I met Everett through my friend MeiMei (check out her blog on The Huffington Post–it’s definitely worth your time!). The night is particularly memorable to me because we were out at a club. I don’t really go out that much anymore, and even when I did I was never a big club person. Everett is an awesome dancer, the kind of guy who makes everyone in a group look good. And he’s a sharp dresser. So when MeiMei suggested that I feature him as a styley friend, I readily agreed.

Suit: Mabro. Hat: Goorin. Glasses: Alain Mikli. Shirt: Carniceria. Sneakers: Fitzhugh.

Everett is a serial entrepreneur. He has founded four companies, and his current project is something called TetherPad, which deals with travel for executives. He’s an intellectual omnivore, passionate about sports, Buddhism, photography, politics, style and good food, just to name a few things. After we finished shooting he offered me delicious crackers and Cowgirl Creamery cheese, and we had a conversation that covered a wide range of topics, from Thich Nhat Hanh to NCAA Division I soccer–he was a National Champion.

Everett lives in Oakland with his wife, Julie, and his five-year-old daughter Damiana, who was utterly chill while her father and I ran around the garden taking pictures. When I asked Everett to name a recent experience that knocked his socks off, he told a story about Damiana reading her first sentence out loud earlier in the week.

“How do you feel?” he’d said.

“Oh,” she’d said. “I read sentences all the time during naptime.” Totally blase.

“The parent is always the last to know,” Everett said. “I realized, though, how much I really like my kid. She just blows me away.”

Jacket: Vintage.

Everett is not afraid of color–one of the items we considered for the shoot was a hot-pink sweater. His aesthetic is based on that of Jamaicans in London in the 60s: pork pie hats, Raybans, high water skinny trousers, boots, sharkskin, polo shirts, cardigans. “It looks easy,” he says, “It can be natty yet appropriate for an afternoon at the park.”

Yellow ruffled shirt: Vintage. White belt: No brand, handmade in Bolivia, purchased in Buenos Aires.

When I asked Everett what inspires him, he said, “Watching the faces of high-performance athletes. I can see in their faces what it took to get there. It’s about dedication, practice, and expertise all coming together in one shot.”

Striped shirt: Nice Collective. Hat: Goorin: Jeans: Messenger. Boots: FLY London. Sweater: Marc by Marc Jacobs. Sunglasses: Paul Smith.

Everett’s life philosophy is “Pay attention.” He believes in doing things deliberately, and offered up this quote by Thich Nhat Hahn: “Wash the dishes to wash the dishes.”

Flower: Nasturtum.

For more photographs of Everett, check me out on Tumblr.