Celebrity Interview with

John Huntington

By Beatrice Davis

This interview was taken in Las Vegas and I was very happy to meet a man with such an interesting background and ambitions to make it big.

NSAEN: Tell our readers a little about John Huntington; the young kid growing up and what where your dreams and ambitions?

John H.: Well, I was a pretty average kid coming from a strictly catholic background and I went to Catholic grade school. I always got myself into some serious trouble because I hated it so much. My father was an entrepreneur who dropped out of high school in tenth grade. He started a restaurant Insulation Company and served all the major restaurant chains from Pizza Hut to McDonalds and he made it very big. He was a true entrepreneur and I really liked that about him. My dad never gave me a lot of money so I had to earn my money. When I was 16 my father gave me a car and told me “if you want to see this car move, go to work.” I however was smart enough to negotiate the deals and have other people do it and so I always get half the money. I have always been the negotiator from early on to make the business happen. It just seems to come naturally to me. I never went to school for it and I love the art of the deals and that is what drives me. However, I do not like the actual operation. I really can say I hate that part. That is why I always sell everything. As soon as the deal is done and implemented and it becomes more tedious I sell it. I really believe it is a natural skill I have and not sure how I got it, but it is truly a gift and it pays off now in the long run. My father was always the hard working guy and I am the one who just has that natural talent. My father always says; “I can sell ice to the Eskimos!”

NSAEN: Did you ever attend college?

John H.: Yes, I did go to college for one year on a scholarship and then I was kindly dismissed because of my lack of willing to wear shoes to class because I was just a surfer; I wanted to be barefoot. Sitting in school just didn’t make sense to me. I felt like the world was passing me by.

NSAEN: Did you ever think at that point that your life would turn out the way you are living it today?

John H.: Oh no, not at all. I was a ski patrolman and I was all about skiing, but eventually I wanted to do something different where I still could travel and meet a lot of girls. So I thought of bartending and that was almost like the natural evolution for me. It was a perfect choice since I love talking and meeting new people. For me it was the perfect job. I still miss it to this day. But for me seeing that I would become a promoter and entrepreneur I had no idea. I never even thought of it till it actually slapped me in the face and I became one. I went into bar management and from that moment on I thought I would do that for the rest of my life and then the next thing I know it came to this.

NSAEN: Have you ever competed in bartending competitions?

John H.: No. Back then when I was bartending it was not yet the high profile executed business and no competitions existed. Plus, I was working in such high volume bars that all you did was go in do your job and get out. We did not have time for preparing and practicing. The bartenders in our days are amazing and skilled and very talented.

NSAEN: After gaining experience working for Club Med Resorts you set your sights on the European Night Club industry particularly in Holland. What effect did this experience have on your life?

John H.: It changed everything for me. When I was working for Club Med in a club in Florida and I met this lady from Holland and she came in and we met when she was on vacation. Shortly after she moved in with me I helped her get a job and she stayed. From there we went on to go together to Mexico and stayed there and lived the perfect dream with horseback riding, snorkeling and just enjoying life. Then there came a point in our lives where we decided it was time to move on and head back to the States, but she could not get a visa. Generally it is very difficult to get a work visa. After some time she decided to sell everything and I ended up moving to Holland with her. We stayed with her family and I started working in a night club called Baja Beach Club in Rotterdam and I worked there for a long time. I started to visit the clubs in Amsterdam and at that time house trans was huge over there but not yet in the States in the 21 and over market. It was big in the rave scene but there were no straight 21 and over clubs doing house and trans and everybody was still in the disco revival era and it was just getting tired. My going over there changed my whole thinking of this disco scene into this wonderful house and trans music and I fell in love with it. When I returned to the States my partner also fell in love with the music style and we decided to start a Monday night club particularly since most people in this industry are off on Mondays and started with our first night house and trans club “Rubber” and here we are still today.

NSAEN: How do you control such huge crowds which can reach up to 10,000 attendees?

John H.: It is massive! My partner Damon and I have been working together for so long that we have blind trust in each other. I go in and negotiate all the deals, set up the hotels and I do the entire high level management task and he will take care of all the security, decorations, probing and the entire production site. We literally don’t know what the other person is doing, nor do we need to because we know we have each others back. That is the only way we can do it and handle the whole operation. We have a great director of operations by the name of Steve Norman and he runs all the day to day operations. We are here to run a business and we treat it as such. We’ve got a tight crew. We negotiate, organize and execute and that is how it basically runs. That is why we are such a successful company.

NSAEN: In 1997 you were nominated for an Emmy Award for the Levis Mammuth Mountain Concert Series. What Impact did it have on your business?

John H.: That was huge for me and I mean really, really huge. It put my resume on the spot. That was a big deal, considering I did not even go to the Emmy Awards. Even to this day people come up to me and ask me “is it really true you got nominated for Grammy and you did not even go?” At that time I just did not even care to go. I had a job and decided to take care of my job.

NSAEN: You trained in both Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and May Thai. At what point in your life did you start training in martial arts and why?

John H.: I started training when I met now my ex-wife. I always loved martial arts and water sports. Once I met this girl I knew I had to train in something to protect my family and one of my best friends recommended a Jiu Jitsu trainer from Southern California he had trained with in the past so I met with him and started training with him and really fell in love with the sport. It is such an intellectual art. It is a beautiful art and it’s amazing how much martial art changed me. It really put me into place and centered me. It made me a better person.

NSAEN: You also became a co-founder of the World Fighting Alliance a successful mixed martial arts cage fighting event. This show was voted as the number three show in the world. Why did you decide to sell it?

John H.: We came out with a whole different style of show. We organized it like a night club atmosphere with lasers, dancers and all the stuff. Our money people who were backing us then were going for way to many mega fighters and I mean massive fighters. Our fight budget total cost was somewhere around $200,000 per show. So when we contract the Hardrock with 1,500 seats with a $50 ticket price you are not going to make the money. The production was so expensive and brought us into the red numbers and the company started to run out of money. The UFC was coming hard on us and all the money went to them and basically it came down that we were at the wrong place at the wrong time. But we still had a lot of good fighters on track so the UFC still found it appealing and swept us up. That is why we sold it.

NSAEN: You have since become a partner in a new mixed martial arts event called “Total Combat”. Please tell us a little about it.

John H.: Yes, Eric and Diana my partners they wanted to take the production for the fight show to the next level, bring us on television and take the production to a complete new high level. Realizing the challenge, they were looking for a qualified experienced producer and at that time I was so in love with martial arts and told them I would love to come on and produce it if you give me a percentage of ownership. I really see the project going and see the high potential it carries especially since we are targeting the Latin market. We know this production will hit it big.

NSAEN: You and Carey Hart had differences in running the Tattoo shop as owners and co-producers. Did that lead to your decision to sell your partnership completely to Carey?

John H.: You know, I was in a position to create a new business and came up with the idea of a Tattoo shop. We did it and it got opened and after all the initial problems and headaches, I started to get bored. The shop was open now and daily operations was not my cup of tea and an opportunity presented itself to me to be an investor in two restaurants and two night clubs in Costa Rica and since Costa Rica is my first place of love for surfing and eventually I’ll consider retiring there, I decided to sell the tattoo shop and invest that money into the new Costa Rica projects. Was it a good decision? I don’t know. I was tired of Vegas and I had gotten a divorce and the tattoo shop as a television show labeled me as a tattoo shop owner when I really felt I had done so much more in my life. I sold everything in connection with the show and I am completely out of it now. However, I am working on a new reality show!

NSAEN: As a successful entrepreneur what are some of the challenges you have encountered and how did you overcome them?

John H.: First of all people are afraid of failing and not making it. I am, on the other hand not afraid of failing. As an entrepreneur if I fail I just keep going; getting up and doing it again. I take long walks on the beach going to the gym, running, surfing and go back to “my soul and my center” which has definitely has to be around water. It gets pretty bad at times and the last seven years I always needed something to go to sleep, such as Tylenol PM and finally I got out of it the last few months with centering myself and staying in the moment and not letting the past run my life. Once I get centered and focus on the new situation, it usually all works itself out. The past doesn’t bother me anymore and the future does not scare me either.

NSAEN: Has there ever been a day in your life when you were tired of the party scene?

John H.: Yes, I had the thought about four times already, but I always keep coming back. Last year I retired and moved to Costa Rica, but then all these opportunities opened up and I just couldn’t say no. It is in my blood and it is my life. I get bored and I need to be challenged all the time so I decided to come back and stick it out for a few more years.

NSAEN: Several years ago you took on a few acting roles, would you reconsider pursing an acting career?

John H.: My agent talks to me about this all the time and asks me if I would like to consider it. I have a real struggle with moving to that level of fame. I love my anonymity. One of my best friends is Chuck Liddell and I know what he has to go through every day and where he goes. I love the art but that is what scares me. It is a bit of a catch 22. I love the art, but if I do the art then I have to deal with this which I don’t like. If something great comes across, I would say yes but like I said I would have to really take a deep breath and consider it. I prefer to give back to the community and speak at music conferences, helping young promoters with advice and suggestions and working with charities, particularly charities with children. I love being a teacher and I love helping people.

NSAEN: You have a lot of tattoos. Do you still remember your first tattoo and why did you get it?

John H.: Oh, of course. It is on my right arm shoulder. It is a Cadillac symbol with a Cadillac that goes up into flames. I had a 1969 Fleetwood four door special show car that I built up from the ground which was the love of my life. I actually sold it and it is in the Museum in Dubai now.

NSAEN: Everyone has strength and weaknesses. What are yours?

John H.: My strengths are negotiating a deal and finding something that needs to be created. My weaknesses are day to day operations, women and my lack of wanting to work. When I am working a lot I want to surf. When I am surfing a lot I want to work. I am going back and forth and I wish I could concentrate 100% on one thing.

NSAEN: Any advice you can give young promoters?

John H.: Try to be the best you can in whatever you do. I have always strived to be best in every aspect. You have to be straight on the business, know your market, do your research and know who you target. Location is very important, know your product and get the contract locked in. It doesn’t matter if you negotiate a deal with a friend or just another company, get everything in writing and get it signed. Have your lawyers present it if necessary. Again, a contract is really important. Do your homework.

John, thank you so much for taking the time to meet with us to be interviewed by NSAEN. This was for sure one of the most interesting interviews we did and thank you for answering with such honesty and kindness.

We wish you success in your future ventures and hope we can interview you again to follow up on your success.