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00:00I am a lover of tequila, have been for quite some time, and, you know, when you have the high
00:06level of want and need for something,
00:08I feel like if it's something that is yours or can be yours, it could just be better.
00:14So the idea of kind of making my own was something that I had, but I kind of didn't pursue
00:19it because I didn't know if I could do it correctly.
00:20I didn't have the assets and partners and understanding.
00:24Of course, meeting James brought a high level of clarity and context to a better approach to doing it.
00:31We went, we met with Juan Domingo Beckman Jr., who is a phenomenal businessman, especially in the place of tequila,
00:3911 generations or 10 generations or more of success in the space of tequila.
00:43And, you know, I basically approached him to say, look, I want to partner, but I want to do it
00:47in a way to where I not only have skin in the game,
00:50but I have understanding and I'm able to develop a liquid off of, like, the world of my like, my
00:56what, and what I think people respond to.
00:57Everybody jumped to it. Everybody was sold on it.
00:59I mean, there are a lot of celebrities that have done this.
01:02I mean, you know, if you think about tequilas, Matthew McConaughey, Kendall Jenner, The Rock, I'm probably forgetting LeBron, a
01:08few others.
01:08Why did you think that you could stand out with your name in a way that?
01:12Because I'm not a celebrity.
01:13You are a celebrity.
01:14I'm a brand.
01:15Okay.
01:16It's a difference.
01:17Keep going.
01:18As a brand, you understand the development and the world of business behind any level of product, any level of
01:27ownership, right?
01:29And when it comes to developing something from the ground up, well, there's a world of reason as to why
01:33you're doing it and what you're expecting to get from it.
01:35So within this venture, being a brand, I'm looking for something that is evergreen, that's a lasting name in years
01:44and years to come, not just for me, but also for my family.
01:47So when I see the success that other brands have had, especially in a place of wine and spirits, I
01:51look at why, how, and I weigh the options of if I can achieve the same thing.
01:57As a celebrity, you know, are you putting your name and face on something and just expecting it to work?
02:02Nine times out of ten, most do.
02:04In this case, you don't get to success that way.
02:06It's about doing the work that nobody sees.
02:08It's about going to the factories, developing the liquid.
02:11After you do that, building relationships and a rapport with distributors, your chains that will facilitate the product and basically
02:18push the product, bartenders, wine and spirits, mom and pop shots to the biggest and the smallest.
02:25Actually putting your feet on the ground and developing it the same way that you would do with your career.
02:31It has to mirror and match.
02:32So as a global asset and a product now that can appeal to all, well, I want the same thing
02:39for my tequila.
02:40I'm not looking for anything short of it.
02:41Well, that's where I'd like to dig in a little bit.
02:44We'll dig in.
02:45Get in there.
02:45Let's dig in.
02:46We'll let's dig in.
02:46You've been around for four years, this tequila brand.
02:49And James, it's interesting.
02:50I mean, you take a look at some of the stats for 2025.
02:52It looks like that was particularly a strong year in terms of your growth.
02:56And I wonder what is behind those numbers.
02:59I mean, is that distribution?
03:00Is it marketing muscles?
03:02Is it getting out there, going to events?
03:03Give it to me, James.
03:04Give her an answer, James.
03:06Get me going.
03:06Help me out.
03:07It's a combination of factors.
03:08I mean, look, to your point, the celebrity owned tequila space is a very aggressive space.
03:13We've built a real infrastructure behind the scenes with this business.
03:16We've done over $200 million in retail sales since we launched.
03:2085 of that was last year.
03:22The business is growing 100% year on year.
03:25There are 3,000 brands in the tequila ecosystem.
03:28We're now in the top 22, and we're gaining more market share.
03:32But the infrastructure and the platform required behind the business, we've got a great product.
03:36We're bringing a best-in-class quality liquid to a mass-market consumer.
03:40We believe the consumers are still in the infancy stages of learning about real premium tequila.
03:46The word premium in tequila is relatively new.
03:48So we think that people are discovering new liquids that are really high quality.
03:54And that's what we're serving them.
03:55And secondly, we've got partners around the table.
03:58In Mexico, we've got our partner Juan Domingo Beckman and the Beckley Proximo organization,
04:03which, as the largest tequila producers in the world, gives us real scale and muscle for production, distribution, and the
04:09best quality product.
04:10These businesses require a lot of capital to really build and make a dent in the ecosystem.
04:15And with Kevin as our partner, yes, it's great that Kevin is one of the most prolific entertainers on the
04:22planet.
04:22But what's equally as attractive to me as a partner is his understanding of the entrepreneurial engagement required to build
04:29these businesses.
04:30It's a responsibility.
04:31And most recently, Kevin's partners, Authentic Brand Group, who he's partnered with, who are specialists in owning IP with over
04:3750 brands in the market, like Reebok,
04:39we now have access to their ecosystem to build and monetize this brand and get more exposure for it.
04:45It's relationships.
04:46You know, you're in the business of relationships.
04:48And if those relationships are managed correctly, you'll find that every hand you're shaking can do a good job of
04:54shaking your hand back.
04:55It shouldn't be one-sided.
04:56So I think to James' point, what we've really been able to do is maximize our full potential based off
05:03of the relationships that we have
05:04and at the relationships that are now at the table because of a new world of opportunity that has presented
05:09itself.
05:09And, Kevin, you said that you're not a celebrity.
05:11You're a brand.
05:12You're a brand.
05:13Yes.
05:13But you are a famous person.
05:15And, I mean, there's going to be some consumers out there who, you know, see a famous person attached to
05:21something, a product, and say, that's not for me.
05:24I mean, how do you win those people over if you even want to?
05:27Well, I think by doing what I just did, right?
05:30It's correcting what the term celebrity is and what it's normally used for.
05:34The reason why I refer to myself as a brand in this particular space is because the things that I
05:38touch are things that I believe in,
05:40that I'm extremely authentic with, transparent, but more importantly, passionate about.
05:45I don't do anything halfway.
05:47So if it's something that I decide to attach my name and likeness to, well, you get all of me
05:52for the reason of love.
05:53You get all of me for the reason of want and, like, truly a passion attached to succeeding at the
05:59highest level.
06:00Whether it is Fabletics, what is my athletic, athleisure, brand, and partnership.
06:06Whether we're talking about me as an entrepreneur in the health and wellness space and the partners that I have
06:11there.
06:12Whether we're talking about now my passion attached to wine and spirits.
06:15If it fits in my life ecosystem, well, I want to own it.
06:18I want to develop it properly.
06:19And, more importantly, I want to present it.
06:21I'm looking for people to enjoy life the same way that I do with the same things that I find
06:25a high level of love for.
06:26I believe the Grand Corp Amino is that.
06:28I believe that it can be that.
06:30And I believe that we are just getting started in a long road to becoming a global brand.
06:35A global visualization.
06:37Well, James, I do want to ask you just about trends in the wine and spirits industry.
06:41There's been a lot of talk about how the younger generation is drinking a lot less.
06:45What?
06:45Yes.
06:46Believe it or not.
06:47Who said that?
06:47I know.
06:48Well, you know, they're all, you know, Kevin doing, you know.
06:50But in all seriousness, and then, of course, the rise of GLP-1 drugs and the idea that alcohol consumption
06:55overall has been trending down.
06:57So, to come into this market, and obviously you have a lot of experience, even for Grand Corp Amino, in
07:01the wine and spirits space.
07:02I am curious as to how you navigate that long term, if this is truly, indeed, a long term downshift.
07:08For sure.
07:08To your point, there has been a huge shift in the consumption habits among the younger generation when it comes
07:13to alcohol.
07:15What we're seeing is, yes, there are changes.
07:17GLP-1s, legalization of cannabis-infused beverages, healthier choices in lifestyle.
07:22We've seen the consumers shift from being more selective and looking at quality over quantity.
07:28That's really what we're seeing in this market.
07:30So, our product is living in the, you know, $39.99 to $99 price point.
07:36We're a super premium brand.
07:38And at a time when the alcohol industry is going through arguably the most challenging time since Prohibition, we're growing
07:45by 100% year on year.
07:46So, that shift is cognizant of changing habits, but people picking quality over quantity.
07:52The distributors in the market are having very challenging times.
07:57RNDC, one of the biggest distributors in the country, has just announced the closure of their distribution across a lot
08:02of states.
08:03Brown Foreman and Pernod Ricard were in partnership discussions about a merger over the last few weeks, which ultimately collapsed
08:10in the last few days.
08:11But that consolidation in an industry is a test that the larger industry controlled by these legacy players, they're great
08:20companies, but they're not disrupting at the same level as independent operators like us who can make those bold calculated
08:26decisions.
08:26But you're also dealing with tariffs as well.
08:28Absolutely.
08:29Mexico alone is something like 25%.
08:30At a very uncertain time, yes.
08:32But the large organizations, they've looked outside their business in terms of acquisitions to disrupt.
08:39They're not disrupting from within.
08:40No.
08:41And I think, you know, in times like this is when you're faced with these challenges is when you double
08:46down on the work, right?
08:47And I think the scrappier you are, the more entrepreneurial you are, the more that you'll see how easy it
08:53is to break ground and find new ways to win.
08:56For us, it is a very much put your feet on the ground and really go and see the people.
09:03Be a voice in front of the people.
09:05Don't assume that things from afar work just because they've worked in the times of old.
09:09What can we do today to create new waves, new opportunity, and attach a marketing title to it?
09:16I find a lot of success in popping up in a place that you would never expect to see me.
09:21I find a lot of success.
09:22Going for a television.
09:23I mean, yeah, you would never expect to see me.
09:25But what you'll find is that energy follows energy.
09:28And I think our consumer that we now have basically been in bed with for the years of growth, we
09:35find that they're coming back.
09:37We find that the energy that we're giving them, they're giving us in return.
09:41To this point about quality, ultimately, if you've got a good liquid, if you have a good product, then that's
09:46the biggest part of the game.
09:48It's just getting people to taste the liquid.
09:51Well, if I can get you to taste the liquid, well, I'm confident that you're going to keep tasting the
09:55liquid.
09:56But how about make sure you taste it?
09:58Well, man, I can't just scream from a megaphone.
10:00I've got to go and I've got to be the one to say, here, man, I'll try it with you.
10:03Let's try it together and let's see what the response is.
10:06How many times can I do that?
10:07Can I give that energy to distributors that are still out there looking for more ways to push, that are
10:12different, that can better define the business that now is a business of struggle?
10:15Yeah, let's go meet with them.
10:17Hey, man, we want to get in those chains.
10:18I want to go down there.
10:20Let's go down to the offices, but then let's go to the actual restaurants and let's eat there.
10:24Let's see what the energy is there so that they can see how serious I am.
10:27I think that, to me, is better for today's world of business because it's scrappy.
10:34And we spent the last three weeks in market visiting all these accounts.
10:37Like, we're four years into this business.
10:39It's an atypical situation to see a founder continue to go back and visit the independent stores, the chains, the
10:46retailers, the restaurant owners,
10:47and show interest and keep an open dialogue to say, you are my partner selling product at the restaurant every
10:53day.
10:53What can I do different to help you?
10:55We're in this together.
10:56Well, Kevin, to that point, I do wonder, you know, how much of your day, of your life, does this
11:02take up?
11:02Because, as we talked about, you're a busy person.
11:05You're a famous brand here.
11:07So how do you divide your time and, you know, where does Grand Cormino fall on that priority list?
11:12It's at the top.
11:13I mean, listen, I am an extremely busy man, but you make time for the things that are important.
11:18I have a career in acting and film and TV.
11:21I have a career as a chairman, as a CEO.
11:25I have a career in partnerships with name, image, and likeness or other owned opportunities that we now are maximizing
11:33our full potential in.
11:34In the wine and spirit space, I'm heavy.
11:37The idea of becoming a mogul is really managing and operating a multitude of things, right?
11:43Like how many things are on your plate and how many of those things are you happy about?
11:48The space of athleisure, fabletics.
11:50There's nothing that I'm doing that isn't a part of my daily regimen.
11:54But everything that I do on a day-to-day, if my businesses are attached to that, well, the ecosystem
11:59of life that I'm living in, these things should fall seamlessly.
12:03Nothing is a forced narrative.
12:05Nothing is a forced entry where I got to, oh, here we go.
12:08I don't feel like doing it.
12:10Like, I don't have that.
12:11And I think for me, that's better service my world of business and my world of want because I'm actively
12:17happy about the things that I'm partaking in.
12:20The partnerships, the relationships, the energy, the conversations on the day-to-day, they're not, like, they're not offsetting.
12:27They're not, I'm never in a negative space about it.
12:30So my list of priority comes from my list of life and my list of daily activity.
12:35To your point, I will never not have time for all of these things.
12:39It's an easy world to make time.
12:41And you and James work well together.
12:43You see, my complete opposite.
12:44He's kind of the straight man.
12:45You seem like a handful.
12:46No, well, I'm a lot.
12:48I'm a lot to deal with.
12:49But you need a James to deal with the version of a lot, you know.
12:53And you need a Kevin for me.
12:55We very much balance each other out.
12:57He's more of the anxiety, the panic, and I'm the, it's okay.
13:00It'll be fine.
13:01Everything will be fine.
13:02But I need James.
13:03And I think I'm extremely proud of this partnership.
13:07But I'm proud of the business that James has brought to the table.
13:11He does a phenomenal job.
13:12He has a phenomenal team.
13:13And the world of opportunity is just now starting to present itself for what we can do.
13:18There will be more.
13:19We will do more.
13:21And we're finding that our yin and yang makes sense for what we both want.
13:27Sharing the same, like, inside and having the same POV is definitely what I think is the most valuable asset
13:34in any relationship.
13:35The one common trend is we both share the commitment to energy and what's required.
13:39Absolutely.
13:40So there's a want there on both sides that ultimately balances.
13:43So I can deliver so he can deliver and vice versa.
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