Jesse Itzler

Jesse Itzler
Born (1968-08-22) August 22, 1968
Roslyn, New York, United States
Citizenship United States
Education Justice, law, and society
Alma mater American University (B.A., 1990) [1][2]
Occupation Founder of The 100 Mile Group, Entrepreneur, author
Spouse(s) Sara Blakely (Founder of Spanx) (m. 2008)
Children 4
Parent(s) Daniel and Elese Itzler

Jesse Eric Itzler (born August 22, 1968 )[3] is an entrepreneur, author, and former rapper.[4][5] He is the co-founder of Marquis Jet, one of the largest private jet card companies in the world, a partner in Zico Coconut Water, the founder of The 100 Mile Group and an owner of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks.[6][7]

Early life and education

Itzler was born to a Jewish family[8] in Roslyn, New York on August 22, 1968, the son of Daniel Itzler, an inventor, and Elese Itzler,[9] the president of the Roslyn Board of Education. Itzler earned his bachelor's degree in 1990 from American University. He later obtained a degree in justice, law, and society.[1][2]

Career

Music career

After graduating college, Itzler signed with Delicious Vinyl records as a songwriter/artist. He released his debut album Thirty Footer in Your Face using the pseudonym Jesse Jaymes in 1991. He co-wrote songs for various artists including Tone Lōc.[4] His first single, "Shake It Like A White Girl", reached 74 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1991[10] and was featured in the soundtrack of the 2004 movie White Chicks.[11] In 1992, Itzler wrote and sang the New York Knicks theme song "Go NY Go"[12] as well as original songs for more than 50 other professional teams. Itzler wrote and sang the Emmy Award-winning song "I Love This Game" and also produced the theme song for Inside the NBA. Itzler is credited with campaigns for Foot Locker and Coca-Cola.[13]

Entrepreneurship

In 1996, Itzler co-founded Alphabet City Sports Records with his friend Kenny Dichter.[14] The record company is known for mixing classic arena songs with highlights of historical play-by-play calls for professional sports teams including the Wizards, the Mavericks, and the Lakers. In 1998, the company was sold to SFX.[15]

In 2001, Itzler co-founded Marquis Jet, one of the largest private jet card companies in the world.[16] Itzler served as the company’s Vice Chairman until the company was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway, parent company of NetJets, in 2009.[6][17]

In 2009, Itzler created the 100 Mile Group, a brand incubator and accelerator.[18][19] The company announced a partnership with ZICO Coconut Water and the Coca-Cola company in 2009.[20] In 2012, ZICO was acquired by Coca-Cola for an undisclosed sum.[16]

In November 2015, Itzler released his book Living With a Seal: 31 Days Training With the Toughest Man on the Planet.[21] The book was a New York Times Best Seller and ranked first on the LA Times book list.[22][23]

Atlanta Hawks

In 2015, Itzler and his wife, Sara Blakely were part of a group led by Tony Ressler along with Grant Hill, Steven Price, and Rick Schnall, that successfully purchased the Atlanta Hawks for $850 million[24][25][26] from Bruce Levenson.[27][28][29]

Personal life

In 2006, Itzler competed in the USA National Ultra Marathon Championship in Grapevine, Texas, successfully completing a 100-mile run in under 24 hours.[30] Itzler finished 49th out of 80 in the SEA Paddle NYC 25 mile stand up paddle race around Manhattan in 2012.[31]

Itzler's partner early in his life and career was Dana Mozie, whom he met in 1987, a person described as being from a "strikingly different background... raised in the southeast section of Washington... as streetwise as Itzler was suburban," with whom he collaborated on several musical projects in his period as Jesse Jaymes.[2]

In 2008, Itzler married Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx.[16][32] The couple have four children.[33][34]

References

  1. 1 2 Reichley, Melissa, "Alumni Success Story: Go-Getter Itzler on Third Career: Marquis Jet", Alumni News, American University
  2. 1 2 3 Rhoden, William C. (February 18, 1995). "Sports of The Times; Hip-Hop In Orange And Blue". The New York Times. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  3. ↑ Potkewitz, Hilary (2008). "40 Under Forty". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
  4. 1 2 Janes, Erika Rasmusson (November 1, 2004). "NBA Idol: An Entrepreneur Raps His Way Into The Big Leagues". money.cnn.com. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  5. ↑ Family's Live-In Navey SEAL Identified. New York Post. November 3, 2015. Jennifer Gould Kell. accessed February 9, 2016
  6. 1 2 Natalie Robehmed (January 14, 2014). "How To Pitch Successfully From Rapper-Turned-Entrepreneur Jesse Itzler". Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  7. ↑ Atlanta Hawks Agree to Sell Team to Antony Ressler-Grant Hill Group. USA Today.Jeff Zillgitt. April 22, 2015. accessed February 9, 2016
  8. ↑ Atlanta Jewish Times: "Jewish Investor Buying Hawks" by David R. Cohen April 29, 2015
  9. ↑ Kroll, Chana (July 20, 2009). "Jewish News: '100-Mile Man' Funds Educational Center for Underprivileged Children". Chabad.org.
  10. ↑ Billboard Hot 100 Original: Week of February 01, 1992, Referenced: February 22, 2011
  11. ↑ "White Chicks Soundtrack". IMDB. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
  12. ↑ Erika Rasmusson Janes (November 1, 2004). "NBA Idol: An entrepreneur raps his way into the big leagues". CNN Money. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
  13. ↑ Executive Transactions. Street and Smith's Sports Business Daily. November 1, 2001. accessed February 9, 2016
  14. ↑ Billboard Magazine May 17, 1997 By Gina Van Der Viliet via Google Books accessed February 22, 2011
  15. ↑ Alphabet City Alums Soar After Selling Firm to SFX. Street and Smith's Sports Business Journal. Andy Bernstein. December 9, 2002. accessed February 9, 2016
  16. 1 2 3 "This Rapper From The Nineties Has A Sick New Startup". November 11, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  17. ↑ Teresa Novellino (October 31, 2013). "Good music, great grub? Vowch it to friends, says Jesse Itzler". Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  18. ↑ American Booty. Forbes. Clare O'Connor. March 7, 2002. accessed February 9, 2016
  19. ↑ Following A Winner:Tracking The Investment Profile of Super Investor Isaac Blech.Reuters. Scott Matusow. September 20, 2012. accessed February 9, 2016
  20. ↑ Coca-Cola Finishes Purchase of Majority ZICO Stake. Bevnet. April 11, 2012. accessed February 9, 2016
  21. ↑ What You Learn Living One Month With a Navy SEAL. CBS News. November 9, 2015. accessed February 9, 2016
  22. ↑ "Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous". The New York Times. November 20, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Paperback Nonfiction". Los Angeles Times. November 20, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  24. ↑ "NBA unanimously approves sale of Atlanta Hawks" (Press release). National Basketball Association. June 24, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Hawks finalizing sale with billionaire Antony Ressler". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  26. ↑ NBA: "Group Led By Tony Ressler Completes Purchase of Atlanta Hawks" June 25, 2015 | "Other investors include seven-time NBA All-Star Grant Hill, who will serve as Vice Chair of the Board, Townsquare Media Chair and CEO Steven Price, Clayton Dubilier & Rice partner Rick Schnall, and Spanx founder Sara Blakely and Marquis Jet co-founder Jesse Itzler, who are married"
  27. ↑ Bloomberg: "NBA Governors Approve $730 Million Hawks Sale to Ressler’s Group" By Scott Soshnick and Zeke Faux June 24, 2015
  28. ↑ "Atlanta Hawks Sold to Ares' Ressler for $850 million, Group Includes Sara Blakely and Grant Hill". Atlanta Business Chronicle. April 24, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  29. ↑ Atlanta Hawks Selling for $850 Million. The Wall Street Journal. Ben Cohen. April 22, 2015. accessed February 9, 2016
  30. ↑ Abramson, Mitch (January 6, 2007). "Nothing's Impossible, Not Even 100 Miles in 24 Hours". Newsday. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  31. ↑ Parker, Christopher (August 17, 2012). "[RESULTS] Rojas, Anderson Win The 2012 SEA Paddle NYC". SUP Racer. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  32. ↑ Atlanta Weddings (Atlanta Magazine): Spanx inventor Sarah Blakely on her wedding day" by Vikki Locke Archived 2013-04-18 at the Wayback Machine. October 18, 2008
  33. ↑ The Wall Street Journal (New York): "A Day in the Life of Spanx's Founder Sara Blakely" by Christopher Ross August 14, 2014
  34. ↑ The Observe (London): "Sara Blakely: a woman with a great grasp of figures" by Zoe Wood March 10, 2012
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