Can A Skateboarder be a Real Estate Investor? Yes.
I recently talked with Mikey Taylor, professional skateboarder, entrepreneur and real estate investor about passive cash flow investment strategies.
Mikey grew up firmly in the middle class in Thousand Oaks, California. He never really thought or worried about money or issues while he was growing up.
He picked up a skateboard when he was 14, was consumed by it and never stopped.
He says he enjoyed it so much because it was hard to learn and master. It was the first time that he could channel his addictive and hyper-competitive personality into a sport. Skating became a competition against himself. He pushed how good he could become and how far he could take the sport.
He says that his obsession and drive were something he was born with. He harnessed it with his talent to become successful.
He enjoyed skateboarding and knew he wanted to make money at it. But he also knew that skateboarding alone wouldn’t get him to the goal he created for himself.
As he became more popular in the sport of skateboarding, he struggled with the culture. It was anti-establishment and success. He found it hard to keep positive in the negative environment and struggled.
He finally had a wakeup moment and acknowledged he hated living his life like that. He started working on the person he wanted to be.
“Endorsements are how we get paid. But these skate brands are looking for edgy, dark, anti-establishment. Doesn’t fit in with my vibe.” – Mikey Taylor
He started meditating, setting goals, seeking guidance, working on his reactions and responses to his life.
Now his life is very active with family, business, planning and managing the life he wants to live.
Mikey was very open about his finances with me and said he always lived well below his earnings because he always planned on a transition from skating to another life. He wanted the freedom to choose what that was. He always invested as much as he could into passive-income producing opportunities.
He told me, “I like learning the tricks, whether it was on a board or in real estate.”
At the height of his career, he made $450,000 per year. Averaged out he was making $140,000 per year. The normal path for a skater was to make the most money they could, spend it and then downsize the rest of their life. Most ex-skaters look to the companies that endorsed them and work there. Usually that means $40,000-$100,000 per year.
He started investing in storage units. These were low overhead and high cash flow opportunities.
At the same time, he was very entrepreneur-focused and started clothing, backpack, craft brewery and skateboard companies.
He said that when he and his partners started the craft brewery company they made a list of people they knew, to be their investors. Their list consisted of other skateboarders. This network had a lot of fans and followers so they had an investor list and a marketing plan for the brewery. He and his partners later sold the craft brewery for a little over $60,000,000. He took his portion and put back into his real estate investments.
He currently has eight properties valued at close to $200,000,000. He also has a new investment fund he is starting.
I asked him why he was interested in starting an investment fund and Mikey responded, “I was better prepared than most when I left boarding and that’s why I wanted to develop something to help other people.”
Mikey currently has a podcast on brand building and entrepreneurship. He has developed it to create a platform for helping other people aged around 13-22.
He has a vision of what he wants to accomplish. His goal is to always move forward. Being stagnant hurts.
Asked how he describes himself today, Mikey responds, “Father, married, and successful business man. I want to make sure that I raise my two little girls the right way. I want them to see what a good relationship looks like with your partner, so my relationship with my wife is very important.”
Mikey had a plan and worked it to achieve his success and financial freedom. If you need help with your plan, check out investment opportunities with Rea Capital.
