Artwork

Content provided by Andy Kushner. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Andy Kushner or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.
Player FM - Podcast App
Go offline with the Player FM app!

Colin Cowie: Creating Luxury Experiences for A-List Celebrities

53:32
 
Share
 

Manage episode 199293413 series 2068653
Content provided by Andy Kushner. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Andy Kushner or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.

Colin Cowie is a top designer for all things weddings, as well as galas, charitable events, corporate and destination celebrations. He's beloved by the likes of Oprah, Jerry Seinfeld, Elton John, Michael Jordan, Bruce Willis, Jennifer Aniston, and countless other A-list celebrities.

Since Colin arrived in Los Angeles from Kitzwe, Zambia at the height of apartheid in 1985, his professional life has soared. Colin grew up in a household that constantly entertained friends and family, so when he came to the US, he just started doing the same thing he had always been doing at home in Zambia. While teaching cooking lessons at age 23, he met a woman whose chance encounter soon led to his first wedding assignment for a local bachelor: Hugh Hefner.

Thirty-one years of parties, weddings, and multi-day events later, he’s never created the same event twice.

The degree to which Colin cares for and personalizes his work is not just unmatched, it's nearly indescribable, and precisely why he’s consistently relied upon by the most discerning of clientele. He learns everything there is to know about his clients, over hors-d'oeuvres and champagne, until the event he crafts (and the journey on which he takes his clients to get there) is not just perfectly tailored, but permanently unique. When he isn't designing weddings and Fortune 500 parties, Oprah Winfrey’s Legends Ball or Guinness Book of World Records-breaking pyrotechnic shows abroad, Colin works as "creator-director" for elite brands like NetJets, Dom Perignon, and Bergdorf Goodman; even private islands.

Idyllic as Colin’s life may sound, and so often is, he and Andy extend their conversation today beyond the exclusive glamour of the luxury events industry to the unseen challenges once faced in the midst of the great recession, Colin's daily routines (from meditation and "I am" statements to nightcaps), professional strategies, and the critical value of humility and gratitude.

Show Highlights:

  • Beef jerky and Jaegermeister aren’t things you normally associate with Colin - hear his story about both.
  • Delivering babies? Yep, Colin’s done that too.
  • Even at the top of his game, Colin wasn’t immune from crisis - hear how he lost 80% of his income almost overnight.
  • Learn how Colin feels about his employees leaving to start their own business.
  • Colin’s philosophy behind what he charges for his services.
  • Learn about Colin’s multiple streams of income and his recommendations for you to create them too.

Links

Colin Cowie Lifestyle

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Wilkie Blog

FOOD, Inc. NYC

•Learn more about each of Colin's books on Goodreads andAmazon

  continue reading

67 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 
Manage episode 199293413 series 2068653
Content provided by Andy Kushner. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Andy Kushner or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.

Colin Cowie is a top designer for all things weddings, as well as galas, charitable events, corporate and destination celebrations. He's beloved by the likes of Oprah, Jerry Seinfeld, Elton John, Michael Jordan, Bruce Willis, Jennifer Aniston, and countless other A-list celebrities.

Since Colin arrived in Los Angeles from Kitzwe, Zambia at the height of apartheid in 1985, his professional life has soared. Colin grew up in a household that constantly entertained friends and family, so when he came to the US, he just started doing the same thing he had always been doing at home in Zambia. While teaching cooking lessons at age 23, he met a woman whose chance encounter soon led to his first wedding assignment for a local bachelor: Hugh Hefner.

Thirty-one years of parties, weddings, and multi-day events later, he’s never created the same event twice.

The degree to which Colin cares for and personalizes his work is not just unmatched, it's nearly indescribable, and precisely why he’s consistently relied upon by the most discerning of clientele. He learns everything there is to know about his clients, over hors-d'oeuvres and champagne, until the event he crafts (and the journey on which he takes his clients to get there) is not just perfectly tailored, but permanently unique. When he isn't designing weddings and Fortune 500 parties, Oprah Winfrey’s Legends Ball or Guinness Book of World Records-breaking pyrotechnic shows abroad, Colin works as "creator-director" for elite brands like NetJets, Dom Perignon, and Bergdorf Goodman; even private islands.

Idyllic as Colin’s life may sound, and so often is, he and Andy extend their conversation today beyond the exclusive glamour of the luxury events industry to the unseen challenges once faced in the midst of the great recession, Colin's daily routines (from meditation and "I am" statements to nightcaps), professional strategies, and the critical value of humility and gratitude.

Show Highlights:

  • Beef jerky and Jaegermeister aren’t things you normally associate with Colin - hear his story about both.
  • Delivering babies? Yep, Colin’s done that too.
  • Even at the top of his game, Colin wasn’t immune from crisis - hear how he lost 80% of his income almost overnight.
  • Learn how Colin feels about his employees leaving to start their own business.
  • Colin’s philosophy behind what he charges for his services.
  • Learn about Colin’s multiple streams of income and his recommendations for you to create them too.

Links

Colin Cowie Lifestyle

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Wilkie Blog

FOOD, Inc. NYC

•Learn more about each of Colin's books on Goodreads andAmazon

  continue reading

67 episodes

All episodes

×
 
Loading …

Welcome to Player FM!

Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices.

 

Quick Reference Guide