261. David Grutman: On Relationships, Miami Restaurants & Why Success Is the Hardest Part

The most powerful business tool in the world isn’t capital, technology, or talent, it’s a relationship. David Grutman built one of the most dominant hospitality empires in America not by outspending competitors, but by outrelating them. In this episode, he breaks down the relationship-first philosophy that took him from the back of the house at Tantra on South Beach to partnering with Live Nation’s Michael Rapino and building some of the highest-grossing restaurants per square foot in the country. CLICK HERE TO BECOME GARY’S VIP!: https://bit.ly/4ai0Xwg Get David Grutman’s book, “Take It Personal”: https://bit.ly/4mMn3xv Connect with David Grutman Website: https://bit.ly/426KZSq Instagram: https://bit.ly/4ejDoHp Facebook: https://bit.ly/3O53GTn TikTok: https://bit.ly/4tCEJNW X: https://bit.ly/4cjnz0R LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/4e4HVOb Thank you to our partners A-GAME: “ULTIMATE15” FOR 15% OFF: http://bit.ly/4kek1ij AION: “ULTIMATE10” FOR 10% OFF: https://bit.ly/4h6KHAD AIRES: "ULTIMATE20 " FOR 20% OFF: https://bit.ly/4a3Duze BAJA GOLD: "ULTIMATE10" FOR 10% OFF: https://bit.ly/3WSBqUa BODYHEALTH: “ULTIMATE20” FOR 20% OFF: http://bit.ly/4e5IjsV COLD LIFE: THE ULTIMATE HUMAN PLUNGE: https://bit.ly/4eULUKp CYMBIOTIKA: "ULTIMATE10" FOR 10% OFF: https://bit.ly/4tjyluP GENETIC METHYLATION TEST (UK ONLY): https://bit.ly/48QJJrk GENETIC TEST (USA ONLY): ⁠https://bit.ly/3Yg1Uk9 GOPUFF: GET YOUR FAVORITE SNACK!: https://bit.ly/4obIFDC H2TABS: “ULTIMATE10” FOR 10% OFF: https://bit.ly/4hMNdgg HEALF: 10% OFF YOUR ORDER: https://bit.ly/41HJg6S PEPTUAL: “TUH10” FOR 10% OFF: https://bit.ly/4mKxgcn SNOOZE: LET’S GET TO SLEEP!: https://bit.ly/4pt1T6V WHOOP: JOIN & GET 1 FREE MONTH!: https://bit.ly/3VQ0nzW Watch the “Ultimate Human Podcast” every Tuesday & Thursday at 9AM EST: YouTube: https://bit.ly/3RPQYX8 Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3RQftU0 Connect with Gary Brecka Instagram: https://bit.ly/3RPpnFs TikTok: https://bit.ly/4coJ8fo X: https://bit.ly/3Opc8tf Facebook: https://bit.ly/464VA1H LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/4hH7Ri2 Website: https://bit.ly/4eLDbdU Merch: https://bit.ly/4aBpOM1 Newsletter: https://bit.ly/47ejrws Ask Gary: https://bit.ly/3PEAJuG Timestamps 00:00 ​Intro of Show 04:13 David’s Humble Beginnings in the Service Business 13:53 Key is Building Authentic Relationships 15:16 From Relationships to Establishing Culture 23:17 Lessons on Relationships from His New Book 27:07 Investing in New Brands 29:06 Red Flags when Building Foundation 33:04 Entrepreneurial Journey 36:27 Blueprint for Entrepreneurship 39:48 “Take It Personal” 43:41 What’s Next for David? 45:49 What does it mean to you to be an Ultimate Human? Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not provide medical advice. It is not intended for diagnosing or treating any health condition. Always consult a licensed healthcare professional before making health or wellness decisions. Gary Brecka is the owner of Ultimate Human, LLC which operates The Ultimate Human podcast and promotes certain third-party products used by Gary Brecka in his personal health and wellness protocols and daily life and for which Ultimate Human LLC and / or Gary Brecka directly or indirectly holds an economic interest or receives compensation. Accordingly, statements made by Gary Brecka and others (including on The Ultimate Human podcast) may be considered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  I've had more issues with success than I had with failure. People don't talk about enough is, once you're on top of the world, how does that affect you? Because that's where, for me, was the most challenging.

• 0:11Gary Brecka?

  You go from the back of the house, where you're in the service business, to now where you're running multiple service businesses. To manage it at scale, that's what fascinates me.

• 0:19Speaker 00

  Listen, it's a grind and there's ups and downs. I think at the end of the day, everything I do is just about building a brand.

• 0:25Gary Brecka?

  I don't think that most people realize the intellectual property they have in themselves.

• 0:29Speaker 00

  I love that I've built relationships where people feel like there's a long game with me. Instead, I want to invest in your brand, I want to grow your brand. Relationships meant so much to me that it's the greatest way to push a brand.

• 0:40Gary Brecka?

  Where do you think a lot of entrepreneurs that have their head down are going wrong in building the foundation of their business?

• 0:47Speaker 00

  I think the most important thing for people out there is...

• 1:03Gary Brecka?

  Hey guys, welcome back to the Ultimate Human Podcast. Every once in a while, somebody sits down in this chair and reminds me that optimizing your life isn't just about what's happening inside your cells. It's about what you're building with the time you've been given. Dave Grutman was my very first podcast guest. He was one of the first people to believe in me when nobody knew who Gary Brecka was. Today, he runs one of the highest grossing restaurant empires in America, Groot Hospitality. Live nightclub, poppy steak, one of the highest grossing restaurants per square foot in the entire country. Live Nation is his partner. Kim Kardashian wrote his foreword. Johnny Ive designed his book cover. But here's what sets Dave apart from every other name in the hospitality space. It all comes back to relationships.

• 1:45Gary Brecka?

  His new book, Take It Personal, is the blueprint for any entrepreneur who wants to build something that lasts. This conversation is going to change the way you think about business, legacy, and loyalty. Hey guys, welcome back to the Ultimate Human Podcast. I'm your host, human biologist Gary Brecka, where we go down the road of everything: anti-aging, biohacking, and everything in between. Longevity and today's guest...

• 2:08Gary Brecka?

  We're taking you back, we're hearkening you back to my very, very, very first podcast episode. He was my very first guest. He was one of the early believers in Gary Brecka. He was one of my earliest celebrity clients. And before we even start the podcast and I introduce this guest, I'm going to give him an enormous thank you because this man helped to put Gary Brecka on the map when nobody knew who Gary Brecka was. The level of trust and confidence he's had in me, my family, my daughter Madison, has been second to none. He's become a very good friend and I'm honored to have him back on the podcast. Welcome back, Dave Grutman.

• 2:42Speaker 00

  This makes me happy. Yes.

• 2:44Gary Brecka?

  And I really do mean that, you know, it's, and I got to tell the reader something, I mean, listeners something too. I just got goosebumps thinking about this. In 2021, 2021, I was, I was living in the Porsche Design Tower in, in Sunny Isles. And I got into a skirmish, for lack of better words, with a very major celebrity. I won't, I won't say who it is. It was a few at one time because they were all in the same family.

• 3:10Speaker 00

  Correct.

• 3:12Gary Brecka?

  And it was devastating. And someone had taken pictures of them in my unit. I didn't police it. Ended up getting put out on social media. Family rightfully flipped out. They called you, said, this guy is a scam. He's using our name and he flipped out. I will never forget that you called me and you said, the best advice that I can give you is to play the long game. And now here it is manifested in this book. So this is not something that you just threw into words or had some ghostwriter put into print. This is something you've been living your, your whole career.

• 3:47Speaker 00

  Correct.

• 3:47Gary Brecka?

  And that was five years ago.

• 3:49Speaker 00

  Right.

• 3:49Gary Brecka?

  And, and what you told me was, and I'll never forget it, some of the best advice I've ever gotten. You said, when you're working with these people, Gary, focus on the relationship. Get into their flow. Don't ask them for everything. Respond to anything. And it'll all work out.

• 4:07Speaker 00

  And be honest.

• 4:08Gary Brecka?

  Yeah. And I've followed that advice and it's been some of the best advice I've ever gotten. And that's why I'm a big proponent of your book and that's why I would really recommend. This is not just for people that are in the hospitality space or want to start a restaurant or a nightclub or be in the entertainment business. This is for any entrepreneur that is not yet aware of the foundational importance of relationships.

• 4:31Speaker 00

  It's, it's the, it's the, it's the start of everything that I do.

• 4:35Gary Brecka?

  Yeah. And we've had, we've had a health journey too.

• 4:37Speaker 00

  Yeah, of course.

• 4:38Gary Brecka?

  I used to know, I used to know Big Dave. I knew Fat Dave. He was a friend of mine.

• 4:45Speaker 00

  I, I look at those, those, those, those Fat Dave pictures and it still makes me like, ah, like that. But it's, it makes this part so much more rewarding.

• 4:56Gary Brecka?

  Yeah. And I know that, I mean, that's, that's where we started and, you know, our journey began there. And, and, and, you know, I had a very, very, very short stint in, in the nightclub business.

• 5:06Speaker 00

  We don't want to talk about those college days.

• 5:08Gary Brecka?

  No, we don't want to do that. But you were, you were actually working at Tantra.

• 5:14Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 5:15Gary Brecka?

  I mean, I'm going back now.

• 5:18Speaker 00

  You, you did a little mint thing for a second. And Tantra was my first place I worked at on South Beach where they had the grass on the floor. Small place, but it was crazy. It was insane. It was probably the greatest.

• 5:29Gary Brecka?

  Hammocks in the ceiling.

• 5:31Speaker 00

  Oh, yeah.

• 5:31Gary Brecka?

  Yeah. Yeah. They brought it to another level. To, you know, when I, when I close my eyes and think of that snapshot to where you are now, maybe the most influential name in the entire hospitality space. It's, it's, don't, don't be humble right now. You're on the Ultimate Human Podcast. The name of the podcast is Ultimate Human Dave.

• 5:51Speaker 00

  Okay, okay.

• 5:51Gary Brecka?

  I only put ultimate humans on here.

• 5:53Speaker 00

  That's it.

• 5:53Gary Brecka?

  So, you know, I, I, I want to, I want to back up for my, for my listeners and I want to talk a little bit about that journey. Obviously I want to get into the book too, but I want to talk a little bit about that journey.

• 6:04Speaker 00

  Yeah. I mean, listen, journey was being a back of the house guy, just making sure that you, I used other brands, marketing equity to kind of build my brand because I didn't really have budgets in those kinds of restaurants and nightclubs. And by doing partnerships with other brands and using their equity to push, push my brand, I saw the value in that. And I kind of like scaled my whole life to that, that relationships, relationships, relationships meant so much to me that.

• 6:35Speaker 00

  Yeah, it's the greatest way to push a brand. And I think at the end of the day, we're all just building brands.

• 6:41Gary Brecka?

  You talk a lot in the book about your own personal brand. You actually talk about your IP being everything.

• 6:46Speaker 00

  Right.

• 6:46Gary Brecka?

  I think it's chapter seven or chapter eight. And you talk about your IP being everything. And I don't think that most people realize the intellectual property they have in themselves.

• 6:55Speaker 00

  Right, of course.

• 6:55Gary Brecka?

  Their name, image and likeness, their NIL.

• 6:58Speaker 00

  Yeah, and whatever business they start either, they need to make sure whatever you're doing, it's about IP. You have to have ownership of the name.

• 7:06Gary Brecka?

  And I think a lot of entrepreneurs are even unaware that you can trademark your name. You can copyright your content. You know, until I got into this business, media, you know, producing media, I didn't even know that I copyright my podcast and I could stop people from republishing it, you know, publishing it. I didn't realize the value in owning my own NIL, my own name, image and likeness. But you talk a lot about that. And I want to, I want to understand, like, you know, you go from the back of the house where you're in the service business to now where you're running multiple service businesses. And that is like, that's a long trajectory because I think you did it in the most competitive

• 7:46Gary Brecka?

  market and maybe the industry with the most amount of sharks and landmines because you've got employees and in that space, the nightclub space, the restaurant space. I had a short stint in the restaurant space too. Everybody was sleeping with everybody and everybody was stealing from everybody.

• 8:00Speaker 00

  There's a lot of, there's a lot of stuff that goes on.

• 8:03Gary Brecka?

  It's a lot of nonsense. To manage it at scale, that's what fascinates me. I think everybody can get one place right, but to do it at scale.

• 8:13Speaker 00

  Yeah, I think, listen, it's just about building the team. And I would love to say, hey, look at me, look at me, look what I did. But if I didn't have the team around me, then I would be a zero. And, you know, as you keep growing and growing, people also, they want to do their own thing too. So you want to also try to career path people to be in your company for a long time. But also I love to see when people leave and they, then they go be entrepreneurs as well.

• 8:39Gary Brecka?

  Do you ever have, have you had people that have worked with you, been a part of this journey, left and have now come back into your life as partners or joint ventures?

• 8:50Speaker 00

  So I've had people that were partners that left to go do their own thing and know they, they haven't come back, but they, they do their own thing and. You know, I don't.

• 9:04Gary Brecka?

  You can say it, Dave. We can throw them under the bus. We need names.

• 9:07Speaker 00

  No, I don't know how that works out for, you know, listen.

• 9:09Gary Brecka?

  We'll stalk them on social media.

• 9:11Speaker 00

  You know, everybody thinks grass is greener on the other side and sometimes I'm sure it is. And, and maybe people have to figure out their own, their own journey, their own path too. And I can't like, I don't, you know, of course I hate it in the beginning. I'm like, oh, this person's leaving. But you know what?

• 9:26Gary Brecka?

  Stabbed in the back again.

• 9:27Speaker 00

  No, it's okay. Uh, but I gotta tell you, I've had some people that work, have worked for me for over 20 years. And I love to see that they've come along with me for the whole journey and I've, I've made some people millionaires. So I think that's, that's a good thing as well.

• 9:40Gary Brecka?

  So, but on this, on this rise, cause when you were back at the house, were you that guy that actually, did you always think I'm destined for more? Was it, was it because I wanted to make more money? I saw myself as an owner. Like what was, what was the vision like? Because you know, so many entrepreneurs have to, I think they get into this for the wrong reason. They're like, I want to set my own hours. I want to be my own boss.

• 10:05Speaker 00

  Right, right. Set your own hours. That's the greatest thing I ever heard. The, the best thing about being an entrepreneur is setting your own hours. Guys, if you want to own your own business because you want to set your own hours, entrepreneurship should be for you because you're right. It's from nine to nine. That's your hours in entrepreneurship. I love that. People are like, oh, if I, if I, if I own my own company, I could just, you know, take off whenever I want. I could take as long as vacations. I could work remote. No one's going to tell me what to do.

• 10:36Gary Brecka?

  Yeah.

• 10:36Speaker 00

  I love the reality check in something like that. I mean, my phone is, is, I'm answering texts from the second I wake up to the second I go to sleep and then I wake up in the middle of the night and I go, I have to go to the bathroom and I check my phone then too. The, the, the concern and worry you have is, is not like anything else. Of course, everyone gets paid before you and everyone gets their bonuses before you get. And you know, hopefully at the end, there's a little bit left over for you as well. That being said.

• 11:08Speaker 00

  I couldn't be any happier doing it my way.

• 11:10Gary Brecka?

  Hmm. You know, I, I was interviewing a very wealthy entrepreneur one time and he said, I've never owned a business. All my businesses have owned me. And I was like, it's actually kind of an interesting.

• 11:21Speaker 00

  Yeah. And also people are like, you know, like servers, they get 18 to 20% gratuity added to every check. So that means they're my 20% partner on the gross.

• 11:31Gary Brecka?

  Yeah.

• 11:32Speaker 00

  I wish I got, I wish I made my money just on the gross and not on EBITDA or anything like that. But, uh, you know, that's how I kind of look at things too. And that's kind of how I, I try to create hospitality within the place and ownership. I want everyone to take ownership of their place. And if, if a server, buster, bartender, they all think that they're, they're all part of this, this, the service charge, this gratuity that is really a percentage of the gross sales. This is their place. They should take as much ownership as I am. They're my partners.

• 12:00Gary Brecka?

  Yeah. You know, you know, one of the things I've noticed and I've been fascinated by is, you know, you, you've grown some of these concepts. Poppy Steak.

• 12:08Speaker 00

  Sure.

• 12:08Gary Brecka?

  One of the, and if I misquote it, tell me that I misquoted it. But, um, one of the highest grossing, if not the highest grossing restaurant per square foot.

• 12:16Speaker 00

  I think it's by far one of the highest grossing restaurants per square foot with my partner, Poppy David Einhorn, the greatest.

• 12:22Gary Brecka?

  Yeah.

• 12:22Speaker 00

  Uh, and what a great story that's been to, to see him grow and skyrocket and just be there to be his partner and to help put him on the, on the platform that he's just accelerated beyond anything I could have ever expected.

• 12:35Gary Brecka?

  I've never seen somebody where a diamond T bone steak.

• 12:39Speaker 00

  By the way, that.

• 12:39Gary Brecka?

  It's a tomahawk.

• 12:40Speaker 00

  It's a tomahawk diamond.

• 12:44Speaker 00

  And he's given some out to some very famous people that takes such pride in it. Yeah.

• 12:48Gary Brecka?

  That's cool. Um, but you know, I'm always looking for, not, not the basic advice, build a good team, you know, work hard, you know, be honest. There's. There had to be. In fact, I know there was because I remember you had a stint with the Opium Group.

• 13:04Speaker 00

  Sure.

• 13:04Gary Brecka?

  For a while. You were at Mansion, either Privay or Skybar.

• 13:09Speaker 00

  Privay, Opium Garden, Mansion, and Roman Jones, who owned that, now owns Kiki on the River and Habibi.

• 13:17Gary Brecka?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 13:18Speaker 00

  He's doing great.

• 13:19Gary Brecka?

  If your energy is low during the day, the problem usually started the night before. Sleep affects focus, mood, metabolism, literally everything. And most people never learn how to properly support it. Our Free Sleep Challenge is April 29th and 30th, and it's designed to teach the basics of better sleep in a way that's realistic and easy to apply. If learning how to sleep better feels like the right place to start, we'd love to have you join our challenge on April 29th. Now, let's get back to the Ultimate Human Podcast. Yeah, no, I mean, they're all great guys, but I think there are people that were in that sphere that were, I would say, maybe equally as talented, maybe equally as connected. But this meteoric rise that you had, what was the it factor?

• 14:03Gary Brecka?

  I think you take it mostly back to relationships.

• 14:06Speaker 00

  Always. It always stems back to relationships and building those relationships for those years. At that time, it was just Miami was one of these places where people would come to one or two times a year, and I wanted to make sure that experience when they came to Miami was the greatest from the second they got there, even if it wasn't at one of the places I was with. I would take them to Wynwood at the time, and Wynwood was just a bustle, it was just starting out then, but it was very underground. And I would take them there, I would take them to a meal and order stuff off the menu to just blow them away. All these little things that make people feel like that you care is the reason why, is how you start to build relationships.

• 14:41Gary Brecka?

  Yeah. You've done this for me a number of times, too, for my son's birthday, you know, just the way that your staff handled things, cutouts of his head. They went and they pulled images of him off of social media.

• 14:53Speaker 00

  But he doesn't have much on social media.

• 14:54Gary Brecka?

  He doesn't.

• 14:55Speaker 00

  He was very anti-social media. We had, I think Madison had to supply us with some pictures.

• 15:00Gary Brecka?

  Yeah. This is cold as twenty, which, by the way, was the last time, oh, no, I actually did not drink that night. I was the sober skipper that night.

• 15:07Speaker 00

  Is that true?

• 15:08Gary Brecka?

  That is true. I had actually gotten a stem cell IV that morning, so I couldn't drink that night. So I was actually the designated driver.

• 15:14Speaker 00

  Okay.

• 15:14Gary Brecka?

  Yeah.

• 15:15Speaker 00

  Well, listen, anything you can make someone feel special, any little thing that you could think of, either a name on a menu, calling them by the name, remembering their favorite drink, remember their favorite favorite food. Now, we have a lot of technology now in the restaurants that help us with that, too. Like, we are able to now see all your track records, see everything you're doing, see what's your favorite cocktail, and make sure we could have those waiting for you when you arrive.

• 15:38Gary Brecka?

  Yeah, but I think what happens to most businesses when they start to scale is you lose the founder's compulsion for these relationships. And, you know, like, when I have people on the podcast, I'm always impressed by, like, great athleticism. I'm even more impressed by someone who can dominate their sport for a long period of time. The Tom Brady's, the Lance Armstrong's, anyone can be great once. You know, you spur up a nightclub, but the hospitality group creates these relationships in these environments at scale. So at some point, you've got to create a culture that's actually taking, you know,

• 16:22Gary Brecka?

  your heart, your desire, your compulsion for relationships. And you've got to somehow weave it into that culture, because you're not everywhere all the time.

• 16:30Speaker 00

  Well, Gary, that's why it's so great to career path people within your own company, because they know your DNA, they know how you think, they know what you're doing. And the longer people have been with me, you know, it's been great. I've had the same chief of staff next to me for nine years, Max. And people go to Max instead of me now, because

• 16:47Gary Brecka?

  Max is great.

• 16:48Speaker 00

  People love Max. Max Pallett is one of the greatest human beings in the world, and anyone that works with me, whether it's on the hospitality group, on the investment side, they'll tell you right away, Max Pallett keeps everything together. And what's great is you have these people that learn how you think, and you want to keep those people around you, because that's how your life is easier. Because if someone's being proactive and not just reactive with everything that's associated with you, it gets so much more done.

• 17:16Gary Brecka?

  Were there any big tipping points on the journey? Can you point to any and said, you know, that was the milestone? That was a tipping point.

• 17:26Speaker 00

  So the first time I sold my company to SFX, which eventually they went bankrupt. They bought all these music festivals and all that. They went bankrupt. They got my, my, my company back. And then I, and then I was able to add Komodo and, and all my restaurants together and start a new hospitality group called Groot Hospitality.

• 17:44Gary Brecka?

  Also, by the way, one of the highest grossing restaurants in America.

• 17:47Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 17:47Gary Brecka?

  Toss that out there.

• 17:48Speaker 00

  And, uh, and then Michael Rapinoe from Live Nation said, why don't we do a deal? And he bought 51% of my company. And the tipping point, not just with, uh, my company, but to have someone by your side just to guide you and to know that you've got someone that's probably the most powerful person in the hospitals, in the, in the entertainment business on your side. It's been amazing and I, and it's been great to use it as, as leverage to help other artists and stuff like that, that want to do stuff or want to play it live or, you know, be part of my ecosystem. They know I have this amazing relationship with Michael Rapinoe. And if, if it's kind of like him signing on that you're, you're a great person.

• 18:30Speaker 00

  And I'm so glad to be able to have that flag of Live Nation, to be able to carry it through my ecosystem as well.

• 18:36Gary Brecka?

  Yeah. What, what sparked that deal? I mean, what, what, what made Live Nation come to, because was it Groot Hospitality at the time?

• 18:42Speaker 00

  It was, it was, it had just been Groot Hospitality for almost about a year. And, and Pharrell was like, you have to meet this man, Michael Rapinoe. He's a, he's going to help you get to the next level. Between Michael Rapinoe and Jeff Sofer at the Fountain Blue, opening up the Fountain Blue Las Vegas and being able to grow my company on such a major scale that way, has been the two biggest tipping points for me.

• 19:03Gary Brecka?

  There you go.

• 19:04Speaker 00

  And then of course marrying my wife, Isabella Grutman, who has been an amazing partner next to my side. And again, as, as much as those two people are influential in my life, she's just as much.

• 19:16Gary Brecka?

  Yeah. I mean, it's funny. I was actually watching a podcast that you were on with Isabella and, um, it was, it was actually almost like a comedy show. She's like, sometimes I have to be really mean, but I'm only mean in short sentences. And then he stops whatever he's doing.

• 19:30Speaker 00

  Yes, he's very scary.

• 19:32Gary Brecka?

  That tiny, beautiful Brazilian model, they can-

• 19:36Speaker 00

  I know.

• 19:37Gary Brecka?

  It's the Latina that's like, buddy, you don't mess with them, man. They'll straighten you out. And it runs through the thread into your girls and-

• 19:46Speaker 00

  You know, but she's, obviously she is a great man jewelry now and she's just so entrepreneurial. And also her nonprofit, Style Saves, I think has been really great to see my girls. But this is a girl that could have done, sat on the kitchen, I think about all the time, she could have just gone out to lunches and done nothing. And instead she said, that's it, I'm gonna go do my own business, I'm gonna make my own way. And it's great for my girls, my two daughters to see because not only does it inspire me, but I know it's inspiring them.

• 20:13Gary Brecka?

  She's also got a design eye though. She's been involved in a lot of the interior design of a lot of your places.

• 20:17Speaker 00

  My uniforms, all this stuff. There's no one's taste level I trust more than her.

• 20:22Gary Brecka?

  Yeah, I would totally agree with that. She's, and her jewelry is amazing, you know. Christmas every year I go and-

• 20:28Speaker 00

  I mean, it should be more than Christmas, just to be honest.

• 20:30Gary Brecka?

  Okay, so I'll start, I'll start throwing in.

• 20:33Gary Brecka?

  Sorry, Isabella. My, my daughter is decked out head to toe in it, so I'm invested. And she's, for those of you that don't know his wife, she is, I don't want to say the polar opposite of Dave, but she is like a very grounded, very calm, incredible mother. And you know, I've had, I've had the luxury of seeing behind the curtain. Dave and I lived four or five floors apart in the 1000 museum for a few years. And so I was in and out of his place, they were in and out of my place. My daughters are very good friends with them. And, and I just see the intentionality that they have with their family, behind the scenes. That's probably what I respect most about you is that on this climb to the top,

• 21:12Gary Brecka?

  you drew your family closer and closer and closer. And I see how you and Isabella are behind the scenes, the way you are with their daughters. And you're a good dude, Ben.

• 21:21Speaker 00

  Thank you. I mean, to me, it's the most, I've done a lot of cool stuff, as I'm sure you know, and I've, I've seen a lot of cool things, but nothing's cooler than being that.

• 21:30Gary Brecka?

  So let's, let's go to the book.

• 21:32Speaker 00

  Let's go to the book.

• 21:33Gary Brecka?

  Let's go to the book. So I actually want to read something for the audience here.

• 21:38Speaker 00

  Okay, please.

• 21:39Gary Brecka?

  And, and, and I think it's, it's very telling. In order to be successful in life, you don't need to be special. You just need to know what most people, you just need to be what most people aren't. Consistent, dependable, and willing to work for it. If I know anything about Dave, it's that he works his ass off. He loves people. He loves his family. I'm getting goosebumps. I'm so happy he opens up and shares with others what he's learned on this incredible personal and professional journey. That was Tom Brady. So clearly it's, it's, it's a book worth reading. I've read it. But I want to talk about the, the impetus for the book. Because you have a course at FIU. I've been to the, some of your year in wrap ups where they bring the celebrities in and

• 22:23Gary Brecka?

  your, your hospitality course. Son and I, my daughter have been to that several times. You've gone from, you know, building this hospitality group now to wanting to give away some of the secrets.

• 22:35Speaker 00

  Yeah, I wanted a blueprint. I think the most important thing for people out there is there was nothing like this for, for myself when I was coming into the business. And I think it's so important to do it now, not after I retired and stuff like that. But if I can help share some of the issues I've had or challenges I've had and give it, be able to share it today. Cause so many people are coming out of school and because of all the different platforms and, and ways for them to be entrepreneurial, I really love entrepreneurship. To me, that's

• 23:05Gary Brecka?

  I do too.

• 23:05Speaker 00

  It's, it's inspiring to me. And that's to be able to say, hey, guys, these are the challenges I faced through, through starting my own business and growing my own business. Here they are. You know, you want to, you want to build relationships? Get the book. Follow the, follow the steps that I put into place. And some of them you could agree with, and some of them you don't have to agree with. But I'm giving you all the steps that I go through because I've broken it down for my college class. You know, when I said I want to teach about, teach people how to have relationships, to break it down.

• 23:38Speaker 00

  In these kind of steps, I feel is so important to life because it's not something that just comes natural. You have to focus on people. You can't just focus on the celebrity and not the other people at the table. You can't just be in a room and say, oh, I'm networking, I'm networking. No, you're not networking. You're looking for authentic relationships out there. And when you're talking to somebody, don't be looking at the other people. Oh, who's bigger, better in the room? I hate that. And you could feel when someone's doing that to you. And being done to me, it's just I write those people off right away. But listen, it takes work to sit there and have to ask. But for me, I wanted to know everyone's story. So when I would go out to dinners with like a celebrity or a DJ or an artist, they always have some kind of entourage.

• 24:22Speaker 00

  But the entourage, I actually love to find out the stories of the entourage. I like to find out the stories of the manager, the publicist, the agents. I want to know what drives them to be able to work with this person? How did they find the talent in this person to be able to grow their lives with that person?

• 24:39Gary Brecka?

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• 25:25Gary Brecka?

  I think, I think that can reframe the way a lot of entrepreneurs think about their employees.

• 25:30Speaker 00

  Yeah, of course.

• 25:31Gary Brecka?

  And think about their customers.

• 25:32Speaker 00

  Well, they're my guests.

• 25:33Gary Brecka?

  Yeah, they're your guests. So, yeah. I like that, not customers.

• 25:39Speaker 00

  But if you take it as if, listen, by taking it personal, that's another thing. Like, you come to my home, I'm gonna treat you. It's like you're coming to my home, you're my guest. That's how I try to treat people.

• 25:49Gary Brecka?

  Yeah.

• 25:49Speaker 00

  And that's where people, that's why I think people resonate or why people want to do things with me, because they think it's not just transactional. I think if people think it's just transactional, then it's, then it's, you've really done nothing for your life.

• 26:03Gary Brecka?

  Right.

• 26:03Speaker 00

  I love that I've built relationships where people feel like there's a long game with me, that it's not just a one show, a one DJ gig, a one, a one deal for, for, for marketing, or whatever it is. Instead, I want to invest in your brand, I want to grow your brand.

• 26:20Gary Brecka?

  You've also morphed into a bit of a business tycoon. I mean, you've actually taken brands, some of which you, you brought to my table. We've co-invested in brands before.

• 26:31Gary Brecka?

  One of them just recently, 5X, so thank you very much for that. And, but you have a penchant for spotting trends as well. So, you, you, you talk about, and you, you've already done it twice on this podcast, you talk about the ecosystem.

• 26:46Speaker 00

  Of course.

• 26:47Gary Brecka?

  And how you want to control the entire chain in the ecosystem. And now it seems like you're also layering in this, almost like a investment banking, you know, fund manager, portfolio manager, kind of, kind of role.

• 27:01Speaker 00

  Yeah, it's been, it's been a great part of this, is I love consumer brand goods, and that's like, you know, I, I love finding these young founders that are, that are starting these new brands that you and I could add a lot of magic to, or bring people in to also add magic, and we all kind of take the ride together. And I tell all my celebrity, I tell all my friends, period, that have some kind of influence, stop taking fees and sponsorships, of course you have to live, and I get all that, of course. But once you get to that point, I think if you could, if you could stomach, if you could take the, the ride, I think own, having equity in the brand is way better than just getting a sponsorship or a transactional fee. And if you're gonna be the

• 27:42Speaker 00

  The one that's turning the needle for that brand, why not, why not be part of that upside?

• 27:47Gary Brecka?

  Mm hmm. Taking the equity. What are some brands you're comfortable talking about that you've put into your?

• 27:51Speaker 00

  Oh, so many like, you know, uh, skinny dipped, as you know, that's the one you went into. And of course, you and I both just did symbiotica, which I think is going to be a $2 billion brand, liposomo, you know, supplements.

• 28:05Gary Brecka?

  Liposomo.

• 28:06Speaker 00

  Liposomo, whatever. But again, it goes, it also goes down to not only the product, but the founders. And we think the founders of symbiotic are great people.

• 28:15Gary Brecka?

  Shahab and Drona. Yeah.

• 28:16Speaker 00

  They're amazing. And just the fact that when I went to, to ask people to come in on the deal, everyone's like, I already use it. It's one of my favorite brands. It's like the gold standard of supplements.

• 28:27Gary Brecka?

  Yeah.

• 28:28Speaker 00

  People, like The Weeknd has it on his rider. Like it was easy. Hey, you want to come in on this deal with me? And now that you have all these amazing people as part of this brand, it just grows the brand that much faster, that much quicker. Right?

• 28:39Gary Brecka?

  Yeah.

• 28:39Speaker 00

  And I think that's a cool thing. And when the exits happen, you could say, hey, I put you in that deal.

• 28:45Gary Brecka?

  Yeah.

• 28:45Speaker 00

  It's a great thing to say.

• 28:46Gary Brecka?

  I've got art on my wall that you put me into.

• 28:50Speaker 00

  You know what it is? When I find something special, whether it's a person, a product, a, a, anything, I always want to share that with the world.

• 28:56Gary Brecka?

  Yeah. And having this ecosystem provides additional value in addition to capital.

• 29:03Speaker 00

  Of course, of course.

• 29:05Gary Brecka?

  So, um, you know, getting back to the book for a minute, where do you think a lot of entrepreneurs that have their head down, sort of shoulder to the grindstone are going wrong in, in building the foundation of their business?

• 29:19Speaker 00

  Where do they go wrong? I think, um, you know, one thing I, I really like to talk about, Gary, with this whole thing is I've had more issues with success than I have with failure. I think that's one thing in the book that they don't tell you in school and in life. Everyone's like, oh, you know, everyone gets up and they talk about their failures, their failures, their failures. And of course I've had many failures. I have great success, but I have many failures. And what people always Want to harp on is, you know, oh, I, you know, I failed, but I got back up and I did it. And yeah, of course, that's, that's how we are as humans. I don't know many people that, that did it once, failed and didn't try to get back on the horse. Okay, that's fine.

• 30:00Speaker 00

  But what they don't, people don't talk about enough is, once you're on top of the world, how do you, how does that affect you? Because that's where, for me, was the most challenging, right? I opened live, I was on fire. That's when your ego comes out. That's when you think you're unstoppable. That's when you don't ask for help because, oh, you know it all. Look at you, you're on top of the world. Why would you need help? And that's also when you get very cocky and you forget about where you came from.

• 30:31Gary Brecka?

  Did you recognize that?

• 30:33Speaker 00

  Oh, I took a really good friend of ours, Wayne Boyts from Reserve, to say to me one time, hey, my man in the middle, and Liv was just kicking off. He's like, you're not, you're not saving lives. It's not heart surgery you're doing here. It's a nightclub. And I'm like, okay, you're right. And then, as you're so cocky and your ego's so driven, but you know, the ego's a funny thing, Gary, because the ego drives you to do things that you, that normal people wouldn't do. And things, and if you wrote it down on a piece of paper, probably didn't make sense, but you did it anyway because that was your ego. And that's what changes the world, right? That's, those are the things that where the miracles come out. It also is the thing where, again, you don't ask for help and you don't look at things in a business sense.

• 31:16Speaker 00

  You just do it for ego and that later on hurts you later on. So it's having the people around you that keep you focused, but also in line.

• 31:26Gary Brecka?

  So not just having a bunch of yes men around you, people that tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.

• 31:32Speaker 00

  Listen, nobody, when they're at the top of the, at the top of the pyramid, do they want to hear a no from somebody or this? I've learned to take that breath and try to hear someone's other opinion. And that's, a lot of magic's come out of that as well, is when I take that second and I go, you know what? I'm not going to just respond back like I know it all. Let me hear their vision. And I've learned is the youth do bring new ideas to the table and that's. Why I try to surround myself with so many youth because their ideas look at the world differently than you and I look at it. And I have to like take a breath back and I, and I actually put a lot of, a lot of interest in their ideas.

• 32:11Gary Brecka?

  Yeah, I find that with my kids too. You know, my kids are in, in, in, in the business, you know, Maddie's got her.

• 32:17Speaker 00

  She saves me. Maddie, like, listen, guys, let's be honest. Gary, yes, got me to where I was. But he's so famous now and he's so big. He doesn't have time for me. I use Madison Brecka. She's the most important person in my life is Madison Brecka.

• 32:31Gary Brecka?

  Dude, we are going to clip that from the podcast. Good thing this is not live.

• 32:39Gary Brecka?

  No, I agree, man.

• 32:40Speaker 00

  I love your daughter so much. She's the smartest girl I know.

• 32:46Speaker 00

  But she does not give me food dosage shots that I, I'm like, Madison, I need a higher dosage. And she's like, no.

• 32:53Gary Brecka?

  She's a nurse. She stays within the guidelines, dude.

• 32:56Speaker 00

  I want her to go outside the guidelines.

• 32:58Gary Brecka?

  I know you do. It's a constant struggle with you. It's a constant struggle. But, um, I mean, that is the greatest gift that God has ever given me is to have my adult children want to hang out with me and, and to have your adult children in the business. And on the journey. And I know your daughters are going to migrate it because mom's an entrepreneur, dad's an entrepreneur. You also make entrepreneurialism fun.

• 33:20Speaker 00

  Yeah, listen, it's a grind and there's ups and downs and there's of course, like, how are you going to make this payroll meet and do all this kind of, and is this distributor, is this, is this big box going to take the product or not take this product or is this colossal them bringing back the dire wolf? Is that going to really work? I don't know, but yes, I think it does.

• 33:40Gary Brecka?

  Yeah.

• 33:41Speaker 00

  And I think it's the coolest thing when you're, when, when you, when you build a brand, I think at the end of the day, everything I do is just about building a brand.

• 33:48Gary Brecka?

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• 34:32Gary Brecka?

  That's drinkh2tab.com and upgrade your hydration today. Now, let's get back to the Ultimate Human Podcast. Do you, are you now considering things outside of the hospitality space? Or have you learned that as an entrepreneur, that you're going to build your kingdom and your ecosystem?

• 34:53Speaker 00

  Well, listen, I definitely invest in stuff that's not hospitality as well, that I think is just cool as shit, or is super cool. And, you know, like, we just talked about Colossal. I think that investing-

• 35:06Gary Brecka?

  You got me into that, too, yeah.

• 35:07Speaker 00

  Another great company.

• 35:08Gary Brecka?

  Yeah.

• 35:09Speaker 00

  They, I think it's just cool when people are, you know, they're doing things that I think will, people will have a crazy engagement for. That's what I really look for the most, is it's not just about food, beverage, this or that, it's about what's the engagement with it? Like, if my wife is eating skinny dipped nuts at nighttime, and my wife doesn't eat anything that's not healthy, then there has to be something to this skinny dipped chocolate peanut butter nut, or whatever this brand is. And when I did a deep dive and met the founders, and I understood why.

• 35:44Gary Brecka?

  Yeah.

• 35:44Speaker 00

  And so I look for little things like that. Same thing with DJs. Who are the next up and coming DJ? Who are the the kids today really engaging with? Not so much if they have a billion followers or anything like that, but where's the engagement? Like, are they obsessed? Are they talking about it? Are they are they talking on their on their social medias? Are they reposting all their stuff?

• 36:05Gary Brecka?

  Hmm.

• 36:06Speaker 00

  I think that's my, it's it's not even about music or this. It's about energy and I'm great at sensing energy.

• 36:13Gary Brecka?

  That's great. You know, I I call it trend spotting.

• 36:15Speaker 00

  Wow.

• 36:16Gary Brecka?

  You know, but you're the best trend spotter I have ever known.

• 36:20Speaker 00

  Oh, thank you.

• 36:20Gary Brecka?

  I mean, really, you you are so far ahead of your time on so many things, including, you know, hospitality. I I want to draw back into the book for a second because I think it's applicable to any entrepreneur that's starting a business.

• 36:34Speaker 00

  I mean, I think whether you're doing a car wash, you're starting a paper route, whatever it is. This book gives you a blueprint, Gary, of everything that I look for, everything I do. My failures, my wins, my everything. I put it here. And you know what's so cool about the cover is Johnny Ive did this cover. A lot of people don't know that Johnny Ive designed the iPhone.

• 36:58Gary Brecka?

  Wow, did he really?

• 37:00Speaker 00

  Yeah, he he designed everything.

• 37:02Gary Brecka?

  He did a great job.

• 37:03Speaker 00

  He designed the most the most sold watch in the world, which is the Apple Watch. And then he left to go work with Sam at ChatGPT. And he just did a big $6 billion deal to design the devices for ChatGPT. It's funny, when the publisher was sending me all these book covers and I was like, I can't do these book covers. I can't, these are, this is not me.

• 37:27Gary Brecka?

  Face on it or something.

• 37:28Speaker 00

  It had like a martini, it looked like it was Sex and the City. It was like, it was crazy. And I'm like, what do I do? Who's who could do this? This is this is my life's work I'm putting into a book. I need the right book. And I go, I used a coupon with Johnny Ive and I said, Johnny, please, I need you to do the cover. And I had just done his kids' 21st birthdays. I just hosted them, did plenty. And anytime he goes to a a city, I'm the first guy to say, let me help with whatever I can do. I said, please, man, I can't have my life's work be the Sex and the City cover of a book.

• 38:02Gary Brecka?

  Hmm.

• 38:03Speaker 00

  And then one day he came back with this, the whole thing, it's the most perfect thing I've ever seen. And just to know that Johnny Ive did my book cover, I remember talking to the publisher. She's like, Johnny Ive did your book? And I go, yeah, she goes, how much are you paying him? I'm like, well, he just did a $6 billion deal. So it's either six billion or free. So I'm going to go with the free.

• 38:26Gary Brecka?

  Six point one billion or free.

• 38:29Speaker 00

  Yeah, she's like, okay, let's go with the free.

• 38:31Gary Brecka?

  Yeah. I love that.

• 38:33Speaker 00

  And just same thing with like Kim, when I said, listen, who am I going to have? Who am I going to have to do my forward that that's known me that actually has taken the ride? And I've seen take her ride from the beginning to where they are now was Kim.

• 38:45Gary Brecka?

  Yeah.

• 38:46Speaker 00

  And I think Kim's gone from being, you know, a reality star to an entrepreneur and a boss. And she runs a fund and she runs a family and she's a great mom and she builds business. And what she's done with Skims, I don't care what anybody says, it's the most impressive thing I've seen.

• 39:02Gary Brecka?

  Yeah, it is astounding and you have, and you have a genuine relationship with that family. I'll never, I'll never forget, I was sitting on your couch one day and Kendall Jenner walked in and she had a, she had a mask on. It's during COVID, she walked in with a mask on and you go, Kendall, take that off. You look ridiculous.

• 39:20Speaker 00

  I just.

• 39:21Gary Brecka?

  And she goes, no, Dave, I'm not taking a mask off.

• 39:23Speaker 00

  Right in Miami, like, you know, because we were open first, the COVID mask really bothered me for a while.

• 39:28Gary Brecka?

  Yeah, I think it bothered a lot of people. I think we realized the pendulum swung a little far on that one. Yeah, yeah, we, we, we're never doing that again.

• 39:36Speaker 00

  No.

• 39:36Gary Brecka?

  When the next pandemic comes.

• 39:38Speaker 00

  But we did really well in Miami, so like, not that I wish for another pandemic. It was pretty good in Miami.

• 39:44Gary Brecka?

  Good governor, yeah, and a good mayor is also a good friend of yours.

• 39:46Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 39:48Gary Brecka?

  So I, I think that, you know, entrepreneurs maybe knowing what not to do is as important as knowing what to do.

• 39:56Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 39:57Gary Brecka?

  And I, I love the title, you know, take it personal. What's behind that tagline?

• 40:03Speaker 00

  Because I care so deeply. And I think if you care so deeply, you're going to succeed. I care about the details. I care about everything. If something's going to bother me so into my bones, that's when I'm going to win. And that's when change really happens, right?

• 40:19Gary Brecka?

  Yeah.

• 40:19Speaker 00

  If nothing really bothers you and you're not taking it personal, do you really change?

• 40:23Gary Brecka?

  Yeah. I've seen you when you're in your restaurants, you're incessant.

• 40:28Speaker 00

  It's either, either you love doing it or you hate doing it. It's one of the two.

• 40:32Gary Brecka?

  It's like OCD on top of OCD. I've seen you go over and straighten napkins, fix silverware on the table. Make sure that water, water glasses are full again. Like it's like a 3D scanner that's going like this around and, and you can like spot something, you know, across the room and you just go over and fix it or have somebody fix it. And I've always admired that about you. I mean, you've been doing that, you know, the entire decade that I've known you, like never taking your eyes off the details.

• 40:58Speaker 00

  I think the details is what makes it. I think when people take their eyes off the details, it's when people don't care. And it's, it's the, it's the number one sign for, for me, when I go into one of my spots and I see a light bulb out or something like that, that's when I lose my mind. That means they really don't care.

• 41:13Gary Brecka?

  And does that permeate then the culture of your organization?

• 41:16Speaker 00

  Of course. And listen, every, every organization has to keep retweaking, retweaking, retweaking, retweaking, retweaking. And people that you think hold up your entire company that you need, and when they leave and your, your company thrives even more, is even better. Because Gary, I've been through this where my number one guy leaves. And I think, oh my God, the whole company's gonna, and what happens is all your people step up. And it opens it up for people to feel like now they have a say and they can add value. And I think, you know, retweaking your, your company over and over again. Don't be afraid of people leaving. And if someone's not wanting to be on the right, don't try to convince them to stay with you. I've made that mistake too.

• 41:58Gary Brecka?

  I have too.

• 42:00Speaker 00

  I'm like, no, you have to stay with me. We have to do this. No, no, no. And in six months, they're gone anyway, no matter what. And you just buy yourself some time. And at the end of the day, once they leave, your life is so much better. And that's where people should not be afraid of. And it's, it's happened to me a few times now. And I'm just like, oh my God, no. The company actually rises and everyone steps up so much more.

• 42:24Gary Brecka?

  Hmm. It's almost like when you, when you have.

• 42:27Speaker 00

  And you're like, should I have had this layer even there?

• 42:30Gary Brecka?

  Yeah. Yeah. Elon Musk talks about that, about like skimming the layers. Like if you weren't starting a meeting with, reducing your department by like 10%, he, he, he wouldn't even continue the meeting, you know? It's, you know, it's, it's the simplicity, like the complexities in the simplicity. You have all these amazing people. And maybe you haven't pulled all the talent out of them and you pull somebody out of the top and they just rise.

• 42:52Speaker 00

  Or those people are giving, or are saying to them what your message is, instead of you saying your message. And no one could ever get your message correct like you do. And having, by taking certain layers out of my business, it's built a relationship with the executive chefs, with my general managers, my director. All those people now feel like they have a say in my company and have, instead of have people, you know, layers in between that could be saying to them, different than what you really want them to be hearing.

• 43:23Gary Brecka?

  So you got the nightclubs, you got the restaurants, you know, you got the book.

• 43:27Speaker 00

  You got the investments.

• 43:28Gary Brecka?

  Investment funds. You're actually getting into resorts.

• 43:31Speaker 00

  Actually, they're not funds. They're not funds.

• 43:33Gary Brecka?

  Okay.

• 43:33Speaker 00

  They're, I'm just, I just invest in brands and I love to share them with my friends.

• 43:38Gary Brecka?

  Yeah. And you brought me into some of those. What's next?

• 43:42Speaker 00

  Great questions. I'm, I'm working on a members club. We're trying to grow poppy steak, not trying, we are growing poppy steak out of the country. I'll talk about that at a later date, but we have two locations out there. And I'm just really trying to focus in on my brands here and trying to scale my brands that I have now.

• 43:59Gary Brecka?

  Yeah. You know, I, I noticed that you use the word wellness more often too. Cause the.

• 44:04Speaker 00

  Of course.

• 44:05Gary Brecka?

  The, the, the biggest attention trend in the world right now is anti-aging longevity wellness.

• 44:12Speaker 00

  So we were there a long time ago. That's when you brought it to my attention. Longevity, longevity. I'm like, there's something so cool about this.

• 44:18Gary Brecka?

  It's the new luxury. So how, how is your brand going to, since this is the ultimate human podcast? How is your brand going to incorporate wellness, longevity, anti-aging, that sort of interest level?

• 44:30Speaker 00

  I think the fact that so much, it's such a big part of my lifestyle, right? And I magnify that message out there non-stop. And also I invest in those kind of brands from Neurogum to Symbiotica. Skinny, Coconut Coat, the probiotic yogurt to me is, is just, they're going to win.

• 44:46Gary Brecka?

  Yep.

• 44:46Speaker 00

  The battle of gut health.

• 44:48Gary Brecka?

  Yeah. Yeah. And that's a huge issue. Monster issue.

• 44:52Speaker 00

  As a Jewish boy, it's like the issue. What do you mean?

• 44:56Gary Brecka?

  All the Jewish boys have bad guts.

• 44:57Speaker 00

  We always have the worst guts.

• 45:00Gary Brecka?

  So, um, uh, you know, your next foray is going to be this members, members club. Can you say about where it's going to be or what?

• 45:08Speaker 00

  No, but it's, it's going to be in Miami. I feel like I need to

• 45:11Gary Brecka?

  What's going to make it special?

• 45:12Speaker 00

  So for me, you know, I have a lot of great entertainment venues. For me, I just really want super luxury brand. And I think that's the next thing for me. And the one thing, you know, as my, as my audience keeps growing older and different, and they're kind of changing too, and their taste levels change as well. People want luxury and they just want insane hospitality.

• 45:32Gary Brecka?

  So this is going to be luxury and insane hospitality?

• 45:34Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 45:35Gary Brecka?

  That's amazing. Dave, um, I am, whenever I have a guest on the ultimate human podcast,

• 45:43Gary Brecka?

  I always ask them one question and there's no right or wrong answer to this question.

• 45:46Speaker 00

  I know.

• 45:47Gary Brecka?

  You know, it's coming. What does it mean to you to be an ultimate human?

• 45:51Speaker 00

  That everything's firing from your, from your personal to your business to your emotions. But everything is firing on all cylinders. And to me, that's what an ultimate human is.

• 46:03Gary Brecka?

  Yeah.

• 46:03Speaker 00

  And that's a great strive to be every day is to get everything firing.

• 46:07Gary Brecka?

  Yeah. I think you're an ultimate human, man.

• 46:09Speaker 00

  Thank you, brother.

• 46:10Gary Brecka?

  I've been a part of, not responsible for, but a part of this journey.

• 46:14Speaker 00

  A hundred percent part of my journey. What do you mean?

• 46:15Gary Brecka?

  Well, I've been a part of your health journey.

• 46:16Speaker 00

  I could have been, not, I don't know if dead, but I could have been

• 46:21Gary Brecka?

  Yeah.

• 46:21Speaker 00

  Definitely wouldn't have had the energy to keep up with what's going on in my life.

• 46:24Gary Brecka?

  Thank you. I appreciate that. But I just want to say with every fabric of my being to my audience, this is one of the most authentic human beings I've ever met. What you see is what you get. What he says is going on behind the scenes is actually going on behind the scenes. You're a great father, great husband, you're an amazing entrepreneur. You've been an incredible friend to my family. I hope everybody goes out and gets this book. I'm going to put a link to it on, on the site. I'm actually going to do a giveaway on my, my Instagram. I'm going to buy a couple of hundred of these books. I'm going to give them out to my audience because I think it's so impactful. I think it's not just applicable to the hospitality space. I think it's applicable to life and, and especially if you are an entrepreneur, but it is a great lesson in life. I learned this lesson from Dave five years ago. I've applied it every year since. I want to thank you.

• 47:09Speaker 00

  Thank you, friend.

• 47:10Gary Brecka?

  For coming on the ultimate human podcast, I hope.

• 47:12Speaker 00

  Congratulations on all your success, Gary. It's for me, it's been so nice to see the ride.

• 47:16Gary Brecka?

  Thank you, brother. And until next time, guys. That's just science.