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Simon Illa Is Living Large
By Victor Fiorillo
Somehow, against all odds, this guy is making his way in an industry defined by Cristal, Cribs, and an excess of bling. What's also noticeably absent from Simon's facade is any hint of the self-absorption and egotism that tend to go hand-in-hand with this crowd. "Man, I don't have time for games," Illa will tell me later. "I've got work to do." Something else: Illa is the kind of guy who asks you to call him when you get home and let him know you made it okay. He asks how your family is doing, how the job goes. He wants to know how he can help you.
Back at the Hit Factory, Velez gets on the road for the long drive back to Tampa, while Simon heads off to track down the studio's owner to thank him for the use of the space. "He's been so good to me, and I just want to show my appreciation," says Simon. But the owner is in a meeting. So Simon waits, and waits. More than an hour later, he's still waiting. Kehinde looks like he's about to pass out, so Simon finally gives up and heads out. In the parking lot, he points out the placard "RESERVED FOR SIMON ILLA" and jokes, "They've got the big spot reserved for my Bentley" as he whizzes up the ramp into the rented van.
That's one more thing about Simon — he doesn't take any of it too seriously. It's another quality that's rare in his business. All of this, I'll realize later, is part and parcel of what the guy has been through, what makes him tick — and Illa's physical problems aren't even half of it.
FIRST, THOUGH, HIS disability: Illa has osteogenesis imperfecta, a bone disease caused by a lack of collagen in the skeletal system, making the bones weak and susceptible to fracture. What would be a minor bump to anyone else can be literally bone-shattering to Simon; he's had well over 100 fractures, most before he was 18. A variety of treatment options exist. One of the most popular — and painful-sounding — is rodding, where long steel rods are inserted through the length of a bone to reinforce it, though Simon's family opted out of the surgery, unsure of its benefits. Simon's parents were well aware of OI, though, because Simon's older brother, Brian, was born with it. What they didn't know — what no one realized back in the mid-'70s — is that the disease is congenital. When they tried again, to have a "normal" kid, they got Simon, who back then went by the decidedly unhip name of Eric Bradley Gilbert.
It got worse.
Simon's father divided his time between operating machinery at a local factory and downing vast quantities of beer, and shortly after Simon was born, he left the family. A few years later, as Simon's mother prepared dinner for her wheelchair-bound sons, an estranged ex barged into the house and shot her dead, right in front of Simon, who was three, and Brian, eight. Simon's maternal grandmother found out about the murder when her daughter's body was wheeled in as she was working her nursing shift in the local emergency room that night.
Back at the Hit Factory, Velez gets on the road for the long drive back to Tampa, while Simon heads off to track down the studio's owner to thank him for the use of the space. "He's been so good to me, and I just want to show my appreciation," says Simon. But the owner is in a meeting. So Simon waits, and waits. More than an hour later, he's still waiting. Kehinde looks like he's about to pass out, so Simon finally gives up and heads out. In the parking lot, he points out the placard "RESERVED FOR SIMON ILLA" and jokes, "They've got the big spot reserved for my Bentley" as he whizzes up the ramp into the rented van.
That's one more thing about Simon — he doesn't take any of it too seriously. It's another quality that's rare in his business. All of this, I'll realize later, is part and parcel of what the guy has been through, what makes him tick — and Illa's physical problems aren't even half of it.
FIRST, THOUGH, HIS disability: Illa has osteogenesis imperfecta, a bone disease caused by a lack of collagen in the skeletal system, making the bones weak and susceptible to fracture. What would be a minor bump to anyone else can be literally bone-shattering to Simon; he's had well over 100 fractures, most before he was 18. A variety of treatment options exist. One of the most popular — and painful-sounding — is rodding, where long steel rods are inserted through the length of a bone to reinforce it, though Simon's family opted out of the surgery, unsure of its benefits. Simon's parents were well aware of OI, though, because Simon's older brother, Brian, was born with it. What they didn't know — what no one realized back in the mid-'70s — is that the disease is congenital. When they tried again, to have a "normal" kid, they got Simon, who back then went by the decidedly unhip name of Eric Bradley Gilbert.
It got worse.
Simon's father divided his time between operating machinery at a local factory and downing vast quantities of beer, and shortly after Simon was born, he left the family. A few years later, as Simon's mother prepared dinner for her wheelchair-bound sons, an estranged ex barged into the house and shot her dead, right in front of Simon, who was three, and Brian, eight. Simon's maternal grandmother found out about the murder when her daughter's body was wheeled in as she was working her nursing shift in the local emergency room that night.
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