What did you want to be when you were growing up?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

This is a standing question in The Guardian's decades-long The Q&A and also recurs independently in career and life interviews.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Recorded Tom Kerridge said elsewhere, not written here
No, not at all. I grew up on an estate in Gloucester, with no real sense of what I wanted to do, but I was never afraid of hard work or getting stuck in. School didn't always suit me, but when I found myself in a kitchen at 18, washing up, everything clicked. It was the energy of the space, the pace and the teamwork that I fell in love with.

Tripsmiths source ↗

Others on this question

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Matt Goss English singer-songwriter
I wanted to be like Vidal Sassoon and wear the three-piece suit and be part of pop culture.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 12 March 2022 source ↗
Hiroshi Mikitani Founder, chairman and chief executive of Rakuten
My job hunting days were at the height of the bubble economy. At the time, I was focused on joining big corporations and had no intention of myself becoming an entrepreneur. I started working at a major bank with a vague idea that I wanted "a job that would take me around the world."
Recorded Rakuten Group, Inc. source ↗

More from Tom Kerridge

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Question What made you decide to stop something you were known for, and how did you know it was time? Time & hindsight
It’s very easy to get caught up in a habit of work hard and play hard. I couldn’t tell you how much I used to drink in a week – I haven’t got enough fingers. I own two pubs and had built up a reputation of being the best party person in the industry. It got to a point where I realised I was getting too old to be that guy. Now I enjoy the challenge of being on a stag weekend for three days, but drinking Diet Coke and coffee.
Recorded Katie Forster, The Observer, The Guardian, 12 December 2015 source ↗

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