In one of the last interviews before his death in 2015, infamous WA tycoon Alan Bond said while dope cheat Lance Armstrong had "let the side down," he still considered himself to be successful, despite being jailed for fraud.
The just released interview with Bond, filmed in 2014 at his Cottesloe home, comprises one episode of a Kickstarter-funded documentary project called The Thread, which seeks to "learn what connects different Aussie icons who broke away from the pack."
Mr Bond told The Thread his success was built on hard work, luck and not being afraid to fail. Photo: The Thread
Bond stormed to international fame in 1983 when he won the America's Cup sailing race, capitalising on the fame to push his growing business empire even higher, with bank loans and investor money propping up a slew of acquisitions including the Swan Brewery and Channel 9.
It all fell apart after the purchase and then collapse of the Bell Group, whose still to be resolved liquidation is the most expensive and longest running litigation in Australian history.
The Bell Group's collapse in the early 1990s led to Bond's jailing for siphoning A$1.2 billion dollars from its coffers to prop up his ailing Bond Corporation.
"We should never have bought the Bell Group, we didn't do enough homework," Bond said.
"And of course, then at the same time, the other deal we should never have gone anywhere near was Tiny Rowland and Lonrho in the UK. That was a mitigated disaster. He shut the door on us straight away and he then purposely with intent worked to collapse Bond Corporation."
![Mr Bond said his success was built on hard work, luck and not being afraid to fail.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170814174952im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/t/t/b/q/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1502416384171.png)
Mr Bond said his success was built on hard work, luck and not being afraid to fail. Photo: The Thread
Bond's move to acquire Tiny Rowland's company Lonhro fell apart when the ruthless British businessman released a report damning Bond Corporation's financial ability to execute the takeover.
After reflecting on the failings of his business empire, Bond was asked if he was successful, to which he replied "yes."
But when asked if US Tour de France cyclist Lance Armstrong - stripped of most of his titles for doping - was successful, Bond said "No, I don't. I think he let the side down."
The Thread's host Hugh Minson - who attended Queensland's Bond University, founded by Mr Bond - said this schism between damning Armstrong's doping while seemingly ignoring his own failings was fascinating to behold.
"They both didn't play by the rules of the game, but it struck us that Alan never saw it that way," Mr Minson said.
"He had so much drive, energy and persistence, and led such an extraordinary life but we couldn't help but feel that same disappointment in him like a lot of other Aussies. We wanted to know what lessons we could learn from his life."
![Alan Bond (centre) with The Thread's creators Hugh Minson (left) and Jack Morphet (right).](http://web.archive.org./web/20170814174952im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/t/t/b/s/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1502416214213.png)
Alan Bond (centre) with The Thread's creators Hugh Minson (left) and Jack Morphet (right). Photo: The Thread
When they asked Bond about the impact the America's Cup win had on his career, he said it pushed him into rare territory.
"Yeah, we could do anything anywhere. Unfortunately I think a little bit of ego gets control of you and you start believing the rhetoric which you've got to bring your feet back to the ground. Hindsight is a wonderful thing mind you."
The main theme The Thread takes from Bond's life is the contempt he had for the fear of failure, something he said can hold others back from attempting new or risky things.
"Well obviously when you're young, the opportunities that you take up are small. And you soon realise that not everyone, not every piece that you take on is successful," Bond said.
"I think that's the most important thing, is because it hasn't worked, doesn't mean that you necessarily have failed.
"You can always do things better, that's the reality of business. So when you say, 'when you look back, where did you make the mistakes?' Well, I think we realised that we couldn't finance the way we were financing.
"We'd already set the structures up for each of these entities were all going to be floating separately, return all the cash back. And we didn't move fast enough before the market crashed."
And when asked if he cared about proving the naysayers wrong, Bond was defiant, saying he was an "outstanding candidate" for the tall poppy syndrome in Australia.
"I think Australians, by and large, love to build you up and at the same token they are equally as...I can't get quite the right word for this...but they're equally determined, I'll use the word, to not let you go too far.
"You don't worry about people who are negative. You just get on with what you're doing."
Finally, asked to rate his success out of ten, Bond gave himself a relatively low score - but only because of the vagaries of the markets.
"You see unfortunately that score chart would be damned by 1987 - the stock market crash," he said.
"I could probably only give myself a score of 6 out of 10."
Unpicking The Thread
Created by two university mates, former AFL player with Port Adelaide Hugh Minson and journalist Jack Morphet, the making of The Thread saw the pair fly across the country to speak in person with as many top rank Aussies as they could.
![The Thread tells the stories behind the success of 10 high profile Australians.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170814174952im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/u/4/3/u/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1502416278525.png)
The Thread tells the stories behind the success of 10 high profile Australians. Photo: The Thread
The talent they've managed to line up alongside Bond is impressive: dissenting High Court Justice Michael Kirby, top flight horse trainer Gai Waterhouse, legendary explorer Alby Mangels, retail entrepreneur Gerry Harvey, Perth-based burns treatment innovator Dr Fiona Wood, solo sailor Jessica Watson, feminist icon Germaine Greer, tennis champion Pat Rafter and philanthropic businessman Simon McKeon.
Mr Minson said speaking about success can be difficult in Australia, where self deprecation is the usual order of the day.
But with the world's and the nation's economies rapidly changing, he said The Thread aims to break through the 'tall poppy syndrome' that can afflict Australia's public discourse, and tap into a wealth of local knowledge that often goes unsaid.
"All the people we meet suggest that tall poppy syndrome does exist in Australia and we unpack this thread of 'prejudice' in the Fiona Wood episode," he said.
"Ultimately, if you're going to break away from the pack, you're going to do something different and with that, you're going to attract criticism. But everyone we met just accepted that this is a part of trying to be successful."
So what secrets of success has The Thread uncovered? With the series at the half way mark, Mr Minson shared five:
- Parents: Having parents who are supportive but not obsessive and let you take risks.
- Drive: Work harder than your peers on the things you're good at and passionate about.
- Prejudice: Prove naysayers wrong and refuse baseless criticism.
- Luck: Put yourself in a position to be lucky and then seize your chances.
- Failure: Take risks and don't let the fear of failure hold you back.
"We want to inspire Australians to reach their full potential, no matter what their field is or interests are. Because we hope that by watching The Thread we help answer the age old question of 'How did they do it?'
"I think the challenges that modern generations of Australians face are no different from the challenges faced by previous generations. Think of what led to Howard Florey to making penicillin widely available during the 30s or what led to John O'Sullivan and the CSIRO creating WIFI in the 90s.
"I would argue that understanding each of these threads and applying these learnings to one's own life could help overcome the challenges faced when trying to break away from the pack."
![Mr Bond's study at his home in Cottesloe.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170814174952im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/t/t/b/p/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1502416236709.png)
Mr Bond's study at his home in Cottesloe. Photo: The Thread
To get the project off the ground, Hugh and Jack had to employ many of the traits of success they later heard in their interviews, securing seed money from media mogul Neil Balnaves AO and scraping together grants to fund their work on a shoestring.
With the series in the can, they started shopping it around, but after being knocked back by scores of TV stations the mates decided to seek public help through a Kickstarter campaign that raised more than enough money to push it through to publication on YouTube.
"The response has been amazing. People actively have been reaching out to us thanking us for our unique approach with the series. I've had people who've struggled with their sexuality tell me they cried during the Michael Kirby episode," Mr Minson said.
"If I had to guess as to why it is resonating so far I would say that iconic Australians have often been seen on Rove Live or The Project or the Today Show, but all these settings often lead to light-hearted conversations that the audience can't really learn anything from.
"Whenever I see Hugh Jackman or Cathy Freeman in the line-up to speak, I'm like 'Wow, I can't wait to hear what they have to say' and then they end up being asked questions about how thick they like their Vegemite on their toast.
"The Thread is specifically targeted at what we can learn from iconic Australians."