Halldór Einarsson, owner of Henson, says he still enjoys coming to work every morning after decades of designing and sewing sportswear. Halldór, who most often goes by Henson, is the newest guest on Sölva Tryggvason’s podcast.
Robert Downey, formerly Róbert Árni Hreiðarsson, was convicted of child abuse in 2008 for sexually assaulting four girls. Three people wrote a review about Robert Downey when he asked for a raise in 2014. Halldór is one of them, and he says he still regrets it very much.
“First of all, I could never have written this if I had taken the time to read his sentence. I had no idea what really happened and when he came to me I wondered if he had no life ahead of him and I probably started to feel sorry for him. But later I met the girls, the victims, and the father of one of them came and we tried to discuss it with integrity and I thought it went well. What they asked me to investigate was if I could just revoke the order, and I went to the Department of Justice to make their offer. There I met a lawyer who told me that it was simply not possible. So even if I really wanted to do it, it was not available. But the reason why it went so high in the media was probably because an anonymous politician got involved in the matter,” says Halldór and adds:
“It’s very understandable that there have been strong feelings around this whole issue and a natural request to increase the flight. But it’s all really awful and what he’s done makes me shiver.”
Big changes in the market
In the episode, he also talks about the incredible changes that have taken place since he founded the Henson sports company with a single sewing machine when he was just 22 years old.
“I’m 75 today, but I really find it as interesting and fun as when I was young.” It’s been over 50 years and a lot has changed. When I started you had jerseys that you could start to imitate, but of course it was pretty primitive. But coming from sport, I found that there was a real shortage in the Icelandic market. This played a big part in my decision to start this journey. I went to an exhibition in London and saw nylon for jerseys there for the first time. For me this was a real breakthrough and I immediately sought out the company that made the nylon just outside Manchester and was licensed to buy from them. But I had to discover that running a manufacturing business back then was a bit more complicated than it is today. No internet and that could cause a lot of problems. Sometimes stupid clothes came back after orders and good advice was expensive. Calling abroad was expensive in those days, so it was often better to write a letter, even if it took a long time. Out of this misery came the idea of producing the clothes right here at home,” says Halldór, who has experienced ups and downs over the years in the business.
“I experienced the whole scale. From being broke trying to sort things out and settling sales tax at the last minute, to being on the verge of becoming a very wealthy man at a young age.”
It’s very hard to lose the company
Halldór was involved in business in many countries, but always ended up putting power in Henson. One of the hardest things Halldór went through was when the company he founded at a young age went bankrupt after many successful years.
“There had been tremendous energy in the business and it was doing really well. We were doing everything well, but sometimes you plan too much. Personally, I never filed for bankruptcy, but lost the business after trying everything to keep her was extremely heavy. The hard part was that I couldn’t blame anyone but myself. There wasn’t a man in town who had been mean to me or anything like that. But this times showed me that there are a lot of people who want me well and want to help me in any way. But having to take responsibility yourself and not being able to blame someone else is very heavy But at the same time, it causes you to make different decisions after going through that kind of process,” he says.
friendship and sadness
Halldór and Hemmi Gunn had been very close friends for years. In the interview with Sölva, Halldór talks about friendship and sadness when Hemmi died.
“We met almost every afternoon for years. He was very singularly composed. The talents were heaps in so many areas and he was a man of different kinds of pleasure. he was obviously very brave too. But the possibilities were endless. If, for example, he had taken football seriously, he would have become a top professional. He was also very intelligent and he had a very good heart. But the vin lingered a lot in front of him and often got him in trouble. No doubt the pressure was also great to be that big star in such a small country. I wasn’t surprised at all when I got the call telling me that he was gone. I had been worried about him for a long time. When he had a heart attack some time ago, he was very lucky to survive it. Every time he talked about ‘go west to Dýrafjörður, I felt good, but qu and he said he was going abroad, I still had a stomach ache.”
A respectable man
When Halldór looks over his shoulder at his incredible life, he says he’s certain what has been his greatest chance.
“I am a very lucky man both in terms of family and to have worked in something I love for all these years. Knowing my wife is my greatest happiness. She has always supported me and worked with me It takes a special person to navigate this kind of life with you, and she’s just an incredibly cool woman.”
The episode with Henson and all the other episodes of Sölva can be accessed at www:solvitryggva.is
