Rembrandt Charms president Eric Lux (pictured) remembers the primary time he was bitten by the racing bug: He was 7, and his father purchased him a go-kart.
“From about 7 to 14, I used to be just about residing on the go-kart observe,” he says.
It helped that racing ran in his household. His father—Chris Lux, founder and head of the Buffalo, N.Y.-based charm company—raced as an novice. So did his mom. His father’s cousin Ron Lux raced on a professional stage (and was killed in a observe accident).
Racing turned such an obsession for Eric that in highschool he was homeschooled so he might deal with it. In 2003, at age 14, he was the youngest licensed racing driver in the US. In 2005, he turned one of many first 16-year-old drivers to compete and end 24 Hours of Daytona.
Lux spent six years as a full-time skilled racer throughout and after faculty. However finally the household enterprise beckoned.
“I had simply accepted a reasonably large NASCAR contract after I acquired a name—my father was ailing,” Lux says. “I put all the pieces on maintain.”
Chris Lux was quickly again as Rembrandt’s chairman and CEO. Eric stayed with the corporate and have become its president in December. However he nonetheless runs about seven skilled races a yr. In February, he participated in Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, the place his staff got here in sixth. (In 2022, it was first.) In March, he’ll compete in one other endurance race, 12 Hours of Sebring.
“I’ve been capable of preserve a foot in each worlds,” he says. It helps he’s often capable of merge the 2.
“One of many issues that I’ve all the time negotiated with the race groups is, in lieu of prize cash, you’ve got ‘Rembrandt Charms’ on the automobile,” he says. “We all the time invite our jewelers to the races, and we normally have 40 or 50 jewelers come and watch.”
Nonetheless, the game requires fairly a bit of coaching, together with time on the health club, and common observe on a racing simulator in his basement. Whereas the simulator doesn’t come near what it’s actually like on the observe, it helps Lux preserve the correct mindset.
“The primary profit is simply creating the psychological consistency, lap over lap, making good time, with out making errors. An enormous a part of racing is the psychological focus you want each time you get within the automobile. The extent of competitors nowadays [means] everybody’s pushing to the restrict each single lap, each nook. You have got to have the ability to try this with out making errors.”
Racing, he says, is basically about “focus and having the ability to assume forward so far as technique, the place you’re going to be on the observe. That all the time evolves because the race goes on, as there’s points along with your automobile or different vehicles. These that may piece it collectively quickest, in assist of their engineers and the pit lane, normally have the very best consequence.”
However that hyper-focus is what Lux enjoys.
“It’s one of many few issues in life that means that you can shut off and disconnect from each different concern or thought in life,” he says. “It’s such a launch to have the ability to park all of your ideas about enterprise, or household, or no matter is likely to be bothering you or consuming you, and deal with the duty at hand and full it. I discover that basically difficult and in addition refreshing.
“There’s much more lows in racing than there are highs, however each a kind of highs makes it price it,” he provides. “You may have a tough stretch, and the second you get again on the rostrum and win a race, nothing else issues.”
Which is why he hopes to by no means hand over the game utterly. “I’ve been doing this 19 seasons and possibly been with about 50 totally different groups and 50 totally different vehicles,” he says. “I don’t know the way for much longer I’ll have the ability to preserve doing it, as I’m turning 35 subsequent month. I occur to be quick sufficient that they preserve calling me again. So long as I preserve getting a name to return again, I’ll be there. I find it irresistible and wish to preserve doing it so long as I can.”
(Photograph courtesy of Rembrandt Charms)
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