Brian Clewly Johnson is an Englishman who was born in China and grew up in South Africa. At age 33, for reasons both political and personal, he left South Africa for good. In Britain, he worked for many years at a multinational advertising agency. His profession enabled him to travel worldwide. In 2002, he moved to the US, becoming an American citizen in 2008. He lives at a beach house in Amagansett, New York. He is the father of four children but is known as 'Oupa' to his five grandchildren. In 2004, he published a work of fiction, 'Deep Memory'.