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ST. LOUIS
The Source for Business Owners
MAY 2011
Take Control of Your Destiny
A day in the life of serial entrepreneur Attilio D’Agostino
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Control Your Destiny
A day in the life of serial entrepreneur Attilio D'Agostino WORDS BY JEREMY NULIK PHOTOS BY BILL SAWALICH
M
ost kids from Southern California have dreams of one day being a surfer, a skateboarder, or even an astronaut. But, Los Angeles native Attilio D’Agostino never had these dreams. Or, at least, not one dream in particular. “When I was a kid, I had a sense that I would be doing many, many things, so I guess my dream has come true,” says D’Agostino, co-founder and co-owner of Alive Magazine and freelance photographer. “Some of my inspiration came when I read Red Planet by Robert Heinlein in the second grade. The main character is a rebellious young guy that has a series of journeys and had lots of different roles to play. I remember there was something in me that could really relate to that even at a young age.” 18 ST. LOUIS SMALL BUSINESS MONTHLY / may 2011
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Apparently those theories about life imitating art are true. D’Agostino’s serial entrepreneurial journey has stretched over 2,000 miles and five different industries. And his rebelliousness during his youth was with good reason. When he was just 18 months old, his parents were informed that he had cystic fibrosis, a congenital disease that especially affects the lungs and inhibits cardio-vascular efficiency. And while many strides have been made in battling symptoms, there is no cure. It remains one of the country's leading life-shortening illnesses. “When you have cystic fibrosis, you have an abnormal, dual life as a kid,” says D’Agostino whose sister died from the disease when he was a child. “I was outwardly rebellious and went through a period where I was very nihilistic. I dropped out of high school. I mean, death was on my horizon everyday.”
manticized notions about the heartland brought him to Bloomington, Ind. The relationship didn’t work out, but a new business idea did. D’Agostino soon discovered that nutritional supplements could help his personal training clients efficiently achieve results. “I became a legal drug dealer for a lot of kids at Indiana University,” he jokes. “I opened my first supplement business because I could buy directly from the wholesaler and sell them cheaper than GNC. But, I knew that if I wanted to really grow, then I needed to find a market that could support growth.” D’Agostino investigated numerous Midwest cities including Cleveland, Kansas City, Chicago and Louisville. But, St. Louis captured his heart. “I fell in love with downtown St. Louis, the history and the architecture,” says D’Agostino. “Also, I saw there were several gyms on Manchester Road with no supplement stores nearby. It
I was outwardly rebellious and went through a period where I was very nihilistic. I dropped out of high school. I mean, death was on my horizon everyday. However, it is in this shadow of death that D’Agostino found a way out. “A cousin of mine introduced me to working out and running,” he says. “I figured that my disease was reducing my cardio-vascular capacity, and, by working out, I could build it back. Fitness allowed me to take control of my own destiny. It did not just make me stronger. I was teaching my body and my mind that I can control my destiny in all aspects of my life.” D’Agostino felt as though he had been granted a new lease on life. Against his doctor’s wishes, he poured himself into physical fitness and even started a personal training company. In 1995, the love of a woman and ro-
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was the perfect fit.” Attilio’s Discount Supplements was thusly born in 2000. Shortly after he started the business, he, along with Elizabeth Tucker and Kelly Hamilton (two employees at Attilio’s), began a newsletter for customers. “We thought we could get new nutrition information to them through the newsletter,” says D’Agostino. “We knew that if they were more successful at achieving their fitness goals, then we would be more successful.” The trio officially started producing their newsletter as Alive magazine in 2002 and dropping it at more and more locations around St. Louis. By 2005, that passion to help customers produced 10 locations for Attilio’s Dis-
count Supplements in the St. Louis area as well as three in Indianapolis, Ind. and upwards of $6 million in revenue. However, increased regulation of supplements eliminated some products that D’Agostino knew were most effective for his clients’ success. He felt his passion waning for the supplement business. So, he sold the stores. All of them. And, since he knew he controlled his destiny, he never looked back. D’Agostino (along with Tucker and Hamilton) decided to devote his energy into Alive, expanding the publication into a full-fledged media company. The magazine now covers topics such as nightlife, dining, fitness, restaurants and fashion. The staff also creates unique web content and produces local events such as St. Louis Fashion Week. It was while serving as an art director on several editorial photo shoots for Alive that D’Agostino discovered his passion for photography. “I always have had a vision for what I wanted to create with photography,” he says. “I was fortunate enough to assist Rick Gould on several shoots to learn the technical aspects of photography. I found that I had an aptitude for it, so I started doing my own photography.” Today, D’Agostino is still involved in some creative production for Alive, but de-
Good morning 5:08 AM Clad only in sweat pants answers the door. 5:12 AM In the shower. National Public Radio blaring “Morning Edition.” 5:50 AM Cracks open a bottle of water. Looks at past photos in preparation for the shoot. Book shelf includes: “A Brief History of Time,” Stephen Hawking “A Walk in the Woods,” Bill Bryson “The Past Through Tomorrow,” Robert Heinlein “Hip: The History,” John Leland “Kissinger,” Walter Isaacson
votes much of his time to his freelance photography business that includes fashion, editorial and commercial work. In 2009, he founded Corridor 40 (corridor40.com), an online venture that covers “fashion + culture in the heartland.” Jill Manoff, fashion editor at Alive and one of D’Agostino’s cohorts at Corridor 40, has watched him evolve over the last seven years and says she is inspired by D’Agostino’s energy and collaborative nature. “Attilio finds out what he has a passion for and just goes with that,” she says. “It has all been very organic. When he sees an opportunity, he takes it and, in that way, he is a smart entrepreneur.” Even in retrospect of his various adventures, D’Agostino struggles with traditional business labels. “I don’t consider myself to be an entrepreneur,” says D’Agostino. “I have never had a business plan. I have never worried if my new ventures would work or not. I knew that I shaped my destiny. I just did it.” We met up with D’Agostino at his condo in the Syndicate Building on the day of a photo shoot for Bakers, a shoe company and commercial client of his. Herewith, all the devices, rituals and people that make this reluctant, unlikely, organic entrepreneur’s day happen.
0
Televisions, DVDs or artwork D’Agostino doesn’t subscribe to cable. He just doesn’t have the time for it. “I had a television for a while, but I never watched it,” he says. Since his living quarters and photography studio are one and the same, his condo is Spartan and nearly everything serves some utility. He has a Husky toolbox filled with makeup, racks of wardrobe clothing and palettes stacked against the walls. Contents of a tray in the kitchen: 7 bracelets, 7 rings, 1 iPod, wallet pack of Extra Chewing Gum
ST. LOUIS SMALL BUSINESS MONTHLY / mAy 2011 19
COVER STORY A DAY IN THE LIFE 6:54 AM Josh Keenon, photography assistant, and Shane Smith, intern, arrive at D'Agostino's condo. Refreshments for the shoot:
12 4 2
bottles of water The equipment
Rockstar energy drinks
Cannon EOS 5D Mark 2 Cannon L Series 50 mm 1,2 Quantum Q Flash
20oz. Diet Mountain Dews (for Jill Manoff, the stylist) The intern purchased in items in bulk instead of getting them out of the cooler. D'Agostino sent him back to Culinaria, a Schnuck’s grocery store, to get cold ones.
31
times D'Agostino stopped the photo shoot to talk to the client
7:35 AM Everybody in the truck. D'Agostino's 2009 Ford F-150 FX 4X4 barely fits into his space in the Syndicate Building's garage, but he insists that it is the perfect vehicle for a photographer plenty of room for equipment.
8:45 AM The gang’s all here. All of the crew has arrived including Jill Manoff (stylist) and Lisa Kalz (hair and makeup). They go to work on Ellen Grace Kozarits, the model. “A lot of the girls that you would think look like models don’t work as a model,” says D’Agostino. “There are a lot of misconceptions about what modeling means. A lot of models are interesting, artistic, creative people. Ellen, the model we are shooting today, was an intern, like the ‘go get the lunch’ intern for Jill (Manhoff). I submitted her as an option to the client, and they decided to go with her. So, today is her first shoot. She’s a great Cinderella story.”
Location: J. Gravity Strings Founded in 1978, the company handles guitar rebuilds, retail sales and rentals. Owner Jimmy Auchubon has built guitars for Eddie Van Halen and Pete Townsend. “This place has a unique…ambiance,” he says. “We have had a lot of people use our place for documentaries or album photos. It is amazing what you get in a space when you just let things be.”
Countless
Number of directions to Kozarits.
“Attilio works hard to understand what our angle is and what brand message we are trying to send,” says Stacy McDonough, vice president of marketing for Bakers. “He is a creative partner who understands our vision. I know that we will always get what we need.”
Gould (in plaid) hugs his karate kid. Gould
The music A selection blaring from the rigged up iPhone - “The xx” Pandora station.
20 ST. LOUIS SMALL BUSINESS MONTHLY / may 2011
Grizzly Bear, “Two Weeks” Phoenix, “Lasso” Sia, “Breathe Me” The xx, “Basic Space” Potishead, “Glory Box”
A surprise visit from D’Agostino’s Mr. Miyagi
“I was an assistant to Rick Gould for years working on Alive shoots,” says D’Agostino. “It was like being the karate kid. I did not know how much I actually knew – how much I was learning. When I started doing photography myself, I realized that I already knew what to do.”
“Look away with purpose.” “Sexy bad girl.” “More bitchy.” “Let the back arm drop more.” “You look so sexy.”
1
“Stairway to Heaven” serenade from a J. Gravity Strings employee (despite this sign above a doorway)
2
cans of Rockstar Energy drink consumed before 12:30 PM.
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A DAY IN THE LIFE ATTILIO D'AGOSTINO 1:45 PM Lunch (Attilio’s first meal of the day) from St. Louis Bread Co. Turkey Bravo Diet Coke Baked Lays 2 Chocolate Chip Cookies
“You should eat when you want to” says D'Agostino. “Think about it. Human beings are designed to go for days without eating. We would kill an animal and eat nothing but protein, and then we would eat berries for a few days. Our bodies can be trained to any schedule you like. Anybody who tells you what you should be eating is selling you a book.”
Impromptu dance party
107
Times he began a sentence with the words, “Josh/Shane could you…?” “Attilio is a Jedi master,” says Josh Keenon, D’Agostino’s assistant. “Everyone knows him. We have had the police arrive on a shoot, and he just calmly explains what he is doing. He gets what he wants. Just a wave of the hand and everything is suddenly okay.”
I don’t consider myself to be an entrepreneur. I have never had a business plan. I have never worried if my new ventures would work or not. I knew that I shaped my destiny. I just did it.
A customer plays surf music on a guitar a la Dick Dale. D'Agostino: Hey man, what band are you in? Guy playing guitar: Broken Glass. It isn’t stuff like this, though. It’s only hardcore punk shit. D'Agostino: Well...you’re pretty good for playing only hardcore punk shit.
4:00 PM Standing in the sunlight to get shots of Kozarits on an old Pontiac. D’Agostino (eyes closed turns his head to face the sun): “Does anything feel better than this?”
Number of photos snapped for the entire shoot.
Number of sports that D'Agostino played in high school. He works out voraciously now. “I usually hit the gym in the evening and concentrate on one particular part of my body,” says D'Agostino. “I also do yoga. I won’t skip a week. You only get one body, so it is too important for me.”
12
Number of times D'Agostino used pet names for the crew including: Cutey Pie Sweetie Jilly Bean (for Manoff)
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5:35 PM That’s a wrap. “We try to leave things better than how we found them,” says D’Agostino. “Which isn’t too difficult here.” 3:20 PM Encouragement. D'Agostino pulls Kozarits into a room for a private conference. “I told her the amazing job that she was doing. If you do that one-on-one, it just means more.”
3
Amount of times D'Agostino blushed when he overheard praise that others said about him.
2 4 2 2
blog posts to Corridor 40
Twitter posts for Corridor 40
around 900
0
Social Media
personal Facebook posts
7:35 PM Picking up Manoff on the way to Bar Louie in Kirkwood, we have a timeout for creative philosophy from D’Agostino: I think it was Hemingway who said, “You should write drunk and edit sober.” The opposite is true in photography. I think I should shoot sober and edit drunk. I mean, metaphorically, of course. I need to get great raw shots. If the original is only good, then no amount of editing will help it be great. 8:25 PM Dinner at Bar Louie in Kirkwood Ketel One vodka and tonic with lime Lettuce wedge with dressing Corn dogs Chips and dips
Texting
50 50
personal Twitter posts
received
sent “The stream of people that I stay in contact with between work and personal life is constant…it is wonderfully constant,” says D’Agostino.
Winding down 11 PM Back home 11:32 PM In bed reading blogs on his iPhone until sleep.
ST. LOUIS SMALL BUSINESS MONTHLY / mAy 2011 21
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