Leading US nightlife impresario Rande Gerber made his name with his Whiskey Bar concept; chic hotel lounges that he opened first in Ian Schrager hotels such as the Paramount and then for a variety of hotel brands including Starwood Hotels, W Hotels and Sol Melia Hotels. His portfolio, operating under Midnight Oil and the Gerber Group, consisted of venues across America but also in Spain and Mexico. Since 2012 he's diversified into spirits, launching Caliche Rum with Roberto Serrallés in the US and more recently Casamigos Tequila with partners actor George Clooney and real estate developer Mike Meldman - it's become the fastest-growing spirit in the US and is now available in the UK. He lives in Malibu with his wife Cindy Crawford and two children, Kaia and Presley Gerber.  I never really knew what I wanted to do. I just knew that I had a lot of ideas and wanted to experiment with different jobs to discover what I liked. I worked at a yoghurt store, I sold skateboards and sneakers, I worked at a flea market, I did real estate. I tried lots of different things.  My first job was washing cars when I was about 13. I grew up in South Shore on Long Island and pretty much every weekend a friend and I would wash and wax people's cars. I learned that it was fun being an entrepreneur and working for myself. Also that thinking of things that people wanted or needed is a good way to make money.  When I moved to New York City around 1990 I decided to open up my own place. It was like my living room – a lounge with comfortable club chairs and couches, and candlelight. Luckily it took off immediately because it was so different. It was The Whiskey Bar at the Paramount Hotel in New York.  My playlist always has the Rolling Stones, something mellow, like Wild Horses, actually pretty much anything from Sticky Fingers. And Van Morrison, I would mix it up with some John Coltrane, it wasn’t hip hop and it wasn’t dance but something in between.  The best piece of professional advice I’ve ever had is that it’s important to take chances. And you should really love what you do, because obviously you spend a lot of time in your life doing it. If you’re not passionate about it, it doesn’t matter how much money you’re earning, it’s not going to be fun.  My mentor in life is probably my dad, just because for him it was always family first and business second. He worked hard but he always pretty much spent the money that he made. He said "the only reason you’re making this is so that you can enjoy it while you’re here".  I really admire Richard Branson because he gives people opportunities. He invests in companies but also in people.  We created Casamigos tequila from scratch, George [Clooney] and I. We were drinking it when we were building our homes in Mexico and one day George said, "why don’t we just make our own tequila that’s perfect for us".We visited a couple of distilleries that were doing some interesting things and we told them the profile that we wanted - really smooth, with no burn. We wanted to be able to drink it all night long over ice. It took a couple of years to get the perfect recipe.  At first we were just giving it to friends and they loved it. Then the distillery called us and said, "hey guys, we’ve got a situation either you’re selling it or you’re drinking way too much. Either way you need to get a licence - you can’t call it samples anymore". So we started the company, brought it to a distributor and they loved it.  The most charismatic person I’ve met? Bono is very charismatic, also Michael Jordan, George too - I don’ t need to say that. Of the younger generation, someone like Harry Styles.  The reason celebrities probably liked coming to my bars was we never allowed cameras, even if it was someone’s birthday. If a flash goes off and there was a celebrity they’re going to feel concerned, so everyone let their guard down. We wouldn’t call the press and tell them who was there, so they felt protected and knew they weren’t going to read about what they did in the papers the next day.  I love karaoke. At my Malibu bar, Club Havana, we do a good karaoke night. My advice is to choose a song that everyone knows the words to so that they can all sing along too, like Neil Diamond. Cindy sings and likes to have a good time - she once did a duet with Bono.  Now I don’t own bars I can appreciate going to places more. I like Soho House, and Nobu Malibu is great. I have always liked smaller intimate places. It’s nice when people know your name, the bartender, the busboy, it doesn’t have to be the owner or maître d’.  I think one of my proudest achievements is that my children are very grounded. They go to a public [state] school in Malibu. Their friends might live in a trailer park or a big house, it doesn’t mean anything to them. My son works at a smoothie place, we didn’t say hey go get a job, but the owners said, “Presley if you ever want a job I’d love to hire you”. He was so proud, he’s 16, he’s probably making $9 dollars an hour, after tax, but he’s as happy as could be.  The kids are very similar to both Cindy and myself. Kaia just turned 14 and wants to model, but she’s still a student, very young for that, but she’s watched Cindy do it and she really likes that. Presley is more like me. He likes photography and is more entrepreneurial and wants to start his own company, he’s just not sure exactly what yet.
US entrepreneur Rande Gerber has been in the nightlife industry for 20 years, owning a portfolio of venues worldwide. He recently partnered with George Clooney to launch Casamigos Tequila