After a rough start in creating perfumes, Ben Gorham has become a major player in the fashion world by creating scents that bring to mind eras past. A small army of devoted customers are garnering a lot of attention for the passionate scent creator, and he truly seems happy with everything that has happened thus far.

With his lanky 6-foot-5 frame and sleeves of 1920s-era tattoos, Ben Gorham doesn’t look like your average perfumer. In fact, when the former professional basketball player first presented his fragrances in Paris seven years ago, a French journalist sniffed, “What gives you the right to do perfumes?” Gorham, whose Byredo line now has a devoted following that generates $30 million in global sales, smiles as he recalls that early snub: “I was a wild card. But I’m very competitive. I can do one thing really obsessively.” Read More