July 17, 2025 • 35 mins
Chris Gialenella is powerhouse in publishing and media whose insight spans from Los Angeles Magazine and Orange Coast to Pasadena Magazine, and beyond. From interning on Capitol Hill and launching a stellar career in New York and LA, to serving as President & Publisher for top-tier lifestyle titles and producing noteworthy TV specials like The Los Angeles Magazine District Attorney Debates 2024 and Folded in Grey (2025) - Chris brings decades of experience and a flair for storytelling that's reshaped SoCal media.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
You know, got into you know, LA magazine about three
years ago when we had new ownership. I was I
was brought in recruited from modern luxury, and I wanted
to take a new route and do something a little
bit different with you know, the city magazine and the
vibe of l A and so here I am.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
You know.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
So I think it's just hard work and relationship building.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I think that that's that's all we could do if
you want to be successful.
Speaker 4 (00:42):
You're listening to ruck Us aven Radio, available now on
the free iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 5 (01:01):
So welcome everyone to Ruckus Avenue Radio and I'm your host,
Kamal Corn on my show Bollywood to Hollywood. And I
am really pleased because I have a very cool guest
with us today, Chris Wow. Well, I want you to
pronounce that last week, Chris Jellanella Jellanella, I was about
(01:27):
to butcher that one.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
It sounds like it was going to be butchered.
Speaker 5 (01:30):
But I feel like I've been pronouncing it somewhere else
in another way, you know, But it sounds great. So Chris,
thanks for coming on the show. I really appreciate it
and taking the time at your busy schedule to be
with us today. We you know, Ruckus Avenue Radio part
of iHeartRadio. Just like to have guests in the median
entertainment world and I to get people, you know, to
(01:53):
from from all walks of life and especially yourself. I
wanted to, you know, being part and sort of the
publishing industry, but now it's also the media for the
folks who don't know you, Chris, who are not familiar
with you know what you do? Can you tell us
a little bit about you know what it is you're
focused in on.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
So I do what gets me, what gets me going.
So anyway, thanks for having me on Kamal appreciate it.
I am the president publisher for a media company here
in Los Angeles called Engine Vision Media, and we produce
brands like Los Angeles Magazine, Orange Coast Magazine, and Pasadena Magazine.
(02:31):
So you know, I'm dialed into what's happening in southern California,
both in LA and Orange County. We've been around in
LA since nineteen sixty two. We're an iconic brand and
we cover everything from politics to news, to sports, to luxury,
to celebrity, to shopping, dining, travel, you name it, anything
(02:54):
you want to do.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
In the city of LA you come to LA.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Magazine as your source, and then an Orange County We've
been around for fifty years in the OC and very
similar to LA. We have the pulse on everything happening
in Orange County and same in Pasadena. So my role
is really to oversee everything from what we put in
the magazine to business to everything it takes to get
(03:20):
everything going between print, digital and events and video and
everything else that we do. So that's in a nutshell
what I do.
Speaker 5 (03:28):
That's pretty awesome. That's a lot. And in southern California
is a huge region, especially La County, and you're covering
OC as well, and you know, one of the things
you and I met each other recently, but we've come
you know, I've been talking about the activities that have happened,
especially earlier on this year. You've been great in terms
of helping the community. I mean that needs to get
(03:49):
definitely get a shout out, especially with the fires that
happened earlier this year. So aside from everything else you're doing,
but you're actually taking your time out, you know, on
your schedule to help the community. I think that's, you know,
that's really valuable and the community service out there as well.
I mean, what's you you know, is that something that
you know, being in in the in you know, in
(04:12):
the city, just sort of drives you to to to help.
And he's made probably made a huge difference to those people.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Yeah, I mean when we when the fires hit, I think,
like everybody else, we had a pivot what we were doing.
And you also don't want to be tone deaf on
what's happening in your own community, and so we decided
to feature, you know, obviously what's going on in the
city between the fire and Alta Dina and the fire
(04:40):
and the palisades and all the other little fires that
erupted all over the place. So we actually had three
iconic artists create really cool covers of our February issue
related to the fire. So we had garin Swing, you
had mister Brainwash, and we had another artist of god
like forgetting people's names, and I feel Robert Vargas right
(05:04):
the other artists that did or three covers. And then
obviously we had great content of community, what people were
going through from the Alta Dina girls and all the
celebrities that stepped up and really everybody coming together. LA
Magazine we did a comedy night where we had ten
comics we raised money for the Pasadena fire relief. We
(05:27):
also had a retail store in Marine de To del
Rey where we had donations brought and then we had
people coming in picking out whatever they needed, from clothing
to drinks to whatever it was. We were there for them. So,
you know, obviously La Magazine we wanted to be definitely
a part of what was happening, just because this is
(05:50):
what we do. You know, when when times are tough,
we come together. And I was proud of my team
for really making the pivot. And you know, obviously we
have a long way to go. It's still happening. It's
not it's not over by any means. But I think
seeing how La so obviously everyone's in their car all
the time. It was great to see everybody coming together
(06:12):
to go to different benefits and come together at the
Rose ball there was a fire relief. There are all
sorts of things that we all did, from making burritos
to donating your time, and it was just a great
time for Angelinos to come together.
Speaker 5 (06:25):
No, that's that's awesome, And and you know you shared
a lot then you really helped contribute to that. I
saw that and other people appreciated it, and the shout
outs out there that the community coming together, the autists.
I saw it in the La mag as well, and
we were just I just think that that's really something
that used to be called out right. It's one thing
(06:46):
that people talk about, you know, we donated, we we did.
You donate your time, right, and that's so valuable sometimes
to take time out of your schedule and say no, no,
I want to be here to help the Angelinos and
what we're going through together and make a little bit
of bit of a difference, right. I mean I lived
in Pasadena before know the Altadena community what they went through,
(07:06):
any others as well in the areas, and I think
it just helping them matter in the smallest way you can,
or offering up your home as you did too, it
was valuable, So anyone I just wanted to kind of
set that as a backdrop. It's like this is obviously
you know, you've got the magazines out there, but it's
the community service as well. It's the work that you're
doing in the community that makes a huge difference. Now,
(07:28):
so the other aspect of it, because you know, most
of the time we're spending time in La It's a
fun place to be right and there's there's opportunities to network,
there's events going on. I want to ask for those
folks who who just met you and are trying to
understand the background more about it, sort of obviously the
La mag O see, but what is it that got
(07:48):
you into this, you know, realm in the first place.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Yeah, I mean, you know, it's so funny.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
I feel like I don't want to say fell into it,
but I felt like I always wanted to. I'm about relationships.
I always like talking to people. I think in my
world when I first got into the media industry was sales,
and obviously I still do sales, but I always enjoyed
connecting people in the community, whether it's businesses to other
(08:14):
businesses or businesses to readers. So I always kind of
had a knack for doing that. And when I got
engaged to my fiance now, my wife thought I'd be
really good at selling ads going out to the community.
So she picked up a copy of a magazine at
the time called Angelina. They're still around today at Modern Luxury,
(08:34):
and I started selling ads and meeting people and creating
my own sort of business. And I always felt like
if you didn't have your own business, sales is always
the way to go to make you know, the sky's
always the limit. You can make as much money as
you want because of your paid commission. It's endless, right,
So the more you sell, the more money you make.
And that's kind of the mantra I took back, you know,
(08:57):
twenty five years ago when I got into the industry
and just kind of like built up, you know, relationships
and you know, kind of grew who I was, and
you know, got into you know, LA magazine about three
years ago when we had new ownership. I was, I
was brought in recruited from modern luxury, and I wanted
to take a new route and do something a little
(09:18):
bit different with you know, the city magazine and the
vibe of l A and so here I am.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
You know.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
So I think it's just hard work and relationship building.
I think that that that's all we could do if
you want to be successful.
Speaker 6 (09:45):
You're listening to ruck Us Avenue Radio.
Speaker 5 (09:58):
You know, business, you know, relationship selling is is really important,
right and you have to build your customer set or
if your teams and so forth. So I think that's
super important and obviously if you're good at it and
you know it's, it's it's it's very fruitful in that.
Now with building up the community and doing that piece
(10:21):
of it, things have transformed over time, and recently you'll
see obviously there's a big surge obviously looking at sort
of online portals and people going to you know, having
less you know, time with like video content, et cetera.
How's that transform things for like the publishing industry, because
really now looking at magazines, it's like people tell you,
(10:42):
how well, I don't know, I.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Hear you.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
I mean, it's interesting because the magazine is kind of
part of what we do. And I always say, like,
you know, yeah, everyone has their phones and you spend
time on social media and times on the web, but
when you're reading a magazine, you really take your mind
off of everything. You're not getting any pop ups, you're
not getting any distractions. Your mind is simply on what
(11:06):
you're reading, right. So that's one of the benefits of
print is that, you know, we have no interruptions unless
you have your own things that you're doing on the side,
but there's nothing popping up on your page that says, oh,
it's your mom wanting you to give her a call,
you know. So I feel like Print is always here
to stay. Our publication, you know, is so dynamic with
(11:27):
the information that's in there. We picked different themes every year.
We got great writers, We have great content in the
magazine to keep it captivating. And I know in La,
you know, we do a lot with you know, celebrities
and fashion and new so, you know, right now, we're
working on a really cool Pride issue that just came
(11:49):
out today with three actors from mid Century Modern, the
Hulu Show with Matt Bohmer and Nathan Lane and Nathan
Lee Graham. So they're gracing our cover of the June issue,
and then Matt will be hosting our Pride event with
us next week, which is kind of, you know, again,
a way to bring the community together where you have
(12:12):
you know, a celebrity on the cover, you do an
event with them, they come to the event, You invite
your VIPs, your advertisers, your readers, and then it's kind
of like an all and one opportunity where Print comes
together for an event. We promoted online, we promoted through
social media, so all the aspects of our world all
come together in one fell swoop.
Speaker 5 (12:34):
When we do things like this, I mean, congrats, that's awesome,
that's tight.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Yeah, And you know, in LA we're all about that,
you know, and that's kind of how we're We don't
need our strengths, you.
Speaker 5 (12:46):
Know, yeah, one hundred percent, and that's the cool thing
about it. But you know, you write about the distraction
of just giving an example. Just yesterday, somebody sent me
like this huge document, like, here's a pdf. Go read this.
This is about what we do. And I thought to myself,
can I print this? I mean, it's like twenty pages, right,
And the only reason why I wanted to print it.
(13:06):
I don't care if it's double sided, a single sided
said paper, whatever, but I do care that I am
going to be focused on reading it and I could
absorb the content because, as you just said, with what's
been pushed to you, if you're actually looking at a
PDF on the phone, are you really going to be
able to silence all the proactive stuff that's coming at
you and really read that document? So I actually focused
(13:26):
for good ten to fifteen minutes, ten to fifteen minutes.
It didn't take me that long, and I actually read it,
read it, and I understood it and I could have
a decent conversation with the person that sent it to me.
So I'm with you there. And guess what it's far
reading a magazine for those people out there, it's way
more interesting than a PDF document. So if you can
do that, hey, and it's relaxing.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
I mean, I'm getting up there in age. I'm going
to be fifty five. So for me, I also like
to read a magazine over looking at my phone because
sometimes my eyesight is not that war either.
Speaker 5 (13:57):
Man, gett no, but you know what I mean. Speaking
of which, you know, I think it's it's a good
time to transition into you know, on that's on the
business side. From a personal front, when I look at
you know what you've been doing. Hey, you looking great
for your agent. And in terms of the fitness side
of things, which is a big thing that I.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Don't you come on, I mean, you know, I think
we're I think where they say fifty is the new
twenty or thirty. Yeah, yeah, you know it's funny the
fitness part. I always felt like you got to feel
if you don't feel good on the inside, you know,
you got to feel good on if you don't feel
good on the outside.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
What am I trying to say here?
Speaker 1 (14:34):
I'm saying you have to feel good on the outside
to feel good on the inside sometimes, right, Yeah, maybe
that's what I'm trying to say. So I always felt like,
you know, appearances, and you know, if you want to
create relationships, first impressions of everything. So always felt like
I wanted to look the best I could, whether the
way you mentally and physically. So when I turned forty
(14:57):
twelve or fifteen years ago, I wanted to get in
the best shape of my life. And I was worried
about getting older. And so anyway, I did a column
in the magazine at the time how I wanted to
get in good shape. And there was a fitness place
called Stark that read the article and contacted me and said,
we'd love you to come in, We'd love to figure
out a way to work with you. Well, anyway, so
(15:17):
I joined Stark fifteen years ago. They literally transformed my life.
And you know, I used to think if I just
went to the gym and did a couple of workouts,
I could eat whatever I wanted. But you kind of
learn along the way that it's really what you're putting
into your body.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
You know, it's really my diet. You know, the.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Workout is important, but it's not as important about what
you're putting in your body. So I learned a lot
throughout this journey, eating well and you know, taking care
of yourself because you have one life to live. So
I want to live till I'm over one hundred years old,
you know, So this is what I do in my
time to keep sanity. And I always felt like you
(15:59):
have to take one or two hours out of your
day that's not eating a meal for you, whether you're
taking a walk or reading a book, or going to
the gym or going to yoga, whatever that is. I
always feel like it's just an important part of your life.
So for me, going to a gym is not like
it's not like something that's like annoying to me. Something
I enjoy doing. And I think when you enjoy doing
(16:21):
something like that, you maintain it. So I started working
out about fifteen years ago. And you know, the gym
has a lot it's not really a gym, it's a
medical facility that does desa blood work, the whole lifestyle
change of who you are. So they measure everything and
then they do a program called Stark Naked where they
train you like a bodybuilder for you know, five months
(16:43):
and showcase everything you're about. You pick a charity of
your choice, they do a photo shoot and then your
photos are on Instagram and Facebook and you try to
get people to donate money to your charity. And it's
just a fun way to keep the momentum. And you know,
you go through all the the body wax and the
spray tan and all the other stuff that goes with it.
(17:04):
So you know, it's about kind of feeling good, looking good,
and keeping young and that's kind of what I enjoy doing.
Speaker 5 (17:10):
You know, Oh, absolutely no wod you can argue with that.
You got to feel good. I think I know exactly
what you were saying. You know, people talk about it
all the time. It's like you dress well, you feel
good inside and out, and then you know, you feel
confident about yourself and it has a presence and it
helps your mental health. Right we talk about the physical stuff.
It helps with your mental health just as much going
to the gym. Whatever it is for that you as
(17:32):
a person, I think or anyone else, is that's time
where you don't have to go. It was interesting and
maybe this is part of STOCK because I was I
was thinking about this as many years. I should go
to the gym, I got to hit that treadmill really hard,
and I got to do X Y Z right because
you've got to work out, but you forget you can
just walk, just activity, that's all you need. It's just
(17:53):
got hill somewhere and then that's it, and it's just
as much and it's less stressful because you know you
maybe if you've got you know, older, you got knees
problems or any other ailments and help. So these are
the things I've learned to be a long time to
realize it. Whereas to think, oh no, I got to
do these these hard workouts on a treadmill. Maybe I should,
Maybe I need to join that and maybe it's that's
(18:14):
a great call out for stock, right, So it's if.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
They're in Orange County to come also, Hey, yeah, things
possible exactly.
Speaker 5 (18:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
So I even have friends of mine who you know,
they'll come and want to work out with me sometimes,
you know, which is kind of unique too, be there
did I do that minute?
Speaker 3 (18:36):
My screen?
Speaker 5 (18:37):
A little muck?
Speaker 1 (18:39):
That's what I have a lot of my friends who
want to work out and come down, and I'm always
happy to give advice too. Not an expert, but I'm
happy to share whatever knowledge I have with anybody.
Speaker 5 (18:49):
Listen. I've found that people who've done it and have
gone through it and have can share more wisdom, right,
And so you're doing that as well, is awesome. So
maybe I'll come by and seek some advice from you.
But that's all I know. I was just going to
share that that piece of knowledge about you know, not
(19:11):
having to stress yourself out to go to the gym.
It's a time for your I mean, I remember one
of the trainers said to me, listen, I'm on my
phone when I'm walking on a treadmill to answering my messages.
I'm not saying that's all you have to do, but
it's just like, because it doesn't have to be so stressful, right,
and you know, so I think that they're just speaking
about on the fitness side, you're going to feel a
(19:32):
lot healthier if you do it the right way and
you focus on the diet obviously really important. Did you
do anything specific on your diet? Did you have to change?
What do you recommend for those folks who are like, right, yeah,
but I know I'm going to a gym often. But
what I have to do with my diet.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
You know, for me, it's really about it's a big
protein intake, which is important, right, So you want to
make sure you're eating enough protein each day in order
to maintain So for me, it was, you know, and
not being afraid of carbs either, because you definitely need
carbs to work. So I had a complete nutritional program
(20:09):
with a certain amount of calories I had to eat
per day, and then a majority of that was a
certain protein. So I learned like how to calculate when
I'm eating to make sure. But you also want to
live your life too, and you don't want to say,
oh I can't have a slice of pizza or I
can't have a shot at tequila. Like I always sort
of kept, you know, I had a piece of carrot cake.
(20:30):
You know, like you want to live too, you know,
you don't want to restrict yourself fully. So the whole
program I was on allowed me to every now and
again I could have a piece of chocolate cake or
you know, a piece of bread, or a bowl of pasta.
I mean, I am Italian from New Jersey, so I
love pasta. So I always it's important to keep.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
Balance, right.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
You don't want to restrict yourself fully, but I think
as long as you keep your protein intake where it is,
you're you're good to go.
Speaker 5 (20:57):
Oh okay, yeah, well yeah, look, I mean it's I
think that's super important by the diet. I mean, just
you know, kind of knowing what you are and everyone's
an individual, so that's good, I mean, and congrats to
getting to that point. I mean, we've seen pictures of
you on your Instagram obviously, like that's great that you've
been able to kind of maintain that.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
So feeling's funny when I you know, my wife sometimes
gets gives me a hard time over my Instagram.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
She's like, can you stop putting?
Speaker 1 (21:21):
You know, But for me, it's like really inspiring others,
you know, And I think that's what's important. Where a
lot of people come to me and send me messages, Wow,
you look great for fifty five, Like you know, I
have questions, and again, I'm always happy to help people
out and if I could make a difference in somebody's
life for the positive, I succeeded, you know. So that's
kind of why why I enjoy doing what I'm doing too.
Speaker 5 (21:45):
Your life is the ocean and your heart is away.
Speaker 6 (21:51):
You're listening to ruck Us Avenue Radius Avenue, available now
on the free I Art Radio ads.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
I keep.
Speaker 6 (22:07):
My says forgive me for fee.
Speaker 5 (22:15):
I mean you said the words, Chris. It's inspiring others.
It's kind of what this show is about too. It's
about inspiring others. You've done it, so yeah, I mean
you know you're right. I mean you'll be like, well,
and here's me. You know, I look great. But it's
about showing that, you know, even at a certain age
or a certain with busyness, you can still make time
(22:36):
and be able to do that. It's just truly down
how how you prioritize your time? Right, So tell us
a little bit about like, I mean, obviously you got
these you're busy, right, there's events that you've got to tend, right,
You've got to socialize, like you mentioned building relationships. How
do you manage that time? Like, oh, well I've got
three events tonight, What am I gonna do? I'm just
thinking it's hard enough for me when I think about
that myself.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
So well, you know, it's funny a lot I feel
like events for me or not parties there are ways
to network and meet people, right, So when I'm at
an event, I really like to meet somebody and say, hey,
how could we find a way to work with each
other magazine or you know, however it is, or individually,
maybe it's somebody that could inspire me to do other ways. So, like,
(23:18):
I don't really think of these events as like parties.
So I never really not a big drinker or anything
like that, So I rarely have any alcohol when I'm
at any sort of work event or unless it's like
a sponsor, Hey you got to try this or whatever
a hold you know whatever, and then you know, meal wise,
you know, I try to be careful with what I
put in my body at some of these events. But again,
(23:39):
you know, it's all balance and being out and about,
I think is the best way to connect with people.
And I always feel like, even with my team, you know,
I want everybody out in about, like go go meet
that store owner, go meet the guy who's the manager
at the restaurant, that real estate agent in person, because
that's what it's all about.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
Like you've got to.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
Create eight in person relationships in zoom are really hard,
you know, So I love being in front of people
and and and I think you remember people more when
you when you actually meet them in person.
Speaker 5 (24:12):
I mean, yeah, absolutely, And that's why you make the
f extra effort now, because when you and I have met,
it's just like, okay, you know, we actually get to connect.
It's so so valuable. But yeah, I think that's a
good strategy. What you've got in place there, which.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Is we met at I think it was the bath
to tea yes years ago, and I remember you had
that really cool suit on and I'm like, who's this
guy with this? I think it was it was like
a salmon colored suit, if I'm not mistaken, but taking
stood out, you know, and like I met you at
an event and here we are. We're friends, and we're
(24:48):
you know, try to each other out. And you know
that that's what it's all about. You know, it's the
prime example of it. Like minded people who want to
create a relationship and you know, and and live a
good life.
Speaker 5 (24:59):
Absolutely, and that's that's exactly what it's about. And I
think that it's uh and you've got to you know,
follow up with the bite people build those relationships. You
never know where it goes. And I think you know,
Lef's short we try to make those connections. You can't
do it simply behind.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
A desk, absolutely, and I was never one of people
behind that yep.
Speaker 5 (25:19):
So so as you shift from what you're doing, like
you're doing this on a daily basis. I liked how
you got your schedule. I like the fact it was
good to get that response about you know, how you
manage it. You know, sitting there having shots every parties
and you're just partied out every night. Because there are
some people want to do that and that's fine, but
but you can't survive long term doing all of that, right,
you gotta you know.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
I mean, I don't even I don't know how you are,
but like yeah, I mean I'll have a couple with
friends or whatever, I have ring and then I wake
up the next day and I'm like, oh my god.
Function you know, like yeah, it's like yeah, it could
be fun in games where you're doing it, but then
you have to remember the next day You're like, whoa,
you know, I.
Speaker 5 (25:58):
See people doing that. I'll say, here's my drink. I've
got my sparkling waters and they don't know any different
and it's totally fine. Man. Well, so what's kind of
near and dear to your heart. In terms of events
though that you like to go to, you have choice.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
I love music, so I love concerts, and you know,
my son is in college and he's now for the summer,
and like one of my favorite things to do with
him is go see you know, concerts, like we went
to see Beyonce went to Kendrick Lamar like, so he
kind of like keeps me grounded on what's new and cool,
which I think is kind of fun. So I love
(26:37):
spending time with my son listening to music, and you know,
I love jazz and classic rock and things like that,
so he's really into that as well. So it's really
fun to share those experiences with my kid. So that yeah,
I enjoyed doing. And you know, event wise, you know,
speaking of like LA Magazine and Orange Coast, we have
(26:58):
big food events up So in Orange County, July twenty
fourth of our Best of OC event over at South
Coast Plaza where we bring together lots of restaurants and
partners and that's kind of one of our biggest events
of the year down there. And then in LA we
do a big food event in November called the Food
Event over at klam Egos up in Malibu. Beautiful venue
(27:23):
backdrop for an awesome event putting people together. So food
is like it's like when you go to someone's house,
you want to hang out in the kitchen. Food seems
to bring everybody together.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
You know.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Those are like two great events I'm looking forward to
doing as well. We have a big beauty and health
and wellness event coming up in September in la and
so that should be really fun and unique. So yeah,
we're aways just trying to find really fun stuff to
do where A you bring people together and b it's
profitable and make a lot of our businesses sponsors, you know,
(27:54):
like creating revenue streams that make sense. Clients want to
get out out there and be a part of an event,
to enact activation or get in front of a celebrity,
Like we're the best vehicle for that. So that's kind
of how our business works, you know, in that sense.
Speaker 5 (28:11):
Well, I mean these are really good ideas. In fact,
there was somebody who's telling me they they wanted to
build out a film festival. As we talked about film
festivals the other day, It's like, how do I go
about doing that? Said? Sponsors is probably a great way
to start and and kind of find a venue. So
maybe that is. I mean, we know that there's a
new beach film festivals, but there's tons in LA and
we had had a screen and they they were like, oh, well,
(28:32):
build a festival around it. So those are kind of
fun things to do. And then you've got food involved,
You've got all the other things that come around with it.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Absolutely absolutely, So with all those things in you know
that you've got coming up, and the activities, there's there's
plenty of Like now that summertime, obviously we've got some
cool events.
Speaker 5 (28:52):
I always like to ask this question and if you
kind of, you know, think about it, you know, if
you were to have a dinner sometimes and you know
you want he had an opportunity to invite two people
dead or alive, Yeah, who would you invite? And why?
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (29:10):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
So I'm kind of like an old school kind of guy,
and I always say I wish I could come back
to LA in like the forties or fifties, knowing what
I know today. So I think one of those people
I would love to have dinner with one would be
like Frank Sinatra, because I think he's such an iconic
(29:34):
role model as far as like being a great actor,
an entertainer and all around nice guy and someone who
I always am drawn to his music and things like that.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
So I definitely.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
Want him to be at the dinner table for sure.
And then the other person I would have to say
would be someone in my family who passed away, you know,
either one of my grandparents, any of my grandparents who
were gone love that moment. To just have them back
for one moment, one day in my life, I think
(30:04):
would be wonderful, you know, kind of like you know,
and I think they would all love to have dinner
with Frank Sinatra, because oh yeah, Bank Sinatra, right, So
I'm going to Sayatra, yea Aaron, and I'll take any
of my four grandparents who have passed on, because obviously,
you know, coming from a big Italian family in New Jersey,
(30:25):
family is everything, and I think about them all the time,
I miss them, and I do anything to have them back,
even for two minutes of my day, you know.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
So that's awesome. I'm thinking that's.
Speaker 5 (30:37):
One of the best answers I've had. Actually asked this
question multiple times, and people have to think about which
celebrity and what person they want to invite over and
you know so, so it's actually the combination of that
is fantastic because you've haven't talked about people who you
know they'd love to meet. Frank Sinatra too, so I
love them. I'm a music fan anyway, you know, so yeah,
those like Frank's I'm a big fan of ell this
(30:59):
even so. I mean it's interesting because my dad passed
away from twenty years ago now, and I always think
I have these sometimes, as you do with people who
passed away that were close to you, dream about, Oh
they're there, but you can't you know, quite connect or whatnot.
And I always think if it was just one dinner
or one meal, just to reconnect with that person, just
(31:21):
like you talking about your grandparents, wouldn't that be completely amazing?
And we will. That's why I'm back to the whole
time short with your loved ones, your family is you,
you know, is important and having that.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
Time are you went through all that, It must have
been really hard for you at such a young age, yeah,
prime age to have that happen. So my condolences to you.
I'm sure it's not easy.
Speaker 5 (31:46):
Thank you, but I think you know, it's just a reminder,
really you know how that importance of being able to reconnect.
So I really like what you said there. And then,
you know, when you think back on the times that
you you'ved and those memories kind of just come back, right,
not just a so the opportunity that's you've mentioned that
(32:06):
you had obviously from New Jersey, so I wanted to
know was it were you born there? Did you?
Speaker 3 (32:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (32:14):
Yeah, okay, so.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
What born and bred?
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Sim graid you asked me that, because maybe I don't
like I'm from New Jersey, but yeah, I'm born and bred.
I lived, grew up in New Jersey, went to college
in Wisconsin, worked in DC, went back to New York,
and then made my way to Los Angeles in September
ninety four. And I remember when I moved here, it
was the same year of that big earthquake, but I
was here later, but I remember there was one after
(32:37):
shock and.
Speaker 5 (32:37):
I was like whoa, oh, yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
And when I came to visit La, it was during
the Oja Chase and before, so LA was definitely an
interesting spot.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
You know.
Speaker 1 (32:49):
I think as a kid, you always want to Everybody
always wanted to live in LA. I think everybody it's
a dream that people have, and that's why Los Angeles
is such a brand for so many people. You know,
it's just kind of a cool vibe and you know,
I just love it out here.
Speaker 5 (33:04):
Yeah, I mean to be I'm with you there, Chris.
I mean, it's just eclectic. You got so many choices
of what to do, eat, everything else. People complain about it,
of course, it's driving everywhere and all that stuff. But
I come from London and I grew up in Europe,
and of course I was on the trains doing all
those things. Yeah missed, of course I missed. I miss
the people, missed my friends. Everyone misses their family and
friends back where they're from home. But this is the city.
(33:25):
You can't complain about the weather, the vibe and stuff
like that. I just think there's a lot of opportunity here.
But look, Chris, I mean this is I think thank
you for being on the show. I wanted to close
with the fact that I think you're an inspiring member
of the community, and it's just you don't have to
I have to tell you that. It's it's all pretty obvious.
You've actually, you know, done the work in there and continues.
(33:47):
What's next for you?
Speaker 3 (33:49):
What's next?
Speaker 1 (33:50):
Well, trying to figure out what I'm going to do
for my fifty fifth. So we're planning on going to
Palm Springs and obviously I love playing golf, so I'm
going to get my wife out on the course. We're
gonna do a little weekend at uh PGA West and Indian. Well,
so that's coming up. I'm looking forward to it. I
(34:12):
love Pump Springs. I think it's sad and everyone's oh,
it would be so hot, blah blah blah, But I
enjoy the heat sometimes, you know. So that's coming up soon.
I'm looking forward to in a couple of weeks. And uh,
you know who knows. My son's home for the summer,
so doing more fun stuff with him, and you know,
I take it day by day, you know, and that's
kind of hard my life.
Speaker 5 (34:31):
But you can take a shot off now and feel
confident and should I take it up?
Speaker 3 (34:33):
Righty, let's go.
Speaker 5 (34:35):
It tries a different type of episode, but.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
We could do our only fans come on right, right.
Speaker 5 (34:42):
Hey, we can start a new trend, right why not?
Speaker 2 (34:45):
Right?
Speaker 4 (34:47):
Right?
Speaker 1 (34:48):
Thanks for having me. It's a delight to see you,
and I look forward to seeing I'll see at the
OC event. And the LA events too, right if not really, Yeah,
I'll see soon. Thanks for being on the show, Chris,
of course appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (35:19):
The world's most listen to this South Asian radio and
podcast network
You know, got into you know, LA magazine about three
years ago when we had new ownership. I was I
was brought in recruited from modern luxury, and I wanted
to take a new route and do something a little
bit different with you know, the city magazine and the
vibe of l A and so here I am.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
You know.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
So I think it's just hard work and relationship building.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I think that that's that's all we could do if
you want to be successful.
Speaker 4 (00:42):
You're listening to ruck Us aven Radio, available now on
the free iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 5 (01:01):
So welcome everyone to Ruckus Avenue Radio and I'm your host,
Kamal Corn on my show Bollywood to Hollywood. And I
am really pleased because I have a very cool guest
with us today, Chris Wow. Well, I want you to
pronounce that last week, Chris Jellanella Jellanella, I was about
(01:27):
to butcher that one.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
It sounds like it was going to be butchered.
Speaker 5 (01:30):
But I feel like I've been pronouncing it somewhere else
in another way, you know, But it sounds great. So Chris,
thanks for coming on the show. I really appreciate it
and taking the time at your busy schedule to be
with us today. We you know, Ruckus Avenue Radio part
of iHeartRadio. Just like to have guests in the median
entertainment world and I to get people, you know, to
(01:53):
from from all walks of life and especially yourself. I
wanted to, you know, being part and sort of the
publishing industry, but now it's also the media for the
folks who don't know you, Chris, who are not familiar
with you know what you do? Can you tell us
a little bit about you know what it is you're
focused in on.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
So I do what gets me, what gets me going.
So anyway, thanks for having me on Kamal appreciate it.
I am the president publisher for a media company here
in Los Angeles called Engine Vision Media, and we produce
brands like Los Angeles Magazine, Orange Coast Magazine, and Pasadena Magazine.
(02:31):
So you know, I'm dialed into what's happening in southern California,
both in LA and Orange County. We've been around in
LA since nineteen sixty two. We're an iconic brand and
we cover everything from politics to news, to sports, to luxury,
to celebrity, to shopping, dining, travel, you name it, anything
(02:54):
you want to do.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
In the city of LA you come to LA.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Magazine as your source, and then an Orange County We've
been around for fifty years in the OC and very
similar to LA. We have the pulse on everything happening
in Orange County and same in Pasadena. So my role
is really to oversee everything from what we put in
the magazine to business to everything it takes to get
(03:20):
everything going between print, digital and events and video and
everything else that we do. So that's in a nutshell
what I do.
Speaker 5 (03:28):
That's pretty awesome. That's a lot. And in southern California
is a huge region, especially La County, and you're covering
OC as well, and you know, one of the things
you and I met each other recently, but we've come
you know, I've been talking about the activities that have happened,
especially earlier on this year. You've been great in terms
of helping the community. I mean that needs to get
(03:49):
definitely get a shout out, especially with the fires that
happened earlier this year. So aside from everything else you're doing,
but you're actually taking your time out, you know, on
your schedule to help the community. I think that's, you know,
that's really valuable and the community service out there as well.
I mean, what's you you know, is that something that
you know, being in in the in you know, in
(04:12):
the city, just sort of drives you to to to help.
And he's made probably made a huge difference to those people.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Yeah, I mean when we when the fires hit, I think,
like everybody else, we had a pivot what we were doing.
And you also don't want to be tone deaf on
what's happening in your own community, and so we decided
to feature, you know, obviously what's going on in the
city between the fire and Alta Dina and the fire
(04:40):
and the palisades and all the other little fires that
erupted all over the place. So we actually had three
iconic artists create really cool covers of our February issue
related to the fire. So we had garin Swing, you
had mister Brainwash, and we had another artist of god
like forgetting people's names, and I feel Robert Vargas right
(05:04):
the other artists that did or three covers. And then
obviously we had great content of community, what people were
going through from the Alta Dina girls and all the
celebrities that stepped up and really everybody coming together. LA
Magazine we did a comedy night where we had ten
comics we raised money for the Pasadena fire relief. We
(05:27):
also had a retail store in Marine de To del
Rey where we had donations brought and then we had
people coming in picking out whatever they needed, from clothing
to drinks to whatever it was. We were there for them. So,
you know, obviously La Magazine we wanted to be definitely
a part of what was happening, just because this is
(05:50):
what we do. You know, when when times are tough,
we come together. And I was proud of my team
for really making the pivot. And you know, obviously we
have a long way to go. It's still happening. It's
not it's not over by any means. But I think
seeing how La so obviously everyone's in their car all
the time. It was great to see everybody coming together
(06:12):
to go to different benefits and come together at the
Rose ball there was a fire relief. There are all
sorts of things that we all did, from making burritos
to donating your time, and it was just a great
time for Angelinos to come together.
Speaker 5 (06:25):
No, that's that's awesome, And and you know you shared
a lot then you really helped contribute to that. I
saw that and other people appreciated it, and the shout
outs out there that the community coming together, the autists.
I saw it in the La mag as well, and
we were just I just think that that's really something
that used to be called out right. It's one thing
(06:46):
that people talk about, you know, we donated, we we did.
You donate your time, right, and that's so valuable sometimes
to take time out of your schedule and say no, no,
I want to be here to help the Angelinos and
what we're going through together and make a little bit
of bit of a difference, right. I mean I lived
in Pasadena before know the Altadena community what they went through,
(07:06):
any others as well in the areas, and I think
it just helping them matter in the smallest way you can,
or offering up your home as you did too, it
was valuable, So anyone I just wanted to kind of
set that as a backdrop. It's like this is obviously
you know, you've got the magazines out there, but it's
the community service as well. It's the work that you're
doing in the community that makes a huge difference. Now,
(07:28):
so the other aspect of it, because you know, most
of the time we're spending time in La It's a
fun place to be right and there's there's opportunities to network,
there's events going on. I want to ask for those
folks who who just met you and are trying to
understand the background more about it, sort of obviously the
La mag O see, but what is it that got
(07:48):
you into this, you know, realm in the first place.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Yeah, I mean, you know, it's so funny.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
I feel like I don't want to say fell into it,
but I felt like I always wanted to. I'm about relationships.
I always like talking to people. I think in my
world when I first got into the media industry was sales,
and obviously I still do sales, but I always enjoyed
connecting people in the community, whether it's businesses to other
(08:14):
businesses or businesses to readers. So I always kind of
had a knack for doing that. And when I got
engaged to my fiance now, my wife thought I'd be
really good at selling ads going out to the community.
So she picked up a copy of a magazine at
the time called Angelina. They're still around today at Modern Luxury,
(08:34):
and I started selling ads and meeting people and creating
my own sort of business. And I always felt like
if you didn't have your own business, sales is always
the way to go to make you know, the sky's
always the limit. You can make as much money as
you want because of your paid commission. It's endless, right,
So the more you sell, the more money you make.
And that's kind of the mantra I took back, you know,
(08:57):
twenty five years ago when I got into the industry
and just kind of like built up, you know, relationships
and you know, kind of grew who I was, and
you know, got into you know, LA magazine about three
years ago when we had new ownership. I was, I
was brought in recruited from modern luxury, and I wanted
to take a new route and do something a little
(09:18):
bit different with you know, the city magazine and the
vibe of l A and so here I am.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
You know.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
So I think it's just hard work and relationship building.
I think that that that's all we could do if
you want to be successful.
Speaker 6 (09:45):
You're listening to ruck Us Avenue Radio.
Speaker 5 (09:58):
You know, business, you know, relationship selling is is really important,
right and you have to build your customer set or
if your teams and so forth. So I think that's
super important and obviously if you're good at it and
you know it's, it's it's it's very fruitful in that.
Now with building up the community and doing that piece
(10:21):
of it, things have transformed over time, and recently you'll
see obviously there's a big surge obviously looking at sort
of online portals and people going to you know, having
less you know, time with like video content, et cetera.
How's that transform things for like the publishing industry, because
really now looking at magazines, it's like people tell you,
(10:42):
how well, I don't know, I.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Hear you.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
I mean, it's interesting because the magazine is kind of
part of what we do. And I always say, like,
you know, yeah, everyone has their phones and you spend
time on social media and times on the web, but
when you're reading a magazine, you really take your mind
off of everything. You're not getting any pop ups, you're
not getting any distractions. Your mind is simply on what
(11:06):
you're reading, right. So that's one of the benefits of
print is that, you know, we have no interruptions unless
you have your own things that you're doing on the side,
but there's nothing popping up on your page that says, oh,
it's your mom wanting you to give her a call,
you know. So I feel like Print is always here
to stay. Our publication, you know, is so dynamic with
(11:27):
the information that's in there. We picked different themes every year.
We got great writers, We have great content in the
magazine to keep it captivating. And I know in La,
you know, we do a lot with you know, celebrities
and fashion and new so, you know, right now, we're
working on a really cool Pride issue that just came
(11:49):
out today with three actors from mid Century Modern, the
Hulu Show with Matt Bohmer and Nathan Lane and Nathan
Lee Graham. So they're gracing our cover of the June issue,
and then Matt will be hosting our Pride event with
us next week, which is kind of, you know, again,
a way to bring the community together where you have
(12:12):
you know, a celebrity on the cover, you do an
event with them, they come to the event, You invite
your VIPs, your advertisers, your readers, and then it's kind
of like an all and one opportunity where Print comes
together for an event. We promoted online, we promoted through
social media, so all the aspects of our world all
come together in one fell swoop.
Speaker 5 (12:34):
When we do things like this, I mean, congrats, that's awesome,
that's tight.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Yeah, And you know, in LA we're all about that,
you know, and that's kind of how we're We don't
need our strengths, you.
Speaker 5 (12:46):
Know, yeah, one hundred percent, and that's the cool thing
about it. But you know, you write about the distraction
of just giving an example. Just yesterday, somebody sent me
like this huge document, like, here's a pdf. Go read this.
This is about what we do. And I thought to myself,
can I print this? I mean, it's like twenty pages, right,
And the only reason why I wanted to print it.
(13:06):
I don't care if it's double sided, a single sided
said paper, whatever, but I do care that I am
going to be focused on reading it and I could
absorb the content because, as you just said, with what's
been pushed to you, if you're actually looking at a
PDF on the phone, are you really going to be
able to silence all the proactive stuff that's coming at
you and really read that document? So I actually focused
(13:26):
for good ten to fifteen minutes, ten to fifteen minutes.
It didn't take me that long, and I actually read it,
read it, and I understood it and I could have
a decent conversation with the person that sent it to me.
So I'm with you there. And guess what it's far
reading a magazine for those people out there, it's way
more interesting than a PDF document. So if you can
do that, hey, and it's relaxing.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
I mean, I'm getting up there in age. I'm going
to be fifty five. So for me, I also like
to read a magazine over looking at my phone because
sometimes my eyesight is not that war either.
Speaker 5 (13:57):
Man, gett no, but you know what I mean. Speaking
of which, you know, I think it's it's a good
time to transition into you know, on that's on the
business side. From a personal front, when I look at
you know what you've been doing. Hey, you looking great
for your agent. And in terms of the fitness side
of things, which is a big thing that I.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Don't you come on, I mean, you know, I think
we're I think where they say fifty is the new
twenty or thirty. Yeah, yeah, you know it's funny the
fitness part. I always felt like you got to feel
if you don't feel good on the inside, you know,
you got to feel good on if you don't feel
good on the outside.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
What am I trying to say here?
Speaker 1 (14:34):
I'm saying you have to feel good on the outside
to feel good on the inside sometimes, right, Yeah, maybe
that's what I'm trying to say. So I always felt like,
you know, appearances, and you know, if you want to
create relationships, first impressions of everything. So always felt like
I wanted to look the best I could, whether the
way you mentally and physically. So when I turned forty
(14:57):
twelve or fifteen years ago, I wanted to get in
the best shape of my life. And I was worried
about getting older. And so anyway, I did a column
in the magazine at the time how I wanted to
get in good shape. And there was a fitness place
called Stark that read the article and contacted me and said,
we'd love you to come in, We'd love to figure
out a way to work with you. Well, anyway, so
(15:17):
I joined Stark fifteen years ago. They literally transformed my life.
And you know, I used to think if I just
went to the gym and did a couple of workouts,
I could eat whatever I wanted. But you kind of
learn along the way that it's really what you're putting
into your body.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
You know, it's really my diet. You know, the.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Workout is important, but it's not as important about what
you're putting in your body. So I learned a lot
throughout this journey, eating well and you know, taking care
of yourself because you have one life to live. So
I want to live till I'm over one hundred years old,
you know, So this is what I do in my
time to keep sanity. And I always felt like you
(15:59):
have to take one or two hours out of your
day that's not eating a meal for you, whether you're
taking a walk or reading a book, or going to
the gym or going to yoga, whatever that is. I
always feel like it's just an important part of your life.
So for me, going to a gym is not like
it's not like something that's like annoying to me. Something
I enjoy doing. And I think when you enjoy doing
(16:21):
something like that, you maintain it. So I started working
out about fifteen years ago. And you know, the gym
has a lot it's not really a gym, it's a
medical facility that does desa blood work, the whole lifestyle
change of who you are. So they measure everything and
then they do a program called Stark Naked where they
train you like a bodybuilder for you know, five months
(16:43):
and showcase everything you're about. You pick a charity of
your choice, they do a photo shoot and then your
photos are on Instagram and Facebook and you try to
get people to donate money to your charity. And it's
just a fun way to keep the momentum. And you know,
you go through all the the body wax and the
spray tan and all the other stuff that goes with it.
(17:04):
So you know, it's about kind of feeling good, looking good,
and keeping young and that's kind of what I enjoy doing.
Speaker 5 (17:10):
You know, Oh, absolutely no wod you can argue with that.
You got to feel good. I think I know exactly
what you were saying. You know, people talk about it
all the time. It's like you dress well, you feel
good inside and out, and then you know, you feel
confident about yourself and it has a presence and it
helps your mental health. Right we talk about the physical stuff.
It helps with your mental health just as much going
to the gym. Whatever it is for that you as
(17:32):
a person, I think or anyone else, is that's time
where you don't have to go. It was interesting and
maybe this is part of STOCK because I was I
was thinking about this as many years. I should go
to the gym, I got to hit that treadmill really hard,
and I got to do X Y Z right because
you've got to work out, but you forget you can
just walk, just activity, that's all you need. It's just
(17:53):
got hill somewhere and then that's it, and it's just
as much and it's less stressful because you know you
maybe if you've got you know, older, you got knees
problems or any other ailments and help. So these are
the things I've learned to be a long time to
realize it. Whereas to think, oh no, I got to
do these these hard workouts on a treadmill. Maybe I should,
Maybe I need to join that and maybe it's that's
(18:14):
a great call out for stock, right, So it's if.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
They're in Orange County to come also, Hey, yeah, things
possible exactly.
Speaker 5 (18:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
So I even have friends of mine who you know,
they'll come and want to work out with me sometimes,
you know, which is kind of unique too, be there
did I do that minute?
Speaker 3 (18:36):
My screen?
Speaker 5 (18:37):
A little muck?
Speaker 1 (18:39):
That's what I have a lot of my friends who
want to work out and come down, and I'm always
happy to give advice too. Not an expert, but I'm
happy to share whatever knowledge I have with anybody.
Speaker 5 (18:49):
Listen. I've found that people who've done it and have
gone through it and have can share more wisdom, right,
And so you're doing that as well, is awesome. So
maybe I'll come by and seek some advice from you.
But that's all I know. I was just going to
share that that piece of knowledge about you know, not
(19:11):
having to stress yourself out to go to the gym.
It's a time for your I mean, I remember one
of the trainers said to me, listen, I'm on my
phone when I'm walking on a treadmill to answering my messages.
I'm not saying that's all you have to do, but
it's just like, because it doesn't have to be so stressful, right,
and you know, so I think that they're just speaking
about on the fitness side, you're going to feel a
(19:32):
lot healthier if you do it the right way and
you focus on the diet obviously really important. Did you
do anything specific on your diet? Did you have to change?
What do you recommend for those folks who are like, right, yeah,
but I know I'm going to a gym often. But
what I have to do with my diet.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
You know, for me, it's really about it's a big
protein intake, which is important, right, So you want to
make sure you're eating enough protein each day in order
to maintain So for me, it was, you know, and
not being afraid of carbs either, because you definitely need
carbs to work. So I had a complete nutritional program
(20:09):
with a certain amount of calories I had to eat
per day, and then a majority of that was a
certain protein. So I learned like how to calculate when
I'm eating to make sure. But you also want to
live your life too, and you don't want to say,
oh I can't have a slice of pizza or I
can't have a shot at tequila. Like I always sort
of kept, you know, I had a piece of carrot cake.
(20:30):
You know, like you want to live too, you know,
you don't want to restrict yourself fully. So the whole
program I was on allowed me to every now and
again I could have a piece of chocolate cake or
you know, a piece of bread, or a bowl of pasta.
I mean, I am Italian from New Jersey, so I
love pasta. So I always it's important to keep.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
Balance, right.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
You don't want to restrict yourself fully, but I think
as long as you keep your protein intake where it is,
you're you're good to go.
Speaker 5 (20:57):
Oh okay, yeah, well yeah, look, I mean it's I
think that's super important by the diet. I mean, just
you know, kind of knowing what you are and everyone's
an individual, so that's good, I mean, and congrats to
getting to that point. I mean, we've seen pictures of
you on your Instagram obviously, like that's great that you've
been able to kind of maintain that.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
So feeling's funny when I you know, my wife sometimes
gets gives me a hard time over my Instagram.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
She's like, can you stop putting?
Speaker 1 (21:21):
You know, But for me, it's like really inspiring others,
you know, And I think that's what's important. Where a
lot of people come to me and send me messages, Wow,
you look great for fifty five, Like you know, I
have questions, and again, I'm always happy to help people
out and if I could make a difference in somebody's
life for the positive, I succeeded, you know. So that's
kind of why why I enjoy doing what I'm doing too.
Speaker 5 (21:45):
Your life is the ocean and your heart is away.
Speaker 6 (21:51):
You're listening to ruck Us Avenue Radius Avenue, available now
on the free I Art Radio ads.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
I keep.
Speaker 6 (22:07):
My says forgive me for fee.
Speaker 5 (22:15):
I mean you said the words, Chris. It's inspiring others.
It's kind of what this show is about too. It's
about inspiring others. You've done it, so yeah, I mean
you know you're right. I mean you'll be like, well,
and here's me. You know, I look great. But it's
about showing that, you know, even at a certain age
or a certain with busyness, you can still make time
(22:36):
and be able to do that. It's just truly down
how how you prioritize your time? Right, So tell us
a little bit about like, I mean, obviously you got
these you're busy, right, there's events that you've got to tend, right,
You've got to socialize, like you mentioned building relationships. How
do you manage that time? Like, oh, well I've got
three events tonight, What am I gonna do? I'm just
thinking it's hard enough for me when I think about
that myself.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
So well, you know, it's funny a lot I feel
like events for me or not parties there are ways
to network and meet people, right, So when I'm at
an event, I really like to meet somebody and say, hey,
how could we find a way to work with each
other magazine or you know, however it is, or individually,
maybe it's somebody that could inspire me to do other ways. So, like,
(23:18):
I don't really think of these events as like parties.
So I never really not a big drinker or anything
like that, So I rarely have any alcohol when I'm
at any sort of work event or unless it's like
a sponsor, Hey you got to try this or whatever
a hold you know whatever, and then you know, meal wise,
you know, I try to be careful with what I
put in my body at some of these events. But again,
(23:39):
you know, it's all balance and being out and about,
I think is the best way to connect with people.
And I always feel like, even with my team, you know,
I want everybody out in about, like go go meet
that store owner, go meet the guy who's the manager
at the restaurant, that real estate agent in person, because
that's what it's all about.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
Like you've got to.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
Create eight in person relationships in zoom are really hard,
you know, So I love being in front of people
and and and I think you remember people more when
you when you actually meet them in person.
Speaker 5 (24:12):
I mean, yeah, absolutely, And that's why you make the
f extra effort now, because when you and I have met,
it's just like, okay, you know, we actually get to connect.
It's so so valuable. But yeah, I think that's a
good strategy. What you've got in place there, which.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Is we met at I think it was the bath
to tea yes years ago, and I remember you had
that really cool suit on and I'm like, who's this
guy with this? I think it was it was like
a salmon colored suit, if I'm not mistaken, but taking
stood out, you know, and like I met you at
an event and here we are. We're friends, and we're
(24:48):
you know, try to each other out. And you know
that that's what it's all about. You know, it's the
prime example of it. Like minded people who want to
create a relationship and you know, and and live a
good life.
Speaker 5 (24:59):
Absolutely, and that's that's exactly what it's about. And I
think that it's uh and you've got to you know,
follow up with the bite people build those relationships. You
never know where it goes. And I think you know,
Lef's short we try to make those connections. You can't
do it simply behind.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
A desk, absolutely, and I was never one of people
behind that yep.
Speaker 5 (25:19):
So so as you shift from what you're doing, like
you're doing this on a daily basis. I liked how
you got your schedule. I like the fact it was
good to get that response about you know, how you
manage it. You know, sitting there having shots every parties
and you're just partied out every night. Because there are
some people want to do that and that's fine, but
but you can't survive long term doing all of that, right,
you gotta you know.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
I mean, I don't even I don't know how you are,
but like yeah, I mean I'll have a couple with
friends or whatever, I have ring and then I wake
up the next day and I'm like, oh my god.
Function you know, like yeah, it's like yeah, it could
be fun in games where you're doing it, but then
you have to remember the next day You're like, whoa,
you know, I.
Speaker 5 (25:58):
See people doing that. I'll say, here's my drink. I've
got my sparkling waters and they don't know any different
and it's totally fine. Man. Well, so what's kind of
near and dear to your heart. In terms of events
though that you like to go to, you have choice.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
I love music, so I love concerts, and you know,
my son is in college and he's now for the summer,
and like one of my favorite things to do with
him is go see you know, concerts, like we went
to see Beyonce went to Kendrick Lamar like, so he
kind of like keeps me grounded on what's new and cool,
which I think is kind of fun. So I love
(26:37):
spending time with my son listening to music, and you know,
I love jazz and classic rock and things like that,
so he's really into that as well. So it's really
fun to share those experiences with my kid. So that yeah,
I enjoyed doing. And you know, event wise, you know,
speaking of like LA Magazine and Orange Coast, we have
(26:58):
big food events up So in Orange County, July twenty
fourth of our Best of OC event over at South
Coast Plaza where we bring together lots of restaurants and
partners and that's kind of one of our biggest events
of the year down there. And then in LA we
do a big food event in November called the Food
Event over at klam Egos up in Malibu. Beautiful venue
(27:23):
backdrop for an awesome event putting people together. So food
is like it's like when you go to someone's house,
you want to hang out in the kitchen. Food seems
to bring everybody together.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
You know.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Those are like two great events I'm looking forward to
doing as well. We have a big beauty and health
and wellness event coming up in September in la and
so that should be really fun and unique. So yeah,
we're aways just trying to find really fun stuff to
do where A you bring people together and b it's
profitable and make a lot of our businesses sponsors, you know,
(27:54):
like creating revenue streams that make sense. Clients want to
get out out there and be a part of an event,
to enact activation or get in front of a celebrity,
Like we're the best vehicle for that. So that's kind
of how our business works, you know, in that sense.
Speaker 5 (28:11):
Well, I mean these are really good ideas. In fact,
there was somebody who's telling me they they wanted to
build out a film festival. As we talked about film
festivals the other day, It's like, how do I go
about doing that? Said? Sponsors is probably a great way
to start and and kind of find a venue. So
maybe that is. I mean, we know that there's a
new beach film festivals, but there's tons in LA and
we had had a screen and they they were like, oh, well,
(28:32):
build a festival around it. So those are kind of
fun things to do. And then you've got food involved,
You've got all the other things that come around with it.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Absolutely absolutely, So with all those things in you know
that you've got coming up, and the activities, there's there's
plenty of Like now that summertime, obviously we've got some
cool events.
Speaker 5 (28:52):
I always like to ask this question and if you
kind of, you know, think about it, you know, if
you were to have a dinner sometimes and you know
you want he had an opportunity to invite two people
dead or alive, Yeah, who would you invite? And why?
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (29:10):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
So I'm kind of like an old school kind of guy,
and I always say I wish I could come back
to LA in like the forties or fifties, knowing what
I know today. So I think one of those people
I would love to have dinner with one would be
like Frank Sinatra, because I think he's such an iconic
(29:34):
role model as far as like being a great actor,
an entertainer and all around nice guy and someone who
I always am drawn to his music and things like that.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
So I definitely.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
Want him to be at the dinner table for sure.
And then the other person I would have to say
would be someone in my family who passed away, you know,
either one of my grandparents, any of my grandparents who
were gone love that moment. To just have them back
for one moment, one day in my life, I think
(30:04):
would be wonderful, you know, kind of like you know,
and I think they would all love to have dinner
with Frank Sinatra, because oh yeah, Bank Sinatra, right, So
I'm going to Sayatra, yea Aaron, and I'll take any
of my four grandparents who have passed on, because obviously,
you know, coming from a big Italian family in New Jersey,
(30:25):
family is everything, and I think about them all the time,
I miss them, and I do anything to have them back,
even for two minutes of my day, you know.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
So that's awesome. I'm thinking that's.
Speaker 5 (30:37):
One of the best answers I've had. Actually asked this
question multiple times, and people have to think about which
celebrity and what person they want to invite over and
you know so, so it's actually the combination of that
is fantastic because you've haven't talked about people who you
know they'd love to meet. Frank Sinatra too, so I
love them. I'm a music fan anyway, you know, so yeah,
those like Frank's I'm a big fan of ell this
(30:59):
even so. I mean it's interesting because my dad passed
away from twenty years ago now, and I always think
I have these sometimes, as you do with people who
passed away that were close to you, dream about, Oh
they're there, but you can't you know, quite connect or whatnot.
And I always think if it was just one dinner
or one meal, just to reconnect with that person, just
(31:21):
like you talking about your grandparents, wouldn't that be completely amazing?
And we will. That's why I'm back to the whole
time short with your loved ones, your family is you,
you know, is important and having that.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
Time are you went through all that, It must have
been really hard for you at such a young age, yeah,
prime age to have that happen. So my condolences to you.
I'm sure it's not easy.
Speaker 5 (31:46):
Thank you, but I think you know, it's just a reminder,
really you know how that importance of being able to reconnect.
So I really like what you said there. And then,
you know, when you think back on the times that
you you'ved and those memories kind of just come back, right,
not just a so the opportunity that's you've mentioned that
(32:06):
you had obviously from New Jersey, so I wanted to
know was it were you born there? Did you?
Speaker 3 (32:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (32:14):
Yeah, okay, so.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
What born and bred?
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Sim graid you asked me that, because maybe I don't
like I'm from New Jersey, but yeah, I'm born and bred.
I lived, grew up in New Jersey, went to college
in Wisconsin, worked in DC, went back to New York,
and then made my way to Los Angeles in September
ninety four. And I remember when I moved here, it
was the same year of that big earthquake, but I
was here later, but I remember there was one after
(32:37):
shock and.
Speaker 5 (32:37):
I was like whoa, oh, yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
And when I came to visit La, it was during
the Oja Chase and before, so LA was definitely an
interesting spot.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
You know.
Speaker 1 (32:49):
I think as a kid, you always want to Everybody
always wanted to live in LA. I think everybody it's
a dream that people have, and that's why Los Angeles
is such a brand for so many people. You know,
it's just kind of a cool vibe and you know,
I just love it out here.
Speaker 5 (33:04):
Yeah, I mean to be I'm with you there, Chris.
I mean, it's just eclectic. You got so many choices
of what to do, eat, everything else. People complain about it,
of course, it's driving everywhere and all that stuff. But
I come from London and I grew up in Europe,
and of course I was on the trains doing all
those things. Yeah missed, of course I missed. I miss
the people, missed my friends. Everyone misses their family and
friends back where they're from home. But this is the city.
(33:25):
You can't complain about the weather, the vibe and stuff
like that. I just think there's a lot of opportunity here.
But look, Chris, I mean this is I think thank
you for being on the show. I wanted to close
with the fact that I think you're an inspiring member
of the community, and it's just you don't have to
I have to tell you that. It's it's all pretty obvious.
You've actually, you know, done the work in there and continues.
(33:47):
What's next for you?
Speaker 3 (33:49):
What's next?
Speaker 1 (33:50):
Well, trying to figure out what I'm going to do
for my fifty fifth. So we're planning on going to
Palm Springs and obviously I love playing golf, so I'm
going to get my wife out on the course. We're
gonna do a little weekend at uh PGA West and Indian. Well,
so that's coming up. I'm looking forward to it. I
(34:12):
love Pump Springs. I think it's sad and everyone's oh,
it would be so hot, blah blah blah, But I
enjoy the heat sometimes, you know. So that's coming up soon.
I'm looking forward to in a couple of weeks. And uh,
you know who knows. My son's home for the summer,
so doing more fun stuff with him, and you know,
I take it day by day, you know, and that's
kind of hard my life.
Speaker 5 (34:31):
But you can take a shot off now and feel
confident and should I take it up?
Speaker 3 (34:33):
Righty, let's go.
Speaker 5 (34:35):
It tries a different type of episode, but.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
We could do our only fans come on right, right.
Speaker 5 (34:42):
Hey, we can start a new trend, right why not?
Speaker 2 (34:45):
Right?
Speaker 4 (34:47):
Right?
Speaker 1 (34:48):
Thanks for having me. It's a delight to see you,
and I look forward to seeing I'll see at the
OC event. And the LA events too, right if not really, Yeah,
I'll see soon. Thanks for being on the show, Chris,
of course appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (35:19):
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