🕴️The G of the Week: Rob Dyrdek

Welcome to The G of the Week

The weekly newsletter that covers one badass person.

This week's G is Rob Dyrdek.

What Makes Rob Interesting?

We wanted to cover Rob because:

1) He created his first company when he was 16.

It was a skateboard company Alien Workshop.

He also secured the first major sponsorship deal with DC shoes.

Rob got a royalty deal with the DC shoe brand for using his designs.

He was making between $50,000 to $300,000 out of that deal.

2) He had a ton of MTV shows.

Rob Dyrdek's TV debut was on the MTV show "Rob and Big," where he could show his skating skills while building his reputation as a content producer.

He got around $60,000 for each episode of the show.

After the show ended, MTV got Rob Dyrdek another show called Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory.

The premise was simple - Rob created his ideal fantasy factory to skate.

That fantasy factory boosted his street cred, and the television personality got around $100,000 per episode he produced.

3) He’s now a renowned investor.

Rob Dyrdek is a big player in the VC game with his company, Dyrdek Machine.

His strategy is simple - he works with brands, providing a clear exit strategy or a 50/50 relationship.

Dyrdek Machine is the holding company of Rob's businesses.

It's the most successful of his entrepreneurial ventures.

So far, Dydrek Machine has generated $550 million over 6 exits.

What Can You Learn From Rob?

Here are three business lessons we can learn from Rob:

1) Build a business around your passion

Rob Dyrdek's passion for skateboarding is contagious.

He's been in the industry for decades and has built an empire around it.

He launched a skateboarding brand, Alien Workshop.

Then built the Street League Skateboarding (SLS) competition.

Rob has created an entire ecosystem around his passion. And that's what makes him successful.

2) Learn from your failures

Rob Dyrdek is not immune to failure.

In fact, he's failed several times in his career.

But instead of giving up, he uses his failures as learning opportunities to improve and grow his businesses.

Take his "Wild Grinders" animated series, for example.

It didn't take off, but instead of dwelling on the failure, he used what he learned to create the wildly successful Ridiculousness show on MTV.

3) Create a strong personal brand

Rob is known for his fun and energetic personality, and he's leveraged that to create engaging content and build a loyal following.

But his personal brand also helps establish his businesses as reputable and trustworthy.

When people see Rob's name attached to a business, they know it's going to be good.

Rob’s Words of Wisdom:

• “Anything is possible if you’re willing to work for it. ”

• “With success comes the responsibility of playing your part, to do what you can to help not only those that helped you get to where you're at but the future of who's going to be playing a part of your business and everything you do in your entire career.”

• “Never undervalue the idea of partners. Understanding your strengths and then going out trying to find like-minded people who will be another pillar of your success.”