He spent nearly a decade selling alcohol across Los Angeles. Then he watched the industry change for good and made the jump into commercial insurance. In this comeback episode of the Risky Assets Podcast, host Charlie Deaver sits down with John Young: former UCLA football player, longtime liquor industry veteran, and now a producer at Greyhawk Premier Insurance Solutions.
John breaks down the generational shift that is quietly reshaping the alcohol business, including the stat that stopped Charlie cold: 80 percent of alcohol is consumed by just 20 percent of drinkers, and those drinkers are aging out. He talks about why he walked away from a successful sales career, what made him choose a smaller, family oriented shop over a big corporate agency, and what his first two months inside Greyhawk have actually been like.
It is an honest conversation about career change, betting on yourself, and what it looks like to do right by the people you serve.
CHAPTERS
00:38 Meet John Young
01:36 LA roots: Loyola and UCLA football
03:04 "Man for others": the Loyola network
04:39 Injuries and walking away from football
06:20 Family
06:56 From Aldi to a decade in liquor
08:05 How the pandemic gutted hospitality
10:27 Why nobody is drinking anymore
11:56 The pivot into commercial insurance
13:23 Why he chose the small shop over corporate
16:29 Two months in: learning inside the bullpen
19:30 What insurance really means, and the Greyhawk difference
22:03 Closing thoughts
For more info on careers at Greyhawk:
careers@greyhawkinsurance.com