“W
e offer a private jet experience on a commercial-size jet.” Who says stuff like that? David Young does. Young is the cofounder and managing partner of ROAM Maui, one of several high-end transport companies he’s founded in the “aero” space. “ROAM Maui is a fleet of VIPconfigured 737s,” Young explains amiably. “We’re connecting Maui to Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and Seattle, serving in-flight cuisine prepared by celebrity chefs.…” The planes feature premium leather seating that folds down to the drowsily near-horizontal, a Stage™ ondemand entertainment system, and leg room you’ll dislocate your hips trying to fully exploit. Okay. What we have here is a 44-seat, member-only, lavishly appointed, boutique 737 to Maui. A restless entrepreneur since he was barely old enough to spell the word, Young is today a settled aero-impresario. The jet stream fast lane he once occupied almost beggars description. But let’s give it a try.
“This is your captain speaking. We have been cleared for takeoff and global Hip-Hop domination.”
HOLLYWOOD CHRYSALIS
“M
y dad was at Santa Barbara Research Center,” Young says. “He was head of the optics division. He’s been called the Father of Radiometry. NASA gave him a lifetime achievement award for his service to the nation through aerospace.” In the event, David Young ends up following his dad into the stratosphere, though it’s more like a connecting flight than a direct route. “As a kid, I was drumming in rock bands and playing the local clubs at 15. I was madly into music. After college, I realized I’d be short-changing myself if I didn’t make a run for it, so I moved to Hollywood.” Determined to break into the scene there, the guy apparently hadn’t heard Hollywood is where dreams go to be euthanized. Never mind.
DAVID YOUNG
PUTS THE HIGH (ALTITUDE) IN HIGH-END. JUST ASK RIHANNA 206
STORY BY JEFF WING
Me and my aero: David Young will hand you the sky on a silver platter.
B LU E P R I N T F O R R I V I E R A L I V I N G
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Music in the air
36 VICTO R M AGA ZIN E MU S IC IN T HE AIR
David Young with his wife, the entertainment industry consultant Healey Young.
David Young explains how a background in the music business serves him well as Victor’s new Senior Vice President, North America
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BUSINESS
F
or David Young, 15-hour days are a way of life. Straight out of college, his career began in the promotional department at MCA Records when a band’s demo tape found its way into his hands. Growing up as a drummer since the age of seven, he “thought they had raw talent, but needed help” and got in touch. From there, he wrote a business plan “on the back of a cocktail napkin at a Mexican restaurant”, developed the group’s sound and image, got a deal with A&M Records – and ended up with the most-played song of 1996.
38 VICTO R M AGA ZIN E MU S IC IN T HE AIR
It’s this sort of dedication to the cause that has followed Young throughout his professional life. After a decade in the music business he set up Environmental Vehicle Outfitters (EVO for short), which became Hollywood’s choice of limo for the eco-conscious movie star. At the time, the environment was not much on the agenda of the big manufacturers like Ford and GM – so he retrofitted their SUVs himself in a bid to produce 90 percent fewer tailpipe emissions than regular petrol vehicles. Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz became not only fans but also advocates, to the extent that the actress would hand out EVO flyers at parties. Suddenly, the eco-car company with the A-list client roster became another milestone in an already extraordinary career. It was at this point that Young ran into a friend from school who had become a Gulfstream pilot. He suggested that Young’s background in music, grip on complex logistics, and easy manner would make him the perfect candidate for running a private jet business. “I opened up the LA office and started
going through my Rolodex,” he says simply. “VIP client services are at the core of everything I’ve done, and working for a private jet company seemed like the perfect calling for the next chapter in my career.” These days, Young is firmly rooted along with his wife and children in Santa Barbara where he grew up, which he calls “an amazing storybook place to live”. Also known as “the American Riviera”, it’s perfect for his role at Victor since it’s only “a short drive to the entertainment capital of Los Angeles” – and the music business is still part of his life. Among many superstar world tours, his company YoungJets was responsible for Rihanna’s 777 Tour in 2012, which saw the singer perform seven shows in seven days in seven countries on a Boeing 777 – a feat never before attempted. “I don’t think we had a proper hotel until day three when we got to Stockholm, with Los Angeles, Mexico City and Toronto behind us,” Young says, but that’s all part of the fun when you’re experiencing the ride with a good group of people: “Her management and record label were spectacular to work with.” What sounds like a logistical nightmare to some is clearly what makes Young tick, and he admits to being a bit of an adrenaline junkie. Right now, he has two tours in Europe and clients all over the States to contend with, a trip to the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) conference in Las Vegas in the offing, a board meeting in London after that and, finally, a wellearned break sailing the Dalmatian Islands in Croatia. EDM and Las Vegas are having a big moment together right now, and Young’s expertise and
unique skill set have certainly come in handy: “We have a lot of EDM clients,” he says. “They can do a DJ set at 9pm in one city and then another set at 1am in a different city.” When he gives you the typical itinerary of one EDM artist he’s accompanied, it becomes clear that
He got out of the music industry completely in 2002. At the time, it was the rise of Napster when record companies were slashing their rosters in preparation for the digital revolution. So is digital going to kill the business or save it? Young thinks we’re about to enter another exciting period as streaming reaches a critical
“ Time is the ultimate luxury, and a private jet is the closest you get to a time machine” mass, though he’s happy to watch and concentrate on his role at Victor this time round: “I don’t know too many people who’ve gotten out of the music industry when I started in it who’d do it all again,” he says with a laugh. But his experience certainly helps in his current role: “I can talk to a band member or tour manager as someone who’s been through that.” Music aside, he says that corporate road shows – where the CEO of a company has to be in three cities in
Rock tour or road show, there are more similarities than there are differences between the two: “They’re both very demanding precise operations,” Young says. Either way, this is a man who thrives on the unpredictable nature of business, and the all-consuming nature of being an entrepreneur. He remembers driving down Sunset Boulevard in his early 20s and seeing a massive billboard of an album cover: he not only designed the cover but also managed the band it belonged to – for him, it was the perfect combination of art and commerce. “At heart,” he says, “I’m a music guy.” 39
For more information, to make a booking or to include Victor in the planning of your next tour, you can email David at david.young@flyvictor.com or call the US office on +1 877 275 9336.
VICTO R M AGA ZIN E MU S IC IN T HE AIR
the pace at which Young lives is normal for him. Speaking of a recent tour, he says: “Our clients began the day in Italy, did a DJ set in Russia, did a 1am set in Serbia, and then went to France the next morning.” It’s the type of trip that might qualify for what he calls the “coat-hanger tour” – how the routing would look if you put a stack of coat-hangers one on top of the other and photocopied the result. “It’s something one could only achieve via a private jet and expert logistical assistance,” he says.
a day, for example – can be equally if not more challenging than a rock tour. As an entrepreneur himself, Young understands the unique circumstances for why such a client needs to fly privately: “Time is the ultimate luxury,” he says, “and a private jet is the closest you get to a time machine.”
It’s now the first week of 2018, but I had lunch with David Young in the middle of December on a particularly bleak day filled with ash, smoke, and fire. David’s optimism was — pun intended — a breath of fresh air. This Santa Barbara maverick has reinvented himself many times, and his was the perfect story to hear while heading into the new year. Born and raised in the hills of Goleta, David attended Dos Pueblos High School and grew up playing in bands around Santa Barbara. “This was before any bands got record deals,” he recalls. “I thought it was an impossible dream.” So he headed south to San Diego State University to major in advertising.
But the music business kept calling and he gave it a try after graduating, working his way up the ranks in the Urban Music Department at MCA Records. “I thought I could discover bands,” he says, but he was never given the chance. David decided to do it on his own. He came across an intriguing new band in Santa Barbara that needed development. “This was in the early ‘90s when Nirvana had just broke,” says David, who helped craft the image of the band that would eventually become Dishwalla. “I wrote a business plan for them in back of a napkin. I got A&M Records to sign with them.” David was fired from MCA on the spot, and then started his own artist management company, which he ran for 10 years. His second band was called Summercamp, which signed to Madonna’s Maverick Records and did well in Japan. But David felt intellectually stymied — the music business felt like a broken model. In 2002, he started an automotive company that stripped SUVs and rebuilt them to run with natural gas. His Environmental Vehicle Outfitters (EVO) was a hit with the celebrity crowd, and soon Leo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Britney Spears, and Woody Harrelson had EVOs. But the business never really grew from that small niche of people, so David sold out of that partnership in late 2004. His next move kept him in the realm of celebrity transportation. A pilot friend from Dos Pueblos introduced David to someone who owned a fleet of jets and needed management help. One of David’s first calls was to the manager of Green Day, and the band became a client. David was soon in charge of entertainment-related bookings for Sentient Jets. In 2012, he started his own company called Young Jets, and sold it three years later to the British aviation firm Victor. David is currently the senior vice president for North America. Though he lived for 20 years in Los Angeles, David is now happily back home in Santa Barbara with his family. “All the reasons that made me leave Santa Barbara as a young man are the reasons why I’ve returned as an adult,” he says. The inspiring phoenix David Young answers the Proust Questionnaire. What is your most marked characteristic? I am an eternal optimist with a dreamer’s eye on the future. As a related quirk, I like to constantly stay informed, so I am constantly reading, something, anything. I pack in every minute of the day obtaining tidbits of information. The “news” feature you can flip from my iPhone screen is my best friend and worst enemy. I do however like turning it all off when it is time to chill out. What is your current state of mind? Thankful, but pensive about the future
What do you most admire? My father. The kindest man I know who never once chose his own needs over his family’s best interests. He also loves his job and, in his late 80s, still works with NASA every day sending optical equipment into the far reaches of space. What is your greatest fear? FOMO — the Fear of Missing Out! It’s a clichéd phrase, but it is a pretty accurate assessment. On a deeper level, I think the fear of becoming irrelevant keeps me from being just that. What do you like most about your job? I love travel, I love private jets, and I love music. I work with all three at once and I am able to do it on my own terms, from Santa Barbara. I like that I can work with the world’s most accomplished rock stars and diplomats one day, then surf or relax with the family on postcard-perfect Hammonds or Miramar Beach the next. I spent many years in Los Angeles laying the groundwork and establishing a name in the entertainment industry and I can take that anywhere. The company Victor that I work with now is really committed to breaking new ground in private aviation and my fellow executives in NYC and London are always open to putting new ideas to the test, which is essential for me in a work environment. What is your idea of perfect happiness? Professionally, the concept behind the Barefoot CEO. I do love running things, but I also like to do it whenever possible sans footwear! Personally, a weekend at home with my wife and two boys, a guitar nearby, and maybe a swell in the ocean and nothing pressing on the calendar is my version of perfect happiness. What are your greatest extravagances? Family surf trips to exotic ports. Private jet excursions (like those found using our app). Sleeping in on the weekends. What is the quality you most like in people? Humility. Successful, driven people who still keep it real. Again, another reason why living here in Santa Barbara is ideal. We have so many interesting, highly accomplished people here who don’t feel the need to resort to opulent displays of wealth in order to flaunt their status. What is the quality you most dislike in people? People of a duplicitous nature. Bullies. Narcissism, especially on the world’s stage. Flakiness. Just do what you say and say what you mean.
What do you most value in friends? I am drawn to creatives, people who are compelled to put their unique stamp on everything they do. People who break away from convention. I also bond best with friends who are instinctively driven to laugh at themselves, before they laugh at others. Which words or phrases do you most overuse? Well, I am a bit of a lifehacker who likes to think outside-the-box and move-the-needle with an all-hands-on-deck approach. So, I am typically too busy trying to create game-changing, disruptive paradigm shifts to think about how I iterate, you know? #blessed Which talent would you most like to have? I’d like to be a master photographer and be able to tell vivid stories without speaking. I have a deep appreciation for people who have the discipline to master the fine arts, but if I could do it without having to spend all my free time on it, that would be ideal. Like some sort of artistic genius express route, but more of a pill I could take that would download a hundred Lynda.com videos direct to my brain. With any luck, there is probably someone in a lab in Carpinteria working on that right now. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I could probably be more selfless and find the time to give back to others in need in new ways. And possibly have the body fat percentage of a Thai kick-boxing champion, as long as we are in dream mode here. What do you consider your greatest achievement? The Hallmark answer is marrying Healey and raising two amazing boys, Drake and Beck, and that would be the honest truth. The Rolling Stone answer skews more towards all the crazy cool experiences I have been able to log around the world with musicians and notable figures, all the while keeping up the pace with people generally more intelligent and interesting than I. From a pure business perspective, selling YoungJets to UK-based Victor after three years was no small accomplishment, as was winning a Billboard Music Award for Rock Song of the Year for Dishwalla, a band I developed who were just young guys playing locally at clubs and practicing at a home studio on Ontare Road when I found them. Beating the likes of Metallica (who are now clients of mine) and Stone Temple Pilots out for that award was probably the peak of my days managing bands. Where would you most like to live? I am extremely happy here in Montecito up the road from the beach. I can’t imagine living anywhere else right now. I spend a good amount of time as of late in Manhattan, as we moved
our American HQ to NYC last year, and I love the predictable chaos of the city. However, coming back to Santa Barbara and banking that last turn towards SBA over the Pacific Ocean is a victory lap I will never take for granted. In a fantasy life, I would be living a minimalist existence amongst the monkeys and rice farmers in Bali. What is your most treasured possession? I am not super nostalgic or overly materialistic. I guess I am happy to be in possession of good health. And having skirted death more than once when I was younger, I am pretty stoked just to be alive. Who makes you laugh the most? My wife, Healey, makes me laugh the most and we’re the funniest comedy duo the world will never know. She keeps the routine fresh and never seems to run out of material. What is your motto? Live Fast, Dave Young Which historical figure do you most identify with? Joe Strummer of The Clash. Musically the Clash was ahead of the curve emulating cultural shifts in popular music, not unlike the Beatles, and Joe’s message was always one of brutal honesty. But he was also a great humanitarian that rarely felt the need to shine the spotlight on his good deeds as a vehicle for self-promotion. I was interviewed by Julian Temple for his documentary The Future Is Unwritten about Joe’s life and legacy, and it was one of more crystallizing moments of my adult life. On what occasion do you lie? Only to save someone I love from pain.
By Fara Warner April 11, 2004 KEVIN RICHARDSON, who at 32 is the oldest member of the Backstreet Boys, took delivery last week of his 2004 GMC Yukon sport utility vehicle. He raves about its ''F.B.I. look'' -- all black and chromeless, with lacquered wheel rims -- and the 5.3-liter V-8 engine that puts close to 300 horsepower under the hood. And he dreams of ordering a customized license plate for this, his perfect Hollywood ride. It would read ''CLEAN.'' That may sound as contradictory as Mr. Richardson himself -- an avowed environmentalist with an ungreen hankering for big, powerful cars -- but, in fact, he is spending more than $10,000 to convert the Yukon to run on compressed natural gas, a domestically produced fuel that is less polluting than gasoline. The conversion will include the installation in his garage of a refueling system, which will let him fill up the Yukon by using the same gas line that supplies his house. To do the conversion, he has hired Evo Transportation, a company started by two former entertainment industry executives, David Young and Seth Seaberg. The two men, who had virtually no automotive experience but a lot of Hollywood connections, have built a bustling business in Los Angeles by offering environmentally friendly but cool rides. Their Evo boutique limo service features three black S.U.V.'s much like Mr. Richardson's. The vehicles also have Game Boy consoles and minibars stocked with organic goodies like soy-based vodkas and soft drinks made from green tea. Celebrities like Cameron Diaz and Woody Harrelson are regular customers. ''We figured, 'Why should people compromise?''' said Mr. Seaberg, who before founding Evo with Mr. Young was chief executive of Ray Gun Publishing, which publishes the magazine Bikini. (Mr. Young ran Bliss Artist Management, which managed rock bands.) Unlike cars powered by electricity, a vehicle fueled by natural gas has the same power and performance -- and can carry the same weight -- as an identical vehicle fueled by gasoline. ''You actually can get all the luxury of a big S.U.V. with none of the guilt,'' Mr. Seaberg said. Now Evo is ramping up its next and potentially far bigger business: converting S.U.V.'s for Hollywood's elite -- and anyone else with $10,000 or more to spend --as well as converting smaller vehicles like General Motors' new Chevrolet Colorado pickup for corporate and municipal fleets. Their municipal customers already include the City of Santa Monica and Los Angeles County. As traditional automakers continue bickering over the future of hybrids and hydrogen, Evo is offering consumers alternate-fuel versions of the vehicles they want to drive right now.
The limo service will expand, but its founders say it was just a start toward creating a company based on the idea of alternative fuels. ''The limo business was a scaleable business and got us good cash flows pretty quickly,'' Mr. Young said. The service started in April 2003 and became profitable in the first quarter of 2004, and the two men say they expect to have $2 million in revenue this year. A ride in an Evo limos costs $75 an hour, with a two-hour minimum. The company said it logged 2,000 hours of service last year, 60 percent of them for hauling celebrities to events like the Academy Awards or Emmy Awards ceremonies. More important, Mr. Young said, the limo service brought the vehicles to the attention of the very customers who were likely to buy an S.U.V. conversion. Evo has received $500,000 in venture capital to expand its limo fleet into other California cities. And more celebrities are expressing interest in conversions. Brad Pitt requested a proposal for a conversion after he rode in an Evo limo to a pre-Oscars party. As for Mr. Richardson, he said he saw his first Evo S.U.V. in May 2003, when he showed up at a forum for the Natural Resources Defense Council featuring Arianna Huffington, the syndicated columnist, who has been pressing Detroit automakers to make more fuel-efficient cars. The topic that day was ''Breaking the Chain of Oil Dependency.'' Mr. Richardson showed up in a gas-guzzling Mercedes CL500 sports car that gets about 16 miles to the gallon. ''I was looking for some place to hide my ride when I saw this S.U.V.,'' Mr. Richardson said. The converted Evo S.U.V.'s have labels saying, ''powered by clean natural gas.''
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DAVID YOUNG
PUTS THE HIGH (ALTITUDE) IN HIGH-END. JUST ASK RIHANNA