FEATURE

The Guru Matthew Hall meets Gary Vaynerchuk, the Russian ‘We are in the émigré to America now considered one of the world’s foremost modern sages on the digital age and what it means for how we live, now pre-dawn of and into the future. the technology revolution. The internet

150 men’s style has won.’ FEATURE

BORN IN IN 1975, Anheuser-Busch, and PepsiCo. GARYVEE’S CV Vaynerchuk immigrated to the United States “I did Wine Library TV for five years,” with his family when he was three years old. he says. “That was a thousand episodes and Born: He grew up in the middle class New Jersey a thousand episodes in five years means Gennady Vaynerchuk on suburbs and, out of college, took over running I basically did it every day. It wasn’t hard to November 14, 1975. his father’s wine store. Then he had an idea: quit. It just wasn’t in my heart any more. Raised: he added online sales to the business and with “People speak about my energy and how Emigrated with his family to the a shaky-camera nascent YouTube channel he great it is and how surreal it seems and that’s USA in 1978 and raised in , posted quirky clips reviewing wines. Before because it comes from such a pure place. The New York, and then Edison, New long, he’d turned his family’s local store into a second that I try to manufacture that energy Jersey. just before lunchtime in Los Angeles and ‘Social networks have multi-million dollar business [see breakout]. is the second I get exposed and become Gary Vaynerchuk is mid-sentence talking Simultaneously he’d established himself commoditised and I’m like everybody else. Education: It’sabout Facebook when the conversation not done a good job as a thought leader on wine – and online I basically know how to quit everything. You Bachelor’s degree from is interrupted by a random stranger commerce. wake up with that and it is your truth.” Mount Ida College in Newton, approaching him on the street. “It’s a bit of a cliche but 2006 is an absolute From 6am to midnight, Vaynerchuk has Massachusetts in 1998. “Hi!” says the guy, introducing himself. “I’m of monetising services lifetime ago,” Vaynerchuk explains. “The a calendar full of 20-minute blocks all in a retired NFL player. I’m a huge fan of yours day of waking up and being a merchant and red. He has staff and assistants to help with Career: and I want to thank you for everything.” yet. I think that is an driving 45 minutes to Wine Library and his relentless mission to get things done. At age 14, he joined his family’s “Oh yeah?” Vaynerchuk replies, verbally spending 11 hours in that office and that Looking in, it seems utterly exhausting and retail-wine business. In 1999, exchanging a high five. “Where did you play?” store... it seems so foreign.” begs the question, should wannabe successful took over his father’s Springfield, “Four years at Jacksonville, three years at enormous revenue What would the 2006 New Jersey version entrepreneurs feel indolent if they’re not out New Jersey store, Shopper’s the Bears, a few years at the Falcons,” explains of Gary Vaynerchuk say about the 2017 hustling 24 hours a day? Discount Liquors, later renaming the ex-football player. stream that we have edition: the best-selling author with a 10- “Nobody should feel lazy if they’re not it Wine Library and launching “Thank you for coming over to say hello,” book publishing deal; a prescient investor doing my thing but they should feel lazy if sales online. By 2005, Vaynerchuk says Vaynerchuk. “I love it!” in Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Uber; a they spend their day complaining about what grew the business from $3 million “No, man. Thank you.” not seen. I am bullish judge on Apple TV’s Planet Of The Apps with should be happening or how the system is to $60 million a year. In 2006 Vaynerchuk pauses before returning to our Jessica Alba and Gwyneth Paltrow; a judge on unfair to them,” Vaynerchuk says. started Wine Library TV, a daily conversation. on that.’ Miss America beauty pageant; and a guy who “If you’re happy, you should not be webcast covering wine. In August “That is the seventh guy just around here has a video crew following him during the day feeling anything but gratitude. But if you 2011, Vaynerchuk announced who has recognized me in the past few days,” to record clips for and website are sitting with your buddies at 6:18pm at he would be stepping away to he says. posts? the bar complaining about The Man or The build VaynerMedia, the digital “The 2006 me would say, ‘Yep, it makes System then, yes, you should be auditing and ad agency he co-founded with ATTENTION IS A MAGNET for sense’,” Vaynerchuk says. “I had great ambition questioning yourself. his brother in 2009. In 2016 Gary Vaynerchuk. Entrepreneur, boss of an but I maybe wouldn’t understand that there is “But if you’re working one hour a day and Vaynerchuk invested in the sports 800-employee company, author, speaker, and a man following me around with a camera or you’re happy as shit, then you shouldn’t be agency, Symmetry, to form a guy with 1.9 million followers on , that I have millions of people following me on questioning anything. You should be kissing VaynerSports to provide full- Vaynerchuk is rallying a new generation of known online) schedule at noon, he’s finished number one unless they like eating shit.” social networks that didn’t exist yet.” the world and thanking it for finding your service athlete representation. business wanna-bes with pithy and prescient a 6am gym workout and had “three or four” By his own definition, Vaynerchuk is eating Despite his rising celebrity status, zone. I don’t want people to be like me when advice about business and life. Imagine Tony meetings and put out “seven to 15” fires at his a lot of crap right now. It turns out he’s very Vaynerchuk bills the formative years of Wine it comes to my work ethic. I want people to be Robbins without the chiseled looks, suit and company. good at it. He launched Wine Library TV in Library TV as a career highlight – as well as like me when they have found their truth.” Hollywood teeth, but in a t-shirt and jeans, “That’s what happens when you’re the 2006 – a time when Facebook was still used the day in 2009 when he started Vaynermedia and with a young, internet-savvy fanbase. boss of your company,” the 41-year-old mostly by college kids, YouTube was a year with his brother AJ. VaynerMedia became VAYNERCHUK HAS INVESTED in “I don’t think I’m special or cool,” says explains. “You know how you have to put your old, and Twitter and Instagram did not even the platform to deep dive into turning social some of the most popular social media Vaynerchuk. “I just think I understand what’s occupation on the form when you go into new exist. In the 11 years since, Vaynerchuk has media into a multi-million dollar business. companies in the market but claims he doesn’t happening with communications.” countries? I actually put ‘firefighter’. Like, established himself as a leading social media The company now has almost 1,000 have a favourite platform that he uses for fun. Vaynerchuk is all about hustle. Before literally. That is where I’m at these days. There communicator and a pioneering entrepreneur employees and runs social media campaigns For #GaryVee, hashtags and @ accounts are Men’s Style comes up on the GaryVee (as he’s is just a lot going on. Nobody signs up to be and tech investor. for huge corporations like General Electric, all business.

152 men’s style men’s style 153 FEATURE

THE WINE MAESTRO’S PICK

Gary Vaynerchuk has a wine tip, and it’s probably not what you thought it would be…

“I’ve never lived a life where I wasn’t complaints about inadequate facilities, which will become the number one app Wine Library TV made Gary using social networks for professional no food or accommodation, and reports in the world because they figured out Vaynerchuk. It’s probable he would advancement,” he says. “I have never had a comparing the chaos to a luxury version of something that nobody else was looking have eventually been successful pure experience with social media.” The Hunger Games. at. There will always be a day and age for a whatever business venture he While traditional media continues Fyre Festival’s marketing campaign – that Friendster and a Facebook and a MySpace undertook but his first act of to struggle with the impact of digital part of the festival was a success – included and a Snapchat and I can’t wait to see where genius was turning his dad’s technologies and stock market launches for the use of ‘influencers’ tweeting or posting it comes from next.” suburban wine store into a $60 Twitter and Snapchat receiving lukewarm content promoting the event to a monied What is clear, Vaynerchuk believes – million business with the help of responses, it’s apparent no-one has a clear crew. Celebrities Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, and if it isn’t an already accepted piece of Wine Library TV – a daily video idea on how media companies will create and Emily Ratajkowski were each paid up to knowledge – is that the internet is a primary posted on YouTube where he revenue into the future. Vaynerchuk thinks $250,000 for posting promotional content piece of infrastructure and will only become talked about wine (Vaynerchuk advertising is one path to profit but not the to their social media accounts. Fyre Festival more important in our lives. also upped the store’s name from only route. ended in event disaster but it did highlight “We will fight wars over the control of Shopper’s Discount Liquors to “Ads are an incredible way to monetise the role of influencers, something Vaynerchuk internet,” says Vaynerchuk. “Resources Wine Library – which wasn’t a bad media and that has been proven but I also believes will be the bedrock of digital like cryptocurrency are far more likely [to idea). think services are an untapped monetisable marketing for the next decade. cause that] than the natural resources Wine Library’s sales were source for social networks,” Vaynerchuk says. “I think influencer marketing is grossly that we have today. Everything is being boosted through online mail “Social networks have not done a good job underpriced,” Vaynerchuk says. “It is just grossly underestimated about what is going orders and Vaynerchuk’s videos of monetising services yet. I know that if ‘We will fight wars getting started and it is getting bigger and to happen over the next 100 years and that earned him spots on The tomorrow Instagram announced a $2.99 bigger and bigger. Human distribution of everything is being overestimated about Ellen DeGeneres Show and Late subscription fee to some add-on platform information – word of mouth – has always what is going to happen over the next year.” Night With Conan O’Brien. There as a feature then hundreds of thousands – if over the control of been a bedrock of our society and influencers A father to two young kids, Vaynerchuk was also a best-selling book – not millions – of people would pay it if there are people who have great impact on word of has said that children should not be Gary Vaynerchuk’s 101 Wines was a good enough service. I think that is an the internet.’ mouth. The end. It is a tried and true thing. restricted from using technology – and Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight and enormous revenue stream that we have not The biggest yenta in a small town in 1894 screens – and, in fact, is concerned many Bring Thunder to Your World. seen. I am bullish on that.” was important. It is that simple. I’m a great kids don’t use enough technology. So what It’s true that Vaynerchuk is rarely If there is quality content, Vaynerchuk historian on how people interact as much as kind of internet and social media world does lost for words and if you want proof believes people will pay for it. being somebody who speaks of the now. It he see his own children inhabiting when he has an answer for everything, “People always pay for content,” he says. feels like I’m predicting things but I’m not he’s propped up in a social media retirement randomly ask him his favourite “And that is happening at scale. You know taking any risks. I’m just synthesizing what we home grumbling about the good old days of Australian wine. He will drain the how many books are sold a year? What have always done and filtering it through our Twitter and Facebook? last drop from the cask. happens when the internet comes along is current environment.” “It is going to be more artificial “Hunter Valley semillon is that there is so much content that you have a Vaynerchuk is reluctant to make too many intelligence, more virtual reality, and uniquely Australian,” he says. “It is supply and demand issue so people will only predictions about the future – unless it is as more augmented reality,” he says. “I think a flavour profile that most people pay for the best content. What happens is “If I created Facebook I would have already in Australia with Channel 10 right now general as making the point that in 100 years what we are doing today is going to seem around the world don’t know. It you have a lot more pennies and nickels and sold some sort of subscription products and if and it is more likely that CBS and NBC and everything will be completely different and rudimentary. When people watch my daily is unbelievably, incredibly flexible a lot less dollars. We pay for music. We just that had have worked then everybody would CNN and Sky TV go out of business than in one year things will not be too different. vlog years from now and see what I was in pairing with food. Barossa pay a sixth of a cent for a stream over $19.99 have followed my model,” Vaynerchuk says. “I Facebook.” That may sound obvious but he has a point. talking about, it is going to seem so basic Valley shiraz and Margaret River for an album.” think subscription is a monetisable thing and When talking about technology and how the and so not interesting. People will see that chardonnay and cabernet might Don’t tell Facebook co-founder Mark I think programming is too. Facebook can IN EARLY 2017, so-called social media internet is used, no-one knows what people I was right about where the world was going have far more of a platform on Zuckerberg, but had Vaynerchuk been easily become a Netflix competitor and they “influencers” made headlines with their will do with it next. to go and that would be cool but I think the global wine stage but, to me, on his team, things might have been can have content subscription services if they supposed role promoting the Fyre Festival, “It’s going to come down to innovators,” – right now – this is just the beginning. Hunter Valley semillon is the real slightly different for the Menlo Park crew. want. a music event scheduled to be held in the he says. “I would never have thought up We are in the pre-dawn of the technology gem of Australian wine.” Vaynerchuk says that even if Facebook “Not only is Facebook too big to fail – a Bahamas over a few weekends in April and Snapchat, the way it was made! But I do revolution. The internet has won. It is doesn’t consider itself a media company, more interesting question is whether it eats May. Billed as a luxury event with tickets know that maybe tomorrow some people an oxygen for our society. It is not going it soon will be, regardless of how it self- up everything or not. I think TV networks are priced between $1,500 and $12,000, the called Karen and Susan from Dublin in anywhere. It will become more important identifies. Money changes everything. going to go out of business. It is happening event collapsed as it got underway with Ireland may make something called Shmooga over time.”

154 men’s style men’s style 155