While everyone else in the crowd was bunched up against the door to the green room, she would shortly be leading him through the crowd at high speed to get him out of the building. But every 30 minutes or so I made sure to check in with the PR woman and pitched the idea of doing a group photo with the UK government staff and Richard.

As might be expected, the PR woman didn't think that was as great of an idea as I did and she naturally blew me off. It turned out that she was Richard's appointed handler for that evening and she was just about to pull him out and send him back to his hotel for the night. So in the week or so leading up to the event I quickly invited some start up founders to the events that I knew would be happening around the big launch and bought myself a last minute flight to LA and booked a quick airbnb for the night and arrived at LAX 8am the morning of the event with nothing more than a change of underwear and a toothbrush. While I completely blew my shot to talk to my hero, that tenacity and persistence to win I felt is something that I've always remembered and carried with me through the rest of my professional life. Just as I made my move, something distracted him and he turned away to wave at some other fans that had followed him.Read our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy to get more information and learn how to set up your preferences.

In this section, you can choose to view and download your favorite pictures Birthday congratulations with name Richard. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.While I wasn't going to be able to afford a ticket to Necker Island any time soon, I knew that he usually comes out for these type of events and maybe I could engineer a meeting. Whether it’s for you, your Nan, your sports coach or your kitty… we have a rendition of happy birthday for one and all. Celebrate his special day with lovely and colorful animated images featuring birthday cakes, muffins with lit candles, heartfelt wishes, festive fireworks, bouquets of flowers adorned with glitter effects, amusing characters, and vibrant balloons.

And PS - Richard, if you're reading this, thanks for stopping to take a photo with a young guy in a parking lot in LA. Here's to all the lives you've changed in the last 73 years and all those that will be changed in the future thanks to you being on the planet. But if I stood at the end of this long hallway where no one else was, next to the exit door, she would make sure he was lined up to see me while hurrying down that hallway. Somewhat ashamed, all I could think to say was to thank him for all he's done and inspired, and to ask for a photo with him. The day proceeded as these things normally do: business receptions, talks, happy hours, and VIP meet and greets.You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.