JL: What would you want to leave this Earth knowing that you left behind?

JP: Wow. Got real serious, real quick.

GF: Yes haha...

JP: Something strong to be remembered by. Whether it’s positive or negative, you can’t please everyone. I’m still so young, so it’s hard to think about death right now. But yeah, a strong legacy, whatever that is...

GF: You feel like you’re still shaping it...

JP: Yeah, of course, I’m 33. Put that in print. We’ll make it true.

GF: So something a little bit lighter (laughs): what are you thinking or feeling on a Sunday night?

JP: Sunday night is always kind of a weird evening for me. I think that’s to do with remembering how school was and the end of the weekend. It’s weird. Even now, usually I work on Sunday, but when I don’t work-- there’s that weird Sunday night feeling - not a big fan. Not a big fan of Sunday in general.

GF: Really, why is that?

JP: In Europe, Sundays, everything is shut down, so it's like the whole activity and energy is kind of dark. Even if I appreciate it more now, back in the day I was always annoyed by Sunday quietness.

GF: What kind of advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?

JP: "Don't stress, it's gonna be okay."

GF: That's actually really funny because we interviewed Julia's 103-year-old grandfather [Yu-Lin] who lived his prime during a time of war--he was a WWII vet, actually multiple wars. Obviously, he lost so many friends during the war and witnessed so much tragedy. His wife told us about how during one bombing raid--which happened often--their friends fled to a bomb shelter. The space was packed so full of people in the panic that they began to run out of air, but they couldn't open the doors because everyone who hadn't made it in had died outside and their bodies, combined with the debris from the explosions, had effectively blocked and sealed the exit. Everyone died. But the crazy thing is, despite everything's he's been through, he said that if there's any advice that he would give about living a long life, being prosperous, etc. he said, basically--

JP: --to go with the flow.

GF: Exactly.

Of course.

GF: Don't you think it's ironic that the advice of an 103-year-old guys is almost identical to what you would tell your younger self?

JP: You stress at 20, especially in this world where nothing is certain anymore. I would not change anything. I think it's taking risk that always pays off.

GF: What do you think was your hardest but most memorable lesson? Or one of them, maybe not the pinnacle, but maybe one of them that really sticks to you.

JP: I mean, moving to Japan was one of the hardest things I'd done, because I didn't speak the language, I didn't have money, I didn't have a job. Moving to a new country as a blank canvas, was tough--like this bare immigrant life. But I took a lot from it.

GF: What was the most important thing that you learned while you were there?

JP: Just trusting yourself. Know what you're capable of; it will pay off. It's a slow process. There was no one there to teach me a lesson, but you have to always believe in yourself in a way.

GF: Okay. Here’s a question that goes back to what we were talking about before: how would you define luxury?

JP: Good question. I mean luxury always has to be something rare and hard to get. And that elevates you in any locality you might be: like taking a vacation for six months can be a luxury, or taking a two day vacation in a very secluded place because you need it-- that’s luxury. , If you don’t have too much time, spending time with your family can be luxury. It’s a thing or a moment that you work very hard for, and when you get it, you see it as special, in a way that it sticks out, from the ordinary.

GF: So it’s something that almost has a relationship with scarcity.

JP: Yeah.

GF: Speaking of scarcity, a friend was saying to me the other day about how New York doesn't excite him anymore.

JP: What do they say?

GF: Saying that New York has changed, that they don't feel like there's that many New Yorkers in New York anymore. Not in the sense of you're born and raised, but in the sense of people getting priced out of living in the city, living in Brooklyn, living in Astoria. In Los Angeles it's happening too.

JP: It's happening in every big city in the world. Paris, same thing.

GF: That's true...

JP: Saying that "there's no more New Yorkers in New York" is such a weird statement. Where did they go? Did they die? They moved to L.A.? New York has been constantly changing. Bedford-Stuyvesant was a Jewish neighborhood, then it became black, and in 10 years, who knows. Some of the neighborhoods are gonna get better, some other neighborhood's gonna get worse, that's the oldest story in America--in the world! And New York has been built on change, so there's still amazing things in the city, there's still a lot of opportunity. I think the culture is still interesting. There's less edge as before. There's less Mom & Pop stores, and that's something we can regret, but we need to fight with what we've got to make the city better, and not complain about the good old days. My wife is from New York, a lot of my family is from here. [Back in the days] it was exciting, but it was also a terrible place to live. We traded excitement for safety. And maybe sometimes we want to be them both, but...

GF: So for you New York, more than representing a thing, really represents something dynamic.

JP: Yeah. I live in downtown Brooklyn, I'm surrounded by real New Yorkers, people are fun to talk to. There are weirdos, there are smart people, there are billionaires, there are poor people. I think the diversity--especially for me growing up in the south of France--what I love about New York, it's still there, it's still here. Tell me one city that's better than [New York] for diversity and rubbing your shoulders with all nationalities, all income brackets. There's none, still.

GF: For you, is there a smell or a sight or something like that, that says New York to you?

JP: It’s 100 degrees outside, and it’s mad hot and you walk around Chinatown, so you stink. That’s real New York. You go to any part of Brooklyn, now, or tonight, the piranha are hot and start to act crazy. The whole city is becoming its real self, if you want, when the temperature’s that hot.

GF: You can’t hide.

JP: Exciting or not, New York is still New York, 365 days a year. Things are constantly moving, but the essence of the city is still there. Stores open, stores close. Stays the same.

GF: For sure. So what question would you ask the next person?

JP: Describe your ideal five day vacation.