Right About Now - Legendary Business Advice - Darren Prince - Author of Aiming High

Episode Date: July 12, 2022

Welcome back to another episode of The Radcast hosted by Ryan Alford! This week's guest is Darren Prince! Darren is a sports and celebrity agent and a global advocate for addiction and recovery. In this episode, Darren opens up about his own struggles with addiction and his personal road to recovery.To learn more about Darren Prince you can check out his website officialdarrenprince.com, princemarketinggroup.com, and follow him on instagram, twitter, and facebook.If you enjoyed this episode of The Radcast, let us know by visiting our website www.theradcast.com. Check out www.theradicalformula.com. Like, Share and Subscribe to our YouTube channel, or leave us a review on Apple Podcast. Be sure to keep up with all that’s radical from @ryanalford @radical_results @the.rad.cast. If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more, join Ryan’s newsletter https://ryanalford.com/newsletter/ to get Ferrari level advice daily for FREE.  Learn how to build a 7 figure business from your personal brand by signing up for a FREE introduction to personal branding https://ryanalford.com/personalbranding.  Learn more by visiting our website at www.ryanisright.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel  www.youtube.com/@RightAboutNowwithRyanAlford. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is the story of the one. As head of maintenance at a concert hall, he knows the show must always go on. That's why he works behind the scenes, ensuring every light is working, the HVAC is humming, and his facility shines. With Granger's supplies and solutions for every challenge he faces,

plus 24-7 customer support, his venue never misses a beat. Call quitgranger.com or just stop by. Granger, for the ones who get it done. That day, I made over a thousand, dollars that afternoon selling cards. And I thought I found my calling. Basically, the first five were Magic,

Larry, Pamelae Anderson, smoking Joe Frazier, Chevy and maybe Rodman at that time. This side was a burning, firing sensation. I heard a voice tell me in this year I've got you and you're ready and I stood up and it wasn't me. The first time, right in the toilet.

You're listening to the Radcast. If it's radical, We cover it. Here's your host, Ryan Alford. Hey guys, what's up? Welcome to the latest edition of the Radcast. I'm Ryan Alford, your host. We're talking stars today.

We're talking truth. We're talking discovery. We're talking to Darren Prince. What's up, Darren? Thanks for having me, and I appreciate it. All good. Hey, man. Fascinating story.

I'm looking forward to getting into it as we talked pre-episode, all these layers in marketing, what you do with the start. cars. But then the discovery, the, the darker side maybe, but how you found light as the best selling author of aiming high. So excited to talk about that. And of course, the CEO of Prince Marketing Group. So I know it's going to be a great, a great discovery, a great talk. So I really appreciate your time. Same here. Cool, man. Well, Darren, you know, for those that maybe are discovering you as we get along, I want to get to your story and all that. But the day job is agent to the stars. Do you call yourself that?

Like I've talked to some of these guys. You sound like you're pretty grounded. But how do you classify the day job? The new me over the past 14 years, I'm just privileged to work with some of the most iconic athletes and celebrities of all time. The broken may has a reminder every day on my like from what the meat I used to refer to me as when I was real out there and follow myself, a super agent was the title. And I actually have a tattoo, which I write about in my book, which was pretty dumb back in the day in 1995. I think around when I started the agency with, 94, when I started the agency with Magic Johnson as my first client because, you know, I needed it.

I believed all the hype. And my dad, may he rest in peace with Father's Day coming up, reminding me one day that they don't call you a super agent if you're anybody super because Patrick Johnson is super remember that. Hey, it's called borrowed interest. You know,

that's what I tell clients all the time. We need to borrow some interest because you aren't very interesting. Yeah, that's a good one like it. That's what your dad might have been trying to say. But obviously, look, you've been successful. It didn't just happen.

So you got to take some claim. Whether or not, you know, any of us are super or not or should have tattoos. I have tattoos, but I've never been, I don't know, you could discore, balzy enough to call myself any monikers. I don't know. Maybe we'll all regret them one day. I don't care.

It's just our to me. Jared, for everybody listening, you've got a fascinating story. And obviously, we're going to plug the book. People can learn all about you. But I'm going to let you tell, you know, whatever that semi-condensed. It didn't have to be condensed. We got all, we got time. But, you know, let's talk about a little bit of that professional journey.

So I started a baseball car business when I was 14 years old. When my friends thought it was kind of corny and not cool anymore in the mid-1980s, around 1983, 84, I had four different jobs, squeezing orange juice at a supermarket and delivering newspapers, working at a pizzerie, and a stockboy at a sneaker store. And I just took all that extra money. I was fascinated with baseball cards. and buy shoeboxes from friends, 20 bucks, 30 bucks, whatever it was.

My friends that did collect were into the stars of that era, Don Maddenly, Roger Clemens, Kirby Pocket, Darryl Strawberry. And I just had a fascination for the older ones that weren't as, you know, cool looking. But I knew in my mind from getting a price guide back then, there was only one called CCP, current card price guide, way before Beckett, for anybody that's listening and knows it back. and it was a newspaper that was a month a week.

I knew the older ones had value. So I betrayed the newer ones that I'd get out of the pack for these old stinky ones that they got from their fathers, their uncles and their grandfathers. Not realized I was amassing a massive collection and it was my teacher who I'm still close with this day, Elliot Lovie challenged our intro to business class to go home and create a business overnight.

I actually had one. I just didn't execute. So when I came back home that day after school, I went downstairs to speak to my dad. said, hey, dad, I need insurance. I'm starting a business. I have my baseball cards. My mom and dad would always see that shoe boxes lined up meticulously with stickers and labels on

much in each box, but I don't think they had any idea of the value. Remember, they grew up in an era where they threw them out, you know, or you put them between your bicycle smokes to make that clean ways. So the condition was destroyed. And he's like, what do you need? I said about eight or nine. And he goes, all right, he goes, all right, he goes, luck, God for what does ever a flood or something.

I'll get a thousand dollars with the homeowners. And I looked, I said, that eight or nine thousand, not eight or nine hundred. So my dad, it was an entrepreneur, my mentor, my closest friend took such a special interest in me, which meant a lot because, you know, I mean, correlate how I became a drug addict. It was because I felt less than. I never felt secure. I never felt good enough. I didn't feel smart enough. I was in special ed classrooms and labeled as learning disabled and verbally bullied and teased because of it.

And so it meant so much to me that he wanted to sit down and understand. how I had so much value and what was my plan to sell them. And I had a big newspaper at this big. And I said, look, there's a baseball card show in two weeks. I want to get a table. It's $20. And I get to buy sell and trade all day. I think I'll do really well.

And I spent every day after school. It was the Gary D mentality before Gary existed. But he's my boy, too. We always talk about the craziness of the baseball part, boom. But he's done. It's amazing. And so I executed. And that day,

I made over $1,000 at afternoon selling cards. And I thought I found my calling. But the interesting was, as I'm buzzing, as I'm flying, as I felt at home, I felt, I was an extrovert. I knew so much about the business. I knew so much about cards. I felt like I was the young gun in the industry, the young fuck that everybody was looking at for advice.

And, you know, one of the cards to buy to put away to invest in. By the time I got home then, I had a pocket full of cash and bought new cards and added stuff to my inventory, where I had this feeling of emptiness that would really never go away. I had this feeling that even though I just had that moment, I'm still sitting at home a night alone.

I know I go to school tomorrow, I feel like a complete total loser that is never going to go anywhere in life because he's an idiot and can't learn what everybody else learns. That's powerful. That's tough growing up feeling that way. Like in your highest moment,

you felt in a way you got to enjoy it for 10 minutes, right? Yeah. It's like, I remember the baseball cards, though. I mean, I had, see, I got in, unfortunately. You're younger then. You got in in the 90s, I would imagine? Well, it was, uh, my, I'm, I'm 44. So, so, so, but it was.

But that don't, those, you know, Don Russ tops years where they made too many of them and like, that's what happened. Yeah. I can read it. 89 to 88 to 89% held somewhat of its value with Griffey Jr. 89 square football did okay. You know,

that kind of held its value. My one saving grace, I got into basketball cards. I had the Fleer. I was just to say that she got in the bad. I had the Fleer basketball cards from 86 onward. You know, that was like the first thing I had inherited or bought,

even though I was like 10. I love it. So I still have some of those. And then freaking, And all the, then they made too many of the, I forget the name of it. It wasn't score. I don't know. Score.

Was it score basketball cards? Yeah. Made too many of those, I think, after a certain round. I'll say it brings back some of the best memories, though. And about two years ago, my boy Jason Coons, who's one of the biggest in the industry, Odeo Sports got me back into it. And now I got this fun little side card hustle, Mathilda, who's one of my agents here. I know the girls go crazy when I get stuff in and pack.

just come one after the other. And I think I'll look and I'll tell them stories. Do you know what this was worth, but I could have bought this for 25 years ago or what I sold this exact card for, like 10% of what I had to pay for it now? But I'm loving it because the market's back and it's healthier than ever, especially non-baseball, which I don't think I bought many baseball cards. It's all basketball football at this point.

Yeah, I got, I've ran into it by John Stockton rookie card. Like I was like going flipping through a box and it was in like one of those glass cases. I still have a handful. I mean, I don't have like thousands of thousands, but I probably still have several hundred that are probably worth something. I'm telling you got a lot of listeners right now that are very intrigued and probably have us talking about sports cards for the next day. I know. Oh, I'll get over it. It's my show.

So what happened from there, man, was I, uh, I eventually got out of the card business at 19. I dropped out of college. I did really well. I had a 0.86 GPA. It was an academic probation. but I was making probably four or five hundred a thousand a year selling cards at that point. I sold my company and started a memorabilia company because I was very intrigued by having the ability to have relationships with athletes and celebrities sit in a hotel room with them,

have a guy like Bahaman Ali, who's most recognized human on our sign, a bunch of boxing gloves and trunks and photos and the coolness of it. It was much sexier and, you know, wasn't like a little bit too nerdy like the card thing. And I did that for about four years. And that's how I developed all the relationships. started working with Magic Johnson, Chevy Chase, Smoke and Joe Frazier, may he rest in peace, evil pinie ball, another one. You know, Dennis Robben, Hulk Holden, Rick Flair.

And by developing that relationship, which relationship building is so key nowadays, I was able to eventually, I got out of that business and started Prince Martin Group in 1994. And Magic had enough faith and trust and belief in me that it began my first client. That's cool. I mean, you know, there it is. Like, you just name dropped, like, some of the most iconic stars, like, the last. And it's not even, I think, you know, I'm a humble guy. I remember doing, uh, when I was doing the zone when the book came out with the big boxing network, my boy, um, Iraq and, and, and AK, that he, he just, like, shook his head.

Because you just realize the names that, I was like, it's my life, man. I don't, I'm not dropping. I'm just to drop them, you know, it's less unfortunate to be around some of the most. cultural iconic stars of our time, but more importantly, great, great people, great human beings that understand life is about giving back. And 99% of our calls at this point, 29 years later with magic is about life and my journey of recovery and house my family and the love he used to have for my dad when he was alive and my dad had for him. I mean, you know, when my wedding party, my first marriage, you know, magic, Dennis Rodman, smoke and Joe Fraser, all fluent in all and the wedding party.

You know, they become family. You know, it goes so much beyond business because their circle to trust a limited amount of people so small in that world. And that means everything, my 50th birthday, you know, Magic, you know, was there with his whole family, E.J. Elisa, the daughter, his wife, his executive staff, Dennis came in. I mean, you know, stuff like that means the world to make.

It's so much more than just money, just to see that love and that trust and that bond that we're able to develop. And at the end of the day, I mean, I think you nailed it like, we're all human. You know, like these guys get put on pedestals and they should be. I mean, they've got natural skills and talent that have, you know, blessed them and, you know, that are so rare. Like back to baseball cards. Talent is rare.

Baseball cards are rare because of the demand and the demand for sports and to watch it. But the rarity of the elite athletes is what, you know, creates them. But you scratch underneath it all and we're all human beings. They're all human beings. Exactly. You know, so to develop those relationships. And trust me, they have tough days. I mean, all of them, you know, just like anybody else.

And, you know, Carmen Electra and I a couple times a month will have an hour, two-hour call about life, we laugh or butt off. You know, I have that with almost every one of them. And every Thanksgiving, I say it all the time in interviews. My first two text messages I get before I can even get to them are typically Hulk and Rick Flair. you get a woo and a uh you taking your vitamins yeah what's up brother what's up brother i get a little bit of both of the two goats of uh w w w w w world i know um i want to come back to some maybe some favorite favorite moments and we'll work our way um into the recovery period and you know maybe even a little before i know we could

been the whole popular episode on that and I do want to focus on it. But talk about at the core, you name all these stars for people listening, you know, influencer marketing has become this stuff. I mean, we're talking about the original like influencer marketing, right? You know, sports sponsorship marketing. I mean, talk about what you do or have been doing and continue to do for these stars. So our listeners kind of understand that dynamic, that side of. You can give you a handful of deals over the past probably six weeks was two weeks guys with Magic on two keynotes, one which is a Kyle Serra, a $12 billion company based out of Tokyo. He spoke to 5,000 people. The week before that was with my boy Marcus from a session proof big conference in Vegas, probably 5,000 people.

Rick Flair signed an NFT deal about a couple months back. He just filmed a commercial for Kevin Harrington as a client. the Shark Tank judge for a group that he's consulting for New Image, which is a product called Mount Everest and an ED supplement for men. Carmen Electra is shooting a female company this Friday, which is called Screamer Jail. And we did a campaign for DoorDash, Steve Simon, in my office, who's my BP.

We go back 42 years. He literally set up that first baseball game with me. He did a Dornash campaign for Walt Frazier, the NBA legend. He did a gold campaign for Mike Huckabee, the Republican candidate from years back. And Chevy Chase, he just signed. We have an endorsement deal that's rolling out with Keynes, raising Kane's chicken. So we're kind of all over the board with these very unique opportunities that either come or way or that we go out and find. Yeah, that's a fascinating part for me is like these guys are.

huge names, everyone you named, and Chevy Chase, we could talk about a whole episode. That's my favorite actor of all time, favorite comedies of all time. Fletch, Fletch lives, vacation, European vacation. Best ever. Best ever. Thank you very little. I mean, I can go back and forth. And Chevy's family.

I mean, he's got three daughters and text him a couple weeks ago. I text him just have a happy memorial day and he goes, you are my son. He goes, always remember that. I mean, him and his wife James, his kids are. Yeah, he's a he's a special one and just incredible impact on pop culture, how many people gravitating out towards Christmas vacation. And I think I have to be a man to really understand Caddy, Shaq, and Fletch. Yeah. I think they crossed the line back in that era.

Chbby and I always talk about there's things that he definitely couldn't get away with now. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Fletch is his greatest body of work. He ad-lived and improv the entire film. It is incredible. and you know, well, you can have your towel I'll just hit a water buffalo.

It's just like the most random things of all time. To this day I'm at the country club. It's all right. It's just nonstop. And the vacation films, I've been blessed to not only just know and work with him and his family, but Beverly DeAngel, I'm going to see her in a couple weeks. And I've met all the kids that played Rusty and Audrey.

And, you know, that's nice too. But, I mean, that's the other thing. Like, I get, like, Hulk and his kids, Brooke and Nick are very near and dear to me. Like, you know, we get to, you know, it's very special. You know, I can't say enough about it, you know. What, who's your longest running client? Is it magic? Magic.

Yeah. Magic. Larry Bird started right after him. We actually have an autograph signing book for him next Monday. and basically the first five were Magic, Larry, Pamela Anderson, smoking Joe Frazier, Chevy, and maybe Rodman at that time. It's like sex, like right in his heyday playing for the Bulls in 95, 96, the 72 and 10 season. Yeah. What do you think?

So biggest misconception to being, you know, you don't call yourself anymore, but the super agent to the stars, like what's the biggest misconception? That luck, it's a dream job, but let me tell you, we have to work our butt off. And we have highs and lows and drama and fires to put out like you can't imagine. It takes a very special breed to work in this industry. It takes a very special breed to, you know, understand that. A lot of times you're going to throw a lot of things up against the wall. It's not going to stick. You're going to get a lot of contracts or some extraordinarily wealthy celebrities celebrities

that for whatever reason, in the final hour, it could be weeks and weeks of revision. tens and thousands in legal fees and somebody on that celebrity side doesn't like something and it's a give and take and damn just like that a multi-million dollar project is south and it's happening time and again and you just have to have that very, very

thick skin to understand until that dialysis sign and that first wire comes in or that check you don't have anything done. You know my dad talking that in a very young age. It makes it a little bit more fathomable to understand. It doesn't make it better when it happens. It's still

stings. But, you know, when he got a guy like Hulk, then it was one most recognized human ins on Earth that's, you know, been very business savvy and smart with his investments, you know, takes a lot when they're 60, 68 now, 67 to, you know, physically just to get out and do things. You know, mostly what we're looking for now with him are partnerships where it could be his name is likeness, equity stakes, those type of things, because the appearances he'll do one or two a year and it's absolute mayhem. I mean, I've never, probably outside of maybe Ali,

and smoke and joe is up there there's nothing like being out with holman it is notaride in fame it's the alpha of the alpha of the alphas and i've seen tom cruise come running over to him at mastros and west into tears and spiel i mean the biggest start world become mortal they become human when they see god like hollivan yeah i think back to the uh wrestle mania is like that mean half a million people like i don't know how many it was it seemed like when i was a kid You know, like just superstardom of superstardom, but something about that wrestling stuff that transcends everything, right? Everything. Everything.

Let's talk about where did it go south? It went south, as the book says, you know, at my highest moment. I mean, the business was booming, but I was living in this crazy double life. I was probably taking and snorting and eating a dozen pain killers a day, oxycons, percocytes, and bichydids. And when I leveraged the fact I was developing sciatica and the doctors, you know, believed it was that bad that I could take pain meds on a regular basis. For the first five or six years, man, it worked.

You know, I tell people often all the time and I'm very careful when I speak to high school groups because they're my favorite group to speak to that I was a rock star the first five or six years. I mean, just fearless and unstoppable. building the agency and getting all the clients that couldn't, getting all the brands attached to them. But at one point, it was once living to use turned out to using to live. And I don't know the day that I woke up and took my morning pills or snorted them, however, I'd be get them in my system, but they didn't work. And it actually started becoming like a kryptonite. And I can never

get back that feeling to the point I had to take more and more and more. And after an overdose in Las Vegas, you know, I went on a detox drug called Subtiton. box zone for a year, but at that point I'm still taking anxiety meds, I'm taking Ambien at night, probably drinking a couple days a week, taking a mood stabilizer, antidepressants. I was just a shell of myself when the gig was up. And on July 1st, 2008 is really when the first moment happened in my life because I was sickened. I was looking at desperation. I had to give up all the money in the other eye of the business. And my uncle, make he rest in peace. He passed last September. My uncle Steeb. Well, I was very.

near and dear with his girlfriend at the time, Andre. I never met her before, and she walked into my condo with him, paid a surprise visit. They were visiting my mom from Miami. I didn't even know we're in town and just said, are you okay? And for some reason, I felt this connection, this human connection. I really never felt with anybody before. And I told her everything.

I spelled my guts and having no idea who she was, what her history was, and anything about her life. And she could realize you're an addict that your life's so managed by saying, yeah. And she goes, she realized you're powerless. I said 100%. She goes, again, ask you most important. thing. She points to all the pictures on the wall with some of the biggest stars,

some of the biggest events and whatever. And she goes, you realize that the disease of addiction does not discriminate. It doesn't matter if you're from Yale or jail or Park Avenue or Park Bench, because this stuff doesn't mean anything because you don't mean anything to yourself. Are you willing to do the work so I could help you? And that broke my

soul and I started to cry and I said, I'm desperate. And she put me on a 36-hour detox plan on 36 hours 7 p.m. And a Sunday, night, July 2nd. I was living in New York City at the Caroline building. I came back from the gym. I'm trying to work out three

times a day. Anything I can't get rid of the physical cravings, the horrific detox pains. And I called her my uncle up and I said I can't freaking do it. I'm calling the doctor. I got to get what I really need to get. I'm losing my freaking mind. And my uncle then just stepped it up and grabbed the phone. He was some sick of your

bulk crap. I'm in recovery. Andrea's in recovery. We can help you. It's time you check your ego. Get rid of it, kick the crap out of this damn disease that's been in your life since you were 14 and get the life you deserved and I hung up the phone.

I said, I can't freaking do this and I thought I was going to one at the bottom but I ran into the bath. My locked the door and my then wife, Simone, is banging on the door baby, don't do it, don't do it, don't do it. And I'm going for all the medicine cabinets to find two non-narcotic anxiety pills which she was allowing me to take

during the detox phase. In hindsight, I probably should have gone to a real rehab. And I found two Vicent. names came out, which were one of the three opens, that's the TikTok. I was so happy. It was in such this relief. Oh my God. That I thought was a God moment. Until I fell on my knees for the

first time my life with the two Vikings sitting on my left hand. And I called and I screamed and I begged for his help the first and only time in my life. I said, take the money, take the other right, take the business. I'm sick and tired. I'm desperate. I said, I'll do anything.

If you can give me a single day of freedom, I will spend One day at a time, if you take me out of hell, taking others out with me. And I had a white light moment. I'm sure you've had people tell you about it. I had a lightning bolt good for my body. This side was a burning firing sensation. I heard a voice tell me in this year I've got you and you're ready and I stood up and it wasn't me.

And this left hand for the first time, right in the toilet, that flushed the bills. And I walked outside into the living room, sweating, shaking, crying. I went into a computer and I found a 12-step meeting in the upper 80s in a church that night. And I ran downstairs in a gorgeous summer. I had a July 2nd, 2008. There was no Uber. I flagged the cab. I rolled the window down.

I'm looking up at the sky. And I said, oh, my God, for the first time in my life, I wanted to stay sober. I wanted to get high. What the heck just happened? And walked into this church basement, 150, 200 addicts and alcoholics who I once hope was stayed a state of mind. and the leader said, is there anybody knew anybody coming back, anybody that needs help? I believe it was God that raised my hand. Because had this so-called big-time super-a-lacher walk into a room

and admits to something like this, the humiliation, the embarrassment, it discussed the way he's lived this double life. But it's in that moment when I put my hand up, I said, I'm an addict, I'm sick and suffering. I have the most amazing life outside these rooms. And I don't want to live anymore. I said, I need you guys. help and that accountability,

what about a dozen spiritual brothers and sisters over to me? Right at that moment in the meeting. And they hugged me and they told me things like stick with the winners. It's easier to stay in recovery than it is to come back. If you want what we have and keep your mouth shut and do what we do. And most importantly, they told me something that's just to this day I'll never forget it. As they were hugging me and giving me support, they said, we've been where you've been. We are going to love you if we ever learned how to love yourself.

You got him. And I took the five days that those people taught me, attitude adjustment, accountability, action, and acceptance. And I rolled them up in a ball and I put them into my heart, into my soul. I went from one day to a week, a week to a month. And I got to a year and slowly but surely working on the steps and going back into those moments and time of my life, this guy became whole.

And my sponsor taught a most important thing after a year, he goes you want to keep this it's amazing life i said of course he goes you want to skip every day i said yeah because then you better start learning how to keep this freaking damn thing away because that's how you keep it and that's when my journey started man that's powerful there i mean unbelievable talking with darren prince author bell cellar of aiming high darren i mean i can't help but come back to like this moment i mentioned it like the humanity of you know we talked about the stars but then you in that group of people like you know having to you know become humble and like do what you had to do but feeling i don't know that transcendent

moment of wanting and knowing how to get to the other side of it i mean it's like you have to want it for yourself i mean i don't you i mean like obviously you felt anybody listening you got to want it for yourself no matter what we do we can help point them in the direction but I truly had the gifted desperation on July 2nd, 2008. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. And I slowly regained that power of choice back in my life. Putting this first, to this day, it comes for everything. Because anything I put before recovery, I'll lose.

And then once that happened, hope and recovery slowly be it. Do you still talk to the people from that time period? Oh, of course, man. I mean, I got my boy, John, who, uh, You know, it's probably in his upper 70s now. My sponsor, Steve, is my closest friend in the world. I hate calling him sponsor because we're spiritual brothers. Some of the biggest advocates in the game are my family.

Chris Herron, the ex-boss himself, brand of Nobath from Jack, asked him, Ryan and Jennifer Jimenez, Ryan Hampton, my publisher, my book, Anna, David's got, I think, 20 years. And my writer, I found out, had, like, Kristen, I think she has a dozen years. And, you know, it's a beautiful thing to be that, you know, all be on that same mission to go out and push this message of hope and recovery from mental health, substance abuse. And no matter what you're suffering with, because of anxiety, depression, bipolar, you know, it's all about recovery.

It's all about just tapping into that deepest part of your soul that has a whole in it and slowly becoming whole by doing the work. You know what I bet. and I have a lot of people telling me this. You know, it's one thing that you've got to get yourself right, but then you're like worried. Okay, I've got to tell this story or once you get there, how many people, though, have either gone, once you start telling that story,

I hear a lot of people say this, I want to hear your side of it, how much they can't believe, you know, they're worried about telling that story what that would mean, and then how many people are, number one, supportive and number two have gone through similar, things. Did you, did you go through that same type of, type of thing? Or did you feel?

Yeah, no. First, I mean, when I, when I wrote aiming high, first time I broke my hand in anybody on Facebook, my mom was embarrassed. You know, I was so highly respected in my profession, not only, you know, just around town across the globe. I mean, she would at least need to press in media and, you know, with my clients on red carpets. And, you know, it's embarrassing to a mother. And I told her, I didn't care. I go, the embarrassment is not getting sober. The embarrassment is having to hide that your child is suffering. And when I wrote Amy Hahn, my dad already passed about a year and a half prior, and he was wanting to write a book.

She was excited, but she was also nervous, you know, that I was putting it out on the world stage. And it took all of about three hours. My first interview was on Chris Cuomo. and the next morning was good day in New York and she gets a call on that next morning I picked the anniversary from October 1st, 2018 because that was the anniversary of Thrill and Manila.

I don't know if you have a copy of my book, we can send it to you. The opening is my historic encounter of getting those two Rakel Kings in the same room. And they were both passed at that point. And I was with them both for 16 years. Ollie, thanks to my dear friend, Harlan Werner, who allowed me in the Ollie

camp and inner circle. So literally that next morning, my mom gets a call from an old friend from high school that follows her and follows me on Facebook and says, I just saw your son's interview. I cannot even tell you that I'm in tears as a mom.

I'm cheering for him. The story is amazing. Would he take the time to speak to my son who's in his mid-30s that is struggling? It's so bad at drug. addiction and alcoholism. That's powerful. Dropped everything.

And, you know, he got clean. Many others have gone clean and stayed clean. And from a mother, it was always the success of the age of life that made her so proud. I'm pretty sure if she's right here next to me. Tell you the same thing. It's not even close. And that, you know, like, and when you look back, Like, you know, everyone, the first part of the story, we're talking magic, we're talking

Hulk Hogan, we're talking the superstars. But now, you know, what you'll be proudest of in your life is how many people have you impacted and maybe get on the other side of it, right? I mean, isn't that the real power? That's it. It's not what you get in life. It's what you give. And I think I said it on Jay Shetty's at your friend or Omar's podcast.

I forget I would have one of them, but I go. What do I want in my tombstone one day when the time comes? You know, I want somebody that I went deep into the hell of drug addiction and came out on the other side and sprinkled to open recovery around the world to help the next sick and suffering person. That's it. I bet right there I'm good.

I do what I was supposed to do being of service. Well, I mean, you're doing what you're supposed to do, and maybe that was God's way of why he kept you standing up. You know what I mean? Because a lot of people don't end up that way. They end up six feet under, you know? Yep. So when you come out.

Yeah, you got three choices, man. You get locked up, covered up or cleaned up. That's what I tell every group that I speak to. I like that. I don't like it, but I like it because it's powerful, like, thinking about, okay, is the truth, though, you know? You know, but it's not just stopping the drink and the drugs and the substances are such a spiritual component to this, you know,

about me on light of my wall, custom one, say what I mean, mean what I say, and don't say it mean. I say that all the time. It's about just having that better balance of life of surroundings of people, and those toxic ones, on learning to keep your distance

or removing them, because their energy will just bring you down. You know, it's about the next time you're about to get into a disagreement. Remember I told you this, or it's in a text, restraint of pen and tongue, and email. Or text, like,

just don't engage. engage. It's just not worth it. Because in five or ten minutes, if you distract yourself with enough other things, you're not going to remember why you're just about to go off on somebody. It's better to be all right than right. Those are all the tools that I have in my toolbox now to be the best version. I mean, I'm not always perfect.

I'm probably 90% of the way they are still a work in progress. I love a moment here and there. I'm a human. But that's what also makes me, you know, so obsessed with this mission. I mean, you know, I've got to have to say it. I had a hearing implant, cochlear implant, put him up in death of my left year for 27 years. And Mathilda here told her a couple weeks ago because, you know, they had to put me on fentanyl in the ER, in the surgery room, which I've never taken, hated it. But my girlfriend had to pick me up at the hospital and just did not like the way that I lost.

She's never seen me like that. And, you know, I can't take hardcore opiate. So I've learned this difference between drug use and drug abuse. And it's been very humbling that, you know, I'm able to take, obviously able to take like T.HC gummies or T.C. They've been very, very small dose, Tylenol with Kodines, very in touch with my network, my spiritual brothers, my spiritual sister, my big grand sponsor, Steve.

We met up about a month ago when it was in New Jersey. And because this is why, and I tell people, that foundation and connection is everything, because I don't care how much time you have. It's truly one day at a time, and you double down knowing the surge it was going to happen. Because you know once that beast is open, And I'm like, you don't even mean it to tell me, that first day when I was lying in bed in excruciating pain and this was oozing behind my ear, tell people when they say, do you think he'll be sober forever? Let me tell you something.

That beast was alive and well. And when he comes out, all hell's coming with him. And nothing comes first. Outside of that, get what I need. But it's a beautiful thing. I had my foundation in recovery, I had hernia surgery at two years sober. Same thing. gut throw within 24 hours, went on Tylenol and Advil.

And the old mate, that never happens. The old maid is this is a free pass, man, yeah. You can actually get sober, get into recovery, go through surgeries, go through challenges, go through obstacles, never feeling so comfortable during an uncomfortable time. I had it with my dad. I lost my dad in 32 days, perfect health, 82 years old, had an a heart aneurysm.

But the blessing was because my perspective and perception changed and everything. silver, it's on for eight and a half years. Hey there, got to see the best side of you, right? Yeah. That's great. And how, how, um, how's business changed? I mean, you know, obviously you're balancing the day job of still representing.

Yeah, I think I do the best job I can balancing. And I mean, I think, believe it or not, probably business was in a way stronger back in that day, but that's a, not to mention also, we had, we've lost a few clients that have passed away. but I'm okay. I don't need to be that guy anymore that has this crazy empire and private jets and mansions everywhere. That's what I thought I wanted.

I'm good having just what I need and be able to take care of my staff, my mom, my sister, my girl, anything I need to do. And I live in a beautiful place in Brentwood and, you know, again, my perspective and perception change that I just want to keep building the brand, maybe getting some more corporate clients

that we love working with because getting the corporate clients to allow us to establish new relationships with new celebrities after they work with a bunch of ours, and that's the growth of the business. Yeah. What's your feeling today on, I mean, it's in line with what you do, what, you know, I talked about it earlier, but bringing it full circle, influencer marketing and personal branding and all that. I mean, you know, in a way, it's what you do for a living.

I mean, you know, a lot of these people have built their personal brand, and then you're helping them monetize it. We're big on it. I mean, some of our celebrities have, you know, decent followings. They relate to the game. You know, Magic probably has 12, 15 million. The Hulk is probably around the same collectively. But, you know, they're also in a different genre. Like, they need it, they do it.

But it's not really going to ultimately change their life. They're so universally beloved and their iconic status is so, you know, secure. But we love it. I mean, we do all sorts of influential campaigns all the time. And, you know, it's just such a great. great, effective, innovative way where, you know, if you get on a plane, you could shoot something with your iPhone, hold up a product, do a little video shout out with a swipe-up. I can't imagine.

I was representing Pamela Anderson in her heyday when we started working together in 1995. She'd be a billionaire, multi-billioner. I mean, I can't even imagine if it existed. Rodman and I used to laugh about it all the time, how phrased he was back then, that if he had social media to see what his life was really like, he'd be a hundred times bigger than, you know he is now you know um because he you know his life would have been a tv show oh yeah yeah for sure it would have been uh full-time uh and then now he'd be the full-time you know tick-to star who knows what i mean like all that stuff but i do tell people you know

like i mean not everybody's cut out for it but you know attention is influence and influence drives dollars right yeah i mean yeah and that's And look at the core of what you do and with the athletes, like they've built a lot of your athletes and stars, no matter what it is, you know, they've built the audience from something else necessarily. Exactly.

Now we had a big campaign with Uber each for Magic during the pandemic with Twitter and just unbelievable. He literally shipped products to his office, gets a professional photographer, snap a picture in front of some of the stuff and post it. And it's just unbelievable. all like this was non-existent when I started in the business none of us stopped it who uh i i like to keep this on the up of open positive so you can answer this or not answer this

you can plightfully decline it wasn't on my outline but uh who's who's the biggest pain can you name like who's who's the most difficult maybe maybe you don't even work with them you just know i mean rodman's bit was a handful but you know we're still very close and there's times that were difficult with him. He called me last week to just catch up. You know, I think outside of that, we've been really fortunate. I mean, Chevy had a reputation back in the 80s and 90s of being a little bit of an ass, which, you know, his wife and I all tease him about. I don't think he kind of realized it at the time, but he is just the most incredible,

funny person now he's in his golden ears and just enjoying life. I never saw it. There was always a different level of love and respect when we started hanging out in the mid-90s in work and together, but I've heard it throughout the industry. But they were too difficult, man. I just don't think we can manage it. I don't think we can represent them, you know, because we represent each other.

You've got to remember that. So if we're out there hustling and putting opportunities together, you've got to make us look just as good as we make you look. Because otherwise, I can't build our brands. I can't look for future business. And I only get one shot. I'm Darren Prince. Nobody knows who I am.

They all know who you are. So you make me look bad. I'm screwed. That's so true. Um, well, I didn't realize you even represented Chevy, but, you know, I wasn't even going to ask for a favor. You message me offline, send me our address. I'll get you something signed by him. Could I get him on the podcast for 15 minutes? Or is that like, uh, no way? He hasn't done media in a while, but he does have this big campaign coming out for raising canes.

Maybe I can make it happen for you. That would be awesome. Do they have any raising cans in your area? Um, I've heard the name. I've heard the name. What's that? There's one in Clemson. Okay. Clemson, South Carolina. That's 25, 30 minutes up there. It might be able to worry.

I'm not guaranteeing if you have my word out of all I ask. I'll smoke to him and his wife. Because he could do it right from his computer. Yeah, exactly. Oh, man. That would be like, that would be on the bucket list. I didn't know it was even possible. My wife would like freak out because she knows how much I love to Chase.

I'm going to give you a couple topics for we do a rad or fad. So rad or fad. Darren, the metaverse. Rad. All right. We think it's here to stay. It's here to stay. It's going to become more.

NFTs. Rad. The right ones. The right companies. All right. Boston Celtics or dubs. I grew up a diehard 80 Celtics fan.

You know, Larry, Berger McHale and Larry is, you know, as a client. But it's going seven. I'm going to say the Celtics. They're going to pull it off game seven in, yeah, in Golden State, just like Cleveland did. Ah, ding, ding, ding. By the time this releases, that will all have been worked out.

We'll see if you're a prognosticator of the Celtics. I like the Celtics as well. I called it in seven, so we'll see. Darren, man, where can everybody follow along? I know they can find the book aiming high, but where can everybody, you know, follow you? Instagram is ad agent underscore D.P. Darren Prince on Facebook, should be Los Angeles. I think I'm the only one. Printmarketing group.com is the business website. My personal site for recovery is official

Darren Prince.com. And then I've got my foundation for anybody willing to make a contribution. 100% of the proceeds. Go to scholarship people. It's called the aiming high foundation.org. I do a lot of work with banning treatment centers. They have 14 properties. anybody really is in need of help, feel free to message me on Instagram. If you can't afford a book and you're interested in reading it to get the help that you might need,

message me again and we'll send out free copies. Darren, man. Really appreciate the rawness, the realness, and, you know, just coming on the show, man. Thanks, man. Hit me up. It's your personal information and we'll keep in touch. All right, brother.

Hey, guys, you know where to find us. We're at the radcast.com. Search for Darren Prince. You'll find all the content from today. See you next time on the Radcast.