Jesse Itzler is an American entrepreneur, author, and rapper.
[Family's Live-In Navy SEAL Identified]
New York Post. November 3, 2015. Jennifer Gould Kell. accessed February 9, 2016 He is the co-founder of
Marquis Jet
NetJets Inc. is an American company that sells Fractional ownership of aircraft, fractional ownership shares in private business jets.
Founded as Executive Jet Airways in 1964, it was later renamed Executive Jet Aviation. NetJets became the ...
, one of the largest private
jet card
A Private Jet Card is a private aviation product that enables holders to use different aircraft at agreed-upon fixed hourly rates. Jet cards are offered by large and small fleet operators and charter brokers. There are as many as 65 variables betwe ...
companies in the world, a partner in
Zico Coconut Water, the founder of The 100 Mile Group and an owner of the
NBA's Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...
.
[
]
Early life and education
Jesse Itzler was born on August 22, 1968 to a Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family and raised in Roslyn, New York
Roslyn ( ) is a village in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is the Greater Roslyn area's anchor community. The population was 2,770 at the 2010 census.
History
Ro ...
, on Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
, the son of Daniel Itzler, an inventor, and Elese Itzler, the president of the Roslyn Board of Education. Itzler earned his bachelor's degree in 1990 from American University
The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
. He later obtained a degree in justice, law, and society.
Career
Music career
After graduating from college, Itzler signed with Delicious Vinyl
Delicious Vinyl is an American independent record label founded by Matt Dike and Michael Ross in 1987 and based in Los Angeles, California.
History
Michael Ross was a student at the University of California, Los Angeles when he met Matt Dike, a ...
records as a songwriter/artist. He released his debut album ''Thirty Footer in Your Face'' using the pseudonym Jesse Jaymes in 1991. He co-wrote songs for various artists including Tone Lōc
Anthony Terrell Smith (born March 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Tone Lōc (), is an American rapper, actor, and producer. He is known for his raspy voice, his hit songs " Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina", for which he was nomina ...
. His first released single "College Girls (Are Easy)" while not ranking on the Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
chart did become a club anthem. This was followed by his second single "Shake It Like A White Girl", which did reach 74 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1991[Billboard Hot 10]
Original: Week of February 01, 1992, Referenced: February 22, 2011 and was featured in the soundtrack of the 2004 movie ''White Chicks
''White Chicks'' is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans from a screenplay co-written by Wayans, Xavier Cook, Andy McElfresh, Michael Anthony Snowden, with additional contributions by and starring Marlon Wayans and Shawn ...
''. In 1992, Itzler wrote and sang the New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
theme song "Go NY Go" as well as original songs for more than 50 other professional teams. Itzler wrote and sang the Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-winning song "I Love This Game" and also produced the theme song for ''Inside the NBA''. Itzler is credited with campaigns for Foot Locker and Coca-Cola.
Itzler's music partner was Dana Mozie, whom he met in 1987, a man described as being from a "strikingly different background... raised in the southeast section of Washington... as streetwise as Itzler was suburban," with whom he collaborated on several musical projects in his period as Jesse Jaymes.
Entrepreneurship
In 1996, Itzler co-founded Alphabet City Sports Records with his friend Kenny Dichter
Kenny Dichter is an American entrepreneur and the CEO of privately held aviation company, Wheels Up. He also co-founded Alphabet City Sports Records, Marquis Jet, and Tequila Avión.
Career
Alphabet City Sports Records
After graduating from ...
, the CEO of Wheels Up
A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be ...
. The record company is known for mixing classic arena songs with highlights of historical play-by-play calls for professional sports teams including the Wizards, the Mavericks, and the Lakers. In 1998, the company was sold to SFX.
In 2001, Itzler co-founded Marquis Jet
NetJets Inc. is an American company that sells Fractional ownership of aircraft, fractional ownership shares in private business jets.
Founded as Executive Jet Airways in 1964, it was later renamed Executive Jet Aviation. NetJets became the ...
, one of the largest private jet card companies in the world. Itzler served as the company's Vice Chairman until the company was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from ...
, parent company of NetJets
NetJets Inc. is an American company that sells fractional ownership shares in private business jets.
Founded as Executive Jet Airways in 1964, it was later renamed Executive Jet Aviation. NetJets became the first private business jet chart ...
, in 2009.
In 2009, Itzler created the 100 Mile Group, a brand incubator and accelerator. The company announced a partnership with ZICO Coconut Water and the Coca-Cola company in 2009. In 2012, ZICO was acquired by Coca-Cola for an undisclosed sum.[
In November 2015, Itzler released his book ''Living With a SEAL: 31 Days Training With the Toughest Man on the Planet''. The book was a ''New York Times'' Best Seller and ranked first on the '']LA Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' book list. He released ''Living With the Monks: What Turning Off My Phone Taught Me about Happiness, Gratitude, and Focus'' in 2018. Itzler is represent by literary agent Lisa Leshne of The Leshne Agency.
Recently, he has begun to pursue keynote speaking.
Atlanta Hawks
In 2015, Itzler and his wife, Sara Blakely
Sara Treleaven Blakely (born February 27, 1971) is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the founder of Spanx, an American intimate Clothing, apparel company with pants and leggings, founded in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2012, Blakely wa ...
were part of a group led by Tony Ressler
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
along with Grant Hill
Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player who is a co-owner and executive of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended Duke University and is widely considere ...
, Steven Price, and Rick Schnall
Rick may refer to:
People
*Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name
*Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality
*Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...
, that successfully purchased the Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...
for $850 million from Bruce Levenson
Bruce Levenson (born October 1, 1949) is an American businessman, former NBA team owner, and philanthropist. He was a co-owner of Atlanta Hawks, LLC (formerly Atlanta Spirit LLC), which owns and operates the Atlanta Hawks basketball team and Phili ...
.
Personal life
In 2006, Itzler competed in the USA National Ultra Marathon
An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are bot ...
Championship in Grapevine, Texas
Grapevine is a city and suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth located in northeast Tarrant County, Texas, United States, with minor portions extending into Dallas County and Denton County. The city is located in the Mid-Cities suburban region between Da ...
, successfully completing a 100-mile run in under 24 hours. Itzler finished 49th out of 80 in the SEA Paddle NYC 25 mile stand up paddle race around Manhattan in 2012.
In 2008, Itzler married Sara Blakely
Sara Treleaven Blakely (born February 27, 1971) is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the founder of Spanx, an American intimate Clothing, apparel company with pants and leggings, founded in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2012, Blakely wa ...
, the founder of Spanx
Spanx, Inc. is an American underwear maker focusing on shaping briefs and leggings, founded in Atlanta, Georgia. The company manufactures mainly pantyhose and other underwear for women and, since 2010, produces male underwear as well. Spanx spe ...
, at the Gasparilla Inn and Club in Boca Grande, Florida.[ The couple have four children and reside in Georgia.The Observe (London): "Sara Blakely: a woman with a great grasp of figures" by Zoe Wood]
March 10, 2012
References
External links
*Thirty Footer in Your Face
On March 10, 2008, ''The New York Times'' reported that Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer had patronized a prostitution ring run by an escort agency known as Emperors Club VIP. During the course of an investigation into the escort agency, the ...
on Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
Jesse's video interview with ''Crains New York Business'' in 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Itzler, Jesse
Living people
Rappers from New York (state)
1968 births
American University alumni
20th-century American Jews
People from Roslyn, New York
American sports owners
Jewish rappers
20th-century American singers
21st-century American rappers
21st-century American Jews