portugal, which was 85 degrees, Norway and Scotland, each about 45 degrees. I typically will layer over a cashmere sweater, a down vest, and a light jacket. I like my Shanghai Tang men’s blazer, a Mao jacket. You can fold it up, it fits in the roller, and is stylish. I did my laundry once in Norway and paid the premium hotel price to get it done. But that’s how I made it through my trip.”
A souvenir for the return journey. “I have spears from Wau, South Sudan.”
Green space across the pond. “I love golf, so I wanted to visit St. Andrews while in Scotland. One little-known secret is that St. Andrews is closed on Sundays. It turns into a public park and is full of people walking their dogs and enjoying the links. My wife Ellen and I spent a beautiful day there.”
Mike Arnot is the founder of New York travel brand Boarding Pass NYC.
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