@thefatjewish

Ryan Serhant:		Welcome back to another episode of Big Money Energy, where we talk to super successful and self-made people to find out exactly how they did it, how they went from nothing to something. I’m Ryan Serhant and today I’m joined by the one and only Fat Jewish, also known as Josh, true story. I haven’t been able to read his name off a piece of paper without laughing, this guy. We talk about what it was like to be the world’s first influencer, crowdsourcing, his baby’s name, how he manages to have a private life despite being a walking media brand and how he went from posting memes on Instagram to revolutionizing the liquor industry and changing it forever. Let’s get into this. You’re going to like it. Welcome to another episode.
Ryan Serhant:		Today is super special because I’m sitting down with one of my most favorite, favorite, favorite people. He is an absolute legend and is an amazing entrepreneur as well. And I know he probably doesn’t want to talk about it that way, but I definitely want to get into the details of how good of a business person he is and how he’s not just a guy who’s a social media personality, who’s built an entire kind of empire based on humor and making people laugh. I don’t really know how to describe him. So I’m just going to say welcome, Josh Ostrovsky, AKA the Fat Jewish.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Just close your eyes and like what comes to your mind?
Ryan Serhant:		Your body.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Yeah. Thank you. See?
Ryan Serhant:		Which is most of the time. And then Amelia is like, why are you making that face? I’m like, I don’t know. Can’t get the fucking guy out of my head all the time.
Josh Ostrovsky:		I appreciate that.
Ryan Serhant:		A few details because they’re important for this business podcast. If you don’t know, Josh is in every sense of the word, a master entrepreneur. He’s a social media mogul, actor, influencer, investor, plus size model. Are you about to have a baby?
Josh Ostrovsky:		Yeah.
Ryan Serhant:		Is that real?
Josh Ostrovsky:		That’s scary.
Ryan Serhant:		Okay. We’ll get to that. Many of you know him from his Instagram account, The Fat Jewish, back before… Like everyone had an Instagram account.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Right.
Ryan Serhant:		Right. It was like, boom. Like I think you invented it. Did you invent Instagram?
Josh Ostrovsky:		I think I was the first influencer.
Ryan Serhant:		Yeah. I think so.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Which like, sorry, but also not sorry. Well, like what have I done? Yeah. Like this thing has gotten really out of control.
Ryan Serhant:		You’re such a dick. He’s also the co-founder of Swish beverages that you’ll know from Babe and White Girl Rose, which was then acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2019, which I definitely want to talk about. You’re super funny. You’re super influential. I feel like people have now at this point, is it weird to know that people have grown up with you?
Josh Ostrovsky:		Yeah. Oh definitely.
Ryan Serhant:		Do people come up to you and are like, “Oh I was following you when I was seven.”
Josh Ostrovsky:		Yeah. And a lot of them have children now and they’re like, can you hold this baby? Let’s take a photo with…
Ryan Serhant:		It’s not just like the girls and the dudes in college anymore.
Josh Ostrovsky:		No.
Ryan Serhant:		They have jobs.
Josh Ostrovsky:		No. It’s like a couple in Brooklyn will be like, can we please take a photo with my son Atticus and my other son Atakiss. Yeah. And both the children have beards somehow. Yeah. They’re like-
Ryan Serhant:		They’re all in Brooklyn.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Totally.
Ryan Serhant:		Super expensive [crosstalk]
Josh Ostrovsky:		They all look like they’re all Mumford sons. Yeah. And they’re just like, can you take a picture? And I’m like, wow, these people are really growing up. This is scary. Yeah.
Ryan Serhant:		You’re not fat anymore.
Josh Ostrovsky:		I’m still big. I’m still big. I’m still like-
Ryan Serhant:		I feel like bone because that’s just your body type.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Yeah. That’s true. I am like a thick Russian.
Ryan Serhant:		But when we first met, there’s more of you.
Josh Ostrovsky:		I was like-
Ryan Serhant:		There’s less of you now.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Now I’m like clinically obese. I think at the time I met you, I was actually obese. Yeah. So I was a lot more Shrek then. Yeah. It was more Shrek which like was kind of working for me. But then I would like, get winded, getting out of a car and I was just like, is this too much?
Ryan Serhant:		Has like cancel culture come after you at all? I mean, because a lot of your following is part of the meme culture. But like you personally, have you gotten any pushback because things have been so real and so serious, like why would you be funny at a time like this?
Josh Ostrovsky:		Right. I actually was worried about that. People are going to be like, how could you be such a big fucking stupid, funny idiot while there’s real… Like use your platform. But like my thing is like, if you want real shit from like real people, like there’s so many outlets for that. I’m going to give you some dumb shit to like take you out of it for a second and like make you forget about it. So I think mostly I try to do as much shit as I could, like when it first hit, I gave away like a million dollars worth of Babe, worth a wine. I was giving out huge because like everybody deserved to get fucked up. You know what I mean?
Ryan Serhant:		And your nail salon truck was the greatest thing.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Socially distanced manicure truck, glory holes for your hands if you will. Totally can get a social, and it was all free. We sent that thing like around the fucking country. You know the meme of the large naked black dude with his dick hanging? I did a deep dive on him and actually I ended up getting in touch with his brother and now I’ve been speaking to like his whole family. And we’re trying to figure out like how to kind of like monetize all this success with him. So these are the ways in which I give, you know what I mean? Which is like dig really deep on [inaudible], which is that guy’s name.
Josh Ostrovsky:		But no, like no cancel culture within that. I mean, I had cancel shit before, which was like about like memes and stealing memes and all this shit. But like, interestingly enough, when cancel culture actually came up about sexually harassing people, the one thing is , I’m anything on the internet, but I’m like a nice Jewish guy. So nothing like that has happened to me. So yeah, I got canceled. I was getting canceled before people… Like it was hard to get canceled.
Ryan Serhant:		Are you married now or are you with somebody?
Josh Ostrovsky:		Yeah, I have a woman. Are you asking if anyone’s capable of loving me?
Ryan Serhant:		You did get married to a woman and then got divorced like the next day.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Yeah. She was like a corn fed Midwesterner with like real big shoulders. That was like for the look. No, but now I have like a real relationship with a human and I am actually having a kid. And obviously I’ve been like trying to turn the whole thing into performance art and she’s like, please don’t do this, but I am taking baby name suggestions. I’m saying I’m down, like my kid doesn’t have to be named like Blender. Like it doesn’t have to be nuts. Like the kids name could be Bruce. I’m just looking for some fire.
Ryan Serhant:		How did you meet this woman?
Josh Ostrovsky:		I met her on the internet. What do you mean? How do people have sex with each other?
Ryan Serhant:		Are you ready to be a dad?
Josh Ostrovsky:		Yeah. Like whatever. Right. It’s good for content. I mean, did you not have a kid for content?
Ryan Serhant:		Yeah, I think it went through my mind. Oh no, I definitely did not have a kid for content, but then a kid shows up and you’re like, you’re going to help.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Totally. I’m already working on getting a big piece of bread, put the kid on with lettuce, tomato, pretend it’s like a fucking sandwich. Like I already got all kinds of shit and she’s not really complaining because like she knows what she signed up for. She’s with me willingly. So she knew obviously that we’re going to turn this into something completely dumb, but I think I’m ready because I’m like kind of old.
Ryan Serhant:		How old are you now?
Josh Ostrovsky:		I’m 38. So I’m like done-
Ryan Serhant:		It’s been a long time since you got expelled from all those schools.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Yeah. And I’m dusty as hell. I’m an ex lineal for sure. I’m for sure an ex lineal. So I think I’m like pretty much ready because also like what else is there to do? Let’s have a kid.
Ryan Serhant:		Talk to me about, why did you get expelled from college?
Josh Ostrovsky:		Just awesome shit, classics. You know like Van Wilder? You know the movie, you ever seen that? That guy got kicked out of high school, got kicked out a college, just having a good time. I’m just a fun guy. I’m just a good guy. And I like having a good time and it’s really easy to get thrown out of a liberal arts school. I got thrown out of Skidmore. But Skidmore’s not fun. They don’t do sick shit over there.
Ryan Serhant:		So you were doing sick shit and they were like, you can’t do that here anymore. And so you have to leave?
Josh Ostrovsky:		Correct. Yeah. And then I went to SUNY Albany and like with a bunch of like Staten Island guys. And that’s when things got fun. Like a bunch of guys who were like going to be firefighters with like foreskin. Yeah, great, good times. It was just like Skidmore was just more like upper West side, like privacy. It’s who I had been hanging out with. We’re like shooting baked potatoes out of a tennis ball machine. And like-
Ryan Serhant:		Talking to you is such a workout because I’m trying to listen and like trying to understand like what’s real, what’s not real, what’s happening, but I guess it’s just all part of who you are. How do you separate though, and maybe you don’t, kind of Josh from The Fat Jewish, or is there no separation? Because I know you came up with that name initially when you were a part of a rap trio.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Yeah. You ever seen our stuff?
Ryan Serhant:		Yeah. Yeah. You showed me actually.
Josh Ostrovsky:		[inaudible] Yeah, no. I mean it’s again, I think that like the kid is a perfect example, which is just drawing lines of just like not everything can be like totally ridiculous and performative, you know what I mean?
Ryan Serhant:		Sure. The kid’s going to be real.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Yeah. Right. Like I’m going to fuck the kid up for sure. And like land the kid in $600 an hour therapy for sure. But like, it’s just not everything can be for the internet. Right. You can’t do it all for the gram. Like some people just get like too open. You got to keep some shit off the internet.
Ryan Serhant:		For you, is it going to be personal family stuff?
Josh Ostrovsky:		I mean, look, I wouldn’t have a kid if I couldn’t get content out of it because that would be ridiculous. But you got to like draw the line and like I want to fuck the kid up and not too bad. So like I try to keep my partner like super private. Some people are just like, it’s so open. You know what I mean? Then there are like influencers who are just like, they’re just like, I just hear you guys, I just need to talk to you. Like I just like, I have IBS and like things just get too intimate and real. And like, you got to keep some shit like in the… Some shit’s got to be kept in the dark. Like we don’t all need to know everything.
Josh Ostrovsky:		I don’t consider myself an influencer at this point. Also I’m like getting too old for this shit, in the words of Danny Glover. 10 years ago, I was a slip and slide covered in marinara. But like, that’s just not a good look for like a 38 old. Like I’m friends with some like older guys who were still just like, they need constant content, like constant YouTube shit. And it just gets crazy. So I’ve really transitioned into like kind of mentoring the next generation of complete and utter morons and not doing it myself because eventually you’re just like the old dude of the party and it’s pretty weird.
Ryan Serhant:		I want to make sure that we get to it because I’m interested also in the business side of what you do. Can you walk me through that, both like the fat Jewish as a business, what that looks like, how many people work for you, like how do you make money, and then when Swish came about and that process.
Josh Ostrovsky:		I mean, I was basically like the first influencer. So brands were coming to me and being like, can we pay you? They didn’t fucking know anything. I would just like make up acronyms. I’d be like, I can get you guys 400 million KPM BC’s. And they were like, hell yeah, let’s pay him, let’s go to lunch. Because like, guys didn’t know what was going on. But as the influencer bubble grew and like, I just basically was like, I don’t want to do this. This is weird. I’m not an influencer. Like I didn’t want to be part of that. I think that’s how I get labeled, but it’s not who I am.
Josh Ostrovsky:		And I think I pretty quickly was like, you know what? The difference between me and other people like that, like big like accounts like mine is that I’m like, you’ll go up and like, I’m not going to name any names, but some of these big accounts they are like in like Sunsplash [inaudible] and it’s just like, people looking for content on computers. It’s like the sounds of keys clicking. And they’re like, it’s like funded by VCs. And like it’s all fucking, it’s very like corporate. And they’re like, let’s find a video. Like it turned out like DeQuan was like some like middle Eastern dude who was like working in a content farm.
Josh Ostrovsky:		But I was never like that. Like I was just posting photos, like while drunk and like in a [inaudible]. It was never like that. So I was like, I was just like, I don’t want to do this. And the other thing that’s different is that those types of accounts, they don’t talk to the people. Like I talked to everyone who DM’s me. I answer every DM. Not if they’re like, if it’s like some weird spam, but anyone who comes into me, I’m constantly like talking, which is funny for people because people will get like really drunk and talk shit to me. They’re like, fuck you, you’re a hack. And then I’m like, Oh, Hey. Then I’ll be like, what’s up, man? Didn’t think I’d see this, huh? And then they’re like, Oh my God, I love you. We should hang out. I’m coming to New York. And I’m like, it’s kind of a weird way to start it. Like, you just really told me, you fucking hate me.
Josh Ostrovsky:		I mean, now I don’t really have the time as much, but people invited me places. I’ve officiated like 11 weddings, gone to like quinceaneras. If you invited me to some shit, like some finance bros invited me to like fly on a private jet while they like did coke and just hang out with them. And I was like, I would never be trapped in this like sky prison with a bunch of like coked up finance bros. I turned that down. But in general it wasn’t about the money. Nobody paid me. It’s just like, if you invited me, I was down to chill because like I’m a real fucking person and I’m trying to make real memories.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Then I definitely put myself in like dangerous situations where like murder was highly possible. Like just like when I went to the South of France, like hung out with some weird Saudi guys, like on a boat. They just paid for a plane ticket and I was like, fuck it let’s go. And so I’m all up in the DM’s. And I just like, when you create an audience, like when you create like a group of people that’s like kind of like, you’re a real person, it’s tight like that. I was like, I feel like I should do something better than just like taking a check and being like guys, I love this thing. And so we basically just like, I fucking talked to my audience and just like fuck, we just like, we’re just friends. It’s like one giant sleepover. It’s like a big sleepover and we’re all on Molly. And some of them hate me, but like they’re there anyway.
Josh Ostrovsky:		And then just kind of like through that, I was just like, what the fuck do you guys want? What should we do? Like, I want to make a thing. I want to make something. I’m not trying to just like do these weird branded things. And so everyone was fucking drinking Rosé. Rose is fucking slutty. We always call it the slutty cousin of wine. You drink it cold. You just like, it doesn’t matter. And at that time, it was weird. Like once I started looking into it, I was just like, you know what? Everyone’s drinking Rose. No one’s like smelling it and being like, Oh the nutty notes of like-
Ryan Serhant:		Plus it’s the trendy thing to drink.
Josh Ostrovsky:		… just drink it. Like you just make it cold, drink it and then like text your ex 300 times. And I was just like, no one knows the name of a brand Rosa. That’s what really got… Like, you just walk into a store and you were just like, give me some fucking Rose. Make it pink, make it cute. I don’t give a shit. Like I’m going to a pool party and I’m going to make terrible decisions with my body and my self-respect. So I was like, wait a minute, why can’t we like make wine like more fucking popping, because wine is sick, right? It’s like the oldest fucking drink. Like people are getting fucked up on it for thousands of years, but it’s got this like dusty, it’s dusty. It’s like guys in little glasses being like, Oh, like my turtleneck which, by the way, I’m down. I love charcuterie. I’m down with wine shit.
Josh Ostrovsky:		But like there’s a low brow wine scene. There’s a real Housewives fucking icing your Chardonnay, fucking pouring Rose in your eyeball scene that no one was really capitalizing on. So I was like, why don’t we do it? Let’s put it in a fucking can, make it fucking slutty and we’ll just do it. Because like, why couldn’t we, I was a huge fan of, and we ended up doing a deal with Anheuser-Busch, but I was a huge fan of like Budweiser. Like I’m a fucking shitty beer guy. I love like a foamy garbage bum piss domestic. And I was like, why don’t we bring wine to that level? You know what I mean? Because people are doing it, but there’s no brand for it. Obviously it was box wine and like slap the bag and like-
Ryan Serhant:		And so that was White Girl Rose?
Josh Ostrovsky:		Yeah. We put it in a bottle. We didn’t know how to do a can. No one had put sparkling wine in a camp. So we were just like, let’s put in a bottle, we’ll get it popping, see if people want this.
Ryan Serhant:		And this is with your internal team that was helping you just kind of run your?
Josh Ostrovsky:		We called the guy that like someone knew that had some wine. So at that time I was writing TV shows and we would like go to a pilot and then, or not, and then like, I’d sell it and then we’d move on to the next one because none of them were that good. But it was fine. You could keep getting checks off that. And I was like getting paid by craftsman tools to like sit in a giant… Craftsman tools was like, we want you to do a Super Bowl commercials, like in early 15. And I was like, I want you to…
Josh Ostrovsky:		Because at that time I was just like, fuck it. I don’t care if I get the brand deals or not. So I’ll just troll them and see how much they’ll let me get away with. And I was like, build me like a huge bowl. Fill it with chili and I’m going to sit in it. You can Google it. It’s like, and I was just like, they’re going to say no and I’ll be like, fuck it. But they were like, great. Sounds disruptive and experiential and like hyper-local sticky. Like a million bucks where it’s like, nobody knows-
Ryan Serhant:		Super authentic.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Super authentic. They were like, this is a hyper, multi vertical, like cloud iterated, end-to-end disruptive experiential, like multi-screen vertical, whatever these people say. And so I’m in a giant thing with chilli. So I was getting checks from that and I was trying to get, I was trying to wean off of that teeth. I was with the guys that I was writing TV shows with and the guys I was doing stuff like that with. And my partners were the guys who wrote, they wrote a book called White Girl Problems, which is like about like a fictional socialite. But it’s just like two good-looking fuckable Jewish brothers who write that.
Josh Ostrovsky:		And so we were like, let’s put it… We just like found a guy that had wine. We put in a bottle and we just like bought some with our own money. Just put our own fucking money up, bought enough. And then just like, everything went crazy. Fresh Direct called and bought it all like in a day. And then we didn’t know any of the fucking rules. Like I tried to sell it out of the trunk of my mom’s car with ice in the trunk. And then they like try to suspend it. Like we almost got our license taken away like in the first week. Because like you can’t do that much chill shit with booze. All the shit that I was doing that was completely out of bounds and ridiculous and like borderline, somewhat palatably offensive, liquor people are like, Ooh, like the nerds, they’re not down. So from there, we put it in a can and it’s just kind of went.
Ryan Serhant:		And that was Babe?
Josh Ostrovsky:		That’s Babe.
Ryan Serhant:		What was the time difference between White Girl Rose and Babe?
Josh Ostrovsky:		One year.
Ryan Serhant:		What really? Did you find somebody like another distributor who could actually create the same kind of sparkling wine and put it into a can?
Josh Ostrovsky:		Well, that’s a nice thing about rosé right? It’s like, no one gives a shit, you know what I’m saying? Like, no one knows. So like I think we found like a different wine because like no one really knows. And for us like thing with Rose, it needs to be good. It doesn’t need to be that good. Ours is about fucking brand and it’s about having fun. It’s about making bad decisions. It’s about like being part of it. So I think we switched batches and as long as it’s close enough, it’s close enough. And the wine was good. We wanted to make sure the wine was good because I think the bar was really low. People were like, Fat Jewish put out a wine, right? Like it’s going to be cool. I’ll buy it one time. It seems interesting. But like it’s-
Ryan Serhant:		Direct to consumer so people were just-
Josh Ostrovsky:		No. This was like in stores. This was in stores.
Ryan Serhant:		Directly cutting all those deals or where the stores coming to you?
Josh Ostrovsky:		Stores were coming to us. Fresh direct DM’d me the first day and was like, we’ll buy it off. The first day we sold White Girl Rose on the internet, there was no White Girl Rose, it didn’t even exist. We Photoshopped the label, put it on and they already bought it. And we were like, Oh fuck, we should probably get some wine. Because our whole thing was like, if we put this up and we do this a lot, like I do this a lot. Like I’ll put up something that’s photo-shopped and be like, do you guys like this? And if everyone’s like, this is dog shit. I’m like, I’m kidding. I would never do this. But then if they’re like, we love it. I’m like good thing because it’s coming out in two weeks. You can totally just like focus group shit.
Josh Ostrovsky:		And like, I just feel like the people who follow me feel like I’m not just like shilling to them constantly because I’m not. Like Instagram has become, there’s just a lot of shill. That was not my angle. Like I’m a complete chip bag, but not like that. I just didn’t want you to feel like this was a platform I was just trying to like make some… I was like, do you guys think this is cool? Do you want this? Whatever. I’m going to make it fucking cheap. I’m going to make it cheap. And it’s going to get you absolutely torched.
Ryan Serhant:		How many people work for you?
Josh Ostrovsky:		At that time, there were like four of us. So my office space situation is I always take offices that are like, I always want it to be like as like conversation where it’s possible. So before the wine, my office was in a nail salon in Queens. So I was like in the back, like I rented out like a waxing room, which was sick, which I love those ladies, like shout out to the whole squad. And then after that, our first line office was, we took the office directly upstairs from one Oak, the nightclub on 17.
Ryan Serhant:		Yeah, I remember that.
Josh Ostrovsky:		And so like the soundtrack would like shake the floor and like bottle girls would be like smoking newport lights. And it was awesome. Because our office was right across from the changing room, like lounge. It was really, really sick. Like there were fist fights between like bottle girls. Like I absolutely loved it because I want to, let’s make it fun. I’m not going to like take some officers and be like, this is our office. We’re not doing that. So we did that. There were like four of us. Now, so then-
Ryan Serhant:		There are four of you managing your business on social, all the brand deals, your calendar, where you’re going and also building out a liquor business?
Josh Ostrovsky:		Yes. And I think that, to be like serious for a second, that I think is one of the main things I’m kind of transitioning into. People on the internet now, like people have amazing ideas. Right. But no one actually knows how to execute. And I think that people look at me a little bit inspirationally. They’re just like, this moron did it. I could do it. And I want to inspire them like that. But no one actually knows how to build things. Because what happens is, is with the internet, you end up seeing it distilled down into like the final image. So like, what you’re going to see is you would end up seeing me like pouring Rose myself in a kiddie pool or whatever, completely dumb disposable content we were doing. But like, it was horrible.
Josh Ostrovsky:		The internet is an amazing amplification tool. It’s amazing for getting the word out there for like getting customer awareness. But like you still got to do all the horrible shit. And I think we kept it purposely so that people were like, is he like a brand ambassador? But like we did all the shit. Like I was at a meeting with like distributors in like Phoenix with like some guys in like short ties being like, you could do internet with wine. And I’m like, Oh my God.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Look, we wanted to get into wine also because the bar was very low. There were no cool brands. There was no cool shit. And like everything in my life, I’ve always tried to set the bar low and step right over it. So now we’re like the bad boys of wine, but that required us to do a ton of legwork, to like get the industry to understand what it was we were doing. Because nobody had done it like that. And also no one had really sort of reverse engineer the proposition, which was like, create like the audience first, then put out the product. I think the way that people normally do it is, is like they create a product-
Ryan Serhant:		Tell people to come.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Yeah. They’re like, Hey guys, you love this? But I was just like, what’s up you fucking maniacs? Like what do you guys want? And they were all like, Rose, we have a drinking problem.
Ryan Serhant:		Here it comes.
Josh Ostrovsky:		8 million people at that time were like, we all have a drinking problem. And I was like, well then I’m going to give you liquor. We also wanted to like reinvent wine events. So we had crazy wine parties, like all kinds of ridiculous shit, because wine parties now are traditionally our charcuterie, which again, I love, but like not that lit. We had to learn how to do absolutely fucking everything.
Ryan Serhant:		Do you get down and dirty? Do you do the work too?
Josh Ostrovsky:		All of it. That’s what I’m saying. That’s kind of what I’m getting at, which is that I think a lot of-
Ryan Serhant:		I think people don’t know that.
Josh Ostrovsky:		And a lot of kids come to me and are like, some of them have really, really great ideas. I mean, some of them are horrible, but like also follow your stupid dreams always. But like people DM me and are like, what are your… Here’s an idea that I have. And I’m just like, all right, well how are you? And again, I’m responding to all the DM. So I’m just like how are you going to… No one actually knows how to do anything because I think at this point, like the older generations like had no good ideas. I mean, I guess, except for like Steve Jobs, but whatever. Boomers are mad stupid. Kids have un-fucking-believable ideas. But building things is really hard. You can’t just slap it on the internet and just be like, boom, I’ve got a CBD SOC company. Like let the millions roll. You got to do so much fucking horrible shit.
Josh Ostrovsky:		So we built it brick by brick. Like the stuff that I’ve had to do to get that wine off the ground was truly, truly horrible. Like I didn’t like blow anybody, but honestly, I might as well have. I would have rather actually now thinking back on like the things I had to do, like going to a meeting with like some grocery store in like Ohio and just like dancing for them and just being like. And then being like, it’s a guy with a head dildo, with a wine, like what do we know about this?
Josh Ostrovsky:		We’re fucking, I don’t want to name. I could probably get in so much trouble. I have like eight, because now we’re owned by Anheuser-Busch. So they have immediate team that listens to everything I do. They’re like, I take a shit and they’re like, what’s up with that shit you took? Like a lawyer is calling me being like, what’s up with the shit you took? Did we clear that? It’s what happens when you sell out, but we built it brick by fucking brick. We did all the work ourselves. There were no like adults in the room. It wasn’t like, Oh, we like handed it off to the grownups. And then we made wacky internet content. We did the whole fucking thing ourselves.
Ryan Serhant:		Did you build it to sell it?
Josh Ostrovsky:		No, I don’t think so. And in fact we had gotten other offers from like kind of like wine companies and they weren’t going to know what to do with. The reason we went with Anheuser-Busch, Anheuser-Busch approached us in 2018. So we had been doing Babe for like two years. And Anheuser-Busch, like they do cool shit. They have fucking Natty and like all these, Busch, they do cool stuff. So we were like, we want to be the Bureau of wine. We really do. Like, we want that kind of vibe. We want like, I want some guy in fucking rural Virginia, like some fucking toothless party animal shrinking fucking Pinot Grigio that’s never happened before. So why don’t we do that? Why don’t we bring wine to everybody?
Josh Ostrovsky:		And we really have been able to do that. We’re the official wine of the NFL now, which is like, Anheuser-Busch’s did that. That’s like been the power of like them being, I mean them being in the room and like the people now that are drinking the shit is unbelievable. It’s like, I mean, we always had like older, we always had like, like we always had like a wide range of demographics. They were always older white women like drinking our shit. Like I don’t have an idea what a meme is. Don’t know what a meme is called, but now it’s just like, middle-aged men named, men like Rick who are like, fuck yeah. Like this fucking yeah man, what is this? Yeah, we didn’t build it to sell it. But when AB came along, we were like, this is fucking perfect because the wine companies weren’t going to able to get us into the NFL. And like, we just became the official sponsor of like monster truck rally. So like, it’s just like, for me-
Ryan Serhant:		So you’re still involved?
Josh Ostrovsky:		I’m still involved.
Ryan Serhant:		That was the deal?
Josh Ostrovsky:		The deal, yes. They kept me on and it’s been like a year and a half now. And like now they let me do like my thing. Now I don’t have to go to the meetings. Like they definitely do not want me to go into meetings anymore. And like Phoenix with like distributors, they have like tons of like really smart people who do shit like that aren’t me. We got it done. But now they let me build like glory hole manicure trucks and like sponsor fucking monster truck rally. We have a big monster truck with a woman. She’s in a full Babe uniform and she just likes straight crush. It’s amazing. It’s so fucking sick. And like guys in all [inaudible], like crushing Rose and it’s very funny. And I get something out of that.
Josh Ostrovsky:		But the point is like, I think a lot of people probably think that I was just there to like, kind of just be like in the banana suit, just being like drinking. Ah, well, like someone builds it, but we really built it. And now I’m trying to pass that on because I just… The kids really, I get bombarded with DM’s of just such good ideas. I put it out there a lot. I’ll be like, who’s got an idea, like shark tank night. Like I want to either going to help you or give you money, tell me your idea. But what’s become very clear is that like, no one actually there’s like, here’s my fucking idea. And I’m like, that’s fire, but then what, what next? Like how do you actually get started? Like what do you do? And I think, I guess now I’m sort of the adult in the room and that’s really fucking scary.
Ryan Serhant:		And you’re about to have a baby.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Yeah. So now it’s like I don’t have an official next thing that I’m doing, but I’ve really started moving to the space of like helping the kid, even like the influencers, like no one knows how to do deals. No one knows how to do anything. Like we’re old enough. But like-
Ryan Serhant:		Well, have you thought about starting an agency?
Josh Ostrovsky:		I think at one point I thought about starting like a VC, but at the moment my kind of obsession is just like giving tools to like entrepreneurs and shit. Honestly like dead ass, which I know sounds like super, but like the people who do that stuff, and again, I don’t want to name, I’ve gotten, it’s just so much hot water for just constantly calling people out. And I don’t want to call people out. Like, I don’t want to name names, but like Gary V. I’m saying people who do this entrepreneurial kind of shit, they’re just like, none of it’s done right. They’re just like, get out there and like find a baseball card in the gutter and sell it, like get off your ass. And like, it’s also weird. And like, none of it really resonates and like, so, and I just think everyone’s fucking wants to do killer shit.
Josh Ostrovsky:		And like, nobody wants to work at a normal job anymore. And I think that that’s fine if in fact you’re actually going to be down to do the hard work. So I’m kind of like, sort of right now, just like kind of like working in that space and like trying to help in any way I can. These kids don’t pay me. I’m just like, fuck it. I’ve already given away a bunch of money to kids who just had fire ideas. I was like, just keep me in the loop. I’ll VC it. I’m not even taking a cut. I don’t care. Just got lost in your teeth for a second.
Ryan Serhant:		Did you?
Josh Ostrovsky:		You have great teeth. Jesus.
Ryan Serhant:		How much money did you spend setting up the wine business? Do you remember? You said you were spending all your money? Like, what was your initial investment?
Josh Ostrovsky:		So we bought literally, like we bought $75,000 worth of Rose from like some guy that some other guy knew in like central California, like in like meth country, which I guess also has vineyards. And we bought $75,000 worth of Rose and then we flipped it for 150 and then we created $150,000 worth of more Rose and just kept on flipping. That was it. It was $75,000.
Ryan Serhant:		$75,000 of the actual alcohol. What about the bottling and all that or that was the total cost?
Josh Ostrovsky:		That was the total. So like buy the juice, put it in the bottle and just be like, who wants it.
Ryan Serhant:		And you had a separate company that would bottle it and box it?
Josh Ostrovsky:		We found like some little Italian man and like again, and like meth country, somewhere really cute just outside Fresno. It’s beautiful up there. Oh, it’s really beautiful. It was funny when we went to our winery the first time, like I’m used to like a Hamptons winery where you’re like, you’re out like Channing daughters and people are like riding tandem bicycles and like eating, like people are eating avocado toast, but we went and looked like a Ukrainian factory where people work until they die. Yeah. It was horrible. That’s where our wine came from.
Josh Ostrovsky:		So we just like found a guy, we just made it work because like, no one has the answers. That’s what I’m saying. Like, we could have just like turned the keys over to some like wine guys, but like, they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing. Nobody knows what they’re doing. That’s what I’ve learned. Seriously, there are no fucking rules. And like, I know that’s easier said than done, and I’m not telling you to quit your job. And I’m not telling you to like, don’t start your like CBD Monaco company tomorrow, because that may be a really bad idea. Like, I don’t even know what a CBD Monaco is, but like, you got to like think this through. But like really no one has all the answers and you can be like, if I can start a wine company, like you can do whatever. Right.
Ryan Serhant:		Sure.
Josh Ostrovsky:		I mean, think about that. Like I started a wine company.
Ryan Serhant:		You did start a wine company.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Like anyone could do anything at this point.
Ryan Serhant:		Is the deal about public, like how much you guys sold for?
Josh Ostrovsky:		No.
Ryan Serhant:		That’s the one thing that had to be quiet?
Josh Ostrovsky:		Yeah. They’ve let me do a lot. Anheuser-Busch lets me do a lot.
Ryan Serhant:		But you bought a cool place in Miami.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Yeah. So there’s that. Bought a sexy place in Miami. Yeah. Where I can eat Philadelphia rolls, sexy sushi. Yeah. But yeah, no, it was good. It was good. And I think for us, it was also more about creative control because I didn’t want to like, just sell it off and like, I wasn’t trying to like just break out and just be like, all right guys, here you go. I’m still like super involved. I mean, the company has like a hundred employees. That’s wild, that’s wild. And I have to like speak at things. Like I speak at the Anheuser-
Ryan Serhant:		And they listen to you?
Josh Ostrovsky:		Oh yeah, yeah. Not really. Like I come in and I’m just like, aah. They don’t like actually listen to me. But they just like, it’s a good time. I plan like the Christmas party. I do certain things that keep it but I speak it like the Anheuser-Busch national convention. So like I try to keep it fun. I’m coming out in fucking ass less pink chaps.
Ryan Serhant:		Like here’s the guy that we give all this money to.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Totally. And then I speak to like 4,000 like distributors from like North Carolina, who are just like, fuck it, Tat Jew. They’re just like, Oh shit. And they probably hate you, these people. They act like they love me. And so they trot me out as needed, but it’s been like really good. They let me do wild shit. They’re letting me do manicure trucks and whenever I want, so that’s fucking cool. But yeah, like we really, I think we purposely kept it under wraps that I was like very much involved with like the brick on brick. Like that’s not a saying, of like building it brick by brick, but because I didn’t want it to, I wasn’t going to be on Instagram being like, yo like rise and grind, baby. Like another day of grind, like, Oh, we’re at the office. I was just like, I want it to be fun. But then now that we’ve like, sort of like have kind of gotten some distance from it, I’ve been sort of, kind of talking about how I actually did the work and I’m not as stupid as you thought.
Ryan Serhant:		Last thing before you go, when I asked you to do this podcast, you’re like, Oh, that’s that real estate guy. Right. And I said it was called Big Money Energy. What did you think? Did you think about the title at all? Or you just show up and go wherever your calendar tells you to go?
Josh Ostrovsky:		No, I thought it was sick. I think you do awesome shit. I do. I think almost everyone does terrible shit, but you do really, really good stuff, which is why… Again-
Ryan Serhant:		You don’t have to say that.
Josh Ostrovsky:		No, I would open the show.
Ryan Serhant:		You should actually go look for a place.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Can you get me on the show?
Ryan Serhant:		Yeah, of course. I know that’s the only way you’d ever actually buy something if there’s content attached to it.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Yes. They’re a good price in-
Ryan Serhant:		The markets totally terrible.
Josh Ostrovsky:		It has to be right.
Ryan Serhant:		Yeah. There’s a pandemic
Josh Ostrovsky:		Because people were like, we’re going to arm against it and like we’re going to pod-
Ryan Serhant:		To Miami, with you.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Yes. But then people like don’t want to be, because again, like we were talking about it before we, or maybe we were filling the city is, I love this. I think this is really good for New York. I think it’s a cultural reset.
Ryan Serhant:		No 100%.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Don’t agree with me.
Ryan Serhant:		But it is. No, I tell everybody they’re like, this is the worst thing ever. I’m like the board has just been wiped clean.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Totally.
Ryan Serhant:		It’s either going to be slow and painful for the next five years or boom.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Because I’m telling you, man, like I grew up here and like, you just don’t see the stuff. When I grew up, you don’t see the stuff that I saw growing up anymore. And some of that stuff is really enriching. I saw a homeless man on Prince and Bowery, he shit into a suitcase and then he zipped it up and he just, matter of fact, he rolled it away. And I was like, and it was two o’clock in the afternoon on Thursday. And I was like, and it was in front of like some like overpriced like brunch spot that has now closed, and is like covered in graffiti. And I was like, this is good. This is what we need. This is what New York needs because the thing was just getting weird.
Ryan Serhant:		There you go. That’s a great way that we should end this. Thank you so much for coming on, man. You were the best.
Josh Ostrovsky:		And then, and also like, I’m going to, should I read this book? I haven’t read a book in like 11 years. Should this be the first book I read in 11 years?
Ryan Serhant:		Yeah. I’ll send it to you. Yeah. Listen, if anyone who’s listening, watching has a really, really terrible, crappy, shitty idea, The Fat Jewish just made a lot of money by selling beer wine. And so he’ll give you his mind.
Josh Ostrovsky:		I’m an idea center.
Ryan Serhant:		Thank you so much for coming.
Josh Ostrovsky:		Thank you for having me.
Ryan Serhant:		If you’re ready to take action today, based on The Fat Jewish’s entire blueprint for how he got to where he is, go to BigMoneyEnergy.com/podcast to download an action plan that I’ve put together for you, as well as the show notes. That’s bigmoneyenergy.com/podcast. Find more podcasts like Big Money Energy on the iHeart radio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Big Money Energy is hosted by me, Ryan Serhant. It’s produced by Mike Cascarelli and Joel Laresca, and executive produced by Lindsay Hoffman.

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