0:00 How Billionaire Toto Wolff Built Mercedes’ F1 Team Into An Auto Racing Dynasty
5:49 Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Bets Big On The XFL
15:10 How Brash Boxing Promoter Eddie Hearn Turned Matchroom Sport Into A Multimillion Dollar Company
32:13 How Maserati CEO Davide Grasso Electrified The Luxury Italian Automaker
43:25 Dany Garcia On The XFL And Her Business Relationship With Ex-Husband Dwayne Johnson
5:49 Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Bets Big On The XFL
15:10 How Brash Boxing Promoter Eddie Hearn Turned Matchroom Sport Into A Multimillion Dollar Company
32:13 How Maserati CEO Davide Grasso Electrified The Luxury Italian Automaker
43:25 Dany Garcia On The XFL And Her Business Relationship With Ex-Husband Dwayne Johnson
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MotorTranscript
00:00:00 [MUSIC]
00:00:03 I think it's obviously important to have ability and talent, but
00:00:08 I give more weight to determination, ambition, and obsession in what you do.
00:00:13 [MUSIC]
00:00:15 >> My name's Toto Wolf, and I'm the CEO and
00:00:18 team principal of the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One team.
00:00:22 [MUSIC]
00:00:24 >> Toto Wolf is one of the most successful figures in auto racing, but
00:00:27 before he was in auto racing, he was an entrepreneur.
00:00:31 When Toto Wolf founded March 15, he had no money.
00:00:34 And ultimately, his way of building the business was he would go to these
00:00:38 small burgeoning internet companies and basically say, hey,
00:00:42 I'll find you financing and in exchange, give me equity.
00:00:46 He did that with a number of companies and scored some pretty big wins,
00:00:49 like SMS provider UCP and game publisher, Joe Wood.
00:00:54 After that, he returned to his first love, racing, and also,
00:00:57 he started managing junior drivers.
00:01:00 And this got him connected with a company called HWA AG,
00:01:03 which was an engine provider for Mercedes' lower level racing teams.
00:01:07 And eventually, he got involved, bought 49%, and
00:01:11 helped take them public in what ended up being a 175 million IPO.
00:01:14 [MUSIC]
00:01:17 >> I was born and raised in Vienna, Austria, and I wanted to be a racing driver.
00:01:24 Formula One race is all about speed and performance, and
00:01:27 what I love in the sport is that the stopwatch never lies.
00:01:30 You know immediately when I've done a good enough job.
00:01:33 And I learned my most important business lessons in racing when I was
00:01:37 competing at the age of 18.
00:01:39 Without having funds, you need to raise sponsorship, and
00:01:42 that was pretty difficult.
00:01:44 So when I progressed into Formula One as a team owner in Williams,
00:01:48 I understood how important it was as a private team to raise
00:01:52 the necessary funds to be competitive and eventually win races.
00:01:56 [MUSIC]
00:01:58 I think being a racing driver is also about fitting in the car.
00:02:02 And since I've grown very tall in my early 20s quite late,
00:02:05 it wouldn't have been any way easy to race in Formula One because the cars are so
00:02:09 small.
00:02:09 [MUSIC]
00:02:18 >> I became team principal of Mercedes with a weird coincidence because I was
00:02:23 a co-owner of the Williams Formula One team.
00:02:26 And it was going quite well.
00:02:27 We won a race in 2012.
00:02:29 Top management at Mercedes asked me to assess why their team wasn't going that
00:02:33 well, and I tried to assess to the best of my ability, and they offered me the job.
00:02:38 That was a huge honor to run the Mercedes motorsport activities, but
00:02:42 I said to them that I've always been an entrepreneur and
00:02:44 I have a stake in Williams.
00:02:45 [MUSIC]
00:02:47 So they gave him an opportunity to invest in the team that was originally
00:02:51 set to be 40%.
00:02:51 Ultimately, it ended up being 30%, and
00:02:54 Niki Lauda ended up investing 10% as well, and later on he raised the stake to 33%.
00:02:59 [MUSIC]
00:03:01 >> We've won eight consecutive championships in Formula One, but
00:03:05 probably the proudest moment that I had was in 2014 when we finished first and
00:03:09 second, and the other team, Williams, where I was still a shareholder,
00:03:13 finished third and fourth.
00:03:15 And then I came back where I started racing with no money, and
00:03:19 finding myself 25 years later winning and placing the cars in the top four
00:03:23 position was a super important moment and made me really happy.
00:03:28 [MUSIC]
00:03:29 I think if you work in Formula One, you need to cope with pressure, and for
00:03:32 me personally, it's almost like my comfort zone.
00:03:35 I like the intensity of the race weekend and of the whole season.
00:03:38 >> Whether it's investment banking or racing, it's highly competitive, and
00:03:43 therefore you need to try to understand as good as you can and
00:03:46 then perform to your best levels.
00:03:48 [MUSIC]
00:03:58 >> When you meet Toto Wolff, one of the first things that stands out is how
00:04:03 magnetic he is.
00:04:04 He seems to command attention when he enters a room, and
00:04:07 also he's extremely, extremely charismatic.
00:04:10 He's obsessed with perfection, and he's also really precise,
00:04:13 which even spills over into his daily life.
00:04:15 [MUSIC]
00:04:18 >> I'm traveling to 24 races a year with more than 500 hours of flying, so
00:04:21 I need to stay disciplined in terms of sleep, nutrition, and my life pattern.
00:04:28 So I'm always eating the same things for breakfast, for lunch, and
00:04:31 in the evening, trying not to upset my system.
00:04:33 And wherever I am, I'm eating the same things.
00:04:36 And for breakfast, it's a pumpernickel bread,
00:04:39 two slices, heavily toasted, so it's like a cracker.
00:04:42 Butter, a slice of ham and a tomato on top, and
00:04:45 all of that with a cappuccino and sparkling water.
00:04:47 [MUSIC]
00:04:50 >> When he believes something, he says it, and he's not afraid to own his failures,
00:04:54 or take credit for his successes.
00:04:56 [MUSIC]
00:04:58 >> I think what made us successful over, and
00:05:00 sustainably successful over the last ten years, was our culture and our values.
00:05:05 We are brutally honest with each other,
00:05:07 by still creating a safe environment where you can speak up,
00:05:10 where you can point to inefficiencies and improve.
00:05:13 It is all about integrity and honesty, and
00:05:16 I'd rather give up a championship than failing to these values.
00:05:19 [MUSIC]
00:05:22 Formula One has always been the largest global sport that races every single year.
00:05:27 Real success for me is to have a happy family, have a great marriage and
00:05:32 three wonderful children, and that is the cornerstone of me being.
00:05:36 So long thereafter comes my professional life, and
00:05:39 that is being successful with the racing team, winning world championships, and
00:05:42 creating a structure and a team that is sustainably successful.
00:05:46 [MUSIC]
00:05:50 >> The XFL, when you think about it, you think about that league that Vince McMahon
00:05:55 came out with in 2001, where it started off, had a lot of momentum,
00:05:59 then it turned gimmicky, came and resurrected in 2020.
00:06:03 Went through a bankruptcy because of the pandemic and
00:06:05 now it's back with a powerhouse group.
00:06:09 You're talking about Redbird Capital and Jerry Cardinal,
00:06:12 you're talking Danny Garcia, and then you're talking Dwayne Johnson.
00:06:15 The Rock, right?
00:06:17 Can the XFL exist under this powerhouse?
00:06:20 They already got through year one in the XFL championship.
00:06:23 The momentum is there, now can they sustain it?
00:06:26 Forbes went into detail to find out, looking into the business of the XFL.
00:06:31 [MUSIC]
00:06:37 Danny Garcia and The Rock's relationship, you're talking about a couple who was once
00:06:41 married, now divorced, and they still remain business partners, right?
00:06:45 And Danny Garcia, you have a powerhouse woman.
00:06:47 She was able to help him build a career for himself, and now here they are,
00:06:50 business partners,
00:06:52 aligning with one of the more interesting sports properties in the XFL.
00:06:56 Danny Garcia's a good fit for this particular project because she has
00:07:00 a vision.
00:07:01 It was her who made the crazy phone call to Dwayne Johnson to pitch him on this.
00:07:05 >> We had talked about the league right at the beginning,
00:07:08 because we were watching Vince do it.
00:07:09 And I was like, man, I'm telling you, I wish Vince had invited us in.
00:07:13 So I spent a period of time doing my research to say, okay, what do we got?
00:07:17 What's the process?
00:07:18 What's the numbers?
00:07:18 Does it look real?
00:07:20 Sitting on it, I knew that property, I knew what I could do with that property.
00:07:23 I knew the brand architect, the storytelling.
00:07:26 So I had to get that in my head, and then yeah, and then call DJ.
00:07:30 You don't call Dwayne Johnson and say, I have a decent idea.
00:07:33 It's gotta be big and important and meaningful for him and
00:07:37 life changing to the people, and that's what this was.
00:07:40 >> When Danny first came to me and said, hey, let's buy the XFL, I said yes.
00:07:43 I needed the XFL because football didn't end on my terms.
00:07:50 I didn't go out in a blaze of glory, big retirement.
00:07:55 The NFL was my dream.
00:07:57 Football was gonna be the thing that I was gonna be able to buy my parents their
00:07:59 first house, buy my mom anything she wanted.
00:08:03 And when that didn't happen, that crumbled for me.
00:08:06 And there was something psychologically that I realized that I hadn't dealt with
00:08:11 because football didn't end on my terms, that the XFL wound up giving to me.
00:08:16 >> What the XFL is for Dwayne Johnson is an opportunity to present opportunities to
00:08:22 those guys who may not get the opportunity otherwise, right?
00:08:26 That's what the XFL is to him.
00:08:27 He's taking it and wearing it on his sleeve.
00:08:31 >> These players are player 54.
00:08:32 53 men on an NFL roster, I was always number 54.
00:08:37 DJ, you're good, but you're not good enough.
00:08:39 So your dream ends here.
00:08:41 The fucking chip that that put on my shoulder,
00:08:43 this is the same chip that these players have.
00:08:46 The thing that made it the easy yes was, but wait a second, I never had this shot.
00:08:51 I wish I had the XFL when I was coming out of Miami.
00:08:54 Man, this would have been amazing for me.
00:08:56 Let's do it.
00:08:56 Let's create that.
00:08:57 League of opportunity for players.
00:08:59 [MUSIC]
00:09:02 >> Dwayne Johnson, Danny Garcia, Jerry Carter, they reformatted.
00:09:06 They went to the NFL and they said, let's be partners in this.
00:09:09 And so you can see the XFL could be a developmental league for the NFL.
00:09:13 And if that's the business, then perhaps it can work this time.
00:09:17 >> The NFL was my goal and dream.
00:09:19 And there's incredible amount of boundless respect that I have for the NFL.
00:09:26 That first iteration of the XFL, the setup was different.
00:09:30 It was combative with the XFL.
00:09:32 That was a decision that Vincent made at that time.
00:09:35 But this time around in this iteration, we went to New York and
00:09:39 we sat with Roger and Troy Vincent and their counsel.
00:09:43 And said, we come to you with our hat in hand.
00:09:46 And we're not looking to compete.
00:09:48 There is no competition.
00:09:50 This is the league and that's the shield.
00:09:53 Whether XFL wins or not, I personally,
00:09:56 I'm always gonna protect that shield because that was my dream.
00:09:58 And so we said we'd love to find a pathway to partner up here
00:10:03 to grow the game of football because we love the game of football.
00:10:06 That was one of the main anchors and
00:10:09 the differences from that first iteration, early 2000s, the XFL to this one.
00:10:14 We came to that meeting with a lot of love and a lot of respect.
00:10:16 [MUSIC]
00:10:18 In Arlington, Texas is where the XFL places their hubs.
00:10:23 This is a league that has eight teams and
00:10:27 throughout the week they practice in this hub in Arlington.
00:10:30 It's good from a cost standpoint because now you don't have teams all over the place.
00:10:35 I had a chance to catch up with Russ Brandon, the president of the XFL.
00:10:40 We were able to talk about the business, the overview, and
00:10:43 what the XFL is planning, not only after year one, but in years to come.
00:10:48 To have the opportunity to work with so many great people on a daily basis,
00:10:52 as I call it, eight spinning plates at one time down here when we're rolling during
00:10:57 the season, I was a nervous wreck about the logistics.
00:11:00 You've got 25 charters, you have buses, you have 18,
00:11:05 700 athletes in hotels around this community.
00:11:09 All your meals, all your workouts, practice, team meetings,
00:11:14 individual meetings, and this has all gotta be seamless at one time.
00:11:20 The product on the field could not have been better.
00:11:22 I could not be more pleased with how these guys executed it.
00:11:25 And that started from when we hired our coaches back in May of last year, right?
00:11:30 And you see the roster of coaches that we have.
00:11:32 We have over 150 years of NFL player personnel experience.
00:11:37 To get to this point, to be here Saturday night in San Antonio and
00:11:41 watch two great teams with two great coaches come together,
00:11:44 it'll be a little bit emotional, I think, for a lot of people.
00:11:47 Because people have put so much into this.
00:11:49 This has not been a one year undertaking.
00:11:51 We've been building this for three years.
00:11:53 We will continue to be growing.
00:11:55 We're in this for the long haul.
00:11:56 This is a long term play.
00:11:58 Now we have staffs in each market, business staffs,
00:12:01 that'll be engaged in the community year round.
00:12:04 We'll have player activation, coaching activations.
00:12:07 I think the DART staffs did a hell of a job this year, quite frankly.
00:12:10 In the time frame that they had to work,
00:12:13 now we've got that whole calendar year we can focus on that.
00:12:16 And we have over 80 players at this point that are going to the NFL for
00:12:20 different tryouts, because eight of our teams are done and
00:12:23 we have two left for the championship game.
00:12:25 And that's what we stand for, to provide them that opportunity if that's what they
00:12:29 choose to do, to watch people chase their dream, whatever that may be.
00:12:34 That's what this league's about.
00:12:35 >> To tell the story around second opportunities or first opportunities,
00:12:40 there is a uniqueness about it.
00:12:41 The XFL is providing that and it does have a crowd.
00:12:44 And if you don't believe that, just look at the 20,000 people who showed up at
00:12:47 the Alamo Dome on May 13th for the 2023 XFL Championship game.
00:12:52 Again, the first one since 2001 when the XFL was born.
00:12:56 [MUSIC]
00:13:02 At the Alamo Dome, you get a sense that there's a lot of anticipation for
00:13:06 this game, a lot of nervousness.
00:13:08 Dwayne Johnson shows up, Danny Garcia shows up, Russ Brandon is there.
00:13:12 They have to pull this off, they have to make sure that it's magnificent.
00:13:15 They have to make sure that the fans got what they paid for.
00:13:17 They have to make sure that this presentation, which is shown on national
00:13:20 television, is everything that it lived up to be,
00:13:23 because they have seasons to worry about afterwards.
00:13:26 >> Look at what one decision created,
00:13:30 like one really powerful decision and a whole bunch of amazing people.
00:13:34 Our two teams and all our athletes, they're so
00:13:37 passionate about this moment that they got here.
00:13:40 Everyone's like, okay, this is XFL 4.0, this is XFL 1.0 for me.
00:13:45 We dream about our wedding day, dream about having a baby,
00:13:48 having those experiences.
00:13:49 But no one can prepare you for a championship game when you own a league.
00:13:53 >> I have been feeling this surreal thing for
00:13:56 some time now, ever since we bought the XFL.
00:13:59 But coming to this particular event, championship game,
00:14:03 we've completed the season.
00:14:05 And that was, in itself, one of our goals.
00:14:08 Historically, spring football hasn't worked.
00:14:11 So my goal was, can we get through this season?
00:14:14 What does that season look like?
00:14:15 So now we're here, championship game, it's a special feeling.
00:14:19 >> I think the bet is a crazy bet, but not a bet that you can't win.
00:14:25 Expansion right now, within that single entity, is the name of their game.
00:14:28 You wanna go from eight teams to 12 teams.
00:14:31 They're trying to work small, keep everything cost efficient, so
00:14:35 they can build a business.
00:14:36 That was a challenge in itself.
00:14:37 You get through year one, and the rest is sky's the limit.
00:14:40 >> I understand the skepticism, cuz that's always gonna be there.
00:14:45 But for me, we just gotta truck through it and continue to do what we do.
00:14:50 And it'll all shake out how it's meant to shake out.
00:14:53 And if we do good, if we find some success,
00:14:56 if we do some good things in this first season, great.
00:14:59 We're gonna learn from it, and we're gonna move on.
00:15:02 If we fail, then we're gonna learn from it, and we're gonna move on.
00:15:06 [MUSIC]
00:15:11 [MUSIC]
00:15:18 >> Matchroom is a family business built out of passion for live sport.
00:15:23 Built out of the fundamentals of sport, for competition, for legacy, for
00:15:27 greatness, for putting a smile on people's face.
00:15:31 Now that's key for us, is not just to deliver for athletes, but to deliver live
00:15:35 events and content that the viewer watching on platform or live in the arena
00:15:40 can leave with a smile on their face and realize the true beauty of sport.
00:15:44 [MUSIC]
00:15:47 >> Eddie Hearn is the chairman of Matchroom Sport,
00:15:49 which is a British event promotion company.
00:15:51 It was founded by Eddie's dad, Barry, in 1982.
00:15:54 And they cover all sorts of sports like snooker, darts, nine ball, and
00:15:58 eventually boxing, which Eddie revitalized over the years.
00:16:01 >> When I moved to the company, I took the golfers that I was representing
00:16:06 on the PGA Tour and European Tour from another company to Matchroom to set up
00:16:11 a golf division.
00:16:12 Boxing was a tiny, tiny part of the business.
00:16:15 Our biggest business probably was the emergence of online poker.
00:16:19 And we were in charge of putting together all the major productions globally for
00:16:24 televised poker.
00:16:25 And I took over the poker department, and we grew that to a substantial size,
00:16:29 to the point where virtually every televised poker event that you would see
00:16:34 was a Matchroom production, and it made us a lot of money.
00:16:37 We like characters, we like creating content, we like creating formats,
00:16:41 we like creating compelling TV.
00:16:43 If by sports, even better.
00:16:47 But I looked at poker, and I looked at the characters and
00:16:49 the personalities of the players, and
00:16:52 just believed that we could create something fun.
00:16:55 We could create great content, great narrative, great storylines.
00:16:59 I think one of the reasons we've been so successful in sport is through building
00:17:03 those characters, those personalities, and those storylines.
00:17:07 Now all great sport events have great narrative, and
00:17:10 that's something we've been very successful with.
00:17:12 And in poker, the characters were some of the best we've ever worked with.
00:17:15 >> Eddie's impact has primarily come in boxing, which Matchroom had boxing
00:17:20 operations, but not to the level that Eddie has transformed it to.
00:17:23 Barry Hearn is Eddie's dad, an accountant by trade.
00:17:27 He founded Matchroom in 1982, and he told me that was because he was bored.
00:17:31 He had been buying up snooker halls around England, and
00:17:34 that had become a pretty viable business for him.
00:17:37 And he had become close friends and
00:17:40 worked with former world champion Steve Davis.
00:17:43 And they had seen a real interest in the sport, and from there,
00:17:46 they found they could just promote those events.
00:17:47 And one thing led to another, one sport led to another, and
00:17:51 Matchroom eventually became the company that you see today.
00:17:54 When Eddie joined Matchroom in 2000,
00:17:58 the firm was pulling in roughly 1 million in profit on 10 million of revenue.
00:18:02 >> I was playing a poker event, the World Series of Poker, and
00:18:05 I bumped into Audley Harrison, who was the Olympic gold medalist, heavyweight.
00:18:09 Tried to kind of guide his own career and lost, and
00:18:13 kind of was a bit of a dead end in his career.
00:18:16 And we just started talking, and he said, could you promote me?
00:18:19 I said, I don't work in boxing.
00:18:20 He said, I know, but I know Matchroom do a few shows here and there.
00:18:24 So I said, look, I could take you into Prizefighter,
00:18:27 which was this tournament we were doing, and
00:18:28 then you could fight for the European title.
00:18:31 And if you win that, you could fight David Hay for the World Heavyweight title.
00:18:35 And he sort of said, really, can you do that?
00:18:36 I was like, yeah, 100%.
00:18:38 And left that conversation, phoned my dad, who wasn't an Audley Harrison fan.
00:18:43 And he just said, look, you're on your own.
00:18:44 We went out, he won Prizefighter, he won the European title, and
00:18:48 then he fought David Hay for the World Heavyweight title.
00:18:51 We did that fight, it was a disaster.
00:18:53 It was a complete mismatch.
00:18:54 Audley Harrison didn't throw a punch.
00:18:56 We made some money, Audley made seven figures, and
00:18:59 I said, that's me done in boxing.
00:19:00 All of a sudden, all the fighters started calling me.
00:19:04 Would you represent me?
00:19:04 So all of a sudden, next we've got Karl Froch, who is the world champion,
00:19:10 Darren Barker, Kell Brook, three of the best fighters in the UK wanting to sign
00:19:14 with me, I was all of a sudden in front of all the cameras at the press conferences.
00:19:18 Selling this fighter, I was mid-20s or late-20s and
00:19:23 didn't really know what I was doing, but I was a breath of fresh air in boxing.
00:19:27 I mean, I've seen everything that you could ever see in boxing.
00:19:31 And I never felt that I would necessarily become a boxing promoter.
00:19:36 But Mattrum had a great reputation in boxing, but British boxing was dead.
00:19:42 No one was trying.
00:19:44 There was our broadcaster, which was Sky Sports, had four promoters,
00:19:48 which was Mattrum, Frank Warren, Ricky Hatton, and Frank Maloney.
00:19:53 No one liked each other, no one was really trying.
00:19:56 The industry and the old guard didn't like me, but all of a sudden,
00:19:59 this young kid's coming in whose father's a Hall of Fame promoter,
00:20:03 saying he's gonna rip up the script of boxing.
00:20:05 And then I went to our broadcaster, I said, you need to get rid of everybody and
00:20:09 just sign an exclusive deal with me.
00:20:11 And they said, we don't do that.
00:20:12 We've got our four promoters, it's never gonna work.
00:20:14 None of them have any ambition, and none of them like each other.
00:20:17 You need to get rid of them and give me the exclusive deal.
00:20:20 I said, I'm gonna show you what I'm gonna do.
00:20:22 And I went out from local leisure centers, started building big fights in big arenas,
00:20:27 seven, eight, 9,000, creating big numbers and big audiences on Skype for boxing.
00:20:33 And when the deal came up, six or eight months later,
00:20:36 they got rid of everybody and gave me the exclusive deal.
00:20:39 From there, Eddie did things like embracing social media,
00:20:42 putting boxing in stadiums more often, embracing the celebrity in women's
00:20:46 fighting spaces, and ultimately, eventually tried to crack the US market and
00:20:50 brought fights to the Middle East.
00:20:51 >> We don't sit here and profess to be Albert Einstein,
00:20:57 but we know that you will never outwork us.
00:21:01 And he keeps it simple.
00:21:04 If things start getting a little bit tough, he just says,
00:21:08 make sure you go to sleep an hour later and get up an hour earlier and work harder.
00:21:12 It was a very unforgiving development that I had.
00:21:16 I had a nice house, but it was just drilled into me from day one.
00:21:23 Work, work, work, work, work.
00:21:25 Don't give in, don't let them get you down, just outwork them and outperform them.
00:21:32 And when you have consistency, and when you have ability, and
00:21:35 when you have a drive that is unbeatable, you can't lose.
00:21:39 It's just a case of playing the game over time.
00:21:42 >> Forbes estimates that in fiscal year 2023,
00:21:45 Matchroom posted revenue of 365 million and
00:21:48 a net profit of 60 million across the entire business.
00:21:52 Dizone is a streaming service that has strived to be the Netflix of sports.
00:21:56 They've bought up all sorts of different sports rights around the globe, and
00:21:59 their partnership with Eddie and Matchroom was a means to enter the US boxing market.
00:22:04 In 2018, Eddie and Matchroom, to a degree,
00:22:07 shocked the boxing world by signing an estimated $1 billion deal with Dizone.
00:22:12 Dizone has had a bit of a rocky course, but has more found its footing of late,
00:22:15 and they operate globally.
00:22:17 They have all sorts of different sports rights around the world.
00:22:20 But this deal was supposed to be Eddie's entrance into the US market.
00:22:24 This was going to bring the successful things he had done with Matchroom in
00:22:27 the UK overseas into America.
00:22:30 >> When you're putting on a fight, there's a lot more risk than,
00:22:34 let's say, when an NFL team plays a game.
00:22:37 And that's because if you're the New York Jets, even if nobody watches the game,
00:22:40 you're still going to get your share of the media rights money that
00:22:44 comes down from the league.
00:22:45 Whereas in boxing, the event has to make money or exceed that to reap the rewards.
00:22:50 Now, promotions and
00:22:53 broadcasters have gotten pretty good at working with other companies to project
00:22:56 out how many pay-per-views they can actually sell, and they can get it
00:23:00 to a pretty good margin so that they can prepare for the worst and hope for
00:23:04 the best.
00:23:05 And that makes it so it's hard to kind of completely miss on a fight.
00:23:10 But there's a risk there, and they're taking a risk.
00:23:13 The US is one of the richest, loudest, noisiest sports markets on the planet.
00:23:18 There are so many different things competing for eyeballs,
00:23:21 whether it's professional football, basketball, or whatnot.
00:23:25 And boxing already has its own established presence here.
00:23:28 So for him to say he was going to come in and take it over,
00:23:31 essentially it was a bold claim.
00:23:32 >> We've been with Sky for decades in boxing, and
00:23:36 they were a fantastic broadcaster.
00:23:39 But our vision had changed from a British promoter to a global powerhouse.
00:23:44 We wanted to replicate the success of the UFC and
00:23:47 the WWE to become a global promoter.
00:23:50 We wanted to go out and do individual broadcast deals in new territories,
00:23:54 create government interest, and start taking our brand globally for boxing.
00:23:58 The Zone shared that passion and that vision.
00:24:02 They had a platform globally that could be used and
00:24:05 would invest in different markets that were key to our expansion.
00:24:08 So UK, we did a big US deal.
00:24:10 All of a sudden we're doing six shows a year in Mexico, Italy, Spain,
00:24:14 Australia, the Middle East.
00:24:16 And the only way we could move forward with that global vision was to do
00:24:20 the deal with The Zone in the UK space.
00:24:24 And obviously, financially, it was a huge deal for
00:24:28 us that really changed the look of our business as well.
00:24:31 So it was a difficult decision because we took a risk, if you like,
00:24:34 in terms of the exposure to follow the growth, and we believe in streaming.
00:24:39 We believe that streaming is the future of live sports.
00:24:42 And I believe that OTT platforms are also the future of live sports as well.
00:24:47 I just believe that the way the new generation
00:24:51 digest content is now completely different.
00:24:55 We know that people do not sit at home in front of their big screen
00:25:00 like they used to.
00:25:01 They want to watch content on the go.
00:25:03 They wanna watch it via their handset.
00:25:05 I'm a strong believer that that's the future of broadcast.
00:25:08 You only have to see the next generation.
00:25:10 >> When it comes to fight fans, the sentiment can be mixed.
00:25:15 But when it comes to other promoters, especially here,
00:25:19 it seems that there's no love lost for Eddie Hernandez-Machroom.
00:25:22 And part of that stems from the The Zone deal and entering the US market.
00:25:27 He's someone who has never been afraid to play the villain and
00:25:31 to be in front of the camera and to piss people off.
00:25:34 So naturally, people aren't gonna like you when you do that.
00:25:38 >> I mean, everybody likes to be a hero.
00:25:40 I receive a huge amount of criticism, and a lot of it's my own doing.
00:25:45 I'm very outspoken.
00:25:46 As you've seen today do 50 or 60 interviews a day.
00:25:50 I'm going to say something that's gonna piss somebody off.
00:25:54 And the way the Internet works, the way headlines work and
00:25:57 click bait works of all these different outlets, you're gonna upset people.
00:26:01 When I went into America, the strategy was to upset people quickly,
00:26:06 to build a profile, to create noise, create interest.
00:26:09 I'd like to be a hero in terms of the time and
00:26:14 the sacrifices I've made for the sport of boxing.
00:26:17 I love boxing, it's my life.
00:26:20 And I've given a lot of my life to boxing.
00:26:22 And I make a lot of sacrifices for boxing and for the business.
00:26:26 But at the same time, I've no problem being a villain.
00:26:28 And every market that I go into, they try and get me out ASAP.
00:26:33 So when I came into the UK, there's a very famous photo of all the current
00:26:37 British promoters who all hated each other.
00:26:40 And they all put their hand in the middle in this picture and
00:26:42 they said, a united front for British boxing.
00:26:46 And then there was Eddie Hunt, and that was it.
00:26:48 And that's the same in America now.
00:26:49 Oscar De La Hoya, Bob Arum, Al Heyman, Leonard Elaby.
00:26:53 They're all talking with voice to say this, say this, keep the pressure on.
00:26:58 He won't be able to handle it, cuz that was the thing in the UK.
00:27:02 It was like, we're just gonna break him.
00:27:04 And they never did.
00:27:05 And now in the US, they're trying to do exactly the same thing.
00:27:07 Keep the pressure on, force him out, turn the fans against him.
00:27:10 But I don't realize one how good I am, but
00:27:13 also the power I have across my platform.
00:27:16 They can't work like me.
00:27:18 So I'll do as many interviews as it takes.
00:27:20 And I'll communicate with the fans all the time.
00:27:22 And that's the most powerful tool we have,
00:27:25 the ability to talk to the audience.
00:27:26 [MUSIC]
00:27:32 >> Barry and Eddie have a really good relationship.
00:27:34 Barry said to me that him and his son are very close and best friends.
00:27:38 But they are almost unhealthily competitive.
00:27:41 They will still go back and
00:27:42 forth about how different divisions in the company are having financial success.
00:27:46 [MUSIC]
00:27:51 >> I had a very famous father, certainly within the area that I grew up with.
00:27:55 And I loved it.
00:27:56 I couldn't stop telling people that Barry Hume was my dad.
00:28:00 And probably for my early years, everyone knows me as Barry's son, or Barry's boy.
00:28:06 My dad was quite flamboyant, came from nothing really,
00:28:11 made money, was quite extravagant, and enjoyed himself.
00:28:16 He was away a lot, but always had the time when he was at home to play with me,
00:28:22 play sports with me.
00:28:23 And that was really what my childhood was built on, sport.
00:28:27 We played every sport.
00:28:28 We played to win.
00:28:29 Competition was ferocious, and that's how I was brought up.
00:28:33 Winning is everything.
00:28:35 It was never about taking part.
00:28:36 If I went out and lost 3-0 at a game of football, he'd say, what are you doing?
00:28:41 Come on, not a well done, you did well there, son.
00:28:44 Sport was a foundation for us to learn about the important aspects of life.
00:28:50 And that transferred into business.
00:28:54 When I left college, I wrote to every major sports event,
00:28:59 athlete management, sponsorship, marketing consultancy in London.
00:29:03 You know, Advantage, IMG.
00:29:05 I wanted to cut my cloth in the industry without just working for Matrim.
00:29:11 And I went to one sponsorship and marketing sports agency called BDS.
00:29:16 And I sat down with them, and they were reading my CV.
00:29:21 And they said, can I ask you, are you any relation to Barry Hearn?
00:29:24 I said, yes, my dad.
00:29:25 And they sort of said, what are you doing here?
00:29:28 It was about the time when Jerry Maguire came out, really.
00:29:31 I always saw myself as a budding sports agent, and that's the field that I wanted
00:29:35 to go down.
00:29:35 And that's really where I cut my cloth before moving into the business.
00:29:42 You know, my dad is, as I said earlier, he's money mad.
00:29:45 You know, every day he's analyzing.
00:29:47 I mean, my dad's a chartered accountant by trade.
00:29:50 So every day he's analyzing accounts.
00:29:52 He's looking at bottom lines.
00:29:53 He's looking at profit and losses from each individual event.
00:29:57 And he drives me berserk because we're working with, you know, in boxing
00:30:02 particularly, sometimes there's more of an emotional attachment.
00:30:06 You could be investing in a fighter to bring a major world championship fight
00:30:10 to their home city, but the show loses money.
00:30:14 But you've got that emotional investment for the fighter.
00:30:16 Now, he'll remove himself from that.
00:30:18 But yeah, I think that my father has always said, "No shareholders, no float.
00:30:29 We do things our way."
00:30:31 And I convinced him to change his mind on that probably three years ago as our
00:30:38 growth continued to move rapidly.
00:30:43 And he's changed his perception.
00:30:44 So probably that.
00:30:45 Probably that the opportunities we have for a rapid global growth come
00:30:52 potentially in different ways.
00:30:53 And he leads those conversations today.
00:30:57 - Eddie wants to take Matchroom public.
00:30:58 And he does think that could happen sooner rather than later, which is one of
00:31:02 the reasons why he has been talking about a private equity investment
00:31:06 in the company.
00:31:06 But also, he does see a future beyond boxing.
00:31:09 One of the sports that Matchroom promotes, darts, they effectively
00:31:13 own the sport.
00:31:13 They just completed a lengthy acquisition acquiring the Professional Darts
00:31:17 Corporation.
00:31:18 And Eddie is extremely bullish on the growth of that.
00:31:20 - We want to make sure that our sports, our business, our brand name is
00:31:24 recognizable in every key market across all our sports.
00:31:30 It's a natural move for us to lead to an IPO.
00:31:33 I think it's only a matter of time.
00:31:35 I think we're so unique in what we do in terms of ownership of sports and being
00:31:39 able to mold those sports.
00:31:41 But we must continue to have fun because that really is his mantra.
00:31:46 You know, we love what we do and we love to have fun what we do.
00:31:49 We believe we've built an incredible management within the business that must
00:31:54 be free to continue to spread their wings.
00:31:58 But we also realize the opportunity that presents itself in this economic world of
00:32:04 growth for the business globally.
00:32:06 And to do that in a rapid way, then these conversations that are ongoing that will
00:32:12 lead to an IPO is a natural progression.
00:32:14 - So when I started in 2019, you know, it was a whole different world.
00:32:28 And the mission for the brand, it was to go back to where the brand roots are.
00:32:34 So we called it like it was a kind of back to the future type of agenda and back to
00:32:39 the future strategy.
00:32:40 Maserati for about over 100 years has been representing the, you know, top of Italian
00:32:51 luxury in the world of mobility.
00:32:54 There was a bit of a disconnect between the brand, aspirational, historical
00:33:01 perception, that we were focusing on grab and define what were, A, the timeless and
00:33:09 universal values of the brand.
00:33:11 And secondly, who was our customer, who is our customer, and put the customer at the
00:33:16 center.
00:33:17 And then we developed our own product, marketplace, brand, and team.
00:33:20 And four years in the making is bringing great results despite the pandemic, the war,
00:33:30 you know, the chip shortages, increase in prices of energy, inflation, and all the
00:33:36 different challenges the world is facing now.
00:33:38 So the mission of the brand is to move those who move the world with the best in
00:33:42 performance luxury.
00:33:44 That's the mission for Maserati.
00:33:45 So we are powered by passion.
00:33:47 So power means performance.
00:33:49 Passion means this element of emotion that has been always part of the DNA of the
00:33:55 brand.
00:33:56 In fact, Maserati was born on the tracks and then went to the roads in the mid '50s.
00:34:01 Now with the MC20, we actually went back to the tracks.
00:34:05 So that was really, you know, it tells you how, and which kind, how we did it and how
00:34:11 it's important to really go to the core elements of the brand.
00:34:14 Growth has to be seen, when you talk about brand management, over long-term growth.
00:34:20 It has to be sustainable growth.
00:34:22 Otherwise, comes and goes, and it's a fad, it's not growth.
00:34:25 In order to have luxury, first of all, you have to have quality.
00:34:30 Without quality, there is no luxury.
00:34:32 And then you have to kind of add all the other elements.
00:34:35 The performance element, the design element, the distinction element, the
00:34:39 comfort element, the passion, the unique emotion that gives you, you know, that
00:34:46 unique feeling when you step into Maserati or you drive a Maserati.
00:34:49 You know, the driving experience, the drivability of the car is a classic
00:34:53 Maserati drivability with state-of-the-art engine and handling and
00:34:57 performance elements of it.
00:34:58 You know, the results from 2022 to 2021 have been quite significant.
00:35:03 We almost doubled the profit to over 200 million euros.
00:35:09 The second part of the year, we got into double digits profitability with 10.1,
00:35:14 and we're on our way within the next 15 months to get to 15% profitability.
00:35:20 Great.
00:35:21 ♪ [music] ♪
00:35:24 When you do luxury, you're not driven by volume because that would make you make
00:35:35 mistakes, you know, because you're driven by something that actually gets you into,
00:35:40 you know, onto the, you know, on the wheel, the spinning wheel of, like,
00:35:45 "I've got to go do volume."
00:35:46 So, we focused on quality first, and we had the unique opportunity,
00:35:50 back to our strategy, of the revamping of our current product line with the MCAs,
00:35:56 with the restyling of the Ghibli or the Grecale.
00:35:59 When you have that opportunity, then you focus on, you know,
00:36:03 elevating the infotainment, elevating the way the car interacts with you,
00:36:07 and elevating the fit and finish and the reliability of the car.
00:36:12 That's what we did, but we created a completely new quality team,
00:36:18 a completely new team, and we created a brand that was born on tracks.
00:36:23 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:36:25 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:36:28 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:36:31 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:36:34 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:36:37 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:36:40 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:36:43 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:36:46 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:36:49 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:36:52 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:36:55 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:36:58 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:01 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:04 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:07 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:10 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:13 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:16 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:19 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:22 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:25 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:28 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:31 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:34 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:37 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:40 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:43 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:46 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:49 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:52 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:55 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:37:58 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:38:01 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:38:04 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:38:07 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:38:10 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:38:13 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:38:16 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:38:19 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:38:22 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:38:25 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:38:28 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:38:31 You know, the Maserati brand was born on tracks.
00:38:34 [Music]
00:38:40 You need to have a visceral understanding of who you are,
00:38:43 what you bring to the table to serve the customer,
00:38:46 and to be loyal to them.
00:38:48 And you need to understand who's your customer,
00:38:50 what does he or she do,
00:38:52 and where you can connect and how you can connect on their terms
00:38:55 to add to their experiences,
00:38:57 not to expect them to come on your terms.
00:39:00 So that's really what you can bring to the table as a CEO,
00:39:04 understanding what's the specific ingredient
00:39:07 that makes the brand unique
00:39:09 and how you want to build the business model around it
00:39:12 to deliver to the customer the best possible experience.
00:39:15 And if you see the brands that have been successful
00:39:18 in doing this over time,
00:39:20 of being able to reinvent themselves,
00:39:22 going back to their roots,
00:39:24 they're always been focusing on quality.
00:39:27 Because if you're focused on quality
00:39:30 and you manage the profitability that comes with it
00:39:33 as you build your business model,
00:39:35 and you manage your supply chain according to that
00:39:38 versus having your supply chain driving
00:39:42 and have the tail wagging the dog,
00:39:44 that's really, really critical
00:39:46 because you don't lose, you don't compromise,
00:39:50 you don't lose sight of the needs of your customer,
00:39:54 and you don't compromise on quality
00:39:58 to have more units,
00:40:01 to reach price points, to have discounts.
00:40:04 We're going to spend some time in the Grecale.
00:40:10 And the Grecale is a brand new DUV coming from Maserati.
00:40:16 The positioning of that car is every day exceptional.
00:40:19 It's a car you can use every day,
00:40:21 it's flexibility and it's driving experience
00:40:25 as a passenger or a driver is truly exceptional.
00:40:28 The car has been built from the inside out
00:40:32 to basically embrace the passenger as well as the driver.
00:40:38 Everything is done with the filter of simplifying complexity.
00:40:43 There's no real buttons, there's no buttons, there's no switches.
00:40:47 All that you see is being conceived, designed
00:40:50 and sourced in Italy.
00:40:52 And even the use of leather, the design of the seats, the stitching.
00:40:58 The clock that you see there,
00:41:00 it's a classic visual trademark of what Maserati has been
00:41:06 for over 40, 50 years.
00:41:09 The clock and the position of the clock
00:41:11 has always been identifying the Maserati brand.
00:41:13 Clearly, this has been updated.
00:41:16 It's not only a one-way communication device
00:41:18 that tells you the time,
00:41:20 it's a multi-dimensional, two-ways interaction access point
00:41:25 that you have with the car.
00:41:26 We removed the gear shift,
00:41:28 so it actually gives you more freedom of movement,
00:41:32 more usable space within the car.
00:41:35 We're in the city centre of New York,
00:41:37 it's really loud, right?
00:41:38 It's a loud city, there's a lot of energy.
00:41:40 There's traffic around us and yet we don't need to.
00:41:44 We can whisper if we want
00:41:46 and we can be listening to each other as the car is going.
00:41:48 So the isolation from the outside sound
00:41:51 is something that actually from the outside in
00:41:53 is very, very relevant.
00:41:56 So if you think about cars,
00:41:58 you use four or five senses in a car,
00:42:01 including the smell.
00:42:03 It's touch, it's sight, it's hearing, and it's the smell.
00:42:07 The only thing you can do, we can't do is taste in the car.
00:42:10 Not yet.
00:42:11 We must have spent probably four or five hours
00:42:13 just to define what is the level of the stitching
00:42:16 that we want to have, what's the depth, as a message,
00:42:19 and how that stitching blends with the panel that you have,
00:42:22 the dark panel on the side.
00:42:24 That's all done, not by accident,
00:42:26 but it's an intention and a purpose
00:42:29 with which we work through these details.
00:42:32 It goes from the mid-70s
00:42:39 all the way to above 100,000.
00:42:42 It depends on what configuration you have,
00:42:45 particularly in terms of engines.
00:42:47 It depends on what level of customization you want.
00:42:49 We like to say that there is no entry level
00:42:52 or mid-level for Maserati.
00:42:54 Something has to be said when you're dealing with a brand
00:42:57 which is over 100 years old.
00:42:59 The emotions that it has generated through the centuries,
00:43:03 through decades, of, again, performance, design, luxury,
00:43:09 legendary moments in automotive.
00:43:12 It's a brand that adds to people's lives,
00:43:15 even just from a viewing experience.
00:43:17 These are all components for which I feel very fortunate
00:43:20 and privileged to have the opportunity
00:43:23 to lead Maserati worldwide.
00:43:26 The XFL came and resurrected in 2020,
00:43:29 went through a bankruptcy because of the pandemic,
00:43:31 and now it's back with Redbird Capital.
00:43:34 Jerry Cardinal, you're talking Danny Garcia,
00:43:37 and then you're talking Dwayne Johnson, The Rock.
00:43:40 Danny Garcia and The Rock's relationship,
00:43:42 you're talking about a married couple
00:43:44 who was once married, now divorced,
00:43:46 and they still remain business partners, right?
00:43:48 And Danny Garcia, you have a powerhouse woman.
00:43:51 She was able to help him build a career for himself,
00:43:53 and now here they are, business partners,
00:43:55 aligning with one of the more interesting sports properties
00:43:59 in the XFL.
00:44:00 We go to San Antonio,
00:44:02 the site of the 2023 XFL Championship,
00:44:05 the first one since 2001 when the XFL was born.
00:44:09 Can they make the XFL work?
00:44:11 So far in year one, it looks like it has momentum.
00:44:14 Now can they sustain it?
00:44:16 What is it like being chairwoman of the XFL?
00:44:21 What does it feel like?
00:44:22 That's a big question.
00:44:24 It feels weighty, weighty.
00:44:28 I think I would say absolutely every day,
00:44:31 very, very weighty, but so gratifying.
00:44:33 If you're going to do big, it's going to be a big sacrifice,
00:44:35 but this is a great one.
00:44:36 I mean, there is a lot to learn,
00:44:38 but there's so much enjoyment.
00:44:40 I've got these small great moments.
00:44:42 I've got these big, big, big moments,
00:44:45 and I love it.
00:44:46 I love it.
00:44:47 It's definitely changed me, absolutely has changed me.
00:44:49 How so?
00:44:50 Even in the portfolio, I'm blessed to be either a CEO
00:44:53 or a chairwoman in a lot of the companies,
00:44:55 but the magnitude of the XFL, right?
00:44:58 So film or even Taramana or ZOA,
00:45:02 that's kind of a two-hour interaction
00:45:04 or it's a moment interaction,
00:45:06 but the XFL are human beings, bodies, people,
00:45:10 hearts, souls, spirits, you know,
00:45:12 athletes whose future you're getting a chance
00:45:15 to touch and guide,
00:45:17 and who they are afterwards is as much my responsibility
00:45:20 as it is everyone with the XFL.
00:45:23 That's a different position as a chairwoman
00:45:25 of the Garcia companies in the portfolio,
00:45:28 so it's weighty and it's gratifying.
00:45:31 I love it.
00:45:32 Did you get a chance to walk around the arena yet?
00:45:34 No, not yet.
00:45:37 Not yet.
00:45:38 I have those moments.
00:45:40 I almost have had that moment with every game
00:45:43 that I've gone to,
00:45:44 whether it's walking during the warm-ups
00:45:46 and seeing the boys or talking to the coaches.
00:45:49 When the fans come in, it's always, I'm like, a gasp.
00:45:53 A gasp like, "Wow, look at what one decision created,
00:45:58 like one really powerful decision,
00:46:01 and a whole bunch of amazing people."
00:46:03 So, yeah, it humbles me,
00:46:04 so I think I know I'm going to have that when I go out there,
00:46:07 and, you know, our two teams and all our athletes,
00:46:10 they're so passionate about this moment that they got here.
00:46:13 Everyone's like, "Okay, this is XFL 4.0.
00:46:16 This is XFL 1.0 for me.
00:46:18 This is the first time my sports league
00:46:21 and my championship with my teams,"
00:46:24 which is great to say, you know, my, my.
00:46:26 Eight teams are all mine, and now these two teams are mine,
00:46:29 and to have them go through that experience and experience it.
00:46:32 You know, we dream about our wedding day,
00:46:34 dream about having a baby, having those experiences,
00:46:37 but no one can prepare you for a championship game
00:46:40 when you're in a league.
00:46:41 - Or running a whole entire league.
00:46:43 - Yeah, they don't prepare you, which is pretty amazing.
00:46:45 - Yeah, you're ready to wrap up year one.
00:46:47 What did you learn so far?
00:46:49 - I learned, I guess I can say we learned,
00:46:52 we learned quite a bit, right?
00:46:54 The ecosystem of sports league is so, so intricate.
00:46:57 There's things you don't know until it goes live.
00:46:59 Everything is, I hate to be cliche,
00:47:01 but it is X's nose on a whiteboard,
00:47:03 and then it lights up when the people arrive.
00:47:05 So I think we learned so much about the logistics.
00:47:08 We learned quite a bit about the fandom
00:47:11 and how passionate they are
00:47:13 and how much they want to own who the team identity is.
00:47:16 So that's some wonderful things.
00:47:18 There's an incredible amount of work to do for athletes
00:47:20 to get greater support for them.
00:47:23 I mean, we had dynamic play, which was phenomenal.
00:47:25 That is the goal, right? Dynamic play.
00:47:28 Dynamic play with healthy, developing athletes.
00:47:31 So I think we go offsite in about a month.
00:47:35 We open up everything and we review everything.
00:47:38 There's so many areas of improvement.
00:47:40 I think supporting our newer coaches going forward,
00:47:43 giving them a little bit more
00:47:44 as far as their staff, a little bit more guidance.
00:47:46 We were a bit hands-off with our newer coaches
00:47:48 and allowed them to sort of put their teams together,
00:47:51 but leaning in in that way.
00:47:54 There's more, definitely more we can do for our athletes
00:47:56 and their development and their experience.
00:47:58 So I'm looking forward to that.
00:48:00 And getting involved with the city is even deeper.
00:48:02 We will go into winter,
00:48:05 because obviously we're already deep into 2024, right?
00:48:08 As soon as that whistle blows and I hand the trophy,
00:48:11 the 2024 season starts, which is crazy.
00:48:14 I love that about football.
00:48:15 But we'll have our teams in city for winter camp,
00:48:19 for little mini camps.
00:48:21 So there's a lot of things there that is just,
00:48:23 it's about doing more.
00:48:25 You had to build the base.
00:48:27 There were so many questions about the XFL.
00:48:29 They're like, what was going to be the game?
00:48:32 Are you going to make it through a year?
00:48:34 Are you the XFL?
00:48:35 Aren't you that team that plays over here and doesn't,
00:48:38 there's so much confusion.
00:48:40 So just establishing who we are
00:48:42 and making people understand that we actually are real
00:48:44 and we're here to stay and we're committed to who they are
00:48:46 and that the football feels different.
00:48:48 Now it's almost like we can execute the rest of the game plan.
00:48:51 A lot of learnings.
00:48:53 What's been the biggest positive surprise?
00:48:56 I would say the biggest positive surprise was the digital reach,
00:49:03 the digital penetration, like the amount of conversation,
00:49:08 the 104 million views on just the XFL channel.
00:49:12 And that's before we overlay the Dwayne Johnson network
00:49:16 of half a billion people, just on itself.
00:49:19 The growth of all of our channels, the way people engage.
00:49:22 So one of the great things about the XFL,
00:49:24 of course we've got that, we've got our numbers for TV cable
00:49:28 and network, but what was really, really important
00:49:31 is that the XFL have a grassroots moment,
00:49:35 a grassroots investment, and that's all digital.
00:49:38 That's all, can you put something out there
00:49:41 and will the fans talk about it and care?
00:49:43 And that engagement level that we have,
00:49:45 whether it's our individual teams or even the growth
00:49:48 of the XFL, the league itself, was phenomenal.
00:49:51 Whether it's our YouTube channel or our Twitter, TikTok,
00:49:54 we saw so much and we saw that people cared.
00:49:57 And you have to be that as a league, as a sport.
00:50:00 So you have to know, it's not just about winning or losing.
00:50:02 It's like, are you a topic that people want to engage in?
00:50:05 And then the success of our rule changes,
00:50:08 the kickoff, the overtime, you know,
00:50:11 the Dean Blandino and the command center
00:50:14 and the success of that, how impactful that was in the game.
00:50:18 We knew our audience wanted to hear,
00:50:20 but to actually hear in real time
00:50:22 and how it impacts the game, that was phenomenal as well.
00:50:25 What's your favorite rule?
00:50:26 The one that you can challenge any play at any point in a game
00:50:29 is really neat.
00:50:30 That is my favorite rule.
00:50:32 That was because, I mean, we've all watched it, right?
00:50:34 We've all watched games that were like,
00:50:37 the end should never have happened, right?
00:50:39 Because we're all human, we just make that mistake.
00:50:41 That was the most powerful.
00:50:43 So that one is my absolute favorite.
00:50:45 Yeah.
00:50:46 When you go back and you're a businesswoman,
00:50:48 so there are the positives,
00:50:49 what's been the biggest negative surprise?
00:50:52 Yeah, I would say the understanding
00:50:55 how new the league would still be,
00:50:57 regardless that it's Jerry Cardinal, Redbird Capital,
00:51:01 all the big things, Fenway, everything that they've done,
00:51:04 regardless that it's Dwayne Johnson,
00:51:05 regardless that Danny Garcia, we're billion dollar producers.
00:51:08 The fact that people were still like,
00:51:10 I'm going to wait to see if you get through a season.
00:51:13 So we've got a lot of room with partnership and sponsors.
00:51:16 We have more room.
00:51:17 It was easy for Disney to buy into us.
00:51:20 We work with Disney so closely, and they saw the property.
00:51:23 And they're also, they're an industry that's about,
00:51:26 they're a company that's about IP,
00:51:28 so they understand build-out, and they understand the way we see it.
00:51:32 But getting the rest of the market to understand
00:51:35 and having our peers understand that,
00:51:37 we needed to do the work.
00:51:38 So that sets us up for more opportunity next year,
00:51:41 but it was less opportunity this year.
00:51:43 Yeah, yeah.
00:51:44 I was listening to his podcast, and you were great on there.
00:51:46 Oh, thank you.
00:51:47 And you went back to 2020, and you were saying how you called Dwayne
00:51:50 to pitch him on this, and you called it a crazy idea.
00:51:52 Yeah.
00:51:53 Why was it crazy?
00:51:54 Because you've got to come in soft and call it out.
00:51:57 In my head, I'm like, this is the greatest thing that we can do.
00:52:01 That the other, you know, when I'm talking to someone, it came,
00:52:04 so for DJ, you know, we had talked about the league right at the beginning
00:52:08 because we were watching Vince do it, and I was like,
00:52:10 "Man, I'm telling you, you know, these Guardians,"
00:52:12 and I was like, "I wish Vince had invited us in."
00:52:15 And then, boom, he's off and he's filming at that time,
00:52:18 so we're just talking about film.
00:52:20 And then my agent was like, "What do you want to do next, Danny?"
00:52:23 And I was like, "Oh, I want to own the XFL.
00:52:26 I want to own the XFL."
00:52:27 He's like, "They went into bankruptcy."
00:52:29 So I spent a period of time doing my research to say,
00:52:32 "Okay, what do we got? What's the process? What's the numbers?
00:52:34 Does it look real?" You know, sitting on it.
00:52:37 I knew that property. I knew what I could do with that property.
00:52:39 I knew the brand architect, the storytelling, you know,
00:52:43 managing the confluence of great play and fandom and 24/7 content.
00:52:48 Like, it has everything.
00:52:50 So I had to get that in my head, and then, yeah, and then call DJ.
00:52:54 I was like, "I know it might be busy," I was like, "but I have a crazy idea."
00:52:57 And it's true.
00:52:58 Luckily, he has such a fearless appetite, and we've worked together so long,
00:53:03 so I have a pretty good track record.
00:53:05 So you set him up then.
00:53:06 You knew it was a great idea, but you had to say it was crazy
00:53:08 because his response, according to you, was, "I love crazy."
00:53:11 Exactly, because when it's--you don't call Dwayne Johnson and say,
00:53:15 "You know, I have a decent idea. Maybe it's going to do well."
00:53:19 It's got to be big and important and meaningful for him
00:53:22 and life-changing to the people, and that's what this was.
00:53:25 So it was you from the start.
00:53:26 You brought in him, and then Jerry came along to finance it.
00:53:29 Well, you know, Jerry was actually out there looking at this property himself,
00:53:33 which was super interesting because for Jerry and Redbird Capital,
00:53:37 it's a small--like, it's a small piece of what they usually do.
00:53:42 So as we were all circling and preparing for the process, right,
00:53:46 as it goes through auction, he heard about us, we heard about him,
00:53:49 and we just connected and we started talking about it.
00:53:52 And his skill set matched with what we do in live entertainment
00:53:56 and entertainment was just like, "We got it."
00:53:58 We were speaking the same language.
00:54:00 So at that point, we're like, "Let's do this together.
00:54:02 We can do this together."
00:54:04 When you have a baby league and something that was fledgling and new,
00:54:09 you put as much seniority around it, and that's what we were able to do.
00:54:12 So it was you and Jerry. You already had Jerry on board?
00:54:15 No, Jerry was after DJ. First he had DJ, right?
00:54:18 The running of the bulls, you've got to get that.
00:54:20 And he's like, "Let's do it and have a blast."
00:54:23 Actually, and you know what's so funny is no one knows--
00:54:26 I first actually had to pitch my husband first.
00:54:29 I had to get up and say, "Hey, honey."
00:54:32 We don't ever get a chance to talk about it.
00:54:34 So I would say Dave Rienzi, conversation, full belief in his wife,
00:54:38 Dwayne Johnson, and then DJ and I getting on the phone with Jerry
00:54:41 and saying, "Okay, that's our type of person." Yeah, big appetite.
00:54:44 When you came up with that idea, you got Jerry on board,
00:54:47 you got your husband, first of all, you got your husband on board,
00:54:49 then Dwayne, and then you enter lock with Jerry.
00:54:53 What role--like you had to fire yourself because you get burned out,
00:54:57 and when you get burned out, you're taking on something new.
00:54:59 You've got to fire yourself from something else.
00:55:01 What role did you fire yourself? Was it Dwayne's manager?
00:55:03 No, actually I had transitioned out of being DJ's manager a long time ago.
00:55:08 And back story on that, that was the word we used
00:55:12 because Hollywood would understand why is she in the room.
00:55:15 My job has always been to architect a massive enterprise around him.
00:55:20 But that gets difficult to sort of--when you go into Hollywood,
00:55:22 first you're like, "You're his ex-wife?"
00:55:24 And then you're like, "Okay, what do you do?" "I'm his manager."
00:55:26 You know, how does that work?
00:55:28 You get into the conversation an hour later, you know,
00:55:31 and talking about balance sheets and return on investment,
00:55:33 and what's the company's initiatives that we're working with, and it changes.
00:55:36 But, no, the funny thing, what I fired, I retired from professional bodybuilding.
00:55:41 That's what I fired was my professional bodybuilding career
00:55:44 because the amount of intensity it takes to prep and prepare,
00:55:49 and it takes me usually nine months of focus and dieting and effort to get on stage.
00:55:56 When I acquired the XFL, I said, "Okay, that's done."
00:55:58 And this became that.
00:55:59 And that's how much intensity and energy and effort it requires.
00:56:02 So how long was that phone call with Dwayne?
00:56:04 Like, was it five, ten minutes? And did you have a glass of wine first?
00:56:06 No, no, no.
00:56:07 How'd you go about relaxing before you presented the creative?
00:56:09 First of all, it's like, "Hey, are you free? Are you free?"
00:56:11 I swear, it was probably a five-minute conversation with an ending of,
00:56:16 "Great, what's next steps? What's next steps?"
00:56:19 And now you have this league.
00:56:21 When you're looking at your companies, especially doing the movie side,
00:56:24 production company, you always say, "Okay, what's in that return on investment box?"
00:56:29 Right.
00:56:30 You look at the XFL, what is in that return on investment box?
00:56:33 Take me into how you're looking at this business.
00:56:36 So there's the actual return on investment, right?
00:56:38 And we know with any startup league, you've got that J curve.
00:56:41 This is three to five years, right?
00:56:42 That's the technical books and that we all understand.
00:56:45 But what this property is, is actually something really, really different.
00:56:49 This property, the XFL, touches almost everything that's already in my portfolio.
00:56:53 And not just literally because, you know,
00:56:55 Zoa's a sponsor and Taramana's a sponsor and, yes, Project Rock did the--
00:56:59 and Under Armour did the uniforms.
00:57:00 Okay, yes, that's very deliberate.
00:57:02 They all served each other in a dynamic way.
00:57:05 But the XFL, when Duane and I were talking, we were like, "This is our new WWE," right?
00:57:12 For years, that live experience.
00:57:15 We don't have a lot of opportunities where we're with 24,000 fans, 35,000 fans.
00:57:20 I mean, that was just weekly with the WWE.
00:57:24 And that interaction with people, really with people, is magic.
00:57:29 That's fuel.
00:57:30 That's, you know, that's why our production company is audience first.
00:57:34 You know, it's specifically from that.
00:57:35 So, for us, the XFL was this next massive live property that we would be with the fans,
00:57:42 we would be with our athletes, but we could do so much more.
00:57:46 You can take this and you can see the storytelling.
00:57:49 You know, in a year or two, when I get my mascots,
00:57:51 "What's the animated story I'm doing with my mascots?"
00:57:53 Or, you know, "How are our athletes actually going to start to feed into our entertainment company
00:57:59 or some of our other properties?"
00:58:00 There's so much here.
00:58:02 This is an engine.
00:58:05 When you--we were a different group of owners or creators, where we were just filmmakers.
00:58:12 The connection to the consumer and the audience would be different.
00:58:16 But we grew up with people.
00:58:17 We are our consumer and audience.
00:58:20 So, to move away from that in any respect, it's just not--it doesn't--there's no passion in that.
00:58:27 This is life when it comes to the XFL.
00:58:30 And then as a professional athlete and DJ in his back story, you know, the XFL completes--he'll talk to you about that,
00:58:36 but it completes that circle, that not getting drafted.
00:58:39 It finishes that.
00:58:40 But everything that I have always done has always been about who's on the other side
00:58:45 and how are they experiencing it and how am I adding value to their life.
00:58:49 With this, I get to do it with the athletes.
00:58:52 I get to do it with my coaches.
00:58:54 I get to do it with my fans.
00:58:56 It gives me--earns credibility and gives me permission to maybe do more things for them.
00:59:01 So, it's magic.
00:59:02 It's an integral piece.
00:59:04 If it's for him that full circle moment where he's able to achieve or give other people opportunities that he didn't have,
00:59:09 what is it for you?
00:59:10 Because you like creative control, and, you know, when you're building your companies, this is what you do.
00:59:14 What is it for you then?
00:59:15 I would say Pete Berg's company helped me define this and give them credit where they're like, "Oh, you're an athlete of life."
00:59:20 And I was like, "Dang it. I am an athlete of life."
00:59:23 There is the--who I was as an athlete at the University of Miami, who I was as a professional athlete at 40.
00:59:30 That's when I started competing in bodybuilding.
00:59:32 That space, you know, that's the space that formed me.
00:59:36 That is the place that developed the discipline that I add my creativity to that makes me the woman I am today.
00:59:43 So, you know, at the University of Miami, all the athletics programs are really closely intertwined,
00:59:49 and I spend a lot of time either--I was on crew.
00:59:52 I was on the crew while they're leaving, and the football players were coming in,
00:59:55 and many of those players were my colleagues and my friends, and I know what that journey is like.
01:00:01 I also--a lot of my career before the XFL was guiding and building journey,
01:00:07 building lives for people so that they would have more.
01:00:10 So the XFL not only fulfills me as a professional athlete, and I feel that I understand those athletes on the field,
01:00:17 but it fulfills that fact that I'm guiding people and giving them more for a greater chapter.
01:00:21 I always say--and I've said it to our athletes--I'm like, "This should be a great moment in your life,
01:00:26 but if we've done our job, this is not the greatest moment of your life.
01:00:30 Those are continuing ahead of you," and that's satisfying for me.
01:00:33 That's like--that's a life well lived.
01:00:35 So you--let's go do this.
01:00:37 Something phenomenal I always keep an eye on when I'm looking at, you know, the marketplace.
01:00:40 I see a lot of empty billboards, right, and what I'm noticing is I'm talking to people in the ad world.
01:00:44 It says, "Man, when you see empty billboards, that can mean some company's slowing down," right,
01:00:48 because those billboards, you're seeing all types of consumers there.
01:00:51 So when you're seeing those empty billboards, that means things are slowing down.
01:00:54 There's a crowded media space.
01:00:56 So if you have a sponsor and they're willing to spend a certain amount, it's either going to be here, here, or to XFL,
01:01:01 why should they spend on an XFL?
01:01:03 First of all, great question and super interesting about the empty billboards.
01:01:06 I will borrow that with your permission.
01:01:08 It's really--it's a great note.
01:01:11 It's really because we are--I think it's easy, but we're actually a league where the ownership represents integrity
01:01:19 and represents everything you would want your brand to be, which is growth, opportunity.
01:01:24 We're a league that has to have an ultimate purpose.
01:01:26 We have an ultimate purpose to unleash the dreams that football makes possible.
01:01:30 That ultimate purpose says why do you deserve to be on this planet.
01:01:34 That's why we create an ultimate purpose.
01:01:37 So all of our executions lead towards that.
01:01:40 So if you're aligning and you're aligning with a brand, do you not want to be a brand that not only is driven by an ultimate purpose
01:01:47 but says we are diversity.
01:01:49 We don't have to reach--it was not a stretch for me that I have, you know, a number--you know, 50% of my executive leadership are women.
01:01:58 It was not a stretch for me because I'm a woman.
01:02:01 It was not a stretch for us to make our coaching decisions.
01:02:04 We're already ahead because of the fact that we understand and we are who we are.
01:02:09 When you're looking at that, you're looking at reach and diversity.
01:02:12 All of a sudden you have to say, "Yes, why would I not go with that proven authentic conversation of what the XFL represents?"
01:02:20 Have you spoken to Vince about maybe what he did in the past or things that didn't work
01:02:24 so that way you don't repeat those same mistakes?
01:02:26 Or have y'all had conversations about, you know--
01:02:28 You know what, he's been such a great--he was--when he found out that we were so excited and that we were going to go after this property,
01:02:34 he could not connect with us legally.
01:02:36 You know, he had very specific rules, but later on he was just thrilled.
01:02:40 He knows us. He knows what we do.
01:02:43 And, you know, we have--all the information is there.
01:02:47 You open up the books when you're acquiring and going through auction.
01:02:50 I mean, bankruptcy, you're going to see all that information.
01:02:52 So it's all there, and we have a great understanding.
01:02:55 So there was so much good.
01:02:56 Like I said, it would not have been a situation where I would be acquiring or we would be acquiring if it wasn't for the pandemic.
01:03:03 He had a real property, and he had great numbers, and those teams were playing fantastically.
01:03:08 So I like to think we took the ball and we did a few things our own personal way, but we built off of the success he had.
01:03:15 Was that why you took two years to kind of like, hey, you know--because no one was supposed to start in 2022, and then you took another year.
01:03:21 I know. Well, you can't rush it, right?
01:03:23 All of a sudden--it's so funny.
01:03:24 You get to a point where you're like, wait, we're eight months out.
01:03:27 And football starts--our football starts--it literally does start in May for 2024.
01:03:33 We were exploring the CFL.
01:03:35 We were looking to see if there were some opportunities there, which could be down in the future but for now didn't really work out.
01:03:42 And at that time, we were putting together our football operations.
01:03:45 We were putting the best of the best together, and we were getting clarity of the hubs.
01:03:49 So there was so much work to do.
01:03:51 I'm really, really glad we took our time because I think absolutely that the quality of play that we had, especially in those first few weeks, that's where you get to see.
01:04:00 We knew everyone's going to improve, and they did, right?
01:04:02 The quality of play went just through the roof.
01:04:05 But those first few weeks proved that the time and the methodology and the patience really paid off.
01:04:11 Yeah. A couple more things for me.
01:04:13 The first is Russ Brandon.
01:04:14 I asked him to describe you in one word.
01:04:16 He said powerhouse.
01:04:17 Oh.
01:04:18 That's what he did.
01:04:19 Why do you think he said powerhouse?
01:04:21 First of all, I accept that.
01:04:24 That is super.
01:04:25 Well, you know, Russ has been in the trenches with me.
01:04:27 I mean, we, as my president, our president, we're so lucky to have--we have those conversations that maybe no one else is having about this league.
01:04:37 We're figuring it out.
01:04:39 And he's seen me walk into rooms and handle business that needs to be handled on behalf of the league, on behalf of whatever he needs, on behalf of our athletes.
01:04:52 I understand it's very, very unique.
01:04:54 I understand that I'm in an extremely unique position, and I understand that I show up in places where people don't understand or are like, "How'd you get here?"
01:05:03 And then have to understand, "Oh, that's why you're here."
01:05:06 So my journey is a little bit different than some of my male colleagues in football.
01:05:11 And he has great clarity to see that in addition to the work, he sees the additional work that I'm doing.
01:05:19 So maybe it's because of that.
01:05:21 But I appreciate that.
01:05:22 Well, how would you describe--and speaking of one words--describe Jerry in one word?
01:05:26 Jerry Cardinal in one word.
01:05:28 There's so many words on that.
01:05:29 Okay.
01:05:30 I'm going to say relentless.
01:05:33 Relentless.
01:05:34 Why relentless?
01:05:35 Because he, you know, he demands and asks for excellence for the benefit of his investors, the company, the mission.
01:05:47 And he doesn't stop.
01:05:49 He will not stop.
01:05:50 He keeps pushing and pushing and pushing.
01:05:51 And, you know, if we need to understand this for the XFL or we have a need for the XFL, he's going to go and find that person.
01:05:58 He's going to go and find that answer.
01:06:00 The amount of energy that he has to make the best execution happen.
01:06:05 As you know, right, Redbird Capital, they take huge swings, like big, big bites.
01:06:11 Hit a lot of home runs.
01:06:12 And they hit a lot of home runs.
01:06:13 But the amount of tenacity and the relentless nature you have to have to solve those, to not only take the big bite, but then say, okay, how am I going to chew it and swallow it and make this into something?
01:06:24 And he is that.
01:06:26 He's that.
01:06:27 He's an invaluable partner, invaluable partner.
01:06:29 Now, describe Dwayne in one word.
01:06:30 What would you say?
01:06:32 You know, I always say Dwayne is the running of the bulls.
01:06:34 He is literally like the running of the bulls.
01:06:37 Fearless.
01:06:38 Fearless.
01:06:39 Why fearless?
01:06:40 Because anything that gets put in front of him, you know, you go back to this young man, and people know this story, whether he was evicted, whether this turned down, you know, at the University of Miami and herniating his discs and not being able to play.
01:06:54 His shoulder was dislocated in his freshman year.
01:06:57 Any challenge, he's fearless.
01:06:59 He's like, okay, let's do it.
01:07:01 He will say, I don't know how we're going to get there, but we are going to get there.
01:07:05 We're going to figure it out.
01:07:07 We'll have a project.
01:07:08 He's like, okay, that's great, but we need to do it differently.
01:07:11 Let's make it -- let's make that meter move.
01:07:13 Let's make it more impactful.
01:07:16 Never worrying about, oh, we shouldn't go there because we should fail.
01:07:20 That's not part of his conversation.
01:07:22 It's about what's next, what's better, what's going to make impact.
01:07:26 Okay, I need to do this, oh, I need to change this.
01:07:28 I need to change this about myself.
01:07:30 I need to grow.
01:07:31 Got it.
01:07:32 Fearless.
01:07:33 I'll do it.
01:07:34 >> Last thing for me.
01:07:35 What is Danny Garcia's superpower, and how is that superpower going to excel the XFL so that it will be around after year one?
01:07:41 And we're talking three, four, five, maybe ten years.
01:07:44 What's your superpower?
01:07:45 How are you going to use it to make sure that that happens?
01:07:47 >> My superpower is seeing patterns and stories in the future that people haven't experienced or seen yet.
01:07:58 You know, can I have a couple of superpowers?
01:08:01 I think because that goes with what I've done over the years.
01:08:04 I use that word confluence.
01:08:06 My job is that magical space of ingredients, putting an athlete or a league, taking fans, bringing in Dwayne Johnson, bringing in Red Bird Partner, having them all circle together.
01:08:19 And when you bring all those parts together, greatness happens.
01:08:23 And so that's where I live.
01:08:25 I live in how can I put all the seeds so that greatness continues year after year after year.
01:08:32 And that greatness most of the time people never see coming.
01:08:35 They never say like, oh, yeah, that's -- oh, I didn't see that coming.
01:08:38 Oh, my gosh, I didn't know Dwayne Johnson could be that.
01:08:40 Oh, I didn't know you could make a franchise that way.
01:08:42 And that's where I live.
01:08:44 I don't know how you would describe that as a superpower.
01:08:46 >> Listen, your people connector, you know, and bringing things together and, you know, having a vision, right, and studying you over the -- since you were 12 in that barn, you know, playing the French horn and all of that stuff.
01:08:58 But, I mean, would that be considered your connector, your visionary?
01:09:02 >> I think it would be -- I think the visionary.
01:09:05 I think that's right.
01:09:06 That's right.
01:09:07 Visionary to see things people don't see.
01:09:09 And then the tenacity and the ambition to go after it.
01:09:14 [ Silence ]