趙勇：奢侈品締造者的奢侈觀

2005年的一天，趙勇正在墨爾本球場揮桿擊球，墨爾本球場廣袤無垠，新鮮的空氣中混雜著青草香，鮮綠的球場與遠處的大海交織成了一幅美麗的風景畫。在前一天，趙勇搭乘的公務機剛剛降落在墨爾本機場，結束了一整天繁忙的工作后，他要好好享受一下業余生活。

皇家墨爾本球場在全球范圍內也屬頂級球場，在澳大利亞1400多個球場中名列前茅。在這里打球，趙勇身邊并沒有球童，周圍打球的人大多也是如此，都是拖著放球桿的小車行走在綠色的草坪上。“在國內，沒有一座球場不是球童圍著你轉，越高端的球場越是如此。而在這座全球著名的球場，人們更愿意享受高爾夫本身的樂趣，沒有球童，沒有人圍著你轉，令你覺得美妙的僅僅是打球。”趙勇認為，這樣的差別意味著人們對奢侈不同的定義，作為一名奢侈品生活的創造者，他更青睞后一種態度。

趙勇并不像很多高爾夫客那樣，刻意飛去世界各地打著名的球場。但每次出國，他都會帶上球桿和差桿證。“遇到好的球場就順便打球，特別是在忙碌的工作之后，能夠回歸大自然、休息打球，比起專程飛來飛去地打球，我想這樣的心態更加奢侈。”就這樣，利用到各國考察的機會，趙勇打了眾多全球著名的球場。他很喜歡在忙碌的工作中保持這種“勻速”狀態，不會刻意而為，只是順其自然地享受生活。

即便在自己購買公務機之后，這種“勻速”的生活節奏也沒有改變。2011年，趙勇購買了一架灣流550，但除了家庭旅行，這家公務機對他來說主要是交通工具。

乘坐自己的飛機往來于全球眾多知名城市進行商務洽談。每當工作結束之后，他都要花時間去當地著名的地方，或打打高爾夫球，或參觀當地的博物館。他說，真正享受生活就是在忙碌的工作后，抽出時間進行各種體驗，而不是刻意追求和炫耀某一種奢侈生活。就像他在忙里偷閑中打打高爾夫，才是心中真正的奢侈生活。

旅行：是工作，亦是生活

工作之余，趙勇喜歡到各處旅游，因為這既是工作，也是他獨特生活的一部分。一次在歐洲，趙勇發現酒店工作人員在他房間里為他特意放置了蕎麥皮枕頭。為什么這樣高級的酒店會放一個蕎麥枕頭呢？詢問得知，為了緩解住客的旅途疲勞，利用蕎麥枕頭加速頭部血液微循環、促進睡眠的功效，酒店特意做了這樣的安排。這個細節給了趙勇很大的觸動，可見頂級酒店的奢華并非僅僅是昂貴，細致入微地去為客戶著想，為客戶提供更多選擇，同樣也是奢侈的表現。“生活中的所謂奢華，其實就是擁有更多選擇生活方式的權利，找到自己感覺舒適的生活方式。”

如今最令趙勇感覺舒適的生活就是簡單、舒適。就像接受采訪時他的一身穿著：素雅的西裝，簡單中流露著低調的奢華。或許這也是他生活態度的最好投影，不炫耀，又輕松隨意。

他認為，奢侈品其實都是在為生活服務，如果生活自在愜意，奢侈品就沒有必要執著地追求。但作為中國大陸會所文化的開拓者之一，當時長安俱樂部吸引了李嘉誠、霍英東等眾多國內頂級財富人紛紛加入，如何為這些人打造頂級生活方式，對奢侈生活，就必須“多少懂一點”。

而這“一點”，其實就代表了當時國內的奢侈生活水平。因為如今看起來“金碧輝煌”的長安俱樂部和金寶街，在當時都需要趙勇一步步探索建造。他也在這樣的工作方式中努力尋找快樂。在辛苦的工作中，利用工作之余觀察和探究各地的生活文化，則成了趙勇享受生活的方式。

奢侈請勿模仿

2004年，趙勇來到了紐約著名的第五大道，那段時間他正在為剛剛動土修建的金寶街考察世界各地的著名景點。紐約第五大道地處美國紐約曼哈頓的中軸線，因其匯聚了眾多奢侈品大牌和頂級生活方式，被譽為全球十大租金最昂貴商業街之一。步行在這里，街道的很多設計細節令他印象深刻，當時路面上使用了一種特殊材質的塑膠地磚，觀光馬車可以在這種地方的路面上自由行走。

“當時我就想把它照搬到金寶街的路面上”。然而在最終的建設中，“讓金寶街上跑馬車”的想法并沒有達成，“我發現那種東西在中國沒有文化根基，只能作為炫富的擺設，而真正的奢侈生活絕不僅是追求表面的奢華，需要深層的文化內涵”。

這種文化根基，在趙勇看來是對中國人消費觀念和傳統文化的理解。所以歐式馬車盡管很奢侈，卻無法反映人們心中的文化歸屬感。他發現傳統文化才是奢侈生活的“文化黏合劑”，而他尋覓的文化歸屬感則來自傳統的紫檀藝術品。每天下班后，趙勇都要回到自己位于紫檀博物館的家中，在感受傳統文化的同時，也更利于其思考國人內心深處的生活訴求。

公務機與家庭“奢侈品”

兩年前，趙勇購買了自己的第一架公務機，他可以更方便地飛往世界各地考察。他說自己對公務機“一開始會感覺神秘，可使用之后就感覺沒那么特別了”。因為他不想刻意追求所謂的公務機生活，但公務機帶給他的舒適便利，卻在他自己的家庭出游中得到了最好的體現。

有時去各地出差旅行，趙勇也會帶上家人一同前往。比如一次搭乘公務機飛往肯尼亞，趙勇和家人近距離地觀察到了那里的野生動物，盡管旅途十分辛苦，“但很多稀奇古怪的東西還是會讓你感覺很新鮮。”后來到阿根廷看冰川，到北海道玩滑雪……每次在不同的地方感受家庭生活的魅力，趙勇都能獲得不一樣的感悟。

趙勇對家庭有著自然的擔當，如今除了自己必須要承擔的家族事業，他最重視的還是家庭。每天回到家中，關掉手機，忘掉奢侈品，不再去想工作，這是趙勇最喜歡的生活方式，“有時幸福很簡單，就是一家人聚在一起簡單地吃個飯”。趙勇說，如今能令自己開心的事，不是自己的商業規模，更不是自己擁有的資產數量，“對我來說，現在最快樂的事就是每天下班回家看見我兒子，因為家庭才是我最大的收獲。”

2012年8月，趙勇在美國讀書的女兒放暑假回到家，一個大家庭難得湊在一起，于是趙勇策劃了一次馬爾代夫的家庭出游。“你別看是家庭旅游，找個時間湊齊所有人挺不容易的。”而公務機為這本不容易的家庭之旅提供了交通上的最大便利。“家人的行程時間完全由自己決定，方便，省去了很多麻煩。”那次旅行，公務機已不僅是他口中的一種交通工具，更是一種可以將家庭成員聚攏在一起的黏合劑，而家庭，才是趙勇心中最大的奢侈品。

QA

Q：勇：我更像一位設計師

你如何看待公務機這種生活方式？

A：有些人買公務機為了顯示自己，我認為這樣就錯了。其實大可不必把它看得那么神秘，公務機就是一件交通工具，用著方便，這點才是最重要的。反正我買這個東西是跟我自己的需求有關，比如它可以更加方便地安排我的行程；利用公務機的私密空間進行商業洽談。它甚至是一種體驗，我可以根據這種體驗更好地與我的客戶進行溝通。

Q：打造了金寶街，又引入了眾多奢侈品品牌，生活中的你是什么樣的？

A：可能是我性格的原因，我不是那種在生活方面很奢侈的人，這和我創造的生活方式有很大的不同。不一定自己創造出來的就一定是自己享受的，比如很多設計師設計出房子不一定要自己住。我就像這樣一個設計師，蓋了很多房子，感覺蓋好了，就要離開它。但別人在享受它的時候會對它有評價，比如有人說我創造的東西好，我就會很享受這樣的感覺。

Q：多人稱您是“儒商”，您在生活中對文化的追求有哪些具體的表現？

A：我喜歡把很多好的東西整合到一起，做出心儀的作品給別人，這種整合就十分需要文化內核。對我個人而言，我喜歡到很多國外的城市去感悟這種文化內核，例如學習一個地方最好的建筑，最好的商業街、商場，最好的公園、博物館，其實這些都是在學習那里的文化。

Q：的房子下面有酒窖，您是不是也很懂酒文化？

A：我個人非常認可葡萄酒文化。酒是社交場上的重要媒介，是否懂酒能體現出一個人的品位，研究得多了，與人交流的話題就多了。比如當人家問你這酒為什么好，你要說出個所以然來，到底是土質原因還是什么，都有很深的文化。懂酒需要一個過程，我自己也收藏葡萄酒，各大酒莊的酒幾乎都有，但我藏酒不僅僅為了存放，只有不斷地喝，藏酒才有意思。

It was a common day in 2005. Zhao Yong was waving his golf club at the ROYAL Melbourne. He arrived here the day before for a busy day’s work. Now he was going to enjoy his spare time at the expansive green by the sea.

ROYAL Melbourne is one of the top golf clubs worldwide and the pinnacle of over 1，400 golf courses in Australia. Zhao Yong was alone with his golf cart and not followed by caddies， as were others playing here. “Back home， you are always surrounded by caddies， the better the course， the more so. But at here， you just want to enjoy the fun of golf， and golf alone.” These two approaches each represent a different definition of luxury. As a creator of luxury lifestyles， Zhao Yong prefers the latter.

Unlike many golfers， Zhao Yong does not make a point to fly around the world to play at famous courses. But he does bring his clubs along wherever he travels to. “I would play if there happens to be a good course， especially after a busy day， to relax and to return to nature. And that is more luxurious that flying around just to play golf.”As he travels to various countries， he has played in many world famous golf courses. He prefers to keep it natural， to live at a “constant speed”.

He has not accelerated his constant pace of life， even after he purchased his private jet， a Gulfstream 550 in 2011. Apart from family travel， he used it mostly as a transport vehicle for business meetings. After business in one city， he would visit popular local sites， play golf， or go to local museums. He says that enjoying life is not about intentionally pursuing and showing off a luxury lifestyle， but sparing time out of busy work to experience different things.

In his spare time， Zhao Yong travels around the world. Once in Europe， he noticed that the hotel prepared buckwheat pillows for him. Buckwheat pillows are commonplace in China and are said to be good for rest and eyes. Such dedication to details of the hotel provokes him to think that a top class hotel does not necessarily need to pursue extreme luxury， but could also offer more lifestyle choices with efforts in details. His understanding of luxury lifestyle today comes more or less from his reflections on those pillows. “In everyday life， luxury is about having the right to choose the most comfortable lifestyle.”

What he finds comfortable is a simple and comfortable life， like the Kent Curwen suit he was wearing for the interview， low key but luxurious. It probably speaks of his attitude towards life， not showing off， but comfortable and at ease.

Luxury goods ultimately serve everyday life， says Zhao Yong， if we lead a comfortable life， we would not be so crazy about luxury goods. But as one of the pioneers of private clubs in China， he had to know “a little bit” about luxury in order to offer premium lifestyle for the members of Chang An Club， which draws China’s top rich including Lee Ka Shing and Henry Fok.

But that “little bit” represented the most luxurious lifestyle in China back in those days as he explored the way forward for the Chang An Club and Jinbao Street. But he never ceased his pursuit of happiness， spending his spare time observing and exploring culture at different places.

In 2004， Zhao Yong visited the Fifth Avenue to seek inspirations for Jinbao Street. Located in the center of the borough of Manhattan and home to prestigious luxury brands and upscale lifestyles， the Fifth Avenue is ranked as one of the top 10 most expensive shopping streets in the world. He was impressed at its focus on details. For example， the street was paved with polyvinyl chloride tiles， on which sightseeing horse-drawn carriages travelling around with tourists.

“I wanted to copy and paste it to Jinbao Street”. But the idea didn’t come through. “It is not culturally rooted in China. Without which， it will just be a showing-off of wealth. True luxury is not superficial， but rooted deep in culture.”

To him， cultural root means consumption habit and traditional culture. No matter how extravagant， European horse carriages can never be identified with by the Chinese. Traditional culture is what makes luxury lifestyle “stick”. He finds a sense of cultural belonging in rosewood artworks. Every day after work， he would return to his home at the Rosewood Museum and reflect on the lives of his countrymen.

He bought his first business jet two years ago so he could fly around the world more easily. He does not want to pursue a so-called business jet lifestyle， but the jet does bring him comfort and convenience when he travels with his family.

At some of his business trips， he would also bring along his family. Travel is tiresome， “but all kinds of odd things keep you excited”. He has taken his family to observe wild animals in Kenya， watch glaciers in Argentina， ski in Hokkaido， and more some. Each trip provokes new thoughts in him.

Apart from the family business， family is most important to him. At home， he would turn off his phone， forget about luxury， and leave work behind. “Sometimes happiness is very simple， as simple as dining together with your family.” What makes him happy is not growth of his business or his fortune， he says， “to me， the happiest thing is to embrace my son after a day’s work. Family is my biggest achievement.”

On August 2012， his daughter came back from the U.S. for summer holidays. Seeing the rare opportunity of family reunion， he planned a family trip to the Maldives. “It is not easy to get everyone together”， but his business jet provides the biggest convenience， “The schedule of my family is for me to decide. We left in the morning， and returned home at night.”In trips like this， business jet is not just a vehicle， but an “adhesive” that holds the family closer. And to him， family is the biggest luxury.

Zhao Yong：

I am more a designer than a businessman

QA

What’s your view of business jet lifestyle？

Some buy jets to exhibit personal value， but I don’t think so. We don’t need to mystify business jet. It is just a vehicle， a convenient vehicle， that’s all. I bought my jet only to meet my needs for convenient travel， for privacy during business talks， and for creating experiences that help me communicate with my clients.

You build the Jinbao Street and bring in a full range of luxury brands. But what are you like in everyday life？

I am not a luxury person in everyday life， which is quite different from the lifestyle I have created. But just as an architect does not necessarily live in the houses he designed， I do not necessarily enjoy the lifestyle I created. Like an architect， I have built many buildings， but I will leave then to the judgment of those who enjoy them. If they speak high of my creations， I would be more than pleased.

Some say you are a “Confucian businessman”， is it reflected in you cultural pursuit？

For example， I want to integrate many good things into one nice creation， and that integration requires understanding of the culture core. Personally， I prefer going to various foreign cites to experience and feel the culture core by studying its architecture， thoroughfares， shopping malls， parks， and museums.

You have a wine cellar in your basement， do you understand wine？

Understand is too big a word for me， but I do appreciate wine culture. Wine is an important media in social networking. Your knowledge of wine could reflect your taste. The more you know， the more you have to discuss with others. If somebody asks you why a wine is good， you would know it is because of the soil or of something else. It takes time to understand wine. I collect wines from various wineries， but not simply for the sake of collection. The point of collecting wines is to taste them.