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Being STRONG is more than just how much weight you can lift.
The Strong New York Podcast is dedicated to inspiring you to become your strongest self- in the gym, in business, in relationships and in life.
Join Kenny as he sits down with his strong as fuck buddies and shoots the shit on what it takes to be strong willed, strong minded and physically strong. Season one features everyone from entrepreneurs and local business owners to doctors and industry leaders in the fitness and wellness space.
With over a decade of experience, Kenny Santucci has made himself known as one of New York City’s top trainers and a thought leader in the health and wellness industry. After transforming his life at 15 years old through fitness, Kenny made it his mission to transform the lives of those around him.
Kenny has trained some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Jon Bon Jovi, Liev Schreiber, and Frank Ocean, and has been tapped as a fitness expert sharing his training approach with Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Runner's World, SHAPE, Well+Good, among other publications.
Kenny is the creator of STRONG New York, NYC's only Health and Fitness Expo. Strong New York is an immersive day of workouts, wellness experiences, panel discussions, and inspiring conversations with the best in-class wellness professionals, industry leaders, and change makers who are sharing their expertise on today's hottest wellness trends and first-hand experiences on how to optimize your overall health and life.
You can find Kenny at The Strength Club, his private training and group strength training facility in the heart of Manhattan located on 28th and 5th Ave in New York City.
Welcome to the strongest podcast. I'm your host, Kenny Santucci and join us for some strong conversations.
All right Welcome back to another episode of the strongest fuck podcast today As always, we have a very special guest, a good friend of mine. Uh, we've known each other for quite some time. Uh, she's been a client, uh, we've hung out a bunch. Um, I think she knows everybody in my life from my family to my friends.
And I'm just very excited for her because starting very soon or depending on when this actually airs, she's got a huge show coming up. It is the selling sunset of New York. It's called selling the city. I think it's going to be huge and we're going to get into that going to get into life and everything in between so without further ado, Miss Eleonora Shrugo.
This is your first podcast ever. Did it? You have the exclusive. Exclusive.
Yeah.
How'd this show happen? How'd this happen?
You actually, by the way, like you gave me the best advice before I did this show.
What?
I think that
you're going to, it's always going to end, but
your voice in my head, I think helped me conduct myself in a way that I'm actually like, I didn't watch the, I didn't watch the show and like everything for a second.
Like I shouldn't have said that I'm embarrassed.
Yeah.
Like I was cautiously guarded. Um, how did it come about? You know, it, it's been three years that I've been working on it. Basically.
Who came to you, how they find you,
you know, I had that little scandal in 2021 in January that, you know, about.
Yeah.
And after that, a lot of people came to me, like every casting person in the world.
It was like Vinnie and Polly D bachelorette, you know, find love bachelorette. Like,
so let's get into it because we're in a room full of people with scandals. Um, What had happened. Right? Was you were hanging out with somebody who was on getting married or they He said I was not hanging out with any on, well, he said I was hanging out with you.
Yes. You were friends with a, a guy who was friendly. Yeah. Friendly with a guy or I was friends. You were friends. You were, were maybe friends. And I guess, look, I never actually spoke
about it, so let me, so, so basically we all socially knew someone in the community of the gym and fitness
who was on television, who
was on television, who was like perfectly nice, seemed very harmless, who went on a television show.
I, at the time, had had no exposure. Which I had
advised him not to do because I didn't, I don't think that show, His experience and mine are kind of parallel in the fact that, like, I think he got just as much good out of it as he got bad. So,
I don't really care. He said, I'm doing it. I didn't know him that well.
I was like, go for it. If you're gonna do it, like, maximize it. Don't just like do it. And he kind of did. Yeah, he like proposed to her after four days. He got what he wanted out of it. And even when I asked him, he said, Oh, so you're engaged now. And he was like, well, what's an engagement, you know? So whatever he did the show.
And at the time, my world was just real estate. I didn't know I wasn't like an influencer in any way. I had no no one knew who I was. I wasn't friends with the mayor at the time. I was just. Really a real estate agent. I had been, this was in 2020 in the pandemic. And then actually scratch that in 2016, I was cast for a million dollar listing, which was a reality show in New York.
And they like filmed with me for three weeks and then they cut me. They were like, it's a show about three men and they just wanted it to be the three men. But like that, I felt comfortable with because that's a show about real estate. It's something that I know. I never like
connections. Like, are those shows connected at all?
Not at all. That was a Bravo
show. That's like, I think no longer on the air, but basically like I never would have done a dating show I hadn't dated in like 10 years like it wasn't even on my radar to do a show But we knew this guy who went on a show and and got engaged to someone and We were all friendly.
We were in the same social circle and I started to realize that Something was amiss Um, in terms of like, every time I was around, even if you were there, there seemed to be some issue with the fiance, you know, I just felt like there were like, um, premeditated photo, uh, you know, I just felt like there was some sort of like, desire to cont to stay famous and to control their narrative.
You think he was trying to just like Stay relevant,
milk it. And I get it. Like, I will say this, like, even though the press that I ended up getting from it was really bad, there was like a moment where I like couldn't stop checking like Google alerts. Right. So I get that like fame or notoriety can be addictive in some capacity or like Habitual,
but
I think that like, yeah, he, he was on the show and like, they write about you and then they don't for a few days.
So then you do something like dye your hair or like make out on the street or call it, you know, whatever. So I could tell that that was like happening.
Well, when your business is media, you have to do shit to stay in the media,
right? Right. There was no other that that is that was the job I guess and I kind of felt like I was being pulled into something because like if the three of us went to lunch You He said, oh, there's like, she's so upset.
You know, there's, she's upset that Eleanor's here. I was like me I'm, not even like we're not that close. So like I could sense that something was wrong. So Around thanksgiving. I was like, I don't really want to ever talk like don't reach out to her I could tell like something was off Like he was like we had a fight about you.
I'm like fight about me I've only hung out with you like twice so it just all seemed weird and then in january
That's television or you think that's just female shit like i was getting jealous that
I don't know her. I didn't watch the show. I don't know her character. I think it was, I think it was the nature of the relationship when you like fall in love and get engaged after 10 days.
And I think it's
just fucking bizarre to
begin with. And I also think that he
told me, I was just like,
what? Right. Well, because it wasn't real. Yeah. Right. Like they, they liked the attention. Hence, like when the engagement ended, then, you know, They weren't being written about anymore, so they got back together, like it was, it was the addiction, I think, to the attention and the fame and the storyline, like he would say, like, we're just going to remain engaged through the holidays so we can get go on this trip or keep the ring or like there was a plan there.
Yeah.
So. I just thought that that was weird. And then, um,
so how'd you get pulled into the negative? Like, when did the negative press stuff? I
forgot. I forgot. I kind of forgot about him. I forgot about them. And, you know, Christmas, you and I, I like these early 24 hours of my life that I will never forget.
We went to Emilio's, remember? It was like a mm-hmm . Back room. Like it was an epic night. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was Moshe's birthday.
Yeah.
Remember we had like cigars, we played that card game.
We, we were out till like three in the morning.
We had a great night. And then. Your other friend wanted to come but couldn't because it was still like limited seating, pandemic, whatever, and then I woke up the next day, had a client on the Upper East Side, like a big 10 million buyer, and I got a text from a reporter saying that like, she's about to break a story about me and this person, like, can I chat?
Like, do I want to? Comment.
Yeah.
And I just like my heart like dropped. I just didn't. I just heard the night. You just told me the night before that they broke up.
Yeah.
So I was like, I didn't know what to do. My first instinct. Was to call him who I hadn't spoken to in two months and be like what the fuck, you know And I did I went off if those messages ever come to light.
I said the most vile disgusting things i've ever said in my life to anyone, yeah, um, but he just said like get over it like You're welcome. I was like, you're welcome like Okay, so in my panic, obviously I called my chairman. I called the pr department at douglas elliman. I You
And they were just saying that you were like a homewrecker basically, she's like, we're going to break this.
Basically
that the reason why the engagement ended was because of me.
Yeah.
And.
Which is fucking terrible. Like you never, there's a couple of things you never want to be called. You never want to be called a fucking assaulter, a pedophile, a pedophile, a fucking homewrecker. And
especially not in my business.
Yeah, of course. I'm responsible for finding homes for mostly couples. It takes a lot for women to trust me spending a lot of time with their husbands, like intimate time, you know, going over their financials, seeing apartments, like negotiating deals.
I think the biggest problem with, like, cancel culture and all that shit is it's hard enough to, Work this day and age, you know, right around the corner is fucking computers, just taking over everything and nobody being able to work.
So the fact that I do work, I'm very happy about it. I love what I do. Uh, and there's so many people out there who, you know, you get an accusation against you. True or not. It just has to be out there. And now it's like that stops you from working So it's hard enough to sell an apartment in New York Now you have this black cloud over you of someone being like well I don't want my husband going and hanging out with this woman who's basically a fucking home and I
had built this career from nothing And people don't realize that I didn't build this career looking like this.
Yeah I like that actually was not possible. I have beautiful women that work on my team were obviously on a Netflix show. They have to be attractive, but like that is not realistic. You are not going to get people to work with you looking, you know?
So, yeah. So this is the reality, right? Right. That you get on television because you are attractive.
Most people get on television. Yes, there's. Comedians and people who are funny who are like they have a great personality. So they get on television But in reality most people get on television or have some sort of cloud or fame is because they're Pleasing to look at we didn't write that rule. That's just the way the fucking world is And it works that way in every industry, right?
If you're an attractive trainer, if you're an attractive, uh, you know, salesperson, whatever it may be, people are more inclined to buy. There's a line
I have to look. I I'm not married. I don't have kids.
Yes.
So to be a single real estate agent, it's, it's a double edged sword.
Well, so your livelihood is, is dependent on this, right?
At this, at this on this.
And, and it took a long time, right? It took a long
time to
build and. Yeah, I mean, I'm I'm like with this guy and his wife and we're being chased by paparazzi that day. It was hard I mean it was I felt completely helpless because I thought that if I Responded to the story. I would just create more headlines and placate the story.
So I'm giving them exactly what they want Yeah, and so my hands were tied and it was awkward and I really was not that girl. I'm guarded I had limited sexual part like my girl. I had a girlfriend at the time who like You Is more fluid sexually did fuck her, you know did go to games had people write about her go nose out You know, that was not me.
It happened to the wrong person. I hadn't been on a show I hadn't you know what I mean?
Well, I think that comes out in the fact that like some people handle it very well and don't give a shit Um, you know, you obviously know my situation. Yeah, people are always like well Why didn't you speak up and i'm like, well you start to look like fucking oj.
You're like, well, I didn't do it it's like Okay. It was also
like when it happened to you, it was a different climate and you were not the same person. If it happened to you now,
yeah, you'd be more equipped. I know how a lot more has happened. I know I would have the finances to handle it. Um, as well as like now knowing that so many people have been accused of things and, you know, Things have
and can recover from it and you had social media on your side and you have social media and you can speak your truth.
It happened to you when you also like it came, came out of nowhere. It smacked you when you were like building everything for yourself and you were young.
Yeah, and you don't know and there's there's really no playbook, but there are people who've dealt with it really well Like I think Dave Portnoy handle it very well, you know, people are trying to cancel him It's I think Rogan when he they were trying to cancel him handle it really well Dave Chappelle Like I just came out and spoke about it because you had a platform when it happened to me.
It was like 2011 Instagram wasn't even a fucking no, I know You know, Twitter, people were, I mean, I don't, I didn't use Twitter like that yet. Um, so it was very hard to deal with and, you know, you always pray that eventually the truth will come out. You get accused of something didn't happen at the end of the day.
I know no matter what happens, if the fucking world falls apart around me, I know it didn't happen. And to be accused of something or to be thrown into the situation where it's affecting you financially, And socially it
feels like your entire world. My entire identity was my job and career. Yeah So to think that that was at stake meant I was losing myself
Well, yeah, it definitely sucks Listen fast forward off.
Okay Okay, so let me tell
you so basically what happened it's funny. What happened was, um, you know, eventually I I was Depressed and sad and crazy for a few months, but eventually I did get my shit together and I did demand to find out why they reported the story and in that demand, we realized that they had reported it because they had received some sort of, you know, story or someone in that relationship had told them that we were together on a day that we like, we're not so
everything comes
out.
Most of the stories are no longer online. Um, but. The, like, I guess the silver, I don't know if it's silver lining, not for me, but I guess at the time, like, you get verified on social media, and then casting people call, and, and, and I hired a guy to scrub the internet, and he did, he actually did a really good job, but he said, Eleanor, there are 32, 000 articles that refer to you as a mistress or a homewrecker.
Like, you gotta do something else to be more famous if you really want to scrub the internet.
So is that when the calls you?
That was the first thing that I was like, okay, so maybe I should do like a TV show. That was like my first, um, and then all the other calls, like, I just didn't feel like You know, I don't I'm like too old to like live in a house with people
It's fucking obnoxious at 20.
It's fine, right?
Right or to like travel or compete for some guys or have men competing for my I like don't even know what i'm doing I would never feel comfortable making out on camera. Sorry to my producers. I don't think it'll ever happen
Yeah, but no, but I tell people all the time. I think there's definitely Levels to it, right?
Like I think what you're doing with the show is very cool because it's You It elevates your existing career and what you do for a living.
I hope it does. You know, I always say these shows that there are a lot of. I'm, I'm a broker's broker and there are a lot of agents who have take issue with these shows.
How long you been
doing it in?
Fifteen years. Okay. I have, there are people who take issue, there are agents that take issue with these shows. They feel that it sort of creates a, you know, a fantasy of what selling real estate is. It's not all luxury homes and it's not beautiful. But like, This is an aspirational show there.
There is a lot more. No one wants to see me showing like dirty, like roach infested walk ups on television.
Yeah, but at the same time, it's like New York is aspirational. You don't come here and be like, Oh, I'm going to half ass this. It's like, no, you've got to be all in.
And that's what I actually think they balanced.
They did really well. Um, but look, it's I compared to sort of like WWE, like it is, it is not wrestling, but it is athletic and it is competitive and it's entertaining. And so that's sort of what we're doing on this show.
Well, at the end of the day, they're trying to sell. I always said this, even when I was on TV, I know that they're trying to make a TV show.
So at the end of the day, they have a lot of money riding on the fact that they're trying to Make a buck here and keep people entertained So there's going to be shit that's going to be bent a little bit and twisted to make it a little bit more They're great
storytellers. I'm a good real estate like they did a good job in telling that story and packaging it I will say this The the stars aligned for me on this show like first I got the call from netflix They were sort of looking for a real estate personality You know, I know done and done done and done is adam develo Who's like they call him an uber producer, but he is a big deal.
He created the hills and laguna beach Yeah, so like shows that I grew up on And selling sunset which is like the number one unscripted franchise on netflix. So I was like netflix is not You A reality TV only platform. It's a platform that has like documentaries that I love. You're going to be on
anything nowadays.
It's Netflix.
It's the only, it's the only network. Big doc. Yeah. It's the big platform.
So Christy went through my, uh, My subscription the other day and she's like you're spending so much on subscriptions And I canceled everything but
netflix like no one 390 I mean every country every language. So to me I was like, there's this is a no brainer like this is actually my way to like Pay tribute to New York like it's sort of an homage to like my industry do sales So it's like I I was all in on this at first They sort of were like not sure they wanted to do a New York show I think they were maybe talking to me about the LA show, but i'm like a New yorker like I grew out of the concrete here.
So I was like, we're we're gonna do this
But when we had dinner, what was that april may?
That was a year and a half ago.
Wow. That was over a year ago.
Yes. That was their exploratory. That was like the first trip that they came out to just like,
but they really seem invested in you. They were like, she's great.
She's this. And I go, yeah, I think this will be like when I was sitting there with the one guy, he's like, what do you think? I was like, I think she's going to be great. Like, I think you're the type of character. And if anybody out there hasn't seen it yet, I think there's from what I know about you personally, you can go either way, right?
You could be soft, lovable. But at the same time. You're a boss ass bitch. I've always said that about you. I'm like, she's very smart. She knows her shit Whether it's politics and real estate and everything like you're very well read you understand a lot Um, you're very good at connecting the dots and connecting People.
So it's, it's impressive. And
yeah,
I haven't got to watch the whole show.
You're not the demographic. I forgive you, but you are my friend. Yes,
but I still want to see it. And I think it's, and this is what we were talking about yesterday, right? Me and you and Mike were talking. And I said, who do you think is going to be a standout character?
And you never know who The audience is going to take to the most, right? But you have, but you have this cast of beautiful women, right? So the benchmark is there, right? Everybody's beautiful. Everybody's like, Oh, I think she's the most attractive. It's like the fucking backstreet boys, like
Barbie's
who their favorite backstreet boy is.
Everybody will say something different. So who do you think? Um aside from yourself is going to be like a standout character in the show and that The audience is really going to take to like they're very relatable They're authentic because I think that's what people want these days, especially like rolling into 2025 Everybody wants authenticity.
Everybody wants somebody who's genuine. Who do you think is the most? the
show To me is authentic. That is the one thing that like I give a lot of credit to the producers It's a first season show is really hard to put on They spent a year and a half casting that that's what took the longest is finding the cast and like
did you help them find?
The girls I
did. Well, I I hired them. Yeah, right a lot of them work for me. I knew I knew jade I knew giselle. I I knew the guys. Um, No, I mean look Most of these TV shows have like huge ensemble cast of like 10 to 12 people. We have eight. Like that means that everyone really gets a moment to shine and share.
I think we have a very, very, very strong cast. Um, and they did, they packaged, look, they, they have to establish a setting, introduce you to like New York City. There's a lot to do. There's a lot to do for a first seat. Like, When, hopefully, we do a few more seasons, like, there's a lot more we can dive into, but like, character development we'll get into later, but just to set up the whole premise of the show, they did a beautiful job, and they did give us the Selling sunset beauty treatment.
They made New York look incredibly beautiful. I love New York. It is beautiful, but they made it look spectacular The real estate is amazing when we were watching it
this morning.
Yeah,
I go they did so many great I don't know if they flew a drone or a helicopter or whatever it was But the aerial shots of new york are awesome Unreal
unreal
like so they
did and they spent I mean they would spend hours like sitting on the brooklyn bridge overnight
Yeah,
like we have our the director time lapse videos.
The b roll is awesome. It's incredible There was an amazing team You know the the thoughtfulness the color correction um, and then in terms of the cast You know, I think there's a lot to learn about all of them. I am so lucky. I think I have an incredible team. They all bring something else to the table
Are they all local?
Like they're all here.
There are there are new yorker, you know, i'm the native new yorker I would say you know what? I love everyone You know Giselle is or is a jersey girl and I like jersey to me. It's like the sixth borough You know, I love jersey and I think it was actually really important to represent that as well Like everyone else on the cast, you know, she's got
that jersey edge to her
exactly Like they're the people on the cast have maybe been here 10 10 years, but like they're from atlanta nashville south carolina Minnesota like me and giselle are really holding down the like tri state area.
Yeah You
What are, what is something, because you, like we said, I mean, everything's aspirational for you. What do you think the best thing that could come out of this is like, do you continue to build your business? Do you go on to film more shows? Like,
I, I really love the, I mean, I love the city. I love what I sell.
I mean that sincerely, like there are some conflicts that come up on the show that I think still show how much I care about. My clients i'm not bullshitting when I sit at that lunch and I say that I don't care about the commission Obviously I care about the commission I like to make money But I certainly don't look at it when I run a search like I will search for the right apartment for my client I I mean that i'm long term greedy.
I want my clients to buy The seven apartments that an average person buys in their life. I want them to buy all seven with me I'm, not looking at like one deal. I don't care. There's no like slam dunk deal I meant it when I said to marissa in the show that I would show her Everything in the area because I think that like even if you know what you want, you need to see what you don't want Um, I do.
I hope you know, working on my own was really fun. I did that for the last seven years. I was an individual agent, which basically means it's just me and an assistant. And like, I felt no responsibility to anyone. I could like come in whenever I wanted. My business was great. You eat
what you kill.
It's great.
Having a team is different. You like worry about them making money and them getting along and you have to like mentor them and coach them and like now I am responsible to have meetings with them twice a week and show them my methods, my tracking sheet, my, you know, email organization, you know, my calendar, how I, you know, send listings and the background that I provide and I have to like share These 15 years and all that credit with that.
Yeah.
And what I, what I tell people all the time and what we talk about a lot on the show is the business side of things. You're really good at doing your thing. I, I always felt I was really good at training. I wanted to do that. Then when you get into managing other people, it's a totally different skillset.
And in any business, managing people is the hardest thing. Now you have all these other personalities. You have to kind of. Maneuver around these different archetypes and it's like you can't talk to this person the same way you talk No, when
people bitch about their job, they're usually bitching about people.
Yeah, that is the hardest. Oh, yeah So for me, yeah, i'm good at sales Like I know how to I can sell an apartment I know everything about new york,
but now teaching other people how to be good at teaching
being a manager Manage like I don't even have like that many girlfriends now. I have this like big get girl get.
Yeah. So like just that was hard for me like to be in these group chats with you know,
well, I think everybody's genuinely excited about the show when we're at the event the other night, all the girls who are on the show. There was definitely this persona and this feeling about them. They're kind of all like kind of floated through the room.
Do you feel responsible for a lot of that?
Kind of, I, I, I'm not competing with them. I want them to, I really do want them. I mean, there's no
shame in that, right? Because when I, like, when I do the event and everybody's smiling and having a good time, I'm like, You did it. I did it. You fucking did it. I did this I put this together.
I Broke my balls. I sacrificed my time and effort to make other people. Yeah, I
skipped my time my workouts my social to take them We did activities like this is a feels like a real cast because there is a real connection there They did not meet on the first day of filming like they're they really were working together and I invested in like dinners and holidays and introducing them to my life my circle and Yeah, I mean, look, there's this thing with men.
Men have this, like, wolf, wolf pack. Energy thing, you know that like I don't think women Mentality right like mentality that they'll like look out for each other and like they'll you know Like hit each other and then get over it like women aren't like that women I always say like women could rule the world if they knew how to handle conflict better Like they are so passive aggressive.
They use weird platitudes like so many girls fight with me on the show and they're like, you're nasty Well, like tell me what I did to upset you just tell me because like nasty makes you What is that? Am I dirty? Like, do you know what I mean? And so I really think that that's and like that is the one thing that I try to impart for them is that like We won't always get along.
We'll have disagreements, but like we can express ourselves without being like she's a psycho. She's a bitch She but you know
Well, I think that's why most of the reality shows are based around females, right? You have the housewives, you have, you know, all these other shows and they're so entertaining because at a moment's notice, you guys could be best friends and 30 seconds later, you guys could want to rip each other's eyeballs off.
I mean, there's a girl,
there is literally. In the first episode, my friend says, Eleanor is like my best friend, like a sister. And 10 minutes later, she's like, I'll have this fucking bitch's head on a platter. So it's, it's odd. But, um, yeah, I think
it's definitely a female. Trait for sure. Yeah.
I don't know.
Well,
I'd like to see. A little bit more camaraderie around it because when you think about it, right. The housewives are, it's always like this fucking war going on between these women and with you guys, it's like, you have to work together Right because if they make money you make money and vice versa So I invested in them.
I need them to make money and what I
will say proudly is that they are all making money
good
They are actually Showing up coming to the meetings taking notes learning Taking the leads that I'm giving them following through. I am proud. Do do I think that they will all be like superstar killer agent?
Maybe not. I don't know what life has in the cards for them. They could end up being reality. So you know what it is there, but they are amazing women and they're like supporting each other and they also like. We talk we don't we check in with each other, you know,
so there is another show on netflix. Yeah.
Yeah another Reality show about
did you watch that show? And no,
I didn't watch that Um, it's interesting that like people are doubling down on this. Why do you think people are doubling down on like? reality Real estate shows because it's a big, I mean, it's huge.
Well, first of all, you know, Real estate traditionally now.
It's a sort of an aspect boring
like to me. It's
it's not People are not boring. So by 20
million dollar apartment
Some could be boring, but they're like, you know, my buyers don't all look the same, you know They're not all like boring white men. They're like, you know, they're kooky, you know,
yeah
But, um, you're a client actually, technically,
technically, I wish I bought a 20
million apartment.
First of all, I think there's a, an interest in New York city. That's like, that goes without saying, but filming here is really hard. Um, and I'm happy. I think the more the merrier. I think like, it's good to have another show, like let people compare. I want, I, I, I welcome those things. And I actually really respect Ryan store hand and what he's built.
Yeah. It's great. Like I love other agents. I love going head to head even on a deal with another agent. I like leveling up So i'm I think that's good Um, but in general like look there are 1. 8 million people in the united states that are licensed real estate agents
Wow, was it really that many people?
Yeah, only 10
of them are closing deals.
Yeah, I was gonna say It's probably a very small portion
because it's a business that people always thought that they could get into As a side hustle or like to make some extra cash or like, let me like, be my own broker, my cousin's broker, they don't realize like, let's write my name and it's funny, it's like every other profession or advisor in your life gets paid hourly, your attorney, your financial advisor, but for some reason, like person that advises you on real estate, which is like the biggest purchase you'll ever make in your life is commission based.
So it can by nature, like, yeah. It has created a very transactional industry or people that think that like I would never in a million years be like, Oh, like, let me, you know, advise someone on one stock and like take a fee on it. You know, it's just like not my business. So it's odd to me that people think that they can get their license for like one deal.
Do you think, because I've felt this way in the last four years Do you think New York has lost a little bit of its
So they always say, like, the eternal optimists are real estate agents, because like, I'll never ship my own product. That would be like me asking you, do you think like fitness is like on the way out now that we have supplements and things like that?
But, um, no, I, I'm an eight. You know, this is my city. I'll go down with the ship and I've seen it through everything. I was here on 9 11 like the blackout. I will say that the pandemic was very scary. I thought that that was like there was a moment in June where it was like both the pandemic, the inability to work, which I think is what the city is the birthplace of like upward mobility, immigration, like pursuing a dream.
It is the most global city in the entire world. The 40 percent of the American population traces its roots to New York City like this is where people come to work. So taking that away from New York is like eviscerating the city and then doubling that within June there were all those like the Protests that occasionally got violent the crime.
I mean we went from like 10 to 15, 000 homeless people to like 80, 000 overnight. Basically the sanitation budget was cut that year. Like 2020 was pretty sad for New York. Um, which is like, so yeah, like I, but, but I don't think we like fell apart. I think that like New York still has a very strong. Comeback story.
I mean people always like laugh at me about like the members clubs and going out but like I think that's a big part of the comeback of new york you pay We suffer with a lot of inconveniences to live here. We pay very high taxes. We have very small apartments. We get like, you know splinters we have um radiators that like make noise, you know what I mean?
Like it's not a it's not an easy place It's expensive but like what we hope we get out of it is like The social aspect, the networking, you can go out in your shitty studio apartment and like hobnob with a billionaire, a team owner, like, and make that connection.
I always said, if the, if the goal at the end of the day, if the goal at the end of the day is to retire and go to an island.
Why aren't there more people in the Bahamas, right? You have 8 million people living on this island and you have about what? 400, 000 there maybe if that
you're so right
So people want to be here because of the people like that's what makes New York special. That's what makes anything special You could have a hole in the wall restaurant, but if it's got the right cook if it's got the right You know, Major D.
Who's ever there? Right? You think about something like rails. It's all the way up in Harlem. It's kind of, you know, it's not the best neighborhood. It's not the best place, but people go there because there is this like a lure. They remember you. They
know they take care of you. I don't care. There's some restaurants that I go to the like, I don't even know if the food's any good anymore.
I just like how i'm treated there.
Yeah,
or I like walking through the kitchen and seeing everyone, you know
I get so annoyed because now a lot of those restaurants have closed down since covid. Yeah, and that Nostalgic kind of old school, New York, like the Minetta taverns and the like, they're almost impossible to get into nowadays.
You know what? People underestimate nostalgia. It's actually the one thing that, like, in hospitality, I think that makes a restaurant perfect, whether it's music or a plate or a certain dish. So funny, like, I think what made Carbone such a successful restaurant is that they took this concept that like we love even in its mediocrity like an Italian restaurant.
Yeah.
Like your grandma's sort of Italian. We love it even if it's not that good and they don't treat you that well. But then they took it and they made it like exceptional. Fine dining, nice restaurants, but like I still, I'll go to like a, Shitty Italian place in Queens and have a great time on Sunday night.
I think it's a combination of things, but yes, what, what I really love is that warmth. It almost makes you feel like you're at home. I love the, um, a buddy of mine, Antons, right? You go to Antons. It's like, it's warm, it's cozy. It's like holding a cup of coffee about, you know, there's, there's that aura about it, that it's, it's comforting and you feel like you're at home.
I think New York, I don't. So I, yeah, I mean, do I think New York, do I discount New York? No, I think New York is the most resilient place in the world. I think it's come. I mean, do you? What do you think?
I don't know. I think you kept a pretty positive during the pandemic when I was like, Oh, fuck this. I just want to get out of here.
But you're like what made you were like what kept me positive. I couldn't work. You were rolling equipment into the park. And
I tell people all the time there was one building a business
in the park.
I think I called Christy at the time I, there was one morning, it was like seven in the morning and I'm wheeling this cart full of equipment and the cart was so heavy that the wheel broke off because I had kettlebells and dumbbells and all the shit and everything went all over the street and it was seven in the morning and I'm like, why am I doing this to myself?
Like this was like six months into the pandemic and I had already been doing classes every day And then I just like picked up all my shit. I put it back on the cart and I just kept
moving You kept moving. Okay. So like everyone says what is one thing you should do in new york? And I always say you should get beat up You should let the city like do that to you kick you in the balls on a cold day when you're like Phone is dead and like you're carrying bags and they rip like can you get through that?
You know,
I think I think new york builds the most resilient people for sure If you could hang here anytime friends move out or people move out. I always say it's like well, you just couldn't hang, right? You could you couldn't be strong enough. You couldn't cut it. Um,
so I think so for me like this show Yeah, I think I think this show like at least does My part right I get to like one I get to like You know, do a show showcasing what I love, which is like selling homes.
I built this incredible camaraderie and group of women. I get to hopefully erase some of those stories and never talk about what happened with that thing ever again. And then I got lucky in that I have this amazing production company and the biggest platform in the world. Making new york like the most aspirational amazing place and really like capturing that like Scrappy, you know the grittiness of the city, but also like the beauty.
Do you think you were built with? Built with that in you because you're from here like give people a little backstory like you're a an actual new I'm
an actual new yorker. So so I um I grew up in soho and most people think of soho and they think that that is a very nice Fancy neighborhood with a lot of Retailers and high end stores.
And it is that now and it actually became that when I was living there, but Soho used to be like a place for artists and my my parents are both like high school dropouts. My mom wanted to be an actress. And so they came to New York and like the village Soho in the late 80s. That's like where you go. And, um, you know, Soho there was a famous case of a guy of a kid named Eitan Pates Most people like don't remember but if you're a new yorker you do And that like really he was a little six year old kid who grew up in soho who like The first day walking to the school bus on his own was abducted and never found again And it like actually like paralyzed the city but like and has never this case has still never been solved Um ghost, which is a movie that we've all seen like he gets murdered and so right like soho was a gritty neighborhood I Um, I grew up on Broadway and I would never, like, walk on Crosby.
I thought Crosby was, like, so sketch.
No shit.
Yeah. So, like
Now you can't even afford to I know, like, Crosby's, like,
3, 000 a foot.
Yeah.
But, no, like, growing up, Crosby was, like, scary. Um, it was galleries, it was sort of, you know, it was like Everything is gone. I will say this like there are a few things that remain but everything is gone But but my mom was a single mom.
We had this great loft Um that she would like rent there was like there were two bedrooms in the loft She would rent them out so that we would like to random like college kids so that she could make rent I had one shower that was like on a loft. I had to like climb a ladder to take a shower every morning.
And she basically worked in restaurants. I mean, that's how you, that's like the easiest way to make money. So I was really like an only child, but I was like, Sort of just by myself. I had like a weird accent growing up. Like my mom was an artist So like I I was dressed sort of funny. Um, but like she we made a deal.
She was like if i'm gonna like Give you this opportunity We're not going back to israel Like you have to hold up your end of the bargain which is to do well at school and I did so it was a very Good. Pretty accomplished student. I was a good student. Yeah. Where'd you go? I went to Stuyvesant High School, which is like a specialized math and science high school.
But like, even before then, I was like a, you know, a good test taker and all of those things. Well, I
don't think I've ever asked you a question about New York and you didn't have an answer for me. Like the history of it and stuff. You're like a fucking encyclopedia for the city, but I guess for what you do, you have to be,
and you're the same about Jersey.
Yeah. I mean, not as much about, you
took me on that amazing tour of the shore. This I
tell everybody, I mean, that's my specialty. If I wasn't a trainer, I'd be a tour guide. By the way, before I
met you, Jersey was like Newark airport, Ikea. We would take bus rides to Ikea growing up. And, and, um, Six Flags.
Yeah.
The first Ikea in the States was in Jersey. was. Yeah, Jersey.
Until you discover the, because I loved when people were like, New Jersey shit, I never want to go there. But I'm like, good, stay out. Because now you can't touch property. As soon as people discovered what Jersey was,
like
you can't buy property.
Jersey
has the best beaches, the best glam, the best food.
I tell people I've been around the world and back. You know, I got to travel all through my twenties. I did a bunch of traveling through my thirties and I've been to beaches in Australia and South Africa and Brazil. And, and I'm like, If you ask me where I wanna fucking die, I wanna Jersey just sitting on a beach in New Jersey.
I don't care where on the Sho shore I wanna be. Sitting
Shore. Shore is nicer than the Hamptons and like, I think so too. So many celebrities that impacted our culture from Jersey. Like people don't realize. Yeah, lots of famous people from Jersey.
I, including
Kenny
I went to, I went to go see the Springsteen play.
I think the first year was like 2017 or 2018. I went like three or four times and he's telling the story of how he he's like, you know, I wrote Thunder Road and I talked about traveling and been around the world. He goes, I grew up in Freehold, New Jersey. He goes, and now. I live 10 minutes down the road.
It's like, here's one of the richest, in my opinion, the greatest rock and roll entertainer, celebrity artists, whatever you want to call them in the world. And it's like, you know, home is where the heart is. And it's, there's something to be said about that. Like you could go and live anywhere and you live 10 minutes down the road from where you grew up.
I
want to live in Soho, right? That's the goal. I want to go back there now that it's nice. But yeah, anyway, so like, so who sort of transformed, it was like, It actually, I glowed up at the same time Soho did, kind of, because I was like a little Well,
that's, I would, that's my next question. Okay, so I was You, you
I glowed up twice in life, I would say.
Once, um, elementary, middle school, I was super weird. And then, like, around in 2000, as Soho was like Would you
consider yourself, like, you were a fucking nerd? You were awkward. I was a total I
sat in the stairway and ate lunch alone. Every day I had no friends
now when people talk about shit like that.
Yeah,
you know There are a lot of people who are like, oh my god bullying. It's so bad Blah blah blah and now listen you bullying has created people who shoot up schools and shit like that But it's also built some of the best I think you
distinguish between like bullying and just like Normal feelings of rejection,
which I was picked on.
I was fat. Like I had people grab my tits all the time because I, you know, I was fat and out of shape. I got picked on a ton and it just made me want to be better. You know, there are some like anything else you're going to get people who react negatively to certain situations that they've been through and then other people who act positive towards them.
You know, there are so many people. Life
is not fair.
Every, every story
all the time,
every story that we love, you know, Rocky, uh, Rudy, all these stories of like sports figures or anybody, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, like all these guys weren't that good. They just were tough. They dealt with the bullshit. They got picked on.
I mean, whether it's fiction or nonfiction,
they overcame
the adversity. Yeah. And I think there's like. I don't promote bullying, but I'm saying I think it does build character in a lot of people.
I wasn't bullied, I wasn't beat up, but like, certainly I was talked about, I was rejected, and those, I think, are fine.
But that's a form of bullying, right, where people
are rejecting you, and that, like, I remember, Like it was yesterday a kid. I thought I was friends with my freshman year of high school now I used to wear my pants above my belly button. I had fucking big square glasses First dance freshman year of high school.
I walk in. I didn't really know any of the girls I grew up in Newark So there was like nobody from where I grew up all these kids from like Bayonne in Jersey City knew all these girls I walked over to the group and they're like, yeah get out of here I ended up, so my mom had dropped me off at the dance.
It was like a Friday or Saturday night.
So what do you do?
She's like, Oh, when you're done, I'll come pick you up. Cell phones weren't a thing. No,
I
jumped on the train and took the train home by myself and like sat there. And I was so upset. And I was like, I'll never let this happen again. Now I could have been like, Oh, I'm going to go back and fucking shoot everybody.
I'm like, no. I, I took the responsibility and felt, okay, what am I, what am I going to do to change my situation? Right. Yeah. So they perceive me a certain way. Right. So why don't I fucking change what I should be doing or what, what I think? Because, and then you'll have a bunch of people out there who say, Oh, well, nobody should pick on anybody, but that's not life, right?
Oh, there should be no war. No shit. There shouldn't be war, but there's going to be fucking war, right? And you got to prepare for it. You know, I pray for hope, but I prepare for war and that's why I do jujitsu. And that's why I work my ass off because in reality, yes, there's this. Ideology and this hope for a better tomorrow, but I don't think it's also every
time I've been beaten down Like I come back so much stronger It's crazy.
Yeah, I mean, there's a reason why our skin scars, right?
Yeah,
you remember it, you know, it's there And it only made you stronger by the way
I cried for six months after that whole thing And then I came back and I was like number one and then I was like, okay My biggest deal has been 40 million. I'm gonna go to 80
like it.
I've lost millions of dollars I lost countless nights of sleep the amount of shit that has built up and how many times I've felt like such a piece of shit because of what I went through, you know It just i've almost become numb to it almost to a point where i'm like Cold and almost bulletproof at this point.
Um,
Yeah jaded
to a point where i'm like, all right, you know, fuck this i'm just gonna do
that That is the one thing that's sad to me. I mean, it's part of adulthood.
Yeah,
it's like the loss of In a sense, but you know, it sucks.
Well, I mean, listen, I think you've just like the city, you kind of grew up with it.
You kind of glowed up with it. Um, and now here you are hanging out with the mayor, right? He's a buddy of yours. I've met him several times. Um, You know, how'd that all happen? Cause people, is he in the show? Are there ups?
He's not in the show.
Okay.
I think he, he filmed a scene in Netflix and ultimately like it just didn't work for the storyline.
And he's got kind of a bad rap here, right? There's a lot of people who shit on, you know, I'm a lot better. I don't know.
Does he, you know, I look at it this way, so I know him, I, I'm very good at separating the two as a friend. He's incredible, right? He's like, He's funny. He's loyal. He's charismatic. He's very charismatic.
He, he's an actual city kid. Like he grew up, you know, in Brooklyn and Queens. Those are things that are very important to me as someone who like watched the previous administration of like a mayor who was wearing a Red Sox hat and eating, eating Pizza with a fork and knife. It's nice to have like a mayor.
Yeah. I mean, that was like, you know, and, and also the real sin with the previous mayor was that he'd show up at the office at 11 AM, which is like, so not a New York quality, right? Like at least our current mayor wakes up at six, 7 AM every day.
I like, he's a fitness guy. Yeah, he's super into nutrition for you.
That's right for me. It's like, well, I'm, I'm always going to follow somebody who's got some level of discipline like that because with that comes a lot of other good qualities. You'll never meet somebody who's super passionate about nutrition and health and wellness and getting up and working out who's a slouch.
I look at that now. It's so important to me. So funny. I just hired someone and he yeah. Offered me two options. He offered me like to pay him a higher salary or a lower salary, but cover two training sessions a week.
I was like,
I'm paying for your fitness. That made me so happy.
Okay.
Okay. So how did I meet?
So, so the mayor, essentially, whatever, he was the supporter of my house. It doesn't matter. We, we met, we were friends. And then separately, analytically, I looked at it and I was like, there are 27 people running for mayor. I think this, this guy's going to take it. Like he was Brooklyn borough president for 10 years.
Like, if you can carry Brooklyn, you can carry the city. I really did believe in him. I, I liked that. He encouraged people to like, come back here and go out and like, be cool again. Um, Yeah, I mean look when you run a city with 375, 000 people like they're going to be issues and I like every New Yorker like We'll watch and wait and see how all this plays out for him But like, you know, he's I wouldn't count him out, right?
Like he's been beaten down before and he's been talked about and he is very resilient He also was a cop for many years. He knows what it's like to be like, fuck you. I hate you get your fucking, you know
I think there's I think as much as I shit on politicians, you have to be, again, so bulletproof in your own skin.
To deal with the backlash. I mean, you could be the best president. I think in the last 10 years or 15 years, let's say, I think Obama was very loved. And even he took shit all the time, all
the time.
And you know, there are, it's, it's funny because I've been to the last, like you have to UFC fights here in the city and Trump comes out and in that room, you're He's the most beloved character you could possibly imagine on the internet.
He's the most hated fucking person in the world Yeah,
I'm like look I it's funny because like I also can compartmentalize Trump I'm I know him if you're in New York or if you're from New Jersey Like he is a figurehead that likes all in the 80s and 90s like He was a caricature of New York and like he was brash and actually to his credit Trump or Management is a really good management company for real estate like they know how to run their buildings quite well
He's got a great team, right?
They there have been there are people that are incredibly loyal I would say all the like staff the doorman the porters the people that work in those buildings have 30 plus Years, so they're great But, you know, yeah, anyone, anyone is going to have ebbs and flows. The mayor's great. I mean, he's been a good friend.
We'll see what happens. I don't know. This is like, what's what I like about this is like, this is my time, my story. I hate when people try to like, think that any of this has anything to do with him or anyone else because it really doesn't like, there's no, I say this in the show, like, if they can't, they, they, they always try to rationalize my success.
Like maybe I. Slept with someone or I know someone or I don't have a rich dad. I didn't know anyone I did Find my way into the circle, you know, i'll say this like I I sat in the stairway I listened in seventh grade. There was an lfo song that came out about girls who wear abercrombie and fitch I literally went to the seaport to abercrombie and fitch because I was like dressed like a weird, you know I felt like my mom was dressing me.
Yeah, and I did I wore like a I brought a lifeguard wife beater You And like I had a cute little brawn, and I guess like, I don't know, I don't know what happened. Yeah, something happened. Like freshman year I walk in with like my tight pants, now like my, my big ass is like not offensive. You want it to be like really skinny.
Now suddenly like skinny wasn't that in J Lo was like fame. I don't know what happened, but something changed in the climate that I walked into school and suddenly like, One of the more popular guys was like, can I sit next to you? I was like, is that it? Is that all it takes?
That's all it takes Turn everything like a little
lifeguard thing so then I really and then like I was like cool and then and then my I asked my mom if I could have people over and suddenly like Soho wasn't a shitty neighborhood anymore.
Like the Prada store had opened there the apple store had opened there So now like I had people over at my loft And like my cool israeli mom like wasn't home because she was working and like people could smoke on my fire escape
Yeah,
suddenly I was like popular.
Yeah, I I think Going back to the whole idea of like having to be resilient, being in this city, when I first became a trainer from my parents to girls, I met out.
We're like, you're a trainer. Like it was looked down upon, especially in the city. Girls want to date a lawyer, a finance guy, somebody with a ton of cash and he's a trust fund baby. And when you tell people you're a trainer, they're like, then fast forward, you're so good
looking.
Yeah. But fast forward five, six years.
Yeah. But they look at you like you're broke. And most people are here like looking for money, you know, and not just looking for money in the traditional sense. Like, Hey, I'm going to marry this guy and look for them. They want to be like, okay, there's this other person, this other entity in my life who could provide and do all this stuff.
Yes. Most women are looking for providers in
New
York city,
of course. And. Fast forward, like four or five, six years. And now it's like being a trainer's cool. And there's these celebrity trainers, not like they train celebrities. They're actually celebrities themselves. And I watch this kind of grow. Um, but you have to kind of eventually, you know,
but you're the OG reality.
You are, you have the biggest platform of ever. I mean, no,
and you're not, I don't know. I know. I don't, I don't see it like that. I think, I think I've had, I've had my fair share of, uh, I want to say good luck, but I've also, it's very funny because, uh, one of the young ladies, Susie was, um, telling somebody, somebody was like, how's Kenny find time to do a podcast, do the show, open two gyms, do all this.
She's like, he doesn't do anything else. Right. You know, and I tell people that I go, I grew up very much like you. My parents were blue collar, you know, my mom really didn't even work. She had like some bullshit job. Uh, you know, my dad was a cop and then worked at a school. You know, we had, we really didn't have anything, anything I had, I had to share with three other people.
So it was never, I never had anything like you're on. Yeah. So it wasn't until I moved out, I was like 24, 25 and then I moved in with a girl and you know, now I'm sharing everything with her. I'm living this like single life at 30, where I'm like, okay, now I have all this shit to myself. Um, so
now it's your moment.
Yeah, but you own your gym. You have
your, but I had to break my ass and it's yours.
Yeah. And I think there's a lot of people that don't understand, like you've gotten to this point because you've dealt with a lot of bullshit. You know, and you've had multiple times where you're down and you're back up and you're down and you're back up.
So a lot of people are going to see the show and they're like, she's beautiful. She has everything. She's got a show now. Fuck her.
Well, they show in the first episode they show I'll show lots more pictures of me from the last 10 years Yeah, 10 years of my life. I didn't go out. I didn't socialize. I barely drank.
I didn't have sex I wasn't out at these members clubs. I was just working It was a grind like when everyone else on that first beautiful day in the spring wants to go and sit outside and have rosé and I was hosting open houses. I did not want to, and by the way, I had that choice. What drives
you to want to be like, cause you're invested in the reality in the real estate game.
Yeah. Like why you, because you love New York so much or why is it that you're so passionate? When I
want to be independent, right? Like I guess when I was 22, 23, I could have made the choice to just like,
But I think you're smart enough to not,
you know, but like,
you're smart enough to do any, I mean, I feel like you're the type of person who create a blog.
You could go work for originally,
I got into real estate really. Cause like, there's no cap to income. I, I, out of college, I got a traditional job. I was like 200 grand in debt because I had taken out student loans to go to school and I wanted, I worked at, Like E entertainment, but it was like 36, 000 a year.
Like, I'm sorry, but how can you live off of that in New York and like pay off 1, 000 a month in student loans? So that's why I originally got into it. But then it is a business that you can make your own. It is clients, it's client facing. Um, Every day is very different. You get to like, also like be a part of the city a little bit.
Like I can drive by now, you know, a corner and be like, I sold that retail space or I sold that apartment. Like, that's kind of cool. And it's really just like sales. People don't get it, but like sales is just decision making every buyer, right? Like it's just a decision. It's just a big decision of how you're going to spend.
And so it's like a lot of it is just understanding people and connecting with them.
Yeah. And yeah, I think there's a there's definitely a skill set in an art form to sales, especially when you're selling something so big Yeah, well, listen, i'm very excited about the show. Thank you. Uh, i'm very excited for this podcast to come out Okay, guys, if you don't already follow eleanor, it's eleanor on instagram and then check out Uh selling the city it's on netflix.
Uh, you could binge watch it on what january 6th,
january 3rd
January 3rd at midnight. Okay and go to
times square by the way I love the show. I'm so excited. I'm more, I'm more excited. I think it's super cool to have a billboard in Times Square. I mean,
I tell people, I think I just said this on the podcast yesterday, I had said that I thought I made it when I hosted a Jersey Shore episode and they had us do it from Times Square, like the TRL.
Studio that is a big deal. It was on the billboard outside and I was like, holy fuck. I've arrived. I'm this fat Kid from new jersey
and you're in time and now i'm in times
square. So yeah Well, listen, i'm very excited glow up guys. If you don't already like and subscribe, uh do so Share with a friend because sharing is caring for
keeping me sane throughout the whole process.
Of course. I hope
I wish you nothing but success. I hope everything works out. Very excited. Hope to see you guys all soon on the next episode of the strongest podcast.