We were lucky to catch up with George Schmid recently and have shared our conversation below.
George, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I was the youngest of three children with two successful parents. My Mom was the head surgical nurse in the hospital I was born in. My Dad owned the 2nd largest Volvo car dealership in the state of NJ and as a teenager was a champion swimmer with trophies everywhere.
My Mom would always tell us kids that we were all champions.
My sisters were quite a bit older than I was.
My older sister Donna became a champion in quarter horses and by 17 had her first World Champion horse, Followed by many more and was on many International magazine covers, had a movie made about her and eventually took Doc Severinsen (of The Johnny Carson Show) two daughters on tour with her for two summers in a row.
She then went on to train several world champion Dobermans, with her own kennels and grooming services.
At the same time, my sister Nancy was drafted by Barbizon Modeling and was “the” model for the remake of Barbie in 1969. From there she was contracted by the number one modeling agency, “Ford Modeling”, and became a top 10 model worldwide. Magazine covers, billboards in NYC, television shows, etc.
I lived with Nancy in NYC one summer while I was in high school and had side jobs.
While walking back to her place one afternoon, I had to pass the huge newsstands, which were every other block. Each stand had Donna on the cover of The Quarter Horse Journal and Nancy on the cover of Hair Do Magazine.
When I’d look up, Nancy was on these large billboards as Miss Coca Cola, on one and Miss Polaroid Camera on another.
When I got back to Nancys she greeted me and I started crying and said, “You and Donna are so famous and successful. What am I going to do when I grow up?”
Nancy gave me a hug and said, “whatever you choose to do George, you will be a champion”.
It stuck.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Always have tried to be involved in many industries and initiatives and rely on common sense, hard work and creativity to accomplish the goals in front of me.
At a young age I was able to manage one of the largest night clubs in the USA.
I invented The Tube-N-It Sports Tube, which was the 1st commercial tube to be towed behind speed boats.
I put on concerts, managed bands and started Progressive Artist Management, with the help of the legendary tour manager, “Bill Carlton”
I worked in a New York Stock Exchange Insurance Company, “RLI” and eventually reported to the founder and Chairman of the Board and named to the boards of the two largest subsidiaries at 36 years old.
I invented “The Card Tree”, which held 72 greeting cards in the shape and look of a Christmas Tree and contracted with American Greetings to put in all of their stores one season.
I invented the “River Tuber”, to float down rivers.
I managed and invested in the pop rock group, “Vesica Pisces” which became a sensation with the amazing core members of Kelly Fitzgerald and Brian Pothier resulting in a record contract.
I developed The Limousine Scavenger Hunt, with limousines and RV’s racing across a Midwest city, solving clues and filming all of it. Made the National news with the 2nd one.
Work with many top musical artists, models, actors, comedians and novelty acts in many countries today and we are Cat Thompson’s personal managers. Cat is based in Australia and coming on bigtime.
We are ground floor investors in the new Nozzleman’s Pizza franchises with good friend “Rob Powells”, his business partner Jessie Corletto (past firefighter), and A listers, “Snookie and Jeremy Renner” as well. Nozzleman is firefighter based, with celebrity connections and encourage franchisees to donate a % of their proceeds to their local firefighters.
Advisor to Sidewalks TV which produces a celebrity talk show in North America and the Caribbean.
Consultant and member with Yolo Entertainment in Sydney, Australia.
Live in Laguna Niguel, CA and Lake Tahoe, NV
Was kidnapped in Mexico City awhile back but kept my cool and escaped. Story was reported in USA Today
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Tenacity: Never give up on the goal but try not to waste your time and others on the dead ends that appear.
2. Creativity: Always look at how to make something better. If people are “making do” to create a product with multiple resources or items, blend those to “make the product”.
3. Team: Create a “team” to tackle each challenge. A dedicated group of hard workers, good minds all rowing in the same direction produces better results. And it’s more fun, because you have others to share the success with.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
The pandemic was very destructive on everything we worked on, but especially in the entertainment business. So, the last year or so, we have been recreating what was there before and encouraging others to pick themselves up and get on with accomplishing their dreams.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.progressiveartistmanagement.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/georgecschmid/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-schmid-7a63aa5?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_contact_details%3Bu0i%2FwbhNTz21%2FYQabxOCFA%3D%3D
