IF YOU WANT TO DO EXCEPTIONAL THINGS, YOU HAVE TO PUT YOURSELF IN EXCEPTIONAL SITUATIONS
Scroll down to follow Jesse's story!
Who is Jesse Itzler?
Jesse Itzler's remarkable journey is defined by taking an unconventional approach to both life and business. An Emmy-award winning artist, New York Times bestselling author, part owner of the Atlanta Hawks, ultramarathon runner, and exceptional husband, father, and businessman, he has mastered the art of success. Now, through his coaching products and programs, you can discover the exact tools, systems and best practices he employs in both life and business, empowering you to achieve your own remarkable feats.
After 4 years of open mics throughout college, making demos, and hearing "No" from 15 production companies... Delicious Vinyl offered Jesse a record deal. Jesse credits this as the most important moment in his life because it taught him he could do anything on his own. "If I can be a rap artist, from Long Island, with no connections... what else can I do?"
While every musician was trying to get on MTV... Jesse saw an opportunity to write jingles for sports teams. A New Yorker at the time, he got a chance to put a demo in front of the Knicks and they loved it. The song "Go New York Go" became the hype anthem for the New York Knicks 1994 run in the playoffs. Jesse went on to write songs and make themed albums for 50 other teams as well as "I Love This Game" under his company, Alphabet City Sports Records. The sale of this company to SFX in 1998 made Jesse a millionaire.
Who can say they've won a Grammy Award and got to manage their favorite rap group? Run DMC was Jesse's Beatles. In the early 90s Jesse had a booth at a trade show for his company, Alphabet City Sports Records. Jam Master Jay was there and Jesse stood in line for an hour to meet him. When he got to the front of the line, Jesse introduced himself and told Jay it would be a dream to collaborate with him. Serendipitously Jay was looking for a new office space... and Jesse had an open seat at his desk. One week later they were working in an 8'x10' office together. And as fate would hav it, Run DMC needed a manager and Jesse said "I can do that!"
Flying private for the first time at 27 years old gave Jesse a HUGE motivation to figure out how he could make this lifestyle accessible to him and his friends. He and his partner created a jet card company where clients could have all the benefits of a private jet without the hassle of actually owning one. Customers could purchase 25 hours of flight time on NetJets planes for a set price. Within a few years Marquis Jet was doing more sales than NetJets. By 2010, they had reached $5B in sales and were acquired by Warren Buffet's NetJets.
Jesse met Sara, the founder of women's shapeware empire Spanx, at a poker tournament put on by Marquis Jet. For their first "date" Jesse took Sara to an illegally hot Russian bath house where you sit in a 200+ degree sauna then pour a bucket of glacier cold water on your head. They went straight to sushi after... and the chaos has continued every since. One year later, they were married and currently live together in Atlanta, Georgia with four beautiful children!
While training for his first 100 mile race in 2006, Jesse was trying every food and beverage on the market to give him an edge. He tried coconut water and it checked every box for him. At the time there was no coconut water on the shelves at any grocery store. He saw a huge opportunity for this natural hydration product and he left Marquis Jet to start on this new venture. After trying to start a brand from scratch called Coco+ he ended up partnering with Mark Rampolla at Zico Coconut Water. Together, they built the brand featuring stars like Matt Damon and sold to The Coca-Cola Company in 2012.
Jesse and Sara cemented their roots in the city of Atlanta when they became part owners of the NBA team, the Atlanta Hawks. From sports team jingle writer... to sports team owner... you can't script it any better. You can find them and their 4 kids sitting court side at many games throughout the season.
Before he was a known public figure, Jesse met Navy SEAL David Goggins at a 100 mile relay race in California. Jesse was part of a team with a support crew, but David came alone... completing the entire relay race solo. Jesse wanted the secret to whatever "mindset" and "edge" this man possessed, so he cold called him. Shortly after they got together for a quick meeting which led to Goggins moving in with Jesse, Sara, and their new baby for a month. David said, "If you're crazy enough to ask a guy like me to come live with you... motherf***** I'm crazy enough to come." What ensued turned into the New York Times Bestseller: Living With A Seal
Looking to create a weekend event that pushed people further than they thought they could ever go, Jesse and his partners came up with 29029 Everesting, a 36 hour endurance event where you hike up and gondola down a ski mountain until you've climbed the equivalent of Mount Everest—or 29,029 feet. Fitness giant iFit acquired the company in 2021, and 2 years later Jesse and his partners bought it back (every entrepreneur's dream). This all-inclusive event quickly grew from 1 to 7 annual events across the US and Canada, selling out only 6 minutes after they went on sale this year.
In a world with so many inputs and a "go go go" mindset, Jesse was feeling disconnected to his spiritual side. He decided to live on a monastery for two weeks to learn from the masters of spirituality. Upon arriving... Jesse was given the task to sit in silence. After 2 minutes that felt like 2 hours... he knew he was in for a rude awakening.
Jesse learned the most powerful mindset hack he has learned in the past decade during this race. On mile 75 after battling early onset hypothermia, Jesse's friend and former Navy SEAL, Chadd Wright, taught him the power of the spoken word. By "never giving pain a voice" and speaking only positive mantras for the rest of the race like "I feel OUTSTANDING" and "We don't get tired!" Jesse crossed the finish line in 24 hours.
Believing the running community was getting too serious, Jesse started All Day Running Co. to inject it with fun! Combining experiential races featuring saunas and cold plunges with bright and groovy gear you can spot from a mile away... participants can't deny there's no running on the planet quite like this one. Join one of their upcoming events which include Runningman, Hell on the Hill, and Ice Camp.running for fun.
Some would argue being an under-trained 52-year-old busy with work and family would not be the right time to take on the hardest triathlon in the world. Jesse begged to differ claiming "it's never the right time!" and went and did it anyway. This 3 day event included a 6.2 mile open water swim, 261.4 mile bike, and 52.4 mile run in the desert heat. Jesse credits this to be the hardest mental exercise he's ever endured.
When he was 25 years old, Jesse wrote a "F*uck it list" of all the things he wanted to do before he died... his version of a Bucket List. "Ride my bike across America" was on the list for 30 years until he called his best friends and made it happen. 10 guys, 2 RVs, 1 sauna and a private chef made for an unforgettable adventure!
If not now, when? was the conversation between Jesse and his friend, Coach Chris. Realizing you never hear of 70 year olds running 43 miles back and forth across the Grand Canyon, they booked the trip that day.
After 4 years of open mics throughout college, making demos, and hearing "No" from 15 production companies... Delicious Vinyl offered Jesse a record deal. Jesse credits this as the most important moment in his life because it taught him he could do anything on his own. "If I can be a rap artist, from Long Island, with no connections... what else can I do?"
While every musician was trying to get on MTV... Jesse saw an opportunity to write jingles for sports teams. A New Yorker at the time, he got a chance to put a demo in front of the Knicks and they loved it. The song "Go New York Go" became the hype anthem for the New York Knicks 1994 run in the playoffs. Jesse went on to write songs and make themed albums for 50 other teams as well as "I Love This Game" under his company, Alphabet City Sports Records. The sale of this company to SFX in 1998 made Jesse a millionaire.
Who can say they've won a Grammy Award and got to manage their favorite rap group? Run DMC was Jesse's Beatles. In the early 90s Jesse had a booth at a trade show for his company, Alphabet City Sports Records. Jam Master Jay was there and Jesse stood in line for an hour to meet him. When he got to the front of the line, Jesse introduced himself and told Jay it would be a dream to collaborate with him. Serendipitously Jay was looking for a new office space... and Jesse had an open seat at his desk. One week later they were working in an 8'x10' office together. And as fate would hav it, Run DMC needed a manager and Jesse said "I can do that!"
Flying private for the first time at 27 years old gave Jesse a HUGE motivation to figure out how he could make this lifestyle accessible to him and his friends. He and his partner created a jet card company where clients could have all the benefits of a private jet without the hassle of actually owning one. Customers could purchase 25 hours of flight time on NetJets planes for a set price. Within a few years Marquis Jet was doing more sales than NetJets. By 2010, they had reached $5B in sales and were acquired by Warren Buffet's NetJets.
Jesse met Sara, the founder of women's shapeware empire Spanx, at a poker tournament put on by Marquis Jet. For their first "date" Jesse took Sara to an illegally hot Russian bath house where you sit in a 200+ degree sauna then pour a bucket of glacier cold water on your head. They went straight to sushi after... and the chaos has continued every since. One year later, they were married and currently live together in Atlanta, Georgia with four beautiful children!
While training for his first 100 mile race in 2006, Jesse was trying every food and beverage on the market to give him an edge. He tried coconut water and it checked every box for him. At the time there was no coconut water on the shelves at any grocery store. He saw a huge opportunity for this natural hydration product and he left Marquis Jet to start on this new venture. After trying to start a brand from scratch called Coco+ he ended up partnering with Mark Rampolla at Zico Coconut Water. Together, they built the brand featuring stars like Matt Damon and sold to The Coca-Cola Company in 2012.
Jesse and Sara cemented their roots in the city of Atlanta when they became part owners of the NBA team, the Atlanta Hawks. From sports team jingle writer... to sports team owner... you can't script it any better. You can find them and their 4 kids sitting court side at many games throughout the season.
Before he was a known public figure, Jesse met Navy SEAL David Goggins at a 100 mile relay race in California. Jesse was part of a team with a support crew, but David came alone... completing the entire relay race solo. Jesse wanted the secret to whatever "mindset" and "edge" this man possessed, so he cold called him. Shortly after they got together for a quick meeting which led to Goggins moving in with Jesse, Sara, and their new baby for a month. David said, "If you're crazy enough to ask a guy like me to come live with you... motherf***** I'm crazy enough to come." What ensued turned into the New York Times Bestseller: Living With A Seal
Looking to create a weekend event that pushed people further than they thought they could ever go, Jesse and his partners came up with 29029 Everesting, a 36 hour endurance event where you hike up and gondola down a ski mountain until you've climbed the equivalent of Mount Everest—or 29,029 feet. Fitness giant iFit acquired the company in 2021, and 2 years later Jesse and his partners bought it back (every entrepreneur's dream). This all-inclusive event quickly grew from 1 to 7 annual events across the US and Canada, selling out only 6 minutes after they went on sale this year.
In a world with so many inputs and a "go go go" mindset, Jesse was feeling disconnected to his spiritual side. He decided to live on a monastery for two weeks to learn from the masters of spirituality. Upon arriving... Jesse was given the task to sit in silence. After 2 minutes that felt like 2 hours... he knew he was in for a rude awakening.
Jesse learned the most powerful mindset hack he has learned in the past decade during this race. On mile 75 after battling early onset hypothermia, Jesse's friend and former Navy SEAL, Chadd Wright, taught him the power of the spoken word. By "never giving pain a voice" and speaking only positive mantras for the rest of the race like "I feel OUTSTANDING" and "We don't get tired!" Jesse crossed the finish line in 24 hours.
Believing the running community was getting too serious, Jesse started All Day Running Co. to inject it with fun! Combining experiential races featuring saunas and cold plunges with bright and groovy gear you can spot from a mile away... participants can't deny there's no running on the planet quite like this one. Join one of their upcoming events which include Runningman, Hell on the Hill, and Ice Camp.running for fun.
Some would argue being an under-trained 52-year-old busy with work and family would not be the right time to take on the hardest triathlon in the world. Jesse begged to differ claiming "it's never the right time!" and went and did it anyway. This 3 day event included a 6.2 mile open water swim, 261.4 mile bike, and 52.4 mile run in the desert heat. Jesse credits this to be the hardest mental exercise he's ever endured.
When he was 25 years old, Jesse wrote a "F*uck it list" of all the things he wanted to do before he died... his version of a Bucket List. "Ride my bike across America" was on the list for 30 years until he called his best friends and made it happen. 10 guys, 2 RVs, 1 sauna and a private chef made for an unforgettable adventure!
If not now, when? was the conversation between Jesse and his friend, Coach Chris. Realizing you never hear of 70 year olds running 43 miles back and forth across the Grand Canyon, they booked the trip that day.
Build Your Life Resume
A successful serial entrepreneur, Jesse’s mission is to continually raise the bar and build his LIFE RESUME.
With a passion for endurance challenges, he completed Ultraman in 2022 at the age of 53, which is a 6.2 mile open water swim, 261.4 mile bike, and 52.4 mile run. He did that the same year he sold his endurance events company, 29029 Everesting, to iFit.
These things are not uncommon for Jesse, who sold Marquis Jet to Warren Buffett in 2010, sold Zico Coconut Water to Coca-Cola in 2013, and has completed multiple 100 mile running races, Rim2Rim2Rim at the Grand Canyon, and even rode his bike across America.
Jesse’s career is unique, unconventional, and unlike anyone else. He started as a rapper on MTV in 1991, wrote jingles for every major sports team like the New York Knicks and Denver Broncos, and became the Manager of the greatest hip hop band ever, Run-DMC.
He always says, “you don’t have to be the smartest in the room, but you have to be the most passionate.”
He teaches his principles and best practices through his online course and coaching programs—where thousands of people have learned from his lifestyle approach and applied it to their own.
When he’s not training with Navy SEALS (check out his book, Living with A SEAL where he invited David Goggins to train him for 30 days) or learning from monks (check out his other book, Living with Monks where he spent two weeks on a monastery), you can find him plunging in cold water and sweating in hot saunas, or bringing the vibe to local events as part of his latest venture, All Day Running Co, a brand built on the foundation of combining race-like challenges (half-marathons, marathons, etc.) with retreat-like experiences (powerful speakers, guided breathwork and meditations, community bonding, sauna, and cold plunging!)
At the end of the day, his proudest accomplishment is his family—with 3 sons and a daughter, he and his wife, Sara Blakely (founder of SPANX), definitely have their hands full!
YOUR BIGGEST RISK IN LIFE IS NOT TRYING